Monday - December 19, 2005

Phone Tag

“Eavesdrop" by Cox & Forkum

Posted by The Skipper     on 12/19/2005 at 08:07 AM   
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   Sunday - December 18, 2005

On This Day In History

December 18, 1957

First Nuclear Power Plant In US Goes Online
Washington, DC (NEW YORK TIMES)

The country’s first large-scale civilian atomic power plant started generating electricity for commercial use today. This milestone of the atomic age was reached early this morning when the atomic power plant at Shippingport, Pa., began producing electricity for consumers in the Pittsburgh area.

At 12:39 A. M., the Atomic Energy Commission announced, the atomic-powered generator of the Shippingport plant was tied in with the electrical system of the Duquesne Light Company.

Gradually the fission heat from the large atomic reactor was increased. By 3 A. M. the plant was producing more than the 8,000 kilowatts it consumes and was sending electricity through the Duquesne Light transmission lines.

Throughout the day the power was built up as engineers regulated the control rods that accelerate or decelerate the atomic fission in the reactor core. At 7 A. M. the plant was producing 12,100 kilowatts of electricity. The power output was scheduled to go to more than 20,000 kilowatts tonight.

Within a few days the plant is expected to reach its designed initial capacity of 60,000 kilowatts--enough electricity to supply the needs of 120,000 persons.

As a developmental project, the Shippingport plant will produce high-cost power that will be far from competitive with conventional power. Its developers hope it will lead the way, however, to future atomic-power plants that will produce economical electricity.

The Shippingport plant cost $72,500,000, including the first loading of atomic fuel. With research and development expenses, the cost rises to about $120,000,000.

Posted by The Skipper     on 12/18/2005 at 04:27 PM   
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Sinking To New Lowes

This photo was taken in a Lowe’s home-improvement store in Austin, Texas and shows a banner displayed recently. In English, the sign reads: “Now Here! Fresh Cut Holiday Trees.” But in Spanish, the sign reads: “Now Here! Fresh Cut Christmas Trees.” I suppose it’s okay to offend all the English-speaking Christians, but no, not the Spanish speakers, most of whom are probably here illegally. By the way, they only had “Christmas tree stands” for their fresh cut ‘Holiday’ trees. More on this story from WorldNetDaily ...

Posted by The Skipper     on 12/18/2005 at 03:46 PM   
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OldCatMan Christmas, T Minus 7

For those of you who haven’t been paying attention, let me bring you up to date. OldCatMan (a.k.a. OCM) is our resident Liberal here. He is also our Honorary Curmudgeon Chief. OCM has steadfastly refused to say the “C” word (CHRISTMAS!) because he says Christmas is too commercialized and BAH-HUMBUG and all that. I have tried to explain to him that he is making the Baby Jesus cry and that he will burn in hell for millions of years unless he changes his ways. No amount of persuasion seems to be working. I have threatened to change his avatar and even threatened to photoshop Dick Cheney’s head onto Pamela Anderson’s body. The latter almost worked. Here is his latest attempt at a Christmas card. I must have scared him because he is getting closer and closer.

I need your help though to convince this heathen infidel to mend his ways. We only have seven days left before Christmas. I sense he is weakening and I’m trying to avoid using the ultimate weapon to convince him (more on that later). Please everyone pitch in and help him understand what will happen when he wakes up next Sunday. We must stop this in its tracks before it spreads. I sense Oink is already falling into the pit with OCM and Revandryn is a lost cause. It’s all up to you, dear readers! Help me keep Christmas alive!

Posted by The Skipper     on 12/18/2005 at 03:19 PM   
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Bad Santa

Whatcha gonna do when they come for you? Bad Santa! Bad Santa! Leave it to the Kiwis to come up with newer and weirder ways to party at Christmas (actually, it’s summer down there but who’s quibbling?). At least we get to add a new word to our vocabulary for today ... Santarchy. Which begs the question: what will we call it when the elves go bad ... ? (Elvolution?)

Santas Go on Rampage
In New Zealand City
December 17, 2005, 11:39 PM EST
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP)

A group of 40 people dressed in Santa Claus costumes, many of them drunk, rampaged through New Zealand’s largest city, robbing stores and assaulting security guards, police said Sunday.

The rampage, dubbed “Santarchy” by local newspapers, began early Saturday afternoon when the men, wearing ill-fitting Santa costumes, threw beer bottles and urinated on cars from an Auckland overpass, said Auckland Central Police spokeswoman Noreen Hegarty.

She said the men then rushed through a central city park, overturning garbage containers, throwing bottles at passing cars and spraying graffiti on buildings.

One man climbed the mooring line of a cruise ship before being ordered down by the captain. Other Santas, objecting when the man was arrested, attacked security staff, Hegarty said.

The remaining Santas entered a downtown convenience store and carried off beer and soft drinks. “They came in, said ‘Merry Christmas’ and then helped themselves,” store owner Changa Manakynda said.

Alex Dyer, a spokesman for the group, said Santarchy was a worldwide movement designed to protest the commercialization of Christmas. Three people were arrested and charged with drunkenness and disorderly behavior.

Posted by The Skipper     on 12/18/2005 at 02:55 PM   
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Space Wars

Posted by The Skipper     on 12/18/2005 at 02:31 PM   
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Oedipus Wrecks

There is a very good reason why I refuse to participate in chat rooms or patronize on-line meetings for dates (besides the fact that no woman in her right mind would have me). Terrible things have been known to happen as a result of these online “dating” schemes. You never know who you’re talking to. It might be an ax-murderer, an FBI agent posiing as a 12-year-old girl, a mad stalker or even worse it could be ....

MAN DATES GAL ON INTERNET FOR SIX MONTHS
AND IT TURNS OUT SHE’S HIS MOTHER!
Friday December 9, 2005
MARSEILLES, France (YAHOO)

Skirt-chasing playboy Daniel Anceneaux spent weeks talking with a sensual woman on the Internet before arranging a romantic rendezvous at a remote beach—and discovering that his on-line sweetie of six months was his own mother! “I walked out on that dark beach thinking I was going to hook up with the girl of my dreams,” the rattled bachelor later admitted. “And there she was, wearing white shorts and a pink tank top, just like she’d said she would.

“But when I got close, she turned around—and we both got the shock of our lives. I mean, I didn’t know what to say. All I could think was, ‘Oh my God! it’s Mama!’ “ But the worst was yet to come. Just as the mortified mother and son realized the error of their ways, a patrolman passed by and cited them for visiting a restricted beach after dark.

“Danny and I were so flustered, we blurted out the whole story to the cop,” recalled matronly mom Nicole, 52. “The policeman wrote a report, a local TV station got hold of it—and the next thing we knew, our picture and our story was all over the 6 o’clock news. “People started pointing and laughing at us on the street—and they haven’t stopped laughing since.”

The girl-crazy X-ray technician said he began flirting with normally straitlaced Nicole—who lives six miles away in a Marseilles suburb—while scouring the Internet for young ladies to put a little pizzazz in his life. “Mom called herself Sweet Juliette and I called myself The Prince of Pleasure, and unfortunately, neither one of us had any idea who the other was,” said flabbergasted Daniel. “The conversations even got a little racy a couple of times.

“But I really started to fall for her, because there seemed to be a sensitive side that you don’t see in many girls. “She sent me poems she had written and told me about her dreams and desires, and it was really very romantic. “The truth is, I got to see a side of my mom I’d never seen before. I’m grateful for that.” When starry-eyed Daniel asked Sweet Juliette to send him a picture, Nicole e-mailed him a photo of a curvy, half-clad cutie she’d scanned from a men’s magazine.

“The girl in the picture was so beautiful, I begged Juliette to meet me on the beach—and Mom said yes,” he recalled. “Mom says she was falling for me, too, and she just wanted to meet me, even though she knew I’d be disappointed when I saw her. “As for me, I figured I was going to find the girl of my dreams. “I guess that’s about as wrong as I’ve ever been.”

Daniel admits he and his mother could do little but stammer and stutter around each other for days after their cyberspace exploits came to light. And his father Paul—Nicole’s husband of 27 years—wasn’t too happy when the story hit the news and his beer-drinking buddies made him the butt of their jokes. “Dad was ticked for a while and he forbid Mom to talk to anybody on the Internet ever again,” said embarrassed Daniel.

Posted by The Skipper     on 12/18/2005 at 08:32 AM   
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Random Thoughts

• We have a strong military because you don’t need free health care if your enemy kills you.


• If we were really smart, we’d take over the oil from Iraq and send the Mexicans to work the oil fields.


• Why would anyone pay good money to go see the latest “King Kong”? We all know how it ends.


• Our federal spending priorities are correct. If the Defense Department fails, the rest of the budget won’t matter.


• Isn’t there a small Communist country somewhere that we can pawn the Clintons off on so they can run it and shut up?


• Gay marriage is already legal: Gay men can marry gay women in all 50 states!


• People are protesting Wal-Mart because of the low benefits it provides to its workers, but they have no problem buying products made in China by slave labor?


• Our Constitution gives us the right of free speech, but it does not say you will not face the consequences of your words.


• The elections in Iraq went well only because Jimmy Carter stayed home.


• Does Howard Dean ever actually stop and listen to what he is saying?


• Christmas: It’s not about what you buy or what you get. It’s about what you give.

Posted by The Skipper     on 12/18/2005 at 04:03 AM   
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Christmas

“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:8-11 KJV)

Posted by The Skipper     on 12/18/2005 at 03:42 AM   
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Sunday Funnies

Posted by The Skipper     on 12/18/2005 at 01:49 AM   
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   Saturday - December 17, 2005

Sheehan 2005: The World Tour

  The Pain In Spain Stays Mainly In The Brain ....

Sheehan Leads War Protest in Spain
MADRID, Spain (BREITBART)

Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan led a small protest Saturday outside the U.S. Embassy to denounce the war in Iraq. About 100 protesters carried banners criticizing President Bush.

Sheehan, whose soldier son was killed in Iraq, called Bush a war criminal and said, “Iraq is worse than Vietnam.”

The protest also was called in memory of Jose Couso, a Spanish television cameraman killed on April 8, 2003, in Baghdad when a U.S. tank fired at a hotel where many foreign correspondents were staying. Reuters cameraman Taras Protsyuk, a Ukrainian, also was killed in that incident.

Posted by The Skipper     on 12/17/2005 at 02:34 PM   
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I Need Help!

I need help from everyone here. I just received this Christmas card from OldCatMan (who has his own blog at this link) who refuses to use the C____ word still. I have tried to explain to him that he is making the Baby Jesus cry and I’ve made it plain that he will probably burn in hell for millions of years unless he repents and changes his sinful ways. Alas, he is determined to be an infidel and a heretic, as evidenced by the card below. Sigh ....

Posted by The Skipper     on 12/17/2005 at 02:19 PM   
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President Bush Is Mad And So Am I

President Bush was clearly angry when he gave this speech this morning and I am too. Why are some members of Congress upset over this disclosure when they were kept in the loop the whole time? Why did the NY Times hold this story for a year before disclosing it on the week when the Patriot Act came up for an extension vote? Who leaked this classified information to the NY Times? Hasn’t anyone noticed that we haven’t been attacked since these measures were put in place? Most importantly, has Congress forgotten that it gave the President authority to do this under an amendment to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillence Act (FISA) in 2003 (S.113) by a unanimous vote of 90-4? I have plenty of questions on this and somebody better damn well provide me some answers or heads will roll!

In the weeks following the terrorist attacks on our nation, I authorized the National Security Agency, consistent with U.S. law and the Constitution, to intercept the international communications of people with known links to al Qaeda and related terrorist organizations. Before we intercept these communications, the government must have information that establishes a clear link to these terrorist networks.

This is a highly classified program that is crucial to our national security. Its purpose is to detect and prevent terrorist attacks against the United States, our friends and allies. Yesterday the existence of this secret program was revealed in media reports, after being improperly provided to news organizations. As a result, our enemies have learned information they should not have, and the unauthorized disclosure of this effort damages our national security and puts our citizens at risk. Revealing classified information is illegal, alerts our enemies, and endangers our country.

As the 9/11 Commission pointed out, it was clear that terrorists inside the United States were communicating with terrorists abroad before the September the 11th attacks, and the commission criticized our nation’s inability to uncover links between terrorists here at home and terrorists abroad. Two of the terrorist hijackers who flew a jet into the Pentagon, Nawaf al Hamzi and Khalid al Mihdhar, communicated while they were in the United States to other members of al Qaeda who were overseas. But we didn’t know they were here, until it was too late.

The authorization I gave the National Security Agency after September the 11th helped address that problem in a way that is fully consistent with my constitutional responsibilities and authorities. The activities I have authorized make it more likely that killers like these 9/11 hijackers will be identified and located in time. And the activities conducted under this authorization have helped detect and prevent possible terrorist attacks in the United States and abroad.

The activities I authorized are reviewed approximately every 45 days. Each review is based on a fresh intelligence assessment of terrorist threats to the continuity of our government and the threat of catastrophic damage to our homeland. During each assessment, previous activities under the authorization are reviewed. The review includes approval by our nation’s top legal officials, including the Attorney General and the Counsel to the President. I have reauthorized this program more than 30 times since the September the 11th attacks, and I intend to do so for as long as our nation faces a continuing threat from al Qaeda and related groups.

The NSA’s activities under this authorization are thoroughly reviewed by the Justice Department and NSA’s top legal officials, including NSA’s general counsel and inspector general. Leaders in Congress have been briefed more than a dozen times on this authorization and the activities conducted under it. Intelligence officials involved in this activity also receive extensive training to ensure they perform their duties consistent with the letter and intent of the authorization.

This authorization is a vital tool in our war against the terrorists. It is critical to saving American lives. The American people expect me to do everything in my power under our laws and Constitution to protect them and their civil liberties. And that is exactly what I will continue to do, so long as I’m the President of the United States.

- The full transcript of the speech is here ...

Posted by The Skipper     on 12/17/2005 at 11:16 AM   
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Pravda Flips Out

Now you’re talking! Pravda has gone back to the old days and its editors have decided to revive the Cold War, if for no other reason, to sell newspapers. I love these clowns. This article sounds just like the old Pravda, back in the “good old days” when conspiracy theories abounded and the two superpowers accused each other of anything, no matter how ridiculous it sounded. Speaking of ridiculous, could one of you please write to Pravda and let them know that the hole in the ozone layer is not over the Arctic ... ?

USA to Steal Oil-rich Arctic Region Away From Russia
(PRAVDA)

The Russian government urgently needs to determine the basis of its state policy in the Arctic region. To make matters worse, politicians will probably have to face a serious problem from abroad too. It has recently transpired that the US administration plans to launch an extensive invasion in the Arctic region in order to oust potential partners from the oil-rich territory.

The USA particularly plans to build airbases in Alaska, while US oil giants intend to develop the Arctic shelf. To mask the intrusion and make it look like a peaceful initiative, the USA would be ready to render humanitarian assistance to Russia to improve the living standard of “the impoverished northern nations of Russia.” In addition, Washington says that it will protect the whole world from the huge hole in the ozone layer of the Earth’s atmosphere above the Arctic territory. This territory, however, belongs to Russia, but it seems that the fact does not bother the US administration.

One may thus infer that “American partners” claim to obtain the key role in the development and exploitation of the Russian territory. The ice-bound north is just a start. Russia urgently needs to take measures to move the Arctic economy forward and create investment-attracting conditions in the region. Otherwise, the people living in the Far North of the country will have a chance to see Chinese ice-breakers traveling by.

It is obvious that the development of USA’s new objective in the Arctic region will be conducted within the scope of the nation’s ambition to dominate the world. This intention is officially registered in the US National Security Strategy. The document entitles Washington to possess all necessary resources to influence the situation in all key regions of the globe. The Arctic has become one of such regions.

- More on this capitalist conspiracy here, comrade ...

Posted by The Skipper     on 12/17/2005 at 09:17 AM   
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Not that very many people ever read this far down, but this blog was the creation of Allan Kelly and his friend Vilmar. Vilmar moved on to his own blog some time ago, and Allan ran this place alone until his sudden and unexpected death partway through 2006. We all miss him. A lot. Even though he is gone this site will always still be more than a little bit his. We who are left to carry on the BMEWS tradition owe him a great debt of gratitude, and we hope to be able to pay that back by following his last advice to us all:

1. Keep a firm grasp of Right and Wrong
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It's been a long strange trip without you Skipper, but thanks for pointing us in the right direction and giving us a swift kick in the behind to get us going. Keep lookin' down on us, will ya? Thanks.

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