Whining from Iraq, FIGMO!

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Hal Romberg

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Jan 15, 2004
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Baghdad
FIIGS (>>>I'm going sailing) The web nazis running our access over here in Baghdad just filtered the websense category "Weapons". :cuss: We're in a :cuss: ing war zone, and we can't even get to gunbroker.com anymore. AAARGH!

At least they didn't filter THR yet. Oh well, 23 and a wake up, and I sail off into the sunset, so they can do what they want. I just thought I'd vent some.
 
I hate websense. Ooooh, loathing and hate. Fourteen-hour days, in a land far away from home, all the 'puters are up and running, the generals are happy, and we can't even read the news!? Damned Nazis, I tell ya.

Being a comms guy overseas really sucks, if you're not in the network security office. That said, as soon as I set foot back in my domicile, I set up a spare computer with some ... special software loaded on it. Hee hee! Over there, I promised myself that I'd do my damnedest to make sure I had a way to peer out at the unfettered Information Highway if I were trapped behind some minor dictator's iron curtain ever again. If you don't mind spending a weekend or two to puzzle it out, it'll serve you well. Err, once you get back home, that is.

Alternatively, you can find such a server run by someone else and use it... just be sure not to do anything your mum wouldn't approve of, eh?
 
Unbelievable. Do they censor the words 'immigration' and 'amnesty' too? The scumbags in power probably don't want the men fighting and dying on the front lines to know that they've surrendered their homes to illegal invaders without a shot fired.
 
boofus, the justification is usually that the bandwidth is needed for other things, and that the network is for official use only. (Of course, why then have they set up official Internet "cafes" in the R&R rooms...?)

Usually, though, it seems to be the work of a combination of websense's overly aggressive and ever-changing filter lists, plus an overzealous comm monkey in the network security shop... tighten the filters 'till a general gets pissed, relax them, wait, repeat.
 
FIGMO, that is a term...

I haven't uttered since June 26, 1968. That day I became a "short timer" and was entitled to wear a Canadian Club ribbon on my lapel signifying I have my orders to report back to the "world" in 30 days.........chris3
 
Normally, the number of days left before your active duty is over.

Stay safe, Hal, and thanks for doing the job.
 
for a very short period of time, i was able to by-pass web-nonsense by using free proxy servers.....until 'proxy' became the latest word on the chopping block.
 
I had the same problems here in Kosovo for a couple months. I couldn't even get on THR. Then while I was on vacation they suddenly dropped all the webfilters except for pornography. It was quite a relief when I got back here.
 
If it's your laptop, install TOR, that'll get you past most filter blocks, even internationally.

I believe you can also install it and your own browser on a USB key, but that might be asking for trouble if someone gets suspicious about it.
 
What was that line from that movie: We train men to drop fire on people, but don’t let them paint the word f*ck on the nose of an aircraft.......or something like that....
 
Hal -- Thank you sir.

Welcome home soon!

And you are not "whining" when you speak truth.

Rudyard Kipling


Tommy
I went into a public-'ouse to get a pint o'beer,
The publican 'e up an' sez, "We serve no red-coats here."
The girls be'ind the bar they laughed an' giggled fit to die,
I outs into the street again an' to myself sez I:

O it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, go away";
But it's ``Thank you, Mister Atkins,'' when the band begins to play,
The band begins to play, my boys, the band begins to play,
O it's ``Thank you, Mr. Atkins,'' when the band begins to play.

I went into a theatre as sober as could be,
They gave a drunk civilian room, but 'adn't none for me;
They sent me to the gallery or round the music-'alls,
But when it comes to fightin', Lord! they'll shove me in the stalls!

For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, wait outside";
But it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide,
The troopship's on the tide, my boys, the troopship's on the tide,
O it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide.

Yes, makin' mock o' uniforms that guard you while you sleep
Is cheaper than them uniforms, an' they're starvation cheap;
An' hustlin' drunken soldiers when they're goin' large a bit
Is five times better business than paradin' in full kit.

Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy how's yer soul?"
But it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll,
The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
O it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll.

We aren't no thin red 'eroes, nor we aren't no blackguards too,
But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you;
An' if sometimes our conduck isn't all your fancy paints:
Why, single men in barricks don't grow into plaster saints;

While it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, fall be'ind,"
But it's "Please to walk in front, sir," when there's trouble in the wind,
There's trouble in the wind, my boys, there's trouble in the wind,
O it's "Please to walk in front, sir," when there's trouble in the wind.

You talk o' better food for us, an' schools, an' fires an' all:
We'll wait for extry rations if you treat us rational.
Don't mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face
The Widow's Uniform is not the soldier-man's disgrace.

For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute!"
But it's "Saviour of 'is country," when the guns begin to shoot;
An' it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' anything you please;
But Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool - you bet that Tommy sees!
 
Thanks for your service Hal! I had not really thought about the term, "FIGMO", since about September of 1966 when I was prepping for my trip back from the SE Asia War Games.

To celebrate we even had a farewell mortar attack and infiltration attempt on our last night 'In Country' at Tan Son Nhut air field. This all done, courtesy of those guys in black pajamas that is.:)
 
It's funny. Stuff like that never happens till you're short. I've been over here just over 2 years as an evil contractor FOB Goblin and as soon as I decided to go home they start doing stuff like shooting up my BBQs. There we were, bellies full of steak, and fixing coffee while we listened to the fire fight on the wall. All of a sudden, they must've shifted who they were aiming at, because we became part of the beaten zone, and bang bang became Pffffft!bang!Pffffft!bang!Pffffft!bang! If it hadn't been for the rather large number of incoming rounds, it would have been funny watching a dozen fat middle aged civvies scrambling for cover. :D As it was, I got stupid and tried to rescue my coffee from the grill during a lull. Woops! 7.62X54 slugs make a neat sound when they hit the sand bag next to your head. :what: At least I have some cool souveniers now. I'm still picking up spent rounds.

To the Jihaddi with the RPK and no sense of humour: YOU MISSED ME!!!!:neener: :neener: :neener:

(Ducking now)
 
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