A textbook in a graduate-level Chaucer course stated that 100 years after Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales, no one could read the work. English then was primarily a spoken rather than a written language and had changed so drastically that century-old writings were incomprehensible to all but scholars.
Tonight a character in the USA Network series Mr. Robot said: "This person dropped their wallet, and when I tried to return it to them ..." The character was interrupted then and was prevented from further blasphemy against the English language and from increasing my blood pressure.
Modern writers and actors do not know "person" is one, while "their" and "them" denote more than one. To say "This person dropped their wallet ..." attempts to combine singular with plural. That should be at least a flogging offense.
A literature Ph.D., whose writing class I took in graduate school, one day said there was nothing new in the belief that new methods of talking and writing would destroy English as we know it. Despite the centuries of such predictions, she said, English still exists. I would argue that her life as a lesbian feminist colors her belief.
Friday, July 31, 2015
Dude! There’s an airplane headed right for you!
Above the A37 you can see a C7 Caribou that made a wheels-up landing. The photographer said the A37 pilot did not know about the Caribou. The Caribou did not hit the hard hangar.
http://www.dhc4and5.org/C7_a37.jpg
The Caribou pilot said: “We took a round in the olio strut, left gear failed to come down, asked me to fly to Bien Hoa for a controlled crash landing, got the runway foamed using a fire truck, had near 0 fuel asked the firetruck to depart then landed and slid 300-400 ft, no major damage other then props, minor bottom skin...the one smart thing I did was had the FE (flight engineer) join the 2 CAS members, 1 Cambodian photo person and a Army Cpt who was hitching a ride to sit at the back of the aircraft...when #2 prop hit the runway a large chunk came thru the side which would have killed or injured the FE... Callsign was Iris Jr./536TAS”
As the photographer said: “Just another day at Bien Hoa.”
http://www.dhc4and5.org/C7_a37.jpg
The Caribou pilot said: “We took a round in the olio strut, left gear failed to come down, asked me to fly to Bien Hoa for a controlled crash landing, got the runway foamed using a fire truck, had near 0 fuel asked the firetruck to depart then landed and slid 300-400 ft, no major damage other then props, minor bottom skin...the one smart thing I did was had the FE (flight engineer) join the 2 CAS members, 1 Cambodian photo person and a Army Cpt who was hitching a ride to sit at the back of the aircraft...when #2 prop hit the runway a large chunk came thru the side which would have killed or injured the FE... Callsign was Iris Jr./536TAS”
As the photographer said: “Just another day at Bien Hoa.”
Thursday, July 30, 2015
The Perfect Candidate (Progressive/Democrat, that is)
Courtesy of http://thepeoplescube.com/peoples-blog/democrats-unleash-perfect-presidential-candidate-t16706.html
By way of http://gatesofvienna.net/
In the wake of embarrassing missteps by Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Martin O'Malley on the campaign trail, the Democratic National Committee today announced that it has successfully recruited the perfect candidate, one that can both mobilize the entire Democratic Party base and destroy any Republican that dares challenge.
The newcomer to the race, 42-year-old Geralda Hernandez-Brown, was discovered in Atlanta by DNC operatives. Born to undocumented immigrant Maria Hernandez, and Theo “Pookie” Brown, whose ancestors once slaved in the cotton and tobacco fields of Georgia and the Carolinas, Gerald Hernandez-Brown underwent a sex change operation in 2005, and now considers xyrself gender-fluid.
“Xhe's ideal in every way,” said DNC spokesman Christina Freundlich. “I mean, even the children from before the operation... one killed by a cop, one dead from a botched back alley abortion, climate change-induced heat stroke...the list just keeps going. Can you believe that we stumbled upon xer beneath the I-285 overpass?”
Asked whether Geralda's religious beliefs could provide any insight to the American people regarding xer convictions and character, Freundlich exclaimed “of course xhe doesn't believe in any god, that would be ridiculous, but xhe gets along very well with people of any faith that gives free stuff to the poor.” Added Freundlich, “which is pretty much all of them.”
When interviewed, Democratic voters largely welcomed the addition of Hernandez-Brown to the field.
Will Green of Toledo, OH, said “Hillary is a tool of the corporatists, and Sanders and O'Malley are old white males. Finally, somebody that understands the struggle and the importance of social programs. Somebody truly worth my vote!”
Qeesha D'Antelo of Fresno, CA responded “I had such high hopes for Obama, but now I realize that he's half-white. And while he definitely doesn't go out of his way to act like a man, he has never publicly denounced his whitemale privilege. Geralda is exactly the kind of hero I can believe in!”
Cautioned “Wolf” in Brooklyn, “sounds good, but where does xhe stand on fair trade coffee?”
Few Republican candidates were willing to answer questions about the viability of Hernandez-Brown's candidacy, but Marco Rubio was candid. “Look, I'm Latino, Ben [Carson] is black, Carly [Fiorina] is a woman... most of us have great stories to tell and great ideas for the future, but we can't withstand Geralda. As soon as we say the first word, there will be universal cries of racism, or sexism, or transphobia. And none of us receives welfare; we're the evil one-percent compared to xer. I hear that Scott [Walker] and John [Kasich] have already dropped out.”
Donald Trump vowed to continue his candidacy, acknowledging “I'm f***ed, but I have a lot of money and nothing better to do.”
To a packed auditorium at Emory University, Hernandez-Brown formally announced xer candidacy with a conciliatory nod to those who still believe in the American dream: “President pay how much? Shit yeah I can be President!”
By way of http://gatesofvienna.net/
In the wake of embarrassing missteps by Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Martin O'Malley on the campaign trail, the Democratic National Committee today announced that it has successfully recruited the perfect candidate, one that can both mobilize the entire Democratic Party base and destroy any Republican that dares challenge.
The newcomer to the race, 42-year-old Geralda Hernandez-Brown, was discovered in Atlanta by DNC operatives. Born to undocumented immigrant Maria Hernandez, and Theo “Pookie” Brown, whose ancestors once slaved in the cotton and tobacco fields of Georgia and the Carolinas, Gerald Hernandez-Brown underwent a sex change operation in 2005, and now considers xyrself gender-fluid.
“Xhe's ideal in every way,” said DNC spokesman Christina Freundlich. “I mean, even the children from before the operation... one killed by a cop, one dead from a botched back alley abortion, climate change-induced heat stroke...the list just keeps going. Can you believe that we stumbled upon xer beneath the I-285 overpass?”
Asked whether Geralda's religious beliefs could provide any insight to the American people regarding xer convictions and character, Freundlich exclaimed “of course xhe doesn't believe in any god, that would be ridiculous, but xhe gets along very well with people of any faith that gives free stuff to the poor.” Added Freundlich, “which is pretty much all of them.”
When interviewed, Democratic voters largely welcomed the addition of Hernandez-Brown to the field.
Will Green of Toledo, OH, said “Hillary is a tool of the corporatists, and Sanders and O'Malley are old white males. Finally, somebody that understands the struggle and the importance of social programs. Somebody truly worth my vote!”
Qeesha D'Antelo of Fresno, CA responded “I had such high hopes for Obama, but now I realize that he's half-white. And while he definitely doesn't go out of his way to act like a man, he has never publicly denounced his whitemale privilege. Geralda is exactly the kind of hero I can believe in!”
Cautioned “Wolf” in Brooklyn, “sounds good, but where does xhe stand on fair trade coffee?”
Few Republican candidates were willing to answer questions about the viability of Hernandez-Brown's candidacy, but Marco Rubio was candid. “Look, I'm Latino, Ben [Carson] is black, Carly [Fiorina] is a woman... most of us have great stories to tell and great ideas for the future, but we can't withstand Geralda. As soon as we say the first word, there will be universal cries of racism, or sexism, or transphobia. And none of us receives welfare; we're the evil one-percent compared to xer. I hear that Scott [Walker] and John [Kasich] have already dropped out.”
Donald Trump vowed to continue his candidacy, acknowledging “I'm f***ed, but I have a lot of money and nothing better to do.”
To a packed auditorium at Emory University, Hernandez-Brown formally announced xer candidacy with a conciliatory nod to those who still believe in the American dream: “President pay how much? Shit yeah I can be President!”
Monday, July 27, 2015
Roland, Arkansas, Zip Code 72135
Roland is a populated place in western Pulaski County in central Arkansas.
Here is a satellite view: https://www.google.com/maps/@34.9021703,-92.5006123,893m/data=!3m1!1e3 indicating not much is there. People who live in Roland prefer their isolation from Little Rock.
In 2010, Roland’s population was 2,623, or so says http://www.city-data.com/zips/72135.html
Wikipedia, though, gives the 2010 population as 746.
Other City Data data for Roland:
Men 49.6 percent; women 50.4 percent
White population 2,438; black 93; American Indian 10; Asian 6; native Hawaiian or other Pacific islander 1; some other race, 2; two or more races, 20; Hispanic or Latino 43.
Households receiving food stamps/SNAP in last 12 months, 90.
Cars and other vehicles per household: None, 12; one, 219; two, 530; three, 140; four, 71; five+, 42.
In 2011, 25 households had less than $10,000 income; 106 households had $200,000 or more income.
Also in 2011, 21 houses were valued at less than $10,000, while 14 were valued at $1 million or more.
Foreign-born population, 24, all of whom are naturalized citizens.
(Weird that a community of 2,600 – or under 750 – would have 21 houses valued under $10,000 and 14 valued at more than $1 million.)
More data here:
http://arkansas.hometownlocator.com/ar/pulaski/roland.cfm also with numbers significantly different than city data numbers.
Oh no! The honey bees are dying! Well, not so much
“The trouble all began in 2006 or so, when beekeepers first began noticing mysterious die-offs. It was soon christened ‘colony collapse disorder,’ and has been responsible for the loss of 20 to 40 percent of managed honeybee colonies each winter over the past decade.”
(What caused the sudden bee die off? The usual suspects, if you believe in the usual suspects – pesticides, global warming for starters. Not pesticides, said national pesticide organizations. Mites were offered for a time.
(Whatever the cause, honeybee deaths indicated we (humans) were doing bad things, and the White Buffalo was punishing us.
(And well it might, since, like smallpox, guns and whiskey, honey bees were brought to the Americas by white Europeans.)
“These bees probably came from England and arrived in Virginia in 1622. By 1639 colonies of honey bees were found throughout the woods in Massachusetts. Some of the colonists who arrived at Plymouth likely brought bees, as well as sheep, cows and chickens on the trip across the Atlantic.”
https://www.agriculture.purdue.edu/agcomm/newscolumns/archives/OSL/1999/November/111199OSL.html
Okay, so what caused the horrific colony collapse disorder beginning in 2006?
Well, “the number of honeybee colonies has actually risen since 2006, from 2.4 million to 2.7 million in 2014, according to data tracked by the USDA. The 2014 numbers, which came out earlier this year, show that the number of managed colonies -- that is, commercial honey-producing bee colonies managed by human beekeepers -- is now the highest it's been in 20 years.”
(The sky did not fall, nor have polar bears all died from heat exhaustion.)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/07/23/call-off-the-bee-pocalypse-u-s-honeybee-colonies-hit-a-20-year-high/
Link at http://maggiesfarm.anotherdotcom.com/
If U.S. agriculture cannot survive without honey bees to pollinate plants and such, what pollinated the farms of Eastern Indians before European bees arrived?
(What caused the sudden bee die off? The usual suspects, if you believe in the usual suspects – pesticides, global warming for starters. Not pesticides, said national pesticide organizations. Mites were offered for a time.
(Whatever the cause, honeybee deaths indicated we (humans) were doing bad things, and the White Buffalo was punishing us.
(And well it might, since, like smallpox, guns and whiskey, honey bees were brought to the Americas by white Europeans.)
“These bees probably came from England and arrived in Virginia in 1622. By 1639 colonies of honey bees were found throughout the woods in Massachusetts. Some of the colonists who arrived at Plymouth likely brought bees, as well as sheep, cows and chickens on the trip across the Atlantic.”
https://www.agriculture.purdue.edu/agcomm/newscolumns/archives/OSL/1999/November/111199OSL.html
Okay, so what caused the horrific colony collapse disorder beginning in 2006?
Well, “the number of honeybee colonies has actually risen since 2006, from 2.4 million to 2.7 million in 2014, according to data tracked by the USDA. The 2014 numbers, which came out earlier this year, show that the number of managed colonies -- that is, commercial honey-producing bee colonies managed by human beekeepers -- is now the highest it's been in 20 years.”
(The sky did not fall, nor have polar bears all died from heat exhaustion.)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/07/23/call-off-the-bee-pocalypse-u-s-honeybee-colonies-hit-a-20-year-high/
Link at http://maggiesfarm.anotherdotcom.com/
If U.S. agriculture cannot survive without honey bees to pollinate plants and such, what pollinated the farms of Eastern Indians before European bees arrived?
Sunday, July 26, 2015
Nice to know the world is coming together
Hungary sees completion of Serbia fence in November.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/24/us-europe-migrants-hungary-fence-idUSKCN0PY0VX20150724
Italians fed up with influx of ‘migrants.’
http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2015/07/24/italians-finally-rise-up-against-migrants/
Telling part: “(T)his week the European Union failed to agree to divvy up 40,000 asylum seekers in Greece in Italy among its members.”
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/24/us-europe-migrants-hungary-fence-idUSKCN0PY0VX20150724
Italians fed up with influx of ‘migrants.’
http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2015/07/24/italians-finally-rise-up-against-migrants/
Telling part: “(T)his week the European Union failed to agree to divvy up 40,000 asylum seekers in Greece in Italy among its members.”
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
This makes sense
"Do you know the term for gluten-free, sugarless, vegan brownies?
"Compost."
(At pintrest.com. No link because every time I click there, a troll wants me to sign up for something. I played a troll in a second-grade drama production, so I know how they operate.)
Not bad, this one.
I only live once? In that case, I should waste my time doing idiotic things that have social context only by my determination.
"Compost."
(At pintrest.com. No link because every time I click there, a troll wants me to sign up for something. I played a troll in a second-grade drama production, so I know how they operate.)
Not bad, this one.
I only live once? In that case, I should waste my time doing idiotic things that have social context only by my determination.
Jenner upset because he ‘still sounds like a man’
There’s a reason for that, dipstick – you are a man!
(I’ll not link to the story. It is featured on the MSN home page.)
(I’ll not link to the story. It is featured on the MSN home page.)
Monday, July 20, 2015
Somebody made a joke about Bruce Jenner
and a lot of people are pissed off. Or think they should be, so they get all hashtag H8RS and stuff. Good grief.
T. Jefferson reportedly said people get the government they deserve. I'm pretty sure that goes for punishment and fate and karma and all that stuff, too.
T. Jefferson reportedly said people get the government they deserve. I'm pretty sure that goes for punishment and fate and karma and all that stuff, too.
‘This isn't a Weight Watchers cruise, it's the ---damn Navy!’
The Navy is taking away all fried food from mess halls. For some reason, not all sailors are happy with the decision.
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2015/07/17/sailors-angry-after-navy-bans-fried-food.html
A CW3 mess officer says sailors will accept the changes over time.
No kidding? Over time, no one will remember.
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2015/07/17/sailors-angry-after-navy-bans-fried-food.html
A CW3 mess officer says sailors will accept the changes over time.
No kidding? Over time, no one will remember.
A thing to remember after brain surgery
Richard Porter, a former fellow National Guard platoon sergeant, Sunday night mentioned something I did not remember, but which I wish I had used more.
About three months after I had surgery to fix a cerebral aneurysm in 1986, my mech infantry company underwent an inspection by battalion staff. A young captain came into my office, where Richard and I were having coffee. The captain said, “Sgt. Merriman, where would I find records on (some training event)?”
I allegedly replied, “I don’t know, Sir. I just had brain surgery.”
The captain said, “Oh, that’s right. I forgot. I apologize, Sgt. Merriman.” He left the office and had no more questions for me that inspection.
Later, I was like just about everybody else who has brain surgery – so intent on showing I could still do the job that I refused to recognize failings as caused by mental deficits. If I had remembered a simple sentence -- I don't know; I had brain surgery -- maybe I would have kept one or more of the jobs.
About three months after I had surgery to fix a cerebral aneurysm in 1986, my mech infantry company underwent an inspection by battalion staff. A young captain came into my office, where Richard and I were having coffee. The captain said, “Sgt. Merriman, where would I find records on (some training event)?”
I allegedly replied, “I don’t know, Sir. I just had brain surgery.”
The captain said, “Oh, that’s right. I forgot. I apologize, Sgt. Merriman.” He left the office and had no more questions for me that inspection.
Later, I was like just about everybody else who has brain surgery – so intent on showing I could still do the job that I refused to recognize failings as caused by mental deficits. If I had remembered a simple sentence -- I don't know; I had brain surgery -- maybe I would have kept one or more of the jobs.
Still more on Light Reading
The chapter on German engineers in the Russian campaign includes a section on “The Capture of Balta” in August 1941.
Balta is in the Ukraine. The town was founded in 1797 with the combination of three towns – Yuzefhrad, Yelensk and Balta. Its population in 2011 was 19,353.
Wikipedia says the Jewish population in 1900 was 13,235. There would not be much use in asking about the 1946 Jewish population.
Operation Mobilisation has held summer camps in Balta.
http://crazyonukraine.blogspot.com/2011/07/balta-camp-2011.html
A UFO was sighted somewhere in the area.
http://trassae95.com/all/news/2013/02/15/nad-gorodom-balta-v-odesskoj-oblasti-zavislo-nlo-foto-5596.html
Ukrainian revolutionary Vsevolod Holubovych was born in Balta in 1885. He was sentenced by Bolsheviks to five years in a Gulag camp in 1921, but released. Arrested again in 1931, he was never heard from again.
Interesting place, Ukraine.
Balta is in the Ukraine. The town was founded in 1797 with the combination of three towns – Yuzefhrad, Yelensk and Balta. Its population in 2011 was 19,353.
Wikipedia says the Jewish population in 1900 was 13,235. There would not be much use in asking about the 1946 Jewish population.
Operation Mobilisation has held summer camps in Balta.
http://crazyonukraine.blogspot.com/2011/07/balta-camp-2011.html
A UFO was sighted somewhere in the area.
http://trassae95.com/all/news/2013/02/15/nad-gorodom-balta-v-odesskoj-oblasti-zavislo-nlo-foto-5596.html
Ukrainian revolutionary Vsevolod Holubovych was born in Balta in 1885. He was sentenced by Bolsheviks to five years in a Gulag camp in 1921, but released. Arrested again in 1931, he was never heard from again.
Interesting place, Ukraine.
Sunday, July 19, 2015
Get out of the house!
Searching for stuff and coming across “Oh, poor me! Nobody has ever, will ever, suffer the way I have or will. Boo-hoo-hoo.”
Stuff like this: “I have been hurt so much that I don’t even know what to do anymore why does this always happen to me”
Because you can’t spell or punctuate, dipstick. All you know how to do is what my father always said was pissing and moaning. Oh, I’m sorry. We live in a new world, don’t we, Cupcake. Poor Baby.
And: Tie a noose around your mind loose enough to breathe fine and tie it, To a tree, Tell it, This aint a noose, this is a leash, And I have news for you, you must obey me.”
What? And what in this mishmash is “it?”
(That is written as it appeared.)
And: My girlfriend told me “I’m used to being alone” … What am I to anyone?"
Question: Why are you people still breathing?
Recommendation: Undergo a sterilization procedure and please do not contribute anything to the gene pool. And don't vote, either.
Stuff like this: “I have been hurt so much that I don’t even know what to do anymore why does this always happen to me”
Because you can’t spell or punctuate, dipstick. All you know how to do is what my father always said was pissing and moaning. Oh, I’m sorry. We live in a new world, don’t we, Cupcake. Poor Baby.
And: Tie a noose around your mind loose enough to breathe fine and tie it, To a tree, Tell it, This aint a noose, this is a leash, And I have news for you, you must obey me.”
What? And what in this mishmash is “it?”
(That is written as it appeared.)
And: My girlfriend told me “I’m used to being alone” … What am I to anyone?"
Question: Why are you people still breathing?
Recommendation: Undergo a sterilization procedure and please do not contribute anything to the gene pool. And don't vote, either.
What else could a Progressive ask for?
At a restaurant web site: Two free range eggs, organic home fries, and local whole wheat toast. (Not just whole wheat, but local whole wheat.)
Oh, and there are $5 falafels all ... day ... long.
Yum, yum. Toss in some humus and we’re talking food to make me vote for Bernie Sanders.
Oh, and there are $5 falafels all ... day ... long.
Yum, yum. Toss in some humus and we’re talking food to make me vote for Bernie Sanders.
Saturday, July 18, 2015
Iran ‘deal’ just another item on Obama’s to-do list
“In politics, an administration will judge itself and be judged by the success of its policies. If they make a deal with another country, they don’t throw it down the memory hole once the deal is signed. They keep talking about it and bringing it up if it is successful. If it is a failure then they spend time claiming to have fixed it. With Obama, once the law is passed or the order given, they have a press conference and forget about it. If someone brings it up later, we hear that the administration is not willing to ‘re-litigate’ the matter.”
http://thezman.com/wordpress/
http://thezman.com/wordpress/
Tagline: ‘Naked baristas! Free coffee! Got your attention?’
Free coffee?
I’m not linking to the story. It’s at the CNN site. I just wanted to put things in order of importance. If I go into an over-priced coffee place, I am not there to see a woman’s boobs. And certainly not to see men coffee clerks.
As I said: Free coffee?
I’m not linking to the story. It’s at the CNN site. I just wanted to put things in order of importance. If I go into an over-priced coffee place, I am not there to see a woman’s boobs. And certainly not to see men coffee clerks.
As I said: Free coffee?
Letting Russians drive cars is like …
… letting Russians drive cars.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViLYAoubRY0
Around 4:10. You’re driving on a lane with three feet of snow on each side. What could possibly go wrong?
Clue: It’s in Russia! Anything can go wrong.
You know ... You know reports on lots of these accidents have this line: Police say alcohol might have been a contributing factor in the accident.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViLYAoubRY0
Around 4:10. You’re driving on a lane with three feet of snow on each side. What could possibly go wrong?
Clue: It’s in Russia! Anything can go wrong.
You know ... You know reports on lots of these accidents have this line: Police say alcohol might have been a contributing factor in the accident.
Anger management
Sometimes when searching for pictures of things, I run across those sharp-featured, hair-in-the-face, broody anime dudes* and I just want to knock them upside the head and say “Get a life!”
I know they aren’t real, but think about the Occupy dudes and dudettes – anime characters come to life.
And, yeah, headknocking on some Occupiers wouldn’t have been a bad idea, either.
(*Nobody understands me. I’m different.
(Here is a life message, dude: Nobody understands anybody. Everybody is different.)
I know they aren’t real, but think about the Occupy dudes and dudettes – anime characters come to life.
And, yeah, headknocking on some Occupiers wouldn’t have been a bad idea, either.
(*Nobody understands me. I’m different.
(Here is a life message, dude: Nobody understands anybody. Everybody is different.)
Friday, July 17, 2015
Was a time in this country
of a mystical, mythical place called “Texas,” where land was available and opportunity to him who would work.
Some things never change. We are still fighting Virginia vs. Massachusetts, and Texas still looms large for work and opportunity.
Ed Driscol, owner/operator of PJ Media, and Mrs. PJ, are moving to Texas.
http://pjmedia.com/eddriscoll/2015/07/07/gone-almost-to-texas/
Wish I were back there to say Hidey.
Some things never change. We are still fighting Virginia vs. Massachusetts, and Texas still looms large for work and opportunity.
Ed Driscol, owner/operator of PJ Media, and Mrs. PJ, are moving to Texas.
http://pjmedia.com/eddriscoll/2015/07/07/gone-almost-to-texas/
Wish I were back there to say Hidey.
Thursday, July 16, 2015
History given a seat at the back of the bus
In “8 Unplanned Results of the Iran Deal,” Michelle Pletka says there is an assumption “the Islamic Republic is looking to upset the status quo” in the Middle East.
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/07/eight-unplanned-results-of-the-iran-deal-120129.html#ixzz3fwoAidQm
What Ms. Pletka does not mention is that the present status quo was brought about by the Sykes-Picot agreement, when Britain, France and Imperial Russia, drew lines in the sand, creating Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Palestine from the middle parts of the Ottoman Empire.
That World War I agreement set in motion every political, military and social conflict in the area, as did the world war for the entire planet.
Link at http://maggiesfarm.anotherdotcom.com/
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/07/eight-unplanned-results-of-the-iran-deal-120129.html#ixzz3fwoAidQm
What Ms. Pletka does not mention is that the present status quo was brought about by the Sykes-Picot agreement, when Britain, France and Imperial Russia, drew lines in the sand, creating Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Palestine from the middle parts of the Ottoman Empire.
That World War I agreement set in motion every political, military and social conflict in the area, as did the world war for the entire planet.
Link at http://maggiesfarm.anotherdotcom.com/
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
We have permitted ourselves to be corrupted
“(I)t is one thing for other religions, or other countries to make laws that are in conflict with Judaism as stipulated in the Torah, they are not bound by our laws, and it is their own affair to deal with God's wrath when it comes their time, but it is certainly not acceptable for our religious leaders now or ever, to place us in direct conflict with the Almighty for that will surely seal our doom as a nation and as a people. Just as God has said in Leviticus 18 that he expelled every nation that preceded the Children of Israel from the land because of such practices, if we permit our religious leaders to place ourselves above His laws and His practices, then we are no longer the Children of Israel. We are the people of Moloch and we have permitted ourselves to be corrupted to a level from which we will never recover.”
…
“Don't force us to make a decision between the State and God because in the end that is one war that we all will lose.”
http://kahana.hubpages.com/hub/Kahana-on-Same-Sex-Marriage
“…from which we will never recover” is a summation of the future of the USA.
…
“Don't force us to make a decision between the State and God because in the end that is one war that we all will lose.”
http://kahana.hubpages.com/hub/Kahana-on-Same-Sex-Marriage
“…from which we will never recover” is a summation of the future of the USA.
If Big Pappeeeee can’t hit it that far, the skinny kid certainly couldn’t
David Ortiz doesn’t believe Teddy Ballgame hit a 502-foot home run in Fenway.
“Ortiz said hitting a ball with enough power for it to land 37 rows up in right field, as Williams allegedly did on June 9, 1946, simply is not possible, even for a hitter of Teddy Ballgame’s caliber.”
Ortiz: “I remember a day game, I hit a ball in that tunnel. But still, I crushed one and it wasn’t even close to that.”
http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/david-ortiz-doesn-t-believe-story-of-ted-williams-record-hr-071315
Or, “If I, David Ortiz, cannot hit a baseball as far as the red seat, what makes anyone believe that guy Williams could?”
One thing leads to another. In this case, the another occurred during a check of Ortiz’s lifetime stats vs. those of Williams.
At www.baseball-almanac.com while going through the W’s to get Williams’s numbers, I saw the name Gus Weyhing, who pitched for nine teams in his 14-year major league career, May 2, 1887-Aug. 21, 1901. Weyhing was a hurler for the Philadelphia Athletics, Brooklyn Wonders, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, Louisville Colonels, Washington Senators, St. Louis Cardinals, Brooklyn Superbas, Cleveland Blues and Cincinnati Reds.
Weyhing’s won-lost record was 264-232, with an ERA of 3.89. Not great, especially the 232 losses. But Weyhing pitched at a time when MLB teams had one or two starting pitchers. That meant those pitchers put up yearly innings pitched in he range of 300 to almost 500. Weyhing’s high mark was 469.2 in 1892. The year before, he pitched 450 innings. His rookie year, Weyhing totaled 466.1 innings pitched.
In 14 years, the Louisville, Ky., native pitched 4,324.1 innings.
By contrast, Pedro Martinez, among this year’s Hall of Fame inductees, in 18 years pitched 2,787 innings. Martinez’s won-loss record is 219-100, and his lifetime ERA is 2.93.
Gus Weyhing’s younger brother John also pitched in the major leagues. John’s record was 3-4, with a 1.62 ERA. In 1888, at age 19, John started eight games for Cincinnati. He completed seven games. In 65 innings, he allowed nine earned runs. Overall, John Weyhing gave up 26 runs, but in the early days of baseball, games with five or more errors for each team were not unusual.
John pitched in one game in the 1889 season. He contracted tuberculosis and died on June 20, 1890, four days before his 21st birthday.
Back to Ortiz: Don’t be surprised to see him backing away from his own statement, lest, as is said these days, “someone was offended.”
“Ortiz said hitting a ball with enough power for it to land 37 rows up in right field, as Williams allegedly did on June 9, 1946, simply is not possible, even for a hitter of Teddy Ballgame’s caliber.”
Ortiz: “I remember a day game, I hit a ball in that tunnel. But still, I crushed one and it wasn’t even close to that.”
http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/david-ortiz-doesn-t-believe-story-of-ted-williams-record-hr-071315
Or, “If I, David Ortiz, cannot hit a baseball as far as the red seat, what makes anyone believe that guy Williams could?”
One thing leads to another. In this case, the another occurred during a check of Ortiz’s lifetime stats vs. those of Williams.
At www.baseball-almanac.com while going through the W’s to get Williams’s numbers, I saw the name Gus Weyhing, who pitched for nine teams in his 14-year major league career, May 2, 1887-Aug. 21, 1901. Weyhing was a hurler for the Philadelphia Athletics, Brooklyn Wonders, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, Louisville Colonels, Washington Senators, St. Louis Cardinals, Brooklyn Superbas, Cleveland Blues and Cincinnati Reds.
Weyhing’s won-lost record was 264-232, with an ERA of 3.89. Not great, especially the 232 losses. But Weyhing pitched at a time when MLB teams had one or two starting pitchers. That meant those pitchers put up yearly innings pitched in he range of 300 to almost 500. Weyhing’s high mark was 469.2 in 1892. The year before, he pitched 450 innings. His rookie year, Weyhing totaled 466.1 innings pitched.
In 14 years, the Louisville, Ky., native pitched 4,324.1 innings.
By contrast, Pedro Martinez, among this year’s Hall of Fame inductees, in 18 years pitched 2,787 innings. Martinez’s won-loss record is 219-100, and his lifetime ERA is 2.93.
Gus Weyhing’s younger brother John also pitched in the major leagues. John’s record was 3-4, with a 1.62 ERA. In 1888, at age 19, John started eight games for Cincinnati. He completed seven games. In 65 innings, he allowed nine earned runs. Overall, John Weyhing gave up 26 runs, but in the early days of baseball, games with five or more errors for each team were not unusual.
John pitched in one game in the 1889 season. He contracted tuberculosis and died on June 20, 1890, four days before his 21st birthday.
Back to Ortiz: Don’t be surprised to see him backing away from his own statement, lest, as is said these days, “someone was offended.”
Monday, July 13, 2015
A bear and some Nazis
Mascot for 3rd Panzer Division.
http://i47.servimg.com/u/f47/10/07/71/84/german36.jpg
Just remember what Mitch Hedberg said: Bigfoot is blurry.
http://i47.servimg.com/u/f47/10/07/71/84/german36.jpg
Just remember what Mitch Hedberg said: Bigfoot is blurry.
‘(T)his stuff is here in Connecticut’
You mean it’s not just “down in the South?”
Offended flea market shopper calls 911 over Confederate memorabilia.
“I was shaking and almost vomiting,” the complainant told the Wallington Journal-Record. “I had to run….”
http://www.theamericanmirror.com/offended-flea-market-shopper-calls-911-over-confederate-merchandise/
Expect more of this stuff.
Offended flea market shopper calls 911 over Confederate memorabilia.
“I was shaking and almost vomiting,” the complainant told the Wallington Journal-Record. “I had to run….”
http://www.theamericanmirror.com/offended-flea-market-shopper-calls-911-over-confederate-merchandise/
Expect more of this stuff.
Sunday, July 12, 2015
Marcus, Iowa, Zip 51035
A lot of settlement occurred in Iowa after the frontier moved much farther west.
Marcus, begun in 1872, is in Cherokee County, one county over from the Missouri River and three counties south of Minnesota. (I am not sure Cherokee were as far north as Iowa. Wikipedia lists Miami, Sauk, Wea, Kickapoo, Lenni Lenape, Mascouten, Meskwaki, Arikara, Pawnee, Hidasta, Mandan, Kaw, Omaha, Osage, Ponca, Santee Sioux, Yantee Sioux, Ho-Chunk, Ioway, Missouria, and Otes as area natives. I doubt that many tribes lived peacefully.)
In the 2010 census, 1,117 people lived in Marcus. Population has been declining since 1970, when the population was 1,272.
Here is a satellite picture:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Marcus,+IA+51035/@42.8218008,-95.8044151,4339m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x878da171963abe93:0xd5bef61401863572
Marcus looks like a typical Plains town – some trees and houses surrounded by fields. In each square or rectangle formed by roads, is an area with a farm house, barn, vehicle shed and grain storage. This view could be the prime example of Iowa farming. Everything is well organized.
Here is the schedule for this year's fair, Aug. 6-9:
http://www.marcuscommunityfair.com/schedule-of-fair-events.html
To show a difference between Iowa and California, the Marcus Fair has mud volleyball.
The man/woman split is 51%/49%. Household income is about $6,000 above Iowa median. House value is $40,000 lower than state median. Ancestries: German (45.9%), Irish (12.3%), Norwegian (5.8%), Swedish (5.5%), Dutch (5.4%), English (4.8%).
http://www.city-data.com/city/Marcus-Iowa.html#ixzz3fjzVAZl6
Unemployment: 2.8 percent. High school or higher degree: 88.6%. Bachelor’s degree or higher: 24.9%; graduate or professional degree: 2.8%. (Impressive.)
Tornado activity is near Iowa average and 80% greater than U.S. average.
2012 presidential election: 57% Romney; 41% Obama.(Also impressive.)
No. 29 on the list of "Top 101 zip codes with the largest percentage of Luxemburger first ancestries."
Zip Code for Marcus is the same as the word count of a story I am writing: 51035.
Marcus, begun in 1872, is in Cherokee County, one county over from the Missouri River and three counties south of Minnesota. (I am not sure Cherokee were as far north as Iowa. Wikipedia lists Miami, Sauk, Wea, Kickapoo, Lenni Lenape, Mascouten, Meskwaki, Arikara, Pawnee, Hidasta, Mandan, Kaw, Omaha, Osage, Ponca, Santee Sioux, Yantee Sioux, Ho-Chunk, Ioway, Missouria, and Otes as area natives. I doubt that many tribes lived peacefully.)
In the 2010 census, 1,117 people lived in Marcus. Population has been declining since 1970, when the population was 1,272.
Here is a satellite picture:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Marcus,+IA+51035/@42.8218008,-95.8044151,4339m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x878da171963abe93:0xd5bef61401863572
Marcus looks like a typical Plains town – some trees and houses surrounded by fields. In each square or rectangle formed by roads, is an area with a farm house, barn, vehicle shed and grain storage. This view could be the prime example of Iowa farming. Everything is well organized.
Here is the schedule for this year's fair, Aug. 6-9:
http://www.marcuscommunityfair.com/schedule-of-fair-events.html
To show a difference between Iowa and California, the Marcus Fair has mud volleyball.
The man/woman split is 51%/49%. Household income is about $6,000 above Iowa median. House value is $40,000 lower than state median. Ancestries: German (45.9%), Irish (12.3%), Norwegian (5.8%), Swedish (5.5%), Dutch (5.4%), English (4.8%).
http://www.city-data.com/city/Marcus-Iowa.html#ixzz3fjzVAZl6
Unemployment: 2.8 percent. High school or higher degree: 88.6%. Bachelor’s degree or higher: 24.9%; graduate or professional degree: 2.8%. (Impressive.)
Tornado activity is near Iowa average and 80% greater than U.S. average.
2012 presidential election: 57% Romney; 41% Obama.(Also impressive.)
No. 29 on the list of "Top 101 zip codes with the largest percentage of Luxemburger first ancestries."
Zip Code for Marcus is the same as the word count of a story I am writing: 51035.
The purpose is to humiliate
‘The Greek Struggle Session’
In Greece now, but the rest of Europe soon to follow: “It’s not the money. It’s the humiliation. The Greeks have been cast in a German snuff film for the titillation of German technocrats and as a warning to everyone now living under the German yoke. You either goose step to the tune being played in Brussels or end up like Greece.
…
“If you are a Greek citizen, how can you have any faith in your Greek democracy? Why would you bother with it? You now see that voting is just a charade. The people making the decisions are in Berlin and Brussels and they speak German. Those are the people in charge, not those guys lobbying for your vote. Comrade, why are you struggling against the tide of history?”
http://thezman.com/wordpress/
(Humiliation is a thing American Progressives know how to do quite well. And, Progressives would/will make us Citizens of the World.)
In Greece now, but the rest of Europe soon to follow: “It’s not the money. It’s the humiliation. The Greeks have been cast in a German snuff film for the titillation of German technocrats and as a warning to everyone now living under the German yoke. You either goose step to the tune being played in Brussels or end up like Greece.
…
“If you are a Greek citizen, how can you have any faith in your Greek democracy? Why would you bother with it? You now see that voting is just a charade. The people making the decisions are in Berlin and Brussels and they speak German. Those are the people in charge, not those guys lobbying for your vote. Comrade, why are you struggling against the tide of history?”
http://thezman.com/wordpress/
(Humiliation is a thing American Progressives know how to do quite well. And, Progressives would/will make us Citizens of the World.)
Saturday, July 11, 2015
There are all kinds of “Keep Calm” T-shirts advertised at internet sites
Here is my suggestion:
Keep calm & squeeze the trigger.
Keep calm & squeeze the trigger.
Friday, July 10, 2015
Hell in a hand basket 2 (or something)
This was on a web site:
“we used to text all the time,
“then i overreacted and now we
“don’t text at all but you say
“were fine? what?”
http://www.buzzquotes.com/i-overreacted-quotes
Prediction:
wun uv thez daiz stuff will b ritten like this.
it waz the best uv timez it waz the wurst uv timez.
we hold theez truths 2 b self evident that all peeple r created equl.
welcum 2 the brave nu world.
“we used to text all the time,
“then i overreacted and now we
“don’t text at all but you say
“were fine? what?”
http://www.buzzquotes.com/i-overreacted-quotes
Prediction:
wun uv thez daiz stuff will b ritten like this.
it waz the best uv timez it waz the wurst uv timez.
we hold theez truths 2 b self evident that all peeple r created equl.
welcum 2 the brave nu world.
Get ‘em while they last
Looks like a General Lee, but not sure who’s playing Luke and the other one.
http://static.mediamarkt.pl/thumbs/1/40/Diukowie-Hazzardu-1-400325-340x300.jpg
‘Diukowie Hazzardu, Komdia/Romantyzna’
http://www.mediamarkt.pl/filmsku-diukowie-hazzardu,id-213929
http://static.mediamarkt.pl/thumbs/1/40/Diukowie-Hazzardu-1-400325-340x300.jpg
‘Diukowie Hazzardu, Komdia/Romantyzna’
http://www.mediamarkt.pl/filmsku-diukowie-hazzardu,id-213929
Some pictures of Ukrainians with guns
And comments from the "Why are you still in the gene pool?" crowd.
“The weapon at home definitely disciplines and raises the responsibility level.” – Eugen, Ukrainian sales manager and gun owner.
http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_5/1748256_Ukrainian_civilians_and_their_guns_looking_much_like_American_gun_rights_advocates.html
“The weapon at home definitely disciplines and raises the responsibility level.” – Eugen, Ukrainian sales manager and gun owner.
http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_5/1748256_Ukrainian_civilians_and_their_guns_looking_much_like_American_gun_rights_advocates.html
A crappy poster that makes sense
He’s over there all like “NO GUNS!” and she’s over here all like “NO WEED!” And I’m over here all stoned, shootin the shit out of shit.
http://s1159.photobucket.com/user/n2oZ06/media/B6C75E39-7525-4E80-BB2F-E506E9D4214F-57645-000009AED5D198D7_zpseb8c0e63.jpg.html
http://s1159.photobucket.com/user/n2oZ06/media/B6C75E39-7525-4E80-BB2F-E506E9D4214F-57645-000009AED5D198D7_zpseb8c0e63.jpg.html
We've got your boycott
An Israeli-developed airport security device eliminates privacy concerns that occur with full body scans. The armored booth does not X-ray passengers, but does scan for, and detonate, any explosives a potential passenger might have secreted on his/her body. Use of the booth also eliminates possibility of inadvertent profiling, as all passengers must enter the booth. Use of the booth also eliminates the possibility of long and expensive trials. So if you are in Tel Aviv Airport and hear a muffled “BOOF!” and then the announcement, “Attention all standby passengers: El Al Flight 670 to London now has a seat available,” you will know the security system is working.
Some people believe this is factual.
http://www.snopes.com/crime/deserts/booth.asp
http://www.boycottwatch.com/misc/TSA-Israel-Scanner-Hoax.htm
Some people believe this is factual.
http://www.snopes.com/crime/deserts/booth.asp
http://www.boycottwatch.com/misc/TSA-Israel-Scanner-Hoax.htm
Remember that sound Goofy made when he fell off a mountain?
WA-HA-HA-HOOIE! Or something similar.
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=goofy's+sound+when+falling&FORM=VIRE1#view=detail&mid=90E1D77ADCFC3E03494D90E1D77ADCFC3E03494D
A dozen or so years ago, a national columnist wondered what the world would be like if the people who invented the laws of physics had been women, not men.
Oh, maybe: For every action there is a two-for-one shoe sale at Macy’s.
Or if the inventors had not been straight men: A body at rest will remain at rest until a really cute boy dancer in tights moves in next door.
Yesterday this was a tweet: I am a TMF female and she is a MTF female, so I told her what a period is like so she will not have to go through one.
My wife wondered: What will happen when a transgender says “she” is a woman in a man’s body and wants to compete for the woman’s Olympics team?
Twenty-five years ago I started a (much) unfinished novel: They came for me because I waited.
(“They” constituted the shuttle crew from a space ship. The leader was, of course, a 6-foot woman. I wrote quite a bit, but the story was lost in a malfunction while transporting data from 5.5-inch floppy to hard drive. Energize! Oops.)
Anyway, Goofy’s noise is us.
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=goofy's+sound+when+falling&FORM=VIRE1#view=detail&mid=90E1D77ADCFC3E03494D90E1D77ADCFC3E03494D
A dozen or so years ago, a national columnist wondered what the world would be like if the people who invented the laws of physics had been women, not men.
Oh, maybe: For every action there is a two-for-one shoe sale at Macy’s.
Or if the inventors had not been straight men: A body at rest will remain at rest until a really cute boy dancer in tights moves in next door.
Yesterday this was a tweet: I am a TMF female and she is a MTF female, so I told her what a period is like so she will not have to go through one.
My wife wondered: What will happen when a transgender says “she” is a woman in a man’s body and wants to compete for the woman’s Olympics team?
Twenty-five years ago I started a (much) unfinished novel: They came for me because I waited.
(“They” constituted the shuttle crew from a space ship. The leader was, of course, a 6-foot woman. I wrote quite a bit, but the story was lost in a malfunction while transporting data from 5.5-inch floppy to hard drive. Energize! Oops.)
Anyway, Goofy’s noise is us.
Thursday, July 9, 2015
The EU and hypocrisy of Kosovo
“[W]hen you look at the EU, it resembles nothing so much as what Nazi slogans described as the ‘European family of nations’ working together for the prosperity of all. The whole endeavor has roots in National-Socialism. Then there is the bizarre situation that the map of Europe today looks suspiciously like the one from 1942, and all of Hitler’s allies in the Balkans are now the staunchest allies of the American Empire. In that corner of Europe, at least, WW2 is still being fought. Only this time, the Luftwaffe and the panzers are supposedly the ‘good guys.’”
http://politicalmavens.com/index.php/2015/07/08/russian-hypocrisy-on-crimea-and-the-worlds-buyers-remorse-on-kosov/
The EU was created to keep Germany inside its borders and to keep the French from thumbing their noses at the rest of Europe. Reality is, France and Germany want to run Europe because ... well, they are France and Germany.
http://politicalmavens.com/index.php/2015/07/08/russian-hypocrisy-on-crimea-and-the-worlds-buyers-remorse-on-kosov/
The EU was created to keep Germany inside its borders and to keep the French from thumbing their noses at the rest of Europe. Reality is, France and Germany want to run Europe because ... well, they are France and Germany.
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
Gujarat, India, Pin Code 362215
Satellite image: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Gujarat+362215,+India/@21.3818062,70.3785863,22040m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x3bfd5454bc96b917:0x3f339a84332a2cce!5m1!1e4
The place looks barren, but zooming in shows the landscape is farm fields. At almost all fields, there is a tree or two and a house.
“The pin code of NA, Junagadh, Gujarat is 362215. As per the first 2 digits of this Indian postal code, 362215 pin code belongs to post circle Gujarat. Last 3 digits of the code are assigned to the Aniala B.O post office. Aniala B.O pin code officially comes under Junagadh division, and Rajkot region. Other details like delivery status and branch office type are also mentioned in the table.”
http://www.pincodein.com/pin-code-362215
Search of “362215 images” shows mostly things not of Gujarat. There is a 1983 Zimmer Golden for sale; a photograph of Miss United Kingdom, with tiara; Miss Panama w/o tiara; a card noting “Librarians of the Apocalypse are committed to providing access to knowledge and information in the event of a catastrophe that threatens the future of libraries, the collapse of civilization, or both;” and T-shirt ads for “I miss W.”
The state of Gujarat has a population of 60 million.
The place looks barren, but zooming in shows the landscape is farm fields. At almost all fields, there is a tree or two and a house.
“The pin code of NA, Junagadh, Gujarat is 362215. As per the first 2 digits of this Indian postal code, 362215 pin code belongs to post circle Gujarat. Last 3 digits of the code are assigned to the Aniala B.O post office. Aniala B.O pin code officially comes under Junagadh division, and Rajkot region. Other details like delivery status and branch office type are also mentioned in the table.”
http://www.pincodein.com/pin-code-362215
Search of “362215 images” shows mostly things not of Gujarat. There is a 1983 Zimmer Golden for sale; a photograph of Miss United Kingdom, with tiara; Miss Panama w/o tiara; a card noting “Librarians of the Apocalypse are committed to providing access to knowledge and information in the event of a catastrophe that threatens the future of libraries, the collapse of civilization, or both;” and T-shirt ads for “I miss W.”
The state of Gujarat has a population of 60 million.
More on ‘Light reading’
Kostyantynivka and Slovyansk are two cities mentioned in Small Unit Actions During the German Campaign in Russia, Part II, Section XV, ‘Sudden Initiation into Russian Winter Combat (February 1942).”
Both cities are in eastern Ukraine, in the Donetsk region, and were areas of recent fighting between Ukraine government and Russians.
On March 16, 2015, a Ukrainian army armored vehicle struck and killed an 8-year-old Kostyantynivka girl.
“The accident took place at around 3 p.m. in the center of the city of 95,000 residents. The armored vehicle lost control on the road and hit the little girl, her aunt and her baby cousin. The aunt received heavy injuries and was taken to a local hospital, but the baby was not injured, according to the Ukrainian authorities.”
A riot followed.
Interior Minister Arsen Avakov stated: “If anyone in Kostyantynivka, with weapons, stands against the laws of the Ukrainian authorities, using this road accident for mass clashes, then a single warning shot will be fired, and then they (police) will shoot to kill. If there is no time for warning, they will shoot to kill immediately."
http://www.kyivpost.com/content/kyiv-post-plus/riots-in-kostyantynivka-after-armored-vehicle-hits-and-kills-a-child-383664.html
On July 4, 2015, in Slovyansk: “It's one year since Ukraine's army liberated the strategically vital eastern city of Slovyansk. On July 4 the occupation of transport hub ended following some of the heaviest fighting seen in the government's battle against Russian invaders and Russian-backed militants.”
https://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/ukraine-today-ukraines-slovyansk-marks-first-anniversary-of-liberation-from-russian-backed-militants-392760.html
Times of not-war between Ukrainians and Russians are simply interludes.
Both cities are in eastern Ukraine, in the Donetsk region, and were areas of recent fighting between Ukraine government and Russians.
On March 16, 2015, a Ukrainian army armored vehicle struck and killed an 8-year-old Kostyantynivka girl.
“The accident took place at around 3 p.m. in the center of the city of 95,000 residents. The armored vehicle lost control on the road and hit the little girl, her aunt and her baby cousin. The aunt received heavy injuries and was taken to a local hospital, but the baby was not injured, according to the Ukrainian authorities.”
A riot followed.
Interior Minister Arsen Avakov stated: “If anyone in Kostyantynivka, with weapons, stands against the laws of the Ukrainian authorities, using this road accident for mass clashes, then a single warning shot will be fired, and then they (police) will shoot to kill. If there is no time for warning, they will shoot to kill immediately."
http://www.kyivpost.com/content/kyiv-post-plus/riots-in-kostyantynivka-after-armored-vehicle-hits-and-kills-a-child-383664.html
On July 4, 2015, in Slovyansk: “It's one year since Ukraine's army liberated the strategically vital eastern city of Slovyansk. On July 4 the occupation of transport hub ended following some of the heaviest fighting seen in the government's battle against Russian invaders and Russian-backed militants.”
https://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/ukraine-today-ukraines-slovyansk-marks-first-anniversary-of-liberation-from-russian-backed-militants-392760.html
Times of not-war between Ukrainians and Russians are simply interludes.
TSA
‘Thousands Stealing Anything They Can’
“The result has been what you expect when you take people choosing between a life of low-level crime and life on the dole and give them access to private property. They are stealing everything they can carry. Just the other day they robbed the widow of loveable baseball icon Don Zimmer.
“The widow of a baseball icon was heartbroken Friday night over a missing jersey that she believes was stolen.
“Last month, the Yankees gave Soot Zimmer a jersey in honor of her late husband, Don Zimmer, who served as bench coach for the team for several years.
“But the jersey never made it back to Florida with Soot Zimmer, and she thinks a Transportation Security Administration agent stole it from her luggage.”
“Every year the TSA settles tens of thousands of cases where employees have stolen property from bags or damaged property trying to steal it. Millions of dollars in claims are settled each year. If the TSA were run by Italians, the Feds would hit them with a RICO charge.”
http://thezman.com/wordpress/
“The result has been what you expect when you take people choosing between a life of low-level crime and life on the dole and give them access to private property. They are stealing everything they can carry. Just the other day they robbed the widow of loveable baseball icon Don Zimmer.
“The widow of a baseball icon was heartbroken Friday night over a missing jersey that she believes was stolen.
“Last month, the Yankees gave Soot Zimmer a jersey in honor of her late husband, Don Zimmer, who served as bench coach for the team for several years.
“But the jersey never made it back to Florida with Soot Zimmer, and she thinks a Transportation Security Administration agent stole it from her luggage.”
“Every year the TSA settles tens of thousands of cases where employees have stolen property from bags or damaged property trying to steal it. Millions of dollars in claims are settled each year. If the TSA were run by Italians, the Feds would hit them with a RICO charge.”
http://thezman.com/wordpress/
An open letter to Major League Baseball
I was angered this morning when watching on MLB Network an advertisement for the 2015 All Star Game.
The advertisement portrayed several younger Major League All Stars and then showed a baseball field within what appeared to be the Coliseum in Rome during the time of the Roman Empire.
The picture of the Coliseum brought to my mind scenes of brutality and torture from Roman murder for pleasure of tens of thousands of Jews, Christians, African slaves, prisoners of war, as well as lions, elephants, bears and other animals.
Utilization of the Coliseum shows MLB has little if any knowledge of history, nor of disturbing images such connection might bring to young minds.
The advertisement portrayed several younger Major League All Stars and then showed a baseball field within what appeared to be the Coliseum in Rome during the time of the Roman Empire.
The picture of the Coliseum brought to my mind scenes of brutality and torture from Roman murder for pleasure of tens of thousands of Jews, Christians, African slaves, prisoners of war, as well as lions, elephants, bears and other animals.
Utilization of the Coliseum shows MLB has little if any knowledge of history, nor of disturbing images such connection might bring to young minds.
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Things a true Muscovite would never say
Well, that was certainly well organized.
Thanks, no more vodka for me tonight.
And many more at:
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/80-things-a-true-muscovite-would-never-say/505177.html
Thanks, no more vodka for me tonight.
And many more at:
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/80-things-a-true-muscovite-would-never-say/505177.html
‘Outside the city, it's basically a no-man's land’
Russian journalist interviews soldiers who remained in Afghanistan.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/arts_n_ideas/article/russian-soldiers-start-a-second-life-in-afghanistan/525166.html
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/arts_n_ideas/article/russian-soldiers-start-a-second-life-in-afghanistan/525166.html
Alligator report
The alligator made an appearance this morning. It had not been around, or at least had not surfaced, for several weeks.
Our house is slightly to the right of being centered on the pond. The alligator today was about 10 o’clock from the lanai and pool, 60 feet from the bank. It floated to the right for a time, and then began moving faster, although there was no surface disturbance. The alligator moved toward the bank, about 5 o’clock in reference to the house. About 20 feet from the bank, it went under. We have not seen it since then.
Three days ago, Priscilla interviewed a home health representative concerning a CNA for John, who is with us for a couple of weeks. We mentioned our alligator.
The home health rep said he had a pond behind his house. The pond has an alligator.
“Some of those … what are they called – snowbirds. A retired man and woman, and they were feeding the alligator!”
He said he went to the couple’s house and told them, “You aren’t supposed to feed the alligators.”
City people to whom wild animals are misunderstood cuddly creatures.
Our house is slightly to the right of being centered on the pond. The alligator today was about 10 o’clock from the lanai and pool, 60 feet from the bank. It floated to the right for a time, and then began moving faster, although there was no surface disturbance. The alligator moved toward the bank, about 5 o’clock in reference to the house. About 20 feet from the bank, it went under. We have not seen it since then.
Three days ago, Priscilla interviewed a home health representative concerning a CNA for John, who is with us for a couple of weeks. We mentioned our alligator.
The home health rep said he had a pond behind his house. The pond has an alligator.
“Some of those … what are they called – snowbirds. A retired man and woman, and they were feeding the alligator!”
He said he went to the couple’s house and told them, “You aren’t supposed to feed the alligators.”
City people to whom wild animals are misunderstood cuddly creatures.
Monday, July 6, 2015
Light reading
I just finished Military Improvisations During the Russian Campaign (DA Pamphlet 20-201, August 1951) and have begun Small Unit Actions During the German Campaign in Russia (DA Pamphlet 20-269, July 1953. Of the two, the latter is a better read. Improvisations is from staff level, while Small Unit Actions is as its title suggests.
I have read Improvisations once before and Small Unit Actions twice or three times. Both were written following interviews of German officers by the Army’s Special Studies Division.
History nuts are a strange species, in that we care about knowing what happened. People who are not interested in history have no idea how we got where we are, and even more upsetting, they do not care. I wish they did not vote.
Casey, my youngest, is an infantry squad leader. He has a Combat Infantryman Badge and an Expert Infantry Badge, and a few rows of ribbons.
In conversation Sunday, he mentioned he and his platoon leader were discussing the Battle of the Somme. Casey has read quite a bit about that battle, as well as the not-as-bloody battle for Stalingrad. It is good that an infantry sergeant read and learn from monstrous battles that involved thousands of infantry soldiers.
Casey said he asked his LT if the Somme was part of Infantry Officer Basic Course. The LT said the course included a little American Army history, but not of other armies.
More than likely, any Army lieutenant would have, on his own and as part of his college or ROTC studies, been graced with studies of bloody battles. At least I hope so.
I have read Improvisations once before and Small Unit Actions twice or three times. Both were written following interviews of German officers by the Army’s Special Studies Division.
History nuts are a strange species, in that we care about knowing what happened. People who are not interested in history have no idea how we got where we are, and even more upsetting, they do not care. I wish they did not vote.
Casey, my youngest, is an infantry squad leader. He has a Combat Infantryman Badge and an Expert Infantry Badge, and a few rows of ribbons.
In conversation Sunday, he mentioned he and his platoon leader were discussing the Battle of the Somme. Casey has read quite a bit about that battle, as well as the not-as-bloody battle for Stalingrad. It is good that an infantry sergeant read and learn from monstrous battles that involved thousands of infantry soldiers.
Casey said he asked his LT if the Somme was part of Infantry Officer Basic Course. The LT said the course included a little American Army history, but not of other armies.
More than likely, any Army lieutenant would have, on his own and as part of his college or ROTC studies, been graced with studies of bloody battles. At least I hope so.
You will drink the liquor the government wants you to drink
On Friday, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf “vetoed a bill that would have privatized the sale of wine and liquor while liberalizing the rules for selling beer in the Keystone State.”
Wolf’s reasons for the veto defy common and marketing sense, but fall well within Democratic Party reasoning. Allowing private businesses to compete with government stores “would result in higher prices for consumers” and “less selection for consumers.”
Remember, everything Democrats do or propose is for consumers. And, one might logically assume, against producers.
As Jacob Sullum points out at reason.com, “Other things being equal, more competition leads to lower prices, so it is hard to see why Pennsylvanians would have to pay more for a bottle of whiskey if the state monopoly were replaced by profit-driven businesses competing against each other.”
I wondered about liquor prices in nearby, private-business stores. Sullum provides comparison.
“If you compare the prices charged by the PLCB to the prices charged by, say, Total Wine & More across the border in New Jersey, you'll find that customers generally pay more for liquor in Pennsylvania: for example, just picking three products I often buy, $30 vs. $25 for Bulleit rye whiskey, $52 vs. $44 for 10-year-old Ardbeg Scotch, and $44 vs. $37 for Herradura reposado tequila (all in 750-milliliter bottles). Total Wine also has a bigger selection: 354 varieties of Scotch, for instance, compared to fewer than 100 at the PLCB.”
State governments have been in the tax business for as long as the nation has existed. But isn’t it anti-American for a taxing entity to also have monopoly on sale of the taxed item?
http://reason.com/blog/2015/07/03/vetoing-liquor-privatization-pennsylvani
Link to story at http://maggiesfarm.anotherdotcom.com/
Wolf’s reasons for the veto defy common and marketing sense, but fall well within Democratic Party reasoning. Allowing private businesses to compete with government stores “would result in higher prices for consumers” and “less selection for consumers.”
Remember, everything Democrats do or propose is for consumers. And, one might logically assume, against producers.
As Jacob Sullum points out at reason.com, “Other things being equal, more competition leads to lower prices, so it is hard to see why Pennsylvanians would have to pay more for a bottle of whiskey if the state monopoly were replaced by profit-driven businesses competing against each other.”
I wondered about liquor prices in nearby, private-business stores. Sullum provides comparison.
“If you compare the prices charged by the PLCB to the prices charged by, say, Total Wine & More across the border in New Jersey, you'll find that customers generally pay more for liquor in Pennsylvania: for example, just picking three products I often buy, $30 vs. $25 for Bulleit rye whiskey, $52 vs. $44 for 10-year-old Ardbeg Scotch, and $44 vs. $37 for Herradura reposado tequila (all in 750-milliliter bottles). Total Wine also has a bigger selection: 354 varieties of Scotch, for instance, compared to fewer than 100 at the PLCB.”
State governments have been in the tax business for as long as the nation has existed. But isn’t it anti-American for a taxing entity to also have monopoly on sale of the taxed item?
http://reason.com/blog/2015/07/03/vetoing-liquor-privatization-pennsylvani
Link to story at http://maggiesfarm.anotherdotcom.com/
Friday, July 3, 2015
Can police just take your tank?
Well, they did in Heikendorf. And a torpedo. And “several other weapons of war.”
Panther in the cellar, 88mm AA/AT gun … Probably waiting for a T-34 to show up.
http://www.thelocal.de/20150702/police-find-wwii-tank-hidden-in-cellar
Also at fark.com.
Panther in the cellar, 88mm AA/AT gun … Probably waiting for a T-34 to show up.
http://www.thelocal.de/20150702/police-find-wwii-tank-hidden-in-cellar
Also at fark.com.
So much for Chinese education
A man in Yunnan recently discovered that he'd been raising two Asian black bears for the past two years under the impression that they were dogs. Asian black bears, mind, are listed as a class II protected species and are most certainly not dogs.
The man, Wang Kaiyu, owns a banana farm in Jinchang Town, near the boarder of Vietnam, China News reports. Two years ago, a Vietnamese man was passing by the area with two 'good looking' pups, and Wang decided to buy them off the man, he told reporters.
For two years, he lovingly raised the 'dogs', bathing and pampering them every day. Wang said the animals were well-behaved but that their appetites were rapidly growing. He recalled a few times when his beloved pets caught and ate chickens on the farm.
As fate would have it, Wang saw a poster about wildlife protection at an exhibition hosted by the forest police, and the bells started ringing. Wang realised he had been accidentally raising two protected species.
After mulling it over, he decided he probably ought to send the bears away to the forest police in Maguan county in the hopes that they could be relocated to an appropriate habitat.
On June 30, the forest police contacted the Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre of Yunnan province and the two bears were sent there for protection. A spokesperson from the centre, surnamed Feng, confirmed that the two animals are Asian black bears of different gender, and that they are currently in good health.
By Crystal Lau
http://shanghaiist.com/2015/07/02/yunnan-man-keeps-dogs-2-years-realizes-theyre-black-bears.php
Another at www.fark.com
The man, Wang Kaiyu, owns a banana farm in Jinchang Town, near the boarder of Vietnam, China News reports. Two years ago, a Vietnamese man was passing by the area with two 'good looking' pups, and Wang decided to buy them off the man, he told reporters.
For two years, he lovingly raised the 'dogs', bathing and pampering them every day. Wang said the animals were well-behaved but that their appetites were rapidly growing. He recalled a few times when his beloved pets caught and ate chickens on the farm.
As fate would have it, Wang saw a poster about wildlife protection at an exhibition hosted by the forest police, and the bells started ringing. Wang realised he had been accidentally raising two protected species.
After mulling it over, he decided he probably ought to send the bears away to the forest police in Maguan county in the hopes that they could be relocated to an appropriate habitat.
On June 30, the forest police contacted the Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre of Yunnan province and the two bears were sent there for protection. A spokesperson from the centre, surnamed Feng, confirmed that the two animals are Asian black bears of different gender, and that they are currently in good health.
By Crystal Lau
http://shanghaiist.com/2015/07/02/yunnan-man-keeps-dogs-2-years-realizes-theyre-black-bears.php
Another at www.fark.com
Life on a submarine
Forget Hunt for Red October. See Down Periscope.
This one: “The worst thing on a submarine is a thief. You need to be able to trust everyone with your life. How can you do that if there’s someone onboard who can’t even respect what little personal space and what few belongings you have? We found a thief. He was off the boat and sent home at the next port call, reduced in rank and out of the sub force. They returned all the shit he stole to the rightful owners, and in the middle of the night a bunch of guys kicked the shit out of him and took all his shit. He left the boat with little more than one set of uniforms, his wallet without cash, and his orders.
“Don’t steal on a submarine.”
http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/confessions-of-a-u-s-navy-submarine-officer-1715113243
Link at www.fark.com
This one: “The worst thing on a submarine is a thief. You need to be able to trust everyone with your life. How can you do that if there’s someone onboard who can’t even respect what little personal space and what few belongings you have? We found a thief. He was off the boat and sent home at the next port call, reduced in rank and out of the sub force. They returned all the shit he stole to the rightful owners, and in the middle of the night a bunch of guys kicked the shit out of him and took all his shit. He left the boat with little more than one set of uniforms, his wallet without cash, and his orders.
“Don’t steal on a submarine.”
http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/confessions-of-a-u-s-navy-submarine-officer-1715113243
Link at www.fark.com
Did you know Russian police may not shoot women?
Hang on a minute, Bubba. A new law would extend gender equality into the receiving lead category.
“Federal lawmakers are considering amending a law that prohibits police officers from firing into crowds or at women, newspaper Kommersant reported Thursday.
“A bill introduced to the State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, stipulates that police officers would be granted a ‘presumption of trust and support,’ meaning they would not face prosecution for any action taken while on duty, so long as the action was taken for a valid purpose and in accordance with existing laws.”
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/news/article/russian-lawmakers-consider-letting-cops-shoot-at-women-crowds/524914.html
(What about the women terrorists killed in the Moscow theater siege?)
Story at www.fark.com
(Not shooting women or into crowds might be a reaction by USSR legislators to Czarist police actions. Or not.)
“Federal lawmakers are considering amending a law that prohibits police officers from firing into crowds or at women, newspaper Kommersant reported Thursday.
“A bill introduced to the State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, stipulates that police officers would be granted a ‘presumption of trust and support,’ meaning they would not face prosecution for any action taken while on duty, so long as the action was taken for a valid purpose and in accordance with existing laws.”
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/news/article/russian-lawmakers-consider-letting-cops-shoot-at-women-crowds/524914.html
(What about the women terrorists killed in the Moscow theater siege?)
Story at www.fark.com
(Not shooting women or into crowds might be a reaction by USSR legislators to Czarist police actions. Or not.)
The dumbest thing ever on TV
And that takes in a lot of dumb.
After World War II, SS Col. Otto Skorzeny brought Adolph Hitler to the United States, specifically to Glacier National Park. There, the two Nazis worked with U.S. military and naval officers and civilian scientists in developing super weapons for use against the Soviet Union.
So said Hangar 1: The UFO Files.
Hitler’s alien scientists also were in Montana, furthering designs on weapons somehow not used against Allied forces during the war.
Skorzeny chose Glacier National Park because the area reminded him of the Bavarian mountains, and where better for Hitler to spend his final decades?
Why were space aliens so taken with Nazis? Were they Grays or Greens? Do we need to be on guard for either? Or both?
Why were alien super weapons not effective against American and British bombers? Why did space aliens not show Hitler how to build an atomic bomb?
Did the Russians also capture aliens at the end of the war?
Inquiring minds want to know.
The really sad thing is, some people believe that stuff.
After World War II, SS Col. Otto Skorzeny brought Adolph Hitler to the United States, specifically to Glacier National Park. There, the two Nazis worked with U.S. military and naval officers and civilian scientists in developing super weapons for use against the Soviet Union.
So said Hangar 1: The UFO Files.
Hitler’s alien scientists also were in Montana, furthering designs on weapons somehow not used against Allied forces during the war.
Skorzeny chose Glacier National Park because the area reminded him of the Bavarian mountains, and where better for Hitler to spend his final decades?
Why were space aliens so taken with Nazis? Were they Grays or Greens? Do we need to be on guard for either? Or both?
Why were alien super weapons not effective against American and British bombers? Why did space aliens not show Hitler how to build an atomic bomb?
Did the Russians also capture aliens at the end of the war?
Inquiring minds want to know.
The really sad thing is, some people believe that stuff.
12th century church bought for £1
The Forest of Dean Buildings Preservation Trust will spend £50,000 to stabilize the building, near Lancaut, an abandoned village in Gloucestershire.
Lots of pictures.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2545206/Queen-sells-church-dating-BEFORE-Norman-Conquest-minuscule-amount.html#ixzz3eqeR2taI
Lots of pictures.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2545206/Queen-sells-church-dating-BEFORE-Norman-Conquest-minuscule-amount.html#ixzz3eqeR2taI
Progressives are coming after you
“In one of life’s great ironies, America is being cleared of Christians by a religious cult that habitually nails itself to the cross and then blames the Christians.”
‘David Brooks and the Long War’
http://thezman.com/wordpress/
‘David Brooks and the Long War’
http://thezman.com/wordpress/
If it’s good for Portland …
... it must be good for everybody.
DC streetcar plan will revitalize old, poor neighborhoods. (For “old” and “poor,” read “black.”)
As the man says at the end of the video, maybe it’s good for white people. Well-to-do, upwardly mobile, young bureaucrats, and spokesmen for companies ready to accept taxpayer monies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpUQ_EMV23c
DC streetcar plan will revitalize old, poor neighborhoods. (For “old” and “poor,” read “black.”)
As the man says at the end of the video, maybe it’s good for white people. Well-to-do, upwardly mobile, young bureaucrats, and spokesmen for companies ready to accept taxpayer monies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpUQ_EMV23c
Thursday, July 2, 2015
This is in such bad taste, you probably don’t want to read it
Fahrver … Arrkk!
“A worker was setting up a robot at a Volkswagen factory when the machine grabbed him and pressed him against a metal slab, causing lethal injuries.”
“When the robot started up, it grabbed the man and thrust him against a metal slab. The employee, from a company from Meissen in Saxony, suffered severe contusions in his chest area. He was resuscitated at the scene, but then died at the hospital.”
“Local authorities are now investigating how the death occurred, according to HNA.”
http://www.thelocal.de/20150701/assembly-robot-kills-worker-at-volkswagen
(“how the death occurred”? Dipsticks, your robot was not programmed with recognized Laws of Robotics.)
At www.gatesofvienna.net
“A worker was setting up a robot at a Volkswagen factory when the machine grabbed him and pressed him against a metal slab, causing lethal injuries.”
“When the robot started up, it grabbed the man and thrust him against a metal slab. The employee, from a company from Meissen in Saxony, suffered severe contusions in his chest area. He was resuscitated at the scene, but then died at the hospital.”
“Local authorities are now investigating how the death occurred, according to HNA.”
http://www.thelocal.de/20150701/assembly-robot-kills-worker-at-volkswagen
(“how the death occurred”? Dipsticks, your robot was not programmed with recognized Laws of Robotics.)
At www.gatesofvienna.net
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
Decisions to fight over
TVLand pulls Dukes after feminist complaints about Daisy's cutoffs.
"Bo and Luke Duke may be 'makin’ their way the only way they know how.' But that’s just a little bit more than TV Land will allow.
"The Viacom-owned cable network quietly removed The Dukes of Hazzard from their programming schedule yesterday ..."
https://willmckinley.wordpress.com/2...es-of-hazzard/
(OK, TV Land decided people would get all bent out of shape over a flag on top of an orange car in a TV program more than 30 years old, but the decision-makers might as well have castigated Daisy Duke's mode of dress.)
"Bo and Luke Duke may be 'makin’ their way the only way they know how.' But that’s just a little bit more than TV Land will allow.
"The Viacom-owned cable network quietly removed The Dukes of Hazzard from their programming schedule yesterday ..."
https://willmckinley.wordpress.com/2...es-of-hazzard/
(OK, TV Land decided people would get all bent out of shape over a flag on top of an orange car in a TV program more than 30 years old, but the decision-makers might as well have castigated Daisy Duke's mode of dress.)
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