Ah, it finally came.
My new wall hanging of a Merkava IV tank.
This is a large 47×36 photo print on aluminum and weights about 8 pounds.
I have it hanging proudly in my home.
To me, this is absolutely beautiful.
And did I say, I love it! 😉
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
I love the Merkava IV, Israel’s main battle tank.
The shape, the versatility, the power!
Complete fighting awesomeness.
The new “Merkava IV Barak” (scheduled for deployment in 2021) will even have artificial intelligence (AI) for advanced battle management systems.
I wish we had the Merkava during the Holocaust and could’ve given the Nazi bastards what they rightfully deserved.
Never again! 😉
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
So I saw this cool volcano making kit in the store.
Kids typically do this cool experiment where they make a mock volcano erupt and the hot lava spills out in all directions and makes a big stinkin’ mess.
But when I saw this volcano game kit, I couldn’t help connect this with all the real-world mess going on today with the endless and increasingly savage terrorism we are witnessing from brutal acts of terror to full blown religious civil wars, Arab Spring, and building of Caliphates across the region.
Now we have religiously-inspired murders and maimings of millions of people with countless more displaced and refugees streaming across Europe.
The problem here though is that this is caused by crazy adults, and not playful and learning children.
Most recently today, I watched a video of ISIS killing a bound prisoner (see starting in video link at 1:55) by rolling over him with a tank {extremely brutal and gory}.
The unbelievable savagery taking place with knifings, shootings, stonings, suicide bombings, beheadings, burnings, crucifixions, abductions, enslavement, gang rape, and more.
This is the Middle East today erupting and the adults are playing politics, personal and religious biases, and sick gamesmanship with millions of people’s lives.
Unfortunately, what happens over there tends to come here in the West…and this eruption is a doing of our own head-in-the-sand making. 😉
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
I came across this video and photo online of the Israeli Mekava IV Tank with the Trophy Anti-Missile System.
This tank looks so cool–a little fortress on treads.
And with the Trophy system it can track and take out incoming missiles with a shotgun like blast.
For a small country like Israel in the middle of a pretty bad and dangerous neighborhood–this is a necessity.
Great for defending the Holy Land! 😉
(Source Photo: here with attribution to Michael Shvadron)
I took this photo while kayaking yesterday in Maryland.
Turtles are one of my favorite creatures.
The challenge in photographing them while they sun tan on the tree trunk is that when you get to close they simply dive into the water.
This one turtle was a little older and larger, and was basically fearless.
We paddled right up to him and he held steady there.
So awesome–turtles live in and by the beautiful water, have a tank-like protective armor, and are basically peaceful loving.
While I never got into the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, I think the real ones are all that. 😉
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Russia (and many others countries) develop some really kick-a*s weapons–especially, when they are so simple, yet so devastatingly effective.
Like this TOS-1A heavy flamethrower system–it is a multi-rocket launcher mounted on a T-72 main battle tank chassis.
The TOS-1A carries 30 (newer version 24) 220-mm incendiary or thermobaric unguided rockets that it can shoot up to 3 km (newer version 6 km), and it destroys everything within 300 square meters using high-pressure and temperature.
What is cool is that the technology seems boiled down to the basics–shoot and eliminate. And when multiple TOS-1As roll unto the battlefield–they unleash what looks like a ruthless barrage of destructive fire.
Of course, precision targeting weapons have the added benefit of mitigating civilian casualties–but from the looks of things, that is not what this weapon is all about.
The question is do you go half way or finish the job–do you hit below the belt or keep it a clean fight?
In war, if you leave the enemy intact or with fighting capabilities, then you may just have to fight them another day.
While the rules of war protect people from the cruelties of all out hostilities, we need to make sure that in the end, it keeps them safe over the long-term, and does not just prolong the inevitable cat-fight.
Good, kind, and just people often don’t feel comfortable delivering a knockout punch, but sometimes (not all the time) that is just what is needed to restore the peace. 😉
andyblumenthal 
