NYT’s Paul Krugman: US, Russia And Saudi Arabia Are The ‘New Axis Of Evil’

There's a new axis of evil: Russia, Saudi Arabia -- and the United States https://t.co/rcJup3b1m0

— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) December 10, 2018

The Hill: NYT’s Krugman: US, Russia and Saudi Arabia are ‘new axis of evil’

New York Times opinion columnist Paul Krugman said Monday that Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United States represent a new axis of evil.

"There's a new axis of evil: Russia, Saudi Arabia — and the United States," Krugman tweeted, linking to a story about how the three countries all declined to endorse the United Nation's latest climate study.

The phrase "axis of evil" was coined by former President George W. Bush to refer to Iraq, Iran and North Korea in 2002, three countries accused of supporting terrorism or of nuclear proliferation.

The United States, along with Russia, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, at a climate summit in Poland objected to language welcoming a report produced by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Read more ....

WNU Editor: And to think that he won the Nobel Prize in Economics.

Afghan Vet Hopes To Be The First Double-Amputee To Walk To The South Pole

Brave Soldier Who Lost Both His Legs In Bomb Blast In Afghanistan Hopes To Become First Double-Amputee To Walk To The South Pole -- Daily Mail

* Duncan Slater was hit in an explosion in the war-torn country in July 2009
* He is one of six injured soldiers hoping to be selected for the Walking With The Wounded charity race to the South Pole in November
* Sergeant Slater is currently training for the expedition in Iceland

A soldier who lost both his legs in a bomb blast in Afghanistan is hoping to become the first double-amputee to walk to the South Pole.

Sergeant Duncan Slater, who was struck by the explosion in the war-torn country in July 2009, has spent the last week training for the challenge in sub-zero temperatures in Iceland.

Read more ....

My Comment: True grit.

Death In Combat Hinges On The Tiniest Margins

Photo: Jesse Holder, a 173rd Airborne trooper, was wounded in 2007 while serving in Afghanistan by shrapnel from an RPG round. Courtesy Jesse Holder

One Inch: Death In Combat Hinges On The Tiniest Margins -- NBC

Four soldiers, four battles — and, between them — four total inches separate the slim expanse between death and life.

One died because his armor plating wasn’t one inch higher. Three survived by that same tiny fraction, left to mull the unanswerable: "Why am I still here?"

In the final days of 2012, the somber tally of American service members wounded in action in Afghanistan surpassed 18,000 while the number of U.S. military men and women killed there eclipsed 2,040, according to the Department of Defense.

Read more ....

My Comment: I have been told that combat is sometimes like that .... with luck (or bad luck) always coming into play.

So Much For Doomsday

Dec. 16, 2012: Blackhawk helicopters fly to Kandahar -- an ordinary day, despite widespread fearmongering of an impending "doomsday." (U.S. Army / D. Myles Cullen)

Doomsday? Just Another Day For The Military -- Allison Barrie, FOX News

Despite a wave of online hysteria to the contrary, there’s no scientific evidence whatever to suggest doomsday will occur on Friday.

That's why U.S. military forces are quietly ignoring the nonsense, planning no mobile air strikes, no red alerts, no doomsday watches, no safety warnings -- they’re just getting on with business.

The U.S. government’s official blog has even tried to reassure people that scary rumors about the world ending in 2012 are just silly talk: “False rumors are scaring people and children,” the site cautions.

NASA and the United States Geological Survey (USGS), home to some of America's top scientists, decided to step up and unleash a barrage of facts against the fearmongers as well.

Read more ....

My Comment: I guess we will have to wait for this day.

The Most Dangerous People In The World

Photo: Qasem Soleimani

The 15 Most Dangerous People In The World -- Danger Room

There used to be an established order to the world. A structure to things. You couldn't print a gun like a term paper. It was impossible to wreck a nuclear production plant with a few lines of code. Flying robots didn't descend on you in the dead of night and kill you in your home.

But that order has been upended. Cheap videos in California help spark riots in Cairo. Lynchpins of the Middle East now rant about 'Planet of the Apes' in public, and Iranian generals trash-talk David Petraeus over SMS. The world has gone a little haywire — sometimes for better, sometimes for worse. Here are our choices for the 15 people most responsible for making it that way.

Who did we miss? What did we get wrong? Sound off in the comments, or find us on Facebook or Twitter (we'll retweet the best suggestions). .

Read more ....

My Comment: Iran's Gen. Qassem Suleimani is on top of my list.

A Soldier's Story

Ben King

Special Forces Soldiers Really Are Special -- Business Insider

The first "live" training I ever went through was in Fort Polk, Louisiana. I put the "live" in quotation marks because everything is real.....except the enemy.

We lived in a Forward Operating Bases (FOB), followed standard operating procedures and behaved like soldiers down range.

It was good training. Especially since I had never really experienced how big The Army operated as a whole.

Read more ....

My Comment: To me .... all soldiers are special.

Voting For The 6th Annual Milbloggies Is Now Open

Voting For The 6th Annual Milbloggies Is Now Open

Voting for the 6th Annual Milbloggies is now open. Winners will be announced at the MilBlog Conference on May 11 and 12, 2012. The winner does not need to be present to be eligible for their milbloggie.

The Milbloggie Awards recognize military bloggers for their contribution to blogging, news and information, and to the military over the past year.

Read more ....

The Greatest Sword Fight Scenes Ever

10 Of The Most Awesome Sword Fight Scenes Ever -- io9

Let's face facts. No weapon is more badass than a sword. Fight scenes are often great in science fiction and fantasy movies, but fight scenes with swords? They're the stuff of legend. Here are ten of the very best sword fights in cinematic history.

Since we're all about facing facts today, I'm just going to admit up front that I might be a bit of a sword fight fan. So I couldn't narrow down this list to an exact ten. I had to throw in a few extras, mostly because I love you but also because I spent the last two days trying to narrow this list down to no avail. Without further ado, here are ten-ish of the best sword fights committed to film EVAR.

Read more ....

My Comment: It's not on the list, but my favorite is The Bride Vs Crazy 88 (see above video).