Ignorant Mouth » Military

Miss England, War Hero

dwilson — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 19:27:46 +0000

This is a neat news story. Because of a recent controversy with the Miss England victor, Rachel Christie, involving a fight at a night club, the crown was conceded to the runner up, Katrina Hodge received it. What’s so interesting about this? Katrina Hodge, from Tunbridge Wells, is serving member of the British Army – a Lance Corporal who has served in Iraq and even received a commendation for courage. She’s earned the nickname ‘combat barbie’. She’s planning on using the position to promote her charity efforts, specifically military related ones that she has been involved with in the past.

Miss England will competing soon in the Miss World competition.

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Somali Pirates

dwilson — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 12:00:35 +0000

Somali pirates have been in the news alot recent, and it seems like the Danish have stepped in to do something about it. Danish special forces captured a Somali pirate vessel and sunk it, in response to the more frequent attacks on ships in the region.

Somalia has been a dangerous region for a long time – years on anarchy and war tend to do that. The violence spread to the nearby seaways which is troubling Somalia is situated on the tip of the Horn of Africa (by the Red Sea) and is near seaway routes that led through the Suez Canal to the Mediterranian.

Piracy has existed there for a long time, but it has been in the news more frequently. It is not as simple a case however as simply condemning these people as brazen criminals. The Somali fishing industry, similar to many other fishing industries, has suffered from a depletion of fish because of trawlers that come through and scoop them up. Somali is obviously not in a position to be a welfare state and help these people much. Therefore, over time, these people have become desperate. In the end, however, they are simply being thugs who attack innocent people and deprive them of their property – and that is excusable. It’s truly disappointing that people turn to such activities.

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Mumbai Attacks not a Slap to America’s Face

mwilson — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 11:00:12 +0000

The attacks in Mumbai were not a slap to the face of America. Despite Defense Secretary Bob Gates’ comments that the recent attacks in Mumbai were targeting Americans and Britons, there is no evidence to indicate this is true. In fact, the targeted hotels were Indian-owned and the vast majority of foreigners caught in the crossfire escaped unharmed. According to Newsweek, if foreigners (particularly Britons and Americans) were the focus of the attacks, the terrorists ignored truly target-rich areas.

Contrary to what some may believe, people who are organizing attacks do not wait for religious or historically significant days to carry out their operations. They strike when the intended impact will be highest – that’s why Times Square won’t be gassed on New Years Eve, or why the parliament buildings won’t be bombed on Canada Day. We expect trouble to occur on those days and so security is enhanced making it harder for a would-be attacker to be successful.

Maybe tourists were the target. I don’t think so – the expected result was apparantly aimed at the local population in an attempt to increase domestic anger between the two countries whom many people believe are most likely to actually chuck nukes at each other.

Who are the attackers, and where do they come from? Anonymous emails and telephone conversations by at least one of the attackers identified the group as the “Deccan Mujahideen” which makes no sense – the Deccan Plateau is a huge geographic area that is not home to major separatist or known extremist organizations. Furthermore, the group is not known to have existed prior to now; it is very likely the name is either a hoax or a front for another organization.

The Indian government has been blaming Pakistan for the attacks. If they are truly convinced of their neighbor’s guilt, they are being incredibly reserved in their response. The American “intelligence” community is pointing the finger at Kashmir-based organizations. Perhaps the whole thing is a red herring intentionally designed to solicit a regional response.

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