POSSIBLE TERRORIST DRY RUN?

SOMETHING's going on here . . . YOU be the judge . . .

. . . the Sean Linnane email box has been going hog-wild all day . . . multiple sources have brought this issue to my attention:


A chilling first-person account of the real reason Airtran Flight 297’s Atlanta-Houston leg, canceled last Tuesday:


Monday, November 30, 2009

This has been a subject of discussion amongst a few of us for a couple of weeks. The person's account below is known to three of our group, and he is NOT a whiner or complainer...

He's an ex-Navy diver, working for a government organization; he has traveled extensively world-wide. This is his account of what happened on Flight 297 on the taxiway and at the gate in Atlanta . . .


One week ago, I went to Ohio on business and to see my father. On Tuesday, November the 17th, I returned home. If you read the papers the 18th you may have seen a blurb where a AirTran flight was cancelled from Atlanta to Houston due to a man who refused to get off of his cell phone before takeoff. It was on Fox.

This was NOT what happened.

I was in 1st class coming home. 11 Muslim men got on the plane in full attire. 2 sat in 1st class and the rest peppered themselves throughout the plane all the way to the back. As the plane taxied to the runway the stewardesses gave the safety spiel we are all so familiar with. At that time, one of the men got on his cell and called one of his companions in the back and proceeded to talk on the phone in Arabic very loudly and very aggressively. This took the 1st stewardess out of the picture for she repeatedly told the man that cell phones were not permitted at the time. He ignored her as if she was not there.

The 2nd man who answered the phone did the same and this took out the 2nd stewardess. In the back of the plane at this time, 2 younger Muslims, one in the back aisle, and one in front of him, window, began to show footage of a porno they had taped the night before, and were very loud about it. Now . . . they are only permitted to do this prior to Jihad. If a Muslim man goes into a strip club, he has to view the woman via mirror with his back to her. (don’t ask me . . . I don’t make the rules, but I’ve studied).

The 3rd stewardess informed them that they were not to have electronic devices on at this time. To which one of the men said "Shut up infidel dog!" She went to take the camcorder and he began to scream in her face in Arabic. At that exact moment, all 11 of them got up and started to walk the cabin. This is where I had had enough! I got up and started to the back where I heard a voice behind me from another Texan twice my size say "I got your back." I grabbed the man who had been on the phone by the arm and said "You WILL go sit down or you WILL be thrown from this plane!"

As I 'led' him around me to take his seat, the fellow Texan grabbed him by the back of his neck and his waist and headed out with him. I then grabbed the 2nd man and said, "You WILL do the same!" He protested but adrenaline was flowing now and he was going to go. As I escorted him forward the plane doors open and 3 TSA agents and 4 police officers entered. Me and my new Texan friend were told to cease and desist for they had this under control. I was happy to oblige actually. There was some commotion in the back, but within moments, all 11 were escorted off the plane. They then unloaded their luggage.

We talked about the occurrence and were in disbelief that it had happen, when suddenly, the door open again and on walked all 11!! Stone faced, eyes front and robotic (the only way I can describe it). The stewardess from the back had been in tears and when she saw this, she was having NONE of it! Being that I was up front, I heard and saw the whole ordeal. She told the TSA agent there was NO WAY she was staying on the plane with these men. The agent told her they had searched them and were going to go through their luggage with a fine tooth comb and that they were allowed to proceed to Houston. The captain and co-captain came out and told the agent "We and our crew will not fly this plane!" After a word or two, the entire crew, luggage in tow, left the plane. 5 minutes later, the cabin door opened again and a whole new crew walked on.

Again . . . this is where I had had enough!!! I got up and asked "What the hell is going on!?!?" I was told to take my seat. They were sorry for the delay and I would be home shortly. I said "I’m getting off this plane". The stewardess sternly told me that she could not allow me to get off. (now I’m mad!) I said "I am a grown man who bought this ticket, who’s time is mine with a family at home and I am going through that door, or I’m going through that door with you under my arm!! But I am going through that door!!" And I heard a voice behind me say "So am I".

Then everyone behind us started to get up and say the same. Within 2 minutes, I was walking off that plane where I was met with more agents who asked me to write a statement. I had 5 hours to kill at this point so why the hell not. Due to the amount of people who got off that flight, it was canceled. I was supposed to be in Houston at 6pm. I got here at 12:30am.

Look up the date. Flight 297 Atlanta to Houston.

If this wasn’t a dry run, I don’t know what one is. They wanted to see how TSA would handle it, how the crew would handle it, and how the passengers would handle it.

I’m telling this to you because I want you to know . . .

The threat is real. I saw it with my own eyes . . .

-Tedd



Another first-person account from Dr. Keith A. Robinson, a chaplain from Houston, is equally chilling:



This incredible incident is being squashed. (You may recall a similar test run occurred on a flight some eighteen months ago.) It’s the kind of bureaucratic cover up that led to the Muslim’s slaughter of innocent soldiers at Fort Hood.

An internet search shows that the squashing is being effective.

The Atlanta J-C simply repeats the official line.

The real story needs to get out . . . .


OK Heroes here's the STORMBRINGER take on this latest madness . . .

If this is a "Terrorist Dry Run" (and I don't preclude anything these days) it makes no sense from an operational point of view.

Consider: the LAST thing a terrorist outfit going into the final operational stage wants to do is DRAW ATTENTION to themselves. They have a mission to accomplish, and will conduct themselves with an intensity & focus like a professional military organization.

To draw attention to themselves like this would be counter-productive, as events demonstrated.

My instincts tell me that these Arabs were idiots, lacking any sense of situational awareness . . .

. . . that is not to say that the way Diver Dan and the Texan conducted themselves was in any way incorrect or wrong - I applaud their rising to the situation, as I maintain that we are STILL under attack, as much as we were in the days and months leading to Sept. 11th, 2001 - and we must remain ever vigilant.



What I REALLY want to know is how come nothing like this ever happens when me & my brother SKULLHEAD are hanging out ? ? ?



We would have taken pleasure hanging some Arabs by their scrawny necks out the open hatch of a taxiing airplane over the runway at Hartsfield International Airport

BLUETICK COONHOUND

My good friend Jim J from Daytona Beach writes:

Sean,

You have the MOST AMAZING STORIES ! ! !

I had a Bluetick named Max.

Max was the official mascot (by default) of the school, Fairview Junior High. I believe he got that distinction because he used to go to school every day to beg for food. The school was one block from my house.


(The email chain continued throughout the day . . .)

Hahahaha! Check this out! I did a search on the Internet for my old dog and look what I got:

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Facebook
To: Jim J_____
Subject: Katie P_____ sent you a message on Facebook

Katie sent you a message.

Re: Fairview mascot image

"Hi! In the '76 yearbook I found a photo of a real dog and in my handwriting it says "Max" right on it. I didn't even remember there being a Max until I saw the photo. Would you like me to scan a photo and email it to you? Or, I can post it on the Fairview page."





Jim continues:

You can tell Max was kind if a hippie. After all it was California in the 70's!
He looks a little burned out because he maybe smoked a little too much stuff.

Max was a purebred Bluetick Coonhound. I never really knew what I had at the time though. Maybe we all smoked a little too much!

I could edit out the "Max" . . . but I think it adds character. Let's leave it like that. It gives it more meaning.

I attended Fairview in 68-71, Max stayed behind for many years! I went on to Del Valle. He pretty much ran the neighborhood, did whatever he wanted to do. Those were the days eh?

Max was a purebred Bluetick Coonhound:

The Bluetick Coonhound is the state dog of Tennessee where it is said to have originated. Selective breeding in Louisiana of Foxhounds, Curs, French Hounds and English Coonhounds produced the Bluetick Coonhound. In 2008 the Bluetick Coonhound was recognized by the AKC in the Miscellaneous Class.

Coonhounds have a tendency to follow their noses, and if they catch wind of a scent, they may wander off for hours following it.

The name comes from the black tick marks on the while background that appears to give a blue tint.

Famous Bluetick Coonhounds:

A Bluetick Coonhound named "Smokey" is the official athletic mascot of the University of Tennessee.

A Bluetick Coonhound named Tet was the companion of Stringfellow Hawke, the main character of popular 1980s television show Airwolf.

Neil Young has stated that his song "Old King" is a tribute to a deceased Bluetick Coonhound he once owned.

An unnamed Bluetick Coonhound is featured in Blake Shelton's hit single, "Ol' Red". The song relates an escape plan of a man convicted of a crime of passion when he murdered his wife and her lover. He devises a plan to have a female Bluetick lure the prison's male Bloodhound Ol' Red away from Shelton instead of tracking him as he heads in the opposite direction. The closing lines of the song are:

"Now there's red-haired Blueticks all in the South, / Love got me in there and love got me out."

Bluetick Coonhounds are featured in the book Where the Red Fern Grows. However, the two main dogs are Redbone Coonhounds.

Emmylou Harris sings about her friend Lillian's "Bluetick hound dog, Gideon" in her song Red Dirt Girl.

Charlie Daniels mentions that he's "kinda like my old Bluetick hound / I like to lay around in the shade" in his song "Long Haired Country Boy."

David Allan Coe mentions a Bluetick hound in his song "Cum Stains on the Pillow."

A Bluetick was featured in a Miracle Whip television commercial. After making a sandwich, the dog discovers the owner is out of Miracle Whip. (Jeff Gorman Films - Man's Best Friend Makes a Sandwich; Animal Makers animation)

Ken Kesey, in his novel, "One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest", used a Bluetick Coonhound as a symbol for his main character Chief Bromden.

In Savage Sam, the sequel to Old Yeller, the title character is a Bluetick Coonhound. He is meant to be the son of Old Yeller, despite Old Yeller having been a Carolina Dog.

Here on Blog STORMBRINGER we like to celebrate the things of the Great American Southland: God, Guns, Guts, Elvis, the Blues, Barbecue, Moonshine Sippin' Whiskey, NASCAR, and now BlueTick and RedBone CoonHounds . . . . . . . S.L.

COL. LEWIS LEE MILLETT, MOH

by PETER WORTHINGTON


I first spotted him at a banquet and awards ceremony in Seoul, marking the 50th anniversary of the Korean war – a grizzled old colonel with a white handlebar moustache and the Medal of Honor around his neck.

But what caught my attention was two Canadian war medals nestled among the 26 medal ribbons he wore – the Canadian Volunteer medal with overseas clasp, and Victory medal from WWII.

“How come?” I asked him.

A mischievous grin spread his face. He introduced himself – Col. Lewis Lee Millett, a storied American fighting soldier, although I didn’t know it at the time.



Col. Lewis Millett


“I got the Medal of Honor thanks to the Canadian army,” he quipped. “The Canadians taught me bayonet fighting, and I led a bayonet charge in the Korean war.” He paused, waiting for inevitable questions.

I was with my friend, Vince Courtenay, both of us Korean vets from the same battalion of the Princess Pats in Korea.

Millett, then around 80 years old, told how he’d joined the U.S. army at age 21 in the summer of 1941 – and then deserted, because the U.S. wasn’t yet in the war. He came to Canada and joined our army to go overseas. He wanted to fight Nazis. “As I recall, the Canadian infantry was always doing bayonet training – stabbing straw-filled dummies, parry, thrust, shouting. It made an impression on me.”

After Pearl Harbor, when the U.S. entered the war, he transferred back to the U.S. army, served in North Africa and Italy, winning the Silver Star. When paperwork caught up with him that he had deserted in 1941, his commanding officer court-martialed him – fined him $50, and promptly promoted him to 2nd lieutenant.

“I believe I am the only colonel in the regular army who was ever court-martialed and convicted of desertion,” he laughed. In Korea, he also won the Distinguished Service Cross, next to the Medal of Honor in prestige, but he seemed inordinately proud of his two Canadian medals.

In the ferocious fighting of early 1951, Millett recalled reading a document that said the Chinese believed American soldiers dreaded hand-to-hand combat, and were fearful of “cold steel.”

“We’ll see about that, you sons of bitches,” he muttered. At a feature called Hill 180, under grenade and rifle fire, he led two platoons in a bayonet charge up the hill.



Painting of Capt. Lew Millett leading the bayonet charge up Hill 180 in Korea, February 1951, that won him the Medal of Honour. Painting hangs in the UN Command Officers Mess in Seoul.


“I always had my men fix bayonets,” he said. “I never forgot the Canadian training. We didn’t do much bayonet drill in those days, but I gotta say, those Chinese didn’t know what hit them when we charged.”

Millett led the way and routed the Chinese. His Medal of Honor citation reads: “His dauntless leadership and personal courage so inspired his men that they stormed into the hostile position and used their bayonets with such lethal effect that the enemy fled in wild disorder.”



Col. Millett's self-portrait of the charge.


In the Vietnam war, Millett was involved in a clandestine intelligence program aimed at subverting and killing Viet Cong in the countryside. He retired in 1973 when he felt the U.S. was abandoning South Vietnam.

He once told an interviewer: “I believe deeply in freedom. I’ve fought in three wars, and volunteered for all of them . . . I believe as a free man it is your duty to help those under the attack of tyranny. It’s as simple as that.”

Lewis Millett, old soldier, died on Nov. 14, age 89: A free man, a brave man, an American patriot.


Peter Worthington is the founding editor of the Toronto Sun, where he is a columnist.


This story first appeared on FrumForum and is reposted here by permission of the author.

PRISONER of WAR ROLEX's

PART 2




A Wonderful Story


A 1940s Rolex chronograph that belonged to a British prisoner of war at Luft Stalag III camp in Nazi Germany came up for auction sale in Geneva in May, 2007. With it is the logbook Corporal Clive Nutting of the Royal Corps of Signals kept during his wartime captivity. It’s a collection of unpublished cartoons, illustrations and photographs revealing a new insight into camp life and the mass breakout of 76 POWs made famous in the movie, The Great Escape.



Included in the papers is Nutting’s correspondence with Rolex, confirming the remarkable marketing campaign the Geneva brand launched during World War II.


A Captive Market

Swiss watch sales were badly hit by the war, especially after Germany invaded unoccupied Vichy France in November 1942, and neutral Switzerland found itself completely encircled by Axis powers. Watch companies were cut off from their best customers, the British and Americans.

Rolex, however, discovered that there were plenty of British and Americans right on Switzerland’s doorstep — literally a captive market — in German prisoner-of-war camps. Stalag Luft III, for example, housed up to 10,000 Allied airmen, shot down in operations over occupied Europe. Thousands more Allied officers were interned in the various Oflag (officer’s POW camps) scattered throughout the German Reich.



Clive Nutting (at right) with his “Brothers in Arm” in Stalag Luft III


This was evidently a booming market, judging from Rolex’s confirmation of an order for one of its more expensive watches received from prisoner No. 738 in Stalag Luft III. Hans Wilsdorf, founding director of Rolex who took personal charge of sales to POWs, warned Clive Nutting of “an unavoidable delay in the execution of your order.” The delay was due, not to wartime restrictions, “but to a large number of orders in hand for officers.”


Rolex’s Incredible Offer

The large number of orders is explained by the incredible offer Rolex was making to POWs. Underlined in Wilsdorf’s letter to Nutting are the words, “…but you must not even think of settlement during the war.” The news that Rolex was offering watches on the “pay-on-the-never-never” plan spread through the camps like wildfire. More than 3,000 Rolex watches were reportedly ordered by British officers in the Oflag VII B POW camp in Bavaria alone.





Wilsdorf, himself a German, was betting on an Allied victory. By early 1943 this was a risk worth taking; the tide of war had turned. The Russians were on the offensive after routing the Germans at Stalingrad; German and Italian armies were being driven out of North Africa. This expression of trust must have been a wonderful morale-booster for the POWs. Besides being a comfort in a POW camp, watches were part of an airman’s kit, and many had lost theirs on capture or in trying to avoid it. As a signaller, Clive Nutting would also have been issued a watch as part of his equipment. For escape-minded prisoners who could only get to the borders by public transport, a watch was as essential as a train timetable.

Wilsdorf further hedged his bet by making this offer available to British officers only, in the belief that their word was their bond. He had started his watch business in England, but moved to Switzerland after World War I for tax reasons. He was also impressed by the fact that Rolex watches were popular among British Royal Air Force pilots. He also extended the offer to NCOs like Clive Nutting, who though not an officer nor even in the air force, was gentleman enough to order a 250-franc Rolex 3525 Oyster chronograph. Most other POWs ordered the much cheaper Speed King model, popular for its small size.

Nutting’s Oyster chronograph No. 122, ordered on March 10, 1943, was eventually sent on July 10 with a gratis invoice, certificate and instructions, and it was on Nutting’s wrist by August 4. As a chronograph, it could well have been used in timing the patrols of the goons (prison guards) or the despatch of 76 escapees though tunnel “Harry” in the mass breakout of March 24-25, 1944.




A Valuable Craftsman

Nutting was among a few army personnel quartered in the North camp of Stalag Luft III. A shoemaker by trade, he was valuable both to the Germans and to the POWs. He had a privileged position in charge of the camp’s shoemaking workshop, received a wage from the Germans, sent remittances to his family in England, and as an officer’s promissory note testifies, had money to lend. He could evidently afford a special watch.



Clive Nutting (at right) with his friends in the workshop



The next we hear of the watch is on Nutting’s return to his home in Acton, London, in August 1945 when he writes to Wilsdorf that although his watch served well in the cold weather during the evacuation of the camps, it was now gaining an hour a day. Where can he have it fixed? And can he have the final invoice?

Due to British currency restrictions, Rolex could only send Nutting the invoice of £15 12s 6d for his watch in 1948. The chronograph stayed with him until his death in Australia in 2001 at the age of 90.

The last record of Nutting’s POW watch is a restorer’s bill for $2,356 (Australian dollars), dated March 28, 2003 — exactly 63 years after its original owner became a prisoner of war.




The restorer’s bill dated March 28, 2003




To Be Continued . . .


. . . S.L.

DAWGS

I HAD to post this article because the last time I made it home the kids surprised me with a puppy - our Bella-boo is one of those Redbone's. Now I've got a new dawg to train - it only took me the better part of two years to sort out my Tiny Tiger, the Jack Russel from Hell. At least Bella is a little more steady in the nerves than my Tiny; she'll make a fine tracking dog, she's got the super-dooper sniffer nose for it . . . . . . S.L.


From the





Three New AKC-Recognized Dog Breeds: Bluetick Coonhound, Boykin Spaniel and Redbone Coonhound

by Lindsay Barnett


The American Kennel Club has announced that three new dog breeds -- the bluetick coonhound, the Boykin spaniel and the redbone coonhound -- will be eligible for AKC conformation competition beginning Dec. 30. The new breeds will bring the total number of breeds recognized by the AKC to 164.

The bluetick coonhound (left) is believed to be descended from the French staghound and English foxhound, and blueticks were originally classified as members of the English foxhound breed.

Blueticks and English foxhounds went their separate ways in 1945 because, according to the AKC, bluetick breeders "didn't want to follow the trend toward producing a hot-nosed, faster hunter. Proud of their larger, cold-nosed and resolute, if slower hounds, they named their breed and maintained their own hunting style."

As a result of these breeding practices, blueticks are known for their endurance in addition to their signature coloring, for which they're named. A bluetick named Smokey is the mascot for the University of Tennessee.


The Boykin spaniel (right) -- named for the breed's originator, L. Whitaker Boykin -- hails from South Carolina and is that state's official dog. (This fun fact got us wondering whether California has an official state dog; it doesn't. But a number of other U.S. states do; for instance, the American foxhound is the state dog of Virginia and the Louisiana Catahoula leopard dog is the state dog of Louisiana. For reasons unclear to us, the Great Dane is the official dog of Pennsylvania.)


According to legend, the Boykin breed got its start in the humblest of manners: the breed's forerunner, a sturdy little stray who was given the name Dumpy (no joke), was found wandering near a church in Spartanburg, S.C., in the early 1900s. One of the parishioners, Alexander White, took Dumpy home. After spending some time with Dumpy, White thought his personality lended itself to hunting; it just so happened that White's hunting partner was Boykin, a skilled dog trainer. Boykin took over Dumpy's training and soon discovered the dog was a natural at hunting wild turkeys; soon, a breed was born. Although the original Boykin spaniels were wild-turkey hunters, the majority of those used in the field today hunt ducks and other water birds.

Young-adult literature fans may remember the redbone coonhound (left) from Wilson Rawls' novel "Where the Red Fern Grows," which made us weep in our youth and, even now, causes us to well up a bit thinking about it. Redbones are descended from red foxhounds brought to the U.S. from Scotland and Ireland in the 1700s and 1800s, and they're known for their speed, agility and prowess at treeing game.

Both the bluetick coonhound and redbone coonhound will join the Hound group, naturally; the Boykin spaniel will become the newest member of the Sporting group. The new breeds are the first to receive official recognition from the AKC since the Irish red-and-white setter, the Pyrenean shepherd and the Norwegian buhund were admitted to the exclusive purebreds-only club in January.

Top photo: A bluetick coonhound. Credit: Diane Lewis / American Kennel Club

Middle photo: A Boykin spaniel. Credit: Bill Simmons

Bottom photo: A redbone coonhound. Credit: Christine Smith

I GET THE WEIRDEST EMAILs . . .

I kid you not, this came in the Sean Linnane Inbox . . .


We are looking for someone to get the children ready in the morning, prepare and clear up the family's breakfast, make the beds, and take the children to school, which is about a 1.5km walk away. The Au pair would then need to pick them up at 3.20 and look after them until we get home. We will ask the Nursing assistance/Au pair to babysit 1-2 evenings a week.


There is a cleaner, so there wouldn't be any heavy housework; a bit of light cleaning and laundry which would take about 90 minutes a day in total. There would be plenty of time free in the day to go to language school, and there are a lot of good ones in the area.

The Nursing assistance/Au pair would have her own room, which is huge, and has a double bed, with sitting area and TV/DVD/Video/Hi-Fi. There is wireless broadband internet in the house.


Working hours: 0730 to 0900 and 1520 to 1930 plus about 60-90 minutes of housework a day to fit in with the Au pair's schedule. 25-30 hours a week.

Benefit: 1400 Pounds every four weeks plus a pocket money of 300 Pounds per week for the buying of some things for your self and I will also be responsible for some of the funds for your traveling documents.

Send your resume to _____________@gmail.com



Okay, lets see if they like what I have to offer here:


Twenty-five years US Army, served on Special Forces Operational Detachments ‘Alpha’ (SFODA's) as Senior Engineer Sergeant, Intelligence and Assistant Operations NCO, and Operations Sergeant (Team Sergeant).


QUALIFICATIONS:

18C Special Forces Engineer (Demolitions), SFARTAEC (Breacher)




Special Forces Combat Diver, USMC Combatives Instructor, US Army Jumpmaster.


Extensive operational experience, languages include French, Spanish, Thai and a working knowledge of Arabic.

Instructor, Survival/Evasion/Resistance/Escape (SERE) Level C, US Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center & School, Ft. Bragg NC.




Trained US and foreign Special Forces in tactics, marksmanship & Close Quarter Battle (CQB)

Rifle Expert, Pistol Expert, passed Army Physical Fitness Test. Current Security Clearance.

EDUCATION: Bachelor of Science (cum laude)


ABOUT MYSELF:

As a Special Forces Engineer, I can "change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, con a ship, operate and pull maintenance on any kind of vehicle . . .




. . . design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently and die gallantly."



Let's see . . . 2600 Pounds = 4,270.86 USD a month . . . hmmm . . .

. . . I dunno . . . sounds like an awful lot of work for that kind of scratch . . .






. . . S.L.

RONALD REAGAN . . .

. . . from the 1950's




Too bad, it may be too late . . . . . . S.L.