Sunday - June 25, 2006

Monumental Suck-Up

Memorials should be built for wars, not for religious groups who participated. There are probably an equal number of Muslims who fought and died in WWI from the other side, the Ottoman Empire, which sided with Germany. Chirac is simply sucking up to the Muslims in France who are gradually taking over the country. Meanwhile, at other cemeteries in France, Jewish graves in France are being vandalized by “parties unknown”. Yeah, it must have been Norwegians who did it, right?

What someone in Europe needs to do is build a huge 1,000,000 ton marble monument to the utter supidity, the rank indifference to potential deaths and the slimey political backroom games that were being played by Europe’s Kings and Emperors and Czars and Kaisers in the late 19th century that caused hundreds of millions of deaths, solved nothing and merely provided a breeding ground for an even worse conflict thirty years later. That’s the monument I’d like to see ... and after it’s built - drop it on Chirac’s head. Merde!

France Marks Muslim Dead Of WWI
_{Sunday, 25 June 2006, 14:26 GMT}

French President Jacques Chirac has marked 90 years since the Battle of Verdun by unveiling a monument to Muslims who fell in the key WWI battle.

The memorial is the first to Muslims who died in 300 days of clashes over the strategically located French town and in other World War I battles.

Mr Chirac hailed the French army in Verdun as “France in its diversity”. He also spoke of friendship with Germany at the ceremony, which was attended by the German ambassador.

France erected monuments in the 1930s to Jewish and Christian soldiers among the 300,000 who died at Verdun in 1916.

But until now Muslim soldiers have been honoured only by a small pillar dedicated to Africans who fought in the French army, and 592 graves in the Muslim section of a war cemetery in the town of Douaumont near the battlefields.

At the inauguration of the new white-walled, Moorish style memorial, Mr Chirac remembered Verdun as a moment when “the French nation came together and went forth to the end”.

“People of all walks of life, of all beliefs, of all religions, are at Verdun,” he said. Some 72,000 soldiers from France’s colonies - including Morocco, Senegal, Algeria, Tunisia and Madagascar - died fighting under the French flag during World War I, he said.

- More Fwench Folly from the BBC...

Posted by The Skipper     on 06/25/2006 at 11:05 AM   
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Through The Looking Glass

U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft perform maneuvers over Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, June 14, 2006, during exercise Northern Edge 2006. The joint exercise is one of a series of U.S. Pacific Command exercises that prepare joint forces to respond to crises in the Asian Pacific region. The aircraft are from 112th Fighter Squadron, Ohio Air National Guard.

- DoD photo by Master Sgt. Rob Wieland, U.S. Air Force.

Posted by The Skipper     on 06/25/2006 at 05:15 AM   
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Sunday Funnies

Posted by The Skipper     on 06/25/2006 at 04:22 AM   
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   Saturday - June 24, 2006

World (War) Cup

It’s a good thing the Americans have bowed out of World Cup competition and left the continent. The Brits and Krauts are at it again, banging heads in Stuttgart today. If this keeps up, somebody better start planning to send a lot of boats to Dunkirk. Eh, wot?

In other World War Cup news, the Fwench have a good defense planned out but no offense to speak of. Perhaps the Frogs should just go ahead and surrender to Spain? C’est la Guerre!

I’m betting the finals come down to Germany vs. Spain. Ask not for whom the ball rolls, it rolls for thee.

Posted by The Skipper     on 06/24/2006 at 05:40 PM   
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Chess Boxing is a sport?

Believe it or not, and I didn’t when I first read this on Fark.com, Chess boxing is an actual sport in Europe. There’s even a World Chess Boxing Organization.

The rules are simple enough:

The basic idea in chessboxing is to combine the no.1 thinking sport and the no.1 fighting sport into a hybrid that demands the most of its competitors – both mentally and physically.

In a chessboxing fight two opponents play alternating rounds of chess and boxing. The contest starts with a round of chess, followed by a boxing round, followed by another round of chess and so on. In every round of chess the FIDE rules for a ´Blitz game´ apply, in every boxing round the AIBA rules apply with the following extensions and modifications: In a contest there shall be 11 rounds, 6 rounds of chess, 5 rounds of boxing. A round of chess takes 4 minutes. Each competitor has 12 minutes on the chess timer. As soon as the time runs out the game is over.

A round of boxing takes 2 minutes. Between rounds there is a 1 minute pause, during which competitors change their gear. The contest is decided by: checkmate (chess round), exceeding the time limit (chess round), retirement of an opponent (chess or boxing round), KO (boxing round), or referee decision (boxing round). If the chess game ends in a stalement, the opponent with the higher score in boxing wins. If there is an equal score, the opponent with the black pieces wins.

I’ve been thinking of how many World Chess Champions would survive a round of boxing for the title. My guess is that most would win the first round of chess and never have to box.

Posted by Christopher     on 06/24/2006 at 01:48 PM   
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Warp Drives Explained

- From: “Warp Drives” - Popular Science

How Do Warp Drives Work?

A spacecraft that travels at faster-than-light speeds by distorting, or “warping,” the fabric of spacetime. Instead of trying to move through space, the warp drive moves space itself. The ship sits inside a bubble of spacetime bound by a negative energy field that races across the cosmos.

1. Fuel Up: Start beyond Earth’s immediate gravitational pull. Convert matter into negative energy (particles with negative mass that are repelled by gravity rather than attracted to it).

2. Curve Spacetime: Emit pulses of negative energy to curve spacetime. Form a sphere around the ship with the energy, insulating passengers in their own private spacetime bubble.

3. Drop Out: The bubble warps spacetime so drastically that it actually slips out of the visible universe. Only a narrow tube of negative energy keeps it tied to our world.

4. Expand Space: Now that the craft is protected in its spacetime bubble, the real work can begin: Expand space behind the bubble at faster-than-light speed, and shrink the space in front.

What Do We Still Need To Develop To Have Warp Drives?

• Discover Negative Energy: There are no known particles with negative mass. The closest scientists have come is a phenomenon called the Casimir effect, wherein empty space between two conducting plates behaves as if it contains negative energy.


• Devise a Way To Manipulate It: Even if scientists could transform matter into negative energy, they would still have to find a way to focus it and create an infinitesimally thin, yet extraordinarily stable, bubble of the stuff around the spaceship.


• Harness Dark Energy: In recent years, cosmologists have been studying a mysterious force called dark energy that they think is accelerating the expansion of the universe. If scientists could generate it at the back of the bubble, it might move, or expand, space.


• Build Bubble Brakes: Because the spacetime carrying the ship would be completely cut off from the outside of the bubble, there would be no way to send a signal to turn off the warp drive. The signal would never get there, and the ship would never stop.


• Engineer Scott: Wait patiently for a child to be born in Scotland named Montgomery Scott who will be the only engineer in Star Fleet who can barely hold the warp engines together when the Romulans attack. Aye, Cap’n.

Posted by The Skipper     on 06/24/2006 at 01:27 PM   
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Remember When ….

“A Chance To Lead”
TIME Magazine
_{August 16, 1968}

As they start on the road to November, the Republicans are united. Now what will they do with their unity? Richard Nixon is clearly in tune with his party. Will he be in tune with the country?

These are the chief questions that emerge from the Republican Convention and will dominate the political scene for the next 2½ months. The American party system allows a measure of plasticity every four years.

The Republicans are making the most of this chance. The painful ruptures of the past have been treated and very nearly healed—almost in a spirit of harmony or bust.

More confident than ever of his party's nomination, Humphrey felt more at leisure to consider his choice for the No. 2 spot. The Vice President could ill afford the eupepsia.

The Democratic Party is as badly split as ever over the war. In fact, South Dakota Senator George McGovern's belated entry into the race can only increase intraparty factionalism.

Robert Kennedy was once asked to name the most decent man in the Senate. "George McGovern," he replied. "He's the only decent man in the Senate." South Dakota's junior Senator felt much the same way about Kennedy.

The two were close friends for years, from the time that McGovern took over John F. Kennedy's Food for Peace program in 1961. Since Robert Kennedy's death, McGovern, 46, has been an unofficial rallying point for disenchanted R.F.K. forces who are unwilling to accept either Hubert Humphrey or Eugene McCarthy.

Posted by The Skipper     on 06/24/2006 at 01:14 PM   
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Opinion: Homosexual Adoption

Before I begin, let me state quite clearly for the politically correct crowd out there that I am not a homophobe. I could care less what other people do in their bedroom. With that said however, I do not think homosexual couples should be allowed to adopt children. In spite of the fact that I ignore their sexual habits, I still think the behavior is abnormal ... in much the same way that picking one’s nose at the dinner table is abnormal - harmless overall but disquieting, to say the least.

One can possibly ignore the nose-picker ... unless he or she prepared the dinner. Get the picture? In a similar manner, I don’t believe homosexuals should be allowed to raise and care for adopted children. It just isn’t right. For starters, every child absolutely needs a male and a female parent to keep things in balance during the learning years. This is most clearly evidenced by the rise in youthful offenders and criminals who were raised in single-parent homes. Having two parents of the same gender creates a similar imbalance. There are things that mothers do that fathers don’t (and vice versa) in raising children. Children need that balance.

There is also the problem that the child faces with his or her peers, whose parents are mostly heterosexual couples. The child can become alienated from his or her group of friends in adolescence and that creates a whole new world of problems. In case you haven’t figured out my stance yet, it all comes down to this: I don’t give a damn what the grownups want to do - what is best for the child?

In addition to all that, there is the problem of child abuse. I don’t know whether there is a prevalence of that type of behavior among homosexuals. I seriously doubt it. Sexual predators come in all shapes and sizes. I would however, have to cast a wary eye on homosexual couples wanting to adopt young children. I’m sure some truly want to be good parents, in spite of the arguments I presented above - and they may even be good people of good character. Then again, there are couples like the one below ...

Inquiry Ordered After Gay Couple
Jailed For Abusing Foster Children
_{Saturday June 24, 2006}

LEEDS - UK (GUARDIAN) - An independent inquiry is to be held into how a gay foster couple duped social services over photographs of young boys in their care whom they abused. They were jailed at Leeds crown court yesterday by a judge who accused them of wholesale betrayal of trust once their “ridiculous” reason for taking a picture of a foster-child urinating was believed.

Craig Faunch, 32, was sentenced to six years and his partner Ian Wathey, 41, to five. Judge Sally Cahill QC accused them of showing no remorse, empathy with their victims or responsibility in the role of foster parents. The couple, who were convicted at an earlier trial, targeted boys from difficult backgrounds. Judge Cahill said one 14-year-old victim suffered from autism while another had a background of drug-taking and sexual and physical abuse.

Referring to one teenager singled out by Faunch, she said: “You saw him as the ideal victim. You then chose to victimise and abuse him, showing the very depths of what you are prepared to do.” The court heard that Faunch and Wathey, from Pontefract, West Yorkshire, had abused four boys fostered to them by Wakefield, after checks showed that they had no police record and met all the council’s requirements. Suspicions were raised when the photograph was found by the child’s mother. But the court heard that staff had decided that the men had been “naive and silly”, accepting their explanation that they used the picture to embarrass boys into closing the toilet door.

Judge Cahill said: “Once you realised social services would not take any action and believed your ridiculous story about why you had taken the photograph, you went on to abuse others in your care, believing yourself safe from the authorities.” Both men were convicted of multiple charges of sexually abusing 14-year-old boys. Wathey was cleared of two charges of having sexual activity with an eight-year-old.

Kitty Ferris, Wakefield’s director for children in need, said that internal procedures had been reviewed pending the independent inquiry. But “correct procedures had been carried out at every stage”, including unannounced house visits. She said: “Allegations were referred to the police as quickly as possible. The council has offered support to children who have been affected.” Both men have been banned for life from working with children and will remain on licence for three years after release.

_{(-- Hat tip to Brit reader LyndonB for the lead on this story --)}

Posted by The Skipper     on 06/24/2006 at 11:34 AM   
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Disgraced Goat Demoted

As I’m so fond of telling foreigners, the difference between Americans and our British friends is that America is a young, rambunctious country and we’re constantly stepping in crap trying to figure ourselves out. The Brits on the other hand are steeped in centuries of tradition, not unlike Earl Grey. Hear, hear! The following story brilliantly illustrates this concept of British “tradition” in all its glory. Rule, Britannia!

British Army Lance Corporal
Demoted For Acting The Goat
_{Jun 24 9:09 AM US/Eastern}

CYPRUS (AFP) - William (Billy) Windsor, regimental goat of the Royal Welch Fusiliers, has been demoted for refusing to keep in step at a parade for Queen Elizabeth II’s 80th birthday, officers said.

The 1st Battalion lance corporal’s lack of decorum landed him in hot water during the bash at Episkopi British military base outside the southern resort of Limassol in Cyprus.

“He was charged with disobeying a direct order… the commanding officer had no other option but to reduce his rank to fusilier,” Captain Crispin Coates told AFP. The goat was marched before the CO after being reported for “unacceptable behaviour” by his handler, also known as the goat major.

Six-year-old Billy is on his first overseas tour since joining the regiment in 2001, and according to one parade onlooker is unlucky to be in the dog house. “I thought he was immaculately turned out on the night and marched quite well, but Billy does have a reputation for being a bit frisky and temperamental,” he said.

Goats are not mascots but very much members of the regiment. They have their own serial numbers, and march at the head of the battalion. The origin of the custom is unknown but is thought to go back centuries.

Queen Victoria presented the regiment with a Kashmir goat from the royal herd in 1844, and successive monarchs have replaced them ever since. Because he acted the goat, Billy’s drop in rank means fusiliers no longer have to stand to attention when he passes by.

Posted by The Skipper     on 06/24/2006 at 11:11 AM   
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Cheeseburger In Paradise

Question: How many missed meals is a murdered lawyer worth? Answer: Only one, it seems. Personally, I wouldn’t give up even one potato chip but then again I’m not a mass-murdering dictator on trial for my life. Neither am I a grandstanding, egomaniacal, bloviating, bulls**t artist like Saddam. Well ... I can be full of s**t at times but I’m not in Saddam’s league. Feed him more pork chops, I say. Bring on the pork rinds. Mmmh-hmh, good!

Saddam Ends Hunger Strike After Missing One Meal
_{Fri Jun 23, 2006 7:54am ET7}

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Saddam Hussein ended a brief hunger strike after missing just one meal in his U.S.-run prison, a U.S. military spokesman said Friday. The former Iraqi leader had refused lunch Thursday in protest at the killing of one of his lawyers by gunmen, but the spokesman said he ate his evening meal.

Former Saddam aides being held in the same prison had refused to eat three meals since Wednesday evening but ended their fast with the ex-president. “They all took their dinner meal,” the spokesman told Reuters.

Saddam is on trial for crimes against humanity for his role in the 1982 killing of 148 Shi’ites in Dujail. His lead counsel, Khalil al-Dulaimi, has blamed pro-government Shi’ite militias for the murder of his deputy Khamis al-Obaidi Wednesday.

Posted by The Skipper     on 06/24/2006 at 10:57 AM   
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Marshall’s Millions: Final Chapter?

This sorry saga seems to be about to come to an end. Anna’s legal foe, the son of the old billionaire she was briefly married to, has suddenly expired of a mysterious “infection”. I’ll leave it up to the real conspiracy theorists among you to follow that trail. Keep me posted. In the meantime, Anna has been making a drunken fool of herelf around town and just recently announced she has a bun in the oven but won’t reveal who the father is. All that’s missing from this soap opera is the commercial break every ten minutes ...

Legal Foe Of Anna Nicole Smith Dies
_{Sat Jun 24, 2006 7:57am ET13}

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - E. Pierce Marshall, who battled Playboy Playmate Anna Nicole Smith in the courts over his father’s vast oil fortune, died unexpectedly this week, his family said on Friday.

The 67-year-old died after a “brief and extremely aggressive infection,” the family said in a statement from Dallas.

The death in 1995 of his father, J. Howard Marshall, triggered a long-running legal battle with Smith, who married the oil tycoon a year earlier after meeting him while working as a topless dancer. She was 26 when they married; he was 89.

Marshall was one of the wealthiest men in Texas, worth more than an estimated $1.6 billion. Smith claimed that her husband promised her half of his estate. The son said that more than $6 million in gifts she received was all his father left her.

Earlier this year, Smith won from the U.S. Supreme Court a new chance to collect millions of dollars when the justices overturned a U.S. appeals court ruling that the widow was entitled to nothing.

Posted by The Skipper     on 06/24/2006 at 10:35 AM   
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Saturday Silliness

Posted by The Skipper     on 06/24/2006 at 09:40 AM   
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   Friday - June 23, 2006

Barking Moonbat Of The Week

Hell, I can’t make up my mind this week - there are just too many insane diptards in the Donk Corral. Murtha, Pelosi, Kerry, Dean, Kennedy ... the list just goes on and on and on and on and ... Raise taxes, cut-n-run in Iraq, elect Shrillary, cut military spending, more social programs, more activist judges, gay marriage, forgive pedophiles, censor free speech, eliminate Christianity, etc. - that’s the platform of lunatics. Forget it. I am hereby declaring the Party Of Asses to be forever enshrined in the Barking Moonbat Hall Of Shame. So it is written, so let it be done. Pharoah commands it.

Posted by The Skipper     on 06/23/2006 at 03:12 PM   
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Quote Of The Week

When a party’s leadership is unable to unite behind a clear position on the No. 1 national security issue facing America, it is not ready to govern. And that is the situation in which the Democrats now find themselves.

Last week Democratic leaders produced an election year agenda that said nothing about fighting the war on terror. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi blurted out the reason: “We don’t even have a party position on the war,” she told reporters.

-- “Calling Retreat: Not A Winner” by Donald Lambro, June 22, 2006 - Washington Times

Posted by The Skipper     on 06/23/2006 at 02:05 PM   
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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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