Feral Jundi

Friday, April 29, 2011

Industry Talk: MPRI Contractor James McLaughlin One Of Nine Americans Killed In Afghanistan Shooting

Rest in peace to James and the rest of the Americans killed in this tragic incident in Kabul. This has been a bad couple of weeks for MPRI and with the loss of Paul Almryde and James, these deaths tragically mark the beginning of the spring fighting season.

I would also like to remind the reader that the sacrifice of contractors in Afghanistan has been steep.  Here are the latest figures from wikipedia, which also draws from the DoL.

The U.S. Department of Labor confirmed that by March 31, 2011, a total of 763 civilian contractors were killed in Afghanistan. Of which, during the period between June 2009 and April 2010, 260 were private security contractors or PMCs.

If you look up in the Contractor Casualty Statistics box here on the blog, I try to keep everything close to current. But obviously these latest deaths have added to this unfortunate list in Afghanistan. To all friends and family members of fallen contractors, the sacrifices of these heroes will not be forgotten. My heart also goes out to the military men and women who have also given the ultimate sacrifice and last pound of flesh in this war. Semper fi. –Matt


James McLaughlin

James McLaughlin of Santa Rosa dead in Afghan war
Henry K. Lee
Friday, April 29, 2011
Civilian contractor James McLaughlin of Santa Rosa was killed with eight troops.
Sandy McLaughlin of Santa Rosa used Skype twice a day to talk to her husband while the retired Army veteran worked as a civilian contractor in Afghanistan. Seeing his wife over the video phone was the highlight of his day.
On Tuesday night, James McLaughlin Jr., 55, gave his wife his usual send-off: “OK, I gotta go. I love you. Bye-bye.”
Hours later, James McLaughlin was dead, one of nine Americans shot and killed at a military compound near the Kabul airport by a veteran Afghan military pilot. (more…)

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Call To Action: Colorado Senate Bill 11-186 Will Free Criminals And Spell The End Of Private Bail-Vote No!

In the past I have written about the effectiveness of offense industries, and specifically bounty hunting.  The strength of the private bail industry comes from the profit motive of the act and from them having incentive to get their bail money back if their client runs, and that is a good thing. These men and women work hard in this industry and earn every penny they make doing a dangerous service that benefits us all.

What Colorado is trying to do here is to ruin private enterprise, and expand the size of government through another means of capturing revenue. Meanwhile, if the bail industry is destroyed by this greedy government program, who will run after the criminals that run? The police? Hell, they can’t even keep up with the current warrants in that state.

At the bottom of these articles I posted the contact information for all the state Senators in Colorado. Take your pick, or write them all, but either way, tell them to vote no on Senate Bill 11-186.  –Matt

Dog The Bounty Hunter Fighting Bill That Would Free Criminals
Apr 26, 2011
Duane “Dog” Chapman isn’t just busy yanking criminals off the street — he’s fighting the politicians trying to put them back on the street!
Dog is leading the fight in Colorado against a state Senate bill he and the bill’s critics say will put bail bondsmen out of business — and flood society with criminals.
“This time I’m not barking. I’m here to take a real bite out of crime,” Dog told RadarOnline from Colorado. “I’m here to stop tax funded bonds ?and return bail bonds to the private sector where it belongs.”
Authorities in Colorado on Tuesday will convene to vote on the divisive Senate Bill 11-186,  sponsored by Democratic Sen. John Morse and Republican Rep. Mark Waller, both of Colorado Springs.
The bill would put into play a deposit bond, which would grant pre-trial services to offer bonds to incarcerated defendants.
Here’s how it works:
If the accused cannot can’t get bonded out by a private bail company, the court will make one available to them.  Once the judge sets bond, the defendant would be able to pay up to 15 percent of the amount.
Under this system, 50 percent of the revenue would go to the court fees for the service. If the defendant is found not guilty, the other 50 percent would be returned to them. If they are found guilty, whatever funds are left would be given back to them.
One former lawman who operates his bail bonds company out of Colorado Springs, told KRDO -TV that if the bill is passed into a law, hundreds of people in his industry will be out of work.
Not only that, but who is going to chase down the criminals who don’t show up to court. Dog the Bounty Hunter told RadarOnline.com: “This state has hundreds of thousands of warrants! no Bounty Hunters ?  Ha, not,” he scoffed in a warning. (more…)

Weapons: Arizona Makes The Colt Single-Action Army Revolver The State’s Official Firearm!

Filed under: Arizona,Weapons — Tags: , , , , , , — Matt @ 7:59 PM

Right on and how cool is this?  Arizona has made the Colt Single-Action Army revolver the state’s first official firearm. Hell, I should petition the state of Idaho to make the AK 47 the state’s official firearm. lol So I wonder if any other state’s have official firearms? –Matt

Colt Single Action Army w/ 4.75" barrel, case colored and blued, referred to as "Quick-Draw" or "Civilian" model.

Arizona governor signs bill making Colt state gun
April 28, 2011
PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona’s governor has signed a bill designating the Colt Single-Action Army revolver as the state’s first official firearm.
Gov. Jan Brewer signed the bill without comment on Thursday. Legislative supporters argued that the designation was appropriate because the revolver was widely used during Arizona’s territorial days.
Opponents say it was inappropriate to give the official designation to an out-of-state company’s commercial product. Colt is based in Connecticut.
Democratic Rep. Albert Hale also says the gun was an instrument of destruction that was used against Native Americans.
Story here.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Military News: A Town Stops The Westboro Protestors, And Wins The Peace For A Marine Funeral

I had to post this awesome story that I am sure will please a few folks out there. This town organized their efforts to counter the Westboro Baptist protesters and were able to protect the funeral of a fallen Marine. I am grateful for what this town did and I certainly hope it catches on throughout the US. In fact, what would really be cool is a non-profit organization designed to protect funerals like this, using strategy and tactics that can defeat scumbags like this.  Such a group would be immensely popular with veterans and the families, and I am sure folks would donate to this cause.

The other reason why I like this, is this is an example of the people ‘taking matters into their own hands’. Obviously this country or even the states of the US are not organizing to protect these funerals because of freedom of speech issues. I cherish the right of freedom of speech, and will defend that right with my life. But I do not support protesters at funerals, and I don’t think most Americans support that concept. So this is the gray area of law and the common good, and in this case, I support the people doing what they have to do to smother the Westboro voice and protect funerals. Call it ‘doing the right thing’ and protecting the sanctity of our fallen warriors.

Here is the video of the funeral and it is a hard one to watch.  The tribute song is awesome. Semper Fi Staff Sgt. Jason Rogers and rest in peace. –Matt

 

A couple of days before, one of them (Westboro protestors) ran his mouth at a Brandon gas station and got his arse waxed. Police were called and the beaten man could not give much of a description of who beat him. When they canvassed the station and spoke to the large crowd that had gathered around, no one seemed to remember anything about what had happened.
Rankin County handled this thing perfectly. There were many things that were put into place that most will never know about and at great expense to the county.
Most of the morons never made it out of their hotel parking lot. It seems that certain Rankin county pickup trucks were parked directly behind any car that had Kansas plates in the hotel parking lot and the drivers mysteriously disappeared until after the funeral was over. Police were called but their wrecker service was running behind and it was going to be a few hours before they could tow the trucks so the Kansas plated cars could get out.
A few made it to the funeral but were ushered away to be questioned about a crime they might have possibly been involved in. Turns out, after a few hours of questioning, that they were not involved and they were allowed to go on about their business.
Link to Ole Miss Sports forum post here.

 

 

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Cool Stuff: Russian Working Dogs Equipped With Cellphones And Cameras

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