Monday's Missives

An interesting little irony- the car that was jacked by the Boston bomber had a COEXIST bumper sticker on it. That almost seems too rich to be genuine but I guess the image is unaltered.

• "That doesn't look like like anywhere I was in Iraq- you? No, there wasn't trash everywhere, there wasn't bullet holes in everything, there wasn't piles of rubble and the people weren't dirty, glue sniffing beggars." Conversation between an ex girlfriend who had been downrange and myself while watching the great 1924 silent movie The Baghdad Thief.
• There was a guy I went to church with way back in the day that when you went into someones house and they had some great bookcases, an awesome mantle or built in entertainment center that were obviously custom made you'd automatically ask,  Did Don build this?
• He was the classic case of someone not knowing what he meant to the people in his life. He killed himself by taking a handful of pills. Really, it was a great loss for the world, but I'm sure he had no idea.
• Man, it's hot.
• Roofers at nearby apartments work from 7 in the morning and are rolling up hoses and cords after dark. I draw up inside just glancing up at them. I know they get paid reasonably well- or none of them would come back after the first day, regardless- it isn't enough.
• Cold Case, 48 Hours and Tru TVs World's Dumbest- television shows I could watch in an alternating loop 24 hours a day.
• I just watched videos this morning (05042013) filmed with hi def cameras aboard Syrian tanks engaged in urban combat. The first thing that jumped out at me was the apparent competence of the crews- they alternated their sectors of fire, did not panic under fire, maintained their spacing where they should and tightened it up when the terrain and situation dictated. Another thought that crossed my mind was the scale and ferocity of the fighting- there were literally miles it appeared of rubbleized buildings and at times the tanks were under fire from every direction at once. In some videos the Syrian forces get dinged hard by armchair generals in the comments section for not having infantry support. Uh, might want to back that tank up: They were I interpreted actually running a sophisticated screen operation with  infantry moving lateral to the tanks. If I'm correct it is a pretty brilliant idea if risky-ish. Doing this would allow the grunts to engage insurgents moving toward the tanks and engage those running away from them. Also assuming good comms the tanks could move to support the grunts if they get bogged down and call for support. Also, some of the engagements show the armor moving way too fast for infantry to keep up. Providing the planning was sound and objective(s) clear, the infantry could become a liability in an operation with that kind of tempo.