Tuesday - December 23, 2008

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND BE OF GOOD CHEER … FROM ACROSS THE BIG POND TO BMEWS.

Christmas 2008

As the year comes to it’s close I want to wish a very Merry Christmas to all of you wherever you are.  Most especially however my thoughts are home and with my compatriots so a special Merry Christmas to you in the USA.
My Home Sweet Home.

I cannot post this and end the year without singling out two really special people here at BMEWS.  Now unless you’re a kitten or a puppy or maybe my wife, I am not a touchy-feely person at all.  However, I have to single out Mr. Christian and Drew.

I was fairly new to BMEWS a year ago and certainly very new to the blogging world.
I have a computer, a keyboard and an opinion or two and Mr. Christian emailed me and invited me to join the BMEWS team.  That was a shock of the first order.  I was flattered and would be less then honest if I didn’t own up to that.  I was not sure I was up to it.  Mr. C. must have thought I was, and told me I’d do fine and if I had any questions I could always ask. 

I had never before had to cope with things too technical and if I did, I didn’t.
That is, I turned my back on things tech because I have a hard time grasping the idea. It’s all-new to me.  And it is true that it’s near impossible to teach an old dog new tricks.  It has been like returning to school and I didn’t care much for school.  I was mostly bored.  Well that sure isn’t the case here.  I was literally handed another life, in a manner of speaking.  And it began with that invitation from Mr. C.

And so it started.  With emails from me to him.  Hey Mr. Christian, how do I do this?
What happens if?  Where do I find?  How do I go about? Yadda,Yadda? 

I could just see and hear him after awhile saying,
“Oh Lord. What have I done?  Why me Lord?”

I have discovered how rewarding BMEWS is and also just how time consuming it can be.  Especially when you barely know what you’re doing and still learning the tech ropes. 

There are some very smart and very articulate people here and I do not kid myself that any one of them could easily replace me and BMEWS might be the better for it.

If any of you people think I take you for granted, think again.  No way.  I have the greatest respect for the people who populate this site with their insights and comments.  Even where I might question some comments, you folks have the knack to make me stop and question my own position and take a second look.  I might stick to my original thought but you made me dig a little more and forced me think more.
I cannot thank you all enough.

Ah … so now we come to the second troublemaker.  DREW!  He can write on any subject and really does know what he’s talking about.  The problem is, sometimes I don’t. LOL.  I’m pretty sure it was one of our two Christophers who once said it wasn’t a good idea to have anything liquid near a keyboard when reading Drew because often, out of the blue he will say something on some subject and in a way that starts unexpected laughter.  Usually while holding a cup of coffee or worse, a mouthful.  Drew is the chief engineer at BMEWS, the tech guy who keeps it up and running.  When Mr. Christian more or less withdrew to the background to tend to things like family and personal life, and also to escape my endless questions, guess who took his place?

He (Drew) is very tech savvy.  He’s even taken courses in things tech.  I could do that too.  Except I wouldn’t understand any of it.  From my years as a disk jockey at many radio stations in my working youth, I came to know a few chief engineers.  These are the guys who can read a schematic, know how everything is wired and are in fact so knowledgeable they could if they wanted to or had the money it takes, and some actually did, build their own radio stations.

Drew falls into that wizard category and here’s an example.  I once told Drew this after he answered one of my questions. I now share it with you.

If you were to ask a chief engineer what the time of day was, he’d tell you how to make the damn watch instead! So when I started to pepper Drew with questions, he started teaching me HTML.  Or tried to anyway.  Our emails went flying back and forth, I’m a first grader, no. Make that kindergarten, and he’s speaking Latin or maybe it was Greek, in replies. ??  Well it certainly was all Greek to me.  He finally got me books.  Thought he’d get rid of me that way.  Ha.  Boy have I got a surprise for him.  I have all these notes see, and a stack of questions just waiting for after the first of the year.

So Mr. Christian and Drew,
My special wishes to you and to your families for a Very Merry Christmas and my thanks as well for your continued patience.  I hope your holiday will be restful cause I’m gonna need that patience extended for another … oh … lifetime?

Finally, I can’t quit just yet because there are two others that I must thank.  One not with us and of course that is The Skipper. 

The other is a friend and he is Vilmar.  He too has answered questions I’ve struggled with, and done so with patience.  So, I thank him here publicly and wish he and his a wonderful Christmas.

It is amazing that so many people who are total strangers come together for no other reason then the desire to be helpful to one another.

So thanks to all of you, and to all I hope the New Year will be more then happy.  I hope it will be healthy as well.  Oh yeah. And safe.

Posted by peiper     on 12/23/2008 at 03:36 PM   
Filed Under: • Blog Stuff •  
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archaeologist uncovers hoard of 1,300-year-old gold coins under a car park in Jerusalem .

WOW. Must be my day for finding stories relating to antiquity.

Photo and video available at the link below.  Those coins though look too well preserved and the print awfully darn modern looking to me. But I am very far from expert on matters of that nature.  See what you think.

British archaeologist uncovers hoard of 1,300-year-old gold coins under a car park in Jerusalem

By Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 2:31 PM on 23rd December 2008

A hoard of more than 1,300- year-old gold coins has been unearthed under a car park in Jerusalem, the Israeli Antiquities Authority revealed.

Archaeologists said the collection of 264 coins found in the ruins of a 7th century building, the end of the Byzantine period, was one of the largest uncovered in Jerusalem.

‘We’ve had pottery, we’ve had glass, but we’ve had nothing like this,’ said British archaeologist Nadine Ross, who made the discovery on Sunday.

The coins date to the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius, who ruled from AD 610 to 641.
Enlarge gold coins

On one side they bear a likeness of the emperor wearing military garb and holding a cross in his right hand.

On the reverse is the cross.

Experts said they were minted at the beginning of Heraclius’s reign, before the Persians conquered Byzantine Jerusalem in AD 614.

‘This is one of the largest and most impressive coin hoards ever discovered in Jerusalem – certainly the largest and most important of its period,’ said site directors Doron Ben-Ami and Yana Tchekhanovets.

‘Since no pottery vessel was discovered adjacent to the hoard, we can assume that it was concealed inside a hidden niche in one of the walls of the building,’ they said.

Until now, the only hoard of gold coins from the Byzantine period that had been discovered in Jerusalem consisted of five gold coins, they added.

At the time the coins were minted Anglo-Saxon England was split into several kingdoms including Mercia and East Anglia.

A number of rulers converted to Christianity in the seventh century.

Watch video of the find ...

HERE

Posted by peiper     on 12/23/2008 at 11:37 AM   
Filed Under: • Amazing Science and Discoveries • History •  
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Told ya so

Less than a day. Some things are just so predictable. Murder, mayhem, and atrocities are up next, followed by famine. Another turd from the Turd World, circling the drain.

CONAKRY, Guinea – A military-led group seized control of the airwaves in Guinea and declared a coup Tuesday after the death of the mineral-rich West African country’s longtime dictator, but the prime minister insisted he remained in charge.

An Associated Press reporter saw three tanks and dozens of armed soldiers heading toward the prime minister’s office inside the country’s presidential compound.

The troops’ allegiance was not immediately apparent. But they appeared less than an hour after Prime Minister Ahmed Tidiane Souare announced in a state broadcast that he was inside his office and that his government had not been dissolved.

Earlier Tuesday, a group calling itself the National Council for Democracy began announcing its takeover on state-run radio and TV, just hours after longtime dictator Lansana Conte’s death was made public.

“The government is dissolved. The institutions of the republic are dissolved. ... From this moment on, the council is taking charge of the destiny of the Guinean people,” said the coup leader, who identified himself as Capt. Moussa Camara.

Why is it just impossible for any nation on this entire continent to behave in a civilized manner? 

Posted by Drew458     on 12/23/2008 at 10:43 AM   
Filed Under: • Africa •  
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Tombs of ancient Egyptian court officials found in 4,000-year-old cemetery.

As most here already know, I’m a sucker for this kind of thing.  And this is also Drew’s area of interest. So how’d I find it first?
Hey, psst. You awake Drew?  Look at this find.

Look at the scale in the photo. Awsome. What a shame long ago grave robbers cleaned the place out. Would loved to have seen what it held.

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 12:00 PM on 23rd December 2008

Egyptian archaeologists have found the tombs of two court officials, in charge of music and pyramid building, in a 4,000-year-old cemetery from the reign of Pharaoh Unas.

The tombs were buried in the sands south of Cairo and could shed light on the fifth and the sixth dynasties of the Old Kingdom, said Zahi Hawass, Egypt’s antiquities chief.

Hawass said: ‘We announce today a major important discovery at Saqqara, the discovery of two new tombs dating back to 4,300 years ago.’

Saqqara is the burial site of the rulers of ancient Memphis, about 12 miles south of Cairo.

One of the tombs belonged to Iya Maat, the supervisor of pyramid-building under the reign of Unas, Hawass said.

Iya Maat organised the acquisition of granite and limestone from Aswan and other materials from the Western Desert.

The second tomb housed the remains of Thanah, who was in charge of singers in the court of Unas.

Both tombs feature hieroglyphics at their entrances but the contents of the tombs have long since been stolen, Hawass said.

The entrance of Thanah’s tomb shows carved images of her smelling lotus flowers.

‘The discovery of the tombs are the beginning of a big, large cemetery,’ he said.

‘We are continuing our excavation and we are going to uncover more tombs in the area to explain the period of dynasty five and dynasty six,’ he said, adding that 70 per cent of Egypt’s ancient monuments remain buried under sand.

The death of Unas brought to an end the fifth dynasty, as he did not have a male heir. His daughter is widely believed to have become a queen to the first king of the sixth dynasty.

The Sixth Dynasty, a time of conflict in Egypt’s royal family and erosion of centralised power, is considered to be the last dynasty of the Old Kingdom (2,613-2,494 BC), after which Egypt descended into famine and social upheaval.

Archaeologists have been working at the site for six months, Hawass added.

MORE PHOTOS HERE

Posted by peiper     on 12/23/2008 at 10:39 AM   
Filed Under: • Amazing Science and Discoveries • History •  
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SHAMELESSLY STOLEN FROM FRIEND VILMAR …

I always check V. to see what he’s up to and he’s usually up to a hell of a lot.
I’ve thought of stealing more but ,,, well ,,, maybe another one later.

H/T VILMAR

And that’s the truth!

Posted by peiper     on 12/23/2008 at 06:49 AM   
Filed Under: • Humor •  
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   Monday - December 22, 2008

Sad News

CONAKRY, Guinea – Guinea President Lansana Conte, who has ruled the African nation with an iron hand since seizing power in a coup nearly a quarter century ago, has died following a lengthy illness, the National Assembly president said Tuesday.

Aboubacar Sompare, flanked by the country’s prime minister and the head of the army, said on state-run television 2 a.m. that Conte died Monday evening. He was believed to be in his 70s but the government has never disclosed his birth date.

“I have the heavy duty of informing the people of Guinea of the death of Gen. Lansana Conte following a long illness,” said Sompare. He did not provide a specific cause of death or elaborate on the type of illness.

Sompare said that for many years Conte “hid his physical suffering in order to give happiness to Guinea.”

According to the Constitution, the head of the national assembly becomes president in the case of the death of the head of state. But transfers of power have rarely been smooth in Guinea, which has been crippled by corruption and rocked by multiple coups.

Prime Minister Ahmed Tidiane Souare called on the army to secure the nation’s borders, while Sompare directed the country’s courts to apply the law.

The two announcements, coupled by the presence of the head of the army, appeared to be an effort to signal that the government intended a peaceful transition.

The most serious recent challenge to Conte’s rule came two years ago as demonstrators called for him to step down and Guinea descended into chaos.

Conte responded by declaring martial law and sent tanks into the capital streets. Security forces killed dozens of demonstrators.

Now, this news makes me feel really sad. Because a) I’ve never heard of this idiot, and b) I’m not even sure where the hell Guinea is. Africa? Somewhere on the Equator I think, because the phrase “Equatorial Guinea” seems familiar.  All I really know about Guinea is that it’s either 1) some old word for some kind of coin, 2) some sort of research critter, ie a Guinea Pig, which also make nice disposable pets for children (we probably had a dozen. You bring them home, feed them a bit of lettuce, they go “wheep wheep wheep!” in their little box full of cedar shavings, they poop constantly, then they get tumors and die. I’m pretty sure most didn’t make it a month. One might have lasted a year.), 3) it’s also some kind of fowl, something like a chicken, 4) It’s a derogatory name for Italians. I have no idea why, as they don’t come from there at all.

Ok, Wikipedia tells me that Guinea is indeed on the equator in western Africa. The lower part of the upper corner that looks like an elephant’s ear. You know, the area where the locals kill each other even more than they do in the rest of the continent. 10 million people live there, average annual income is about $400. Geez. They had one train, but it broke. Along with Jamaica, this is where aluminum comes from. Even though it’s a muslim country, everybody speaks fwench. Oh joy. Their most famous citizen, aside from a couple soccer players, was Amadou Diallo, the guy who managed to get shot 41 times by the NYC cops because they couldn’t tell a pistol from a wallet in the darkness.

Ok, so one less dictator. Whoo hoo! Expect a civil war to break out there shortly, followed by genocidal mayhem. Just because it’s africa. I just about guarantee it.

Posted by Drew458     on 12/22/2008 at 11:29 PM   
Filed Under: • Africa •  
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A somewhat misleading headline. World’s unluckiest tourists’ witness three separate terror attacks.

They sort of did that BUT.  There’s always a “But"isn’t there?

I’m endlessly fascinated by how newspapers put stories and headlines together.  Sure, I understand the headline has to grab people.
But so often when you read the whole story and then read it again, you wonder how much space had to be filled.

Alright, this couple happened to be in cities at the times of various attacks.
Exactly WHERE in each city were they at the exact time of the attacks?  Were they ever in personal danger themselves? Did they at any time suffer injories of any kind?  The article doesn’t say.
What the story does in fact say, without saying it out loud, is this couple must be monumentally stupid as well as unlucky in their tourism treks.

I have problems with some comments that are made.  For example, the idea that Bombay (ok, Mumbia) came back from that terrorist attack “faster” then New York and London did after theirs, is beyond just stupid.  Unless I misread something.

With fewer then 200 people killed in Bombay, no skyscrapers knocked to the ground or planes flying into buildings with almost 3,000 dead, or in London’s case where a subway system had to be shut down, it really should not be at all surprising that Bombay recovered “faster.” Should it?

I really do let stupid things get to me far too often.  I think I’ll grab a relaxing glass of wine and close for the night.

Cheers to all from across the Atlantic.  Time for book and bed.

‘World’s unluckiest tourists’ witness three separate terrorist attacks
A couple have been labeled the world’s unluckiest tourists after being caught up in three separate terror attacks during their holidays.

By Chris Irvine
Last Updated: 7:30PM GMT 21 Dec 2008

Jason and Jenny Cairns-Lawrence, from Dudley, West Midlands, were in central Mumbai last month when the Indian city came under siege from Islamic militants.

They were also in New York during September 11 2001 when terrorists flew two passenger planes into the World Trade Centre, bringing down the twin towers and killing almost 3,000 people.

And four years later they were in London on July 7, when terrorists blew up three London Underground trains and a double decker bus, resulting in the deaths of 52 commuters.

Dental laboratory worker Mrs Cairns-Lawrence, 26, said: “It’s a strange coincidence. The terror attacks just happened when we were in the cities.”

The couple praised Mumbai for the city’s speedy recovery, adding that it had been somewhat of an inspiration.

She added: “As I looked around, it was impossible to tell that such a ghastly thing had happened.

In New York people carried the look of terror in their eyes for weeks after the carnage.”

“In London, the police appeared more scared than the people.”

The couple refused to cut short their holiday following the Mumbai attack, which saw 164 people killed in coordinated attacks on hotels, a restaurant, a Jewish centre and a train station.

Mr Cairns-Lawrence, a sales manager, 42, said: “I would say that Mumbai sprang back to its feet faster than New York or London.

“New York took almost a week to come back to normal. But Mumbai was back to its usual business from day three. “It was just amazing.”

(Is this guy a first class IDIOT er what?)

DUMB TOURISTS

Posted by peiper     on 12/22/2008 at 01:49 PM   
Filed Under: • Miscellaneous • Stoopid-People • UK •  
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Christians flee homes in Iraq after wave of attacks.

What a shock to read how the muzzies practice diversity and treat multiculturalism.  What a surprise that is.
Shame the west refuses to wake up. 

Hundreds of Christians have fled their homes in northern Iraq for the sanctuary of a monastery this Christmas after being targeted for their faith.

By Angus McDowall in Irbil

In peaceful times, the cool mountain air and breathtaking views afforded by the ancient monastery of Mar Matti provided a congenial day trip for the local people. Clinging to the upper slopes of a steep escarpment, its ancient stone walls echoed to the hushed tones of Aramaic hymns and the Orthodox mass.

But the tranquil life of Mar Matti’s black-robed monks has been shattered by the arrival of hundreds of Christians fleeing a campaign of persecution in Mosul, just 20 miles away.

Their homes raided, their priests attacked and their relatives murdered, Assyrian and Chaldean Christians have become the latest victims of violence in the city, once the most cosmopolitan in Iraq.

“First they came against the Kurds, then against the Yazidis and now they have come for the Christians,” said Jalal Mansour, 43, a former marble worker who fled to Mar Matti with his family after they were threatened by gunmen. “My uncle, an old man, was killed just because of his faith.”

He sat with his wife under an icon of the Virgin Mary, proffering cups of sweet coffee and fizzy drinks while children scampered around the small, cold room.

For the opposing factions struggling for control over northern Iraq, Mosul is a major prize: the capital of Ninevah province holds sway over a large and fertile area peopled by Arabs, Kurds, Yazidis, Assyrians, Chaldeans and Turcomans.

The city lies on the faultline between territory controlled by the Kurdish authorities and the central government in Baghdad - and it is claimed by both.

Christians believe they attracted the ire of the vigilante groups that roam Mosul’s dangerous streets when they considered a plan to take up arms themselves. The people of the city have also come under attack from al-Qaeda fighters.

The scent of fear has now spread to Mar Matti, where guards armed with assault rifles lolled against a crude drawing of a dove on the concrete wall of a gatehouse.

Nearby a young woman in a bright orange tracksuit heaved a breezeblock onto the wall of a new hut: when the refugees arrived they slept on the monastery floor - now they are building small houses where they can live more comfortably.

Inside the 4th century complex, a family sat drinking Coca-Cola while their matriarch prayed at the tomb of Matti, the Aramaic name for St Matthew.

“Ten days ago my sister-in-law’s family was attacked: three of them were shot dead,” said one of them, a 25-year-old market stall holder from Mosul who would not give his name in case of reprisals. “Other relatives have been kidnapped and forced to pay the tax levelled by the Muslim empire on non-believers.”

With their home streets unsafe to walk, the family left the city. Now they are considering a move to Irbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region 50 miles away where there have been no major terrorist attacks for nearly two years.

The city’s affluent Christian neighbourhood of Ainkawa was a world away from the tense atmosphere around Mosul. Happy groups of giggling teenagers sat together in the courtyard of the Chaldean church of St Joseph - the girls wearing the sort of short skirts and tight leggings that would be unthinkable in a Muslim district.

The church is made of pinkish stone and has a spire in the shape of a Babylonian ziggurat, capped with a neon cross and adorned on each side with a large iron bell. Despite the quiet, residential feel, there were road blocks close by and a sandbagged sentry post outside.

“It’s very bad for all Iraqis, but Christians suffered the most,” said the priest, Father Sabri al-Magdassy. “The lack of strong political parties or a tribal system like the other ethnic groups means we have nobody who can defend our rights. We only have the church.”

He said that 2,000 families had arrived in his parish over the past four years from Baghdad and Mosul seeking to rebuild their lives.

The melodious lilt of eastern songs, sung in Aramaic, the language of Christ, wafted in from the dark courtyard: the choir was practising for a diocese competition.

In the Bureau for Christian Affairs, a small committee of church members were allocating menial jobs, lodging and pensions to refugees from Mosul and Baghdad.

Many of them had been forced to leave all their belongings behind. A young man with an intense, haunted stare, said he had been kidnapped in Baghdad by the Mahdi Army and tortured for seven days.

“They told me I should become a Muslim like the other Shias in that area,” he said. “They held my hands in the fire and beat me with sticks and rifle butts calling me an infidel. Finally my family negotiated my release for £7,000 and they freed me. When the police came I was too scared to tell them who took me, so I left and came to Irbil.”

TELEGRAPH LINK

Posted by peiper     on 12/22/2008 at 01:33 PM   
Filed Under: • RoPMA • Terrorists •  
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EYE CANDY FOR KIDS OF ANY AGE ….

Happened across this pix and since the animal world has NO liberals and I like the critters, I thought it was a good idea to share this photo from the Telegraph.

Pictures of the day: 22 December 2008

This is Vincent the Dutch rabbit, who was born with no ears. Owner John Haigh, 16, from Selby, North Yorkshire, was shocked to find that his pet rabbit had given birth to an earless bunny
Picture: Ross Parry

THE OTHER PHOTOS HERE

It’s my understanding from some folks who have attended to these cute critters, THEY ARE LOUSY PETS!
Well, at least they aren’t liberals so that’s one thing in their favor. 

Posted by peiper     on 12/22/2008 at 12:35 PM   
Filed Under: • Animals • UK •  
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‘Blindingly obvious’ safety suggestions for Christmas.  Blindingly Stupid and as usual, who pays?

Who Pays?  Ya gotta ask?
Oh surely not the taxpayer.  Jeesh ... The Stupid just keeps getting schtupider.

Leaflet’s ‘blindingly obvious’ safety suggestions for Christmas
The government has printed thousands of leaflets containing “blindingly obvious” safety tips for the festive period.

By Chris Irvine
Last Updated: 10:36AM GMT 22 Dec 2008

The ‘blindingly-obvious’ leaflets were printed with the authority of Children’s Secretary Ed Balls Photo: PA

The leaflets, which have been printed with the authority of Children’s Secretary Ed Balls, tells parents that children could be hurt if they fall off rocking horses or ride their new bikes into walls.

(bet you guys reading this did not know that. so consider this a PSA for Americans too, paid for by the wealthy Brit taxpayer.)

It also alerts people to the dangers of tinsel, with a thousand people each year apparently “hurt by trimmings or when decorating their homes.”

The Department for Children, Schools and Families has printed the 150,000 leaflets designed to look like advent calendars, to be distributed through shopping malls and children’s centres “to help make the festive season safe”.

Safety tips featured in “Tis the Season to be Careful” include a warning that parents may cut themselves with knives when trying to prize open presents quickly.

The leaflets also recommend avoiding decorations like baubles that break easily, as the pieces can be very sharp.

Children’s minister Delyth Morgan said the leaflet would remind parents of safeguards-around the home so they can “make sure Christmas is a time for fun and laughter but not tears”.

Tory junior Children’s spokesman Tim Loughton said: “This is yet more evidence that the DCSF really stands for the Department that Can’t Stop Fiddling.

“It is ironic that a Government Department which has become accident prone for messing up test results, pouring millions into databases that don’t work and failing to protect our most vulnerable children is now spending thousands on producing leaflets to state the blindingly obvious.”

LINK

Posted by peiper     on 12/22/2008 at 11:39 AM   
Filed Under: • Nanny State • No Shit, Sherlock • Stoopid-People • UK •  
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Nepotists = FAIL

The Captain lays it out right.

Caroline Kennedy would like to become senator of New York.

Well who freaking wouldn’t?

Hell, I wouldn’t mind becoming a senator. Of course, it’s along the same lines of listening to these 20 something girls who say, “Well I like traveling.”

Again, who freaking wouldn’t? They make it sound like it’s a hobby they slave at or major in during college.

It’s the issue of whether you are so luxuriously rich and paid for that you can AFFORD to travel. And thus it is the same thing when it comes to becoming senator.

If you can afford to become a senator, well then isn’t it a cute little noble “hobby” for you? No, no, it’s not a serious job where millions of people’s lives depend on the decisions you make. No, it’s like traveling or playing Barbie.

Now I’ve tried to warn you people about nepotists. It is the nepotists that are largely to blame for our problems today. People who had no skill, no game and no talent, but instead were put in charge of the country’s most powerful positions because of who their daddy was.

Go read the rest.  He tells it like it is.  As a teaser, it ends like this:

Americans, specifically, New Yorkers have a chance to pull their heads out of their asses and elect a normal person. And if you don’t, then you can expect to have the same things;

A perpetuity of incompetent, spoiled brats who view public service as a cute little hobby and a means by avoiding work at all costs, and the economic mess we’ve gotten ourselves into.

Posted by Drew458     on 12/22/2008 at 12:11 PM   
Filed Under: • Politics •  
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How’s this for stupid!  Police sent on two-hour course to learn to climb 3ft ladder. Moonbat Alert!

The lunatics may be running the asylum but never mind.  At least I am happy to see public monies spent on this most important safety issue.

Moonbats Rule!

Police sent on two-hour course to learn to climb 3ft ladder
Police officers have been sent on a courses to learn how to climb a 3ft ladder to put up anti-speeding devices.

By Jon Swaine
Last Updated: 3:24PM GMT 22 Dec 2008

Forty-five staff at Lancashire Police had to complete a two-hour seminar before they were allowed to install roadside speeding signs. The class included guidance on how to use a ladder safely.

The devices - smiley-face speed indicator signs (Spids) - were being put up freely by staff before health and safety officers from the local council told the force that they were breaching regulations.

Some staff were banned from even moving existing signs until they had attended the seminar. Several of the £3,500 devices were left dormant for up to four months as a result.

A police statement, which was issued as part of a Freedom of Information request, said: “It would appear that, although working at less than one metre above ground level, staff should have been on a ladder training course.

“It is fair to say that risks associated with deployment of a Spid sign have not changed, but the risks associated with working at height were not fully appreciated initially.”

Ben Wallace, the MP for Lancaster and Wyre, said: “It’s another example of the tail wagging the dog, of bureaucracy gone mad. It beggars belief that bureaucracy stands in the way of common sense, even when it concerns our police force.”

Lancashire police said that the training course had also been necessary because some devices had not been installed correctly and could not detect all oncoming traffic. They said that the courses had not cost anything more than staff time.

A spokesman said: “The two-hour class briefly touched on how to use a ladder safely. If we didn’t do it and people were falling off ladders, we would be criticised.”

STUPID ELF N SAFETY

Posted by peiper     on 12/22/2008 at 11:02 AM   
Filed Under: • Nanny State • Product Safety • Stoopid-People • UK •  
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   Sunday - December 21, 2008

Spitfire, Hurricanes and Lancasters losing out to Nazi foes in kit toy sales .

Just interesting item.  I used to make model planes as a kid.  I think a lot of young boys did.  This was just before the plastic models came out where about all you do is slap parts together and glue and paint.
When we made em, we had to follow the plans that came with the kit and cut the balsa wood and put everything in place correctly.  And it took lots and lots of time. You also had to cover the fuselage and wings with this paper whose name I no longer remember. Then you had to apply on a hardener and when it dried you could paint. Parts,parts everywhere.  Gee I’m talking a whole lot of years ago.

One thing that stays in my memory bank was the little model shop I used to get stuff from.  A small place, wood floors and no kind of fancy counters etc.
Various models hanging from the ceiling, NOT ONE OF EM a plastic toy. Some were big too.  The man who ran the place was very old as I recall.  Or he looked it to my younger eyes.  He had a white beard, and was a veteran of WW1 and served in the Yankee Division.  I think. I don’t know why that div. name sticks in my mind but I always associated it with that old man.  Anything you wanted to know about planes, he was the one to ask.

He also had model trains and ships. Ah, I’ve got it. It was really (by today’s standards) a ‘specialty shop’ although that term wasn’t in use then I don’t think.

With regard to the remark in the article here about military uniform of the Germans.  I have long thought they were probably the best dressed soldiers in the world.  Their uniforms were certainly striking and again the speaker here hits the mark re. colors and their use.  They were snappy looking uniforms. IMO.

For decades, toy replicas of British warplanes like the Spitfire, Hurricane and Lancaster have outsold those of their Nazi foes, but now kit sales of Second World War German aircraft have overtaken those of the Allied forces.

By Jasper Copping
Last Updated: 9:42PM GMT 20 Dec 2008

Analysis by the model maker Airfix has revealed that this year, German kits have made up around 55 per cent of the sales of all kits relating to the conflict. Around 1.4 million German replicas were sold, compared to 1.1 million Allied kits.

Experts and modellers say the rise in sales of the Nazi war machines reflects an interest in the more experimental technologies developed by the Germans and the engineering superiority of many of their vehicles.

Luftwaffe planes now outnumber rival air forces in the top ten most popular aircraft from the conflict, with five models, compared to four RAF planes and one from the US.

The biggest selling German planes are the Messerschmitt Bf 109E, the Focke Wulf 190D, the Junkers Ju87 Stuka, the Dornier Do17 and the “Mistel”, an experimental composite aircraft, in which a fighter was attached to a bomber.

The most popular RAF planes are the Supermarine Spitfire, the De Havilland Mosquito, the Hawker Hurricane and the Avro Lancaster. The P51 Mustang is the only US aircraft in the top ten.

In terms of tanks, sales of Nazi Panther and Tiger models far outstrip those of the most popular Allied kits, the Sherman and Churchill tanks, by a ratio of three to one.

German infantry are the most popular kits of figures, followed by British Commandos and Paratroops.

The highest selling ship is a replica of the German battleship Bismarck, with around 5,500 kits sold, compared to just 3,000 kits sold by the second most popular, HMS Hood, which was sunk in a battle between the two in 1941.

Of the smaller vessels, the German E-boat sells the same numbers as British torpedo boat and an RAF rescue launch, despite being more than twice the price.

John Tapsell, vice president of the International Plastic Modellers Society (UK), said he was surprised by the revelation: “It does seem slightly odd that the German kits outsell the Allied ones. It certainly doesn’t mean that lots of modellers sympathise with the German cause.

“I think it might be something to do with the typical British fascination with the loser and also an interest in German engineering. British soldiers in the war were in awe of the Tiger tank, for instance, and that sort of interest has remained. The (German) uniforms also look very smart.”

Jeremy Brook, secretary of the Airfix Collectors Club, agreed.

“One shouldn’t say it but there is something about the German uniform and many of their machines, that makes them more attractive. Some of their warships like the Bismarck are quite beautiful.

“Certainly, the German colour schemes are more exciting to paint than the British ones.

“When I was a child in the 1950s, I always wanted German aircraft, tanks and soldiers, but they were so much harder to come by then. Perhaps all the German children wanted Spitfires and Hurricanes.”

Although German kits are dominant in total global sales, in the UK – which makes up more than 60 per cent of the company’s market – the Allies maintain a small advantage over the Germans, because of the enduring popularity of the Spitfire.

It is the first time the company has conducted this sort of analysis. Darrell Burge, from Airfix, said the surge in popularity of German models, particularly tanks and figures, had started within the last ten years.

“Across the hobby, there is no doubt that the German models now sell more than the Allied ones. German subjects are far, far more popular and that is increasing.

“Sales of German kits have really started to grow in the last ten years. In the UK, sales of the Spitfire – with around 45,000 kits sold – only just tip the scales in the favour of the Allies.

“German tanks are much better sellers than Allied ones. They are iconic as the biggest and most brutal of the war. They were virtually unstoppable. They were much better machines than the Allied ones.

“And a lot of the German aircraft were more experimental. There is a mystique about so many of their war machines that has translated into increased sales.

“The other factor in their favour is that in terms of kits, the Germans are really the only Axis power. So if someone is building a battlefield, they need Germans, whereas the Allies can be represented by the British or Americans.”

The company is now planning to bring out new German models, to meet demand, including the Messerschmitt 110 aircraft, a new version of the Me 109, the Junkers Ju88 plane, and a U-boat.

None of the Nazi models contain a swastika, because the symbol is banned in Germany.

The firm sells 3.5 million kits a year and up to 15 per cent of its sales are in Germany.

In 2006, the manufacturer was saved from going out of business by train set maker Hornby, which bought the firm for £2.6 million.

Top ten most popular aircraft:

TELEGRAPH

Posted by peiper     on 12/21/2008 at 02:07 PM   
Filed Under: • Fun-Stuff • News-Briefs •  
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Saudi court rejects plea to annul 8-year-old girl’s marriage to 58-year-old man .

So if I understand things, this guy is gonna wait 10 years?  And even so, if he really does, the girl has had her future decided already.
Jeesh ... what a system.  And the west has to make nice and say nothing at the govt. level.  All that oil ...

For all the faults we can name, we are all still pretty damn lucky to have been born in the west.  Yeah, even France.  (Drew just fell down)
I can’t get my head around this kind of thing.  But, not my worry I suppose.  Not my culture or country.  Feel sorry for the women over there, even though many of them claim there isn’t anything to be sorry for.

A Saudi court has rejected a plea to divorce an eight-year-old girl married off by her father to a man who is 58, saying the case should wait until the girl reaches puberty.

Last Updated: 5:01PM GMT 21 Dec 2008

The divorce plea was filed in August by the girl’s divorced mother with a court at Unayzah, 220 kilometres (135 miles) north of Riyadh just after the marriage contract was signed by the father and the groom.

“She doesn’t know yet that she has been married,” the lawyer said then of the girl who was about to begin her fourth year at primary school.

Relatives who did not wish to be named told AFP that the marriage had not yet been consummated, and that the girl continued to live with her mother. They said that the father had set a verbal condition by which the marriage is not consummated for another 10 years, when the girl turns 18.

The father had agreed to marry off his daughter for an advance dowry of 30,000 riyals ($8,000), as he was apparently facing financial problems, they said.

The father was in court and he remained adamant in favour of the marriage, they added.

The mother’s said he was going to appeal the verdict at the court of cassation, the supreme court in the ultraconservative kingdom which applies Islamic Sharia law in its courts.

Arranged marriages involving pre-adolescents are occasionally reported in the Arabian Peninsula, including in Saudi Arabia where the strict conservative Wahhabi version of Sunni Islam holds sway and polygamy is common.

In Yemen in April, another girl aged eight was granted a divorce after her unemployed father forced her to marry a man of 28.

GIRL OF EIGHT

Posted by peiper     on 12/21/2008 at 12:27 PM   
Filed Under: • Insanity • RoPMA •  
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