WHAT IS STORMBRINGER?

I've been on the road a LOT, at least 50% of the past two-and-a-half years, to all the garden spots: Nigeria, Ethiopia, Dem. Rep. of the Congo, Pakistan, El Salvador (OK that wasn't so bad), Israel (THAT was a fun trip!), Bangladesh, South Africa, South Sudan, Kenya, Mali and East Timor. Work has interfered with writing, which is my main thing - or at least, I wish I could make it my main thing. Time for a realignment of the aiming stakes. If you're a new visitor to Blog STORMBRINGER, this is what it's all about. If you have seen it before, consider this refresher training. Cheers, and thank you for your support! -S.L.

STORMBRINGER is a military blog, primarily dedicated to honoring heroes of the great US / UK / ANZAC / CANADA / ISRAEL Alliance in this conflict forced upon us by the Evildoers of Islamic Fundamentalism. Themes include reports on international security, great battles and notable events of military history, the greatness of Ancient Greece and Rome (and how the civilization of Ancient Rome still exists and prevails), the story of United States Army Special Forces (the Green Berets) and of course from time to time bits of my personal philosophy; inspired by Aristotle, Cicero, Atilla the Hun, John Locke, Benjamin Franklin, the Duke of Wellington, Winston Churchill, Ayn Rand and Rush Limbaugh, to name a few.

An essential ingredient of my personal philosophy - a.k.a. The Philosophy of STORMBRINGERISM - is what Ayn Rand refers to as laizee-faire capitalism. The phrase laissez-faire (pronounced: lah-zay-fair) is French and literally means "let do", but it broadly implies "let it be", or "leave it alone." In economics, laissez-faire describes an environment in which transactions between private parties are free from state intervention, including restrictive regulations, taxes, tariffs and enforced monopolies.

Also from Ayn Rand, I embrace the concept of Human Exceptionalism; the belief that human beings have special status in nature based on their unique capacities. This belief is the grounding for some naturalistic concepts of human rights. Taking it a step further, Rush Limbaugh describes the philosophy of American Exceptionalism: the theory that the United States is qualitatively different from other nations. This stems from our emergence from a revolution, and the uniquely American ideology, based on liberty, egalitarianism, individualism, populism and laissez-faire. This observation is traced to Alexis de Tocqueville, the first writer to describe the United States as "exceptional."

STORMBRINGERISM is also about the Cult of the 1911 and the individuals right to self-defense - up to and including lethal force - is a justifiable defense in a court of law:

Pistol US M1911 .45ACP

But, you say, how does this include the Great Alliance; our worthy allies the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Israel?

Simple: the American experience would not have been if the foundations of Democracy had not been laid in Britain, and before that in Ancient Rome, and before that Ancient Greece. In that, the UK is the Mother Country - has been and always will be - and by default this makes Canada, Australia and New Zealand our brothers and sisters.

But . . . but . . . what about tiny (yet MIGHTY) Israel?

Israel is the oldest country, and at the same time the youngest. The ancient Egyptian Empire and civilization has come and gone . . .

Nobody speaks in hieroglyphics anymore.

. . . and the people who built the pyramids are not the same folks who live in Egypt today. Likewise Babylon . . .

Nobody speaks in cuneiform anymore.

. . . it is gone, ground into the dust, even less of it left than in Egypt. There is still a Syria, but the ancient Assyrian Empire is dead and gone and it's people flung far and wide across the globe in diaspora.

Of these ancient kingdoms and empires of the Old Testament, only Israel remains, the smallest - yet most powerful - of all the countries of the Middle East.

The oldest country in the Middle East is also the only modern democracy in the Middle East.

Modern Israel exists because of Britain and the United States - if it was up to the rest of Europe and the Middle East there wouldn't even be anybody left to occupy a State of Israel. The Islamists - al Qaeda, the Muslim Brotherhood, the Mullah-led theocracy of Iran - view Israel as a Western foothold in their territory, much like the Crusader Kingdoms a thousand years ago. They - the radicals who have hijacked Islam - consider it only a question of time until they drive the Israelis into the sea and get that land back.

As such, Israel is with us, or like the Israeli girls say:

"Don't worry America - ISRAEL IS BEHIND YOU ! ! !"

"VISIT ISRAEL BEFORE ISRAEL VISITS YOU."

Speaking of babes, when I first signed up, SOLDIER Magazine always had a bikini babe featured on the back cover. Along the way they started rationing the cheesecake until sometime toward the end of my first tour I picked up a copy of SOLDIER and flipped to the back page. Staring back at me was a sergeant; all cami'd up and in full battle rattle - talk about taking a hard dose of reality. Well every now and then some imagery may appear on STORMBRINGER that is a throwback to an earlier, simpler time when it was okay for a warrior to tape a pinup girl in his wall locker, or depict one on the nose of his mighty war machine:

People send me all kinds of stuff to post in STORMBRINGER and I appreciate all the support I get. Most of the material sent is political, Tea Party/Make America Great Again-themed stuff - which is great, although I usually tend to wave off politics because it's done elsewhere, and I don't have time enough to dedicate the energy & creative juices to do it right.


STORMBRINGER SENDS

WE'LL ALWAYS HAVE PARIS . . .

. . . . . . . . .

Rick: If that plane leaves the ground and you're not with him, you'll regret it. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life.


Ilsa: But what about us?


Rick: We'll always have Paris. We didn't have it before . . . we'd . . . we'd lost it until you came to Casablanca. We got it back last night.


Ilsa: When I said I would never leave you . . .


Rick: And you never will. But I've got a job to do too. Where I'm going, you can't follow. What I've got to do, you can't be any part of. Ilsa, I'm no good at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Someday you'll understand that. Here's looking at you, kid.




No I'm not going to join a Free French garrison over at Brazzaville . . . that family business I spoke of the other day is going to absorb a lot of time & energy over the unforeseeable future . . . posts will continue intermittently . . . thanks for all a y'all's support . . . S.L.

"Major Strasser's been shot! Round up the usual suspects!"

. . . today's Bird HERE


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STORMBRINGER

A-a-a-h-h-h-h-h-h the SEVENTIES . . .




. . . . . . . . . what little I can remember of them, that is . . .









Today's Bird HERE


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WEST VIRGINIA

He was my mentor in Special Forces and is my current boss. Secretly known as the DEACON OF DOOM, he has forgotten more than I will ever know about explosives - and that's a LOT. Deacon hails from the Great State he always refers to as "West-by-God"





Here's to you Deacon -

Cheers, Sean





Today's Bird HERE




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THE STORMBRINGER CONTROVERSY

Was I guilty of some kind of great journalistic faux-pas when I posted the General Giap quote - which turned out to be of questionable origin?

Anonymous said - and I appreciate his counsel -

Sean,

Please don't take my comment the wrong way. I'm a big fan of your blo9g (sic) which I read daily. However, I'm a bigger fan of truth as I believe you are as well. what you posted about General Giap is essentially an email that has been circulating for years. I've been on the receiving end of it many times and have researched it quite a bit. I posted the link to Snopes simply as the shortest and quickest way to the heart of the matter. I agree that Snopes has a liberal slant but that doesn't make them wrong anymore than your conservatism makes you wrong. Truth is truth whether we like it or not.


I agree with the above sentiments - STORMBRINGER is about Truth and Honor - it occurred to me that the place I might have seen that Giap quote before was in the same email trail that Anonymous refers to above - such is the nature of the modern Internet-based media where urban myths cross with fact. Of course, such fooling with fact & fiction is not new in the media; there was once a time that if it was printed in the paper or uttered on TV it was taken as Gospel Truth regardless of the truth of the situation.

Walter Cronkite Defeated America on TV in his coverage of the Tet Offensive. The 1968 Tet Offensive was actually an overwhelming American victory and a tactical defeat for the Communist Viet Cong, yet Cronkite reported Tet as an incredible loss, fueling for the anti-war movement Left its allies in the Congress.


Military historians regard Tet as the decisive battle of the war because it shifted American public opinion against the war; this was directly due to Cronkite’s flawed reporting.


The difference nowadays of course is that we can sort it all out so much more quicklier. Consider when Cronkite's protégé and darling of the Left-leaning Mainstream Media Dan Rather floated his infamous George Bush National Guard memos during the 2004 Presidential Elections:

Respected news anchorman and darling of the Left Dan Rather and his Nemesis.

Who got re-elected and who got fired as a result of manufactured news, Dan?


The irony of it all is that ten or fifteen years ago Rather would have gotten away with his legerdemain - but it's a whole new ball game these days, and it cost Rather his job and worse; his reputation, and he can never get that back. Never mind the fact that Dan Rather was a respected newsman who climbed to the top of his profession, earning the respect of an entire nation; he was consumed - as was the rest of the the Left - in his personal hatred of George Bush that it drove him to present forgeries as legitimate news. And as if this wasn't bad enough; when he got busted out on it, he stuck his OTHER shoe in his mouth by DEFENDING HIMSELF; pressing involved parties to claim that even if the memos weren't true, this was the way people THOUGHT it should be.

This is the Left-Leaning Mainstream Media's modus operandi.

Anonymous is right; this is the modern Blog-o-Sphere and we Conservatives now own the high ground. We fought long and hard to gain this strategic advantage, and to maintain it we must be staunch defenders of the Truth. We don't have to like the Truth; but we are honor-bound to present it, and to call out falsity wherever and whenever we see it.


SEAN LINNANE SENDS





Thursday Bird HERE


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BATTLE ROYAL SUPERBOWL XLV

Today is SuperBowl Sunday in America, of course, and today's lineup is HUGE. The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers are two of the oldest franchises in the NFL, representing the heart & soul of the American industrial heartland. To our Commonwealth brethren I cannot emphasize enough just how significant today's Clash of Heroes will be:

Pittsburgh vs. Green Bay is like Manchester United vs. Birmingham. It's like my mighty, mighty Collingwood Magpies going up against the Carlton Blues . . .

. . . and watching it on the 19-inch black & white telly at my grandfather's place in St. Kilda. It's like the Canadiennes vs. the Maple Leafs pl;aying that stick-ball game they do on the ice up there in the Great White Frozen NorthLand. It's Wellington vs. Bonaparte; Patton vs. Rommel; Reagan vs. Carter (No - that's a bad analogy; Carter is a waffling, effete weirdo with serious loyalty issues - the Green Bay Packers are Heroic Warriors of the Ice Cold CheeseLand). In other words, this will be a BATTLE ROYAL of historic proportions.

I'm not a sports writer, I'm a soldier-philosopher, so I'll leave the in-depth analysis to an expert who had done a tremendous job:


TRADITION SET TO TAKE CENTER STAGE AT SUPER BOWL 2011
By James Varney, The Times-Picayune Sunday, February 06, 2011, 6:00 AM

DALLAS — Finally, something other than cold will grip Texas today, as Super Bowl 2011 features two of the most tradition-rich teams in football.

The Green Bay Packers hold a dozen NFL titles, the most of any franchise, and the half-dozen Super Bowls won by the Pittsburgh Steelers set them above all in that category.

The Steelers are the only NFL team that wears their logo on only one side of their helmets:

Yet the teams embody something about the league and the game that goes beyond their championships. Though both areas have moved beyond their hardscrabble history, they still evoke smokestacks, coal, and beer, a Midwest where the people are as famed for the friendliness as much as their football.

Each franchise earned its fame with grit, muscle and clouds of breath on cold afternoons — with a style that mirrored and pleased their fan base. The Packers will forever be stamped as a team that won on ice-crusted fields, and the Steelers’ glory days featured a rangy defense led by men with seemingly fewer teeth than hockey players.

Read the rest of it HERE

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who has the highest postseason passer rating in NFL history, threw for 366 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions in a methodical dismantling of the NFC's top-seeded Atlanta Falcons in the divisional round of the playoffs. (photo credit David J. Phillip/The Associated Press)


But who do you back when you're a thrice-transplanted Oakland Raiders fan?

Both teams are worthy and well-qualified . . . I like the Packers because of their traditions . . . but these days I live in Pennsylvania, and today the Heroic Pittsburgh Steelers stand to win an unprecedented SEVENTH Superbowl TITLE . . .

. . . today's STORMBRINGER BIRD reflects this sentiment . . .


. . . the Steelers are the team of America's greatest living philosopher Rush Limbaugh, they are the team of Hank Williams Jr, and most important of all, they are the team of TigerLily - a.k.a. MRS. STORMBRINGER so that pretty much decides the issue . . .


I'm not a sports writer although sometimes I wish I was - writing about football for a living would be FUN! Hell - PLAYING football for a living would be fun! Come to think of it, back when I got off the banana boat - if I only knew then what I know now; I did not know then that the NFL had a walk-on policy - if I had known that I would have had a GREAT career as a placekicker for the Oakland Raiders because everyone knows that NOBODY can kick a football farther than an Australian - ESPECIALLY if he's from Victoria.


Oh, and hey there Cheeseheads - there's something for you, too, over on the BABES OF STORMBRINGER side.

"Ave, Caesar, morituri te salutant"

"Hail, Emperor, those who are about to die salute you"

It's going to be just like this - the field is going to be LITTERED with bodies.

. . . SEAN LINNANE SENDS


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END O' THE WEEK

FRIDAY FILLY HERE

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A FELLOW BLOGGER WRITES

From a friend of the Blog-o-sphere whose opinion I respect:

Sean-

Pictures of showy women and men does not add to the good message of
your site. While it's fun to see scantly clad photos (I prefer
naturally endowed women, btw), that stuff makes your site less likely
for me to recommend to a wider group. The Internet has plenty of photos
of barely clad models; your site reminds us how good it is to be an
American and how to be a better American: with fun and honor.

Sincerely,
Charlie Echo




STORMBRINGER replies:

Dear Charlie:
Yeah I know - when I originally started out there were two things I wanted to avoid; politics and eye-candy. I wanted to stand out by featuring posts on National Security, philosophy, military themes, etc.

Then as things progressed, politics intersected when it became overwhelmingly obvious that the current administration's policies were affecting our National Security.

The Babes of Stormbringer grew out of Theo's Totty collection, which I contribute to from time to time. My rational was: I remember back in the good old days when Soldier Magazine used to feature a hot babe in a bikini on the back page, every month. Then, slowly, the girl slowly began covering up, bit-by-bit as the months went by; until at last one day I picked up a copy of Soldier Magazine and there on the back page was a picture of a sergeant, in full battle-rattle with face camouflage. That was the final end of the old Army.

My inspiration with the bikini babes was to go back to the irreverent Good Old Days . . .




. . . perhaps I need to develop the theme a little with some WWII nose art, Lucky Strikes, Terry and the Pirates, etc . . .





Your thoughts?



NOTE to Team STORMBRINGER:

Please direct your eyes to the poll there on the right; take "Due notice Thereof and Conduct Yourselves Accordingly" . . .



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WURTZEL ZWERGEN

Wurtzel Zwergen loosley translates as "dwarves that live under the roots of trees" but idiomatic German uses it to refer to Trolls; unsavory, odious, creepy, dig?

DOUBLETAPPER is a WINNER ! ! !

2010 Milbloggies Award in the Foreign National Military category


Thank you to all the members of Team STORMBRINGER who took the time to go over to the MILblogger site to register and vote for this worthy soldier from the Land of Israel, DoubleTapper.

On the DoubleTapper site there is a remarkable Letter of Acceptance that was read at the MILblogger Convention on his behalf.

Thanks Again, Team - S.L.

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL MILBLOGGER

OK I'm up on the MILblogging site . . .

If you go there . . . you gotta register & sign in to vote for DoubleTapper (it takes a minute and it's painless) and BLACKFIVE - they're both nominated for Military Blog of the Year in their categories.

MILblogging is having their convention in Arlington, Virginia this week - if I was in town I'd be there, for sure; Arlington is one of the places I haunt. MILblogging contacted me, told me I'm up on their site - now I need readers like YOU to go there and list me as a favorite, too.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

STORMBRINGER SENDS



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"ALL I WANTED WAS A MISSION . . . "

". . . and for my sins, they gave me one. They brought it up to me like room service . . . It was a real choice mission - and when it was over, I would never want another . . ."



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A FELLOW MELBURNIAN

Hi Sean,
I enjoy your blog, and check it out daily. How did you come to join the US military?





So, a Melbourne boy, huh? And a 'Pies supporter too. Definitely authentic, as nobody would make that up.








Blood is thicker than water.






I too am from Melbourne, variously Box Hill, Mount Martha and South Yarra. But happily in Perth these last 20 years. Yet still a Hawthorn supporter these past 40-odd years.










Anyway, my question is this: Why does the US military designate a 2LT with gold bars, but a 1LT with silver?










Second Lieutenant, United States













First Lieutenant, United States




Likewise, a major with the gold device, but a Lt Col with silver? You'd expect the reverse, eh?

Just curious.


Regards,

Greg


*********************************************************************


Hello Greg,

Good to hear from a fellow Melbournian. Tell me was I exaggerating about the penguins? I swear I saw them swimming in the bay that one time.


The Natives are Friendly


I joined the US Army because I wanted to be a soldier, ever since I was a kid. I considered joining the Australian Army, but at the time they weren't going anywhere except the outback; I love Australia, but I wanted to see the world. I SERIOUSLY thought about joining the French Foreign Legion - all I had to do was make it to Tahiti, but the US military seemed like such a better deal.


Sean Linnane, STORMBRINGER


It turned out to be a good plan - I saw the world, I have enough adventures to fill ten lifetimes, and I retired from active duty into the most incredible professional network in the world.

As far as the bars and the oak leaves go - here's what I learned:

The present system of US officers’ grade insignia began on 18 June 1780 when it was prescribed that Major Generals would wear two stars and Brigadier Generals one star on each epaulette. In 1832, the Colonel’s eagle was initiated and in 1836, leaves were adopted for Lieutenant Colonels and Majors, while Captains received two bars and one bar was prescribed for First Lieutenant. Second Lieutenants did not receive the gold bar until December 1917.










Major, United States


In General Regulations of 1835, the leaf was first introduced to designate Lieutenant Colonels and Majors. It stated that it was embroidered on the shoulder straps of the frock coat, one at each end, each leaf extending 7/8 of an inch from the end of the border of the strap. The color for Lieutenant Colonels was to be the same color as the border. At this time, Infantry Lieutenant Colonels had a silver border and other Lieutenant Colonels had a gold border. For Majors, it was stipulated that the insignia would be the same design as the Lieutenant Colonel except the leaves would be silver where the border was gold and the insignia would be gold if the border was silver. This policy resulted in the use of both gold and silver leaves for both ranks.










Lieutenant Colonel, United States


In 1851, the border of all shoulder straps was changed to gold. As a result, the leaf for Lieutenant Colonel became silver and for Major it was gold for wear on the shoulder straps.

I don't know about the reasoning behind the silver insignia for First Lieutenants, and gold for Second Lieutenants.

You'd expect the reverse - what can I say? That's officers for you.

Thanks for reading STORMBRINGER, and thank you for your support.

- Sean L.


*********************************************************************


Onya Sean! And you're right, that's officers for you.

Happy landings,

Greg

THEMES

Due to current increase in workload and professional constraints, I will not be able to maintain posting to Blog STORMBRINGER on a daily basis. I draw no income from my writings here - none whatsoever - and right about now Blog STORMBRINGER is starting to absorb way too much bandwidth; it's starting to interfere with what pays the bills.







From this point forward, I will post one or two originally crafted "articles" a week; and perhaps two or three cultural "hit pieces" such as this vid clip of Miss Shirley Bassey, singing ballads of praise dedicated to that great warrior and walking Id, James Bond:




Shirley Bassey performing Goldfinger & Diamonds Are Forever for the James Bond Silver Anniversary programm in 1988.



Now may be a good time for an interim summing up . . .


It all started about May of last year . . . Blog STORMBRINGER grew out of guidance from Theo Spark - enfant terrible of the Internet with his excellent Blog Last of the Few. Theo became Blogmeister of STORMBRINGER and continues to advise to this day. Hurrah! for Theo





I don't know how he does it. The guy is great, does great work, and I plan on linking up with him in the UK one of these days.

Here at Blog STORMBRINGER we like Great Britain and all things British (despite my Irish heritage - I'm not a nut or a revolutionary). Theo represents all that is good of the little island that is Great; he's possibly the best thing that came out of England since . . . Led Zeppelin?







STORMBRINGER is about philosophy . . . soldiering . . . honor . . . military history . . . theology . . . current affairs and global security (which is to say the current conflict against the Islamofascists) . . . we take it from Ancient Greece and Rome (with a little bit of the Old Testament thrown in there from a historic point of view) and bring it up to the Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence, the Federalist and the anti-Federalist Papers, the Constitution, and the Gettysburg Address . . . we tie in the struggles of a Free People against the Forces of Tyranny and Oppression . . . throughout the ages . . . and a tidbit here and there from my friends and associates serving overseas in the great Global War on Terror . . .


Name that Drop Zone . . .



This is the correct time for me to thank my good friend David Frum for all the help & support he and his heroic editor Meghashyam Mali have shown me over the past year at his worthy site Frum Forum.
I also wish to offer a gracious "Thank You" to Dave's lovely wife Danielle, for having me as a guest at their home in DC. The Frum guest cottage is a wonderful enclave, from whence I've produced more than one memorable STORMBRINGER post, and Dani can knock together a meal, the best food you could possibly imagine . . .


I especially wish to thank David for the tolerance and patience he shows me; David Frum has taught me to understand that bit, when politicians speak of a colleague across the aisle; "We do not see eye-to-eye on politics, but he is a great friend, and a great human being." This is a Life's lesson of wisdom and understanding that no money can buy . . .


A special thanks also to my buddy, fellow Green Beret "Uncle Jimbo" over at Blackfive . . . the Blackfive Team are great, they do heroic work there against the Forces of Darkness . . .







I would be remiss if I did not mention the many emails I receive from readers, with much blog material, images and links - I thank you all; keep it coming and do not be discouraged if I don't post it right away. I save it all in a couple of special folders and now is the time for me to construct a queue. Like I said, I don't know how Theo does it; I simply do not have the bandwidth.


For now this Science Project will have to move to the back burner because I've got a sh*tload of 25-meter targets popping up like whack-a-mole - like I've told my friends and associates; in my professional life, I'm a sheepdog . . . and the wolves are always out there . . . circling in . . . waiting to make their move . . .

RARE SNOW DAY, SOUTHERN PINES

Some of my military readers will recognize my town. The defacto capital of the mythical Republic of Pineland, Southern Pines NC is a quaint anachronism; the first time you pass through you'll think you've just made a journey back in time about fifty or sixty years .







O'Donnells Irish Pub












Dog Tiny inspecting her Kingdom






When I go down the road with Tiny, she always insists on taking the wheel.






Haus StormBringer