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SLAVOJ ŽIŽEK TEST

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1. When were you happiest?

With my family on vacation.


2. What is your greatest fear?

Failure.


3. What is your earliest memory?

Kneeling on a four legged, maroon-faux-leather stool by the window looking at the linesmen working on the telephone lines outside, and pointing them out to my mother. We were on the second or third floor of an apartment building because I was looking down. I would have been three or four at that time.


4. Which living person do you most admire, and why?

My father – he is an unqualified success and an inspiration for me to become a success.


5. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?

Sloth.


6. What is the trait you most deplore in others?

Lack of self-discipline.


7. What was your most embarrassing moment?

Getting caught out in a lie.


8. Aside from a property, what’s the most expensive thing you’ve bought?

Stocks.


9. What is your most treasured possession?

My family.


10. What makes you depressed?

The thought that the Democrats are in power, and are totally ruining the economy and selling our national security down the drain.


11. What do you most dislike about your appearance?

My height & physical bearing. (I'm too big - I attract too much attention everywhere I go.


12. What is your most unappealing habit?

Sloth.


13. What would be your fancy dress costume of choice?

Zorro.


14. What is your guiltiest pleasure?

Eating like a pig.


15. What do you owe your parents?

Everything.


16. To whom would you most like to say sorry, and why?

My wife & kids for yelling at them.


17. What does love feel like?

Best feeling in the world.


18. What or who is the love of your life?

My wife & kids.


19. What is your favorite smell?

Jasmine.


20. Have you ever said ‘I love you’ and not meant it?

No.


21. Which living person do you most despise, and why?

A certain retired soldier, he is a personal enemy.


22. What is the worst job you’ve done?

Unknown; I've done a LOT of dirty jobs, shoveled my share of sh*t.


23. What has been your biggest disappointment?

Did not make Sergeant Major.


24. If you could edit your past, what would you change?

A certain event in Asia.


25. If you could go back in time, where would you go?

Vietnam, MACV-SOG.


26. How do you relax?

Underwater swimming and suntanning.


27. How often do you have sex?

Almost daily.


28. What is the closest you’ve come to death?

It involved bullets.


29. What single thing would improve the quality of your life?

Health.


30. What do you consider your greatest achievement?

My marriage.


31. What is the most important lesson life has taught you?

Nothing is fair. If something is fair, be surprised.


32. Tell us a secret.

I can read minds.

SEAN LINNANE’s 3 RULES of LEADERSHIP

Over the years I developed this; twenty-five years of serving with some of the greatest soldiers ever walked the face of the Earth, refined, filtered and distilled down to three simple Rules. Meditate upon them.

RULE # 1: NEVER LIE TO THE TROOPS.
Joe Snuffy can smell a lie a mile off. Once you’ve lied to your men, you are no longer the leader; you’re just the guy standing out in front of the formation.

RULE# 2: NEVER TELL A MAN TO DO SOMETHING YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DO YOURSELF.
Show your team you are willing and able to do every job on the team, no matter how low-down, dirty or dangerous.

RULE# 3: NEVER GIVE AN ORDER YOU KNOW WILL NOT BE OBEYED.
Find logical, common-sense options out of by-the-book dilemmas; otherwise you will only set yourself up for ridicule and failure.

A READER ASKS . . .

Q: What is the mission of your blog?

A: The intent of Blog Stormbringer is to stimulate thought, to explore history and philosophy with a military approach, and to sometimes launch a bit of humor . . . I especially enjoy the history of Ancient Greece and Rome, and drawing parallels to our modern experience, hence the submissions Caligula’s Horse and View From Within the Phalanx.

I have visited Greece and Rome several times, and other locations throughout these ancient empires and what is known as the "Holy Land". In high school I studied Latin under a very impressionable Italian woman whom to this day I am convinced was a secret admirer of Benito Mussolini.

Q: Did you develop a charter for your blogs, is it just observations, or a journal?

A: In the early stages of the Global War on Terror I used to get involved in heavy email political discussions / arguments; over time this became tiresome and since the ’08 election it is simply redundant. After firing funny jokes and other material his way, Theo Spark over at Last of the Few suggested I get into blogging. There are still some technical hiccups I am working out, and Theo is providing guidance. I might lighten up on politics and concentrate more on history, philosophy and military themes. The crude humor stays; I hope we never get to the point where we cannot laugh, especially at ourselves.

Q: What is the origin of the name Stormbringer?

A: One of my favorite bands is Deep Purple, of course, and one of their great songs is Stormbringer - inspired by the science fiction / fantasy novels of Michael Moorcock. A good friend who is also a reader introduced me to these books a long, long time ago. Whenever I went to the desert I always named my GunVee “Stormbringer” - I’m not really into the swords & fantasy genre, I just like the sound of that name; STORMBRINGER. It's got a ring to it like some kind of heroic Viking saga. That’s my GunVee in the photo across the top of the blog.

Q: Who IS Sean Linnane - the man behind the pseudonym?

I am not a hero, but I have served with heroes . . .

For legitimate reasons involving my current employment, I use the pseudonym Sean Linnane - for the same rationale I studiously AVOID commenting on certain subjects. It is probable that I will reveal my identity at some future point; the situation is dependent on my work. There are some issues I will never discuss, of course; unlike some, I take the non-disclosure statements I signed seriously.

One thing about me is that I am not politically correct. Another thing about myself: I am a practitioner of a mystical desert sect which happens to be the most persecuted religion on Earth; that is, I am a Christian. But I don't discriminate: when I was in Jerusalem, in '86, I visited the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, up on the Temple Mount, on a Friday. There I was, wearing the robes and surrounded by Arabs at prayer, contemplating on how this place was the site of the original Temple, and also served as the first headquarters of the Knights Templar. On Saturday I attended services at the Great Synagogue on King George Street, and on Sunday I went to St. George's, the Anglican Cathedral (which looks like a Crusader fortress, complete with Crusader flag flying over it) in East Jerusalem, because I am an Anglican. Personally, I don't see any contradiction in this; like the Arabs say, "We are People of the Book".

Q: What am I the reader, to take away from reading it?

A: Philosophy is the study of concepts such as existence, justice, knowledge, truth, beauty, mind, and language. The original Greek meaning of the word is "love of wisdom". Individual character development is essential to our society, if we are to prevail over the destructive forces that are not only out there on the far-flung fringes of the Empire, as it were, but also within the gates. Stormbringer is about education, information, and thought-provoking opinion, based on the experiences of my life and the extraordinary people I've encountered along the way.

A theme I wish to explore is Leadership, which I define as Planning, Decision-Making and Risk Management. Immediately after I retired from active duty, I found there was a great thirst in the business world for the kind of management and organizational skills that are formally taught in military leadership schools. Encouraged by a friend who is also a sort of mentor, I wrote a series of articles on the subject and developed Military Leadership Applications for Small Business Owners & Mid-Level Managers, which I’ve already presented at seminars. I presented Murphy’s Laws of Combat last week as introductory background material for my readership, in the Leadership department. There will be more material like this forthcoming.

CHANGE OF COMMAND IN AFGHANISTAN

On Lt Gen McChrystal replacing Gen McKiernan - The situation is comparable to Lincoln’s search of a replacement for McClellan; there are a lot of officers out there who know their stuff on paper but putting it together under field conditions - even in training - is another thing altogether. Leaders who are able to field and lead forces against an enemy willing to stand and fight calls for very unique leadership capabilities. This is something I know about. LTG McChrystal has proven himself in this department: as commander of JSOC he got al-Zarqawi's scalp and nailed it to his lodge pole.

During spring of 2007 McChrystal led JSOC, attached forces and other government agencies in a series of highly effective covert operations in Iraq that coincided with the troop surge. McChrystal's forces employed a concept dubbed "collaborative warfare": a range of tools from signal intercepts to human intelligence to find, target, and kill insurgents. It has been suggested that it was this effort, not the well-publicized surge, that was responsible for the drop in violence in 2007–2008

McChrystal got egg on his face in the aftermath of the Pat Tillman Silver Star fiasco. Former professional football player Pat Tillman was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan on April 22, 2004; McChrystal approved a posthumous Silver Star for Tillman. The day after sending the paperwork forward, however, McChrystal apparently sent an urgent memo warning senior government officials not to quote the phrase "in the line of devastating enemy fire," in the citation because it "might cause public embarrassment" if Tillman had in fact been killed by friendly fire, as McChrystal suspected.

McChrystal was recommended for discipline by a subsequent Pentagon investigation but the Army declined to take action against him. I personally have a hard time forgiving him for this. A friend of mine, Brigadier General Gary Jones, took a hit on this when the US Army Special Operations Command made him one of the scapegoats, after the fact. Jones was retired but they let McChrystal walk. To me the whole thing smacks of officer CYA after-the-fact; why did McChrystal sign the citation if he suspected friendly fire?

As long as I stood in formation and wore jump wings on my chest – 25 years – the Army always told me the worst thing you can do is screw up a military funeral. You can screw up anything else and we’ll cover for you, but a veteran's funeral must be pulled off without a hitch. McChrystal was a key player in the Tillman tragedy of errors, so he must be pretty good for them to keep him around and now put him in charge of the main effort of the GWOT, or whatever it is we’re calling it these days.

To me, McChrystal is either a Ulysses S. Grant or he's a George Armstrong Custer. Grant climbed all the way to the top via a list of quantifiable achievements; Custer was a politician and a ticket puncher and we all know how that ended. Let's hope LTG McChrystal is the former not the latter.

SEAN LINNANE SENDS

VIEW FROM WITHIN THE PHALANX

We are forced to intervene in many directions simply because we have to be on our guard in many directions; now, as previously, we have come as allies to those of you here who are being oppressed; our help was asked for, and we have not arrived uninvited.
- THUCYDIDES, The Peloponnesian War

The Peloponnesian War spanned twenty-eight years (431-404 BC); in the end Athens surrendered to Sparta. Completely devastated, Athens never regained its pre-war prosperity.

If the war we are in is no longer to be known as the Global War on Terror, or GWOT, then why don’t we call it the One Hundred Years War? If it is not that, then it is certainly at least the Thirty Years War. (These nicknames for the war, by the way, have been American GI wisdom since at least 2002.)

Our enemies are myriad; committed friends and allies few. Thousands of dedicated Taliban fighters swarm throughout the Northwest Tribal Areas of Pakistan, with their complimentary propaganda / indoctrination organizations, Sharia tribunals and enforcers, political wing, logistics, support, etcetera.

The Obama Administration’s response is to dedicate 20,000 troops to the Afghan theater of operations – but the enemy’s main effort is across the border, in Pakistan. We have limited forces located in Pakistan of course, but they are not deployed in sufficient numbers or troop configurations to decisively engage the Taliban.

Two weeks ago we were all going to suffer and die a horrible death at the hands of the Swine Flu Pandemic. As it turned out, this seems simply a crisis of convenience, a diversion readily lapped up, regurgitated and magnified a thousand fold by the Obama Administration propaganda machine a.k.a. the Mainstream Media. The Swine Flu story served to divert attention away from the Obama Administration’s nationalization of the banks and the auto industry.

And so while our enemies swirl around us, consolidate their forces and prepare for the next terrorist offensive, Barack Obama has committed the nation to a trillion, or three trillion, or ten trillion-odd dollars over the next four to ten years. Perhaps only ten percent of this incredible amount is to provide stimulus to the economy; the rest represents the greatest growth of government agencies and projects in the history of the Republic. This unnecessary expansion will require running the printing presses, of course – there is no other way to produce the required funds – and this will inevitably bankrupt us, of course, via a combination of hyperinflation, taxes, and high interest rates.

That's a Hell of a way to prepare the nation for a decades-long global conflict, Mr. Obama.

THIS IS BRILLIANT

(written by an unknown Pastor's Wife)

And it came to pass in the Age of Insanity that the people of the land called America, having lost their morals, their work initiative, and their will to defend their liberties, chose as their Supreme Leader that person known as "The One".

He emerged from the vapors with a message that had no meaning; but He hypnotized the people telling them, "I am sent to save you. My lack of experience, my questionable ethics, my monstrous ego, and my association with evil doers are of no consequence. For I shall save you with Hope and Change. Go, therefore, and proclaim throughout the land that he who preceded me is evil, that he has defiled the nation, and that all he has built must be destroyed."

And the people rejoiced, for even though they knew not what "The One" would do, he had promised that he would bring change, and they proclaimed "Yes We Can".

And "The One" said "We live in the greatest country in the world. Help me change everything about it!"

And the people said, "Hallelujah!! Change is good!"

Then He said, "We are going to tax the rich fat-cats," - And the people said "Sock it to them!" and "Redistribute their wealth!"

And then He said, "Redistribution of wealth is good for everybody"

And the people said, "Show us the money!"

And Joe the plumber asked, "Are you kidding me? You're going to steal my money and give it to the deadbeats??"

And "The One" ridiculed and taunted him, and Joe's personal records were
hacked, publicized, and ridiculed; though no crime could be found.

One lone reporter asked, "That shouldn't be, isn't that Marxist policy?"

And she was banished from the kingdom!

Then a citizen asked, "With no foreign relations experience and having
zero military experience or knowledge, how will you deal with radical terrorists?"

And "The One" said, "Simple. I shall sit with them and talk kindly to them and show them how nice we really are; and they will forget that they ever wanted to kill us all!"

And the people said, "Hallelujah!! We are safe at last, and we can beat our weapons into free cars for the people!"

Then "The One" said, "I shall give 95% of you lower taxes."

And one, lone voice said, "But 40% of us don't pay ANY taxes."

So "The One" said, "Then I shall give you some of the taxes the fat-cats pay!"

And the people said, "Hallelujah!! Show us the money!"

Then "The One" said, "I shall tax your Capital Gains when you sell your homes!"

And the people yawned and the already slumping housing market fully collapsed.

And He said, "I shall mandate employer-funded health care for EVERY worker and raise the minimum wage, and lower the white collar wage. And I shall also give every person unlimited healthcare and medicine and even transportation to the free clinics."

And the people said, "Give me some of that!"

Then he said, "I shall penalize employers who ship jobs overseas."

And the people said, "Where's my rebate check?"

Then "The One" said, "I shall bankrupt the coal industry, and perhaps even the oil industry (Cap & Trade /Carbon Tax) and though electricity rates will skyrocket, we shall soon build wind farms and solar power stations and drive green cars that I shall mandate in Detroit!"

And the people said, "Coal is dirty, coal is evil, no more coal! But we don't care for that part about higher electric rates."

So "The One" said, "Not to worry. If your rebate ($10/week) isn't enough to cover your extra expenses ($3,000/year), we shall bail you out. Just sign up with ACORN and your troubles are over! Only the fat cats will have to
> pay."

Then He said, "Illegal immigrants feel scorned and slighted. Let's grant them amnesty, Social Security, free education, free lunches, free medical care, bi-lingual signs and guaranteed housing..."

And the people said, "Hallelujah!!" And they made him King!

And so it came to pass that employers, facing spiraling costs and ever-higher taxes, raised their prices and laid off workers; though they sold much less of their products. Others simply gave up and went out of business, and the economy sank like unto a rock dropped from a cliff. The banking industry was destroyed. Manufacturing slowed to a crawl. And more of the people were without a means of support.

So "The One" again blamed the prior administration, extended unemployment benefits to a year, bailed out his favorite banks, and then took over the banks and auto industries. "The One" said, "I am the "The One" – The Messiah - and I'm here to save you! We shall just print more money so the government will have enough! Surely one trillion dollars will make everyone happy."

And immediately the Fed complied and the money presses roared.

And China reconsidered their one trillion dollars of loans to the US, and threatened to call in their debts. Other foreign trading partners said unto The One, "Wait a minute. Your dollar is not worth a pile of camel dung! You will have to pay more for everything as your dollar becomes worth less."

And the people said, "Wait a minute. That is unfair!!"

And the world said, "Neither are these other idiotic programs you have embraced. Lo, you have become a Socialist state and a second-rate power.
What factories are not owned by your government are owned by us. Now you shall play by our rules!"

And "The One" said "Americans are arrogant, divisive, and derisive! We will listen."

And the people cried out, "Alas, alas!! What have we done?"

But yea verily, it was too late. The people eventually set upon "The One" and spat upon him and stoned him, and his name was dung.

But the once mighty nation was no more; and the once proud people were without sustenance or shelter or hope. And the Change that "The One" had given them was as like unto a poison that had destroyed them from within, and like a whirlwind that consumed all that they had built.

And the people beat their chests in despair and cried out in anguish, "Give us back our nation and our pride and our hope!!"

But it was too late, and the once-glorious "Home of the Brave and Land of the Free" was no more.