Video: UK 10 years of operations in Afghanistan

defenceheadquarters

A new video made by the Ministry of Defence from footage from the last ten years tells the history of operations in Afghanistan and explains why we are there, what progress has been made, and how British service personnel are preparing to hand over control to the Afghans in 2015.

Ten years ago, British service personnel first went into Afghanistan as part of what was then called Operation Enduring Freedom. The new video starts with the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001 and takes viewers up to the present day, looking towards 2015 when the UK will no longer be involved in combat operations.

(c) MOD

The Huron Carol

The Huron Carol has become part of the Brat Christmas. It is usually sung by
a native Canadian, Tom Jackson - who has an amazing voice - and I tried
to find it. . I couldn't but I did find an even better version.

This version performed by Heather Dale, and sung in Wendat (Huron), French and English. If you go here, you can actually hear Tom Jackson singing another song. Did I mention I LOVE Tom Jackson? Enjoy!

Lockerbie: Will there ever be justice?

Twenty three years after the Lockerbie bombing that claimed almost 300 lives, comes this from the Guardian newspaper out of London:

Scotland lord advocate vows to continue investigating Lockerbie

Frank Mulholland believes Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, convicted for deaths of 270 people on Pan Am flight, did not act alone

Press Association guardian.co.uk 21 December 2011

Scotland's most senior law officer has vowed to bring the perpetrators of the Lockerbie bombing to justice.

Lord advocate Frank Mulholland said he would be "failing in his duty" if he failed to find the people who were responsible for the bombing.

He was speaking on the 23rd anniversary of the 1988 atrocity, in which 270 people died when Pan Am Flight 103 exploded in the skies over Lockerbie.

Abdelbaset al-Megrahi remains the only man convicted of the bombing.

Speaking ahead of a US ceremony at Arlington cemetery, Virginia, on Wednesday to commemorate the lives lost, Mulholland said: "I think I would be failing in my duty if I didn't properly seek to take advantage of the opportunity that has opened up with the fall of Gaddafi.

"I am determined to get the answers these families deserve."...

There IS much more - here.

34 Congress Members Call For NYPD-CIA Probe

From JihadWatch:

34 Congress members jump to do bidding of Hamas-linked CAIR, demand investigation of NYPD counter-terror measures

Hamas-linked CAIR and other Islamic supremacists are once again claiming victim status for Muslims and trying to use that status to deflect law enforcement attention away from Muslims in this country -- this time in New York. If they're successful, jihadists will have a free hand. And now they've got 34 Representatives on board. There is a word for such people.

"34 Congress Members Call For NYPD-CIA Probe," from AP, December 21 (thanks to Pamela Geller):

WASHINGTON (AP) — More than two dozen members of Congress are calling for investigation into the CIA’s relationship with the New York Police Department.

The members of Congress want to know more about the CIA’s collaboration with the police department to monitor Muslims after an Associated Press investigation.

A letter signed by 34 members of Congress was sent to the Department of Justice and House Judiciary Committee asking for a thorough probe.

Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., says: “We cannot allow the explicit profiling and targeting of Muslim Americans by the very people who are tasked with protecting and serving their community.”

Earlier this year, the AP revealed that the CIA helped the NYPD build intelligence programs to monitor Muslims after Sept. 11, and a top CIA operative was working at the police department.

PC gone mad!

U.S. Military in the Jihadi Bull's-Eye

From Radical Islam:

by: Clare M. Lopez

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter King held the fourth of his series of Capitol Hill hearings on Islamic radicalization in early December 2011.

The 7 December hearing focused on military communities in the United States (U.S.), which King described as the most sought-after target for Islamic terrorism. King’s Homeland Security Committee report, “Homegrown Terrorism: The Threat to Military Communities Inside The United States,” was issued the same day. It documents the startling surge in Islamic plots and strikes against military targets since 2009, which included the June 2009 attack at an Army recruiting office in Little Rock, Arkansas and the November 2009 attack by Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan at Ft. Hood, Texas.

More than 30 other threats and plots against U.S. military communities since 9/11 have put service members in the Islamic jihadist bull’s-eye, not just at dangerous posts overseas, but “inside the wire,” at home. Those communities are exceptionally vulnerable because of the Department of Defense’s refusal to define or defend against the enemy threat doctrine of shariah Islam—a doctrine that makes jihad obligatory for all Muslims. ...

Much more here.

Pay attention!

Meet Santa's Canadian escort pilots

From the Royal Canadian Air Force:

LCol Christopher Hamilton (left) and Capt Corey Mask will escort Santa Claus when he arrives in western Canada. Credit: DND.

From Canadian NORAD Region

With Christmas rapidly approaching, the Canadian NORAD Region has finalized plans to track and escort Santa Claus during his visits to Canada with the selection of four CF-18 fighter pilots who will act as Santa's official escorts.

First to welcome Santa will be pilots Captains Gregory Myers and Aaron Dhillon of 425 Tactical Fighter Squadron who will launch from 3 Wing Bagotville, Que., as the sleigh approaches Canadian airspace. Taking over escort duties as Santa makes his way into western Canada will be the commanding officer of 410 Tactical Fighter Squadron, Lieutenant-Colonel Christopher Hamilton; his wingman for this mission will be Captain Corey Mask of 4 Wing Cold Lake, Alta.

The Canadian Air Defence Sector Operations Centre at 22 Wing in North Bay, Ont., will alert NORAD when their radar and satellite systems detect Santa approaching North America. The two CF-18 Hornet fighter jets from 3 Wing will welcome Santa off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador, then hand over their duties as he nears western Canada to the two CF-18 Hornets from 4 Wing who will escort him for the remainder of his Christmas voyage.

Special NORAD 'SantaCams', positioned around the world, will take photos and video of Santa and his sleigh as he journeys around the world. The 'SantaCams' instantly download the photo and video imagery so that it may be viewed by children worldwide on the NORAD Tracks Santa website on Dec. 24.

Starting at midnight MST on Dec. 24, website visitors can watch Santa as he makes all the preparations for his flight. Then, at 4 a.m. MST (6 a.m. EST), trackers worldwide can talk to a live phone operator to inquire about Santa's whereabouts by dialling the toll-free number 1-877-Hi-NORAD (1-877-446-6723) or by sending an email. NORAD's "Santa Cams" will also stream videos as Santa makes his way over various locations worldwide. Last year on Christmas Eve alone, NORAD "Santa Trackers" answered thousands of telephone calls and emails over a 25-hour period.

NORAD is a bi-national United States and Canadian organization, charged with the missions of aerospace warning and aerospace control for North America. NORAD performs its mission 365 days per year, but on Christmas Eve, NORAD performs an additional mission - tracking Santa around the world.

NORAD's Tracks Santa program website is www.noradsanta.org

NORAD's Tracks Santa program email address is: noradtrackssanta@gmail.com

Safe travels!!!

Underwater drones help NYPD secure harbor

From Homeland Security News Wire:

21 December, 2011

NYPD harbor patrol deploying underwater drone // Source: geinvestigations.com

The New York Police Department (NYPD) has a new high-tech ally in its fight to keep the city safe from terrorists.

To help sweep the city’s waterways and bridges of dangerous bombs, the NYPD’s Harbor Unit recently acquired six unmanned underwater drones that help sniff out explosives.

In a recent demonstration, NYPD officers threw the sixteen pound submersible equipped with lights and sonar into the New York harbor and steered it beneath the hull of a colossal tanker moored near the Brooklyn Army Terminal.

Officers were able to guide the drone via a remote control and using its camera search below the ship in real-time. Detective William P. Devine and other drone operators have been trained to identify what biological or radiological weapons look like and where underwater explosives or narcotics are most likely hidden underneath boats....

VERY interesting article. Go read the rest here.