Some more details on the 60 mm mortars used by Marines

Typical 60mm mortar and round via afghanistansquid

Pentagon bans 60 mm mortar round after deaths
"The Marine Corps said early Tuesday that seven Marines were killed. But John Stroud, national junior vice commander in chief for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, began a memorial event in Hawthorne on Tuesday night by saying "one of the critical has passed," bringing the death toll to eight.
Members of the women's Auxiliary of VFW 231 then laid a wreath and eight individual floral arrangements at a park where a flag flew at half-staff within sight of the Hawthorne depot's boundary." Slide show at this link.

Video of Marines firing a 60mm mortar :

COMBAT FOOTAGE Marines in firefight beat Taliban ambush with 60mm Mortar Fire About four minutes in the mortar crew sets up. If you don't care for the salty language, turn the sound down. It was a bit slow playing back with several pauses.

Barry of Arabia

Alan Caruba; Barry O Goes to Jerusalem  "No doubt President Obama will repeat his assertion that the U.S. will never accept a nuclear Iran, but he will. Sanctions and “containment” are not going to work.

"“The reality is, however,” says [Barry] Rubin, “that Obama will continue to deny that his strategy is one of containing Iran but rather of preventing Iran from getting nuclear weapons. That will go on until Iran gets nuclear weapons and Obama switches to a containment strategy.” "  More by Rubin on this.

More by Rubin; The Meaning of the Obama Visit to Israel and U.S.-Israel Relations in Obama’s Second Term  "In other words, the whole thing isn’t going to work. Obama might come away with just enough to claim some success, a claim that will be echoed in the mass media. But it would be meaningless."
Pretty much every story on national security contains disrespect or outright contempt for the press.

From the Jerusalem Post; GOP representatives also protest US president’s decision not to address Knesset  and also "to protest the exclusion of Ariel University students from the speech he is scheduled to deliver on Thursday.
"Out of Israel’s eight accredited universities, Ariel is the only one that is located in the West Bank. Students from the other seven universities were invited to the speech to be delivered at Jerusalem’s International Convention Center."

 JINSA Reports;  President Obama's Visit to Israel: U.S. Policy Priorities

 "Given the high levels of instability and uncertainty in the region at this time, we urge President Obama to make it clear to both our allies and adversaries that:"....I'm sure sometime this week we will hear Obama say the words, "let me be clear".

Blackfive update: Harry Reid hits rock bottom with those Marines who died in Hawthorne, NV

Ironic for me in a way, because in 1957 Marine Barracks, Hawthorne, NV was my first duty station after Boot Camp and Camp Pendleton; the Second Marine Division at Camp Lejeune was my final duty station from 59-61. TD

Nevada training explosion kills 7 NC unit Marines
"Nevada Republican Sen. Dean Heller tweeted: "Thoughts and prayers are with the families who lost a loved one in the Hawthorne Army Depot explosion. Grateful for their service."".

Harry Reid Hits Rock Bottom, Keeps Digging  "Harry Reid immediately took to the floor of the Senate to play politics with their lives by implying the sequester had something to do with it, even though he’s completely unaware of the cause of the accident:"  

Update from Blackfive; Harry Reid is a despicable human being

"For the the Majority Leader in the Senate  to use the tragic death of these 7 Marines to make a political point  shows you how ill served we are by the cretins who govern us. Too bad there's not hot tar and feathers immediately available. I doubt I'd have any trouble recruiting a bunch of Marines to help ride Reid out of town on a rail with the appropriate plumage attached."

Thanks much, Nevada voters.  "The Marine Corps is not happy, according to NBC News reporter Jim Miklaszewski (once again by way of RealClearPolitics):

Now I can tell you, Marine Corps officials this afternoon are taking a strong exception to what Harry Reid implied. Saying that this this exercise, for example, was planned well in advance, had nothing to do with the budget cuts. There were no corners cut, and if they couldn’t afford to have all the safety precautions into place, they wouldn’t do the exercise.
And in fact, one Marine Corps official told us a short time ago that he considers this nothing but pure political posturing on the backs of these dead Marines.

"Are Nevada voters content to allow their honor to be soiled through continued representation by Harry Reid?  They were apparently cool with him inventing imaginary friends to slander Mitt Romney as a tax cheat, but has he finally crossed a line?"

This isn't the first time Harry Reid got into the mud over our military "[Liberals] lie about the premise, then they speak on behalf of the military which they claim to be upset about, which is what they've been lying about in the first place! They are the ones who have been condemning the military. They are the ones who have been demoralizing the military. They are the ones who have -- I can't say this more powerfully enough -- trying to secure defeat for the US military."  Rush Limbaugh
Harry Reid eats crow    More on Reid 

How to Decipher a Social Security Number

eHOW  "Each Social Security number has three parts, though the first is the most informative. The first three digits can tell you what geographical area the person had a connection to and when he received his number. The last two parts can help you judge whether a Social Security number is a real, valid number. While a person is still living, the Social Security Administration keeps other information confidential, but after a person dies, you can also find out a little more."   Read more...
So that's why many just ask you for the last four digits.

Who Will Bell America? Obama, like Carter, may provoke one of our enemies to test our teeth and claws.

Victor Davis Hanson  "As a candidate, Obama ridiculed the Bush commitment to missile defense — only, as president, to extend such a capability to allies like Turkey and Japan that felt threatened by neighbors. In the latest crisis with North Korea, Obama has beefed up anti-missile defenses on our own West Coast. That erratic message was also not lost on world observers. The Hagel appointment and the sequester confirmed the impression that while Obama relies on the U.S. military, it is a military that he himself would never have created or funded and that he sees as a cultural laboratory where social change — such as overt gay service and women in combat — can be fast-tracked without the messiness of dealing with Congress, rather than as a force to ensure deterrence."

Innocents have died in the millions because of leftist, liberal fecklessness down through all of history. TD

On the eve of his Israel visit, Obama makes nice to Iran again

By the prescient and perceptive Rich Terrell 

IBD  "If at fourth you don't succeed, try, try again.

"President Obama is at it again this week, sending really warm wishes to Iran and its people on the occasion of their combination spring-New Year holiday, Nowruz. This is the fifth year Obama has extended the holiday hand of friendship to Iran, despite its ongoing nuclear weapons program and deep involvement in widespread terrorist activities.

"Here's last year's Obama Nowruz message. Scroll down for the full text and video of Obama's newest Nowruz message, with Persian subtitles."