Obama, Incompetatnt Commandar in Chief

Obama, Incompetent Commander in Chief

Whose side is he on anyway? Ya all know who I am talking about, that Barack Obama guy. I cringe at the thought the that community activist is Commander and Chief.

I am not a combat vet, but I wore the uniform and cannot imagine the unnecessary stress our warriors must endure.

Shades of Vietnam: Spike in U.S. troop deaths tied to stricter rules of engagement

strict

The number of U.S. battlefield fatalities exceeded the rate at which troop strength

 surged in 2009 and 2010, prompting national security analysts to assert that coinciding stricter rules of engagement led to more deaths.

A connection between the sharp increase in American deaths and restrictive rules of engagement is difficult to confirm. More deaths surely stemmed from ramped-up counterterrorism raids and the Taliban’s response with more homemade bombs, the No. 1 killer of NATO forces in Afghanistan.

But it is clear that the rules of engagement, which restrain troops from firing in order to spare civilian casualties, cut back on airstrikes and artillery strikes — the types of support that protect troops during raids and ambushes.

“It is no accident nor a coincidence that from January 2009 to August of 2010, coinciding with the Obama/McChrystal radical change of the [rules of engagement], casualties more than doubled,” Mr. Simmons said. “The carnage will certainly continue as the already fragile and ineffective [rules] have been further weakened by the Obama administration as if they were playground rules.”

The September 2009 battle also stands as a stark example of the effects the restrictive rules of engagement had on troops under fire, fighting for their lives.

Former ArmyCapt. William Swenson, who last month pinned on the Medal of Honor, repeatedly called headquarters to request airstrikes but was denied for hours, as more than 150 Taliban fighters surrounded and attacked his position.

Mr. Swenson vented his frustration in an after-action investigation.

“It’s not JAG [military attorney] responsibility to interject to say, ‘Hey, we are concerned that you’re going to hit a building,’” he said. “I can tell you that I am concerned with saving as many lives as I can, not necessarily one. Unfortunately, this is combat. I can’t be perfect, but I can do what I feel what’s right at the time.”

He added: “I am not a politician. I am just the guy on the ground asking for that ammunition to be dropped because it’s going to save lives.”

Mr. Swenson recalled other instances in which the brigade command would not authorize airstrikes on targets he identified.

“I just get the craziest thing across the radio sometimes,” he said. “Just people second-guessing.”

Of 13 U.S. forces at Ganjgal, five were killed. The Afghan National Army lost eight soldiers.

Another soldier said in the same after-action report that there was a dwelling in Ganjgal used by the Taliban — including women — as a safe haven from which to fire rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons. Yet the command would not target the building.

"Let’s focus on [rules of engagement] because there is no reason you can’t level a house if they are shooting from it,” the soldier said. “I’ve never heard of a rule that would not allow [you] to fire on a house. They always teach you that you always have the right to defend yourself. Let commanders on the ground make decisions. We are using lawyers to make tactical decisions.”

He added: “You have the right to stay alive or keep your guys alive. We failed them by not keeping them alive because we didn’t provide them what they need to come out alive.”

WASHINGTON TIMES

Sitting here, I am totally amazed that the American people praise, respect, honor our troops abroad, do not hold that Occupant in the White House responsible.

Lame Duck Dynasty

I check out  CNSNEWS.COM most every day.

Those folk at CNS NEWS often present videos of current news, and distinguished commentators such as Jay Leno.

Men and Women's Different Brain

Men and Women's Different Brain

I come across this bit of news and wonder just how to  interpret it. I also wonder who paid for this marvelous news.

Q. Should it  come as a shock men and women are different?
A. No

You can read the following article concerning the study and it's results.  I am thinking more about social policy, with proof that as a whole, we should not expect in a society which prizes equality, that equality will results will be equal results for men and women.

I'm awaiting the radical feminist spin on this. They already deny the obvious physical differences, the invisible will be a playground for them.

I did some due diligence on this and beyond the the study was done at the University of Pennsylvania, have no idea if it was tax payer or privately funded.

How Men's Brains Are Wired Differently Than Women's

Men aren't from Mars and women aren't from Venus, but their brains really are wired differently, a new study suggests.

The research, which involved imaging the brains of nearly 1,000 adolescents, found that male brains had more connections within hemispheres, whereas female brainswere more connected between hemispheres. The results,  which apply to the population as a whole and not individuals, suggest that male brains may be optimized for motor skills, and female brains may be optimized for combining analytical and intuitive thinking.

"On average, men connect front to back [parts of the brain] more strongly than women," whereas "women have stronger connections left to right," said study leader Ragini Verma, an associate professor of radiology at the University of Pennsylvania medical school. But Verma cautioned against making sweeping generalizations about men and women based on the results.

Neural map of a typical woman's brain

Neural map of a typical man's brain

Brain networks showing significantly increased intra-hemispheric connectivity in males (Upper) and inter-hemispheric connectivity in females (Lower). Intra-hemispheric connections are shown in blue, and inter- hemispheric connections are shown

Previous studies have found behavioral differences between men and women. For example, women may have better verbal memory and social cognition, whereas men may have better motor and spatial skills, on average. Brain imaging studies have shown that women have a higher percentage of gray matter, the computational tissue of the brain, while men have a higher percentage of white matter, the connective cables of the brain. But few studies have shown that men's and women's brains areconnected differently.

FULL STORY - SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN