Barking Moonbat Early Warning System

Death once had a near-Sarah Palin experience.

Sunday - July 09, 2006

Sunday Funnies (and more)

Yes, as R.J. says, “these problems are a lot trickier than they look”, particularly when you have a media blitz led by a frustrated politician on a mission to redeem himself in the eyes of the Looney Left. The media has fallen for it and the Hollywood “elite” literally fawned over Gore’s movie at the Sundance Festival and later at Cannes.

There’s only one problem, as Hammy Squirrel is finding out, and that it is indeed a “tough nut to crack”, especially when the Lunatic Fringe takes over and you have nuts running around all over the place screaming “the sky is falling.” In the case of global warming, the only real nut is Al Gore and the so-called scientific evidence he puts forward to support his thesis is proving hard to crack.

The reason the hard shell around Gore is so tough is that he quotes “leading scientists” who turn out to be anything but climatologists. They are biologists, chemists and meteorologists. Their conjectures and suppositions are not based on actual scientific fact or any kind of normal scientific studies of the Earth’s overal climate.

If you want to know the other side of the global warming story, I recommend you read the following editorial from the Canada Free Press. Author Tom Harris interviewed several leading climatologists. These are research scientists who have made studying the Earth’s cycles of climate change a life’s work. So settle back with a cup of coffee, and click “CONTINUE READING” if you believe there are always at least two sides to every story and sometimes the first side you hear is occasionally pure bunk ...

See More Below The Fold

Scientists Respond To Gore’s Warnings Of Climate Catastrophe
“The Inconvenient Truth” is indeed inconvenient to alarmists
By Tom Harris
(CANADA FREE PRESS) - Monday, June 12, 2006

“Scientists have an independent obligation to respect and present the truth as they see it,” Al Gore sensibly asserts in his film “An Inconvenient Truth”, showing at Cumberland 4 Cinemas in Toronto since Jun 2. With that outlook in mind, what do world climate experts actually think about the science of his movie?

Professor Bob Carter of the Marine Geophysical Laboratory at James Cook University, in Australia gives what, for many Canadians, is a surprising assessment: “Gore’s circumstantial arguments are so weak that they are pathetic. It is simply incredible that they, and his film, are commanding public attention.”

But surely Carter is merely part of what most people regard as a tiny cadre of “climate change skeptics” who disagree with the “vast majority of scientists” Gore cites?

No; Carter is one of hundreds of highly qualified non-governmental, non-industry, non-lobby group climate experts who contest the hypothesis that human emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) are causing significant global climate change. “Climate experts” is the operative term here. Why? Because what Gore’s “majority of scientists” think is immaterial when only a very small fraction of them actually work in the climate field.

Even among that fraction, many focus their studies on the impacts of climate change; biologists, for example, who study everything from insects to polar bears to poison ivy. “While many are highly skilled researchers, they generally do not have special knowledge about the causes of global climate change,” explains former University of Winnipeg climatology professor Dr. Tim Ball. “They usually can tell us only about the effects of changes in the local environment where they conduct their studies.”

This is highly valuable knowledge, but doesn’t make them climate change cause experts, only climate impact experts.

So we have a smaller fraction.

But it becomes smaller still. Among experts who actually examine the causes of change on a global scale, many concentrate their research on designing and enhancing computer models of hypothetical futures. “These models have been consistently wrong in all their scenarios,” asserts Ball. “Since modelers concede computer outputs are not “predictions” but are in fact merely scenarios, they are negligent in letting policy-makers and the public think they are actually making forecasts.”

We should listen most to scientists who use real data to try to understand what nature is actually telling us about the causes and extent of global climate change. In this relatively small community, there is no consensus, despite what Gore and others would suggest.

Here is a small sample of the side of the debate we almost never hear:

Appearing before the Commons Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development last year, Carleton University paleoclimatologist Professor Tim Patterson testified, “There is no meaningful correlation between CO2 levels and Earth’s temperature over this [geologic] time frame. In fact, when CO2 levels were over ten times higher than they are now, about 450 million years ago, the planet was in the depths of the absolute coldest period in the last half billion years.” Patterson asked the committee, “On the basis of this evidence, how could anyone still believe that the recent relatively small increase in CO2 levels would be the major cause of the past century’s modest warming?”

Patterson concluded his testimony by explaining what his research and “hundreds of other studies” reveal: on all time scales, there is very good correlation between Earth’s temperature and natural celestial phenomena such changes in the brightness of the Sun.

Dr. Boris Winterhalter, former marine researcher at the Geological Survey of Finland and professor in marine geology, University of Helsinki, takes apart Gore’s dramatic display of Antarctic glaciers collapsing into the sea. “The breaking glacier wall is a normally occurring phenomenon which is due to the normal advance of a glacier,” says Winterhalter. “In Antarctica the temperature is low enough to prohibit melting of the ice front, so if the ice is grounded, it has to break off in beautiful ice cascades. If the water is deep enough icebergs will form.”

Dr. Wibj–rn KarlÈn, emeritus professor, Dept. of Physical Geography and Quaternary Geology, Stockholm University, Sweden, admits, “Some small areas in the Antarctic Peninsula have broken up recently, just like it has done back in time. The temperature in this part of Antarctica has increased recently, probably because of a small change in the position of the low pressure systems.”

But KarlÈn clarifies that the ‘mass balance’ of Antarctica is positive - more snow is accumulating than melting off. As a result, Ball explains, there is an increase in the ‘calving’ of icebergs as the ice dome of Antarctica is growing and flowing to the oceans. When Greenland and Antarctica are assessed together, “their mass balance is considered to possibly increase the sea level by 0.03 mm/year - not much of an effect,” KarlÈn concludes.

The Antarctica has survived warm and cold events over millions of years. A meltdown is simply not a realistic scenario in the foreseeable future.

Gore tells us in the film, “Starting in 1970, there was a precipitous drop-off in the amount and extent and thickness of the Arctic ice cap.” This is misleading, according to Ball: “The survey that Gore cites was a single transect across one part of the Arctic basin in the month of October during the 1960s when we were in the middle of the cooling period. The 1990 runs were done in the warmer month of September, using a wholly different technology.”

KarlÈn explains that a paper published in 2003 by University of Alaska professor Igor Polyakov shows that, the region of the Arctic where rising temperature is supposedly endangering polar bears showed fluctuations since 1940 but no overall temperature rise. “For several published records it is a decrease for the last 50 years,” says KarlÈn.

Dr. Dick Morgan, former advisor to the World Meteorological Organization and climatology researcher at University of Exeter, U.K. gives the details, “There has been some decrease in ice thickness in the Canadian Arctic over the past 30 years but no melt down. The Canadian Ice Service records show that from 1971-1981 there was average, to above average, ice thickness. From 1981-1982 there was a sharp decrease of 15% but there was a quick recovery to average, to slightly above average, values from 1983-1995. A sharp drop of 30% occurred again 1996-1998 and since then there has been a steady increase to reach near normal conditions since 2001.”

Concerning Gore’s beliefs about worldwide warming, Morgan points out that, in addition to the cooling in the NW Atlantic, massive areas of cooling are found in the North and South Pacific Ocean; the whole of the Amazon Valley; the north coast of South America and the Caribbean; the eastern Mediterranean, Black Sea, Caucasus and Red Sea; New Zealand and even the Ganges Valley in India. Morgan explains, “Had the IPCC used the standard parameter for climate change (the 30 year average) and used an equal area projection, instead of the Mercator (which doubled the area of warming in Alaska, Siberia and the Antarctic Ocean) warming and cooling would have been almost in balance.”

Gore’s point that 200 cities and towns in the American West set all time high temperature records is also misleading according to Dr. Roy Spencer, Principal Research Scientist at The University of Alabama in Huntsville. “It is not unusual for some locations, out of the thousands of cities and towns in the U.S., to set all-time records,” he says. “The actual data shows that overall, recent temperatures in the U.S. were not unusual.”

Carter does not pull his punches about Gore’s activism, “The man is an embarrassment to US science and its many fine practitioners, a lot of whom know (but feel unable to state publicly) that his propaganda crusade is mostly based on junk science.”

In April sixty of the world’s leading experts in the field asked Prime Minister Harper to order a thorough public review of the science of climate change, something that has never happened in Canada. Considering what’s at stake - either the end of civilization, if you believe Gore, or a waste of billions of dollars, if you believe his opponents - it seems like a reasonable request.

Tom Harris is mechanical engineer and Ottawa Director of High Park Group, a public affairs and public policy company.

He can be reached at letters@canadafreepress.com

GET ME OUT OF HERE ...

${lang:my_avatar}$

Posted by The Skipper

on 07/09/2006 at 12:20 AM
Filed Under: • Environment •
• Comments (1)

• Trackbacks(1) Permalink •

Saturday - July 08, 2006

Firepower!

How would you like to have one of these babys?

Reader H20 Man writes in to tell us about his newest piece of personal armament. It’s a U.S.N. SEAL MK14 MOD 0 EBR that was custom built for him by Ron Smith of Smith Enterprise, Inc. SEI builds awesome enhanced M14 rifles for our military. They have been used to send quite a few Islamic insurgents to meet Allah and collect their 72 raisins.

Here is a video of H20 Man on the range demonstrating the rifle with a FISHER M14DC Sound Suppressor, using both supersonic and subsonic loads.

You can get more information about Ron Smith and SEI by visiting the SEI web site. And to really make all the gun enthusiasts out there drool, here is a picture of Ron Smith with one of his Crazy Horse M-14SE (SASS) rifles.

Whatever you do, don’t tell our friend Kim Du Toit about this or there will be a stampede. I only have one thing to say ... I WANTS ONE!

_{Memo: H20 Man found our site after hearing Neal Boortz refer to “Moonbats” on his excellent radio show. Neal’s cool! Have you listened to ”Boo Got Shot” lately?}

${lang:my_avatar}$

Posted by The Skipper

on 07/08/2006 at 07:40 PM
Filed Under: •
• Comments (8)

• Trackbacks(0) Permalink •

Yet more Saturday silliness…

1. Remember the Ultimate Geek Workstation? Here is the Ultimate Geek at his workstation.

2. We missed an important birthday. The bikini turned 60 this week.

3. Dude, could you buy tighter pants? This is for the ladies.

4. Impressive. Now can I have my beer back?

5. Speaking of beer. Look what I found at the end of the rainbow.

${lang:my_avatar}$

Posted by Christopher

on 07/08/2006 at 03:23 PM
Filed Under: • Fun-Stuff • Humor •
• Comments (3)

• Trackbacks(0) Permalink •

Saturday Silliness, Part Deux

${lang:my_avatar}$

Posted by The Skipper

on 07/08/2006 at 01:07 PM
Filed Under: • Fun-Stuff •
• Comments (4)

• Trackbacks(0) Permalink •

Sign Of The Times?

Hmmm. Looks like the folks in Ontario need to be sent to the nearest Political Correctness Re-Education Center.

${lang:my_avatar}$

Posted by The Skipper

on 07/08/2006 at 11:55 AM
Filed Under: • Odd-Strange •
• Comments (3)

• Trackbacks(0) Permalink •

Air Guitar Report

How many times have you asked yourself, “Gee! I wonder if I could get up on a stage, dressed up in a weird costume, in front of thousands of laughing, jeering people and make a complete ass out of myself while pretending to play air guitar?” I know I ask myself that very same question several times a day. Well, maybe not that often but then again, I have done stupider things in the course of my life ... not that I’ll ever tell you about them. Ever.

Would you be willing to get up on stage and play air guitar in the hopes of winning a trip to the hot resort town of Oulu, Finland? Or would you rather play in the backup band for the Dixie Chicks? Life is full of tough choices ...

Underground Air Guitar Event
Seeks Center Stage
_{Fri Jul 7, 10:37 PM ET}

NEW YORK (Billboard) - In a world grown accustomed to virtual reality, why not air guitar stars? That’s the question U.S. Air Guitar is asking. The company is betting it can build a business of tours and brand sponsorship around the answer.

U.S. Air Guitar, which has been holding air guitar competitions throughout the United States for the past four years, just entered into a very real deal with the William Morris Agency. The organization also attracted sponsors Schick and VH1 to the just-completed 2006 championships.

Co-founded by air guitar enthusiasts Kriston Rucker and Cedric DeVitt, the New York-based operation sends its annual U.S. winner to the Air Guitar World Championships in Oulu, Finland. That event is 11 years old. Perhaps the Finns are onto something.

In fact, it was at the Finnish finale five years ago that a virtual light bulb flashed on for DeVitt, who performed in Oulu under the “Air Lingus” moniker and took fourth place.

“All we knew was that there was this hysterical idea that everybody is somehow into,” DeVitt says. “Kriston and I figured we might as well have an air guitar championship on the very breeding grounds of rock ‘n’ roll.”

The U.S. competition kicked off in New York and Los Angeles in 2002. This year, the competition picked regional champions in 12 cities, plus collegiate and online winners. Schick sponsored the collegiate competition, while VH1 backed the online action.

On June 22, U.S. Air Guitar crowned San Francisco regional winner Craig “Hot Lixx Hulahan” Billmeier as its 2006 national champion at New York’s Bowery Ballroom. Billmeier’s prize is a trip to the world championships in late August. If all this sounds a little, well, airy, the organization’s deal with William Morris may bring credibility to the concept.

“Our role is to take it and create even more of a tradition. We hope to continue to book real venues for the competitions with a proper rock stage,” William Morris music division agent Seth Seigle says. “The brand lends itself to being a real rock event. The regionals in places like L.A., San Francisco and New York all sold out in advance, and the response has been tremendous.” With William Morris onboard, organizers hope to launch a U.S. Air Guitar “tour” that will visit cities and college campuses, complete with celebrity judges.

- More air news from Yahoo ...

${lang:my_avatar}$

Posted by The Skipper

on 07/08/2006 at 10:48 AM
Filed Under: • Stoopid-People •
• Comments (4)

• Trackbacks(0) Permalink •

Grinding Away In Gaza

Palestinian leader to Israel: “Please, let’s have a cease-fire so we can learn to get along.”

Israeli leader to Palestine: “That’s what you said last time - and the time before that, and the time before that, and the time before that, and - never mind ... here come some more tanks.”

It never fails. The Pallies strike at Israel and run away. Israel retaliates, hunts them down and kicks their butt. Then the Pallies call for a cease-fire - during which time they regroup, lick their wounds and plan the next attack. This time Israel is having none of it.

I urge Israel to keep hammering Hamas and the Pallies as long as it takes to get Cpl. Shalit back ... even if it means smashing every building in Gaza and pushing the Paleosimians into the sea. Then and only then might there be a real cease-fire.

Palestinian PM Urges Cease-Fire
_{Saturday, 8 July 2006, 13:37 GMT 14:37 UK}

Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya has called for an end to all military operations by both the Palestinians and Israel. A statement from his office said the only way out of the current crisis was for all parties to restore calm through a mutual cessation of hostilities.

But Israeli PM Ehud Olmert rejected the offer, saying militants should free a captured Israeli soldier first. Earlier Israel said its troops had left their positions in northern Gaza. Dozens of Palestinians and an Israeli died in two days of fighting there.

The military operations began after an Israeli soldier, Cpl Gilad Shalit, was seized two weeks ago. Israeli forces remain in southern Gaza, as well as east of Gaza City, where they clashed with gunmen on Saturday.

“In order to get out of the current crisis, it is necessary that all parties restore calm on the basis of mutually stopping all military operations,” Mr Haniya said in a statement released by his office in Gaza.

His Hamas-led government also urged Israel to open negotiations over the fate of Cpl Shalit. But officials in Mr Olmert’s office said he would not agree to a truce unless Hamas first released Cpl Shalit. The Israeli army says all of the forces that entered northern Gaza late on Wednesday have left the town of Beit Lahiya and are now back in Israel.

The BBC’s Wyre Davies in Gaza City says the withdrawal is significant, because the areas has been the scene of heavy fighting. Our correspondent adds that it is not clear why Israel has decided to leave now, but that it should ease tensions. This leaves Israeli forces in the southern Gaza strip, as well east of Gaza City.

The latter area was the scene of the latest Israeli operation early on Saturday. Troops, backed by helicopter gunships, moved on the eastern outskirts of Beit Hanoun and the main commercial crossing at Karni. The area is a Hamas stronghold, and three Palestinians are reported to have died in the fighting.

- More on this story from the BBC ...

${lang:my_avatar}$

Posted by The Skipper

on 07/08/2006 at 10:08 AM
Filed Under: • Paleswine •
• Comments (3)

• Trackbacks(0) Permalink •

Saturday Silliness

The Ultimate Geek Workstation

${lang:my_avatar}$

Posted by The Skipper

on 07/08/2006 at 09:32 AM
Filed Under: • Fun-Stuff •
• Comments (4)

• Trackbacks(0) Permalink •

Friday - July 07, 2006

Protestant Islam?

A Syrian-born French professor of Arabic literature advocates Protestant Islam. I know what you’re thinking, isn’t Islam protesting Western civilization? That’s not what he means. In an interview he says:

Telquel: “You characterize yourself as one who interprets the Koran rationally. What do you mean by that?”

Tahhan: “To read the Koran rationally is to accept that the Koran is open [to interpretation] and has many meanings. The tradition regards the Koran as one-dimensional and fixed. This approach is not rationalist. To be a rationalist is to accept that each era, with its [particular] methods and discoveries, presents its own reading of the Koran, and this is the way it will be until the end of days. To be a rationalist is to acknowledge that the orthodox approach is fundamentally wrong since it does not accept the multiplicity of readings.”

Telquel: “You are one of a handful of experts around the world on the different versions of the Koran. How did you come to have a passion for this topic?”

Tahhan: “Let me remind you of a historical fact that is accepted by all. In the year 901 - an unfortunate year for Muslims - a Muslim qadi named Ibn Mujahid canonized [one version of] the Koran. Before that, there were many different versions of the Koran, and this did not upset the good Muslims!”

This guy is a real radical Muslim. He goes to the Word of Allah, not the Shari’a.

Tahhan: “Today, Muslim thought evolves within a very rigid framework, namely the framework of the Shari’a. I, on the other hand, refer to the sacred scriptures.

And then:

“As a Protestant Muslim, I… Challenge the Over-Application of the Shari’a”

Pretty radical. I expect a fatwah will be issued against him soon. You can read the rest of the interview at Memri.org

${lang:my_avatar}$

Posted by Christopher

on 07/07/2006 at 07:59 PM
Filed Under: • Religion • RoPMA •
• Comments (5)

• Trackbacks(0) Permalink •

Through The Looking Glass

“Devil’s Throat”
Iguazu Falls, Argentina

_{-by-
Michael John Meehan}

${lang:my_avatar}$

Posted by The Skipper

on 07/07/2006 at 06:21 PM
Filed Under: • Art-Photography •
• Comments (0)

• Trackbacks(0) Permalink •

Not So Fast!

Cindy Sheehan is a piece of work, no doubt about it. On July 5 she announced a hunger strike to protest the war in Iraq on Michael Moore’s website entitled “Starving For Attention”.

I had high hopes for Cindy being able to lose some of the fat she’s gained over the last year jet-setting around the world and being fed pâté de foie gras and roast duck at the home of every anti-American tinhat dictator in the world. I never kidded myself into believing she might lose the fat between her ears though.

Now I find it’s all a joke. I stumbled across this article in Pravda, written by an American (link at bottom of article), and discovered the Left’s newest weapon in deceiving the public: rolling fast. A rolling fast is kind of like tag-team protesting. You fast for one day then you tag out with someone else who takes over your fast for you while you go stuff your face with a Double Whopper™ with cheese.

My first reaction was Pravda was pulling my leg (as they are prone to do occasionally). Then I decided to go take a look. First to Michael Moore’s poisonous blot on the blogosphere and finally to CodePink where I found the rules of the fast. Sure enough, there in black and white was how to participate in a “rolling fast”. If you don’t believe me, go take a look. They even have a picture of Mahatma Gandhi to bolster their image.

Read the article below, it’s a fun expose of the Left’s habit of making up the rules as they go along and spinning things to fit their agenda. In fact, why don’t you call Pizza Hut (http://www.pizzahut.com) right now and order a large Meat Lovers™ pizza with a side of Hot Wings™ to nibble on while you enjoy the reading. Cindy Sheehan and her friends aren’t really starving so why should you? Eat up ...

Is Sheehan Fasting Or Pulling A Fast One?
_{(PRAVDA) - 07.07.2006}

Liberals, appeasers and other America haters at home and abroad can now rejoice: Cindy Sheehan and her rabble rousing group called Codepink: Women for Peace, are going to single handedly force President Bush to withdraw troops from Iraq.

Sheehan, and her strange feminist sisterhood, have recently adopted a plan to join the ranks of Mahatma Gandhi and Cesar Chavez by conducting a hunger strike in order to make a peaceful political statement. The women plan to fast until President Bush pulls US troops out of Iraq.

According to Codepink “hundreds of celebrities, veterans, mothers, and concerned citizens across the country will participate in a rolling fast.” Strikers will include pro-marihuana activist and musician Willie Nelson along with America hating actors, Danny Glover, Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon. When I first heard the news about Sheehan’s fast I thought I would see some real suffering. You know, something death defying like the time David Blaine sat in a Plexiglas cage on the River Thames in London fasting for 44 days.

Of course, being the weak kneed liberals that they are, Sheehan and her group are not exactly fasting like David Blaine, Mahatma Gandhi or Cesar Chavez by starving themselves for 20 or 30 straight days, but instead making up their own fasting rules. Simply put, they are conducting a rolling fast. What is a rolling fast? Each person taking part in the Codepink protest will fast for only one day and then pass the fast on to one of his or her liberal friends. This friend will in turn fast for only one day and then pass the fast along to another friend. Sort of like a huge, hunger chain letter, but of course the protester can eat when his or her shift is over.

So why bother? No one really suffers like Gandhi, Chavez or David Blaine. No real political statement will be made. So what is the point? I also find it ironic that Sheehan announced the plans for her fake hunger strike on Michael Moore’s website. When I read her statement on his site I really hoped Moore would take part in the fast since everyone knows he can afford to lose a few pounds. I’m sure he found out ahead of time that it was actually a “rolling hunger strike” or I doubt if he would have agreed to post her statement on his website in the first place. One day of starvation is all he can take.

Sheehan has been making the rounds on nightly cable news programs this week using up her remaining 15 minutes of fame. In doing so she is once again using her son’s death in Iraq, who was fighting for Iraqi freedom, to make a liberal political statement. Sheehan is using her son’s death much in the same way John Kerry uses his military service in Vietnam: to gain liberal support. Both Kerry and Sheehan drag their sacred memories through the mud, all in the name of liberalism. They both disgrace the honor of the US military and their own families. I really don’t know how they sleep at night.

Codepink’s rolling fast will continue until September 21, International Peace Day, when activists around the country will initiate a week of nonviolent actions against the war as part of the “Declaration of Peace”. During “Peace Day” liberal activist will undoubtedly hold hands, stare sadly into CNN cameras, and sing peaceful songs, wishing the world’s troubles would just melt away.

If Willie Nelson makes an appearance at the peace rally I’m sure one of the songs will be “Rocky Mountain High” then all the liberals will have a wonderful time. Sheehan has planned to conduct most of the fast for peace in her favorite ditch outside President Bush’s ranch in Crawford, Texas. She has sued McLennan County over roadside camping and parking bans near the ranch that were installed by the county after here last protest.

In a way I hope she wins the lawsuit and the authorities allow her to once again lay claim to her favorite home away from home. She really deserves her ditch. I hope conservatives around the county also plan on making a statement this summer in Crawford. My suggestion is to counter the Sheehan’s hunger strike with a “Barbeque for Bush” extravaganza. Conservatives in the Crawford area and from around the country should load up their barbeque grills, drive to Crawford and join Cindy and her friends for a cookout.

In my mind I can almost smell the hamburgers and hotdogs cooking on hundreds of grills surrounding the Sheehan camp, spreading their delicious aroma over the entire area. Maybe some nice person could even offer Cindy and her friends a hotdog or hamburger. But please, what ever happens: keep the last slice of apple pie for yourself. Cindy would not eat it anyway. Apple pie is a little too American for her.

- Steve Darnell

${lang:my_avatar}$

Posted by The Skipper

on 07/07/2006 at 12:22 PM
Filed Under: • Democrats-Liberals-Moonbat Leftists • Stoopid-People •
• Comments (10)

• Trackbacks(0) Permalink •

Remember

Memo To All Our Friends And Readers In Britain: No, we haven’t forgotten. It was one year ago today that Britain had its own 9/11 when Muslim terrorists detonated bombs in the tube and on a bus, killing 52 innocent people. Here in America, we also need to take a moment of silence to remember those who were killed in the name of bloody Jihad.

Nation Remembers 7 July Victims
_{(BBC) - Friday, 7 July 2006, 14:36 GMT 15:36 UK}

The UK is paying tribute to the victims of the 7 July London attacks, one year after suicide bombers killed 52 people. The country fell silent for two minutes at noon as part of a series of events marking the anniversary of the attacks, in which more than 700 were injured.

The day will culminate in a service at London’s Regent’s Park for the public, survivors and the bereaved. Prime Minister Tony Blair said the anniversary was an opportunity for “the whole nation to come together”.

He said it was a chance “to offer comfort and support to those who lost loved ones or were injured on that terrible day”. He joined emergency service workers in London for the silence. The silence was observed across the country, including at the Wimbledon tennis championships.

Meanwhile, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair has given a firm warning London must expect another attack. “I know there will be further attacks, but as to whether we will stop those, well we’ve stopped three already,” Sir Ian told BBC News. The Regent’s Park service, starting at 1800 BST, will include readings and songs dedicated to those who died.

Members of the public have been laying flowers within a mosaic in Queen Mary’s Gardens in the park and can continue to do so until 1600 BST. Among those to do so was London Ambulance Service worker Lisa Andrew who said she took the first attack-related emergency call a year ago. “On a day like today I do feel great sadness,” she told BBC News. “But I also feel great pride in the way my colleagues reacted, not only in the ambulance service but in the emergency services as a whole.”

After the Regent’s Park service, survivors and the bereaved will add their flowers to the mosaic, and the public can pay their respects over the weekend. Friday’s commemorations began with London Mayor Ken Livingstone and Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell laying flowers at King’s Cross station at 0850 BST - the exact time of the three underground bombings. The bells of London’s St Paul’s Cathedral tolled at the exact time of the bombings, which happened near Aldgate and Edgware Road stations, and between King’s Cross and Russell Square.

They also tolled an hour later to mark the fourth blast on the number 30 double-decker bus at Tavistock Square. Memorial plaques were unveiled at King’s Cross, Russell Square, Edgware Road, Aldgate and Tavistock Square. Other events are being held in private for victims’ families and survivors. A Book of Tributes, with a foreword from the Prince of Wales and messages from the bereaved, will be unveiled in one private event.

Meanwhile, the Muslim Council of Britain’s secretary general, Muhammad Abdul Bari, has joined calls for a government rethink over its decision not to hold an inquiry into the events of 7 July 2005. “It’s so important we know the whole truth,” he said. “The narrative of events gives only a partial picture - we want to have a full picture.” But Ms Jowell said the government would not hold a public inquiry because that would mean an “enormous diversion of security resources which need to be directed into preventing this happening again”.

There has been a high-visibility police presence on the transport network during the day to reassure the public. On Thursday, a video of one of the bombers, Shehzad Tanweer, was aired on al-Jazeera television. It showed the 22-year-old, from Leeds, warning of further attacks.

${lang:my_avatar}$

Posted by The Skipper

on 07/07/2006 at 10:48 AM
Filed Under: • Terrorists •
• Comments (4)

• Trackbacks(0) Permalink •

Respect My Authority!

Those of you who watch South Park know the title of this post is one of Cartman’s most famous quotes. It certainly seems to fit Kim Jung Mentally Ill as does the cartoon below. Kim comes away from his recent blustering with absolutely nothing. The missiles failed and splashed into the sea.

The UN is working itself up to the point where the Morons Of Turtle Bay may actually issue a strong statement. The rest of us are getting a good laugh out of Kim’s recent “fireworks”. He has promised more missiles will be launched. Cool! Kim is going to kill some more fish in the Sea Of Japan. What a joke ...

_{Gary Varvel - The Indianapolis Star-News}

The “Dear Leader’s” Quest for Recognition
_{July 6, 2006}

Despite worldwide protests North Korea says it wants to test more missiles. By demonstrating its military strength, Kim Jong-Il’s regime appears to want to force the United States into direct negotiations. The international community remains undecided about how it should react.

There aren’t many cars on the roads of insular North Korea these days; there isn’t enough petrol or diesel. Nevertheless, the country is aiming for the skies: After launching seven medium- and long-range missiles on July 5, the North Korean Foreign Ministry announced it would carry out further tests. “Our military will continue with missile launch drills in the future as part of efforts to strengthen its self-defense deterrent,” said a spokesman.

This statement seems to confirm the findings of South Korean secret service personnel who anticipate further short- and medium-range missile tests. Still, it seems the North Korean military is less inclined to fire any more long-range Taepodong-2 missiles.

The first test launch of the missile, which has a range of 6,700 kilometers and can carry a payload weighing up to 1,000 kilograms, ended after just 40 seconds in the Sea of Japan—a complete failure, which Pyongyang nevertheless managed to herald a “success”.

Nobody knows what is driving the “Dear Leader” towards the “provocation of the international community,” as United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice described it. Presumably he wishes to show the world that he is still a force to be reckoned with, despite the dire state of the North Korean economy.

It’s possible that he is also convinced that he can force the Americans into direct negotiations through a demonstration of strength and thereby demand concessions. Kim has always considered it a great dishonor that Washington will only deal with North Korea through six-party talks based in Beijing.

The goal of the North Korean regime is not just American economic assistance but also full recognition by Washington. That doesn’t appear impossible: an increasing number of members of the US Congress are calling on the US government to take a more direct and serious line with North Korea.

- More on this story at Spiegel Online ...

${lang:my_avatar}$

Posted by The Skipper

on 07/07/2006 at 10:19 AM
Filed Under: • North-Korea •
• Comments (10)

• Trackbacks(0) Permalink •

Thursday - July 06, 2006

Flag officer’s conference on Iraq

I received this from an Army Staff officer who is serving “in the desert.”

Saturday, June 10, 2006
Subject: Fort Carson General and Flag Officers Conference on Iraq, at Fort Carson, CO

Earlier this week I (a Rear Admiral) attended a retired general and flag officer conference at Fort Carson, Colorado. The conference was hosted by Major General Bob Mixon, Commanding General of Seventh Infantry Division, which calls Fort Carson its home.

Fort Carson is a huge installation located to the south of Colorado Springs; its becoming one of the larger Army installations in the country (26,000 soldiers) It is also the home post of the largest number of troopers who have served multiple tours in Afghanistan and Iraq and, regrettably, the largest number of troopers who have died in combat there over the past three years. There are Fort Carson units going to and returning from the combat area virtually on a monthly basis.

The conference was primarily organized to explain the modular brigade concept, and it featured a panel of officers who had either very recently returned from commands in the combat zone or were about to deploy there in the next two months. Three of the recent returnees were Colonel H.R. McMaster, Colonel Rick S., and Captain Walter Szpak.

McMaster is the commander of the 3rd Armored Calvary Regiment, the unit that, through very innovative and population-friendly tactics, rid the city of Tal Afar of insurgents. The mayor of Tal Afar came back to Carson two weeks ago to thank the troopers and their families personally for freeing his people. (You say you didnt hear about that in the mainstream media?) McMaster is considered the foremost U.S. expert on modern insurgent warfare, has written a book on the subject which is widely circulated at the war colleges and staff colleges, and he was asked to testify before Congress when he returned from the 3rd ACR combat deployment. He is obviously one of the great combat leaders that has emerged from the war and is highly respected (some would say revered) by his troopers and his superiors alike.

See More Below The Fold

Colonel S. is assigned to the 10th Special Forces Brigade and he headed up all of the 31 special forces A-teams that are integrated with the populace and the Iraqi Army and national police throughout the country. Many of these are the guys that you see occasionally on the news that have beards, dress in native regalia, usually speak Arabic and don’t like to have their identities revealed for fear of retribution on their families (thus the Colonel S.) Captain Szpak was the head of all the Army explosive ordnance teams in Iraq. He and his troops had the job of disarming all the improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and explosive formed projectiles (EFPs) that were discovered before they were detonated. They also traveled around the country training the combat forces in recognizing and avoiding these devices in time to prevent death and injury. IEDs and EFPs are responsible for the vast majority of casualties experienced by our forces.

Despite the objective of the conference (i.e., the modular brigade concept), it quickly devolved into a 3 hour question and answer period between the panel and the 54 retired generals and admirals who attended. I wish I had a video of the whole session to share with you because the insights were especially eye opening and encouraging. Ill try to summarize the high points as best I can.

All returnees agreed that we are clearly winning the fight against the insurgents but we are losing the public relations battle both in the war zone and in the States. (I’ll go into more detail on each topic below.) All agreed that it will be necessary for us to have forces in Iraq for at least ten more years, though by no means in the numbers that are there now. They opined that 80% to 90% of the Iraqi people want to have us there and do not want us to leave before the job is done. The morale and combat capability of the troops is the highest that the senior officers have ever seen in the 20-30 years that each has served. The Iraqi armed forces and police are probably better trained right now than they were under Saddam, but our standards are much higher and they lack officer leadership. They don’t need more troops in the combat zone but they need considerably more Arab linguists and civil affairs experts. The IEDs and EFPs continue to be the principal problem that they face and they are becoming more sophisticated as time passes.

Public Affairs: We are losing the public affairs battle for a variety of reasons. First, in Iraq, the terrorists provide Al Jazeera with footage of their more spectacular attacks and they are on TV to the whole Arab world within minutes of the event. By contrast it takes four to six days for a story generated by Army Public Affairs to gain clearance by Combined Forces Command, two or three more days to get Pentagon clearance, and after all that, the public media may or may not run the story.

Second, the U.S. mainstream media (MSM) who send reporters to the combat zone do not like to have their people embedded with our troops. They claim that the reporters get less objective when they live with the soldiers and marines they come to see the world through the eyes of the troops. As a consequence, a majority of the reporters stay in hotels in the Green Zone and send out native stringers to call in stories to them by cell phone which they later write up and file. No effort is made to verify any of these stories or the credibility of the stringers. The recent serious injuries to Bob Woodruff of ABC and Kimberly Dozier of CBS makes the likelihood of the use of local stringers even higher.

Third, the stories that are filed by reporters in the field very seldom reach the American public as written. An anecdote from Col. McMaster illustrates this dramatically. TIME magazine recently sent a reporter to spend six weeks with the 3rd ACR as they were in the battle of Tal Afar. When the battle was over, the reporter filed his story and also included close to 100 pictures that the accompanying photographer took. TIME published a cover story on the battle a week later, allegedly using the story sent in by their reporter. When the issue came out, the guts had been edited out of their reporter’s story and none of the pictures he submitted were used. Instead they showed a weeping child on the cover, taken from stock photos. When the reporter questioned why his story was eviscerated, his editors in New York responded that the story and pictures were too heroic. McMaster had read both and told me that the editors had completely changed the thrust and context of the material their reporter had submitted.

As a sidebar on the public affairs situation, Colonel Bob McRee, who was also on the panel and is bringing a Military Police Battalion to Iraq next month, invited the Colorado Springs Gazette to send a reporter with the battalion for six weeks to two months. He assured the Gazette, in writing one month ago, that he would provide full time bodyguards for the reporter, taking the manpower out of his own hide. The Gazette has yet to respond to his offer.

Ten More Years: The idea that we will have troops in Iraq for ten more years sounds rather grim, even though by contrast, President Clinton sent troops to Bosnia and Kosovo nearly ten years ago. And they’re still there with no end in sight. While Iraq is clearly a different situation right now, the panelists believe that within a few years at the most, it will become very much the same a peace keeping, nation building function among factions that have hated one another for centuries. There is factionalism and there was bitter fighting in the Balkans before NATO intervened and with peace keepers, the panelists believe that Iraq will be a parallel situation. This, by the way, is why they all believe that linguists and civil affairs military personnel are so necessary for the future.

Colonel S. went out on a limb by suggesting that if most of the troops in Iraq were deployed home tomorrow he could have the entire country pacified and the terrorist situation brought under control with just one brigade of special forces. Since these guys are linguists, civil affairs experts, among many other skills and talents, he may not be too far wrong.

Iraqi Attitudes: The panelists agreed that the public affairs problem manifests itself most significantly in the American public belief that the people of Iraq want us out of their country which we are occupying. They have served in different parts of the country but each agreed that we are wanted and needed there. I refer you to the anecdote from Col. McMaster and the thousands of pictures available on the Internet of the U.S. forces shown in very cordial relations with the locals. Of course, our medias obsession with Abu Graib and, if the initial reports regarding the small group of Marines at Haditha prove to be true, then those attitudes will change somewhat. But as one of the panelists pointed out, the atrocities suffered under Saddam were much worse and much more common.

Morale and Capabilities: Two weeks ago, the local TV channels showed a 3rd ACR re-enlistment ceremony held at Ft. Carson and officiated by Colonel McMaster. Mind you, this unit has just returned from a one-year combat tour of hard and bloody fighting in Iraq and will likely return there again in eight to ten months. Of the 670 soldiers eligible for re-enlistment, 654 of them held up their right hands and signed on for another four years. Incredible!

The Army goal for re-enlistments for fiscal year 2006 was for 40,000 soldiers to extend their active duty commitments. With four months remaining in the fiscal year, they have already exceeded their goal of 40,000 and may have to go back to Congress for authorization to exceed their force structure manning limitations. Since Congress has been pontificating for the past couple of years that the Army is woefully under strength, that should not pose any difficulty.

Iraqi Forces: Every one of the returning commanders had experience in joint operations with the Iraqi soldiers and in the case of some of them, with the local and national police. They are all are supportive of the quality of the forces, but culturally, they believe that we may be expecting too much from them as a pre-condition for handing over greater responsibility for area control. McMaster said that he worked with the army and the police at Tal Afar and was not the least bit reluctant to assign major responsibilities to them in the operations that were conducted.

Col. S’s Green Berets, on the other hand, caught a national police lieutenant who was directing the emplacement of an IED by cell phone in order to disrupt a convoy immediately after the lieutenant had been briefed on the convoy’s route. The good news in this situation was that they were able to reroute the convoy safely, and track the lieutenant’s entire network through the use of the speed dial on his phone. Having terrorist infiltrators in both the army and the police force remains a problem. But by no means does that detract from the courage and determination of those who are loyal to the new Iraq.

Explosive Devices: The combined command in Iraq is becoming increasingly effective in countering the significant threat posed by the IEDs and EFPs. The frequency of attacks has decreased in large part through training to recognize the threat, the new technology (UAVs unmanned aerial vehicles or drones, for example) which help to discover where the devices are emplaced, the infiltration of some of the terrorist cells, etc. However, the technology being used by the terrorists is also improving measurably. In the past six weeks, two bomb making sites were found, raided and the bad guys arrested. In both cases, the head bomb makers were masters degree graduates (one in chemistry and one in physics) from American universities. Thats a lot of brain power to bring into the fight, but we also have some pretty talented people in the military, industry and academia who are doing their best to even the odds.

Conclusion: This is more than I had intended to write on the subject so whats new a lot of you might say but it is a subject that doesn’t get the proper balance from other sources, in my judgment at least. I trust the information that we received far more than anything that I have heard or seen in our usual news sources. The most disturbing thing that I heard was that our MSM is changing the stories filed by their own people on the scene because they sound too heroic.

The over riding opinion that I came away from the conference with is that we have incredibly talented and professional leaders who are facing up to the challenges and are making inexorable progress toward the goals of our nation. We’re fortunate to have courageous and valorous people on the combat front, even though there seems to be a serious dearth of these same types of people in Congress and the mainstream media.

Please pass this along to everyone you know in the blogsphere. This is the most significant analysis to date about the magnificent work our men and women are doing in Iraq.

GET ME OUT OF HERE ...

${lang:my_avatar}$

Posted by Christopher

on 07/06/2006 at 06:26 PM
Filed Under: • Iraq •
• Comments (7)

• Trackbacks(2) Permalink •

Page 13 of 16 pages « First < 11 12 13 14 15 > Last »

Five Most Recent Trackbacks:

Once Again, The One And Only Post
(4 total trackbacks)
Tracked at iHaan.org
Thｅ advantage to having a guide with you is thɑt an expert will haѵe very first hand experience dealing and navigating the river with гegional wildlife. Tһomas, there are great…
On: 07/28/23 10:37

The Brownshirts: Partie Deux; These aare the Muscle We've Been Waiting For
(3 total trackbacks)
Tracked at head to the Momarms site
The Brownshirts: Partie Deux; These aare the Muscle We’ve Been Waiting For
On: 03/14/23 11:20

Vietnam Homecoming
(1 total trackbacks)
Tracked at 广告专题配音专业从事中文配音跟外文配音制造，北京名传天下配音公司
　　专业从事中文配音和外文配音制作，北京名传天下配音公司　　北京名传天下专业配音公司成破于2006年12月，是专业从事中中文配音文配音跟外文配音的音频制造公司，幻想飞腾配音网领配音制作有海内外优良专业配音职员已达500多位，可供给一流的外语配音，长年服务于国内中心级各大媒体、各省市电台电视台，能满意不同客户的各种需要。电话：010-83265555 　　北京名传天下专业配音公司…
On: 03/20/21 07:00

meaningless marching orders for a thousand travellers ... strife ahead ..
(1 total trackbacks)
Tracked at Casual Blog
[...] RTS. IF ANYTHING ON THIS WEBSITE IS CONSTRUED AS BEING CONTRARY TO THE LAWS APPL [...]
On: 07/17/17 04:28

a small explanation
(1 total trackbacks)
Tracked at yerba mate gourd
Find here top quality how to prepare yerba mate without a gourd that's available in addition at the best price. Get it now!
On: 07/09/17 03:07

DISCLAIMER

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:

Keep a firm grasp of Right and Wrong

Stay involved with government on every level and don't let those bastards get away with a thing

Use every legal means to defend yourself in the event of real internal trouble, and, most importantly:

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.

THE INFORMATION AND OTHER CONTENTS OF THIS WEBSITE ARE DESIGNED TO COMPLY WITH THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. THIS WEBSITE SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND ALL PARTIES IRREVOCABLY SUBMIT TO THE JURISDICTION OF THE AMERICAN COURTS. IF ANYTHING ON THIS WEBSITE IS CONSTRUED AS BEING CONTRARY TO THE LAWS APPLICABLE IN ANY OTHER COUNTRY, THEN THIS WEBSITE IS NOT INTENDED TO BE ACCESSED BY PERSONS FROM THAT COUNTRY AND ANY PERSONS WHO ARE SUBJECT TO SUCH LAWS SHALL NOT BE ENTITLED TO USE OUR SERVICES UNLESS THEY CAN SATISFY US THAT SUCH USE WOULD BE LAWFUL.

GNU Terry Pratchett

Oh, and here's some kind of visitor flag counter thingy. Hey, all the cool blogs have one, so I should too. The Visitors Online thingy up at the top doesn't count anything, but it looks neat. It had better, since I paid actual money for it.