Russian Subs Near The Coast Of Britain?

A new Russian nuclear submarine, Yuri Dolgoruky, seen in the water area of the Sevmash factory in the northern city of Arkhangelsk, Russia

The Telegraph: Did Russian submarine nearly drag Scottish fishing trawler to watery grave?

A fishing crew have claimed their boat was nearly dragged underwater by a submarine - but there were no British vessels in the area

A trawler captain has claimed his boat was nearly dragged to a watery grave by a rogue Russian submarine while fishing off the Scottish coast.

Angus Macleod said he and his four crew were "extremely lucky" after his net became snagged on a mystery submerged object, which almost pulled the boat and crew under the waves.

The Royal Navy has said there were no British or Nato submarines in the area at the time. In recent months it has been alleged that Russian submarines have been operating in British waters.

Mr MacLeod and his crew were fishing aboard the 41-year-old wooden Aquarius about ten miles east of the Butt of Lewis in 360 feet of water on Tuesday.

WNU Editor: A friend of mine who enjoys sailing off the Florida coast had a similar experience a few years ago (he was not fishing). He a few others were in their sailboat when all of a sudden they sense/felt something very big underneath them and moving very fast .... and when they looked over the side all that they saw was a large dark shadow that quickly disappeared. Just thinking about it gives me the chills.

The Offices Of World Leaders (Photo Gallery)

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

Russian President Vladimir Putin at a working meeting with Defense and Finance Ministers, Sergey Shoigu and Anton Siluanov. © Mikhail Klimentyev/Russian presidential press service/TASS

WNU Editor: An interesting photo gallery. The link is here.

U.S. Drones Have Killed More Than The Spanish Inquisition

Patrick Poole, PJ Media: Obama’s Drones Have Killed More Than the Spanish Inquisition

Controversy still swirls around Obama’s comments during the National Prayer Breakfast this week, where he chastised Christians for getting on their “high horse” over the ongoing global jihad, invoking medieval abuses that occurred hundreds of years ago during the Crusades and Inquisition.

But perhaps it is Obama who should avoid getting on his high horse, since according to recently published statistics, Obama’s drone campaign has killed more people during the six years of his presidency than were killed the 350 years of the Spanish Inquisition.

WNU Editor: I had a good chuckle when I read this .... as a history buff I know that you can go back into time and find many cases of historical events that resulted in large number of deaths .... but when put into the context of today's world .... were actually minor.

Gallop CEO: Its All A Lie

Jim Clifton, Gallop: The Big Lie: 5.6% Unemployment

WNU Editor: It makes you wonder on what else are they "lying about".

US Navy Jet Breaks Speed Of Sound Flying Past Aircraft Carrier

Daily Mail: The incredible moment a Navy jet breaks the speed of sound and creates a SONIC BOOM while flying by an airplane carrier

WNU Editor: I expected a louder boom. :(

A Short Story On A Hypothetical Middle East Nuclear War

An interception by the Iron Dome anti-missile system is seen as rockets are launched from Gaza towards Israel before a 72-hour ceasefire was due to expire August 13, 2014. Credit: Reuters/Amir Cohen

How The Middle East’s First Nuclear War Started -- Mathew Burrows, Politico

The following is a fictional story by Mathew Burrows, who, for the past decade, has overseen the creation of the National Intelligence Council’s Global Trends Report—an intelligence-based futurist guide that has become essential reading for the White House as well as the Departments of State, Defense and Homeland Security.

As the United States enters the final hours of nuclear negotiations with Iran this weekend, it is worth considering the possible paths forward depending on the outcome of the Geneva meetings. You never know—this story could already be happening.

***

Jamil Khoury woke at night in a cold sweat, shaken by the magnitude of what he had done. He had always considered himself a peace-loving man—having grown up in Lebanon, he knew what war could do to a country. And now it looked as if he would be responsible for war on a scale no one had ever seen.

He sat for a while in silence watching the sun creep in through the shutters until his phone rang. He answered, and after a brief call, resolved to get the next flight from Beirut to New York. If he could just talk to Lars, Lars might be able to help.

**

Read more ....

My Comment: A short story on a hypothetical Middle East nuclear war. Let us hope that it remains like that .... a story of fiction.

My Favorite SR-71 Story

The Ultimate Ground Speed Check - Tales from the Blackbird -- Jalopnik

I don't know of any ludicrous speeding tickets so I can't participate in today's QOTD, but it did remind me of my favorite SR-71 story.

This is an expanded excerpt from Brian Schul's book Sled Driver : Flying the World's Fastest Jet. (which happens to be out of print and ludicrously expensive now, I wish I had bought a copy when I could have afforded it).

Read more ....

My Comment: When I first started this blog someone emailed me this story ..... and it has stuck with me ever since. On this quiet and wintry Saturday night .... I cannot recommend anything better to read than this. Enjoy .... and remember that there is always someone bigger, better, and faster than you are.

A Soldier To The End

Veteran, 98, Dons Uniform In Bed For Salute Hours Before Death -- CBS

GLENVILLE, N.Y. -- On Veterans Day, Justus Belfield donned his Army uniform one more time, even though he was too weak to leave his bed at an upstate New York nursing home.

The 98-year-old World War II veteran died the next day.

The Daily Gazette of Schenectady reports that Belfield had worn his uniform every Veterans Day since he and his wife moved into Baptist Health Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Glenville, outside Albany, several years ago. On Tuesday, the former master sergeant wasn't able to get out of bed to participate in the facility's Veterans Day festivities, so he had the staff dress him in his uniform.

A photograph accompanying the newspaper's story published Friday shows Belfield saluting while lying in bed. The nursing home staff said he died early Wednesday morning.

Read more ....

My Comment: These heroes always make me feel humbled.

A List Of The Most Ridiculous Names For Military Operations

An HH-46E Sea Knight helicopter sits on the flightline as the sun rises on Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C., Oct. 14, 2014. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Timothy T. Parish

The 17 Most Ridiculous Names For Military Operations, Ranked -- Zack Beauchamp, VOX

The US military operation against ISIS in Iraq and Syria officially has a name: "Operation Inherent Resolve." If you think this is a stupid name, you're not alone: the Pentagon allegedly rejected it in early October as "kind of bleh" (that's a direct quote from an officer). The name was initially supposed to be just a placeholder, but it seems like the military ran out of other ideas and it stuck.

But this is far from the first bizarrely named military operation. Here are the 17 most ridiculous, ranked:

17) Operation Ortsac (USA, 1962 plan to invade Cuba — spell the name backwards)

16) Operation Red Bean (Belgium, 1978 Zaire airport intervention)

15) Exercise Steadfast Jazz (NATO, 2013 training exercise)

14) Operation Inherent Resolve (USA, 2014 ISIS war)

10, tie) Operation Dragon Blanc (Belgium, 1964 Congo intervention)

Read more ....

My Comment: Here is another list of operation (but impressive) names .... Top 10 Military Operation Names (List Verse)

No Ice Bucket Challenge For 'U.S. Diplomats, Military, House Members'

Diplomats, Military, House Members Are Barred From #IceBucketChallenge -- Washington Post

The State Department, the Pentagon and the U.S. House informed their diplomats, soldiers and lawmakers respectively this week that they may not participate in the Ice Bucket Challenge for ALS research.

The Associated Press obtained a cable sent to embassies around the world alerting them that accepting the challenge was against ethics rules, which do not allow government officials to use their taxpayer-funded office for private gain “no matter how worthy a cause.”

The AP tweeted a copy of the cable here:

Read more ....

My Comment: Nope ....  I am not taking the challenge. Did a polar swim on New Years Day 20 years ago .... never again.

How To Look Concern When Meeting The U.S. President (Photo Gallery)

Pete Souza/The White House

A Photographic Guide To Looking Concerned While Meeting With The President -- The Wire

If you're ever in a meeting with the leader of the free world, you know it's important. Or rather, you better show it's important. After careful study of the photographic record of the Obama administration, we can tell you everything you need to know about how to appropriately convey your sense of concern about whatever the other people in the room are talking about.

There are several ways you can do this—leaning forward, nodding, not falling asleep—but the most effective method that we've found is to place your hand on your chin or over your mouth. Nothing says "I'm concerned with this issue that you are speaking of" like a couple of well-placed fingers on the lower half of your face.

Read more ....

My Comment: Yup .... Vice President Biden is a natural when it comes to looking concerned.

When People Are Dying, You Must Come Back From Vacation

French Foreign Affairs Minister Laurent Fabius (C) visited Iraqi refugees in Nineveh province on Sunday, saying upon his return to France that vacations for certain world leaders should cease while people are dying there

'When People Are Dying, You Must Come Back From Vacation': French Foreign Minister Seems To Slam Obama For Golfing While Iraq Burns -- Daily Mail

* Obama is on Martha's Vineyard while Iraq undergoes regime change and terrorists slaughter ethnic and religious minorities
* Calling heads of state to lobby participation in humanitarian assistance program – in between golf and fundraising
* Washington Post columnist wrote that the president 'risks fueling the impression that he is detached as the world burns'

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has a message about Iraq for Barack Obama: Get back to the White House and do something.

'I know it is the holiday period in our Western countries,' Fabius told a radio interviewer Tuesday in France,' but when people are dying, you must come back from vacation.'

Full-time workers in France are guaranteed a whopping five weeks of paid vacation every year, making his plea all the more urgent.

Obama is on a family and golfing holiday in a ritzy neighborhood of Martha's Vineyard but says he will come back to Washington briefly on Tuesday before returning to fun, sun, and more golf.

Read more ....

My Comment: He is so 100% right.