Random News and Notes 26 July
On this date in 1775 the Second Continental Congress established the Postal Service. Benjamin Franklin was named the first Postmaster General. Franklin held the job until late in 1776, when he was sent to France as a diplomat. He left a vastly improved mail system, with routes from Florida to Maine and regular service between the colonies and Britain.
On this date in 1908, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is born when U.S. Attorney General Charles Bonaparte orders a group of newly hired federal investigators to report to Chief Examiner Stanley W. Finch of the Department of Justice. One year later, the Office of the Chief Examiner was renamed the Bureau of Investigation, and in 1935 it became the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
President Harry S. Truman signs the National Security Act on this date in 1947. The Act had three main parts. First, it streamlined and unified the nation’s military establishment by bringing together the Navy Department and War Department and establishing the Department of the Air Force all under a new Department of Defense. The DoD would facilitate control and utilization of the nation’s growing military. Second, the act established the National Security Council (NSC). Based in the White House, the NSC was supposed to serve as a coordinating agency, sifting through the increasing flow of diplomatic and intelligence information in order to provide the president with brief but detailed reports. Finally, the act set up the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The CIA replaced the Central Intelligence Group, which had been established in 1946 to coordinate the intelligence-gathering activities of the various military branches and the Department of State.
The Suez Crisis begins when Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalizes the British and French-owned Suez Canal on this date in 1956. The Suez Canal, which connects the Mediterranean and Red Seas across Egypt, was completed by French engineers in 1869. For the next 87 years, it remained largely under British and French control, and Europe depended on it as an inexpensive shipping route for oil from the Middle East. Nasser nationalized the canal, hoping to charge tolls that would pay for construction of a massive dam on the Nile River.
We start the news in Berlin where there was yet another vehicle attack. The suspect, who is still at large, drove a van into the Christopher Street fest – a gay pride event – in Berlin’s Tiergarten. The Saturday evening attack killed one woman and injured at least 29 others, some critically, before the driver fled on foot. German authorities identified 21-year-old Abdul Ballout, a German citizen of Lebanese descent with Islamist ties, as the prime suspect and launched a nationwide manhunt.
Ol’ Abdul was well known by German authorities. He was involved in a previous mass casualty plot and ran back to Lebanon before being arrested by the Krauts. Being Germans, the BKA had him arrested in Lebanon and brought back to Germany. It seems the suicidal empaths there thought some re-education would cure Abdul of his murderous Jihadi bent.
As far as I’m concerned there is only on cure for Jihadism – a bullet.
Our next item takes us to the land of the Aloha spirit where an Oahu grand jury indicted Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke on 12 counts including bribery and falsifying reports, tied to a 2022 pay-to-play scheme for a $7 million COVID testing contract. Prosecutors allege she accepted $70,000 from lobbyist Tobi Solidum, with half paid that night in exchange for her influence as Hawaii House Finance chair, while four others—former state Rep. Ryan Yamane, Ford Fuchigami, Leo Asunción Jr., and Solidum—face related charges.
And Aloha means goodbye. . . .
I realize I made comments about this when I saw the announcement yesterday, but the news is too good not to share here. The Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) has announced they will be selling a limited run of surplus M-14 rifles. The rifles will be modified to make them semi-auto only.
There are no details about the timing or pricing so far. When I know you’ll know. If you are interested in purchasing a surplus rifle from the CMP, there are eligibility requirements. You can find them here.
You may see reports saying the US is running out of interceptor missiles for systems like THAAD and PATRIOT and that ground commanders are having to pick and choose which incoming they shoot down. Those reports like the anonymously sourced report from NBC that says military leaders now allow select Iranian missiles and drones to hit non-critical targets like runways and fuel depots, prioritizing protection for American personnel.
Are we using a bunch of those interceptors? Yes, but. The current stockpile is more than enough. As to the selective targeting thing, that is standard practice for ADA units. The point of impact for ballistic missiles can be determined within seconds of launch. If the missile is going to hit something, they shoot it down. If it is going to impact an empty field or a remote taxiway, they don’t. This isn’t new and it isn’t something military leaders ‘allow’, it is doctrine.
Additionally, whoever the anon sources are, they need to be prosecuted. This is giving aid and comfort to the enemy.