Sgt. Ajab Han Holds Record 177 IED's Uncovered

DIVIDS-Ajab Han, a sergeant in the ANA working with British troops from the 1st battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland at a patrol base in the Sangin valley, has found 177 IEDs during his three years in Helmand.

"I know where they put them now," says Ajab. "It helps to know the terrain. I can also think like the insurgents, stay one step ahead of them, and keep my soldiers, and ISAF soldiers safe."

While detecting equipment is very useful, he says just staying alert can be equally effective.

"I can just see them," he says. "There might be a tell-tale trace, or something just not quite right, or a piece of wire or wood showing - and that is when I know I have found another one. IEDs often come in many parts so we have to find all the bits in the ground."

His successes are etched on a beam on a watchtower next to the place where he sleeps, along with his army number and the description "IED TEAM Sangin Special Force," written in English.

When asked if British soldiers are getting better at finding IEDs too, he smiles and nods his head, "Yes, they are very good. But they are still very happy that we are here to help them."

The allied forces have awarded Ajab for his efforts with a certificate which he prizes.

"I always have it on me," he said. "They know how much I am doing for them. And I am very pleased they are here, helping Afghanistan, too."

Capt. Will Wright, the platoon commander from 1 Scots mentoring team, working alongside Ajab and his soldiers said, "Patrolling with the ANA gives us such an advantage. They see things we sometimes don't, they are brave beyond words, and we learn so much from them every day. Ajab's skills are definitely much valued within this patrol base."

Ajab is due to end his tour with the ANA in the next few months, but he says he is not ready to go home just yet.

"Now I have so much information about IEDs I want to be a teacher. I want to share my experience with the new soldiers joining the army. I want to teach them all they need to stay safe."

4th LAR Helmand River Open

Lt. Col. Mike Martin, Battalion commander, 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance (LAR) Battalion, and 4th LAR Marines hitting golf balls for a bit of R & R outside FOB Payne. Produced by Sgt. Shawn Coolman.

Longball 97

Corporal Taylor, Charlie Company, 1st Light Armor Reconnaissance (LAR), 1/25/1997 Operation LONGBALL 1-97. photo LCPL C.S. CLINE,

Flat

04/19/1997-Marines from Alpha Company, 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance (LAR) Battalion, change a War Pig (LAV-25) flat tire.

USMC photo PFC J. L. Shelhart,

China Lake

At China Lake 08/05/1997, a Marine scout team from the 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance (LAR) Battalion, unload guiding stakes from their Light Armored Vehicle (LAV) as they prepare to guide the remainder of the company through a simulated mine field.

USMC photo Jay M. Dostal

Vet Foundation Transition Program for Wounded Warriors

Life after getting shot up--AKA getting a job and making a living-- gaining a healthy perspective and making good life choices--the Vet Foundation is taking the point as a guide for wounded warriors who need help in the transition from military to civilian life.

VET Foundation was started by veterans for veterans to make the transition from military to the civilian world. COMPASS Transition Program - a five day holistic event, held several times a year and comprised of 25 to 30 participants.

The mission for these participants is to leave the military and "transition forward.” VET Foundation brings dedicated professionals to COMPASS to help them accomplish that mission.

The purpose of the video is this:

Convince other Wounded Warriors that they should sign up for this.

There is no cost, and the Chow is awesome.

contact Chris. (chris.hadsall@ablebody.net) (www.vetfoundation.org)

tks:cc

Civil outreach Mission-2LAR

3rd Platoon, A Company, 2nd Light Armor Reconnaissance (LAR) Battalion Pfc. Daniel Wingo, a scout, participates in a civil outreach mission in a village in the Salah Ad Din province of Iraq May 2, 2008.

OK

2nd Light Armor Reconnaissance (2nd LAR) Battalion, patrol a fisherman's village in the Salah Ad Din Province of Iraq, May 2, 2008, during Operation Iraqi Freedom. photo Sgt. Rome M. Lazarus

Comm links via Two LAR

Sgt. Daniel Saecho, multi-channel radio operator (MCO) Alpha Company, 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, and Lance Cpl. Tony Sullivan, a radio operator, set up a radio antenna at a communication post during operations at Salah Ad Din, Iraq, May 2, 2008. photo Sgt Fudge

Too Late To Shovel, boys, Grab Your Hip boots and Run!

Benefit run in memory of B4LAR Lance Cpl. Jeremy Kane of Cherry Hill.

TKS: Carrie

Courier Post Online:

Over 350 friends and family of B4LAR Lance Cpl. Jeremy Kane led by a motorcycle honor guard participated in a 2 mile run benefit in his memory and raised funds for a memorial for all Rutgers graduates who were killed in action during Iraq and Afghanistan operations.

The two mile Memorial run started at Cherry Hill High School East, where Kane graduated, and ended at Congregation M'kor Shalom, where he worshiped.

Story and Photos@: "Rain doesn't hamper Memorial Run for Cherry Hill Marine"

Lt. Taylor Thompson Two LAR

2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance (LAR) Battalion, 2nd Lt. Taylor Thompson, communications officer, doing coffee and chat with Iraqis about the situation on the ground in the Salah Ad Din province of Iraq May 3, 2008, during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
USMC photo- Sgt. Jason W. Fudge

Lance Cpl. Jacob Conley, Two LAR

Lance Cpl. Jacob Conley installs an antenna on a Light Armored Vehicle 25 armored personnel carrier in northern Anbar province, Iraq, May 2, 2008. U.S. Marine Corps photo Cpl. Tyler Hill

Lance Cpl. Daniel Hardy, Two LAR

U.S. Marine Corps 3rd Platoon, A Company, 2nd Light Armor Reconnaissance (LAR) Battalion Lance Cpl. Daniel Hardy, a scout gunner, passes out candy to Iraqi children in a village in the Salah Ad Din province of Iraq May 2, 2008. USMC photo by Sgt. Rome M. Lazarus

Mr. Wonderful POTUS Comments On Genocide

Calling it one of the worst atrocities of the 20th century, President Barack Obama observed the 95th anniversary of Armenian Remembrance Day in remarks Saturday, but avoided calling the Ottoman era killing of 1.5 million Armenians genocide.

bet that's gonna sting.

Democrat Chuck Schumer Talks Brass Tacks To POTUS

"This has to stop," Chuck Schumer said of the administration's policy of publicly pressuring Israel to end construction in Jerusalem.

I told the President, I told Rahm Emanuel and others in the administration that I thought the policy they took to try to bring about negotiations is counter-productive, because when you give the Palestinians hope that the United States will do its negotiating for them, they are not going to sit down and talk. Palestinians don’t really believe in a state of Israel, they, unlike a majority of Israelis, who have come to the conclusion that they can live with a 2-state solution to be determined by the parties, the majority of Palestinians are still very reluctant, and they need to be pushed to get there. If the U.S. says certain things and takes certain stands the Palestinians say, “Why should we negotiate?”…

New York Senator Chuck Schumer on Nachum Segal Show

War Pigs in Trenches

I found this on the fishing nets today. I have no idea of the who, what or when. The only id that came with the picture was LAV-25 and trenches. Your guess is as good as mine.

Netanyahu To Mr. Wonderful: Bugger OFF!

"I am saying one thing. There will be no freeze in Jerusalem," Netanyahu said. "There should be no preconditions to talks."

JERUSALEM – Israel's prime minister on Thursday rejected U.S. calls to halt construction in disputed east Jerusalem, clouding a new peace mission by Washington's Mideast envoy.

Benjamin Netanyahu's comments were broadcast on Israel's Channel 2 TV shortly after envoy George Mitchell arrived for his first visit in six weeks. Mitchell's efforts had been on hold due to disagreements over east Jerusalem, the section of the holy city claimed by Israel and the Palestinians.

War Pigs and Mates

In Training. usmc photo

Philly Eagles cheerleaders Visit Two LAR

Lance Cpl. Matthew T. Enger, 20, a light armored vehicle driver from Morris, Illi., with Headquarters and Service Company, 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 5, shows the LAV to a group of Philadelphia Eagles cheerleaders during a visit at Camp Korean Village, Iraq. USMC photo

3rd squad, Security Platoon 4th LAR Hunt IEDs

Story by Sgt. Shawn Coolman

Date: 04.14.2010
Posted: 04.21.2010 01:08

COMBAT 3rd squad, Security Platoon 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, , Helmand province, Afghanistan - Marines with 3rd squad, Security Platoon 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, conducted a patrol of the surrounding area and discovered an improvised explosive device, April 14.

The Marines began this routine patrol by speaking with the local Afghans while collecting census data for future patrols in the area.

"The people have kind of turned over to us, they give us the benefit of the doubt," said Sgt. Nathan A. Goodland, platoon sergeant, 4th LAR. "They don't like the trouble that the Taliban have been bringing with them so they have been cooperating with us."

The Marines collect information on the Taliban presence from the locals to use later, but sometimes patrols don't go according to plan.

"It started off like a regular patrol, but a lot of unexpected things happened like running out of water and finding an IED, which happens every once in a while," said Cpl. Juan M. Perez, 24, Security Platoon from San Diego.

The Marines continued and occasionally stopped at local Afghan compounds to speak with the household elder.

Before the Marines could make it safely back, they checked on a possible IED located off a traveled road a mile away from their present position.

The order, which came four hours into a foot patrol, caught the Marines a little off guard due to the amount of water each Marine had left.

"Water conservation really kicked us in the butt," said Goodland, from Redlands, Calif. "Searching for the possible IED wasn't the original mission. We got [intelligence] once we were out there to go check out the possible IED."

The Marines patrolled to the possible IED site and conducted sweeps of the area until the possible IED was found. A cordon was set around the possible IED and a quick reaction force and an explosive ordnance disposal team was sent to eliminate the threat.

"Its pretty hard to find an IED. All of our patrols are foot patrols, and if we don't have solid intelligence then it's basically on us as the foot patrol [to find an IED]," said Sgt. Daniel Yim, 3rd squad leader, Security Platoon, 4th LAR, 28, from Huntington Beach, Calif.

The possible IED turned out to be an actual IED, and was eliminated by the EOD team.

"We take each patrol day by day and after the debrief we see what we can work on and what we can't," said Yim.

"We have to prepare for the worst," said Perez.

Beach time for the War Pigs

A little R and R. USMC PHOTO

War Pigs On the Cover and Autograph Copy of New Dawn

Richard S. Lowery's New Dawn is due out next month but order now and you can get your autographed copy and no shipping charges in the USA. Lowery's website here.

Israel, On Your Six-America

In honor of Israel's 62nd Independence Day, and in light of President Obama's repeated claims that US interests are best served by distancing itself from Israel, Caroline Glick has written an essay,"The strategic foundations of the US-Israel alliance", on the reasons why having Israel on our six is essential for U.S. security.

Today Is Israel's 62nd Year of Independence

Happy Birthday, Israel! Today is your 62 year of Independence.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the day as a "double miracle in the life of the Jewish people".

"The first miracle is the restoration of Jewish sovereignty," Netanyahu said in an Independence Day message.

"The second miracle is what we've done since the establishment of the Jewish state. Israel is fast becoming a regional economic power and one of the world's leading technological powers," he said.

Israel declared statehood on May 14, 1948, a day before the expiry of Britain's United Nations-mandate over historic Palestine. It traditionally celebrates Independence Day according to the Jewish calendar, which this year falls almost a week before May 14.

Earlier in the day, at 11 A.M., a two-minute siren sounded throughout the country to mark Memorial Day, followed by ceremonies at Israel's 43 military cemeteries.

On Tuesday, Independence Day, Defense Ministry museums and military bases will be open from 9 A.M. to 4 P.M. The Israeli air force will conduct flyovers over cities and other sites across the country. A naval demonstration will be held off the coast.

The annual international Bible competition will be held at 3 P.M. in Jerusalem. Among the contestants this year is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's son Avner.

On Tuesday evening, the Israel Prize ceremony will be held in the capital.

During the day Tuesday, Israelis are expected to throng to the country's national parks. The Jewish National Fund will host hikes around the country and activities at the Tel Aviv port. One of the hikes on offer goes from Kibbutz Nirim in the south to the Halutza sands, where new communities are currently being built. Haaretz

Firefights in Marja

Firefight in Marja. Kilo Three Six Marines vs the Taliban including at least one Taliban considered to be a sniper because the bugger actually could figure out how to compensate for windage and elevation close enough to nick one Marine. Not a serious wound.Lance Cpl. Travis Vuocolo was a very lucky man. Check it out. VIDEO AT LINK

4th LAR Causeway Over the Helmand River

Found it. Tks to V & T for covering our six with the link. My so call "trip wires"- set for anything LAR -snoozed. Go figure.

DIVDS

Story by Petty Officer 1st Class Ryan Wilber

Date: 03.16.2010
Posted: 04.03.2010 01:59

HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan -- On March 16, Seabees assigned to Naval Mobile Construction 74, Detail Payne, finished construction of a 300 foot long by 80 foot wide causeway along the Helmand River in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. A causeway such as this one has not been constructed by an NMCB since the 1950's.

The causeway was constructed mainly to assist U.S. Marine's assigned to 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance conducting operations in southern Afghanistan, but ultimately will allow all Coalition forces operating in the area transit across the river in order to fulfill their mission in the southern region. Seasonal rains and flood waters from a nearby dam, which elevates the water, made the project essential to the Marines' mission.

"Due to seasonal rains, South Station was cut off from 4th LAR for approximately two weeks, because the Helmand River was too deep for fording operations and too shallow to conduct rafting operations. The causeway allows vehicles to drive to the middle of the river where the water is deep enough for the Improved Ribbon Bridge raft to pick them up and transport them across the river," said U.S. Marine Corps 2nd Lt. Collin Bell, an engineer for 2d Combat Engineer Battalion.

Operational necessity and increasingly adverse environmental conditions dictated the timeline for the projects completion. According to Petty Officer 1st Class Aaron Nagel, an equipment operator and project supervisor, the causeway was completed in just four days. Even before the causeway was completely finished Marines and Afghani national army soldiers were lined up to utilize the new asset.

"[U.S. Marines and ANA Soldiers] were using the causeway before we even finished building it. That's how important this mission was," said Petty Officer 3rd Class Jared Salvini, an equipment operator and a project crew member.

The contingency project, conducted outside friendly lines, was not undertaken without risk. Operators had to be mindful of the river's height and current while delivering rock and sand, while Soldiers assigned to the 502nd Bridging Unit had to remain vigilant while providing waterborne security for the project against possible enemy fire.

"The challenging part was keeping the Civil Engineer Support Equipment running. Our biggest safety concern was the dump truck flipping over in the river current and someone drowning. We were driving in water that was two to four feet deep while building the base up and had to make sure we maintained a level ground where we were dumping the material," said Nagel.

Successful completion of projects such as this in direct support of the warfighter, prove that modern NMCB's equipped with the latest modular technologies still possess the traditional construction skills and abilities of the legendary "Fighting Seabees" of history. NMCB 74, as well as any NMCB in the Naval Construction Force, will build, will fight, any place, any time.

Causeway Built For 4th LAR Operations AFG

Beaucoup thanks to Valerie and Tommy, (son is with Charlie 4th LAR) for this link

Outside Friendly Lines @ the Sun Herald with pictures, (lots) of our War Pigs carrying the fight in AF. Later, I'll dig thru DVIDs and see if the pictures are there as well and if they are I can post them here without, you know, violating possible copy right etc. Hiako! over to the Sun Herald

Chow Down in Africa

Two LAR War Pig Chef's ready to chow down on their Djibouti dinner. No names were provided for this photo.

Louisiana Back Bayou Bunny Bordelais a la Antoine

Two LAR and 24 hours with the French on, March 9, 2010, in Djibouti learning to survive in the desert without issued rations or water. Two LAR will be operating in Djibouti for one month. photo by Lance Cpl. David J. Beall

Location: Djibouti
Date Shot: 3/9/2010Date Posted: 3/24/2010

One Term Obama-Marie Antoinette's Comment

Queen Marie Antoinette of France, "Let them eat cake"

ABC News reported that

Speaking at a Democratic fundraiser tonight, President Obama touted his administration’s tax cuts and said that the recent tea party rallies across the nation have “amused” him.

“You would think they should be saying thank you,” the president said to applause.

Members of the audience shouted, “Thank you.”

II=

REMEMBER NOVEMBER

Survive in the Desert

U.S. Marines and Sailors attached to 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Platoon, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) spent 24 hours with French army instructors with the 5th Regiment March 9, 2010, in Djibouti learning what it takes to survive in the desert without rations or water. The Marines will be operating in Djibouti for approximately one month. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. David J. Beall/

Working on the War Pigs

Cpl. Bradley R. Spilker, mechanic, Bravo Company, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, unlocks a differential on a War Pig aka light armored vehicle-25 in the Al Anbar province of Iraq, May 18, 2007. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Shane S. Keller)

TWO LAR Snipers

U.S. Marine scout snipers with Scout Sniper Platoon, Headquarters and Support Company, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit teach French foriegn legionnairs about the Squad Automatic Scope Rifle during a combined arms exercise through the mountainous terrain of Djibouti March 13, 2010. The 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit is conducting training in Djibouti. The Marines will be operating in this area for approximately a month. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. David J. Beall/Released)

No MRE's No water for 24 Hours

U.S. Marines and Sailors attached to 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Platoon, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) spent 24 hours with French army instructors with the 5th Regiment March 9, 2010, in Djibouti learning what it takes to survive in the desert without rations or water. The Marines will be operating in Djibouti for approximately one month. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. David J. Beall/Released)

l

TWO LAR-Djibouti

U.S. Marines and Sailors of 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Platoon and Combined Anti Aircraft Teams 1 and 2 conduct a combined arms exercise using their ground forces and air assets during a simulated attack through the mountainous terrain of Djibouti March 13, 2010. The 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit is conducting training in Djibouti. The Marines will be operating in this area for approximately a month. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. David J. Beall/Released)

Show Me the Birth Certificate

LTC Terry Lakin ---refusing all military orders including deployment orders for his second tour of duty to Afghanistan pending release of the president's original 1961 birth certificate attesting to his constitutional legitimacy as a natural born citizen.

SgtMajor Cottle-Bronze Star- Purple Heart

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lapd-funeral14-2010apr14,0,5000347.story

PHOTO GALLERY:
http://www.latimes.com/news/la-me-lapd-funeral-pictures,0,7565607.photogallery

April 14, 2010

During a private service at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, Cottle was posthumously awarded a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star.

Cottle's casket, covered in an American flag, was carried in a horse-drawn carriage from Los Angeles Police Department headquarters to the cathedral, accompanied by law enforcement officers, including Chief Charlie Beck.

Onlookers lined some street corners, watching as the procession passed.

Cottle, 45, was traveling with three other Marines in the Marja region of the country, which has been the focus of an intense U.S.-led offensive against Taliban forces in recent weeks.

Their armored vehicle struck an improvised explosive device, killing Cottle and another Marine reservist and seriously wounding the two others, said LAPD Capt. John Incontro, who oversees SWAT operations.

The procession jammed traffic in downtown Los Angeles, as several major streets were closed and many bus lines were rerouted.

Israel May be Chopped Liver in Obama-Camp but around here Israel is Number ONE, Prime-Choice-Hoo-rah!

PM Netanyahu’s Speech at the Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day Ceremony (April, 11th, 2010)

Tonight, the eve of Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day, we remember our brothers and sisters who were murdered in the death camps, in the forests and in the killing fields. We listen to the voices of the survivors who serve as the voice of the millions who died.

Before their deaths, many of the murdered begged, “Do not forget us. Tell our story – tell the world, tell the following generations – how great our suffering was, how terrible the horror was, how great our sacrifice was.”

We owe the survivors a tremendous debt for their courage to return to life, to establish families, to contribute to building the country, and for their courage to speak out and tell their stories. It is only during the past several years that we have been doing more to help and make things easier for the survivors in their twilight years, and we will continue to do so.

Distinguished guests,

Several months ago, I headed the Israeli delegation to the ceremony marking 65 years since the liberation of the death camps Auschwitz and Birkenau. The candle-lighting ceremony took place outside in front of the monument. It was 15 degrees celsius below zero, but it was still warmer than the terrible winter of 1944-1945 when temperatures ranged from 30 to 35 degrees below zero. We stood for about 30 minutes during the ceremony, well-dressed for the weather, but nevertheless we were freezing. Suddenly I understood a simple, chilling truth about millions of my brothers and sisters who ended up in that cursed place: those who didn’t burn, froze; and those who didn’t freeze were burned.

Several months prior, I had visited the Wannsee Villa in Berlin. When I was there, I saw the original invitation for the meeting of high-level Nazi officials, during which they decided on the destruction of the Jewish people. On the invitation that was sent by the Deputy Head of the SS was written: “The chief of the Reich main security office, Reinhard Heydrich, cordially invites you to a discussion about the Final Solution to the Jewish problem. Breakfast will be served at 09:00”.

This is how, in an elegant villa on the shore of a pastoral lake, over breakfast and glasses of cognac, 15 men sat and decided how to destroy our people. No one batted an eyelid; no one expressed any doubt regarding the mission, either its necessity or its justness. Immediately after the meal, they began their work to erase the seed of Abraham from the Earth.

As I was walking through the villa, moving from document to document, I felt myself becoming filled with helpless rage, and the feeling continued to grow until it became a flood. At the end of the tour, my German host asked me to write something in the guest book. I sat in the chair and the sadness and the anger rose up and started to overflow. And because of the storm of emotions I wrote three words: Am Israel Chai [the People of Israel live].

Tonight at Mount Herzl, I say it again: Am Israel Chai. The people of Israel will continue to live. It re-established its country, gathered its exiles, built its army, settled its homeland and reunited its capital, Jerusalem. “The Land of Israel was the birthplace of the Jewish people.” That is how David Ben-Gurion opened the Declaration of Independence. The State of Israel was born out of the ruins and the ashes, and today it impresses the entire world with the force of its creativity and innovation, with its advanced research and knowledge, with the momentum of its economy and with its free and democratic society.

Within several decades, the State of Israel has become one of the most advanced countries in the world: Israeli products help cure illnesses and feed millions of people; Israeli developments help irrigate fields and orchards on every continent; and Israeli ideas help save energy in every corner of the globe. Israel is a rich source of innovation for the world and is looking to the future.

Nevertheless, today we must ask the question: have the lessons of the Holocaust been learned? I believe that there are three lessons: fortify your strength, teach good deeds and fight evil.

The first lesson – fortify your strength – relates first and foremost to us, the people of Israel who were abandoned and defenseless when faced with waves of murderous hatred that rose against us time after time.

“In every generation there are those who stand against us.” And in this generation we must fortify our strength and independence so that we will be able to prevent the current enemy from carrying out its plan.

Fortifying our strength is the first condition for our existence.

At the end of the day, it is also a necessary condition to expanding the circle of peace with those neighbors who accept our existence.

The second lesson – teach good deeds – means accepting or rather teaching to accept the other and differing opinions. This is the recognition that is the foundation for the Jewish perspective that every man is created in G-d’s image and that every man has full rights to freedom, to life and to choosing his own path.

This is the essence of a free society. This is the basis that would prevent the growth of a Nazi ideology or any other fanatic ideology that preaches genocide and carries it out.

This is what we teach the children of Israel, which is a magnificent country, a beacon of tolerance in a dark and fanatical region.

But, ladies and gentlemen, this teaching of good deeds has a complementary side, and that is the third lesson of the Holocaust: fight evil. It is not enough to simply do good and be tolerant. A free society must ask itself what it will do when faced with the destructive forces of evil that seek to destroy and trample man and his rights.

There is no tolerance without boundaries and the boundary of tolerance must be outlined. And that is the answer that all free countries must define for themselves.

The historic failure of the free societies when faced with the Nazi animal was that they did not stand up against it in time, while there was still a chance to stop it.

And here we are today again witnesses to the fire of the new-old hatred, the hatred of the Jews, that is expressed by organizations and regimes associated with radical Islam, headed by Iran and its proxies.

Iran’s leaders race to develop nuclear weapons and they openly state their desire to destroy Israel. But in the face of these repeated statements to wipe the Jewish state off the face of the Earth, in the best case we hear a weak protest which is also fading away.

The required firm protest is not heard – not a sharp condemnation, not a cry of warning.

The world continues on as usual and there are even those who direct their criticism at us, against Israel.

Today, 65 years after the Holocaust, we must say in all honesty that what is so upsetting is the lack of any kind of opposition. The world gradually accepts Iran’s statements of destruction against Israel and we still do not see the necessary international determination to stop Iran from arming itself.

But if we learned anything from the lessons of the Holocaust it is that we must not remain silent and be deterred in the face of evil.

I call on all enlightened countries to rise up and forcefully and firmly condemn Iran’s destructive intentions and to act with genuine determination to stop it from acquiring nuclear weapons.

These are the three lessons of the Holocaust: fight evil, teach good deeds and fortify your strength.

My friends, where does our strength come from? From our unity, from our heritage, from our common past and future. We treasure our past and forge the path to our future.

We are not here by chance. We returned to this land because it is our land; we returned to Zion because it is our city. We are paving roads north and south, and transforming a barren land into a flourishing garden. This is our answer to those who seek our destruction.

As the prophet Isaiah said:

“Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall be to the Lord for a memorial, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”

The ubiquitous Marine...

The ubiquitous (remember that word--as Obama prepares to surrender/bow to the world dictators-words are power/weapons)"US Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) Marine (AKA instead of a name) assigned to A/Company, 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion (LAR), performs an operational check of his Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver at Camp Pendleton, California (CA), in preparation for mobilization in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM.Photographer's Name: CWO2 B. SEAN FAIRBURN, USMCLocation: CAMP PENDLETON

So Much For Your Black Swan Theory...

From the Conglomerate Blog and Erik Gerding--via the Professor--how's this for over the horizon radar. Ten years before the banking scandal and the so called too big to failure crap hit the fan this was old news for Arthur Wilmarth:

"Transformation of the U.S. Financial Services Industry(2002 U. Ill. L. Rev. 215) article, which I mentioned in that earlier post (we love our banking law in our household), she convinced me that Arthur Wilmarth really deserves wider recognition.

Read this article (it’s long) carefully. Almost everything in it displays an uncanny prescience. Consider just this quote from p. 224:

Doubts about the claimed advantages of universal banks are buttressed by concerns that the creation of large financial conglomerates will intensify the “too big to fail” (TBTF) problem in the financial markets. Over the past two decades, leading banks, securities firms, and life insurers have pursued aggressive lending and securitization programs, as well as speculative underwriting and investment activities in the markets for securities and financial derivatives. As a result of these high-risk activities, large financial institutions have become increasingly vulnerable to disruptions in the capital markets. Moreover, the growing concentration of securities and derivatives activities within a small group of major financial institutions increases the likelihood that the failure of any big institution could create systemic risk and trigger a costly bailout by federal regulators.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Remember this article was published in 2002! "

First Platoon, Alpha 4LAR

1st Platoon, Alpha Company, 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, make final preparations before training begins Sept. 8, 2009, in Twentynine Palms, Calif. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Chief Warrant Officer 2 Keith A. Stevenson

Shopping and Cookin' With the 4th LAR near Combat Outpost Castle

photos Sgt. Shawn Coolman

Lance Cpl. Justin T. McKee, cooks a chicken and lamb purchased at bazaar near Combat Outpost Castle, March 31.

Fresh meat and home delivery. Doesn't get any better than this...not even at your local Safeway. Bet you couldn't get half the service without a hefty tip.

Cpl. Jesse J. Hurtado, speaking through an Afghan interpreter, buys produce from the local bazaar near Combat Outpost Castle, March 31.

An Afghan shopkeeper pushes a lamb from the local bazaar to the entry control point at Combat Outpost Castle, March 31. The 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Marines buy goods from the stores helping the local Afghan economy and improving their quality of life.