Massive US Naval Armada Heads For Iran(blog)

Originally Posted by Westcountryman:
Apparently Britain is sending HMS Ark Royal "and others" - how descriptive. :-)

The only 2 places the word "others" is used in the article is here:

"French Navy nuclear powered hunter-killer submarines (likely the Amethyste and perhaps others), plus French Naval Rafale fighter jets operating off of the USS Theodore Roosevelt as the French Carrier Charles de Gaulle is in dry dock, and assorted surface warships"

and here:

"Several European nations stopped Bush and others from allowing Georgia into NATO."

So if you're going to criticize something Westcountryman, at least get your quotes right before you start criticizing them.
In this case there's obviously no case to answer.

Originally Posted by Westcountryman:
Which is funny, given that according to the Senior Service (That's the RN to you land lubbers), Ark Royal is currently in Portsmouth - where she will be for six weeks - after which she'll be heading to Scotland.

News : HMS Ark Royal : Aircraft Carriers : Surface Fleet : Operations and Support : Royal Navy

It says:

"Likely also under way towards the Persian Gulf is the USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7) and its expeditionary strike group, the UK Royal Navy HMS Ark Royal (R07) carrier battle group, assorted French naval assets including the nuclear hunter-killer submarine Amethyste and French Naval Rafale fighter jets on-board the USS Theodore Roosevelt. These ships took part in the just completed Operation Brimstone."

and

"Also likely to join the battle armada:

UK Royal Navy HMS Ark Royal Carrier Strike Group with assorted guided missile destroyers and frigates, nuclear hunter-killer submarines and support ships"

It doesn't claim it as a matter of fact.

Also I clearly put in the word "blog" in the title - so people would not irrational make assumptions (unlike yourself).

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All this information from a blog run by a bloke who 'buys' historic titles and calls himself all sorts of names he has no hereditary right to.

This says it all:

Originally Posted by :
Lord Stirling
Age: 57
Gender: Male
Astrological Sign: Capricorn
Zodiac Year: Tiger
Industry: Technology
Occupation: consultant
Location: Evansville : IN : United States
About Me
I hold several ancient Scottish titles, Earl of Stirling, Viscount of Canada, Viscount of Stirling, Lord Alexander of Tulibody (1630), Lord Alexander of Tulibody (1633), etc., Chief of Clan Alexander, I also hold several honorific old Canadian great offices-of-state: Lord Lieutenant and Governor of Canada, Lord High Admiral of Nova Scotia, Lord Lieutenant of Nova Scotia, Lt.-Gen. of Nova Scotis (first Lord Stirling was founder of English speaking Canada in the early 1600s). I hold 3 degrees: B.Sc. in Pol. Sc. & History; M.A. in European Studies; B.Sc. in Education. I have worked on 3 addtional degrees: M.T.S. (theology); LL.B. (English Law); M.S. (Criminal Justice). I am former Scottish Editor at Burke's Peerage in London. I also hold several Scots/Canadian feudal titles. I am a widower. I have a published book, CASH FOR PEERAGES: THE SMOKING GUN, CASH FOR PEERAGES: THE SMOKING GUN by Lord Stirling (Book) in History . Listing for me as Chief of Clan Alexander at Chiefs of Clans and Names in Scotland I am available for public speaking engagements. Please contact me at: earlofstirling@yahoo.com

Canadian feudal titles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's like buying up Lordships of the Manor in England. It's not about status, real or presumed, but money. The guy is not a 'Lord' and all the titles he claims are defunct. His presumption of the title is an insult to the real Lords Sterling down the centuries.

There is no source for 'likely', it is made up information. How can this blogger, a Capricorn (relevance?) technology consultant from Evansville, Illinois, have any idea what the French will do? Sarkozy is not going to send the French fleet off on an adventure in the Gulf. There is no basis for the suggestion that French aircraft will fly off US carriers, I'd have to check, but I doubt they're compatible. The Royal Navy isn't that big anyway.

He cites as an authority on there being 1000 Israelis fighting in Georgia the DEBKA site.

DEBKA is described thus:

Originally Posted by :
It began in the summer of 2000, and is operated from the Jerusalem home of veteran journalists Giora Shamis and Diane Shalem.[1] It has been awarded Forbes' Best of The Web award.[2] Forbes identifies the best part of the website as being its archives, but decries the fact that "most of the information is attributed to unidentified sources."

Debka has been criticized as a fringe outfit catering to conspiracy theorists. Yediot Achronot's investigative reporter Ronen Bergman claims that the site relies on information from sources with an agenda, such as the rightist elements of the American Republican Party, and that Israeli intelligence officials do not consider even 10 percent of the site's content to be reliable.[1]

DEBKA claims to be 80% reliable.

The book link takes you to self-publishing site 'Lulu' where it is ranked 52,761st best selling of their titles and can be downloaded for �0.69p. The position suggests sales of 10-20 at most.

Registering yourself as a Clan Chief on a website is one thing, registering yourself as a Clan Chief with the Court of Lord Lyon is a more challenging business. If I were truly the chief of the clan, which was vacant, then I would boast of my registration at:

The Court of the Lord Lyon - Homepage

Anything less than such registration doesn't count.

YCHTT, Your source is an unreliable person who relies on unreliable sources. In fact your source lives in la la land.

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Originally Posted by Westcountryman:
Apparently Britain is sending HMS Ark Royal "and others" - how descriptive. :-)

Which is funny, given that according to the Senior Service (That's the RN to you land lubbers), Ark Royal is currently in Portsmouth - where she will be for six weeks - after which she'll be heading to Scotland.

News : HMS Ark Royal : Aircraft Carriers : Surface Fleet : Operations and Support : Royal Navy

Actually I think the article refers to the Illustrious (not the Ark Royal ) which has recently returned from a cruise around the Indian Ocean and is currently sitting in Portsmouth next to her laid up sister Invincible. The only other "carrier" the RN has, the converted container ship HMS Ocean, is completing a major refit and is in no condition to go causing trouble.

Hardly a navy gearing up for war then.

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As for Lord Sterling mentioned by Aardvark. I understand:" The Earldom of Stirling (created in 1633 for Sir William Alexander) has been, according to "A Directory of British Peerages" (by Francis L. Leeson, FSG., London, 2002, p.156), "Dormant since 1739". Anderson's "The Scottish Nation" (1867, vol.ix, p.521) states it is "extinct" from 1739.

A Major-General Alexander in HM Forces in the American Colonies came home and Petitioned the King in 1759 for the rights to the title. That was referred by His Majesty to the House of Lords Committee of Privileges who determined in 1762 that he had to prove his claim in law. However, he joined the traitorous Republican forces during the revolution and died a prisoner at Albany, New York, not having pursued his claim. His only children were two daughters. Representation as heir-male then appeared to pass into the line of James, the 3rd brother of Alexander, father of the 1st Earl, and was claimed (but not formally) by an Arthur Alexander of Maryville, co.Galway, Ireland. However there appeared to be others with a claim. An Alexander Humphrys, calling himself Alexander, calimed the title as descended in the female line and produced a charter of 'Nova Damus' granting the honours to the heirs female of the last earl. He was tried in the High Court of Justiciary at Edinburgh for forgery and found guilty.

No subsequent claim has been presented to the House of Lords and so anyone calling themselves the Earl of Stirling is doing so illegally and is a fraud.

It is IMPOSSIBLE to purchase such a peerage."

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Maybe the article is a load of rubbish, maybe not, but you might be interested to see this too - which maybe is referring to "Operation Brimstone"

U.S. holds navy exercise after Iran comments on Gulf | Markets | Reuters

"The U.S. Navy said on Monday it was carrying out an exercise in the Gulf"

"Two U.S. vessels were taking part in the exercise alongside a British warship and one from Bahrain"

SPECIAL REPORT: Kuwait Readying for War in Gulf? - Middle East Times (17th Aug)

This one also shows a photo of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (shown here) with its 80-plus combat planes.

"The naval force comprises a U.S. Navy super carrier battle group and is accompanied by an expeditionary carrier battle group, a British Royal Navy carrier battle group and a French nuclear hunter-killer submarine.

Leading the pack is the nuclear-powered carrier, the USS Theodore Roosevelt and its Carrier Strike Group Two; besides its 80-plus combat planes the Roosevelt normally transports, it is carrying an additional load of French Naval Rafale fighter jets from the French carrier Charles de Gaulle, currently in dry dock.

Also reported heading toward Iran is another nuclear-powered carrier, the USS Ronald Reagan and its Carrier Strike Group Seven; the USS Iwo Jima, the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal and a number of French warships, including the nuclear hunter-killer submarine Amethyste."

I never said the inital article was necessarily 100% accurate(since I put the word blog in the title) but are Reuters and all the other numerous articles talking a load of rubbish too ? Difficult to gauge....

P.S You'll note one of the articles says:
This confirms to some degree an earlier report by Timothy Alexander (writing under the alias Lord Stirling) that a massive naval fleet or �armada� is heading towards Iran.

So obviously not a real lord !

I notice that the intital article has now changed - it says "According to the press reports (see UPI, August 11, 2008), the war ships involved in the "Operation Brimstone" war games off the US North Atlantic coast, had set sail for the Middle East. This information is apparently incorrect, according to the US Navy and Stratfor."

I presume judging by the authors additional comments he believes this is not the case.

The initial article now claims:
"In other words, there are at present (August 14, 2008) two Strike Groups in the region: USS Abraham Lincoln, northern Arabian Sea, USS Peleliu Strike Group, northern Arabian sea. There is no confirmation as to whether the USS Ronald Reagan is moving towards the Arabian Sea."

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