Bismarck Speaks!

Literally... The only known recording of Otto von Bismarck's voice has been discovered on a forgotten wax cylinder.

This is absolutely amazing. Audio archeologists have uncovered a wax cylinder phonograph record that bears a lost vocal recording of Prussian statesman Otto von Bismarck.

This cylinders was discovered in 1957 inside Thomas Edison's lab — next to a cot where Edison would nap — but the recording languished unlabeled until last year, when researchers at the Thomas Edison National Historical Park determined that a group of unmarked cylinders contained the voices of 19th-century German political figures like Bismarck and famed strategist Helmuth von Moltke.

h/t SFG!

By: Brant

GameTalk - Cyber Warfare

How the hell do you model cyber warfare?!


Your digits below!

By: Brant

Laser-guided Bullets

You can run but you can't hide from this self-guided bullet...as long as the target is painted by a laser designator.

U.S. researchers have developed a self-guided bullet. The 10 cm, dart-like bullet can hit laser-designated targets more than 1.6 km away. It includes an optical sensor in the nose to detect a laser beam on a target, and instead of spinning when it comes out of the barrel like other bullets, this one flies straight with the help of fins. Models show the design of the bullet would result in dramatic improvements in accuracy.

The two engineers behind the bullet — Red Jones and Brian Kast, who work in a lab owned by a Lockheed Martin — are based in Albuquerque, N.M., and are both hunters. They are now seeking a private partner to complete testing of the prototype and begin selling it.

"We have a very promising technology to guide small projectiles that could be fully developed inexpensively and rapidly," Jones said. He noted accuracy also improves at longer ranges.

"Nobody had ever seen that, but we've got high-speed video photography that shows that it's true," Jones said. He also noted that while larger guided missiles are slow to respond to flight-path corrections, the bullet allows up to 30 changes per second.

"That means we can overcorrect, so we don't have to be as precise each time," Jones said.

The researchers said potential customers could include the military, law enforcement and recreational shooters.

Pity the varmints (4 legged and 2 legged) if this invention comes to market!

By: Shelldrake

A Royal Mess Over the Falklands

You gotta love it when the Argies - who invaded sovereign British territory - call someone else a "conquistador".

Argentina said it doesn't seek another war over the Falkland Islands, and accused Britain of militarizing their sovereignty dispute by announcing Tuesday that it is sending an advanced warship to the islands along with Prince William "in the uniform of a conquistador."
The assignment of Prince William, a Royal Air Force helicopter pilot, for a six-week military mission in the Falklands in February and March has been a sore point for Argentina. It has sought to reclaim the South Atlantic archipelago that it calls the Malvinas Islands ever since Britain seized the islands some 180 years ago.
Both countries have engaged in a war of words in recent weeks ahead of the 30th anniversary of Argentina's failed attempt to take the islands back. Its invasion ended with more than 600 Argentine soldiers killed and 200 British dead in an international humiliation for Argentina's military junta.

You know, I always wondered why the Argies Spanish instead of some local native dialect. Oh yeah, that's right - because their country was, y'know, organized by Conquistadors. Those bastards.

By: Brant

Taliban Planning Victory Parades

OK, maybe not just yet, but after years of missing opportunities to do something worthwhile about Afghanistan - like leveling it with a bulldozer - NATO is ready to pull pitch, and the Taliban may be "poised to retake Afghanistan" when that happens.

The U.S. military said in a secret report the Taliban, backed by Pakistan, are set to retake control of Afghanistan after NATO-led forces withdraw from the country, raising the prospect of a major failure of western policy after a costly war.
Lieutenant Colonel Jimmie Cummings, a spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, confirmed the existence of the document, reported by Britain's Times newspaper and the BBC. But he said it was not a strategic study.
"The classified document in question is a compilation of Taliban detainee opinions," he said. "It's not an analysis, nor is it meant to be considered an analysis."
Nevertheless, it could be interpreted as a damning assessment of the war, now dragging into its eleventh year and aimed at blocking a Taliban return to power.
It could also be seen as an admission of defeat and could reinforce the view of Taliban hardliners that they should not negotiate with the United States and President Hamid Karzai's unpopular government while in a position of strength.
The U.S. military said in the document Pakistan's powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) security agency was assisting the Taliban in directing attacks against foreign forces.
The allegation drew a strong response from Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Basit. "This is frivolous, to put it mildly," he told Reuters. "We are committed to non-interference in Afghanistan."

I love the line of bullshit from the Paks. "Non-interference" eh, ass-clown? We've known for years that the Paks were undercutting efforts in Afghanistan. They ambushed a US/Afghan delegation to peace talks. And the ISI has claimed for years to be the protectors of the Taliban.

By: Brant

ISAF Placemat JAN 2012

It was just released in the last 2 days or so, even thought it's dated 6 January. Probably had to go through a vetting process, eh?

As always, click to enlarge the pics.

By: Brant

Anniversary: Tet Offensive

This week marks the anniversary of the Tet Offensive

The Tet Offensive was a military campaign during the Vietnam War that began on January 31, 1968. Forces of the National Liberation Front for South Vietnam (Viet Cong), and the People's Army of Vietnam (the North Vietnamese army), fought against the forces of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam), the United States, and their allies. The purpose of the offensive was to strike military and civilian command and control centers throughout South Vietnam and to spark a general uprising among the population that would then topple the Saigon government, thus ending the war in a single blow.[9]
The operations are referred to as the Tet Offensive because they began during the early morning hours of 31 January 1968, Tết Nguyên Đán, the first day of the year on a traditional lunar calendar and the most important Vietnamese holiday. Both North and South Vietnam announced on national radio broadcasts that there would be a two-day cease-fire during the holiday. In Vietnamese, the offensive is called Cuộc Tổng tiến công và nổi dậy ("General Offensive and Uprising"), or Tết Mậu Thân (Tet, year of the monkey).
The NLF launched a wave of attacks on the morning of 31 January in the I and II Corps Tactical Zones of South Vietnam. This early attack did not, however, cause undue alarm or lead to widespread defensive measures. When the main NLF operation began the next morning, the offensive was countrywide in scope and well coordinated, with more than 80,000 communist troops striking more than 100 towns and cities, including 36 of 44 provincial capitals, five of the six autonomous cities, 72 of 245 district towns, and the southern capital.[10] The offensive was the largest military operation yet conducted by either side up to that point in the war.
The initial attacks stunned the US and South Vietnamese armies and took them by surprise, but most were quickly contained and beaten back, inflicting massive casualties on communist forces. During the Battle of Hue intense fighting lasted for a month and the NLF executed thousands of residents in the Massacre at Huế. Around the US combat base at Khe Sanh fighting continued for two more months. Although the offensive was a military defeat for the communists, it had a profound effect on the US government and shocked the American public, which had been led to believe by its political and military leaders that the communists were, due to previous defeats, incapable of launching such a massive effort.
The term "Tet offensive" usually refers to the January-February 1968 NLF offensive, but it can also include the so-called "mini-Tet" offensives that took place in May and August.

What's the most iconic Tet Offensive image to you? Thoughts/links below!

By: Brant

Sound Off! Comments On Sounding Off!

So we've got 52 of these-here "Sound Off!" thingees under our belt now.
What do y'all think? Do we keep "Sound Off!" going? Or is it time to punt it for something else new?

I like it! I love it! I want more of it!

It's old! It's tired! It's time to be retired!

Sound off below!

By: Brant

USAction! Khowst Province

U.S. Army Pfc. Tyler Jennings conducts a combat patrol in Khowst province, Afghanistan, Jan. 25, 2012. Jennings is a cannon crew member assigned to 2nd Battalion, 377th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Jason Epperson - Download Hi-Res

By: Brant

UK In Action: Helicopter Traffic

Photograph shows Royal Air Force Chinook Mk2 helicopters from 1310 Flight taking off from Camp Bastion airfield in Helmand, Afghanistan. The Joint Helicopter Force (AFGHANISTAN) or JHF (A) is a deployed tri-Service unit from the Joint Helicopter Command. Its primary purpose is to facilitate tactical mobility, reconnaissance and Aviation Fires support to the UK task force in Helmand Province and to the multi-national force of Regional Command (South).

img from UK MoD

By: Widow 6-7

Monday Video: Are You Ready?

The Germans are ready, in this week's BANG



By: Brant

Syrian Fighting to Eject Rebels from Suburbs of the Capital

The Syrians are fighting to retake the eastern 'burbs of Damascus from the anti-government rebels that have been there for a few weeks.

Thousands of Syrian soldiers moved into the suburbs of Damascus that have fallen under rebel control on Sunday, killing five civilians, activists said, a day after the Arab League suspended its monitoring mission in Syria because of mounting violence.
Around 2,000 soldiers in buses and armored personnel carriers, along with at least 50 tanks and armored vehicles, moved at dawn into the eastern Ghouta area on the edge of Damascus to reinforce troops surrounding the suburbs of Saqba, Hammouriya and Kfar Batna, activists said.
The army pushed into the heart of Kfar Batna and four tanks were in its central square, they said.
"Mosques that have turned into field hospitals are requesting blood. They cut off the electricity. Petrol stations are empty and the army is preventing people from leaving to get fuel for generators or heating," said Raid, an activist in Saqba who spoke briefly by satellite phone.
The deaths brought to 17 the number of people killed in the suburbs since Saturday when the army launched an offensive against rebels who seized them last week, activists and residents said.

View Larger Map


By: Brant

Pakistan Undercutting Themselves on OBL

The BBC has an interesting report on a Pakistani doctor who provided intel in the OBL raid.

US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has said he is "very concerned" about a Pakistani doctor arrested for providing intelligence for the US raid that killed Osama Bin Laden last year.

Dr Shikal Afridi is accused of running a CIA-run programme in Abbottabad where Bin Laden was killed. A Pakistan panel says he should be tried for treason.

Mr Panetta told the CBS TV network the arrest had been "a real mistake".

Dr Afridi provided "very helpful" information for the raid, he added.

He was arrested shortly after the operation, carried out by US special forces in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad on 2 May last year.

Pakistan was deeply embarrassed by the raid, and condemned it as a violation of sovereignty.

Tried for treason, eh? "Treason" is usually reserved for those who take up arms against the state, or are directly involved in actively damaging the state. If Pakistan is saying that giving up info in OBL is treason, then are they saying he was somehow a representative of the state of Pakistan? And if that's their argument, why aren't we bombing the shit out of them?

By: Brant

Random Friday Wargaming: Weapons of Mass Destruction

Getting a little goofy this week... Flying Buffalo's Weapons of Mass Destruction is a stand-alone expansion for their infamous Nuclear War.





There's no CSW forum out there, but you can pick up your own copy over at Flying Buffalo's site.

Master links/images from Boardgamegeek.com; message boards linked to Consimworld. Other links to the actual game pages...


By: Brant

UK In Action: Household Cavalry

Soldiers from the Royal Household Cavalry Regiment man a check point on a busy stretch of road in Helmand Province Afghanistan. One soldier waits to stop on coming traffic while he is covered by members of his unit in a Jackal, Mobility Weapon-Mounted Installation Kit. This image was a winner in the Army's Photographic Competition 2011.

img from UK MoD

By: Widow 6-7

GameTalk - Insurgents and Guerillas

How do you model the propaganda value of a tactical defeat? How can you leverage tactical/operational actions to influence your reinforcement schedule for the next 10 turns? What are some systems that tie insurgent recruiting to game-board actions and propaganda/political victories to actions on the battlefield?


Your thoughts below!

By: Brant

US Raid in Somalia Rescues 2 Hostages

A night time raid in Somalia has successfully freed 2 hostages.

U.S. Special Forces troops flew into Somalia on a nighttime helicopter raid early Wednesday, freed an American and a Danish hostage and killed nine of the kidnappers in a mission that President Barack Obama said he personally authorized.
The Danish Refugee Council confirmed that the two aid workers, American Jessica Buchanan and Dane Poul Hagen Thisted, were freed and "are on their way to be reunited with their families."
The raiders came in very quickly, catching the guards as they were sleeping after having chewed the narcotic leaf qat for much of the evening, a pirate who gave his name as Bile Hussein told The Associated Press by phone. Hussein said he was not present at the site but had spoken with other pirates who were, and that they told him nine pirates had been killed in the raid and three were missing.
A second pirate who gave his name as Ahmed Hashi said two helicopters attacked at about 2 a.m. about 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of the Somali town of Adado where the hostages were being held.

Woot!

UPDATE:
Here's Secretary Panetta's statement on the raid.

Last night U.S. Special Operations Forces conducted, by order of the President of the United States, a successful mission in Somalia to rescue two individuals taken hostage on October 25, 2011. Ms. Jessica Buchanan, an American citizen employed by the Danish Demining Group, and her Danish colleague, Mr. Poul Thisted, were kidnapped at gunpoint by criminal suspects near Galcayo, Somalia.

Ms. Buchanan and Mr. Thisted have been transported to a safe location where we will evaluate their health and make arrangements for them to return home.

This successful hostage rescue, undertaken in a hostile environment, is a testament to the superb skills of courageous service members who risked their lives to save others. I applaud their efforts, and I am pleased that Ms. Buchanan and Mr. Thisted were not harmed during the operation. This mission demonstrates our military's commitment to the safety of our fellow citizens wherever they may be around the world.

I am grateful to report that there was no loss of life or injuries to our personnel.

I express my deepest gratitude to all the military and civilian men and women who supported this operation. This was a team effort and required close coordination, especially between the Department of Defense and our colleagues in the Federal Bureau of Investigation. They are heroes and continue to inspire all of us by their bravery and service to our nation.

By: Brant

Covert UK Ops on the Ground in Libya

Mark Urban (no known relation to Keith) has a great article about the UK's covert actions on the ground during the overthrow of the Gaddafi regime.

The first significant involvement of British forces inside Libya was a rescue mission mounted just a couple of weeks after the rising against Gaddafi broke out. On 3 March, Royal Air Force C130 aircraft were sent to a desert airstrip at Zilla in the south of the country to rescue expatriate oil workers. Many had been threatened by gunmen and bandits.

This airlift of 150 foreigners, including about 20 Britons, to Valletta airport in Malta went smoothly, despite one of the aircraft being hit by ground fire soon after taking off.

Accompanying the flights were about two dozen men from C Squadron of the Special Boat Service (SBS), who helped secure the landing zone. It was a short-term and discreet intervention that saved the workers from risk of abduction or murder, and caused little debate in Whitehall.

OK, so not bad. But after another debacle (read the article - amazing these guys dorked up that bad) the straightjacket went on the ROE.

When half a dozen British officers arrived at a seaside hotel in Benghazi at the beginning of April, they were unarmed and their role was strictly limited. They had been told to help the NTC set up a nascent defence ministry, located in a commandeered factory on the outskirts of the city.

The first and most basic task of the advisory team was to get the various bands of Libyan fighters roaring around in armed pick-up trucks under some sort of central co-ordination. As reporters had discovered, most of these men had little idea of what they were doing, and soon panicked if they thought Col Gaddafi's forces were attacking or outflanking them.

There were a number of legal issues preventing them giving more help. Some Whitehall lawyers argued that any type of presence on the ground was problematic. Legal doubts were raised about arming the NTC or targeting Col Gaddafi.

Once the air operation was put on a proper Nato footing, these issues became even more vexed, insiders say, with the alliance saying it would not accept men on the ground "directing air strikes" in a way that some newspapers, even in late spring, were speculating was already happening.

The British government's desire to achieve the overthrow of Gaddafi while accommodating the legal sensitivities registered by various Whitehall departments led to some frustration among those who were meant to make the policy work.

This is the kind of news story you can see growing into a complete book, and an interesting one at that.

By: Brant

Sound Off! 4X Gaming

4X games can be incredibly addictive. What are your favorites? Sound of below!

By: Brant

Dealing With Shit in Afghanistan

Literally.

oh, and a follow-up


By: Brant