It is official. MCI is now my least favorite airport. A formerly graceful collection of partial circles on the Missouri plains, post 9/11 has converted it into a crowded, inefficient nightmare.

Typepad...

I have added typepad, we'll see if it has value.

Battle Du Jour...

I have spent some considerable time away from the blog in an area of one of my personal interests, that of medical ethics.  There are a number of excellent sites which detail the battles raging within science / evidence based medicine.  Given the pending debate over health care in the nation - it is worth making the rounds as several sites offer a professional view into the healthcare world.  I promise to return at some point to tackle the arising urgent issues;

 

1 - North Korea - bluff and bluster or doom and disaster

2 - The shrinking pirate problem - no news is good news?

3 - Why we need to rethink our weapons programs

4 - Obamaconomy - It's his to win or lose

 

Whew!

 

I know I just overcommitted, but that's just who I am.

McTimoney Chiropractors evacuate internet...

the quackometer: McTimoney Chiropractors told to take down their web sites

Twit - blogging. Apparently I can now join the ranks of the hyperstimulated and twitblog via text.

Hypocrisy...

Dr. George Tiller, a Kansas doctor who ran one of three clinics in the United States specializing in performing late term abortions (post 21 weeks), was murdered in his church on Sunday.  The alleged assassin, Scott Roeder, is a 51 year old male with no immediate links to extremist "pro-life" groups.  This doctor had previously been shot in the arms in the early 1990s and had his clinic bombed by the self-professed "pro-life" movement. 

 

I am a generally conservative guy, some would call me a monarchist.  I am, however, firmly in the "pro-law" / "pro-choice" side of this debate.  The President stated that no matter how profound our differences, they can not be resolved with violence.  I agree with him in this fully.  What is most disturbing is that these social issues, abortion, gay-marriage and others seem to evoke such irrational responses from the advocates from each side.  Mind you, I believe there is a definable right and wrong for almost any moral quandary, even if the definition is "less wrong".  Requiring women to act in a subservient manner to men due to some religious tenet is wrong.  Prohibiting two consenting adults from entering into a contract making their relationship permanent in the eyes of the state and the public is wrong.  Shooting a person because you don't agree with the practice of their legal profession is wrong.

 

The spokesperson for Operation Rescue made a public statement denouncing the shooting, and disavowing involvement.  I can not help but find their words specious when they are couched in the following phrases, "we have been pursuing legal means to bring Dr. Tiller to justice". 

 

Ah, the mantra of the zealot - bring them to justice.

 

Sound like Al-Queda to me.

RPG? What RPG, I'm holding that for a friend...

Naval forces of CTF 151 make a significant capture of a pirate mothership off the Somali coast. In this action it was the response to an Egyption ship which led embarked helos from teh USS GETTYSBURG and ROKS MUNMU THE GREAT (what a cool name) to discover the pirates' floating base. It should also underscore how tought this operation will be to sustain in an ongoing basis. The mothership was not much more than a small fishing vessel with a few small arms aboard. The pirates will turn out to be unemployed youth seeking to make a quick buck at the behest of some higher headman.

We can not employ guided missile cruisers to stop pirates. We need to deploy a small squadron of light craft centered around an amphibious ship, preferably an LHD. This would provide a platform for embarked helos, critical for identifying these vessels, and a base for high speed vessel response. With MARPAT (Maritime Patrol) overflights, we could provide sufficient deterrent for the far offshore operations of pirates. Additionally, the Rules of Engagement (ROE) should be modified to permit the use deadly force in defense of any civilian vessel under current attack.

---

From: American Forces Press Service
Sent: Thu 5/14/2009 11:39 AM
Subject: Combined Task Force Makes First Suspected Pirate Capture

Combined Task Force Makes First Suspected Pirate Capture
Thu, 14 May 2009 11:16:00 -0500

Combined Task Force Makes First Suspected Pirate Capture American Forces Press Service ABOARD USS GETTYSBURG AT SEA, May 14, 2009 - Ships from Combined Task Force 151 prevented a piracy attack in the Gulf of Aden, which resulted in the apprehension of more than a dozen suspected pirates aboard an alleged "mothership" yesterday. The South Korean destroyer ROKS Munmu the Great and guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg responded to a distress call from the Egyptian-flagged motor vessel Amira, which reported being attacked about 75 nautical miles south of Mukalla, Yemen. Several assault rifle rounds and a rocket-propelled grenade round struck the Amira, causing little or no damage. A rope was thrown from the skiff in an attempt to board, but the attempt failed and the suspected pirates abandoned their attack. Gettysburg and Munmu the Great launched their embarked helicopters which flew immediately to Amira's location. During its flight, the SH-60B helicopter assigned to Helicopter Anti-submarine Squadron Light 46 located a small boat suspected of serving as a pirate mothership. A Gettysburg visit, board, search and seizure team boarded the boat along with members of U.S. Coast Guard Legal Detachment 409 and apprehended the suspected pirates after finding eight assault rifles, a rocket-propelled grenade launcher and a rocket-propelled grenade. All 17 of the passengers were brought on board Gettysburg for further questioning. "This is another clear example of how coordination between the Combined Maritime Forces resulted in the successful disruption of pirate activity," said Royal Navy Commodore Tim Lowe, deputy commander of the Combined Maritime Forces. "It is imperative that all maritime forces continue to synchronize their efforts to deter and disrupt these unlawful and aggressive acts." Gettysburg and Munmu the Great are operating in support of CTF 151, a multinational task force established to conduct counterpiracy operations under a mission-based mandate throughout the CMF area of responsibility to deter, disrupt and suppress piracy and secure freedom of navigation. (From a Combined Maritime Forces news release.)

Related Sites: U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/U.S. 5th Fleet/Combined Maritime Forces

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