Paul Franklin

For ex-army amputees, Edmonton's rehab centre a state-of-the-art gem

2012-02-29T11:11:00.003-08:00

BY JODIE SINNEMA, POSTMEDIA NEWS FEBRUARY 27, 2012

Keith Ross, physcial therapist at the Canadian Forces base has been working with Brock since he returned. Pte. Brock Blaszczyk will be in the CAREN (computer assisted rehabilitation) suite at the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital, going through a therapy session on the huge computerized system in Edmonton, Alta. One leg is damaged and the other is amputated from above the knee from stepping on an IED in Afghanistan.

Photograph by: Candace Elliott , Edmonton Journal

EDMONTON — Paul Franklin says he was in the best shape of his life when he nearly died.

He was a 200-pound marathoner, mountain climber, medic and master corporal in Afghanistan when a bomb exploded his G-wagon on Jan. 15, 2006, killing diplomat Glyn Berry and ripping off Franklin's left leg and mangling his right. Tourniquets and his team saved him.

By the time he reached Edmonton two months later, Franklin had gone through 26 surgeries, including amputation of his second leg, and weighed only 132 pounds.

Franklin's loss could have left him a defeated man.

Instead, he chose his next training operation: physical rehab at Edmonton's Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital.

"As a medic, I knew we were going to have other soldiers come back wounded," Franklin said. "We knew that things had to change and we knew we couldn't keep sending our guys to the States."

Six years later, the Glenrose has become the gold standard in physical therapy for the military.

"In Canada, Glenrose stands out like a 2009 Lamborghini on a car lot dotted with far too many 1970 Ladas," reads a 2008 senate committee report entitled Bringing Our Wounded Home Safely. "It is the committee's belief that Canadian military personnel wounded in the service of their country should receive one standard of rehabilitative treatment when they return home: first class."

At the Glenrose, wounded soldiers have pushed the prosthetics and orthotics team to test the boundaries of artificial limbs and braces. War has brought millions of dollars in technology, including an entire computerized therapeutic room that projects virtual worlds onto huge screens to test the ability of the injured to walk.

Afghanistan has even spurred the establishment of Canada's first Military and Veterans' Chair in Clinical Rehabilitation at Edmonton's University of Alberta, a position that aims to drive academic research across Canada in the areas of pain, post-traumatic stress disorder, amputees and robotics.

When Franklin arrived at the Glenrose, his fellow patients were seniors who had lost their limbs through diabetes and other diseases. The treatment team, led by Dr. Jacqueline Hebert, aimed to teach the older patients basic life skills: transferring from their wheelchairs to the toilet, walking and getting in and out of their vehicles.

Franklin wanted far more.

"We challenged each other," he said of Hebert. "She had a patient who was stubborn, wouldn't listen, and wouldn't accept that I would only get six to eight weeks of treatment. In other words, I was willing to say, 'I want to learn to run, I want to learn to have a life again and I want to continue to serve in the military.'"

Hebert's first response: "Your expectations are way off-base." Especially considering Franklin had to relearn how to sit up. He had to stand using his hips and core muscles, balancing as if on a gyroscope on bendy metal stilts that had no feeling of the floor and no flex in the ankle. That alone took him a month.

"When you have a patient who is highly motivated and wants to get back to 200 per cent, you need to temper their expectations, so we spend time doing that, slowing them down, calming them down and reminding them that rehab is a step-by-step process," Hebert said.

But she's also learned from military people to dream bigger.

"I actually think that maybe, sometimes, we would stop too early in the steps in the past," Hebert said. "What we realized is we could go on with their desires rather than tempering them. We tend to let people try more often now. I say 'no' much less than I used to (and) you let them sometimes fail."

That new attitude has spilled over to the general patient population, too. If older patients want to golf or downhill ski, they can try if they want.

"They don't have to be happy with just getting back to work and walking around the house," Hebert said. "It's opened up the understanding that we want people to get back to more things in the community and we want them to know right at the start that it's a possibility."

Walking with artificial legs was crucial for Franklin, even though he will likely never use them without canes, substantial nerve pain and occasional falls. He largely uses them at public speaking engagements and to travel.

"I just saw it as a new challenge, as a new way to train," Franklin said. "That's one of the reasons I was successful at it, because it was a new me, a new normal. . . . It gives me a huge sense of freedom that someone using a wheelchair will never have."

Franklin admits running was beyond his new normal, since he had to swing the carbon fibre Cheetah blades awkwardly with each stride, with no knee to pull them up and under.

But he said the specialized technology at the Glenrose taught him to walk with some grace. He watched himself walking on video recordings and computers, his movement tracked through adhesive markers placed on his skin.

"If I didn't have that, I wouldn't be able to walk as well as I do today," Franklin said. "I would be much more clunky, much more ineffective, with much less ability, to be honest."

While the gait technology was available before Afghanistan and without military dollars, the military bumped up its efforts at the Glenrose as more injured returned home, even paying for a part-time prosthetic and orthotist technician for three years.

"Ten years ago was pre-Afghanistan. Ten years ago was pre-Iraq, the big involvement," said Mike Stobbe, who started working as a prosthetist at the Glenrose a decade ago. Military interest rose in 2004, when American casualties spiked, Stobbe said. That changed the goal in rehab from getting a person back to an acceptable level of function to helping young soldiers move beyond.

"These guys are all athletes," Stobbe said. "They've worked really hard. They've protected us. They've represented us in dangerous ways. What can we do to help them the maximal way?"

Following a visit to Washington's Walter Reed Army Medical Center by a Glenrose rehab team and military contingent, soldiers became eligible for three prosthetics rather than one.

C-legs, for instance, couldn't be used for sailing or quadding because the microprocessor knee can't get wet, Stobbe said. Some chose swimming legs with flippers, while others chose a short stubby with a tiny, sticky climbing shoe at the end to cling to a rock surface.

"All of a sudden, all the upper-end technology was available," Stobbe said.

Many patients who had legs that didn't function properly turned down traditional hard plastic ankle and foot orthotics made for walking. Some soldiers demanded the light carbon-fibre version that would allow them to run.

More therapeutic tools became available when Hebert and her team asked the military for equipment used commonly by American therapists. The list included more treadmills, rowing and biking machines and balancing devices that pushed patients further.

"The real tweak is that (the American military therapists) treat their patients all like athletes and they treat even their severe injuries and amputations like sports injuries," Hebert said. "So they would take their trans-tibial (below the knee) amputees and treat them like they had an ankle sprain. And their above-knee amputees, they treat them like they've had a blown ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) repair."

"It's a different way of looking at your patient, not as missing a body part but as having a new body part," Hebert said. "That's what opened our eyes the most."

After that, instead of gym exercises, patients were sent outside to tie a fly and cast a line for fly fishing to improve manual dexterity. Instead of rowing machines, patients went to the swimming pool with a kayak.

"The military really encouraged and helped us a lot," Stobbe said. "Paul Franklin was really upfront and getting the awareness out there: How can people help the Glenrose? How can the military help us help people better?"

In June 2011, $1.5 million from the Department of National Defence equipped the Glenrose with a computer-assisted rehabilitation environment system, called the CAREN. Another went to Ottawa for eastern Canadians.

Cpl. Brock Blaszczyk, 22, uses the Edmonton system every week, strapped in as he stands on a round movable platform in front of a giant video screen.

No need to head outside in -30 C to climb snow hills and risk falling. Patients practise walking along virtual paths, driving virtual boats and reaching for virtual tools in their garages as their physiotherapists monitor progress.

Blaszczyk's running orthotic on his left leg isn't the problem. His foot was blown off April 3, 2010, when his team was walking along mud walls in search of explosives.

Doctors later amputated the leg halfway through the knee.

The blast took 55 per cent of the soft tissue and 88 per cent of the nerves on the calf of his right leg. To make his right foot work, his Achilles tendon had to be lengthened and his tibia and fibula shortened.

"I'm doing this Terry Fox thing right now, the Terry Fox hop," Blaszczyk said. "It's just a flat trail, and it's run as hard as you can for 200 metres."

Blaszczyk wasn't a runner before, but he misses being able to dash to catch a runaway grocery cart. He's progressed to a fast walk.

"I look a little more like I'm jogging than a penguin hobble. The form is getting better."

He said sometimes the civilian physiotherapists are too cautious. When he practises in the field house at the Edmonton Garrison, his military fitness specialist uses no straps.

"If you're so trusting on being harnessed in, there's no real point in progressing," Blaszczyk said. "The military physios . . . they know that us military guys, we don't mind getting a few scrapes and bruises. That's always how we've been. We don't mind taking a tumble here and there."

Cpl. Mark Fuchko of Calgary, who lost his legs in Afghanistan in 2008, trained to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in 2011 on the CAREN'S 18-degree slopes. More virtual worlds are being invented by students from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology and the U of A.

"In rehab, technology is the way of the future," Hebert said. "It's amazing the leaps and bounds, the way things have expanded in the last five to 10 years."

But will such technological leaps fall back as Canada pulls out of Afghanistan?

"With Vietnam, which was a similar experience, they did taper off," Stobbe said, noting that studies on amputees and prosthetics changed dramatically between 1968 and 1973. "We glided on that for years and years and years. That could happen, but I think now there is so much more awareness in society of disabled people, period, that they don't disappear anymore."

Andreas Donauer, an orthotist who builds and modifies braces, said while the push isn't as strong, the promise of possibility is.

"It's like you open a door to a new world (and) you realize, OK, there's more to explore yet," Donauer said. "What the military did is just open that door. We have to explore the new world."

That's already happening at the Glenrose, where Hebert and a group are testing bionic limbs through what is called targeted muscle and sensory reinnervation. Operations have already been carried out on amputees, including on a military veteran who lost his arm following a car crash.

Surgeons find the nerves that formerly opened and closed the hand, then plug them into the patient's biceps and triceps to regrow. The veteran is then literally armed with an intuitive prosthesis. When he thinks about moving his arm, the action happens instinctively.

Similar work is being done to give patients the sensation of feeling and touch when they pick something up.

"We are within reach of having real bionic arms that can feel," Hebert said. "It's unbelievable. It's a far greater level of advancement than we ever would have seen, and we do have the U.S. military to thank for that and their extensively funded research programs."

Yet Franklin said it's not the technology or the CAREN system alone that makes the Glenrose the luxury sports car of rehab medicine.

"As with anything, if you have good physios and a good doctor and a good prosthetic guy, you don't need a computer, you don't need any of that good stuff."

Plus, the army guys are covered, he said, and don't need more specialized centres than the ones near military bases.

"We can get the care we want with a computer or without a computer. It's just a tool. But that will help the civilians and help the medical system more than anything else and that's was the idea with all of us: you focus on these (existing) centres, make them better.

"It's actually not for the army guys, it's for civilians."

Edmonton Journal

jsinnema@edmontonjournal.com

Twitter.com/jodiesinnema

‘Devil’s Brigade’ to be honored by Canadian Embassy in D.C.

2012-02-29T11:10:00.002-08:00

Independent Record | Posted: Wednesday, February 29, 2012 12:00 am | The First Special Service Force, born at Fort Harrison in World War II, is one of the few units ever in which American and Canadian soldiers fought alongside one another in identical uniforms and under each others’ commanders.

Wednesday night in Washington, D.C., the Embassy of Canada will recognize the history of U.S.-Canada relations and honor members of the so-called “Devil’s Brigade,” which captured more than 30,000 prisoners, was instrumental in the liberation of Rome and helped set the stage for elite fighters such as the Green Berets and the Navy SEALs.

U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, sponsor of a bill along with U.S. Sen. Jon Tester to award the First Special Service Force a Congressional Gold Medal, will speak at the event, as will Gary Doer, the Canadian ambassador to the United States. U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg is co-sponsor of a similar bill in the House honoring the unit.

First Special Force Association Executive Director Bill Woon of Canyon Ferry, whose father served in the First Special Service Force, will also be on hand, along with some of the approximately 230 surviving members of the unit, members of Congress and others.

The event will include a screening of the film “Daring to Die: The Story of the Black Devils,” and a discussion with writer/director Greg Hancock.

The First Special Service Force was trained in alpine combat, covert amphibious landings, airborne operations and other unconventional methods. The force suffered 2,314 casualties, won five U.S. campaign stars and eight Canadian battle honors.

It battled Germans in the mountains of Italy and in southern France after initially preparing for a potential role in the liberation of Norway.

Taliban incite Afghans to kill 'Crusaders' over Koran burning

2012-02-25T19:49:00.000-08:00

The big question is what does the future hold as the Taliban use the burning or the Koran as an excuse to incite the locals to attack ISAF. ISAF has pulled its trainers and others from working directly with ANSF....

Could we see this event as the cause for the Obama administration to draw down the combat mission not one year earlier as planned but even more quickly?

By BILL ROGGIOFebruary 23, 2012

The Taliban have urged all Afghans to move beyond "mere protests" and attack US military personnel throughout the country for burning copies of the Koran. The Taliban's call has been echoed by some members of parliament.

"We should not be satisfied with mere protests and empty slogans but the military bases of the invaders, their military convoys and their troops should become a target of our courageous attacks," said a statement that was released today on Voice of Jihad, the Taliban's official website, and signed by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

"Kill them, beat them, take them as prisoners and teach them such a lesson that they never summon the courage to abuse the Holy Quran again," the statement continued.

"The target of revenge of the protestors should only be the American occupiers, their facilities and properties and not those of the ordinary people," the Taliban said.

The Taliban statement also urged Afghans to target members of the Afghan government and security forces who protect NATO forces during protests. The Taliban described these Afghans as "the despicable backers of the invaders who have turned a blind eye towards the unforgiving crime of the infidels due to their cowardice and as defense of them...."

Finally, the Taliban urged "all the Muslims of the world, their governments and people, religious officials of the two sacred mosques [Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia] and the religious centers of Darul Uloom Deoband [in India] and Al Azhar [in Egypt], as part of their religious obligation and fervor to take a united stand against the desecration of our common book by the American aggressors. Condemn their unforgivable crime both practically and verbally and back the legitimate struggle of the Muslim Afghans against them."

The Taliban's incitement to attack US forces takes place as the terror group is negotiating with the US to reach a political settlement to the Afghan war. But Zahibullah Mujahid, the Taliban's official spokesman, told AFP that the call to attack US forces will not impede negotiations.

"We condemn the desecration of the Holy Koran in the strongest terms, but this issue will not affect this process in Qatar," Mujahid said.

Afghan Police fire on protestors....

Some members of the Afghan parliament have echoed the Taliban's rhetoric and urged Afghans to wage "jihad" against the "invaders."

"Americans are invaders, and jihad against Americans is an obligation," said Abdul Sattar Khawasi, a member of parliament from Parwan province, The New York Times reported. The Koran-burning incident took place at Bagram airbase in Parwan.

"Standing with about 20 other members of Parliament, Mr. Khawasi called on mullahs and religious leaders 'to urge the people from the pulpit to wage jihad against Americans,'" The New York Times article stated.

During the three days since the incident, protests have spread throughout Afghanistan, and a number of them have been violent, according to Reuters. In Nangarhar province, an Afghan soldier shot and killed two US soldiers and wounded two others, Tolo News reported.

Women in combat in Afghanistan

2012-02-23T10:05:00.001-08:00

Marine as part of the Female Engagement Team in Afghanistan

Female Engagement Teams (mainly US marines but some work under the Green Beret banner) are working in Afghanistan on local matters that engage 50% of the population.

The real question is it better to show Afghans and Afghan women that we separate our women into separate units to help them with their issues or should we do as Canada and other countries do and have them completely integrated into combat arms units?

Do we change who we are as a modern open and tolerant society to only show Afghans and others that our culture has to change to fit their model?

Or is this the better option?

We in the west have to make a decision as miltarys from around the world suffer budget cuts and troops strength draw downs...

Who do we want to serve?

Do we want capable, fit, intelligent people..... or do we cut 50% off the top and say they cant fight because of some bizarre 14th century idea?

As America debates the idea of women in combat even though in the ideas of total war there is no more front lines.... we will see if they decide to join the other nations that accept only the best and brightest... no matter who you sleep with and no matter if your male or female.

US announces a 'surge' of military trainers to Afghanistan

2012-02-23T09:52:00.000-08:00

By CJ RADINFebruary 19, 2012

The US Army recently announced the next round of unit deployments to Afghanistan. Five brigades and one army headquarters will deploy to Afghanistan between April and August 2012. While deployments are a regular part of normal troop rotations overseas, this deployment differs significantly from previous ones.

These units will not be assigned to regular combat operations. Their mission is specifically to train and support the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF).
In the past, full brigades were deployed, each brigade consisting of about 3,500 troops. This time, less than 300 troops per brigade will be deployed; and the troops deploying will be only the brigade leaders, officers, and senior non-commissioned officers.
The brigades will be configured to better assist the training and support mission. They will reorganize into small independent teams, each consisting of 18 personnel.
Overall, five brigades plus an army HQ of officers and NCOs constitutes quite a large training contingent.

Rangers from 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, as part of a combined Afghan and Coalition security force operating in Ghazni province, Afghanistan, await a CH-47 for extraction. Photo by US Army Private First Class Pedro Amador.

This announcement pertains to US Army units. It is likely that the US Marines, which also has combat troops in Afghanistan, will make a similar announcement.

The new Afghan strategy

This deployment plays an essential part in the new Afghan strategy. The strategy was described in detail in a previous Long War Journal article. In summary, the US plans to draw down its forces by 33,000 (from 100,000 to 67,000 troops) by the end of September 2012, thus ending the surge of US troops that started in late 2009. The goal is to have most US troops out of Afghanistan by the end of 2014. The US plans to end combat operations, however, by late 2013. By then, US forces will transition from the leading fighting force to a training and support force primarily supporting the ANSF. At the same time, the ANSF will take over the lead in combat operations, assuming the main role fighting the country's insurgency. The ANSF goal is to take responsibility for 50 percent of the Afghan population by the end of 2012 and all of Afghanistan by the end of 2014.

Standing up the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF)

This strategy places a heavy load on the ANSF. Afghan forces will have to take over combat operations very quickly. The ANSF is still an immature force, however, and will need a great deal of training and support during the transition in order to be successful. A problem that has continued to plague efforts to develop the ANSF is the shortage of military trainers in Afghanistan. The deployment of a large number of US trainers this spring is intended to address this issue.

US Army and Afghan National Army soldiers, along with members of the Community Based Security Solutions police organization, climb a steep path above Pata Tili village, Laghman province, Afghanistan, Jan. 29, 2012. The US soldiers are assigned to the 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Company A, 1st Battalion, 179th Infantry. The soldiers were returning from a meeting with a leader in nearby Nacha Tili during Operation Aluminum Python, a mission to clear Taliban fighters from the Mayl Valley. US Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Bill Steele.

The organization of the US training teams is another important feature of the upcoming deployment. Until recently, the ANSF's primary developmental emphasis has been on growing its size. Training resources have been concentrated in centralized training camps where new ANSF units are recruited and trained. However, the growth of the ANSF will end in September when it reaches its end state goal of 352,000 troops. The training emphasis will then shift from the training camps to supporting the existing units deployed across the country. The large number of US training teams will be dispersed across the country, attachi

ng to individual ANSF units in the field. There they can advise and support the ANSF units in ongoing combat operations.

Specialized US training units

Another interesting feature of this deployment is that two of the units are not regular combat brigades. They are specialized training units deploying overseas for the first time.

162nd Infantry Brigade. This training brigade specializes in training foreign security forces combat advisers. Based in Fort Polk, La., it trained the advisers within the combat brigades before they deployed overseas to Iraq and Afghanistan. Now for the first time, the brigade itself is deploying.
1st Army Headquarters. This is not a regular combat HQ. It is the headquarters for the army's readiness and training units within the US. Now also for the first time, it will be deploying overseas.

Note that this surge of US trainers to Afghanistan was facilitated by the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq in late 2011. Before being reassigned to Afghanistan, several of the US brigades were either already deployed to Iraq or were planning to deploy there.

An Afghan soldier enters an elder's home while clearing compounds with US Marines during Operation Tageer Shamal in Afghanistan's Helmand province, Jan. 4, 2012. US Marine Corps photo by Corporal Reece Lodder.

The US has already announced a drawdown of forces from Afghanistan. The surge of trainers is essential for "Part Two" of the Afghan strategy, standing up the ANSF. By the end of 2012, the US will have reduced its combat strength in the country by withdrawing a number of combat troops. At the same time, the intent is to enhance the capability of the ANSF by increasing the number of training and support troops.

Alien Humanoids Attend Kim Jong Il's Funeral? 2011

2012-02-09T22:22:00.000-08:00

Thought-controlled Technology for Wounded Warriors

2012-02-09T19:34:00.000-08:00

BY
KBMILLER
– FEBRUARY 2, 2012

POSTED IN: MEDICAL, SAILORS, TECHNOLOGY, WOUNDED WARRIOR

“I’m living off base, I’m driving, [and] I’m living with my [infant] son. I’m able to hold him without any open wounds, infections,” said Tech Sgt. Joe Delauriers. “Any input I can put into the program, to help them out, and future amputees, it’s an honor for me.”
“Through this revolutionizing project, we’ve worked with the greatest manufacturers across the globe to come up with modern solutions to loss of an upper limb,” Col. (Dr.) Paul Pasquina.

BIG NEWS FOR OUR WOUNDED WARRIORS

A new prosthetic arm – operated by an individual’s thoughts – was used by wounded warriors at theWalter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) for the first time Jan. 24.

With nearly as much dexterity as a natural limb, 22 degrees of motion, and independent movement of fingers, the Modular Prosthetic Limb (MPL) was developed as part of a four-year program by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), along with WRNMMC and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU).

On Jan. 24, Air Force Tech Sgt. Joe Delauriers began using the nine-pound device, maneuvering its metallic fingers and wrist.

Four months ago, Delauriers was injured by an IED blast in Afghanistan, which caused him to lose both his legs and part of his left arm. He said it’s an indescribable feeling to be where he is today, thanks to advancements in care.

“It’s really fun working with the hand and [exciting] to see what’s going to be coming in the future,” said Delauriers.

With an amputee, the nerves traveling down the spinal cord are still intact, and they’re still connected to some of the muscles in the arm.

The prosthetic limb is controlled by surface electrodes, which pick up electric signals generated by the muscles underneath the skin, then convert those patterns in electrical signals into a robotic function.

“What we try to do is pick up the electrical signals of the muscles that still exist in the arm and interpret those, convert them to a computer signal to then drive a robotic limb,” said Col. (Dr.) Paul Pasquina, chief of Orthopaedics and Prosthetics at WRNMMC and director for the Center of Rehabilitation Sciences atUSU. “When an individual is thinking about closing their hand, muscles will activate and the prosthetic limb will respond accordingly.”

Pasquina added that he’ll continue his efforts to make this technology available to all service members and the population at large.

“The hand in itself is so important in terms of one’s independence. Your ability to dress yourself, feed yourself, do self-grooming and hygiene is extremely important,” said Pasquina. “Many of our injured service members were highly functioning, highly independent, had a great amount of responsibility. To now find themselves in a situation where they have an impairment or disability, that makes them less independent is something that not only affects them physically, but affects them emotionally. Anything we can do to [help] them be more independent and to regain that sense of self is something we’re fully committed to doing and very excited about the opportunities that this presents.”

HMCS Charlettown off Syrian Coast

2012-02-09T19:27:00.000-08:00

After their successful engagement in the war in Libya the HMCS Charlottetown is back in the Mediterranean.

HMCS Charlottetown

HMCS Charlottetown sets sail to the Mediterranean

Postmedia News

Published: Sunday, January 08, 2012

The Royal Canadian Navy began the next phase of its mission in the Mediterranean Sea as the HMCS Charlottetown departed from Halifax on Sunday morning.

The ship and its more than 250 sailors will be participating in NATO's decade-long anti-terror campaign, Operation Active Endeavour. A Sea King helicopter is also aboard the frigate.

HMCS Charlottetown takes over for HMCS Vancouver, which took part in Canada's foray into the war in Libya, enforcing an arms embargo through the popular uprising to oust strongman Moammar Gadhafi.

Canada's continued naval presence in the area comes as Syria descends further into chaos, with protests calling for the ouster of President Bashar al-Asad through a brutal government crackdown.Nova Scotia MP Gregg Kerr, on hand for the warship's departure, said in a statement that HMCS Charlottetown's presence in the Mediterranean would give the government "the capability to respond to any future crises in the region."

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said al-Asad "must go", saying the Syrian government's violent repression is "disgraceful" and will be ultimately unsuccessful.

Harper did say, however, that Canada will not yet commit any military assets to supporting the protests, as the United Nations Security Council hasn't issued a resolution to support international intervention.

The prime minister said there isn't likely to be any appetite for such a resolution - despite the apparent successes achieved in Libya after a UN resolution.

In a news release, Defence Minister Peter MacKay said international deployments, like that of the HMCS Charlottetown, show Canada's commitment to fighting terrorism.

This deployment will be the second visit to the Mediterranean for HMCS Charlottetown in the last 12 months. The frigate was dispatched to the region last March as part of the NATO-led effort to protect Libyan citizens.

The vessel will be deployed in the region until the summer.

© Agence France-Presse 2012

What will the world do to help Syria?

2012-02-09T18:58:00.000-08:00

By Alex Spillius

07 Feb 2012

The Telegraph

There is one thing that everyone agrees about Syria – that President Bashar al-Assad will go. No leader can kill as many of his people in such a short time and hope to stay in power. His murderous regime has passed the point of no return. With every day that its rockets and shells demolish buildings on top of women and children in Homs, with every execution of a soldier who refuses to fire on civilians and every digitally recorded police beating, he and his ruling cabal travel further along the road of unacceptability.

What no one in the international governments determined to see him gone can quite agree on is how to hasten that end. Western nations and the Arab League invested a great deal in a United Nations Security Council resolution that would have condemned the violence and called for a transition to democracy. A resolution would have sent a powerful signal not only to Assad but also to those around him that the world was coalescing against them. Mild though the wording was – the text contained no mention of sanctions or the specific removal of Assad – Russia and China exercised their power of veto.

Moscow feared losing its last major ally in the Middle East, an arms contract worth billions and its last naval facility outside the former Soviet Union. Vladimir Putin, moreover, did not want to appear weak before the West when he has an election to win next month. Beijing, meanwhile, was happy to ride in the slipstream of Russia’s non-interventionism.

Both powers have been rattled by the ensuing international opprobrium, but a change in their attitude soon is unlikely. So what options are left? A vote condemning Syria could be passed at the UN General Assembly but it carries less clout than the Security Council. The European Union will probably pass a twelfth round of sanctions, but as William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, admitted to the House of Commons, after banning imports of Syrian crude oil, imposing an arms embargo and sanctioning more than 100 members of the ruling elite, there are not many more arrows left in the sanctions quiver.

Mr Hague revealed that Britain has already provided training to civilian Syrian opposition groups in the documentation and reporting of human rights abuses, as well as “strategic communications”, which means mobile phones, radios and advice on messaging. He has appointed an ambassador-level diplomat, Frances Guy, to liaise with exiled opponents of the regime.

Britain will, he said, be a driving force in a new “Friends of Syria” group of nations – an international consensus reaching beyond the US, the EU and Arab League – that will coordinate economic and diplomatic pressure on Damascus. A similar group was formed against Libya’s Col Muammar Gaddafi. But the key difference is that the Libyan Contact Group’s activities were combined with the threat of force, which was authorised by the UN and succeeded in removing a despot.

So why not the same in Syria? UN resolution 1973 authorised the use of Nato air power to protect civilians in Benghazi who were at risk of annihilation by Col Gaddafi’s tanks and helicopters. Such a massacre is already taking place in Homs, and has been unfolding for months as Syrian forces have killed with impunity, taking at least 6,000 lives.

Surely there is a case for the liberal interventionism exercised in Sierra Leone, Kosovo, Libya and the no-fly zones enforced to protect Kurds and Shias in northern and southern Iraq before the invasion? But military intervention in Syria has been ruled out from the start, and not just because Russian intransigence has ensured a UN resolution is out of the question. It is simply seen as too difficult and too dangerous; Syria’s army is too strong and the regime is too close to an ambitious Iran for the West to send in troops. The leadership of Assad’s sizeable forces, consisting of fellow members of the Alawi sect, has remained largely loyal.

Unlike the Benghazi-based opposition to Col Gaddafi, those Syrians determined to remove Assad do not control even a corner of the country from which to launch attacks. They are scattered and easily overpowered. Libya’s National Transitional Council was a comparatively united and competent body, with experienced generals and ministers among its senior figures. The Syrian opposition is an alphabet soup of fragmented factions beset by personal, religious and ethnic suspicions.

“They hate each other more than they hate the regime, in some cases,” says Michael Weiss of the Henry Jackson Society think tank, who is not alone in making the comparison with hapless anti-Roman rebels in Monty Python’s Life of Brian. “There is an element of the Popular Front of Judea versus the Judean Popular Front,” he says.

The Moral authority of the Syrian Army has been lost

The Syrian National Council, the main exiled opposition group, struggles for credibility with its brethren on the ground who are facing Assad’s troops and militia. Led by a Paris-based sociologist, it is beset by disputes between Leftists and supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, the pan-Arab Islamist group that has won the first election in liberated Egypt.

The best known armed group, the Free Syrian Army, successfully presents itself to the world as a coordinated resistance with about 30,000 members. In reality, according to Mr Weiss and others, the armed opposition inside Syria is made up of different brigades operating more or less independently. “Some Syrians joke that it should be called the Syrian Facebook Army,” he says, because its main usefulness is posting videos of atrocities on the internet and issuing press statements.

Sir Malcolm Rifkind, the former Conservative foreign secretary, has become the first prominent voice to call for non-military assistance to be extended to the armed rebels. “We should be talking about logistical, communications intelligence and advice. It might not add up to a vast amount, but don’t underestimate the impact on the morale of these extraordinarily courageous people in Syria,” he says.

Qatar and Saudi Arabia are already rumoured to be financing the Free Syrian Army, which is struggling to defend itself with AK-47s and the odd rocket-propelled grenade. But Jordan and Turkey have so far restricted the movements of heavy weapons across their borders into Syria, fearful of exacerbating the violence.

President Barack Obama’s national security council is reportedly drafting a “presidential finding” – an executive order that bypasses Congress to sanction covert action – to be ready if and when he chooses to sign it. Most intriguingly, the United States and Turkey are said to be discussing the creation of a safe haven for rebels in north-western Syria backed by a no-fly zone as a contingency plan in case diplomacy fails to persuade the Russians to abandon Assad.

Having given up on Assad long ago, the newly muscular Turks are prepared to play a leading role as long as any robust action has the support of the Arab League, according to Sinan Ulgen, a former Turkish diplomat now at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Like Libya, it would be essentially a Nato operation with Arab contributions, but with much less of a Western face.

A safe haven – an idea first presented in public by the Henry Jackson Society and backed by centre-Right foreign policy experts and former ministers across the Atlantic – would almost certainly involve military action to enforce its protection.

“The regime strategy is simple – hang on to power by killing every man woman and child that resists,” says Mr Weiss. “Either the West sits back and allows a slow-motion Rwanda to happen or it acts. We can cluck and thunder and grumble but at the end of the day there is only one thing that will stop Assad.

“I know it is difficult and Syria is not Libya. They have better air defence systems and are operating in heavily populated areas, but they are killing civilians now and if we do get involved with a fortified area, the opposition has more of a chance.”

Apart from the moral imperatives of protecting largely unarmed opponents of a murderous regime, a plan actively to aid Assad’s removal could align with the West’s strategic interests in the region. The more Britain helps in the removal of Assad, the greater the stake it will have once he has left the country, which would then be susceptible to internecine conflict between Sunnis, Alawis, Christians and Kurds. Regime change is one thing, but post-Assad regime implosion would also be a disaster.

Political and public opinion may be unsure about another intervention in the Muslim world, and the question of which rebel groups to back – and how – remains opaque, but with each day, week and month that Assad and his family maintain their murderous grip on power, the case for action will become more compelling.

Calgary Journal - Heroes Hockey Challenge

2012-02-08T11:39:00.000-08:00

What would President Newt have done?

2012-01-16T13:20:00.000-08:00

U.S. debated sending commandos into Iran to recover drone

Agence France-Presse Dec 7, 2011 – 9:09 PM ET | Last Updated: Dec 9, 2011 10:16 AM ET
REUTERS/Sepah News.ir/ Handout
A member of Iran's revolutionary guard pointing at the U.S. RQ-170 unmanned spy plane at an unknown location in Iran.
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The U.S. considered sending in covert missions to Iran to recover a drone that crashed in the country, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The RQ-170 Sentinel, a high-altitude stealth drone known as the Beast of Kandahar, went down in Iran while on a surveillance mission. Iran said it shot the drone down, but the U.S. maintains it crashed due to a malfunction.

According to the Journal, U.S. officials considered sending in a commando team to recover the drone, sending in a team to blow it up or destroying the wreckage with an air strike.
Officials decided not to carry out the missions fearing it would be considered an act of war. It was hoped the drone had crashed in a remote part of Iran and therefore the remains would not be recovered.
A U.S. official said Wednesday that Iran would probably not be able to make use of the highly sophisticated technology found in the drone.
“U.S. capabilities are remarkably advanced, and it’s unclear that the Iranians have the expertise” to exploit the advanced know-how in the aircraft, the official said.
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CLICK TO ENLARGE
Meanwhile, U.S. President Barack Obama was accused Wednesday of coddling Iran by Republican White House hopefuls.
Mr. Obama “has immeasurably set back the prospect of peace in the Middle East,” former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney told Republican Jewish activists holding a forum in Washington.
“Ultimately, regime change is what’s going to be necessary” in Iran, Mr. Romney said, who called for “covert and overt” efforts to support the opposition to leaders in Tehran.
Mr. Romney won cheers when he declared that Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad “should be indicted for the crime of incitement to genocide” over anti-Israel remarks.
He accused Mr. Obama of having called on Israel to “adopt indefensible borders,” having “insulted” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and being “timid and weak in the face of the existential threat that Israel faces from Iran.”
Mr. Obama said in May that Middle East peace will ultimately require Israel to exist alongside a Palestinian state, based on shared territorial lines from before the 1967 Arab-Israeli war but modified with “mutually agreed” land swaps.
Former senator Rick Santorum, a long shot for the party’s nomination, noted Wednesday was the 70th anniversary of Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor and likened Mr. Obama to politicians who appeased Germany’s Adolf Hitler.
“For every thug and hooligan, for every radical Islamist, [Obama] has had nothing but appeasement,” said Mr. Santorum. “We saw that in the run up to World War II.”
Former U.S. envoy to China Jon Huntsman said “it is time for the world to understand that we stand with Israel.”
Agence France-Presse, with files from news services

Pakistan Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud reportedly killed in U.S. drone attack

2012-01-16T13:16:00.000-08:00

Reuters Jan 15, 2012

By Jibran Ahmad
PESHAWAR, Pakistan – The leader of the Pakistani Taliban, the militant movement that poses the gravest security threat to the country, is believed to have been killed by a U.S. drone strike, four Pakistan intelligence officials told Reuters on Sunday.
The officials said they intercepted wireless radio chatter between Taliban fighters detailing how Hakimullah Mehsud was killed while travelling in a convoy to a meeting in the North Waziristan tribal region near the Afghan border.
A senior military official told Reuters there was no official confirmation that the Pakistani state’s deadliest enemy had been killed. The Pakistani Taliban issued a denial.
If Hakimullah did die, it could ease pressure on security forces, who have struggled to weaken the group, which is close to al Qaeda and has been blamed for many of the suicide bombings across one of the world’s most unstable countries.
But it may not ease violence in the long-term in Pakistan, which is seen as critical for U.S. efforts to fight global militancy, most crucially in neighbouring Afghanistan.
The death of Hakimullah’s predecessor Baitullah Mehsud in a drone strike in 2009 raised false hopes that the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) could be broken.
“Six to seven TTP members were talking to each other through wireless radio in the conversations we heard, talking about Hakimullah Mehsud being hit by a drone when he was heading to a meeting at a spot near Miranshah,” said one of the intelligence officials.
“They referred to him by his codename.”
Officials refused to disclose Mehsud’s codename.
“Based on our intercepts, Mehsud was heading to a meeting in Nawa Adda,” said another intelligence official. Nawa Adda is a village in the Dattakhel area of North Waziristan.
PREVIOUS REPORTS OF HAKIMULLAH’S DEATH FALSE
The Pakistani Taliban said Hakimullah was still alive, but their denial was far less assertive than one issued in 2010 after media reports said he had been killed in a drone strike.
“There is no truth in reports about his death. However, he is a human being and can die any time. He is a holy warrior and we will wish him martyrdom,” said TTP spokesman Ihsanullah Ihsan.
“We will continue jihad if Hakimullah is alive or dead. There are so many lions in this jungle and one lion will replace another one to continue this noble mission.”
The TTP launched an insurgency in 2007 after the military began a major crackdown on militants.
Fighters were particularly incensed when Pakistani security forces stormed the Red Mosque complex run by hardline clerics in the capital Islamabad. The government said 102 people were killed in fighting in the incident.
The TTP delivered on threats to carry out revenge attacks in Pakistan after U.S. special forces killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in a secret raid in a Pakistani town in May last year.
More recently, some senior Taliban commanders said the umbrella group had started exploratory peace talks with the government. But it is not clear if all factions were on board.
Hakimullah was not only in danger of being killed by the drone campaign that President Barack Obama has escalated, or by Pakistani military operations. He and his powerful deputy Wali-ur-Rehman were at each other’s throats and hostilities were close to open warfare, Taliban sources say.
Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afganistan have been trying to sort out differences between Pakistani Taliban commanders so they can aid their fight against U.S.-led NATO forces across the border in Afghanistan.
Any division within the TTP could hinder the Afghan Taliban and al Qaeda’s struggle in Afghanistan against the United States and its allies, making it tougher to recruit young fighters and disrupting safe havens in Pakistan which Washington says are used by the Afghan militants.
Hakimullah, who has a sharp face framed by shaggy hair and a disarming grin, is considered to be one of the most ruthless Taliban commanders. He is also ambitious. Under his leadership, the Taliban have vowed to expand their violent campaign overseas to hit Western targets.
A suicide bombing at a U.S. base in Afghanistan’s Khost province in 2009 killed seven Central Intelligence Agency employees. In video footage released after the attack, the bomber was shown sitting with Hakimullah Mehsud.
Shortly afterwards the United States added the TTP to its list of foreign terrorist organisations and set rewards of up to $5 million for information leading to Hakimullah Mehsud or Wali-ur-Rehman.
A Pakistani-born American who tried to set off a car bomb in New York’s Times Square in 2010 told a U.S. court he received bomb-making training and funding from the Pakistani Taliban.

The Hindu Kush and the foothills of Kandahar 6 years ago

2012-01-16T13:11:00.000-08:00

A mountain historical perspective. The Hindu Kush the foothills of the Himalayas....

The above picture comes from a magazine on the Mercedes Gwagen and talks about the PRT and the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan in 2005/ 2006.

The picture is a bit unique as it was 6 years ago to the day January 13, 2006 that the picture was taken atop a mountain outside of Kandahar city. The very route that Alexander the Great took to enter the small town that would soon be known as Kandahar (Archosia it means Alexandria in an old Pashtun dialect) can be seen on the left of the picture...

Silver coin of Alexander the Great

I am standing behind the Canadian flag with a big grin on my face.... my comrades from B Company (Mountain), 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricas Canadian Light Infantry are beside me. The very vehicle (Jenna) that I would be attacked in on January 15, 2006 is in the small picture upper left.... it saved my life and the lives of Corporal Jeff Bailey, and Private William Salikin.

The mountain we climbed was difficult as the climb involved us carrying about 50 lbs of gear and weapons and the mountain itself was sharp and steep.

Flak Jacket, Kevlar Helmet, C8 rifles, 300 rounds of ammunition, grenades, medical bag, tactical vest, food and water.... others carried rescue equipment (ropes, etc), some carried radios, cameras, batteries and even light machine guns..

This is a cool Russian Map from during the Soviet times in Afghanistan and you can see how the city has grown..

An old Russian (1985) map (we didn't have up to date maps at the time) so we would sometimes use these old maps.

The mountain climbed does not have a name on this 1940's map but can be found North of Kandahar City located at 5315 feet just north of the road that crosses a pass marked as Kotal- i - Morcha just south of the 910000 latitude line on the map. Also interesting on this map is the feature marked as Old Kandahar which is a very steep hill just to the west of the city... that feature is the original castle (or fortification) that the Greek's built while here with Alexander the Great in 334 BCE. Where many Canadians have been in combat with the Taliban is in a place called Panjawi and the old fort can be seen on this map just west of the city and south of the high features on the edge of the map on the left.

Kandahar 1942

This map shows the battle of Kandahar from 1892... the mountain we climbed is just past the top right corner of this map... (the road is the one that you see behind us in the photograph running from the old city to the top)

Canada continues to support Southern Sudan

2012-01-11T12:40:00.000-08:00

Canada's role in the Republic of South Sudan

Army News

As the people of South Sudan usher in a new era of independence, the CF are helping the nation transition to a safer, more secure future.

The independent Republic of South Sudan came into being July 9, 2011, after the people of South Sudan—98.3 percent of them—voted to separate from their northern neighbour. The UN Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS) was established the same day to support peace consolidation and support the new government in providing security and justice while preventing, mitigating and resolving conflict.

Maj Jacques Dubé and his fellow UNMOs from Team Site Wau pose with village leaders and the village's largest cow, which has just been sacrificed to celebrate the successful conclusion of voting in the South Sudan referendum.

In support of the new nation and the new UN mission, the CF formed Task Force Sudan, comprising 14 CF personnel who work with UNMISS. This Canadian contribution to UNMISS, under Operation SOPRANO, provides the UN with key staff officers at their force headquarters as well as military liaison officers spread throughout the Republic of South Sudan.

“Operation SOPRANO carries on the CF’s history of supporting peace and security in the region,” says Captain(N) Steve Virgin, Assistant Chief of Staff – International at Canadian Expeditionary Force Command HQ. “The Sudans are a priority mission. Our 14 CF personnel play an important role in the UN’s effort to consolidate peace and security in the Republic of South Sudan.”

The CF's Maj Ed Smith (left) and Lt(N) Peter Dibben, both UNMOs in Sudan, present the local Sudanese Peoples Liberation Army commander with a vehicle's worth of text books to help SPLA troops learn to read.

With the exception of a brief period of peace from 1972 to 1983, the former Sudan was plagued with conflict after gaining its independence in 1956. Before South Sudan gained its independence in 2011, the former Sudan was Africa’s largest nation – ethnically diverse and richly endowed with natural resources, including oil. As a result of the almost continuous conflict, about 5.2 million people are displaced throughout the former Sudan. This includes 2.7 million in Darfur, 250,000 in the southern region of the former Sudan, and some 430,000 Sudanese refugees who fled to neighbouring states.

The free and fair referendum created the world's newest country Southern Sudan

It is within this context that the CF operated during 2011 on Op SAFARI. Under the mandate of the former UN Mission in Sudan and alongside allied nations, members of the Canadian contingent worked to observe and report on security matters that concerned Sudanese civilians, military personnel and government authorities. The CF played a pivotal role in the 2011 Independence Referendum, a six-year process originating from the former Sudan’s 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement.

“When the average Canadian thinks about elections in Africa, the mental picture is one of dispute, corruption, violence and even coups d’état,” says Lieutenant(N) Peter Dibben about his experience while serving in Sudan. “The long-awaited referendum on independence in South Sudan was widely expected to be more of the same, but the actual event was pleasantly peaceful.”
The referendum in Sudan had an extremely high voter turn-out – 100 percent in some areas.
“Our responsibilities were monitoring and verification; assessing the general security situation with respect to tribal, political and militia violence; and showing the UN presence,” says Capt Matthew Maxwell, who worked as a UN Military Observer. “These tasks were particularly important during the referendum period because the security situation had to be calm and peaceful so people would feel safe enough to go out and vote.”

Since 2006, the Canadian government contributed more than $885 million toward humanitarian assistance, development and peace-building in the former Sudan, including the ongoing Op SATURN in Darfur. With the mandate of UNMISS expected to be renewed in future years, Canada will remain a leader in the effort to find a lasting and peaceful solution to the conflicts in Sudan and South Sudan. Contributing to international peace and security is one of the core missions outlined in the Canada First Defence Strategy, and our ongoing effort in this region is yet another example of the Defence Team working toward this goal.

http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/tml/_images/2012/01/orig/4d.jpg

Iran nuclear scientist's death followed Israeli warning of 'unnatural' events

2012-01-11T12:16:00.000-08:00

Israel implicated in a motorcycle attack in broad daylight with a magnetic bomb.

He is the fourth nuclear scientist to have been killed in three years, the second using a "sticky" bomb. It looks like 2012 will be the year of un-natural deaths for Iranians involved in the nuclear program.

Killing of Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan and Israeli military chief's words combine to revive speculation about covert war.

Harriet Sherwood

guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 11 January 2012

'This terrorist act was carried out by agents of the Zionist regime,' said the Iranian vice-president after the killing of Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan. Photograph: KeystoneUSA-Zuma/Rex Features

The assassination of Iranian nuclear scientist Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan came less than 24 hours after Israel's military chief warned that the Tehran regime could face "unnatural" events during the critical year ahead, fuelling speculation that the hand of the fabled Israeli intelligence service the Mossad was behind the latest attack.

Benny Gantz, the Israeli Defence Forces chief of staff, told a parliamentary committee: "For Iran, 2012 is a critical year in combining the continuation of its nuclearisation, internal changes in the Iranian leadership, continuing and growing pressure from the international community and things which take place in an unnatural manner."

These "unnatural" events are said to amount to a covert war aimed at hampering the development of Iran's nuclear capacity that has seen a series of mysterious assassinations and explosions in Iran over the past two years.

After the latest explosion, caused by magnetic bombs attached to the side of Roshan's car by an assailant on a motorcycle, the Iranian regime was quick to blame Israel. "This terrorist act was carried out by agents of the Zionist regime, with the aim of stopping our scientists," the vice-president, Mohammad Reza Rahimi, told state television.

Le Figaro, the French daily, swiftly weighed in with a report claiming that Israeli intelligence had recruited Iranian dissidents from Iraqi Kurdistan to gather information on Iran's nuclear programme and target its experts.

The Israeli government made no comment about the killing or suggestions that its agents were involved. "It's not our policy to comment on this sort of speculation," said a government official.

But normally talkative analysts and former officials were also saying little. "We've all read the same spy novels," one said laconically.

Ilan Mizrahi, former head of the national security council and an ex-deputy chief of the Mossad, said: "I'm not talking about the Mossad, or something that somebody somewhere thinks it has done. The Mossad is supposed to be behind everything from the tsunami to sharks in the Red Sea."

But suggestions of Israeli involvement are unlikely to go away. Two years ago on Thursday, an Iranian nuclear scientist was killed by a bomb outside his house in Tehran, and since than there have been three further mysterious deaths, including Roshan's, plus a series of unexplained explosions.

Previous assassination using the same magnetic bomb

Some believe this adds up to a secret war waged by Israel while it simultaneously presses the international community for tougher sanctions and prepares for a possible military strike.

The German news organisation Spiegel published a report last August quoting unnamed Israeli security sources saying the Jewish state was waging a covert war on Iran, suggesting the policy was being driven by the Mossad's new chief, Tamir Pardo, who took up his post on 1 January 2011.

Bid Ganeh explosion

Two months ago, the Mossad was speculatively linked to a blast at Bid Ganeh, an Iranian military facility, in which 17 people were killed. Time quoted a western intelligence source claiming it was the work of the Mossad, and saying: "There are more bullets in the magazine."

Also in November, the Iranian authorities said they had arrested 12 people they claimed were CIA agents working in liaison with the Mossad. Parviz Sorouri, a member of the Iranian government's foreign policy and national security committee, said: "The US and Zionist regime's espionage apparatuses were trying to damage Iran both from inside and outside with a heavy blow, using regional intelligence services. Fortunately, with swift reaction by the Iranian intelligence department, the actions failed to bear fruit."

However, as one Israeli official pointed out, disinformation obscured the true picture. "There is so much opacity, it's not possible to connect the dots," the official said. "I don't think we are the only ones interested in troubling Iran, and sometimes things are attributed to the usual suspects when it isn't necessarily so."

The Mossad has a long track record of meticulously planned covert operations and targeted assassinations outside Israel. It was suspected of killing Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, a Hamas commander, in a Dubai hotel two years ago during an operation in which its agents used passports stolen and cloned from British, Irish and other citizens.

As well as targeting pro-Palestinian militants, the Mossad was also allegedly responsible for the death in 2008 of Muhammad Suleiman, reported to be the head of Syria's nuclear programme, who was shot dead from a boat while on a beach.

The Israeli government and security establishment never admits to its covert operations.

Reuters photographer and Marine meet again in Helmand

2012-01-10T19:55:00.001-08:00

MAR 22, 2010 05:50 IST

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HELMAND | MARJAH | PHOTOGRAPHY | U.S. MARINES

Almost two years ago, Reuters photographer Goran Tomasevic captured a dramatic shot of U.S. Marine Sergeant William Bee, from Wooster, Ohio, the moment a Taliban bullet hit a wall inches from this head.

In the photo Bee is just about holding on to his rifle as he is hit by a spray of rocks and dirt when the bullet hits a compound wall in front of him.

When the photo was published by Reuters, in May 2008, it was picked up by several newspapers, widely distributed over the internet and has become one of the defining images of the war in Afghanistan.

Last month, en route to Marjah to cover the U.S. Marine-led operation in the town, Goran bumped into Bee for the first time since he took that photo. Bee was on Camp Dwyer, a large base home to mainly Marines in southern Helmand province. Bee was also on his way to Marjah with Alpha Company of the First Battalion, Sixth Marines.

“I was doing change over, getting dressed, getting washed, stuff like that. We heard one gun shot by one of the posts, I went over there to check and make sure it was alright. I’ve seen this guy, I drew down on him and the world went black. Then I came to, I was on a stretcher, everybody thought I got shot. But I was fine. Had a couple of Tylenol. Goran came up to me with a big smile on his face and said ‘dude, you got to see what I got’. That was pretty much it,” Bee said. “I was hoping Goran was out here, I like him a lot. He’s probably the best embed I’ve ever worked with, plus he gave us a shit load of cigarettes when we didn’t have any.”

At the time, Bee’s wife was seven months pregnant with their first child. The shock of seeing the picture sent her into false labour. ”My wife’s not too keen on having the prints up on the house.”

“I saw the picture about five or 10 minutes after it happened, I laughed, I thought it was hilarious … My wife had already seen the picture and knew it was me by the time I’d called her — so that was an interesting conversation.”

Asked if he has acquired any nicknames from his platoon on account of the photograph, Bee joked: “mostly ‘that dumb ass who wasn’t wearing his gear in the picture’.”

The Question is ... "was the American marine actually CIA?"

2012-01-10T19:54:00.000-08:00

Some of the Pictures of Amir Hekmati question his role as a "marine" as the pictures of him in theatre seem to show him in civilian clothes and not marine uniform.

The argument is that he posed as a disaffected American soldier with information to give to the Iranian intelligence. If he is a CIA agent this type of action seems to be a very poor idea with the result of capture and a death penalty.

There is something within this action that does not smell right.

Undated photo of Amir Hekmati with American Soldier

London (CNN) -- The lawyer for Amir Hekmati, an American sentenced to death in Iran for espionage, has called for the ex-Marine's case to be judged on humanitarian, not political grounds.

Pierre Prosper, who has been engaged by the 28-year-old's family to try to secure his release and return home, said Hekmati was at risk of falling victim to the animosity between the United States and Iran.

Undated photo of Amir Hekmati

"What worries me most is that this case is entrapped in an intense political environment," the U.S.-based lawyer told CNN.

"We want to remove it from the political environment and establish a humanitarian corridor of communication and see if we can just talk about Amir as a human being."

Marine ID Geneva Convention Card

Hekmati, who served in the U.S. Marines from 2001 to 2005, was arrested in August 2011 while visiting his grandmother and other relatives in Iran. His family has said he made the trip after obtaining permission from the Iranian Interests Section of the Pakistani Embassy in Washington.

On Monday, Iran's semi-official Fars news agency reported that he had been convicted of espionage, "working for an enemy country," being a member of the CIA and "efforts to accuse Iran of involvement in terrorism."

His family, who live in Michigan, claim that a "confession" aired on Iranian state television last month was coerced.

He has 20 days in which to appeal against his death sentence.

"We believe that there's a fundamental misunderstanding, and that the accusations against him are false," said Prosper.

"That said, we're prepared to open a line of communication with the government. We hope that they will accept it, because we believe that there is a workable way around this."

Switzerland, which represents U.S. interests in Iran, has officially confirmed the verdict and sentence, U.S. State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland said Tuesday. The United States has not had diplomatic relations with Iran since 1980, but "strongly condemns" the sentence and passed that condemnation to Iran through the Swiss, she said.

"We maintain, as we have from the beginning, that these charges against him are a fabrication and we call on the Iranian authorities to release him immediately," Nuland said. "We've also called on them to allow him to have legal counsel. Defendants in Iran are allowed to appeal within 20 days."

Nuland said Washington has urged Iranian authorities to allow Swiss diplomats to visit Hekmati, a step they have so far denied.

Prosper is a former ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues under the George W. Bush administration, and served as a war crimes prosecutor at the U.N. International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

In 2010, he negotiated the release of Reza Taghavi, an Iranian-American businessman detained in Iran for more than two years on suspicion of supporting an anti-regime group.

The high-profile lawyer said he hoped his previous experiences in Iran would help in the case.

"I've established some relationships based on my prior negotiations with the Taghavi case. I'll try to revive those connections and see if they are willing to have a conversation.

"It will be difficult, but it's possible, and one of the ways to do it is to move the government out of this, and have it be a communication from the family to the [Iranian] government."

Prosper said he had been shocked at the speed of the proceedings against Hekmati, and was concerned at a lack of openness surrounding the trial.

Hekmati's family is "obviously shocked and troubled" at news he has been handed a death sentence, Prosper told CNN, particularly since they have had no contact with him in recent months.

"This was literally a half-day trial; he was in detention only for a few months, and the verdict came within weeks. We also are troubled by the fact there's been no transparency, so it is really hard to see what happened."

"The family in the United States has not spoken with him since his incarceration, his detention. From the videos we've seen he looks to have lost weight, he appears to be under duress, and we're concerned.

"It is very difficult. I hear from them easily five or six times a day -- as you can imagine, the stress level is very high," he said.

"The news is not positive, but we try to reassure them that it is not over: We will engage with the government and we hope that they will show compassion.

"Our hope is that they will talk to us. Our hope is that they will listen to the family and... make a humanitarian decision.

"The family's message [to Iran] is: Please show some compassion. You've made your decision, we obviously disagree with the decision, but we are where we are, please allow him to come home, back to the United States."

CNN's Elise Labott contributed to this report.

Advice on Women from Stephen Hawking

2012-01-05T22:48:00.000-08:00

Top tips on women for Stephen Hawking | Jean Hannah Edelstein

The scientist who explained the mysteries of the universe confesses to being mystified by women. Here are a few pointers

Jean Hannah Edelstein · guardian.co.uk

Read by 8,045 people

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Stephen Hawking has confessed that women are a mystery to him. Photograph: Murdo Macleod

When I was young, I really struggled to learn to tie my shoelaces. Though I was intellectually on track with my peer group in most other respects, it was not until I was 12 that I conquered the double knot – and only after much shame, trial and error, and pairs of Velcro trainers.

It was this formative experience that made me feel great empathy for Professor Stephen Hawking, leading elucidator of the universe, when he confessed to having his own intellectual kryptonite. Women, he said in an interview with New Scientist, were a "complete mystery" – one that he now devotes much of his time to contemplating. Time, I assume, that he might be applying to M-Theory – an actual mystery that Hawking is uniquely qualified to investigate.

But all is not lost. Because just as Hawking was able to explain the universe to those of us who were mystified by it in A Brief History of Time, it is my pleasure to be able to explain women to those who are mystified by us in a A Brief List of Five Obvious Points About Women Using Helpful Scientific Similes.

1. Much like individual fundamental particles, women and men are different, but also the same. Which is to say: women are unique, complicated, intellectual, emotional, sexual. We respire and we digest. Sometimes we are lovely. And sometimes we are horrible. This has less to do with our intrinsic womanliness and more to do with the fact that we are human.

2. Much like quantum physics, communication between men and women can be complex and confusing. Maybe it's because of the way our brains are wired; maybe it's because of the particular ways we are socialised to communicate. Probably it's a combination of the two. Regardless, the challenges of communicating with the sex opposite to yours can most often be overcome by being clear about what you are communicating, and asking questions about what you don't understand. Much like doing science.

3. Much like black holes, women do not destroy everything. Unfortunately, there are a lot of conservative people in the world who still believe that women – and particularly, their sexuality – are dangerous and destructive. Realising that this is wrong is a great first step to understanding that women are not so baffling after all. Allying with those who are working to combat the rampant human rights abuses that arise from this kind of ignorance is even better. Think of it as getting your PhD in women.

4. Much like physicists enjoy arguing, women enjoy sex. They just don't get precisely the same kind of enjoyment from it that men do. Still perplexed? Ask the women you have sex with to talk to you about it. Or ask a woman who you are not going to have sex with, but who is sympathetic to your mystification, to explain it to you. Read a book by a woman about sex. Examine a useful diagram in an anatomy textbook. Do not watch pornography online: when it comes to understanding women's sexuality, internet pornography is about as useful as a as an arctic geography textbook is for understanding multivariate calculus.

5. Much like scientists think creationists are lazy-minded, women aren't keen on men who make sweeping generalisations about our "mysteriousness". It's one thing to say that you have trouble understanding particular women you interact with, or to admit that you find romantic relationships challenging. But to say that we are all a mystery could be taken as someone positioning himself to dismiss and marginalise us; to imply that our opinions and ideas don't matter because we're intrinsically inexplicable. And that would be a disgrace. In future, if you are going to make a sweeping generalisation about women, try phrasing the sentence with the word "people" in place of "women". Does it make you sound daft? Maybe a little bigoted? It's OK. Few experiments work the first time.

Israel's 2012 security outlook

2012-01-05T20:40:00.003-08:00

Op-ed: Despite short-term threats, Israel's strategic situation may improve in 2012

Published: 01.05.12, 23:32 / Israel Opinion

There is no doubt that the wave of uprisings that swept through the Arab world in 2011 changed the rules of the game in the region and created potential old-new threats for Israel. With most of them we already successfully contended in the past – for example, the Egyptian army's deployment in the Sinai or terror on our borders with Jordan and Syria. Yet alongside the substantive and potential threats piling up at the outset of 2012, mostly in the short term, we can see quite a few positive developments that may improve Israel's strategic position in the medium and long range.

For example, the blow to be sustained by the "Iranian axis of evil" should Assad's regime in Syria be toppled; or the determination and actions of Sunni Gulf states in contending with Iran's strategic threat using all means – political, economic and military. Even the political rise of Islamic movements as result of the regional uprisings is apparently much less menacing and dangerous for Israel than it seemed.

Egypt uprising (Photo: EPA)

The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Tunisia and Jordan represents what experts refer to as "hybrid Islam" that combines national-social identity with Islamic identity. As opposed to all-out Jihad movements such as al-Qaeda and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Muslim Brotherhood clearly prefers the people's economic and social welfare over Jihad. Hence, it will likely adopt a pragmatic policy and aim to distinguish itself from and even fight the fundamentalist Salafists.

The Muslim Brotherhood won't be in love with Israel and harass us at every opportunity, but it will be careful not to annul the peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan and avoid an all-out war that would harm the Arab people. This will likely be true for the post-Assad regime in Syria as well. Hence, the recent clichés about the Arab Spring making way for an "Islamic winter" should be reconsidered. There is good reason to assume that the political success of Islamic parties will not last forever.

Deterrence intact

On the military front, there was no significant erosion in Israel's overall deterrence in 2011, both in respect to closer and to more distant rivals. This is attested to by the relative quiet on the Syrian, Lebanese and Jordanian borders, the calm in the West Bank, Hamas' aversion for a wide-ranging clash, Iranian tensions in the wake of talk of an Israeli strike, and the fact that the Syrian regime does not rush to use its missiles and rockets against Israel despite the temptation to do so.

For the time being, we are not facing a substantive existential threat. Our deterrence is not the only reason for it, yet it is an important factor. Moreover, Israel's abilities and readiness to cope with military threats have improved and continue to improve. These capabilities are already high at this time, especially on the offensive front, where Israel can surprise both its nearby and remote foes.

Israeli deterrence intact (Photo: EPA)

On the defensive front, Israel's capabilities are still at an initial juncture – the multilayered anti-rocket system is still in early phases and the armored corps only possesses a few anti-rocket systems. However, the bottom line is that should Israel invest the required resources, it has a good chance to successfully cope with the threats against it within a few years and boost its deterrent power.

The Iran threat

And what about the Iranian bomb? Here too we can see some positive developments. Despise scientific progress, Iran has not yet decided to produce nuclear weapons. The main reasons for this are the concerns about political survival in the face of paralyzing sanctions and the fear of a military strike. Hence, the West still has a year to a year-and-a-half to adopt harsh means, including a strike. The next decision point will likely come about in March of 2012.

In this context, experts and intelligence officials note that the sanctions already imposed on Iran affect the regime and force it to adopt austerity measures. Hence, in the next year or two it would be deterred from taking drastic steps and especially the decision to produce a bomb.

Iran fears strike (Photo: Reuters)

In addition, the shocks in the Arab world produced several other phenomena that have a positive potential for Israel. The civil war is weakening the Syrian army and should the regime fall, Hezbollah would lose a military ally and its logistic home front. In other words, Hezbollah will become easier prey not only for Israel but also a weaker foe for other ethnicities in Lebanon. For that reason, Nasrallah is very careful not to take adventurous initiatives at this time.

Meanwhile, Hamas' government in Gaza is concerned that upheaval in the Arab world would also reach the Strip and undermine the group's rule. Hamas also faces economic distress as result of Iranian cutbacks. Hence, the group seeks reconciliation with the Palestinian Authority as well as calm with Israel, in order to secure global legitimacy and money. This creates an opportunity for indirect dialogue – no peace will come out of it, but a long period of quiet is a realistic possibility.

Elsewhere, Egypt's Supreme Military Council is showing a clear intention to continue serving as the leading and dominant political element. Indeed, it has a significant interest in maintaining the close and rewarding ties with the US. Hence, should the Council manage to enforce its will on other political elements, including the Muslim Brotherhood, there is a good chance that the peace treaty with Israel will survive

Meanwhile, there are two initiatives that our government can take and may change Israel's security-strategic situation for the better in an immediate, dramatic fashion. The first move is an initiative that would prompt the renewal of direct negotiations with the Palestinians. The second move is a decision to strike in Iran (on condition that there is a high likelihood that such strike would secure its objectives.)

The two affairs are linked: The renewal of the diplomatic process, despite Mahmoud Abbas' evasive maneuvers, may help Israel extract itself from international isolation and cope with the global response to an Iran strike. Hence, it would be worthy for an initiative on the Palestinian front to promote an initiative to strike. Netanyahu and Barak, as well as other top ministers, know this well. The question is whether they will have the personal courage and political ability to operate on both tracks, as required by Israel's strategic interests.

Guy travels the world and shoots one second of footage in each location.

2012-01-05T20:37:00.000-08:00

US non-lethal weapon 'wish list' revealed on the net

2012-01-04T17:49:00.000-08:00

An alleged US military wish list of real and conceptual non-lethal weapons has been published online.An alleged US military wish list of real and conceptual non-lethal weapons has been published online.Continue reading the main story

The document includes improvements to equipment already in use as well as proposals for new technologies.

One mooted concept suggests forcing hostile planes to change direction by using lasers

The list includes lasers and heat beams designed to disperse crowds, and nausea-inducing sound waves targeted at scuba divers.

Experts said the document acted as a "sales pitch" for continued funding.

The list - named the Non-Lethal Weapons Reference Book - is said to have been produced by the US Department of Defense's Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate (JNLWD).

A copy of the report was obtained and published by "anti-secrecy" site Public Intelligence. The organisation has a track record of publishing US government documents relating to national security.

A spokeswoman for the US Department of Defense said she could neither confirm nor deny the document's authenticity.

Running to over 100 pages, the report details the characteristics of each weapon - as well as possible collateral damage and the policy implications of its use.

Typical effects of the weapons on the human body include temporary blindness, deafness and loss of movement.

The Impulse Stunner gun is designed to keep hostile divers at a distance

One example, the Impulse Swimmer Gun, is described as being able to "suppress underwater swimmers and divers". It says an "underwater pulsed sound wave" affects a diver's hearing causing severe nausea.

The report noted "impact on aquatic life" as possible collateral damage. The weapon is marked as being in the "developmental" stage.

Of the more outlandish ideas, an entry for "Laser Based Flow Modification" details how lasers could be used to disrupt the aerodynamic flow around an aeroplane's wings, forcing an "enemy" plane to change direction.

Other non-lethal weapons said to be in development include:

A system designed to move people through an area by emitting a "heat sensation" causing "involuntary movement".
Electro-muscular pulses which "substantially increase" the time a hostile person can be incapacitated.
A portable system which emits high-powered microwaves capable of stalling a car engine at a distance.
An unmanned, airborne vessel equipped with a microwave-emitting device capable of preventing a ship's propulsion by causing "electrical system malfunction".

Never materialised

The JNLWD was setup in 1996 with the goal of facilitating and deploying non-lethal weapons in the US military in the wake of US operations in Somalia and Bosnia.

The non-lethal technology is particularly useful in roadblock situations, Mr Lewis said

"They came up with a new set of missions that didn't involve blowing things up," explained James Lewis, military technology expert and senior fellow at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"They're developing the technologies to make it work. It's not clear if some of these things will ever see the light of day, but that's what they're trying to do."

The JNLWD has been criticised in the past for spending money on projects that had never materialised.

A 2009 report by the US Government Accountability Office said that the JNLWD had spent at least $386 million (£250m) on 50 research projects - but had failed to actually produce any new weapons.

However, a need to deploy non-lethal techniques in "nation-building" operations was becoming increasingly crucial, Mr Lewis told the BBC.

"One of the big problems in Iraq was if you set up a checkpoint and the cars didn't stop. At least half the time the car was completely innocent - but the only thing guys had to stop them with were weapons."

Mr Lewis told the BBC that this document was designed as a fresh sales pitch to Congress and the Department of Defense.

"It says: 'here's what we've done, here's what we'd like to do, and here's why you want to do it.'"
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16415007

The future of travel Ipad passports?

2012-01-04T17:43:00.000-08:00

Canada-US border crossed by man using iPad as ID

A Canadian man who forgot his passport has said that he managed to cross the border into the US using a copy of the document he had scanned on to his iPad.

Martin Reisch, from Montreal, presented the US border office with his digital device after realising near the border that he did not have his passport.

He said he told the official that he was heading to Vermont to deliver Christmas presents.

Mr Reisch said he knew that the officer had made an exception.

"I thought I'd at least give it a try," Mr Reisch said, the Associated Press reports.

"He took the iPad into the little border hut. He was in there a good five, six minutes. It seemed like an eternity. When he came back, he took a good long pause before wishing me a Merry Christmas."

The 33-year-old said he believed that the true story he told, as well as his driver's licence, helped him get across the border to deliver the gifts last week.

Mr Reisch, who successfully managed to re-enter Canada later the same day, has said he will not forget his passport in the future.

However, he hopes one day scanned identification will become the norm.

"I see the future as 100% being able to cross with your identity on a digital device - it's just a matter of time," he said.

Since 2009, Canadians have needed more than a driver's licence as a form of identification for US land border crossings.

Canadian citizens can only enter the US at land crossings using a passport, an enhanced driver's licence or a Nexus pass, the Canadian Border Services Agency advises.

BBC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-16403636

Delta Force: The Real Story in Tora Bora | Military.com

2012-01-02T21:06:00.000-08:00

Delta Force: The Real Story in Tora Bora | Military.com

What will 2012 give us?

2012-01-01T16:11:00.000-08:00

Continued Arab Spring (Egypt the people will not be stopped)

Syria (the ideas of freedom have spread)

Yemen (as old as the hills but yet the hills have eyes)

Iran will flex its muscles in a weight class way above themselves

(Iranian Navy Flying boats to counter the US carrier threat)

Pakistan will continue its dangerous game, and in the end will stick a finger up at the world.

Afghanistan will stay the same unless Pakistan can be controlled

North Korea will do crazy things and then China will pull them back

In Russia Putin will hang onto power in almost any means necessary

Russian Television will report that America still sucks

Commodity prices will continue to rise and average Africans will see no benefits

The republicans if sane will pick Romney and he will turn out to be the next Kerry

Ron Paul will run as an Independent with Trump as VP and the world will laugh and cry at the same time

The greatest Chicken in the world... goes to war

2011-12-31T19:22:00.000-08:00

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2011

Jacques Poulet - International Chicken of mystery

A few years ago a friend of mine who had gotten back from Afghanistan told me about a special little chicken that his daughter had sent over with him when he went on tour so he could send her photos and she would know he would be safe. His daughter named the chicken "Jacques Poulet" and he quickly became very popular so the guys decided to have some fun with it. All the captions you will see with each photo were sent along with it, enjoy.

Jacques is a auto enthuisist! after Jacques made his first Million selling some poor Polish invester "Golden Eggs", he then went out and bought a new ride! as Jacques put it "Dis Ryde ist so sexy, da ladys' no ow ist da man"

Aw dis place is mine all mine, one day they wilt know who Jacques was, He was da richest Bird in day world

Jacques now has a new Afghan translator. Abdul Mohammed Wha Zoe. He is fluent in 9 languages. Jacques primary role in this part of the world is 1) The war on terrorism and 2) educating people of the value of eating pork. Or as Jacques would say "Puts la Polk on le folk"

Dis es mi ami, he est sexy to no?

This is a photo taken before Jacques was brought in for questioning on an apparent Steroid Scandel, he made a statment though his lawyer. "These Steroid Accus' are absured, I am grain fed, no preservatives here". at the time of the photo at hearing the accusation, he head butted a whooped that windows ass, The bird has rage, and lots of it... You be the judge...

Jacques, Likes da Blings Bling, NO!
OUI!!!!

Hey What you looki at? I don't inhale..

I am looking for mi frend, have you seen heem? No

Aw der yo are, Mi frend, Ah yes we birdz does have lips! No?

This is a beautiful day when a little girl can smile even when she's in pain. Her name is Mosapha. She is 7. You can't see it but her legs are badaged, and Jacques loves being around her. (The children at the hospital loved Jacques)

Jacques later purchased a larger fleet of army vehicles, when question he said. "Yoo can never bee enuff safe, No?, I likes da one in da tan..."

And they lived happily ever after?

Douchebag of the year award

2011-12-31T18:27:00.001-08:00

Gallery: Pepper-Spray Cop Squirts Internet in the Eye

By Angela Watercutter
November 21, 2011 |
4:40 pm |
Categories: Art, Design and Fashion, Current Affairs,internet

View as gallery

The notorious image of Lt. John Pike, aka Pepper Spray Cop, is incorporated into The Creation of Adamby Michelangelo.

Pepper Spray Cop assists some Stormtroopers in capturing nonviolent protesters.

Pepper Spray Cop is incorporated into Nighthawks by Edward Hopper.

Pepper Spray Cop shakes things up on A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat.

Call PETA! Pepper Spray Cop abuses teh kittehs.

Pepper Spray Cop is incorporated into Guernica by Pablo Picasso.

Pepper Spray Cop blasts Spider-Man.

Pepper Spray Cop tries to stop the raising of the flag on Iwo Jima.

Pepper Spray Cop visits John Lennon and Yoko Ono's "Bed-In."

Pepper Spray Cop douses Keyboard Cat.

Pepper Spray Cop is incorporated into Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix.

Pepper Spray Cop visits Sesame Street.

Pepper Spray Cop is pasted into a scene from The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Pepper Spray Cop is added to an old-school My Little Pony image.

Pepper Spray Cop is incorporated into Declaration of Independence by John Trumbull.

Pepper Spray Cop makes his mark on the Look At All the Fucks I Give meme.

Pepper Spray Cop brings his special sauce to The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci.

You'd scream, too. Pepper Spray Cop makes a perfect addition to The Scream by Edvard Munch.

Pepper Spray Cop faces off against Yoda.

Pepper Spray Cop crashes Thanksgiving.

View as gallery

Clever Photoshop artists have turned the image of a police officer pepper-spraying Occupy Wall Street protesters into a fast-spreading internet meme.

Soon after Lt. John Pike was videotaped and photographed pepper-spraying protesters Friday on the University of California at Davis campus, the video of the confrontation went viral and a photo of the incident went up on reddit.

That photo, by Louise Macabitas, sparked a slew of Photoshop spoofs showing Lt. Pike pepper-spraying everyone from Keyboard Cat to God. The artworks incorporate the officer into historical works of art likePablo Picasso’s Guernica and already-established internet memes like “Look at All the Fucks I Give.” And not too long after the images began circulating, Tumblrs to collect them were born.

“The imagery of the pepper-spraying cop somehow managed to top the chilling photo of pepper-sprayed 84-year-old Dorli Rainey from last week,” said Brady Hall, the 34-year-old filmmaker behind thePepper Spraying Cop Tumblr, in an e-mail to Wired.com. “And unlike that photo, ‘pepper spraying cop’ was just brimming with opportunity for humor.”

Hall said the pictures “also help highlight just why the images of this guy hosing peaceful park-sitters in the face with pepper spray is so wrong and representative of the baffling (but unsurprising) stance police are taking with the [Occupy Wall Street] protesters.”

The similar imagery of cops pepper-spraying participants at various Occupy Wall Street protests is what makes them easy to meme, said Ben Huh, CEO of Cheezburger Network. Some of the images take on aBanksy-esque quality because the act of pepper-spraying can look like spray-painting, making Pepper Spray Cop easy to incorporate into other photographs or art works.

“I think this started with Occupy Wall Street with the women who were penned in that got pepper-sprayed by that cop, so now everyone’s looking for pepper spray,” Huh told Wired.com. “They may not be consciously looking for it, but subconsciously when they see it they go, ‘A-ha! There’s another one.’ It’s bringing to light the problems that occur when police overuse pepper spray.”

Check out some of the best images from the meme in the gallery above, then hit the comments to let us know if you find any other cool versions of the Pepper Spray Cop photo.

Happy New Year

2011-12-31T15:05:00.001-08:00

As the sun sets it rises as the new year on the other side of the world.... we are all part of this great place.

I am a Stromtrooper

2011-12-31T15:03:00.001-08:00

People fear those in Wheelchairs

2011-12-29T19:12:00.000-08:00

Some evil moments in wheelchair history.

James Bond real enemy

Dr Strange Glove

Larry Flynt

An innocent Citroen Car looks menacing with a wheelchaired sidekick

Paul Franklin

For ex-army amputees, Edmonton's rehab centre a state-of-the-art gem

Photograph by: Candace Elliott , Edmonton Journal

‘Devil’s Brigade’ to be honored by Canadian Embassy in D.C.

Taliban incite Afghans to kill 'Crusaders' over Koran burning

The big question is what does the future hold as the Taliban use the burning or the Koran as an excuse to incite the locals to attack ISAF. ISAF has pulled its trainers and others from working directly with ANSF....

Women in combat in Afghanistan

US announces a 'surge' of military trainers to Afghanistan

By CJ RADINFebruary 19, 2012

Alien Humanoids Attend Kim Jong Il's Funeral? 2011

Thought-controlled Technology for Wounded Warriors

BY KBMILLER – FEBRUARY 2, 2012

HMCS Charlettown off Syrian Coast

HMCS Charlottetown sets sail to the Mediterranean

Postmedia News

© Agence France-Presse 2012

What will the world do to help Syria?

Calgary Journal - Heroes Hockey Challenge

What would President Newt have done?

U.S. debated sending commandos into Iran to recover drone

Pakistan Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud reportedly killed in U.S. drone attack

The Hindu Kush and the foothills of Kandahar 6 years ago

Canada continues to support Southern Sudan

Canada's role in the Republic of South Sudan

Iran nuclear scientist's death followed Israeli warning of 'unnatural' events

Reuters photographer and Marine meet again in Helmand

MAR 22, 2010 05:50 IST

The Question is ... "was the American marine actually CIA?"

Advice on Women from Stephen Hawking

Top tips on women for Stephen Hawking | Jean Hannah Edelstein

The scientist who explained the mysteries of the universe confesses to being mystified by women. Here are a few pointers

Israel's 2012 security outlook

Deterrence intact

The Iran threat

Guy travels the world and shoots one second of footage in each location.

US non-lethal weapon 'wish list' revealed on the net

An alleged US military wish list of real and conceptual non-lethal weapons has been published online.An alleged US military wish list of real and conceptual non-lethal weapons has been published online.Continue reading the main story

The future of travel Ipad passports?

Canada-US border crossed by man using iPad as ID

Delta Force: The Real Story in Tora Bora | Military.com

What will 2012 give us?

The greatest Chicken in the world... goes to war

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2011

Jacques Poulet - International Chicken of mystery

Douchebag of the year award

Gallery: Pepper-Spray Cop Squirts Internet in the Eye

Happy New Year

I am a Stromtrooper

People fear those in Wheelchairs

BY
KBMILLER
– FEBRUARY 2, 2012