Time out

I am going to a time out place for a while. My Army discharge medical evaluations include the phrases "reduced tolerance to stress," "subtle yet significant deficits in higher levels of cognitive thinking," "emotional lability" and "personality decompensation," all from a cerebral aneurysm 35 years ago. And, about three weeks ago, I fell and hit my head, and things have been a bit different since then. I will be working on stories about Life After Life and maybe refining three Vietnam novels. 

Thanks for reading.

Some days

Some days things sound so much like the day before and the day before that, dealing with the news is nigh unto impossible. Or, at least inimical to one's emotional health.

Marine Corps general fired in drowning deaths of nine

From Valor Guardians

Investigators found the accident, which occurred on July 30 last year, was the result of inadequate training, questionable maintenance of the decades-old amphibious assault vehicles (AAV) and commanders’ bad judgement.

“During the return transit, water began to enter the mishap AAV through multiple points of leakage, the transmission failed, bilge pumps were unable to expel water rapidly enough due to the transmission failure, and the AAV began to sink. The vehicle commander gave the distress signal, known as a ‘November flag,’ but no safety boats were in the water, and it took approximately 20 minutes for another AAV to arrive to assist,” the Corps explained.

“The mishap AAV was slowly sinking for approximately 45 minutes before the other AAV with embarked personnel pulled alongside. The mishap AAV crew prepared to evacuate embarked personnel by opening a hatch on the top of the vehicle. The AAVs collided, causing the mishap AAV to turn broadside to a swell. A large wave swept over the mishap AAV, in which water entered the troop compartment through the open hatch, and caused the mishap AAV to rapidly sink with eleven personnel on board.”

Troops had not been suitably trained to escape the amphibious assault vehicle quickly, nor had the unit executed the required evaluation that would address issues prior to the exercise.

https://valorguardians.com/blog/?p=114432

Marines and sailors were not trained in proper actions, rescue boats were not in the water, the AAV leaked because of bad maintenance. From the original story a couple of months back, everybody involved in planning and execution just sort of decided everything would go OK, and they didn’t have to follow all the proper procedures.

  

Croatia Refuses to ‘Take a Knee’, Says It’s a Political Gesture Against UEFA Rules

Paul Joseph Johnson Summit News

The Croatian national football team says its players will refuse to ‘take a knee’ before their Euro 2020 games because the stunt is an explicitly political gesture which would violate UEFA rules.

 

The argument made in the UK for England players taking the knee, despite being booed for it by their own fans, is that the gesture is merely a symbolic anti-racism stance and doesn’t equate to any form of political messaging.

However, the gesture only started being performed in the UK after the death of George Floyd last year and is inextricably linked with Black Lives Matter, a divisive, violent, extremist far-left political movement.

With Croatia set to play England at Wembley next week, the Croatian Federation said that its players would not be taking a knee before the match and will instead remain standing.

“At a press conference before the European Championships, Croatian national team spokesman Tomislav Pacak did not want to answer a question related to kneeling, but Croatian journalists said the decision was made by the association because kneeling is not part of the UEFA protocol and the UEFA is explicitly opposed to any politically motivated manifestations in sport,” reports Remix.

 

The Hungarian national team will also remain standing for the same reason, with the Hungarian Football Association explaining in a statement, “The rules of UEFA and FIFA do not allow politicization on the pitch and in the stadium, which the MLSZ not only accepts but agrees with. The national team will not express its condemnation of any form of hatred by not kneeling before the matches.”

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban went even further, asserting that the display was a “provocation” when performed in Budapest by Ireland players and is only being performed in some European countries due to their historical guilt over slavery.

Despite the fact that England will flagrantly violate UEFA’s rules on political gestures multiple times by taking the knee, don’t expect them to face any official sanctions.

As we document in the video below, fans who boo players taking the knee have been denounced as racists despite their reason for doing so being exclusively to express opposition to Black Lives Matter’s extremism, iconoclasm and demented political goals.

https://summit.news/2021/06/11/croatia-refuses-to-take-a-knee-says-its-a-political-gesture-against-uefa-rules/

Link at Gates of Vienna

 

 

Orbán: Kneeling on soccer field foreign to Hungarian culture

From Daily News Hungary 

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Thursday said the practice of players kneeling on soccer fields to protest against racism was foreign to Hungarian culture. 

“I don’t sympathise with this kneeling thing in the slightest,” Orbán told a press briefing.

The prime minister said there was no place for kneeling on sports grounds, “sports is about something else.” 

Orbán said the act of kneeling in Hungary was reserved for prayer, showing patriotism and marriage proposals.

“In all other cases this is foreign to Hungarian culture,” he said. 

He said the practice had been introduced in countries with a history of slavery, adding that “these burdens of the past should be processed by the nations they concern.” 

Countries that do not have a history of slavery cannot help them with that, he added.

https://dailynewshungary.com/orban-kneeling-on-soccer-field-foreign-to-hungarian-culture/

 

Hungarian national team refuses to kneel to BLM, Irish show cowardice

From RMX News

As was expected, the Hungarian national team did not kneel before the last friendly match with Ireland, just four days before the kick-off of the European Championship co-hosted by Hungary, news and opinion portal Mandiner writes.

The protest form, which began in the sporting world with ex-NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, also broke into Euroepan football last year, along with the growing Black Lives Matter movement after the death of George Floyd. At the European Championship, members of the English national team will kneel before the matches, although there were spectators in the British stadiums before the home-run preparation matches who did not like it.

However, the players of the Hungarian team will not kneel at any point during the championship matches, according to a statement by Hungarian national football federation MLSZ, the Hungarian national team will not only follow the international rules and norms in all cases, but will give respect to everyone — be it an opponent, a fan or anyone else.

https://rmx.news/article/article/hungarian-national-team-refuses-to-kneel-for-blm-at-budapest-match-ireland-takes-the-knee

 

Link at Gates of Vienna

Go to jail, go straight to jail

In Britain, anyone who owns a TV must pay a “license fee” for the BBC. In Germany, if you are a breathing adult, you pay a radio licensing fee. Don’t own a TV? See above statement. Georg Thiel decided it was ridiculous for him to pay a fee for a service he did not use. He has been in a German jail for more than 100 days. 

https://gatesofvienna.net/2021/06/prison-time-for-a-tv-tax-refusenik/