Mall Kiosk Workers From Israel

I first encountered these years ago and always wondered why those working at the kiosks seemed to be foreign.

Then in my day job I got to see the companies behind the kiosks and the shady dealings behind them. Turns out I wasn't the only one to have questions and it turns out that beyond the makeup, skin and hair products being a sham (gold doesn't really help your skin), the whole series of companies behind them was set up to defraud its own employees as well.

I can only speak to what I saw with the "companies" involved and their "owners".  Truth is, most of these kiosks are "owned" by individuals who are cajoled into coming over to the US on tourist visas with the idea that they can earn enough money selling makeup and skincare to establish their life outside of Israel and also to get to of their compulsory military service.  If they don't sell enough product?  Well the real owners of these companies threaten to pull their Visa, send them back to Israel and into the Army.

The real owners are protected largely by the fact that these companies end up being set up as sole-props and if they get in trouble or become financially insolvent (which they do with alarming frequency) they just fold and restart under a slightly different name and tax ID.  They go through this cycle over and over again.  And don't think they live a life of glamour here either...typically they are herded into common apartments to save on costs and move from one kiosk to another.

Oh and did i mention the products suck?  Unsurprisingly massive amounts of the products purchased by consumers under the duress of these high pressure (understandably) sales people end up being returned--or at least are attempted to be returned, because not only are they super expensive but they are all cheap, useless crap...worse than dollar store trash...seriously.  These kiosks and stores have a no return policy however and instead the transactions result in high chargeback rates and then loss of the ability to accept credit cards--a death knell for retail, thus the folding of the business and restart under a different name but same business model...over and over, recycling young Israeli after young Israeli.

So the new time you're in a mall and groups of these individuals try and get your wife to buy some stupid skin cream and curse you out when you ignore their pleas to stop for a second...try not to be mad or take offense...These are early 20 somethings being preyed upon by their elders who have convinced them that the way to a better life and to avoid Israel's military and the Middle East in general is to sell cosmetics under a falsified travel Visa for marginally above minimum wage while living in communal apartments, hoping to save up enough to travel the world or establish a life somewhere else and under constant threat of their real string holders...

Just one example of one of these rings being busted and the Principal going away to prison for 6+ years is found here...but there are rings and rings of these across the US...Just as an FYI...

http://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Dead-Sea-products-mall-kiosk-owner-sentenced-to-jail-for-illegally-employing-Israelis-471268

https://www.timesofisrael.com/dead-sea-product-hawkers-skirt-law-decency/

Coolest Cars (IMHO) at '16 Barrett Jackson Auction

Some have already been sold, some not.  Not going to provide a lot of details here as there are so many.  Just the basic vehicle info and if it has been sold already, how much it went for.  Lots of Corvettes, Mustangs, Camaros, etc. all quite boring and also lots of old Toyota FJs with Chevy heart transplants...Zzzzzz...All in all, not a lot of good stuff given the # of vehicles available.  Not a single Nissan, only a single Datsun...maybe another year...

'71 Beetle Dune Buggy.  Sold for $9,570

'69 International Harvester Scout.  Sold for $17,600

'70 Chevrolet Blazer.  Sold for $35,200

'78 Toyota Landcruiser FJ-40. Sold for $37,400

'64 Austin Mini Cooper S Historic Rally car.  Sold for $20,900

'82 Toyota Pickup.  Sold for $24,200

'65 Datsun 1500 Roadster.  Sold for $22,000

'71 Ford Bronco.  Sold for $27,500

'75 Ford Bronco.  Sold for $31,900

'13 Local Motors Rally Fighter.  Not Sold Yet.

'90 BMY HASCO M923A2.  Not Sold Yet.

'86 Land Rover Defender Pickup.  Not Sold Yet.

Book Review: The Forever War by Joe Haldeman

Though this novel has a couple sequels I don't think I'll read any of them--and not because I didn't like it.  Far from it in fact.  I enjoyed it so much so that I don't want to ruin my impression of it by moving on to lesser works in the same series.  Truthfully, I can't imagine The Forever War not standing on its own.  Its a perfectly crafted work that is a universe unto itself, needing nothing additional.

Joe Haldeman is a Vietnam vet where he served as a combat engineer after earning his BS in physics and astronomy.  He teaches at MIT to this day.  The Forever War is in some large parts a result of his time in Vietnam and his reflections on it.

Firmly within the Military Sci-Fi genre, The Forever War revolves around a physics student who is recruited into a war he doesn't understand against an enemy he doesn't know.  Upon his initial return to the "world" from fighting this enemy, society has changed so much that he no longer recognizes or feels comfortable with it.  You can see why the work has been rightfully been called analogous to Haldeman's Vietnam experiences.

Over the course of centuries of objective time, the soldier is promoted through the ranks of the UNEF (United Nations Exploratory Force) and remains largely the same individual while humankind goes through massive changes due to the effects of time dilation caused by his travel at relativistic speeds.  How society changes and how the main character views and reacts to these changes takes up a great deal of the work.  It is this examination of sexual mores, government, science, politics, etc. that is the  core here.  The military battles such as they are with the alien Taurans are just the device by which Haldeman turns the microscope on ourselves.

Haldeman's writing is not filled with long sequences of dialogue or endlessly detailed descriptions of equipment or science...this is not "hard" science fiction, nor is it going to make Shakespeare quake.  It doesn't need to.  It contains enough detail surrounding the battlesuits its soldiers wear and the lethality of simply trying to exist in space that it will please most military scifi enthusiasts but it is the ideas that The Forever War contains about what state humankind currently finds itself in, where it may go and how we treat each other that are of real value.  On these The Forever War stands rightfully as a "classic" of sci-fi from the last 40 years.

Book Review: "The Sea, The Sea" by Xenophon

This "novel" is not really a complete work but instead is an excerpt from  Xenophon's larger work "Anabasis" which covers a Greek expedition to attempt an overthrow of the king of Persia.  This brief selection covers the most famous part of the work--the retreat of the Greek "ten thousand" army from the heart of enemy territory across deserts and mountains, fighting the entire way back to the more Greek friendly shores of the Black Sea.  Xenophon would lead this retreat after the deaths of Greek generals by the Persians.  His strategies and leadership choices during these events are studied to this day. 

Knowing that this work was created some 2,500 years ago is truly astonishing given it's continued relevance.  Primarily of note to military historians and strategists "The Sea, The Sea" also contains numerous political and human behavior insights as well. A student of Socrates and contemporary of Aristotle, yet more than just a philosopher (also a soldier and historian),  Xenophon represents the type of individual I admire--those who go and do, vs. those who stay and talk.

The story of the Greek's retreat as told by Xenophon has been reworked into numerous modern works including sci-if novels such as Andre Norton's "Star Guard" and a host of films, comics and fictionalized novels.  As a true "classic" of military history and philosophy and a quick read written (translated) in a direct style (something Xenophon was known for) it warrants reading for its additional ability to fire the imagination and influence others (including Shakespeare) for more than two millennia after the events it recounts.

Death By PowerPoint...

Sometimes an article comes along at a perfect time and hits a sore point.  This one did for me.  Recent events at my own employment where promotions to management (and no, I was not seeking the position in question, just a bystander watching events unfold) were based not on the understanding of an issue, product or procedure, not on intelligence, potential or even the ability to kiss ass but instead upon the ability to take notes like a secretary and compile them into pretty PowerPoint slides.

Not that this was the promoted individual's fault, they were merely taking advantage of a corporate sickness.  Instead, like in this article describing the both the modern and WWII military, it is the upper management's fault for desiring a product that looks impressive to their coworkers vs. one that actually conveys information in an accurate manner.  In truth, the management asking that these documents be produced likely has less than an appropriate understanding of the topic at hand but having underlings prepare pretty slides with different fonts, a plethora of colors and lots of arrows makes them FEEL like they have a comprehensive grasp of the situation.

At some point it feels like all organizations of a certain size contract this disease--one where people say "I'm too busy and important to try and get people to understand these complex issues, so I'm going to assign someone beneath me to boil it down into some simple bullet points and sliding pages" and soon it ends up with "I don't really understand these complex issues, so I'm going to assign someone beneath me to boil it down into some simple bullet points and sliding pages so that maybe I can grasp things".  Once this starts, the snowball rolls downhill, gathers speed and results in a group of people where everyone is sending everyone pretty PowerPoints all day in order to try and convey every issue, policy or procedure, no matter its depth or breadth.  I'll stop here though as the articles linked below explain the problem present in most companies these days (and evidently the military as well) far better than I can--though I could throw together a nice PowerPoint to try and explain it!

War on the Rocks: PowerPoint 1944
Colonel TX Hammes Essay: Dumb-dumb bullets...

Mini-gun or Grenade Launcher Mounted on a UTV??

That's what it looks like...

This photo was posted by one of my new favorite websites "Operator As Fuck"

I'm am making some assumptions here given who operates this site and where they typically get their photos from but I didn't know our Special Operations crews were now using UTVs in the field and certainly didn't know they had mounted anything as serious as a mini-gun or grenade launcher to them...How'd you like that option at your local Polaris dealer?

Body Armor Outlet Product Of The Moment!

Body Armour Outlet.com has a fantastic selection of gear available online but they've recently moved to a new facility in Salem, NH and expanded their in store offerings as well.

The new store has at least twice the floor space of the Windham building and is better located and more visible.  With the new space, Body Armor Outlet has some items that don't appear on their website--such as this tshirt from 5.11 Tactical.  This tshirt and others available at the BAO retail store are not present on 5.11's website either so stopping by the new store and checking things out would be a great idea.

The medium grey tshirt here is 100% cotton and printed in the USA.  I'm 6'2" and about 210 (at the moment) and an XL fit very nicely, one of the best fitting tshirts I've had in a long time actually.  The rifle toating
 dwarf (gnome?) is present on the front of the shirt in the middle of the chest while the 5.11 logo is nicely low key on the back.  A really cool looking tshirt for only $16 in tax free NH.  Give BAO a call or stop by the new facility and check out the rest of their gear.

As a reminder--if you work for a police, fire or other department requiring tactical gear, give BAO a call for your entire unit's needs as they specialize in outfitting entire towns and cities throughout the Northeast and around the country with the equipment they need.

Body Armor Outlet WebStore...

Chinese Modified 6x6 Nissan Patrols??

Looks like someone (evidently someone who doesn't want to be public) in China is taking old Nissan Patrols and heavily modifying them.  I don't necessarily agree with the writer of the linked article that these were built by someone with military engineering background.

Nor do I agree that all of these are Nissan Patrols.  The bottom vehicle in the snow is clearly a Toyota (you can read the Toyota faceplate in the pictures on the linked wiki page) and I believe most if not all of the others are Toyota Land Cruiser's as well.  Nor do I believe these vehicles are winning every contest (hill climb and otherwise) in sight as noted either.  These vehicles do not possess roll cages or other serious equipment needed for real competition.

The author of this article appears to be merely a backer of anything Chinese and trying to put out there how great these homemade Chinese vehicles are.  If this is Chinese auto journalism, Motor Trend can sleep soundly.

6x6 Nissan Patrols??

Book Review: Lost in Shangri-La

It has been a bit since I posted a book review and I wish I had a better one to post about.

Lost in Shangri-La sounded like an interesting book--a crashed military flight leaving a handful of survivors amidst an unmapped area of a tropical island filled with cannibals and Japanese soldiers.  Yup, it sounds interesting till you get into the details.

The plane wasn't shot down, the pilots screwed up and flew it into a mountainside.  The plane wasn't on a military mission they were out sightseeing.  The area may have been generally unmapped but it was known well enough to have earned nicknames and numerous overflights.  The Japanese soldiers that were left on the island were hiding in the jungle hoping to survive without resupply or support from the mainland.  The cannibals might have eaten each other after battle but had little to no interest in the white people who crashed into their midst.

The author sets up all of the dangers present to both the survivors and those who came to rescue them--its just that none of those dangers ever really occur.  The survivors and those who parachuted in to assist them spent a relatively comfortable and safe time recuperating and then were whisked out of the jungle on a specially mocked up glider.

The book just never really captured my attention.  The writing was adequate but nothing more than perfunctory descriptions of events and backgrounds.  You can tell he's really desperate for something to really happen in his tale...its just that nothing ever does.

Is the book worth a quick recap of a somewhat interesting sidebar event that occurred during WWII?  Sure, but an entire novel and being declared "The Most Incredible Rescue Mission of WWII" on its cover gives away its pretense at trying to be another best selling WWII tale that the public can't seem to get enough of--this one just isn't quite worth it and certainly not at some 300 pages, much of which is unremarkable filler.