Patrick Shrier

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Russian Military Equipment Advertising

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Here is a comical advertisement for Russian military hardware disguised as a news story.  Russian military hardware best in the world.  Just a reminder, Pravda is Russian for truth and was, probably still is, the official government news organ.  One of the amusing tidbits is their trumpeting of an Iranian claim that a Russian-made ground attack aircraft, the SU-25, took out an MQ-1 Predator drone as an example of the equipment’s superiority.  To repeat, a manned aircraft shot down a drone.  Lastly, as far as I know, all of Russia’s high tech eqipment exports and foriegn licenses are for what are called “chimp” models.  That is, model that do not include all the latest equipment upgrades that enter Russian service.

I  will never forget the look on the Russian soldier’s face in Bosnia in 1996 when we showed him our M3A2 Bradley’s and what they could do.  When he looked at us and said “and we thought we could beat you,” it was priceless.

Book Review: Nightfighter: Radar Intercept Killer by Mark A. Magruder

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[FULL DISCLOSURE: I received my copy of this book free from the author. I was not paid for this review and the opinion expressed is purely my own] Every time I think that nothing more can be written about WWII that is both interesting and informative a book like this one makes an appearance.  I will even be upfront and admit that I don’t normally go in for biographies or autobiograhies of famous people, much less someone who is not a household name.  Nightfighter: Radar Intercept Killer by Mark A. Magruder has caused me to reevaluate both opinions. This book is the story of USMC COL Marion Magruder, one of the … More after the Jump…

Contributor Request

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What I would like to do is ask if any of the regulars or even other visitors to the site feel up to making the occasional contribution?  I won’t promise to take on everybody who wants to contribute but I will fairly consider everyone. I am looking for two to three people to start with who would write 1 piece a month or so. I would make you authors on the site and you would have the ability to write and publish your own stuff.  If you are interested contact me at the following link: Patrick Shrier

More after the Jump…

Back from Vacation, posting to resume shortly

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I just returned from vacation in Croatia and will be back to posting updates soon.  I also got some pretty good material and photos while on the trip to be used in some upcoming posts.  I got a very good fix of Roman history this trip as Illyria and Dalmatia were both conquered during the Republic and stayed Roman for almost 8 centuries.

Book Review: The Great Degeneration by Niall Ferguson

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If there is one book in the realm of history or political science any informed person needs to read this year then Niall Ferguson’s The Great Degeneration: How Institutions Decay and Economies Die is it. In this short book Ferguson goes right to the heart of why the West seems to be in decline and analyzes in short, incisive prose why that is so and perhaps what can be done to reverse it. The book itself is only 147 pages of text divided into an introduction, four topical chapters and a conclusion. There are twenty pages of notes but no bibliography or index, which is unusual for one of Dr. … More after the Jump…

Ft Hood Shooter Trial starts Tuesday- It’s about damn time

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The Court-Martial of Fort Hood Shooter Nidal Hasan (left) is set to start on Tuesday almost four years after the 5 November, 2009 rampage at the Fort Hood Deployment Readiness Center that left 13 people dead and over 30 wounded.  He has been charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and military prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.  Incredibly, Hasan has decided to represent himself at trial after numerous conflicts with his court provided attorneys. I have a sneaking suspicion that he chose to be his own lawyer as a sneaky way to sabotage his own defense and try and save his neck when his almost certain conviction goes to appeal. … More after the Jump…

Book Review: The Lotus Eaters by Tom Kratman

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The Lotus Eaters is the third installment of the Legio del Cid series by Mr Kratman. The book picks up after the Legion has successfully pacified Pashtia and returned to Balboa. Its takes place mainly in Balboa as the Legion prepares for their inevitable showdown with the corrupt rump regime protected by the Tauran Union in their enclave near the Balboan Transitway. This is an obvious stepping stone book that fleshes out the story and provides more background rather than really advancing the plot line of the series. If I were a cynic I would say that this appears to be a mash up of all the mini-plots Mr. Kratman … More after the Jump…

Murder in Iraq

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This is kind of an amusing story, unless of course you are the guy that got killed.  When I was deployed to Iraq in 2004 with C Troop 1/4 Cav we had a platoon of National Guard soldiers assigned to my FOB to assist with Force Protection (Guard Duty).  The Guardsmen pulled duty in the towers ringing the perimeter of the FOB.  Along with the Americans, Iraqi National Guardsmen (ING) pulled duty, supposedly it was some sort of trust building thing although I was never certain of the logic behind that decision.  That set up the circumstances whereby the murder could occur.  I was at FOB Wilson, which is about … More after the Jump…

Book Review: Battle Tactics of the Western Front by Paddy Griffith

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Battle Tactics of the Western Front: The British Army`s Art of Attack, 1916-18 by Paddy Griffith is a very interesting book. The premise is that despite what many historians have said about the inertia of the British Army in WWI and it’s resistance to tactical change, that is not true and the British were committed to innovation throughout the war in an effort to break the deadlock of the trenches. The book itself is not long, 219 pages of text including appendices. There are extensive endnotes and the bibliography is fairly extensive as well. The book is organized topically and though it purports to only deal with the developments of the … More after the Jump…

Book Review: Our Lives, Our Fortunes and Our Sacred Honor: The Forging of American Independence, 1774-1776 by Richard R. Beeman

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[FULL DISCLOSURE: I received my copy of this book free from the author. I was not paid for this review and the opinion expressed is purely my own] Our Lives, Our Fortunes and Our Sacred Honor: The Forging of American Independence, 1774-1776 by Richard Beeman is the tale of the First and Second Continental Congresses from the opening of the First until the Declaration of Independence in July, 1776. It was serendipitous that I received this book from the publisher when I did because the events leading to and surrounding the Declaration of Independence have recently become an area of interest of mine. The book is 418 pages of text separated … More after the Jump…

Database Migration & Unavoidable Errors

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I migrated my database today to a new server that has more storage.  I have noticed since then that most posts have replaced the occasional space with this character Â.  I have fixed the most recent of my posts but to honest, I will be damned if I have the time or energy to go over all 332 posts I have made over the past 3 years and remove them.  Call me lazy or whatever you want.  I will remove these crazy characters from posts as I go along but I will probably tire of the exercise long before I finish.  I just wanted to give a heads up and explanation.

Politics is going elsewhere

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I have decided to take my political musings and move them elsewhere. I don’t want my personal politics to drive any readers away so I am going to try and focus this blog on history and reviews of books I have read.  The only vaguely political thing I will keep up are my monthly updates in the area of world conflict and geopolitics. All my political stuff will in the future be hosted at my new political and everything else site @: www.thepointyend.us  Join me there for lively debate.

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