Tag: Military Games

A “Trojan Horse”

Remember the gag gift the Greeks gave the Trojans?

Every deceitful move in conflict studies is called a “Trojan Horse”…..a way for a war to start from a not so important event….

The M-IC is using some war games the Russian will do in September to push a narrative…..

Russia is staging war games in Belarus in September, but US officials and US allies in the area are concerned the country’s real aim is to bring military equipment into the country and leave it there. “People are worried this is a Trojan horse. They say, ‘We’re just doing an exercise,’ and then all of a sudden they’ve moved all these people and capabilities somewhere,” the head of US Army forces in Europe tells Reuters. He says NATO officials will be watching the Zapad 2017 exercise closely for that reason. Some allies think the exercise will involve nuclear weapons training and could utilize more than 100,000 troops, which would make it the largest such exercise since 2013, the Guardian reports.

The official did note that there are no indications Russia really is planning such a “trojan horse,” but called for more transparency from the country as to the size and scope of the war games in order to ease concerns. A senior Russian diplomat says Moscow has no plans to leave military equipment in Belarus, and says the concern from NATO is just “artificial buffoonery” over routine war games that is “aimed at justifying the sharp intensification of the NATO bloc (activities) along the perimeter of Russian territory.” NATO is also keeping a close eye on war games in the Baltic Sea taking place July 24-31; Chinese warships were to join the Russian navy there Friday.

There is NO proof that this is a Trojan Horse plan….but the war hawks will make sure that it is highlighted….I am sure there will be requests for more resources during the time period of the games….

Words and then actions…..is the US and Russia headed to a confrontation?

The situation may have to get worse before cooler heads start to prevail.

What happens when an under-staffed, under-experienced, and under-managed presidency, under siege by domestic opponents, is faced with an escalating crisis with a nuclear superpower? We could well find out soon, because powerful forces in both Russia and the United States appear to be itching for a fight.

Source: Are Russia and America Headed for a Showdown? | RealClearWorld

Stuff like this is what keeps Americans worried about another conflict in which we must participate.

Stop Blaming The Games

My Sunday and temp has been between 105 and 112….the truth is I am pretty much over flipping summer…..how about you?

How many times have you heard someone say that all the violence problems we have these days can all lead back to all these damn video games?  We have games about killing hookers and stealing cars, war of all colors and just pretty much anything that could have a violent content…..

In reality, can we really blame the games or is that just an excuse from whiners?

Claims linking violent video games to societal violence lack evidence, yet continue to inspire moral panic.

The tragic July 22 shooting in Munich has revived claims linking violent video games to societal violence. The latest to raise this specter was German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière, who claimed that violent video games “helped inspire” the attack. This episode follows a fairly familiar pattern: A politician or police officer discovers that the young male perpetrator of a horrible crime also happened to play violent video games (as almost all young males do), and links the two in a public statement. News media decides to treat clueless speculation as something near to fact, and the next turn of the violent video game moral panic is on.

In truth, there’s no evidence to connect violent video games to violence in society. Several studies, such as by psychologist Patrick Markey and economist Scott Cunningham, have linked the release of popular violent video games with immediate declines in societal violence. Correlation between the consumption of these games and societal reductions in youth violence were well established, but these newer studies suggest there may be some causal element to this.

Source: Stop Blaming Violent Video Games for Societal Violence | US News Opinion

Ant thoughts?

Please have a good day and enjoy the rest of your weekend…I know I will….see you guys tomorrow with more stuff.

The Saga Of Jade Helm 15

When the military training exercise entitled as Jade Helm 15 was first announced the Moronic Right wen batcrap crazy…..people like Alex Jones started telling their idiot followers that the US military was preparing for a military takeover…….even an elected official, the governor Texas ordered the National Guard to keep tabs on the exercise to head off any attempts at a junta.

What truly worried me was that many people that I considered rational played along with the nonsense and even tried to make sense of why the government would do this.  DO what?  The military is on a training exercise something they do all the time and have been doing for decades without any hint of a coup.

Maybe the people that were most concerned had just viewed the movie “7 Days In May” on TMC……..that could explain the irrationality……

I have been sarcastically digging at the people that took this thing seriously because I am an irritating SOB…….and I want them to feel as foolish as they are…….

But what about Jade Helm 15…….what has been happening….I mean other than some non-existent coup……..

We have one report on Jade Helm………

North Carolina is not one of the states where the U.S. military training exercise dubbed “Jade Helm 15” is taking place this summer. Nevertheless, three men from Gaston County were charged with conspiring to arm themselves with illegal explosive devices to combat what they saw as a potential military takeover, according to court documents unsealed Monday in U.S. District Court in Charlotte.

The documents alleged Walter Eugene Litteral, 50, Christopher James Barker, 42, and Christopher Todd Campbell, 30, stockpiled weapons and discussed how to build homemade explosive devices. Litteral also allegedly tried to purchase a firearm for Barker, who is a convicted felon.

A tipster first contacted the FBI in June after becoming concerned that Litteral and Campbell were “preparing to use lethal force against United States government forces in order to defend against the imposition of martial law or other infringements on their rights,” according to an affidavit. The affidavit noted that the two men had discussed their belief that “Jade Helm 15” was actually a cover for the implementation of martial law with the tipster.

Is that it?  NOPE!  My state of Mississippi has its share of morons (more than most states)……and someone had to pull the trigger…..

For the second time this week, a gunman opened fire at Camp Shelby, a military training center that is part of the “Jade Helm 15″ training exercises, according to the Associated Press.

A man matching the same description as Tuesday’s shooter, white and driving a red or maroon pickup truck, opened fire around 8 a.m. Wednesday, the Clarion-Ledger reports. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

On Tuesday, a gunman with the same description fired at two soldiers training at Camp Shelby. Two men were taken into custody and questioned, but were then released without charges, according to the paper.

Appears that Southern meth heads and crack smokers are more of a threat then some poor soldier on a training exercise…..

 

Ukraine And The World

While most everyone else is watching the carrying ons in the Congress and states I have been watching Ukraine and the situation the West is setting up for itself…..

Russia is playing a talking game……while it positions itself along the borders with NATO…….NATO is sending in troops and equipment to position along the borders with Russia……….

The “spearhead” force was initially meant to forestall a Russian invasion of Europe, something which US officials were constantly predicting was imminent. A year later and with the invasion still looking extremely unlikely, officials just keep doubling down at every opportunity.

Secretary of Defense Ash Carter has headed to Europe this week to try to convince various European nations, notably Germany, to dramatically increase military spending so they can afford to send a bunch of excess troops to the Russian border. He will also commit US troops and equipment to the plan.

If a full scale invasion seems unlikely…..what is all this troop movement about?

Why is the world playing the Cold war game again?  Is all this weaponry really a good idea?

 

Why Arming Ukraine Is a Really Bad Idea | The National Interest.

We Are Under Attack!

Let’s talk about international situations….I mean even curling is more exciting than the politics of the day………

No this is not similar to the Grover’s Mill incident of 1938 where a radio program had residents convinced that they were under attack by Martians……this attack is from stuff I was reading over the weekend…..there were some outlandish claims that we were essentially under attack…because why?

The Iranian Navy is approaching the US maritime borders….say huh?

Iran says it has launched warships with orders to approach US maritime borders in the Atlantic ocean, according to the semi-official Fars news agency. “This move has a message,” an Iranian admiral was quoted as saying. That message: stand up against the US and its allies for stationing vessels in the Persian Gulf. A US defense official told Reuters that he doubted the claim, but said that “ships are free to operate in international waters.” The issue dates back to September 2011, when Iranian Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said his country would place ships near US maritime borders, RT.com reports. He described the mission as tit-for-tat over “the arrogant powers that are present near our maritime borders.” The US and its allies hold regular naval exercises in the Gulf, saying they want to keep the waterway free for 40% of the world’s seaborne oil exports. The Iranian launch consists of a helicopter-carrying gun ship and a destroyer on a 3-month mission, the BBC reports, so it’s likely the same vessels Iran sent out about three weeks ago.

The biggest outrage I found was the fact that they would be so bold as to send their navy into this situation……STOP!  Now think about it!

They are doing nothing different than the US….whenever China or Russia is having naval exercises we send some of our navy to close proximity….just in case…….the Iranians did the same thing……the US and others are having exercises in the Persian Gulf and Iran is nervous…..I could say for good reason…..I mean we have a couple of well ‘respected’ senators calling for action, military action, to be used against Iran.

What they have done is just a move on the international chess board…that is all…nothing to have a stroke over…..