American Al Qeada put kids in front of trucks, vandalize churches

[Nanuk]

http://michellemalkin.com/2007/11/12/seditious-anti-war-protesters-use-kids-as-human-shields/

So now we "support the troops" by preventing them from getting equipment that they need. And in a related story, the terrorist supporters cry because they wear goggles in anticipation of being pepper-sprayed and those mean police take their goggles away.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,310544,00.html

Well DUH! if you wear goggles or a gas mask to a protest, it indicates that you want to be a player and/or a leader in the bad behavior. It also makes you target #1 for the good guys. when these spoiled trust-fund kids used to do this in DC, we used to compete amongst ourselves to see who could collect the most gas masks. And of course every "mask donor" got a face full of spray as a consolation prize.

That's why they don't do that stuff here any more.

[Chutney Daftcraft]

Funny, I see no mention of Al-Queda in either article.

[Tony]

I'm idly wondering why they're shipping stuff here from Iraq? Do they have so many cars there they have to send some home now? How much does it cost to ship a humvee back home?

[Nanuk]

I'm idly wondering why they're shipping stuff here from Iraq? Do they have so many cars there they have to send some home now? How much does it cost to ship a humvee back home?


When units rotate home, their equipment rotates with them. Other times, equipment is shipped back home for repairs and upgrades that cannot be performed in the field. Shipping stuff back isn't that expensive. The ships that bring supplies and new equipment there have to come back here anyway and there's not much difference in the cost of a RO/RO coming back empty or loaded.

Back in the old days, when jeeps and trucks were cheap and plentiful, we used to leave them behind rather than freight them home. Most of the gear that we sent to fight World War Two, Korea and Vietnam remained behind when the troops came home. (That was also done deliberately after World war Two as a sop to the auto industry to keep the domestic markets from being flooded with all those cheap surplus jeeps.) But nowadays, HMMV's and tactical trucks are complex machines that cost a great deal to replace. We bring them home now.

[Kensey]

When these spoiled trust-fund kids used to do this in DC, we used to compete amongst ourselves to see who could collect the most gas masks. And of course every "mask donor" got a face full of spray as a consolation prize.

For what? Wearing a gas mask? Are you asserting that protestors have never ever been sprayed without justification and are thus not justified in protecting themselves against it? What did/would you do to protestors who showed up wearing makeshift (or real) body armor?

I have as little time for wanna-be-revolutionary slogan-parroting Che-worshipers as anyone else, but unless they're actually engaging in disruptive behavior (beyond marching/chanting -- case in point being the idiots running around Georgetown the other day), preemptive pepper-spraying seems way over the line to me.

[Nanuk]

For what? Wearing a gas mask? Are you asserting that protestors have never ever been sprayed without justification and are thus not justified in protecting themselves against it?


Yep. Because the ones who come with the masks are the ones who want a fight and they're the inciters and ringleaders. Take them down and most of the problem goes away.

And no, it's very, very rare for these punks to get sprayed without justification. Many warnings (ie; "lawful orders") to disperse are given before spray or other tools are deployed and everyone has numerous chances to cease the bad behavior and leave the area. The ones who pull gas masks out and put them on are signaling that they have no intention of obeying and that they mean to escalate things to the next level. So they get the special attention.

And FWIW, the spray and other tools only come out when the trustafarians start to pose an actual threat. It's not deployed on people who just stand on the sidewalk and chant stupid slogans. Every agency that deals with such issues has guidelines and policies controlling the use of chemical agents. So long as those policies are adhered to and warnings are given first, I have no problem with knuckleheads reaping the end result of their defiance. But many of these kids are spoiled rich kids who will arrogantly tell you that you cannot strike them, spray them, or make them do anything...right up until you do. And then they cry and start screaming for mommy and daddy.

[JiveTurkey]

I am so glad I have a life.