Preserving a piece of US Maritime History - invaluable

The USS Olympia is a cruiser that fought in the Spanish American War in 1898 and has been preserved in Philadelphia. She's a one of a kind ship, a national historic monument, and in danger. She needs approximately $10-15 million in repairs to keep her a viable museum for years to come. If you have the resources, or connections to those resources, please consider helping. (full disclosure - there is no financial benefit to me to ask the question - we need to save this ship for posterity). Please contact me at 612-599-1935 or bdskon@fedex.com if you have additional questions.

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Saturday, May 14, 2011

Sourpusses

Sourpusses

Please read this, and please please vote these people out in 2012.

Wishful thinking................of course

Who are the moron's who keep voting these people in?

National Naval Aviation Museum - New & Events

National Naval Aviation Museum - New & Events

Schedules for Art Exhibitions Released
From the museum's earliest days, aviation art has been a featured complement to the acclaimed aircraft collection, bringing to life on canvas and in vivid colors the historic people, places, ships, and aircraft in naval aviation history.  During 2011-2012, two exibitions continue this tradition.  The first takes place in May 2011 with a show by members of the American Society of Aviation Artists, who will be holding their annual meeting at the museum during celebrations for the Centennial of Naval Aviation.

A popular event for many years, the museum's biannual Naval Aviation Art Contest will take place in May 2012.  Those wishing to submit works of art for judging should contact Ms. Robbie Musgrove at 850-452-3604, ext. 3119 or robbie.musgrove@navy.mil.  Winning entries will be displayed at the museum from May 2012 through April 2013

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Air Force eyes other jets’ oxygen generators - Air Force News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Air Force Times

Air Force eyes other jets’ oxygen generators - Air Force News News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Air Force Times

How unfortunate that an F-22 crash could have occurred over a bad design of the oxygen system........My heart goes out to the family of this brave made, regardless of the cause.

Explain to me why we are building another one to replace what is lost?

Andrews AFB Airshow 2009 – F-18 Super Hornet Demo | Military Videos at DefenseTalk

Andrews AFB Airshow 2009 – F-18 Super Hornet Demo Military Videos at DefenseTalk

If you can't make it to an airshow.........watch this........::))

Loss of Carrier Strike Capability Top Concern of Royal Navy Chief - Defense News

Loss of Carrier Strike Capability Top Concern of Royal Navy Chief - Defense News

Here is what I'm missing - what about HMS Invincible? There were 3 carriers in the class. Illustrious and Ark Royal are relieved. Last I heard Invincible was still in the fleet, but set to only operate helo's.

Someone please tell me what I'm missing here................what is the material condition and status of HMS Invincible?

Little Rock deals with post-tornado damage - Air Force News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Air Force Times

Little Rock deals with post-tornado damage - Air Force News News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Air Force Times

a great story about our friends in the US Air Force

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

A Boon In Fake SEALS

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/bin-laden-death-boom-seal-imposters-040311241.html

Carrier Bush set for first overseas deployment - Military News | News From Afghanistan, Iraq And Around The World - Military Times

Carrier Bush set for first overseas deployment - Military News News From Afghanistan, Iraq And Around The World - Military Times

Wharf Rat walked the flight deck, island, and hangar deck on commissioning day.  Now, its like the first kid leaving home.  But much, much better trained and ready for it::)))!

Careful what you wish for - this is NOT good. Where is the Obama Adminstration on this?????

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  

Egypt's Christians Fear Islamic State Following Church Attack

 Washington, D.C. (May 11, 2011) – International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that twelve people were killed and more than 200 were wounded when radical Islamists attacked two churches last weekend in Cairo. During Egypt’s revolution, ICC warned that Islamists would hijack the revolution and fill the political power vacuum after the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak. Unfortunately, the details leading up to and following this latest attack appear to confirm that warning’s legitimacy.

On May 7, Muslim protestors gathered outside of St. Mina Church to demand the release of two women who had allegedly converted to Islam and were being detained against their will. As the protest ensued, Copts barricaded the church from the inside with pews and other furniture. Reportedly, the Islamists were armed and threw Molotov cocktails at the church.

Unable to push through the barricade, Islamists broke into Virgin Mary Church, a ten minute walk from St. Mina, and lit it on fire. “Islamists killed one guy in the church by slitting his throat. Most of the people killed were inside, and then they torched the church,” an eyewitness told ICC.

A week prior to the attack, 2,000 Islamists protested outside of St. Mark’s Cathedral in Cairo demanding the release of the same two women. At that time, ICC began receiving reports that a larger and more violent demonstration was being plotted. Despite having ample warning, the Egyptian military neglected to increase security at Coptic churches. During the attack on May 7, security forces were unprepared, raising concerns that they may be influenced by or allied with radical Islamists. “Many are voicing sharp criticism of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) and its transitional cabinet, accusing them of failing to apply the law so far as radicals are concerned,” the Egyptian newspaper Al Masry Al Youm reported.

Coptic Christians believe that Salafis, also known as Wahhabis, were responsible for the attack. Last weekend, 50,000 Salafi and Muslim Brotherhood members held a joint rally in Giza, chanting slogans of unity and support for an Islamic state. The Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party is the most organized and financed contender in Egypt’s September elections. Many predict that Islamists will win the majority seat in parliament, including presidential candidate and nationalist Amr Moussa. “Mr. Moussa… described a political landscape in which the Muslim Brotherhood, outlawed under Mr. Mubarak, is dominant. It is inevitable, he said, that parliamentary elections in September will usher in a legislature led by a bloc of Islamists, with the Brotherhood at the forefront,” reported The Wall Street Journal.

“There is no doubt that the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafis are allied,” said Wagih Yacoub, a Coptic human rights activist. “The Brotherhood plays politics and the Salafis are causing chaos so they can empty Egypt of Christians and make it an Islamic state. Lots of Egyptian people, including moderate Muslims, are worried. If Egypt becomes an Islamic state, it may mean civil war. We won’t get protection from the military council or the police forces. Our homes will be attacked at any minute, any time. Lots of people are scared. How will we protect ourselves? There will be bloodshed.”

Aidan Clay, ICC Regional Manager for the Middle East, said, “While the majority of Egyptian Christians participated in the revolution, they were uncertain what the future held. That uncertainty has turned to fear as Islamic militants have taken advantage of newfound freedoms by imposing a radical agenda and attacking anything they view contrary to their Islamic doctrine. They are becoming bolder because the law is not being applied and criminals are not being brought to justice. While Egypt is experiencing a period of unprecedented transition, success hinges on the full respect for the rule of law. However, the government is not stepping in and mob rule is controlling the streets. We urge the transitional government to reform Egypt’s repressive laws and policies related to religious freedom before the September elections and to enhance security for religious minorities. If immediate action is not taken, a grave future lies ahead for Egypt’s Christians.”
 
 For interviews, contact Aidan Clay, Regional Manager for the Middle East: clay@persecution.org.
You are free to disseminate this news story. We request that you reference ICC (International Christian Concern) and include our web address, http://www.persecution.org/. ICC is a Washington-DC based human rights organization that exists to help persecuted Christians worldwide. ICC provides Awareness, Advocacy, and Assistance to the worldwide persecuted Church.  For additional information or for an interview, contact ICC at 800-422-5441.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

A Navy Cross Ceremony

WASHINGTON (May 10, 2011) Marines march past the Marine Corps War Memorial during a Navy Cross medal award ceremony honoring Gunnery Sgt. Brian M. Blonder for his actions while serving as a platoon sergeant in Force Reconnaissance Platoon, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, Marine Corps Forces Central Command (Forward). (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kevin S. O'Brien/Released)
WASHINGTON (May 10, 2011) Gunnery Sgt. Brian M. Blonder renders honors during the National Anthem before receiving the Navy Cross medal for his actions while serving as a platoon sergeant in Force Reconnaissance Platoon, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, Marine Corps Forces Central Command (Forward). (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kevin S. O'Brien/Released)

George H.W. Bush Strike Group to Deploy

George H.W. Bush Strike Group to Deploy

Thanks for manning a post for those of us left behind................

Kearsarge ARG Almost Home After Successful Deployment

Kearsarge ARG Almost Home After Successful Deployment

Outstanding tour ............................................welcome home!

Monday, May 9, 2011

Shipbuilder shifts focus to DDG-1000 - Navy News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Navy Times

Shipbuilder shifts focus to DDG-1000 - Navy News News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Navy Times

Details emerge on cruiser’s INSURV failure - Navy News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Navy Times

Details emerge on cruiser’s INSURV failure - Navy News News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Navy Times

Northrop Grumman unveils new intel aircraft - Navy News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Navy Times

Northrop Grumman unveils new intel aircraft - Navy News News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Navy Times

From what I'm told - DDG 84 won. It appears that a cruiser beat 'em both. Yes, this was a race.


US Navy photo from 2008
Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Gary Roughead, and his wife, Ellen, right, pose for a photo with Lt. Murphy's mother and ship's sponsor Maureen Murphy,
BATH, Maine (May 7, 2011) Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Gary Roughead, and his wife, Ellen, right, pose for a photo with Lt. Murphy's mother and ship's sponsor Maureen Murphy, during the christening ceremony of the Arleigh Burke-Class guided-missile destroyer USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112) in Bath, Maine. (U.S. Navy photos Chief Mass Communication Specialist Tiffini Jones Vanderwyst/Released)

Sunday, May 8, 2011

For Immediate Release

The Navy League of the United States, Twin Cities Council announces the Keel Authentication Ceremony for the future     
USS Minnesota SSN 783!

On Friday, May 20, 2011 at 12:00 noon the Keel Authentication Ceremony will take place at the Huntington Ingalls Industries shipyard in Newport News, VA www.huntingtoningalls.com.

  • In July 2008, the United States Navy announced that our state would be honored by having a warship named ‘Minnesota.’  Not since 1922 have we had a US Navy warship named after our state.

  • Officially known as Precommissioning Unit (PCU) Minnesota, the Virginia-class fast attack submarine will receive its ‘USS’ designator once commissioned (estimated in June 2013).

  • The Keel Authentication Ceremony is a time-honored tradition that includes having the signature of the Ships Sponsor welded into the keel of this ship.  The Sponsor then announces that ‘the keel is truly and fairly laid.

  • This ceremony marks the first in three major milestones of bringing PCU Minnesota to the fleet.

  • PCU Minnesota is being built in the same shipyard as the previous two USS Minnesota’s, and just five miles from one of the most famous naval battles in history that prominently featured the first USS Minnesota in the Civil War (the famed ‘Minnesota’ connection we see in many news stories).


  • Attending the ceremony from the Twin Cities Council:

    • Dave Hutton,  USN Ret., President, Twin Cities Council, and Co-Chair of USS Minnesota Commissioning Committee (USMCC)
    • Brian Skon, Vice President, Twin Cities Council, Vice Chair USMCC
    • Mike Alteri, USN Ret., Board of Directors, Twin Cities Council and member USMCC
    • Jim Sillman, USN Ret., member Navy League and USMCC


Guernica / Noam Chomsky: My Reaction to Osama bin Laden’s Death

Guernica / Noam Chomsky: My Reaction to Osama bin Laden’s Death

This is an example of the exact opposite of what I believe. If this guy is representative of professors at MIT, then we in a serious big heap o' trouble....................

His best - and most outrageous, quote:

'It’s increasingly clear that the operation was a planned assassination, multiply violating elementary norms of international law. There appears to have been no attempt to apprehend the unarmed victim, as presumably could have been done by 80 commandos facing virtually no opposition—except, they claim, from his wife, who lunged towards them. In societies that profess some respect for law, suspects are apprehended and brought to fair trial. I stress “suspects.” In April 2002, the head of the FBI, Robert Mueller, informed the press that after the most intensive investigation in history, the FBI could say no more than that it “believed” that the plot was hatched in Afghanistan, though implemented in the UAE and Germany. What they only believed in April 2002, they obviously didn’t know 8 months earlier, when Washington dismissed tentative offers by the Taliban (how serious, we do not know, because they were instantly dismissed) to extradite bin Laden if they were presented with evidence—which, as we soon learned, Washington didn’t have. Thus Obama was simply lying when he said, in his White House statement, that “we quickly learned that the 9/11 attacks were carried out by al Qaeda.”'
OBL was responsible for the death of thousands of American's:  who gives a rats rear end if we meant to assasinate him.  And - we were going to go anywhere and everywhere to nail him.  No border was going to keep us from him.

BZ seal team six