I have been following this case since 2003. This is an interesting but tragic story in how espionage blowback has NO statute of limitations. For those of you who want to read the backstory on this, check out A Kidnapping in Milan: The CIA on Trial.-SF An appeals court in Portugal has ruled that…
Author: The Tactical Hermit
Armed Texan and Part-Time Bard.
On This Day in History: The Chernobyl Disaster
On this day, 30 Years Ago, in 1986, the world’s worst nuclear accident to date occurs at the Chernobyl nuclear plant near Kiev in Ukraine. The full toll from this disaster is still being tallied, but experts believe that thousands of people died and as many as 70,000 suffered severe poisoning. In addition, a large…
The Surveillance State: Spy Chief Might Reveal Number of “Accidentally Surveilled”” Americans
“U.S. Persons Caught INCIDENTALLY in Internet Surveillance…” HA!! Where have we heard that before? -SF Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said on Monday his office is considering options to obtain and publicly disclose an estimate of the number of U.S. persons caught incidentally in Internet surveillance intended for foreign targets. “We are looking at…
Military History: Six Astounding 18th Century Rules of War
“Yes, the objective of any general is to defeat the enemy, but that doesn’t mean you should be a boor about it.” Editor’s Introduction THE GENEVA CONVENTION is in the news of late, thanks to Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump. The bombastic billionaire-turned-politician has been taking aim at international lawsgoverning the use of military force, characterizing…
Military History: Dowsett’s War
DOWSETT’S WAR It is a story common to many Australian families – a history of military service that spans generations and decades. It is the story of the soldiers of the Dowsett family of the Bexley-Hurstville area of Sydney, New South Wales and their time serving with the First Australian Imperial Force (1st AIF) in…
Military Weapons From The Past: The Australian F1 Sub-Machine Gun
The weapon with the weird magazine-position lasted 30 years in service The Australian Army first issued the F1 submachine gun to its soldiers in April 1963 to replace the World War II-vintage Owen Gun. Like the earlier Owen, the F1 had a top-mounted magazine — which lent itself to prone-firing and was more comfortable than more-conventional weapons…
World War I History: Gallipoli
With the war along the Western Front at a standstill in early 1915, allied leaders were looking for ways to break the stalemate. Many were worried that the deadlock might be permanent. Lord Kitchener, the British secretary of state for war, reluctantly conceded that operations needed to be established elsewhere. Breaking the Stalemate That “elsewhere,”…
The Surveillance State: Police are Creating Fake Social Media Accounts To Monitor You
Police Create Fake Profiles on Facebook and Attempt to Build Relationships Along With Monitor Your Friends and Events Kristan T. Harris | American Intelligence Report Police departments around the nation have taken predictive crime prevention to a new level by building fake user accounts, as well as posing as genuine people to gather information about local events, Tech.Mic reports….
Texas News: For The First Time Ever FEMA Trains Texas Police How To Deal With Riots, Conduct Mass Arrests
Last summer the state of Texas was ablaze over concerns surrounding the Jade Helm military drills held across the state prompted some to speculate that the Federal government was preparing for either a local insurrection, secession planning contencies for the Lone Star state or even a “Texas takeover.” Similar confusion returned earlier this week when…
Street Smarts: Top “10 Codes” Every CO Should Know
Stores, hospitals, entertainment venues, and other places where the public are together in large numbers, use secret codes to pass information between store employees. These are meant to be a secret as they don’t want to alarm the non-staff members or alert someone (like a thief) to the fact that they have been noticed. Many…