Saturday - March 18, 2006

Jerry’s Fans In Fwance

File this one under “No One Has A Clue”. I for one, have never been able to figure out the Fwench fascination with Jerry Lewis. It just simply ... is. The peasants in France have had a long-running love affair with Jerry and he loves them back. I guess we can forgive Jerry for that one small foible. Especially since they seem to have given him Fwance’s highest honor. No, I’m not talking about an official gold-embroidered “Surrender Flag”. They have inducted him into the Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur*. In the past, this was awarded to brave, courageous Fwench war heros. Both of them ...

_{* - Founded by Napoleon Bonaparte, recognizes eminent service to the Republic of France. The Order has five ranks: Chevalier, Officier, Commandeur, Grand Officier, and Grand Croix. Recipients of this honor are named by decree signed by the President of the Republic. The Legion of Honor’s illustrious past is commemorated at the Musée de la Légion d’Honneur et des Ordres de Chevalerie (National Museum of the Legion of Honor and the Orders of Chivalry), founded in the Palace of the Grand Chancellery (Paris) in 1925.}

Jerry Lewis Enters France’s Legion of Honor
_{Thursday, March 16, 2006 10:59 a.m. EST}

(NEWSMAX)

France formalized its fascination with Jerry Lewis Thursday with a uniquely Gallic gift for his 80th birthday: a medal and induction into the Legion of Honor. Lewis, who has long been venerated in France, received the honorary title of “Legion Commander” in a raucous ceremony in Paris - hamming it up for the cameras, winking, sticking out his tongue and making his trademark funny faces.

True to form, the American comedian turned what is generally a sober event - set in a gilded hall of the Ministry of Culture - into a virtual slapstick routine. Lewis, who bucked formality by wearing slippers to the ceremony, clowned around with Culture Minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres - yawning, checking his watch, and even pretending to fall asleep during Donnedieu’s 20-minute-long speech in French. The crowd roared at Lewis’ antics, their laughter often drowning out Donnedieu’s lofty words.

At one point, Lewis tried to snatch the prepared speech off the podium, but an affable Donnedieu persevered. “The longer my remarks last the better,” he told the audience, “so you can keep on enjoying Jerry Lewis’ comic talents.” When he finally took the microphone, Lewis apologized for not speaking French, but said that “even if the French people cannot hear my language, they have always heard my heart.”

Lewis applauded the country’s sense of humor, saying he believed it “took France through all those difficult years, and will take it through difficult times now because the French are not afraid to laugh.” Ministry officials wheeled in a massive cake, and the audience sang “Happy Birthday,” delivered with a heavy French accent.

Lewis said he was flattered by his induction into the Legion of Honor, and said he had been “gloriously elevated” by the award. He was one of 37 foreigners to have received the title over the past three years. “The French people are the best in the world,” Lewis said.

Posted by The Skipper     on 03/18/2006 at 04:20 PM   
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Simply Amazing

You have never in your entire life seen anything like this video. The act is simply amazing and it’s done to the tune of my favorite Beatles song. Turn the speakers up LOUD and watch the show. It will blow your mind beyond repair ....

Posted by The Skipper     on 03/18/2006 at 12:29 PM   
Filed Under: • Fun-Stuff •  
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Third Anniversary

Three years ago today the US, the UN and a coalition of countries decided that enough was enough and that Saddam Hussein had to go. The war in Iraq began, Saddam’s forces were over-run almost overnight and he was later captured. His two evil offspring were killed in a bloody gunfight.

Insurgents from outside Iraq have been pouring into that benighted country since then trying to destabilize everything. In spite of the constant terrorist attacks from these outsiders, the Iraqi people have managed to agree on a consitution and elect a democratic government. The Iraqi security forces are taking over more and more of the burden of stopping the insurgents every day.

This thread is open today for everyone to complain about the war or to praise the coalition for sticking it out and helping the Iraqi people free themselves from nearly fifty years of oppression by one dictator after another. Let’s see how long it takes before the words “WMD” and “quagmire” come up ....

Global Protests Mark Iraq War Anniversary
_{March 18, 2006 10:15 EST}

Anti-war protesters marched in Australia, Asia, Turkey and Europe on Saturday in demonstrations that marked the third anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq with a demand that coalition troops pull out. Around 500 protesters marched through central Sydney, chanting “End the war now” and “Troops out of Iraq.” Many campaigners waved placards branding President Bush the “World’s No. 1 Terrorist” or expressing concerns that Iran could be the next country to face invasion.

“Iraq is a quagmire and has been a humanitarian disaster for the Iraqis,” said Jean Parker, a member of the Australian branch of the Stop the War Coalition, which organized the march. “There is no way forward without ending the occupation.” Opposition to the war is still evident in Australia, which has some 1,300 troops in and around Iraq. Visiting Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was heckled by campaigners in Sydney this week, who said she had “blood on her hands.”

But Saturday’s protest was small compared to the mass demonstrations that swept across the country in the buildup to the invasion — the largest Australia had seen since joining U.S. forces in the Vietnam War. The turnout also was lower than protesters had hoped in Britain, whose government has been the United States’ strongest supporter in the war. Authorities shut down streets in the heart of London’s shopping and theater district for the demonstration, which organizers had predicted would attract up to 100,000 people, but police estimated the crowd was about 15,000 people.

Some protesters carried posters calling Bush a terrorist and other placards pictured Prime Minister Tony Blair, saying “Blair must go!” Britain has about 8,000 soldiers in Iraq but plans to pull out 800 by May. “We are against this war, both for religious reasons and on a humanitarian basis, too. No one deserves to be bombarded,” said one march, student Imran Saghir, 25. In Tokyo, about 2,000 people rallied in a downtown park, carrying signs saying “Stop the Occupation” as they listened to a series of anti-war speeches.

“The war is illegal under international law,” said Takeshiko Tsukushi, a member of World Peace Now, which helped plan the rally. “We want the immediate withdrawal of the Self Defense Forces and from Iraq along with all foreign troops.” Japanese Prime Minister Junchiro Koizumi is a staunch supporter of the U.S.-led coalition in Japan and dispatched 600 soldiers to the southern city of Samawah in 2004 to purify water and carry out other humanitarian tasks. The Cabinet approved an extension of that mission in December, authorizing the troops to stay in Iraq through the end of the year.

- More on this anniversary party from Associated Press...

- And here’s the report from London by the BBC...

Posted by The Skipper     on 03/18/2006 at 10:19 AM   
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Blarney Google

All I’ve got to say about this lawsuit is ... who cares? Too many bloggers and blog sites put too much importance on website ranking, whether it be Google, Yahoo, Alexa or the TTLB Ecosystem. Everybody wants high visibility. Why not just have fun with your website? If you’re a commercial website it might matter but in most cases a weblog is just a place to have open discussions about things that interest you. If these things are interesting enough, traffic will come to your site. If not .... well, the traffic will beat a path to BMEWS ....

Web Site Files Complaint Against Google
_{Mar 17 6:36 PM US/Eastern}

SAN FRANCISCO (AP)

Google Inc.’s mysterious methods for ranking Web sites came under attack Friday in a lawsuit accusing the online search engine leader of ruining scores of Internet businesses that have been wrongfully banished from its index. The civil complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in San Jose by KinderStart.com, seeks to be certified as a class action representing the owners of all Web sites blacklisted by Google’s Internet-leading search engine since January 2001.

KinderStart, a Norwalk-based Web site devoted to information about children, says it was dropped from Google’s index a year ago without warning. “The world is becoming increasingly ‘Googlized,’” said Gregory Yu, a lawyer for KinderStart. “For most people, that has been a good thing, but not for everyone.” A Google spokesman said the company hadn’t seen the suit and had no immediate comment.

KinderStart alleges Google has engaged in anticompetitive behavior and misled the public by positioning its search engine as an objective source for finding Internet content. The suit seeks unspecified financial damages and a court order that would require Google to change its ways. The case aims at Google’s heart _ its tightly guarded formula for ranking Web sites.

Google’s system strives to elevate in search results the Web sites with content most relevant to a request. Because Google handles far more search requests than its rivals, its ranking system can make or break Web sites without a well-known domain name. With the stakes so high, Web sites assigned a low Google ranking are constantly trying to elevate their standing, and an entire cottage industry has formed surrounding search engine optimization. Some sites resort to dirty tricks, hoping the shenanigans will fool Google into highlighting their Web links.

Google regularly tweaks its search formula to weed out the mischief makers _ sometimes called “Black Hats.” In the worst cases, Google exiles the manipulative Web sites, a practice that has become known as being sent to “the sandbox” for the equivalent of a children’s time out.

- More internet lawsuit nonsense here ...

Posted by The Skipper     on 03/18/2006 at 09:59 AM   
Filed Under: • Judges-Courts-Lawyers •  
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Saturday Silliness

Posted by The Skipper     on 03/18/2006 at 09:55 AM   
Filed Under: • Humor •  
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   Friday - March 17, 2006

The Green Hills Of Ireland

“Benbulbin, County Sligo”
_{Click image for larger 1024x768 image in popup window}

Posted by The Skipper     on 03/17/2006 at 06:34 PM   
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I have a Penis, and I’m not afraid to use it

Man severs own penis, throws it at officers

suntimes.com
Before cops threw the book at him, Jakub Fik threw something unusual at them—his penis.

Fik, 33, cut off his own penis during a Northwest Side rampage Wednesday morning. When confronted by police, Fik hurled several knives and his severed organ at the officers, police said. Officers stunned him with a Taser and took him into custody.

We took him out without any serious injury, with the exception of his own,” said Chicago Police Sgt. Edward Dolan of the 16th District.

Sometimes, you’ve just got to wonder.

Doctors at Northwestern Memorial Hospital reattached Fik’s penis Wednesday, sources said.

Damn, I hope that doesn’t mean he can still breed.

Posted by Drew458     on 03/17/2006 at 03:19 PM   
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Paris Is Burning, Part Deux

Guess what’s going on in France now? If you guessed riots and mayhem you would be correct. This time it’s all about a new law that was recently passed that allows employers to actually fire employees. Yep, you read that right. In The Socialist People’s Republic Of Fwance, they had to pass a law in order to give companies the right to fire workers even if the worker is a lazy bum doing a bad job.

As you might expect, the young people are enraged. How dare an employer have the right to fire one of them! Sacre Bleu! One of my favorite quotes in this story came from a young man who said, “it’s like living with a guillotine over my head.” Well, welcome to the real world, kiddo. You do a good job and you have a job. You do a bad job and you have no job. WIth 23% national unemployment in Fwance, you’d think the Fwench youth would be glad to have a job and would try their best to keep it by doing good work ... not by blackmailing the country with riots ...

FRANCE: SARKOZY BLAMES JOB REFORMS PROTESTS ON MILITANTS
_{March 17, 2006}

Paris, 17 March (AKI) - France’s interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy has spoken out against left and right wing militants he alleges are responsible for demonstrations that have turned violent this week in France over a controversial new labour law making it easier to hire and fire young people. The country’s youth unemployment stands at 23 percent - one of the highest joblessness rates in Europe - a figure that tops 50 percent in some of the high-immigration suburbs of Paris and other cities.

Sarkozy on Friday said “hooligans” and “louts” from the suburbs of the French capital, Paris, had stoked the protests over new two-year First Employment job contracts for the under-26s which employers may terminate without explanation. Unions, France’s political left and student groups oppose the contracts. “There were a few hundred delinquents who came to fight. Among them there were extreme left, extreme right, hooligans, and louts from a number of neighbourhoods,” Sarkozy told journalists. “Anarchists who really came to fight the police and gendarmes,” were among the protestors, he added.

Police restored calm in the capital on Friday morning after young demonstrators clashed with them on Paris’ Place de la Sorbonne Square in the Latin quarter, following a protest march. Demonstrators reportedly overturned cars and threw petrol bombs at police, who repelled them with tear gas and water cannons as the protests by hundreds of thousands of French students - from wealthy areas as well from poorer suburbs - grew increasingly violent.

A group of about 300 masked protesters threw missiles at police, who responded with rubber bullets as well as tear gas. Protestors also vandalised cafes and a bookshop located near the Sorbonne university was set alight. Students said 120,000 people joined the march through Paris’ Left Bank university quarter, although police stated there were 30,000.

Police said 46 officers were injured and 11 admitted to hospital in clashes in the capital and incidents in other 80 cities holding rallies. Sarkozoy said a total of 300 young people were arrested across the country including 180 in Paris, the city that saw the worst violence. As many as 257,000 people took to the streets in demonstrations that reached a peak of violence on Thursday, according to the interior ministry. Organisers of the protests put the figure as high as 500,000.

Large rallies were also held in the southern French port city of Marseilles and in Grenoble, as well as in Lyon and Strasbourg, in eastern France, Bordeaux in the southwest, in Rennes - where police also fired tear gas on protesters - and Lille in the northwest, as well as in Clermont-Ferrand, Limoges and Angers in the centre. Banners on Thursday read “Slave labour by the back door” and “If you take away our security, you’ll pay.” Police were under orders to treat troublemakers firmly but to show general restraint, the interior ministry said.

Student leaders have described the protests, which are backed by 68 percent of the population according to recent opinon polls, as a “tidal wave”. “Student’s Unions have called for a further day of protests on Saturday, when the head of the powerful CGT union, Bernard Thibault, has vowed to “step up a gear” in the campaign. “This contract is like living under a guillotine,” one 23-year-old Sorbonne political science student was quoted as saying.

Chirac Calls For Talks Over Protests
_{March 17, 2006}

PARIS (Reuters) - French President Jacques Chirac called for swift talks on Friday between the government and unions over a youth employment law after Paris protests against the measure ended in violence and arrests.

Ministers tried to stem growing opposition to the new contract with a conciliatory tone, one saying no worker could be laid off without justification under the law, despite critics who say it will create a generation of “disposable workers”.

“You know the government is ready for dialogue and I hope this will start as quickly as possible,” Chirac said at an awards ceremony at his official Elysee Palace residence.

Unions and student groups are planning further action on Saturday and hope to step up pressure on Villepin by bringing more than a million people onto the streets, topping the size of March 7 rallies.

“This demonstration must take place calmly and respect everyone,” Chirac said of the protest due in central Paris.

Unions and student groups have tied any talks to withdrawal of the law, which is opposed by 68 percent of French people according to an opinion poll published in Friday’s Le Parisien newspaper. That is a rise of 13 percentage points in a week.

Posted by The Skipper     on 03/17/2006 at 12:37 PM   
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Are Our Kids Pacified Enough?

Is your child hyperactive? Drug him up. Is your little daughter too energetic? Drug her up. Are our children acting too much like ... children? If so, drug the little buggers up. Medicate ‘em. Get ‘em hooked. Keep pushing pills at them until they just lay around all day and night watching purple dinosaurs on TV. Then when they get older and in high school don’t forget to have that talk with them about drugs.

Feel better now? If not, take a pill yourself ....

More Kids Are Getting Anti-Psychotic Drugs
_{March 17, 2006, 9:16 AM EST}

CHICAGO (AP)

Soaring numbers of American children are being prescribed anti-psychotic drugs—in many cases, for attention deficit disorder or other behavioral problems for which these medications have not been proven to work, a study found. The annual number of children prescribed anti-psychotic drugs jumped fivefold between 1995 and 2002, to an estimated 2.5 million, the study said. That is an increase from 8.6 out of every 1,000 children in the mid-1990s to nearly 40 out of 1,000.

But more than half of the prescriptions were for attention deficit and other non-psychotic conditions, the researchers said. The findings are worrisome “because it looks like these medications are being used for large numbers of children in a setting where we don’t know if they work,” said lead author Dr. William Cooper, a pediatrician at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital.

The increasing use of anti-psychotics since the mid-1990s corresponds with the introduction of costly and heavily marketed medications such as Zyprexa and Risperdal. The packaging information for both says their safety and effectiveness in children have not been established. Anti-psychotics are intended for use against schizophrenia and other psychotic illnesses.

However, attention deficit disorder is sometimes accompanied by temper outbursts and other disruptive behavior. As a result, some doctors prescribe anti-psychotics to these children to calm them down—a strategy some doctors and parents say works. The drugs, which typically cost several dollars per pill, are considered safer than older anti-psychotics—at least in adults—but they still can have serious side effects, including weight gain, elevated cholesterol and diabetes.

Anecdotal evidence suggests similar side effects occur in children, but large-scale studies of youngsters are needed, Cooper said. The researchers analyzed data on youngsters age 13 on average who were involved in annual national health surveys. The surveys involved prescriptions given during 119,752 doctor visits. The researchers used that data to come up with national estimates.

Cooper said some of the increases might reflect repeat prescriptions given to the same child, but he said that is unlikely and noted that his findings echo results from smaller studies. The study appears in the March-April edition of the journal Ambulatory Pediatrics.

Heavy marketing by drug companies probably contributed to the increase in the use of anti-psychotic drugs among children, said Dr. Daniel Safer, a psychiatrist affiliated with Johns Hopkins University, who called the potential side effects a concern.

Safer said a few of his child patients with behavior problems are on the drugs after they were prescribed by other doctors. Safer said he has let these children continue on the drugs, but at low doses, and he also does periodic tests for high cholesterol or warning signs of diabetes.

Dr. David Fassler, a University of Vermont psychiatry professor, said more research is needed before anti-psychotics should be considered standard treatment for attention deficit disorders in children. “Given the frequency with which these medications are being used, there’s no question that we need additional studies on both safety and efficacy in pediatric populations,” Fassler said.

Posted by The Skipper     on 03/17/2006 at 11:46 AM   
Filed Under: • Health-Medicine •  
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Cows, Immigrants & Flames

Flying Cow Leaves Two Police Cars in Flames

woai.com - San Antonio
Talk about a wild night near Seguin. A cow came flying out of its trailer, sent DPS and police scrambling, and left two police cars going up in flames.

“It was almost hard to believe,” said Detective Sergeant Maureen Watson. She has been in law enforcement for 15 years, and says she “never had a day like this. I mean the best way to characterize this it, is it’s bizarre. It’s really really strange.”

Watson told News 4 WOAI, “We believe the gate of the cattle trailer came open, and the cow, for lack of a better phrase spilled out onto the Interstate. It was pretty chaotic for a while.”

Several cars hit some of the cows. One cow died. DPS troopers called for backup.

That’s when one officer was nearly run down by a speeding truck, carrying two illegal immigrants inside.

Seguin Police were out looking for those illegal immigrants. They parked their cars in the hot grass, burning two of them including that brand new 2006 Crown Victoria. Watson said, “Well, all of a sudden, another officer who’d arrived on the scene, alerted the sergeant that there was a fire.”

The two mexican immigrants, ages 21 and 23, are in custody for illegally entering the country and evading arrest.

Some silver lining in the story at least.

Posted by Drew458     on 03/17/2006 at 09:16 AM   
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Eire America

Guess what today is? Let me give you a hint: leprechauns, green beer, four-leaf clover, falling-down drunk. Give up? It’s St. Patty’s Day. The day in which all people of Irish descent do their best to live up to the legend that God created beer and liquor to keep the Irish from conquering the world. It’s true. Trust me. I am of Irish descent on both sides of my family. Now be off with ye ... and don’t touch me Lucky Charms ...

St. Patrick

Saint Patrick is believed to have been born in the late fourth century, and is often confused with Palladius, a bishop who was sent by Pope Celestine in 431 to be the first bishop to the Irish believers in Christ.

Saint Patrick was the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland who is credited with bringing christianity to Ireland. Most of what is known about him comes from his two works, the Confessio, a spiritual autobiography, and his Epistola, a denunciation of British mistreatment of Irish christians.

Saint Patrick described himself as a “most humble-minded man, pouring forth a continuous paean of thanks to his Maker for having chosen him as the instrument whereby multitudes who had worshipped idols and unclean things had become the people of God.”

Saint Patrick is most known for driving the snakes from Ireland. It is true there are no snakes in Ireland, but there probably never have been - the island was separated from the rest of the continent at the end of the Ice Age. As in many old pagan religions, serpent symbols were common and often worshipped. Driving the snakes from Ireland was probably symbolic of putting an end to that pagan practice. While not the first to bring christianity to Ireland, it is Patrick who is said to have encountered the Druids at Tara and abolished their pagan rites. The story holds that he converted the warrior chiefs and princes, baptizing them and thousands of their subjects in the “Holy Wells” that still bear this name.

There are several accounts of Saint Patrick’s death. One says that Patrick died at Saul, Downpatrick, Ireland, on March 17, 460 A.D. His jawbone was preserved in a silver shrine and was often requested in times of childbirth, epileptic fits, and as a preservative against the “evil eye.” Another account says that St. Patrick ended his days at Glastonbury, England and was buried there. The Chapel of St. Patrick still exists as part of Glastonbury Abbey.

- More at St-Patricks-Day.com ...

Posted by The Skipper     on 03/17/2006 at 04:20 AM   
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Stormy Weather

Attention Shoppers! You only have 76 days left until the all-new 2006 Hurricane Season begins. Stock up now on key items like bottled water, spare batteries, flood insurance and toilet paper. If you live in New Orleans, you may assume the requisite position by bending over, grasping your ankles firmly and repeating to yourself over and over again B-O-H-I-C-A ....

A rise in the world’s sea surface temperatures was the primary contributor to the formation of stronger hurricanes since 1970, a new study reports.

While the question of what role, if any, humans have had in all this is still a matter of intense debate, most scientists agree that stronger storms are likely to be the norm in future hurricane seasons.

The study is detailed in the March 17 issue of the journal Science. In the 1970s, the average number of intense Category 4 and 5 hurricanes occurring globally was about 10 per year. Since 1990, that number has nearly doubled, averaging about 18 a year.

Some scientists have explained the rising strength of hurricanes as being part of natural weather cycles in the world’s oceans. In the North Atlantic, this cycle is called the Atlantic multi-decadal mode. Every 20 to 40 years, Atlantic Ocean and atmospheric conditions conspire to produce just the right conditions to cause increased storm and hurricane activity.

The Atlantic Ocean is currently going through an active period of hurricane activity that began in 1995 and which has continued to the present. The previous active cycle lasted from the late 1920’s to 1970, and peaked around 1950.

“These cycles definitely do influence hurricane intensity, but they can’t be the whole story”, Judith Curry of the Georgia Institute of Technology said. While scientists expect stronger hurricanes based on natural cycles alone, the researchers suspect other contributing factors, since current hurricanes are even stronger than natural cycles predict.

“We’re not even at the peak of current cycle, we’re only halfway up and already we’re seeing activity in the North Atlantic that’s 50 percent worse than what we saw during the last peak in 1950,” Curry said.

- More category five bad news here ...

Posted by The Skipper     on 03/17/2006 at 03:52 AM   
Filed Under: • Climate-Weather •  
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The Asylum

_{Chuck Asay—The Colorado Springs Gazette}

Posted by The Skipper     on 03/17/2006 at 03:35 AM   
Filed Under: • Humor • Politics •  
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   Thursday - March 16, 2006

Snowed Under

Posting may be light today. I’m so far behind the power curve at work I can’t even see the top. This means you may have to provide some of your own entertainment today. To assist in this endeavor, I am hereby declaring today a Free Zone. Throw anything you want out there in the comments and see what swims to the surface to nibble on it. I’ll check back tonight to clean up the evidence. In the meantime, you’re on your own ....

- You can start by viewing this video and tell us whether you agree or disagree ....

Posted by The Skipper     on 03/16/2006 at 09:48 AM   
Filed Under: • Personal •  
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THE SERVICES AND MATERIALS ON THIS WEBSITE ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE HOSTS OF THIS SITE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF SATISFACTORY QUALITY, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, WITH RESPECT TO THE SERVICE OR ANY MATERIALS.

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
2. Stay involved with government on every level and don't let those bastards get away with a thing
3. Use every legal means to defend yourself in the event of real internal trouble, and, most importantly:
4. Keep talking to each other, whether here or elsewhere

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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