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May
21
2008
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Written by JD Johannes
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Thursday, 22 May 2008 |
Anti-war types harrassing service members
on the DC metro subway are looking to create an incident.
It is a win-win for them. If they
get away with it, they have stroked their cowerdly egos.
If they get swept & stomped MCMAP
style , they get to be on TV. And we all know which side the media
will take.
I know a handfull of Marines from the
old Platoon stationed in DC.
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May
20
2008
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Written by JD Johannes
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Tuesday, 20 May 2008 |
After Mark Cuban lost millions underwriting DePalma's last anti-war movie 'Redacted' some other deep pockets are lining up for the guaranteed business loss to shelter some money.
Pat Dollard has the scoop, here .
Seriously, the only business sense it makes to finance a DePalma anti-war pic is to intentionally take the loss. Filmmaking as a tax shelter.
The only other motivation could be a zealous desire to make propaganda film that very few people will see.
Cuban blew $5,000,000 making 'Redacted.' that is a 1.3% return of the original investment.
The truly absurd part about anyone bank rolling DePalma is that my latest Iraq war documentary is more than half-way to beating his Gross.
As of this moment, we've returned 90.8% of the investment in the Outside The Wire trilogy. That's right. We are almost set to enter the exclusive club of profitable Iraq War movies.
But what I really want to do is straight up beat DePalma. Seriously, how embarrassing would it be for one dude with a camera to gross more than the famed DePalma?
We're 56% of the way there.
If you can afford to, please buy a DVD.
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May
20
2008
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Written by JD Johannes
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Tuesday, 20 May 2008 |
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In the national wires and in the my local paper there are stories about legislation to modify the GI Bill.
(I was a beneficiary of the GI Bill in the previous decade.)
In reading these stories, I can see how people are easily confused by the concept of a GI Bill that covers tuition and one that provides a monthly payment. In most cases, the monthly payment would exceed full tuition.
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May
19
2008
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Written by JD Johannes
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Monday, 19 May 2008 |
Suug Sooda. The arabic term for Black Market.
The Black Market is how many insurgent operations are funded. In Iraq, the criminal and the insurgent are often integrated.
A black market exists only when there is profit by avoiding government regulation, rationing or taxation.
To eliminate the black market that funds insurgent operations, do not create more regulations or increase enforcement--eliminate the regulation, rationing and taxation that leads to a black market.
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May
11
2008
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Written by David Chavarria
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Monday, 12 May 2008 |
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As a producer (among other titles) of the Outside the Wire documentary series, people often ask me the difference between our documentaries about Iraq and other documentaries.
I tell people that JD embeds long term with our troops...he never just goes in, gets some soundbites and goes somewhere else. I usually add the story about the News Director who told me, after we sent him a tape, that JD's footage should have been shot using a tripod...yeah, like JD's going to set up a tri-pod in the middle shootout in Nasser wa Saalam. The News Director didn't get the whole 'this is actual combat in Iraq' thing.
But, just the other day, I found another answer to that question people often ask me. The difference is neatly summed up in a quote from this GQ article about Errol Morris' documentary about Abu Ghraib prison, Standard Operating Procedure .
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May
11
2008
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Written by JD Johannes
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Monday, 12 May 2008 |
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I will be a guest on the Dennis Miller radio show Monday morning during the second half of the second hour.
You can find your local station here .
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May
08
2008
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Written by JD Johannes
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Friday, 09 May 2008 |
Entire High Value Target lists will be captured, incarcerated, interrogated, executed...or shot on sight.
But it will make little difference over the course of time. I have seen this with my own eyes.
The cemetaries of the world are filled with indespensible men and an insurgency is filled with despinsible men.
Pressure must be placed on insurgent networks and personnel. The insurgents must be hunted and disrupted. But the capture or killing of one or a few or many is not the goal.
The goal is to eliminate the insurgency's ability to operate.
Much in the way that the killing of Pablo Escobar did not eliminate or slow down the cocaine trade, the capture of the latest insurgent leader will not stop the terror and mayhem.
In the cocaine business, the potential for profit is to high for the vacuume not to be filled.
For the insurgent, it is the same, but the currency is the success of the movement.
The better allocation of resources is in those tactics that deny the insurgency the ability to succeed, rather than targetting successful insurgents.
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May
06
2008
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Written by JD Johannes
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Tuesday, 06 May 2008 |
Build a fence, a short fence.
Once you know who lives in a village or neighborhood, control the flow of people in and out through a physical barrier.
The regulation will be that the only way in and out will be through a designated gate(s). People leaving and exiting will be compared against the list of residents.
Those who are not supposed to be in the village or neighborhood will not be able to use the designated gate. They will have to cross the fence.
Make sure the fence is short enough to be crossed. You want people to able to jump the fence so you know who to target, track and observe. They will lead you to the insurgents.
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