RE: Another sad, sad day

“While the world watches London,New York, Washington and any other western capital, the ******** come in the back door and again kill innocent people.”

I think Dave’s right, it appears that Australians were predominately targeted while a minor explosion occurred near the American Consulate. Perhaps the terrorists have felt/realised that all the major capitals of the world are on heightened states of alert and therefore saw the island of Bali as an easy opportunity to kill nationals from countries they find hard to target. As to an al-Qaeda link, who knows? This attack may have been inspired by Osama Bin Laden but there are so many Muslim terrorist groups I would imagine it will be difficult to find the culprits.

Question now is whether or not Bush will be able to attribute this attack to Iraq?

As to the sniper in Washington, I would doubt whether it is a terrorist as such. Then again, a number of the victims were killed at petrol stations so could the killer be trying to make a statement? I think it will turn out to be some kind of psychopath either with a grudge aginst the oil companies, or, as he seems to kill his victims with a single shot, someone who is trying to test his prowess against the Police and the FBI.

Regards,

kev35

RE: Air traffic staff see ‘ghost planes’

It’s interesting to think that a similar thing occurred either in 1939 or 1940, when the rudimentary radar of the time picked up a flight of RAF fighters somewhere down south. The problem was that their radar return was ghosting making it appear that the Luftwaffe was making a raid.Other aircraft were scrambled to intercept the ‘raid’ with the result that one RAF squadron attacked another and some of the aircraft were lost. It became known as the Battle of Barking Creek.

It seems strange that with all the technological advances made since that time a similar problem is still occurring. The amount of overspending on the project is obscene and it does make you wonder whether they will ever get the place to operate properly.

regards,

kev35

RE: Saving Private Ryan.

Hi, Merlin.

“One picture is him and his mate – the next his mate with a bullet through the head….Now is that not horrific.”

The thing I find horrifying about that statement is that anyone would want to carry around a photograph of their friend just after he’d been killed? I really don’t understand that at all. I’ve probably lived a relatively quiet life and those kind of scenes in Saving Private Ryan are the closest I ever want to get to the real thing.

“I cant get emotinal over a film”

I can and I do. I’ll cry watching an emotional film just as I would laugh at a comedy. The same thing goes for books. Maybe I’m overly emotional but that’s just the way I am.

“You only see a brief glance of this but this really sums up war. Lying next to you mate and the next minute hes gone.”

To someone like me who has never seen war first hand (although I have seen my share of violence and injury, both deliberate and accidental) so many scenes in the film typify war. The RTO, the guy carrying his arm, Miller dragging half a corpse off the beach, The guy who is hit in the head and takes his helmet off in disbelief, only to be hit again, the Medic trying to save the Battalion Surgeon, the blood stained surf, (so reminiscent of other amphibious assaults, Sicily, Gallipoli), and all in the first twenty-five minutes.

I agree, Merlin, it was only a film and therefore cannot display the true drama of war, after all we are only voyeurs, safe in a warm cinema or the comfort of our own living room. The only fear we experience is for the characters and thankfully not for ourselves.

And the bit that really gets me? When Ryan collapses in front of Miller’s grave and asks his wife if he had led a good life, if he was a good man.

Sorry for rambling.

Regards,

kev35

RE: 548 & 549 squadrons, Spitfires

Patrick.

I’ve had a look at ‘Squadrons of the Royal Air Force’ by James J Halley. It was published in 1980 by Air Britain and the ISBN number is 0 85130 083 9. It contains the following information:

548 Sqdn, was formed at Lawnton, Queensland, on 15 December 1943 as one of three RAF squadrons based in Australia for air defence duties with Spitfires, the Kittyhawks with which the majority of RAAF squadrons were equipped being inadequate for interception missions. The Spitfire VIIIs to equip the squadron did not arrive until April 1944 and it was mid-June before the squadron reached the Darwin area where the main threat of Japanese air activity existed. A sweep over Selaroe Island, 300 miles north of Darwin was carried out on 5 September 1944 and the airstrip at Cape Chater in Timor was attacked on 3 June 1945 but these were the only operations carried out before the Japanese surrender. On 9 October 1945 the squadron was disbanded and its personnel returned to the UK.

549 Sqdn, was formed at Strathpine on 15 December 1943 as a sister unit to 548 and shared it’s activities, the third RAF squadron being 54 which had been in action in the Darwin area since 1942. Its Spitfires arrived in April 1944 and it moved to Darwin with 548 squadron in June. It joined 548 on a sweep on 5 September 1944, and went on its own to Timor on 27 November 1944, but the remainder of its service in Australia was uneventful and it disbanded on 9 October 1945.

Hope this is helpful.

Regards,

kev35

RE: Saving Private Ryan.

Simmer,

thanks for that. I agree it is a horrific scene and one of the most powerful anti-war statements of recent years. It brings war to it’s lowest level, no noble statement about fighting for a just cause, or for freedom etc. etc. It’s simply one young man killing another.

Regards,

kev35