Blog Heap of Links for the day 5 June 2014

Alarm bells rang throughout MI5 …was the crossword being used to tip-off the Germans?

Two officers were sent immediately to Leatherhead in Surrey, where a man called Leonard Dawe lived. He was the crossword compiler, a 54 year-old teacher.

Why, the officers demanded to know, had he chosen these five words within his crossword solutions?

“Why not?” was Dawe’s indignant reply. Was there a law against choosing whatever words he liked?

Zoo worker in gorilla suit shot with tranquiliser dart during 'escape drill' because no-one told the vet it wasn't real

Sondra Andrews’ son, 2nd Lt. Darryn Andrews, is one of six soldiers killed reportedly while searching for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.

The sergeant’s return from captivity has stirred “very raw emotions.”

“It gets really hurtful when I think, this guy was worth my son’s life? My son who was patriotic? Who was a true soldier? Who defended his country with his life?” Andrews told Army Times via phone on Monday. “That guy was worth that? I don’t think so.”

Andrews also was upset to hear the U.S. government agreed to release five prisoners from Guantanamo Bay in exchange for Bergdahl’s freedom.

“I bet you anything there were soldiers killed or wounded capturing those five guys,” she said. “So what does that do for their sacrifice? They sacrificed for nothing, because they turned right around and let them go.”

… she wants people to know her son was a good man and a good leader who always wanted to join the Army. Darryn Andrew’s son was just 2 years old when his father was killed. His daughter was born four months later.

“He was a wonderful father and family man, an amazing son, a great brother,”

Both President Obama and Ms. Rice seem to think that the crime of desertion in wartime is kind of like skipping class. They have no idea

Taliban 'was thrilled' when deserter Sgt Bergdahl's father thanked 'Allah the merciful' in his White House press conference… "This is incredible, he's gone way way beyond just a father reaching out to his son. He’s actually putting so many lives in danger, and he’s giving a propaganda tool to Mullah Omar, who is the leader of the Taliban who the U.S. has been looking for for years."

But the festive mood prevailing on Saturday after Bergdahl's release was soon tempered by criticism from some former members of his combat unit that he was unfairly being hailed as a hero.

Hailey Police Chief Jeff Gunter said he received a phone call from a fellow police chief in Tennessee asking him, "'What's wrong with you people?'" Asked what he meant, Gunter recounted that the caller angrily replied: "'What the hell's your problem for supporting this deserter?'"

Taliban Commander Says More Kidnappings to Come After Bergdahl Deal

Here's the thing about Bergdahl and the Jump-to-Conclusions mats: What if his platoon was long on psychopaths and short on leadership? ...

White House officials thought exchanging 5 Taliban leaders for 1 deserter would encourage “moderate” taliban to take peace process seriously… [Seriously? Seriously.]

That whole “Like A Boss” thing the Dems were peddling a couple of weeks ago? [see graphic at link]

NASA Is About to Test a Mega-Parachute at the Edge of Space - If the largest ever supersonic parachute works, we'll be a step closer to putting a human on Mars.

Chester Nez, last of original Navajo code talkers of World War II, dies. … After the war, the Japanese chief of intelligence, Lt. General Seizo Arisue, admitted they were never able to crack the Navajo code used by the Marines and Navy, according to the Navy. … "I could understand when they sent the message and received on the other end," Nez said. "I could understand, and I could sit there and write it down myself. I still remember it." It was a far cry from his childhood, when he was forced to attend a boarding school and punished by the teachers for speaking Navajo…

“Madam chairman, we don’t normally have hearings requiring the witnesses to fill in bubble test forms,” Vitter interrupted, as Boxer gaveled him down.

“Excuse me,” she responded. “When you have this gavel, you make the rules.”