Usa Thread

[Flashermac]

Many forget Nixon had a "secret plan" to end the Vietnam war. While campaigning.

What was the "secret" plan?

Anyone?

 

Unilateral withdrawal ... and saying xinh loi to the South Vietnamese

[unit731]

Abrams Tank Pushed By Congress Despite Army's Protests

 

“WASHINGTON -- Built to dominate the enemy in combat, the Army's hulking Abrams tank is proving equally hard to beat in a budget battle.

Lawmakers from both parties have devoted nearly half a billion dollars in taxpayer money over the past two years to build improved versions of the 70-ton Abrams.

But senior Army officials have said repeatedly, "No thanks."

It's the inverse of the federal budget world these days, in which automatic spending cuts are leaving sought-after pet programs struggling or unpaid altogether. Republicans and Democrats for years have fought so bitterly that lawmaking in Washington ground to a near-halt.

Yet in the case of the Abrams tank, there's a bipartisan push to spend an extra $436 million on a weapon the experts explicitly say is not needed.â€

LINK

[Flashermac]

I recall from a couple of decades ago that Congress funded several new ships for the US Navy that the US Navy insisted it did not need nor want.

 

p.s. Chawalit is notorious for having the Thai Army buy Chinese tanks because they were cheaper. Only when they arrived here was it found they were too heavy for the soil and could only be used on paved roads. Great stuff for staging coups though.

[cavanami]

They called the ships, the "Bob Hope" class.

 

Billions of US dollars and the ships mostly never sailed!

 

One story was that the gov official in charge of the contract was taken out on night by the

shipyard for "entertainment" and signed off on the ships BEFORE they were taken out on sea

trials! A big no-no, as the sea trial is the shakedown to get the ship right!

[Steve]

It may sound like a good problem to have if you are the military but those tanks have to be stored somewhere and maintained. You have to find the space and the people to keep it. Its more pain in the ass than its worth. Its like someone forcing you to take a several cars and you are not allowed to sell them. You have a 2 car garage and must find space for them and keep them maintained.

Remember the Romney/Ryan proposal during the campaign of giving the military a trillion dollars? Money the military doesn't need. Again, they have to spend that money and the military saying quietly 'spend it on what?'. The only (or rather main) thing I would actually spend more money on is veteran affairs as well as pay and benefits for current soldiers and vets. Increase help for combat veterans in terms of mental care as well as physical care. Education monies increased as well.

[unit731]

The back of the black jacket stated:

POLICE

HIS

 

That’s a new one for me.

How many “police departments†do we have?

 

Let’s see –

Boston Police

Watertown Police

MA State Police

MBTA – Transit Police

Various SWAT units

FBI

ATF

HIS

Postal Inspectors

IRS - (something)

 

Any more?

 

 

“The ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) directorate is a critical asset in the ICE mission, responsible for investigating a wide range of domestic and international activities arising from the illegal movement of people and goods into, within and out of the United States.

 

HSI investigates immigration crime, human rights violations and human smuggling, smuggling of narcotics, weapons and other types of contraband, financial crimes, cybercrime and export enforcement issues. ICE special agents conduct investigations aimed at protecting critical infrastructure industries that are vulnerable to sabotage, attack or exploitation.

 

In addition to ICE criminal investigations, HSI oversees the agency's international affairs operations and intelligence functions. HSI consists of more than 10,000 employees, consisting of 6,700 special agents, who are assigned to more than 200 cities throughout the U.S. and 47 countries around the world.â€

 

LINK

[Flashermac]

If there had been two 19-year-olds, they'd have had to call in the RCMP, Interpol and the Arizona Rangers.

[Steve]

Hmm

[unit731]

http://youtu.be/xTU2Y0VFH0E

[unit731]

For 10 years?

How could a guy hold 3 young women/girls for up to 10 years in the same residential home?

Were these gals brainwashed? Chained/tied up? Willing participants?

And it appears that one had a baby.

I don’t get it.

 

 

“(CNN) -- Amanda Berry was last seen after finishing her shift at a Burger King in Cleveland in 2003. It was the eve of her 17th birthday.

Georgina "Gina" DeJesus disappeared nearly a year later, in April 2004. She was 14.

Michele Knight vanished in 2002, at age 19, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper.

But all three were found alive in a home in a Cleveland neighborhood Monday night, police announced in a development hailed as a miracle by their families.

"Help me, I am Amanda Berry," the young woman told police in a frantic 911 call from a neighbor's house. "I've been kidnapped, and I've been missing for 10 years. And I'm here, I'm free now."â€

 

 

LINK