Memorial Day 2018

From Wreaths Across America's Facebook page:

Obama's Inexcusable Response To The Chattanooga Jihad Attack

Eli Arnold is pictured planting a flag outside the Chattanooga National Guard recruitment center targeted by Mohammed Youssef Abdulazeez.

From No explanation by Obama on flags not lowered to half-staff for Chattanooga shootings (dated July 20, 2015):

The White House provided no explanation Monday amid questions over why the president had not ordered flags across the nation to half-staff in the wake of a Chattanooga, Tenn., shooting that killed five servicemembers.

Spokesman Josh Earnest said President Barack Obama offered condolences last week and may speak to veterans at VFW conference Tuesday about the shooting, but he had no further comment.

Obama has issued presidential proclamations that lowered flags at federal facilities and military bases after many mass shootings, including attacks at the Washington Navy Yard, Fort Hood in Texas, and Sandy Hook elementary in Connecticut. The lack of a proclamation following the deaths of four Marines and sailor in a possible terrorist attack Thursday by a 24-year-old Muslim man rankled some and spark online outrage.

“I don’t have more information about the status of the flag over the White House,” Earnest said, responding to a question at a daily briefing Monday with the press....

Read the rest HERE.

Let us remember that Obama ordered the lowering of United States flags when Nelson Mandela died in 2013. But not for five of our servicemen slaughtered right here on our home soil? GRRRRRR!

Related reading: Fallujah-in-Chattanooga by Tammy Swofford.

Concluding portion:

Lance Corporal Skip Wells was a highly trained, professional United States Marine. He was “armed” with a cell phone. He used his “weapon” to text the last known words attributed to him:

ACTIVE SHOOTER

This is the real tragedy. It is the tragedy of an unarmed U.S. Marine.

Read the entire essay HERE.

BREAKING: Multiple Shots Fired In Chattanooga On The Armed Forces Career Center AND Navy Recruitment Center

JUST NOW ON THE NEWS @ 2:22 PM, EDT: FOUR MARINES KILLED!

From Reuters:

There have been shootings at multiple places in Chattanooga, including near a U.S. Army Reserve center and a Navy recruiting center in the Tennessee city on Thursday, and a police officer was hit by gunfire, officials and local media reports said.

There have been several shootings at several different locations," said Tennessee Highway Patrol spokesman John Harmon. "It's a fluid situation," said Harmon, whose agency was helping local authorities.

"We've got an officer down," Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke told reporters, calling it a "very terrible situation."

The U.S. Navy said it was investigating a report of a shooting at a Navy recruiting center in Chattanooga....

An eyewitness, a woman who states that she was 10 feet away from shooter, is saying that she was "a white guy in a silver Mustang." No tags on the car. The shooter was using a "high-powered rifle."

The photo that I'm seeing on CNN is showing at least 18 bullet holes in the doors of the Navy Reserve Recruiting Station, which is in a strip mall.

There is also an unconfirmed report of a man driving a black BMW firing on the other location.

The two sites fired upon are 7.5 miles apart.

CNN's ongoing coverage is HERE.

Addendum 1: Chattanooga Police are Tweeting out that the active shooter situation is resolved. News conference coming in a few minutes.

Addendum 2: According to reports on CNN, the shooter is dead. Buildings still remain on lock down, however.

Addendum 3: Four Marines injured [UPDATE: MARINES KILLED]. Chattanooga City Police officer wounded, but not seriously.

Addendum 4: Lock downs have ended. There are reports that the shooter and/or the police fired 100 rounds and that there was a shootout between the shooter and the police - with the end coming with two shots at the shooter after he fled into the woods of the big park in that part of Chattanooga.

SITUATION STILL FLUID AT THIS TIME (2:25 PM, EDT)

UPDATE, with thanks to Anonymous for tips:

Police sources are saying that the shooter's name was Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez.

From Heavy.com:

He Was a Naturalized U.S. Citizen Originally From Kuwait.

An ISIS-Affiliated Account Tweeted #Chattanooga Just Before the Shooting Occurred Along With a Warning to Americans.

Read the rest HERE.

Furthermore and apparently:

Youssuf Abdullazeez was appointed as a special policeman for the City of Chattanooga Department of Public Works according to this City Council resolution.

Screen shot (Click on the image to enlarge it):

NOTE:

The screen shot may be in error. See Point 3 HERE.

Heavy.com now has this information:

Abdulazeez graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga in 2012, according to posts on his mother’s Facebook page and a resume posted on Indeed.com.

He graduated with a degree in electrical engineering. He worked from April 2009 to April 2010 as an intern with the Tennessee Valley Authority. He also had internships at Mohawk Industries and Global Trade Express.

CBS News incorrectly reported that he was an employee of the city of Chattanooga.

BREAKING: Active Shooter At U.S. Navy Yard

From the Washington Post:

Park Police mobilized after reports of shooter at Navy Yard

U.S. Park Police confirmed that officers responded Thursday to reports of an active shooter at the Washington Navy Yard.

The call came in about 7:40 a.m.

The military installation was the site of a 2013 shooting in which a lone gunman shot and killed 12 workers and injured three others.

Few details were immediately available on the latest incident

Check the live feed at WTOP for updates.

Ebola News 11-4-2014 --- UPDATED

dnaIndia: WHO says big pharma did not develop Ebola vaccine because it affected 'poor' African nations only Nov. 4, 2014 4:49PM IST
*****
Telegraph: Inside a high-security Ebola isolation chamber November 4, 2014 Professor Christophe Rapp, chief of infectious diseases at Hospital Begin in eastern Paris, explains how the Ebola isolation chamber works
*****
BBC: West Africans in NY 'stigmatised' over Ebola fears November 4, 2014
*****
PTInews: World Bank Chief urges Asian health help in Africa
*****
Bloomberg: Ebola Travel Bans buy only time, not safety November 4, 2014
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AsiaOneNews: Asia must do more to help global Ebola fight November 4, 2014
*****
BrisbaneTimes: Ebola: Abbott government relents, will send Australian volunteers to treat victims November 4, 2014 5:23PM
*****
NBCNews: Nose Spray Ebola Vaccine Protects Monkeys November 4, 2014
*****
NewKerala: Inhaled Ebola vaccine could offer long-term protection November 4, 2014
*****
Amid fear of Ebola, travel restricted November 4, 2014 Temple U admin announced it does not support travel to guinea, Liberia or Sierra Leone
*****

Army.mil: Operation United Assistance Soldiers train first class of Ebola treatment unit workers November 4, 2014
*****
Reuters: Ebolacrisis highlights China's philanthropic shortfall November 4, 2014
*****
WSJ: A role for Japan in the fight against Ebola November 3, 2014 Japan's military is uniquely equipped to deal with disaster and humanitarian relief.
*****
St.AugustineRecordNews: After botching Ebola, WHO to pick new Africa bossNovember 4, 2014 12:03AM
*****
YahooNews: Ebola Outbreak may hold lessons for handling samples from MarsNovember 3, 2014
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IBT: Singapore imposes VISA requirements on Ebola-stricken West African nations
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ABS/CBN: Why aren't Chinese billionaires donating to help fight Ebola? 11/04/2014 2:50PM
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NPR: It turns out that fighting polio is good training to fight Ebola (in Nigeria)November 3, 2014 3:20PM ET
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TimesofIndia: Americans want quarantine for Ebola medics November 4, 2014 2:50PM IST
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Chron: Ebola kills Sierra Leone doctor, UN doubles staff November 3, 2014
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LATimes: Fifth doctor dies of Ebola in Sierra Leone November 3, 2014
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Daijiworld: UNICEF to increase staff in Africa to combat Ebola November 4, 2014
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NewsObserver: Duke Patient's first Ebola test negative November 3, 2014
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WaPo: You're more likely to catch Ebola than to receive marijuana-laced Halloween candy November 3,2 014 1:52PM
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CBCNews: Ebola outbreak prompts Canada to deploy more quarantine officers at airports November 3, 2014 2:43PM ET
Canada announces an additional $30.5million to fight Ebola
*****

SeekingAlpha: Ebola risk threatens Randgold Resources (gold mining) in MaliNovember 3, 2014
WHO treating Ebola situation in Mali as emergency
*****
KoreaTimes: World Bank chief asks Korea to help fight Ebola Novembr 4, 2014 17:57
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Reuters: UN's Ban warns against quarantining Ebola health workers Nov. 3, 2014
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Bloomberg: UN charters food ship for Africa as Ebola disrupts supply
November 3, 2014
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PennLive: Ebola: PA monitoring caseload rises 11/03/2014
Pennsylvania health officials as of Monday afternoon were monitoring 135 people for possible Ebola symptoms, an increase of 30 from last week.
*****
Cleveland.com: Ohioians under ebola monitoring dwindles to 52, officials expect to clear all late Monday
November 3, 2014
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ABC6: A dozen travelers being monitored for Ebola in Trenton, (NJ)November 3, 2014
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NewsOK: Ebola travel protocol created for Oklahoma County November 3, 2014
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KansasCityStar: Franken: Ebola victim's widow to get benefits

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NYSun: Rx for dissembling on Ebola is a dose of humility prescribed by the votersNovember 3, 2014

---

UPDATE ---

Guardian: Fresh Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone raises fears of new infection chain 11/4/2014 7:11AM EST
Koinaugu had prided itself on being the only area to have kept Ebola at bay by operating self-imposed quarantine system 

The US Military Waterboards It's Own Troops

It Has Also Been Reported 

The American Military 

Gave Khalid Sheikh Mohammed a Golden Shower

Here's a fact that somehow had completely bypassed my consciousness:

In a discussion on MSNBC's Hardball program about whether the government ought to consider prosecuting people involved in enhanced interrogation techniques used on some terror suspects, former U.S. Rep. 

Duncan Hunter, a Republican from California, argued that the issue really comes down to waterboarding. "And," he said, "waterboarding is not torture." 

In fact, said Hunter, a Vietnam veteran and former candidate for president, "We waterboard, incidentally, hundreds of our own military personnel. They waterboard themselves in training to toughen themselves up." 

He added, "The Geneva Convention .. .was analyzed by the lawyers in place, and they came to the conclusion, especially about waterboarding, because that's the primary thing, that, since we do it to our own soldiers, by the hundreds, incidentally, and it doesn't hurt them, and they — and it makes them tougher, and it doesn't hurt anybody — Khalid Sheikh Mohammed gained weight after he was waterboarded — we decided that, since we do that to our own soldiers in training... we‘re not going to consider that torture. " 

Hunter later challenged host Chris Matthews saying, "But the point is, if we do it, are we torturing American soldiers? You have to answer yes if you consider waterboarding to be torture." 

Matthews said the difference is that U.S. service people know they are in training. They know they aren't going to be killed. "That captured person who is one of our enemies has no idea what we‘re doing when we submit him to water torture." 

Said Hunter: "If we use it with our own soldiers in training, as we do waterboarding, then it should be allowed with people who have killed thousands of Americans."

Now, Politifact says this is slightly misleading. Here's why:

But while the techniques may have been derived from SERE training, a different, more intense brand of waterboarding was used on terror suspects, according to recently released CIA documents. 

According to a May 7, 2004, CIA Inspector General special report on interrogation techniques used on terror suspects, which has some parts redacted, 

"OIG’s (Office of the Inspector General's) review of the videotapes revealed that the waterboard technique employed at (redacted) was different from the technique as described in the DoJ (Department of Justice) opinion and used in the SERE training. The difference was in the manner in which the detainee’s breathing was obstructed. At the SERE School and in the DoJ opinion, the subject’s airflow is disrupted by the firm application of a damp cloth over the air passages; the interrogator applies a small amount of water to the cloth in a controlled manner. By contest, the Agency interrogator (redacted) continuously applied large volumes of water to a cloth that covered the detainee’s mouth and nose. One of the psychologists/interrogators acknowledged that the Agency’s use of the technique differed from that used in SERE training and explained that the Agency’s technique is different because it is 'for real' and is more poignant and convincing." The report also says the CIA's Office of Medical Services has characterized the SERE waterboarding as "so different from the subsequent Agency usage as to make it almost irrelevant." 

The office said its frequency and intensity raised questions about whether it was effective or medically safe. 

So we think Hunter misleads a bit by equating waterboarding in training of military personnel with the technique used on terror suspects. According to the CIA inspector general's report, the technique used on the suspects was more powerful and convincing. 

And in the case of one terror suspect, it was used 183 times, often in rapid succession. So to argue the technique isn't torture because it is used on American servicemen as part of training ignores that it was not used in the same way. 

Still, Hunter is correct that the U.S. military has waterboarded servicemen as part of survival training. And so we rule his statement Mostly True.

Recommended Reading

See The incomprehensible booty for a military deserter by Tammy Swofford, who writes for the Daily Times Pakistan. Excerpt:

Here is the real question. Who benefits from this deal? The United States military does not benefit. This eviscerates morale within the ranks. There are no yellow ribbons tied around the old oak tree, no veterans clamouring to line up and shake Bergdahl’s hand

Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl is in Germany. Rejoice not, America.

A man who deserted his military post in Afghanistan crawled through the bushes into the waiting arms of the enemy. He now emerges from the shadows five years later. The posture he exhibited in the limited-release videos after his capture put the meat on the bone of this matter. Lil’ Bowe preached an anti-West message while filling his belly with a lovely feast. He appeared in a second propaganda video wearing his uniform and practicing karate kicks. The whole thing was surreal and the venue was definitely vaudeville. Lil’ Bowe made a final, brief appearance in a video in which he was not paraded about like prize livestock. The still image from the video is one with which we are all familiar. He looks gaunt, like someone who had fallen out of favour with his captors. When viewing the final video with the stumble-across glimpse of Bowe Bergdahl, I did not feel any sense of empathy. This man is not a kindred spirit. I kept my military oath. Mr Bergdahl walked away from his and toward individuals harbouring intent and will to kill American soldiers and citizens....

Read the rest HERE.

Something About Eric Shinseki

General Shinseki

I do not wish to malign Eric Shinseki.

He served with honor on the battlefield, sustained severe wounds, and eventually attained the rank of four star general.

However, I think that something needs to be brought to light.

From this source (All other sources were scrubbed between 7:00 A.M., May 30, 2014, and 7:00 A.M., May 31, 2014!):

View PostSharkhaywood, on 29 May 2014 - 02:32 PM, said:

The guy has been on the job for 5 years now so it's not like he is brand new to the position. I browsed the guy's Wiki page and he is a very decorated soldier. However, he doesn't have any medical background. It would seem to me that a person with some kind of medical background would be best suited to run the VA. It did also show the following:

Forgotten by many is the fact that much of the problems with infrastructure deterioration and neglect at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, as well as the lack of funding for repairs, occurred initially during Shinseki's tenure as the 34th Army Chief of Staff.

Whistleblowers to the problems were summarily squashed and funding for improvements were routinely and regularly denied. For instance, the problems associated with Building 18 were not new to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center community. As early as 1999 the extensive problems with Building 18 were identified to senior level leadership, and funding for renovations and improvements were denied. Prior to its role housing wounded warriors, Building 18 had long served as the barracks of WRAMC Student Company. Between 1999 and 2001, under the Command of then Captain Michael D. Dake, the Student Company leadership identified the deplorable conditions in and around Building 18 to two Medical Center Brigade Commanders (COL Terry D. Carroll, and COL Larry S. Bolton respectively). By 2002, the requests for funding to improve conditions in and around Building 18 had made it to the attention of Major General Kevin C. Kiley. Kiley, who toured the facility as part of his Commander's in-brief after arriving in June, personally inspected the facility and spoke to the Soldiers and the Leadership. He then also denied funding for improvements. By 2004, renovation of Building 18 had been anticipated in connection with the enhanced use lease of Building 40, but since the post was slated for closure under BRAC in 2005, the anticipated in-kind services by the Building 40 developer did not materialize.

Funding for repairs at Walter Reed never did materialize during Shinseki's tenure as Army Chief of Staff; despite the fact Shinseki's directive to develop and wear the new Black Beret for all service members resulted in such enormous waste that, in one case with a cancelled manufacturing contract with a Chinese national firm, as much as $37.9 million U.S. dollars was lost to contracting errors, unlawful foreign sourcing and import law violations.

I am not suggesting that Eric Shinseki is a corrupt man or a corrupt leader.

What I am suggesting is this: Shinseki was the wrong man to appoint as the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.  He already had a history as a poor manager of allocated funds.

At the beginning of this blog post, I alluded to the scrubbing of information. My statement was one of personal observation. I saw the information with my own eyes! To be clear: on May 30, I read the information cited above about the neglect scandal at Walter Reed Army Medical Center; match the 1999 date of that scandal with the timeline of Shinseki's career.

The evening of May 30, when I was watching the news, not a single television news outlet (not CNN, not MSNBC, not Fox) mentioned the apparent correlation between the scandal and Shinseki's position as Chief of Staff of the Army. I was stunned that nobody referred to the 1999 scandal at Walter Reed. When I arose on Saturday morning and searched the web for the information, I realized what had happened.

The information was scrubbed. Why?

More Military Shootings

Two within 24 hours:

Sailor found dead in Va. at Navy facility barracks

Marine guard shot to death by colleague at NC base

What's going on?

Two Attacks In Less Than 10 Days

Let us remember that this month's attack at Fort Hood is the second attack on a military facility here in the United States in less than 10 days.

On Monday, March 26, there was a killing on the Norfolk Naval Base: Jeffrey Tyrone Savage.  His name wasn't released until Thursday, March 29. No digital footprint found.  That lack of digital footprint seems strange to me — as does the delay in the release of the name.

On Wednesday, April 2, SPC Ivan Lopez killed at least three at Fort Hood.  How much digital footprint do we have on SPC Lopez.

A pattern?

BTW, there was another Ivan Lopez — also military (or former military). See "When A Soldier Brings War Back Home," dated May 26, 2011.

Why Don't We Yet Have The Shooter's Name?

The slain sailor: Master-at-Arms 2nd Class Mark A. Mayo

Are we all aware that THIS happened on Monday, March 24, 2014, on a destoyer at the Norfolk Naval Base in Virginia?

Excerpt from the above link (Note the usual disclaimer about ties to terrorism):

NORFOLK, Va. — The civilian accused of killing a military police officer on a destroyer docked at a naval base here may have gotten on base with federally approved credentials, but he was not authorized to be there, the Navy said Wednesday.

The Navy did not identify the man, who was killed after he overpowered a guard Monday on the USS Mahan, and said the details of his access to Naval Station Norfolk remain under investigation.

"His transportation workers ID card was valid," said Capt. Robert Clark, the base's commanding officer. "He did not have authorization to be on my base."

The investigation, which is ongoing, has not unearthed any links to terrorist groups nor evidence that any attack was planned, said Mario Palomino, special agent in charge at the Naval Criminal Investigative Service Norfolk field office.

Nor have investigators determined a motive, Palomino said. The suspect had no known ties to the ship or anyone on the ship, which has a crew of about 300....

Two people are dead: the sailor pictured at the top of this blog post and the perpetrator.

As of the time of this posting, why we do not have the shooter's name? My first thought: perhaps his digital footprint is being scrubbed before his name is released.

Honor This American Hero

(from Fix Bayonets!)


Woody Williams is the last surviving recipient of the Medal of Honor from one of the most important Pacific campaigns (Iwo Jima). He will celebrate his 90th birthday this year.

Honor this American hero by sending Mr. Williams a card in time for his birthday on 2 October 2013. Please forward the card in time to arrive before that date to:

Woody Williams, Medal of Honor
c/o Gary Alexander
1109 Hillcrest Blvd,
Gainesville, TX 76240

Additional information about Woody Williams HERE.

BREAKING! Headquarters for the Naval Sea Systems Command breached! - TWO SHOOTING LOCATIONS - IT IS ALL BUT CONFIRMED THIS IS A TERRORIST ATTACK

STICKY POST FOR NOW - CONSTANTLY UPDATED AS WE LEARN MORE

Washington Navy Yard. Less than a mile from the U.S. Capitol, I believe.

The Navy Yard is an extremely secure facility! Documents with the highest classification!

This post stuck here for a while so that updates can be added as they occur.

For local coverage that is really on top of developments, go to WUSA.

PASTORIUS UPDATE - This is a Secure Operations building - highly classified - The War Plans are in this building.

FOX NEWS PUT UP A SCROLL A FEW MINUTES AGO, SAYING, "AMBULANCES ARRIVE ON SCENE WITH POLICE ESCORT.

I have never heard of ambulances being given a Police Escort before.

This could mean one of two things,

1) they anticipated terrible traffic problems, so they believe they needed a convoy of Emergency vehicles all with sirens blaring (but frankly, that would just cause even more trouble,

or

2) THEY BELIEVE THIS IS A TERRORIST OPERATION WHICH MAY ROLL OUT IN STAGES, and that a stage might be planned wherein Emergency responders are attacked.

THIS COULD BE THE FIRST STAGE OF JIHADIST ATTACKS IRAN THREATENED US WITH IN RESPONSE TO SYRIA.

RELATED? - This story came out yesterday - FBI WARNS: MUSLIM TERRORISTS PLAN TO ATTACK FUEL STORAGE PLANTS INSIDE U.S.

AOW here....This facility houses the command center for naval operations in the eastern Mediterranean.

4 civilians and one officer shot.

Another man shot very close to one of the Navy Yard's gates @ New Jersey and M.

All flights at DCA (Reagan Washington National) are grounded indefinitely.

11th Street Bridge is closed and being used as triage center.

Streets being closed all over D.C., including those around Capitol Hill.

PASTORIUS - This photograph (picked up from Twitter) seems to indicate the shooter SHOT HIS WAY INTO THE BUILDING.

AOW here....Local news now stating that at least 10 people have been shot.

PASTORIUS -

NBC4 Washington: Four Dead, 12 Shot at D.C. Navy Yard; Active Shooter Still At Large

live feed Washington DC Fire, and EMS Live Audio Feed 

Shooter 'contained'...
3,000 workers told to 'shelter in place'...
NBC: At least 2 cops among victims...
Flights halted out of Reagan airport...
WH: 'Citizens: Listen to the Authorities'...

KRLA LOS ANGELES RADIO: SHOOTER DESCRIBED AS A "BLACK MALE, WITH A BEARD, WEARING A CAP"

MULTIPLE SHOOTERS ARE BEING REPORTED BY SOME SOURCES NOW, INCLUDING THE WASHINGTON POST:

WaPo sticking with three gunmen, according to police spokeswoman

WaPo
One of the shooters is “down,” police said, but two remain in a building on the grounds.

One of the shooters at large is dressed in fatigues. At least one has a long gun, police said.

NBC: Authorities originally believed there was a lone gunman, but sources later confirmed to News4 that the shooting was carried out by at least two gunmen.

USA TODAY - The shooter was described as a black male with a dark complexion, approximately 5'10" to 6 feet tall, 170 pound with a black shirt and black hat. He is believed to be barricaded somewhere and have multiple guns.

PASTORIUS COMMENT - I'm pretty sure the first few people shot were Law Enforcement, as the shooters tried blasting their way into the building. I believe the shooters shot their way in, because of the photograph higher up in this article, which shows people attending to a downed person OUTSIDE the Naval Yard buildings. 

This would indicate that shots were fired BEFORE THE SHOOTERS EVEN ENTERED THE BUILDING, or at the entrance.

IMAGINE WHAT THIS MUST BE LIKE FOR THE POLICE WHO ARE RESPONDING.

D.C. Naval Yard Shooting Thread II: Police Enter Building, More Shots Heard – Update: NBC Says Two Separate Shooting Locations – Update: Reports Say 8 Dead

Report of shots fired at Bolling AFB, couple of miles from Navy Yard

AOW here....Video interview of a few witnesses.  Apparently there were no shots fired at Bolling AFB.  But emergency vehicles did leave the Navy Yard and head down I-95 South.

One shooter dead. 

From ABC News: 

...The shooter is described as a former Navy official in his fifties whose work status was recently changed. His name has not been released.... 

PASTORIOUS CUTTING IN:

CNN forgets Fort Hood: 'I've Never Heard of Such a Thing Happening'... Navy Official 2:00 pm(ish): This is not over Police still say they believe two other shooters may be on the loose. at 2:10 press briefing D.C. police now confirm 12 dead still looking for a white male wearing tan military/navy uniform & beret and a black male 40-50 olive uniform 5'10" about 180 lbs medium complexion gray sideburns FBI taking over in manhunt for these 2 area residents encouraged to stay in

AOW here....One of the potential suspects -- the white man -- has now been ruled out by the police.

Dead suspect now identified as Aaron Alexis of Texas.

Washington Nationals to Play in the Wake of Shooting.   The stadium is just a few scant blocks from the Navy Yard.  UPDATE: Game postponed to tomorrow.

This appears to be Aaron Alexis:



According to the Washington Post:

...The first, sketchy details about the suspect give no hints about what may have gone wrong.

Aaron Alexis, 34, grew up in Brooklyn with his mother, Sarah, and father, Anthony Alexis, according to his aunt Helen Weeks.

“We haven’t seen him for years,” Weeks said of her nephew in a telephone interview. “I know he was in the military. He served abroad. I think he was doing some kind of computer work.”

A 2007 Navy Times feature cites an Aaron Alexis as having graduated from Navy boot camp that year from the Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes, Ill. Its unclear if this is the same Alexis, but the newspaper listed his occupational specialty as an airman recruit. A deleted web profile of an Aaron Alexis listed him as being stationed at Naval Air Station in Fort Worth.

Officials said police theorize that there may be additional shooters because of witness accounts and surveillance video among other information. One of those officials also said all the weapons were not accounted for....

NBC released this photograph of Aaron Alexis:

Victims of mass shooting which killed 13 and injured 32 sue U.S. government over claims military failed to tackle soldiers' radicalisation

From the Daily Mail:

Survivors suing government for allowing Major Hasan to rise through the ranks unchecked because of his ‘ethnicity and his religion’ 

Survivors of the Fort Hood massacre are suing the U.S. government for allowing a jihadist soldier to rise through the ranks unchecked because of ‘political correctness’. 

Major Nidal Hasan, 42, is charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder for after launching an attack at the Texas Army post in November 2009. 

And on the eve of his trial, which is due to get underway on Tuesday, 148 victims and their relatives are launching a legal claim against the government for $750million (£491 million) for failing to prevent the killings from happening.

Click to continue.

Outrage!

See General Dempsey Fires on Own Troops at Fix Bayonets!, Mustang's site. It is unconscionable and inconceivable that such a travesty has occurred!

The essence of winning a war does not involve being careful not to offend the enemy.

Will Romney take Obama to task on this matter during one of the upcoming debates?

The Double-edged Sword

We are engaged in "Saigon in slow motion," as Tammy Swofford opined in Pakistan's Daily Times on August 18, 2012, well before the filmifada.

A taste of the essay:

It is pleasant to consider that the Pentagon remembers the lessons of the past, those learned in Vietnam. It is where the US military first put a ‘win hearts and minds’ paradigm into play. Vietnam was the initial military laboratory for a two-pronged foreign engagement for a regional conflict that sought to beat back communism whilst also making our policies palatable within a distinct cultural setting.

Military planners have also sought the same in Afghanistan...

[...]

As we wind down in Afghanistan, there will not be a defining ‘win’, rather a lot of spin. This may not be Saigon. But it is Saigon in slow motion for the families receiving back their dead, killed in such manner as meted out in Afghanistan.

Read Tammy Swofford's entire essay HERE. Worth your time.

Consider the following video, which aired on September 23, 2012 (Apologies for the commercial that may appear at the beginning):

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

[source]Has American involvement in Islamic countries become the double-edged sword? Stay, we lose? Leave, we lose?

Forcing America Into Dhimmitude

(With thanks to Mustang, who emailed me the links in this post)

Various Muslim organizations, several of which are arms of the Muslim Brotherhood or like groups, sent a letter dated October 19, 2011, to several high-ranking federal officials.

According to Thomas More Law Center, in an entry entitled "Muslim Letter that Prompted the Pentagon to Purge Military Instruction 'Offensive to Islam,'" dated September 20, 2012:

A letter dated October 19, 2011 signed by 57 Muslim organizations, was sent to the White House with copies to other federal officials responsible for national security, including Secretary of the Department of Defense, Leon Panetta. The letter demanded that all training materials that they judge to be offensive to Islam be “purged” and instructors “are effectively disciplined.”

[...]

Following that letter, in April 2012, Army Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Matthew Dooley, a highly decorated combat veteran, was publically condemned by General Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and relieved of his teaching assignment at the Joint Forces Staff College (JFSC). The reason: the negative way Islam was portrayed in his elective course entitled, Perspectives on Islam and Islamic Radicalism.

On May 10, 2012, during a Pentagon press conference with Defense Secretary Panetta seated next to him, General Martin Dempsey expressed negative opinions regarding the Perspectives on Islam and Islamic Radicalism course, characterizing it as "totally objectionable" and "against our values." General Dempsey personally committed to removing any similar curriculum from military professional education within the JFSC and elsewhere....

I urge you to read the entire letter for yourself at THIS LINK.

We as individuals can scream, "I will not submit," until our faces turn blue and our voices are hoarse. But if our government and our military submit in the fashion described in the above link, we are done for with regard to preserving the American ideals of liberty.

"Anarchist Militia" Embedded in The U.S. Military Plots To Assassinate Barack Obama and Overthrow the U.S. Government, and This Is NOT The Biggest Story Of the Day?

From the Oklahoman:

Prosecutor: Ga. murder case uncovers terror plot 

Pauley said Aguigui funded the militia using $500,000 in insurance and benefit payments from the death of his pregnant wife a year ago. Aguigui was not charged in his wife's death, but Pauley told the judge her death was "highly suspicious." 

She said Aguigui used the money to buy $87,000 worth of semiautomatic assault rifles, other guns and bomb components that were recovered from the accused soldiers' homes and from a storage locker. He also used the insurance payments to buy land for his militia group in Washington state, Pauley said. 

In a videotaped interview with military investigators, Pauley said, Aguigui called himself "the nicest cold-blooded murderer you will ever meet." He used the Army to recruit militia members, who wore distinctive tattoos that resemble an anarchy symbol, she said. Prosecutors say they have no idea how many members belong to the group. 

"All members of the group were on active-duty or were former members of the military," Pauley said. "He targeted soldiers who were in trouble or disillusioned." 

The prosecutor said the militia group had big plans. It plotted to take over Fort Stewart by seizing its ammunition control point and talked of bombing the Forsyth Park fountain in nearby Savannah, she said. In Washington state, she added, the group plotted to bomb a dam and poison the state's apple crop. Ultimately, prosecutors said, the militia's goal was to overthrow the government and assassinate the president.

Ace of Spades comments:

"Anarchist"? It's an old trick of the media to call Neo-Nazis "right-wing" but then simply call left-wingers what they identify themselves as. "Anarchists," for example. 

Now, I initially thought these guys had to be right-wing (or what the media terms "right-wing") because I could not imagine a left-wing motive here. 

But a commenter points out the left wing is extremely angry about poor Bradley Manning, America's Pluckiest Little Traitor. 

So I guess that is an open possibility, and would explain the media not immediately calling these guys "rightwing." 

I do find that very suspicious. I find it suspicious that this isn't the biggest story in the media. If it's not, there must be a reason the media is in "let's be restrained here" mode.

Do We Have The Name Of The Shooter?

The shooting occurred at Fort Bragg on Thursday, June 28:

A U.S. Army battalion commander was killed by a fellow soldier on Thursday in a shooting incident at Fort Bragg, N.C. The alleged gunman then shot himself and is in custody; a third soldier was slightly injured in the shooting.

An Army statement said the shooting victim belonged to the 525th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade. A battalion is a subordinate command within a brigade and is commanded by a lieutenant colonel. The battalion involved in today’s shooting has not been identified.

A Defense official told ABC News that the shooting occurred this afternoon as the battalion was gathered for a safety briefing in advance of the upcoming July 4 weekend.

The safety briefings are usually held by commanders to reinforce good patterns of behavior during holiday periods.

The official says that at some point during the safety briefing an enlisted soldier broke out of formation and pulled a handgun to shoot the battalion commander. Another soldier was slightly injured during the shooting. The gunman then shot himself. He was taken into custody and is listed as being in serious condition....

REMEMBERING PEARL HARBOR

Even though 70 years have passed since December 7, 1941, interment services continue in Honolulu:

Pearl Harbor:Final Wishes from Andrew Breese on Vimeo.