Contrary to popular belief, Mercenaries are the “Silent Majority” in Obama’s Military, and the president’s “light footprint” approach to war has relied on thousands of Americans paid to fight — and die — in the shadows. Last weekend, the New York Times published one of what will be many takes on President Barack Obama’s legacy…
Guerilla Warfare History: Pictorial History of the IRA and “The Troubles”
From 1968 to 1998, Northern Ireland was the battleground of a guerrilla war known as The Troubles. On one side was the Protestant majority called the Unionists, who wanted Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom. On the other side were the Nationalists, a Catholic minority who sought to become part of the…
Ancient History: 10 Recent Discoveries
Not very long ago, the common consensus was that “civilization” developed slowly in Europe. Outside of the Mediterranean civilizations of Greece and Italy, ancient Europe was a backwater full of barbaric tribesmen who mostly lived in hut-like dwellings. Most laymen and many historians would say that compared to Sumer, Babylon, China, Egypt, and the Indus…
Modern Texas History: The Worst Industrial Disaster in U.S. History
The deadliest industrial disaster in U.S. history occurred on April 16, 1947, in Texas City, Texas. When the French ship SS Grandcamp exploded, a thousand buildings were destroyed and hundreds of people were killed. Among the dead were half the firefighters in the Texas City Fire Department. All of their firefighting equipment was destroyed, too,…
Military Defense News: Latest Insights Into Chinese Military Tech
It’s that time of year again, and the end of an era. On Friday, the Obama Administration released the last annual Pentagon China report under its watch. Working the China military observers’ graveyard shift this weekend, I published analyses of the report’s overall content, and its key omissions — namely, any mention whatsoever of China’s maritime…
Modern Crime: The Weird Tale of A Fake Bomb and a Would-Be-Terrorist
Ever since The ATF pulled off their now infamous debacle called “Fast and Furious” resulting in (among other things) a Border Patrol agents death, I have been extremely skeptical of any Local, State or Federal Law Enforcement operation that willingly puts WEAPONS into the hands of criminals and/or terrorist for the express intent of “following…
Curio and Relic Firearms Book Review: M91/30 Rifles & M38/M44 Carbines in 1941-1945
The full title is actually (deep breath) M91/30 Rifles and M38/M44 Carbines in 1941-1945: Accessories and Devices – History of Production, Development, and Maintenance, by Alexander Yuschenko and translated into English by Ryan Elliot. I saw this book mentioned a few weeks ago on a firearms discussion board, and figured I ought to get a copy,…
Surveillance State: Inside The NSA’s Real-Time Regional Gateway (RT-RG)
It is a very common trend to see “Counter-Terrorism” programs and technology that were once used to save American Military and Civilian lives in war get re-directed to spy on American citizens in Peace time. This is something to keep in mind with this program. -SF Relentless attacks on American military personnel at the height…
Prepping: Creating a Collapse Supply List
I don’t do a lot of prepping articles because to be honest, most of it is common sense type stuff. Blame it on me being raised in the south and having a really “hands on” child hood I guess, but alot of what most people consider “prepping” I did when I was 12 years old…
Surveillance State: Big Brother Is Out In The Open Now
Perusing through the day’s emails, I came across this article. Since it dealt with Intelligence, I quickly scanned it to see if anything interested me. About half-way down my mouth flew open. This suddenly went from a benign article about Intelligence Protection and Cutting Government Cost and Improving Efficiency to an article about Government Surveillance…