LONG BAR STORY . . .

DONE . . . and done!



AND . . . a quiet drink to celebrate: Long Bar Story (Rough Draft) final chapter written complete . . . . . . now all I gotta do is edit, edit, and edit again - three or four times - throw in some illustrations, because everybody likes to look at pictures while they're reading a book full of words . . . S.L.




A LONG TERM GOAL has been to become a published author, but I never seem to have been able to bring a project to completion. There's always some damn distraction - work, mostly. My work is complex and takes me to some pretty exotic destinations. Finally last summer I had some time on my hands, pulling late night shifts while doing maritime security on the oil platforms in the Gulf of Guinea. And so I started writing the stories that became The Long Bar.

My influences are Somerset Maugham for the tropical locales where his stories take place and his subtle sense of irony, Conrad for the dark, introspective ambiance of his works, and of course Hemingway for his brevity and style. Searching for a plot had me hung up but I was determined not to let that stop me, and so the plot became a writer - in a lush tropical locale - struggling with writer's block, and the stories that unfold around him. I set the end of December for a target end date, then got hung up on the final chapter. It was late November and I simply could not get the thing to go down. I'm deployed right now in fact, in the Congo - the setting for Conrad's Heart of Darkness of course - and its been a rough time. This weekend I decided I'd knock out that last chapter come Hell or High Water, and lo and behold I did it.

Nine chapters, between two to three thousand words each, and each one stands alone as a short story on its own merit, but there is an intertwining common theme and they actually play out in a sort of chronological order. The main character owns & operates an unconventional hotel, located on a jungled cliff overlooking the Andaman Sea in southern Thailand. The hotel is actually a series of traditional Thai houses - baan - interconnected by a series of multi-level decks. In the middle of the hotel is a traditional pub: The Long Bar. People come and go, there are some long term residents, events happen and misadventures play out.

The Long Bar is a working title. I'm considering something else, perhaps "Drops of Rain" - inspired by the Highwayman, by Jimmy Webb and performed by The Highwaymen: Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash. A country song about reincarnation that takes one all the way from a highway robber in old England to the captain of a starship, across the Universe Divide. I have always loved that song.

Themes include adventures that start in the here and now and vector off in other-worldly directions, science fiction, Thai animism, Thai Buddhism, Chinese spiritualism and the Hindu view of the Universe. Humans interface with spiritual beings, often without even being aware of it, and karma drives the action to ironic conclusions. Think Somerset Maugham meets The Twilight Zone. Or rather, YOURSELF - meeting ME - in a traditional pub, at an exotic hotel on a jungled cliff overlooking the Andaman Sea, in southern Thailand.

A question now is how to publish? Traditional book route doesn't pay much, versus ebook format. I'm leaning toward the latter. Since I announced my achievement - a complete manuscript - publishing people are coming out of the woodwork. I'm open to any and all suggestions.

For the record. I have written three books, this is the first one that made it all the way to the end. That means there are two other manuscripts - action/adventure in the kind of places my work takes me, with the kind of people I work for and with - so if a publishing house picks me up, they've got at least two more coming down the pipeline. And when you read my book, you'll be reading a book that was written on an oil platform off the coast of Nigeria, in a luxury hotel in Addis Ababa, snowed in a basement in Pennsylvania, and completed on the veranda of an ancient colonial-era hotel in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

This is why I've been so quiet, and I thank each and every one of you for your support . . .

STORMBRINGER SENDS

WORLD COMING APART

AFRICA: After Nigeria Elects Christian President, Muslims Torch 40 Churches, Kill 100 Christians

The daily slaughter continues.


(All Voices) — Muslim rioters in Nigeria protesting the just concluded presidential elections have killed more than 100 Christians and burned down more than 40 churches in an attack that began yesterday.

This revelation is contained in a report by the Regional Manager for Africa, International Christian Concern (ICC), Jonathan Racho noting that this latest demonstration is in response to the election of Jonathan Goodluck, a Christian, as president of Nigeria.

He pointed out that the rioters even destroyed the homes of many Muslims who supported President Jonathan Goodluck adding that the Muslim attackers allege that the election was rigged and General Muhammadu Buhari, a Muslim presidential candidate, is the rightful winner.

He said that the Commonwealth observers’ report judged that election as “this election the fairest in decades. The elections for the National Assembly and the Presidency were both credible and creditable and reflected the will of the Nigerian people.”

According Racho, it is difficult to know the full extent of the damage. The casualties could be much higher as the attacks took place over many of the 12 Muslim majority states in northern Nigeria.


Read more HERE



We may have already past the point in history for Africa to save itself from barbarism and savagery - S.L.



WORLD COMING APART: MIDDLE EAST


Syria's Bloodiest Day: 80 Dead as Security Forces Fire on Demonstrators

Damascus -- A strong military presence remained in place around Damascus on Saturday in the wake of the country’s bloodiest day in five weeks of growing unrest. Large turnouts are expected to mourn the scores of victims, which activists say has now reached more than 100.

Security forces fired on protesters, seeking to quell demonstrations following Friday prayers in Latakia, Homs, Hama, Damascus and the southern village of Isra’a. Tens of thousands took to the streets on Friday in defiance of earlier government warnings that any further displays of unrest would not be tolerated.

In Moadniyah, a small town roughly 10km south of Damascus, a massive cordon of troops encircled the town. Soldiers also positioned themselves on rooftops and outside mosques, while others peered out from behind barricades of sandbags and giant tires.

The town hosted sizeable unrest Friday, 15 March when thousands of residents marched towards Damascus but were forced back by security forces firing tear gas.

Late in the afternoon on Friday reports circulated claiming either the army or security forces had opened fire on demonstrators in the town.

"People are being taken to hospital in cars," said one demonstrator who did not want to be named for fear of reprisal.

Basher Assad is a pig and a butcher, just like his father before him and just like the pig he's standing next to in this photo.

President Bashar al-Assad maintains absolute power in the country he inherited from his father, Hafez, in 2000. Recently however, some analysts suggest internal rifts are forming within the Assad family.

"There are demonstrations in all the cities and villages around Syria," said Mr Maleh, a human rights lawyer in Damascus. "People want the regime to fall."

In a concession to demonstrators last Friday, Assad announced intentions to lift the much-despised emergency laws, in place for 48 years since the Baath Party seized power in a coup.

A law was passed this week to scrap the decades-old measure. Many activists, however, believe the move is not enough to quell the ever-growing tide of anti-government feeling now sweeping the country.

"I went to protest for the first time because I want freedom and dignity," said one young man in his twenties who sat on a bedroom floor sipping his glass of coke. "I want this country to be a good country."


More HERE


"Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear."

- Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States



NORTH AMERICA: Brutal Mexican Drug Gang Crosses into U.S.

SPREADING TERROR: A woman sees a relative lying dead on the ground after he was killed by gunmen in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, in December.(Associated Press)


“Those of us who live and work along the border know they’re already here,” said Zapata County Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez Jr., whose Texas county lies on the Rio Grande 50 miles southeast of the Zetas’ stronghold of Nuevo Laredo. “There’s already been killings and many residents here are living in fear.”

Sheriff Gonzalez, whose Texas Border Sheriff’s Coalition sought help from the federal government to control growing violence along the border, said the rising brutality of Mexican drug gangs, particularly the Zetas, “never stops shocking me.”

Trained as an elite band of Mexican anti-drug commandos, the Zetas evolved into mercenaries for the infamous Gulf Cartel, bringing a new wave of brutality to Mexico’s escalating drug wars. Bolstered by an influx of assassins, bandits, thieves, thugs and corrupt federal, state and local police officers, the Zetas have since evolved into a well-financed and heavily armed drug smuggling force of their own.

Mexican federal police and army soldiers guard a U.S. Embassy vehicle after it came under attack by gunmen on a highway between Mexico City and Monterrey in February. A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent was killed and another wounded in the attack. Many of Zetas' targets have been Mexican military and police personnel, but in recent years, U.S. law enforcement authorities also have come under attack. (Associated Press)


Known for mounting the severed heads of their rivals on poles or hanging their dismembered bodies from bridges in cities throughout Mexico, the Zetas have easily become the most feared criminal gang in Mexico — where 35,000 people have been killed in a continuing drug war. Everyone is a potential victim: men, women and children.

“The Zetas are determined to gain the reputation of being the most sadistic, cruel and beastly organization that ever existed,” said George W. Grayson, professor of government at the College of William & Mary and an expert on Mexican drug gangs. “Many of Mexico’s existing drug cartels will kill their enemies, but not go out of their way to do it. The Zetas look forward to inflicting fear on their targets.

“They won’t just cut off your ear, they’ll cut off your head and think nothing of it.”


Sooner or later we have to start treating the border like a military situation - in the meantime, expect this kind of savagery to continue moving northward - S.L.



.

A CASE FOR MERCENARY ARMIES

Secret Blackwater Tape Exposed
Jeremy Scahill - The Nation - May 3, 2010



Erik Prince, the reclusive owner of the Blackwater empire, rarely gives public speeches and when he does journalists are banned from attending; recording or videotaping of his remarks is verboten.

Despite these attempts to shield himself from public scrutiny, The Nation magazine obtained an audio recording of one of Prince's recent speech delivered in a private venue to a friendly audience. The speech provides a stunning glimpse into his views and future plans and reveals details of previously undisclosed activities of Blackwater.






In earlier posts, I have insisted that private contractors operating within narrow constraints as security personnel are NOT mercenaries per se. In this post there is no fig leaf - we're talking private contractors deployed in full-mission profile; defensive AND offensive operations; employed as snipers, conducting raids and ambushes, the whole enchilada.

Prince proposes armed private soldiers (like Blackwater contractors) be deployed throughout the sand countries to counter Iranian influence and Iranian-supported insurgents, specifically in Nigeria, Yemen, Somalia and Saudi Arabia. There's a lot to be said for this approach.

He expresses disdain for the Geneva Convention and describes Blackwater's secretive operations at four Forward Operating Bases (FOB's) he controls in Afghanistan. He called those fighting the US in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan "barbarians" who "crawled out of the sewer."







Despite the disparaging things I said about Blackwater in the past - and I meant every word I said - I find myself agreeing with Prince here. The United States has employed private armies in every war we've fought, dating right back to the Revolution; they have a role, albeit a specialized one.

As far as the Geneva Convention goes - has it ever occurred to anybody that we are the only ones who abide by this anachronism? And even we don't go by it all the time; if we had lost World War II, Winston Churchill and President Truman would have been sitting in the dock for all those cities we vaporized.

Wars are won by doing what needs being done. In the former Yugoslavia I observed (Allied) Special Forces soldiers operating in civilian clothes, passing themselves off as journalists. By the time I retired I'd been operating in and out of uniform for about half of my career, and I made it all the way to Belgrade.


"War is simple, direct and ruthless." - General Patton's Maxims.


I'm not suggesting we lower ourselves to the degree of savagery displayed by our enemies on a daily basis, but think about it for a minute - if the Post Office could accomplish it's mission, UPS and FedEx wouldn't be able to survive as commercial enterprises. Why should we constrain ourselves in warfighting?

Once we decide to win this Hundred Years War we are currently fighting, necessity will dictate our conduct. To prevail against irregular insurgents and terrorists, we need irregular, unconventional counter-insurgents and counter-terror soldiers, and we should be open-minded and imaginative when the rule book gets in the way.






.

A NEW ANGLE

Bank of Nigeria



I get a LOT of emails from those "Nigerian Bank Scams". You know the deal:



Hello ,
I am writing to you for a business co-operation and your assistance .
I have some money, i will like to invest with you in your country on a good areas you could choose . . .



Dear Respectful One
I am writting this letter with due respect and heartful of tears since we have not known or met ourselves previously I am asking for your assistance after I have gone through a profile that speaks good of you. I will be so glad if you can allow me and lead me to the right channel towards your assistance .




END OF YEAR AWARD BONANZA
FROM THE DESK OF THE DIRECTOR
PROMOTION/PRIZE AWARD DEPT.

Dear Winner,
We are pleased to inform you the result of the computer random selection for the LUCKY DAY LOTTO NL International program held on 4th of Feb,2010 as part of our new year Bonnaza.Your personal or company email address, attached to ticket number EE7-_____YH-__, with serial number PP___B-__ drew the lucky numbers 5-2_-_8-2_-_2-6_, and consequently won the lottery in the 2nd category . . .




Here's a new format I haven't seen before:



Hi there,

How are you doing today? I am Kenneth P_______, a US Marine currently serving in Iraq. I am actually one of the few Marines remaining in Iraq. We are waiting for executive order for our next deployment to Afghanistan this new year. I got your email from a business directory and I believe that you will maintain the level of confidence and trust that this mission I am about to inform you of require. Several months ago, my unit discovered some abandoned cash in the mansion of a militant ruler during a covert military raid. The total cash we discovered was $11.5 Million USD. We stashed all the funds in one trunk box and moved it secretly out of Iraq to Kuwait for safekeeping. We waited for several months to ensure that nobody is on our trail. Now, we need to move the money out of Kuwait. I am contacting you because we need your assistance in receiving the box for us on our behalf, and securing the cash until we return home from service. Please note that we cannot use any of our known relative or friend for this

1. Your Full name
2. The address where you want the box to be delivered
3. Your private telephone number where you can be reached 24 hours

If for some reasons you don't want to or can't help us, I want you to delete this message immediately and assume we never had this conversation. However, if you are going to fully cooperate with us in this transaction, we will compensate you with 25% of the total cash after the mission is accomplished. Like I said earlier, we are a GO and waiting for your response. This is a very serious deal and I wouldn't be asking for your help if I am not convinced that this is not going to bring any harm to you or your family, or put you in a risky position. We have worked the kinks out and am very convinced this is gonna be successful.

Once we get a positive response from you with the info requested, we will proceed into the next step and I will give you further instructions. I hope I can rely on your sense of discretion. Write back soon buddy. Wishing you a prosperous new year.

In God we trust,

Ken

kenneth._____@infantry-marines.com




What's interesting is this one seems to be genuinely written by an American; "We have worked the kinks out and am very convinced this is gonna be successful." but I doubt he was a Marine, or even in the military. Indicators: "trunk box" - we call it "foot locker", and a Marine doesn't end a letter with "In God we trust," he says "Semper Fi".


The greatest indicator is the email address suffix: 'marines.com' - no .mil or .gov

My instincts aroused, I ran the " @infantry-marines.com " suffix through Google and came to SCAM-O-MATIC - a site that alerts on such scams. It turns out I WAS RIGHT! In fact, they have a copy of the email I posted above practically verbatim from a different guy but with the same email address at the end of it.


Some comments by the SCAM-O-MATIC:

* The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:

o "trunk box" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
o "million us dollars" (they want you to be blinded by the prospect of quick money, but the only money that ever changes hands in 419 scams is from you to the criminals)
o "i got your email address from " (this SPAM email was probably sent to thousands of people)

* This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.


I know plenty of Marines - they are honorable, decent upright people; the Marines I know and have worked with, I would trust with my life.




"No Greater Friend, no Worse Enemy."



This guy is a wannabe, a phisher and a scamster. Be warned.


- Sean Linnane

THE SYSTEM DIDN'T FAIL . . .

. . . IT FELL FLAT ON ITs ASS ! ! !

Let's go over what we now know, from open sources:

A man previously identified to the United States State Department as a radical Muslim Fundamentalist with sentiments sympathetic to al Qaeda and intentions to travel to Yemen to MEET with al Qaeda some how FAILS to make in on any "NO FLY" lists.


Terror on Flight 253: Wealthy, Quiet, Unassuming: the Christmas Day Bomb Suspect



The SAME man, with a Muslim name - Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab - of Nigeria:

A) bought a one-way ticket to the United States,

B) paid for it in cash,

C) checked no luggage on an international flight from Europe to the United States,

and

D) FAILED TO PRODUCE A PASSPORT -

. . . and they STILL let him on the flight!








Better let this guy on the plane - whatever we do, we don't want to be accused of racial profiling now, do we?









The nicest thing we can say about this entire affair is that it is a case of Political Correctness run amuck. In an incredible attempt to defend this mess, the United States Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano establishes herself as a blithering idiot:





If this incident falls within your success criteria, Janet, then Heaven help us.


OOOPS - it looks like that story about no passport has turned out to be something of a red herring.







New evidence surfaces that this whole thing was possibly a probe or diversion, to examine our responses.




S.L.

MERRY XMAS - WE ARE STILL UNDER ATTACK

By now it's all over the media:


Man Attempts to Set Off Explosives on Detroit-Bound Airplane


The man said he was directed by al Qaeda to explode a small device in flight, over U.S. soil.


The device went off as Northwest Airlines Flight 253, an Airbus 330 carrying 278 passengers and operated by Delta, was arriving in Detroit from Amsterdam.




The suspect was identified as Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, who according to federal documents is an engineering student at University College of London.

Federal law enforcement authorities are trying to determine the credibility of Abdulmutallab's story; i.e. IS he an Al Qaeda operative, or is this another episode of what I have coined 'Self-Induced Jihad Syndrome'?


Analysis:

Abdulmutallab certainly fits the 'Self-Induced Jihadi' profile - he is young, intelligent, educated, AND "inspired" - according to his entry visa he was flying from Nigeria to the United States for a "religious seminar".

The suspect had been in a law enforcement-intelligence database but was not on the government's no-fly list. According to a federal situational awareness bulletin: "The subject is claiming to have extremist affiliation and that the device was acquired in Yemen along with instructions as to when it should be used."

BRILLIANT - we have apparently returned to the pre-9/11 mindset. There's your Federal government taking care of you.


Technical Analysis:

I am a Special Forces engineer - I have extensive training and experience in what we refer to as 'field expedients'.

The suspect told authorities that he had explosive powder taped to his leg and used a syringe of chemicals to mix with the powder that was to cause explosion. This is of concern because it is a method of mixing that is consistent with terror techniques.

The trouble with this sort of improvised explosives is that they are not reliable, and are very difficult to initiate. Factors such as temperature, ambient pressure and relative humidity affect chemical reactions. A chemical mixture that may have initiated perfectly well in a hot, dry desert climate like Yemen obviously failed to produce results in a jetliner at altitude, thankfully.

The popular television show Mythbusters put these 'MacGyver'-type energetics to the test: in one episode, they tried to replicate how MacGyver once blew a man-sized hole in a wall with one gram of sodium reacting with water. The MythBusters placed sodium in a gel capsule, placed it in a bottle full of warm water, placed the bottle against a cinder block wall, and tamped it with sand. One gram of sodium was not powerful enough to damage the wall (or even the bottle it was in), and 100 grams of sodium was also not enough. The MythBusters then used 500 grams of more-reactive potassium placed inside a cannon-like contraption to direct all the force onto the wall, but still failed to cause any damage. The MythBusters finally resorted to using C4 high explosive to demolish the wall.