Sunday - October 04, 2009

I have a message for German chancellor Angela Merkel.  Pssst.  Hey. Go invade Russia.

Right. That’s my message to Merkel.  Do something useful and stay out of Brit politics.

Go pick a fight with with the Poles or something. She’s upset because Cameron just may (Brits aren’t holding their collective breath tho) give in to the voters and allow what was PROMISED to them a few years ago.  And they are still waiting.

One of things I find endlessly fascinating is that in a speech given in late 1944 or 1945, Hitler predicted some of this.  Of course he missed the mark on his prediction of a war between us and the Soviets.  Which could have happened as we now know. And ppl of my generation almost always expected it.  But he did comment on the strength of a rebuilt Germany calling the shots and the strength of the Bundesbank.
I recall snippets of the speech but not the whole thing.  But he clearly said that a Europe united as one state (my words) would only be able to function with a strong Germany at it’s center.

Well, what many see happening these days and what a lot of people fear, is a united European superstate calling the shots for everyone. 

I will end my comments here with what Peter Hitchens has written today on the subject.

We in Britain, like Ireland, have constantly been warned that by staying out we would miss the European train – always depicted as a luxury express bound for a pleasant destination and more or less under our control.

Now, as the whistle blows, the doors are locked and the Eurotrain at last jolts out of the station, we look around us and see threadbare seats and through grimy windows glimpse an unfamiliar and unpleasant landscape, and when we ask where we are going, the crew tell us that from now on, that is their business, not ours.

German chancellor Angela Merkel fury at Cameron ‘hostility to EU’ as she downgrades ties with Tories
By Ian Drury

EU fall-out: David Cameron has angered German politicians over his ‘hostile’ stance to Europe and is at loggerheads with German politicians over his stance on Europe.

They were devastated by the Tory leader’s threat to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, which was masterminded in Berlin.
Chancellor Angela Merkel was also angered by Mr Cameron’s decision to remove Conservative MEPs from the federalist European People’s Party group in Brussels.

In retaliation, her ruling centre-right Christian Democrat CDU party has downgraded relations with the Tories.
She has axed three joint policy groups - on the environment, security and economic competitiveness - and an annual meeting between the parties.
She is furious that Mr Cameron has carried out his 2005 pledge to align his MEPs with a new right-wing group in the European Parliament.

And the German chancellor is unhappy at his refusal to buy into the European ‘project’ - especially his outbursts against the Lisbon Treaty.

One insider told BBC Radio 4’s World At One programme: ‘The Tories don’t understand how seriously the Germans take this. Some of the CDU politicians have been reduced to tears.’

Critics warned that the severed ties meant the Tories risked losing influence in Europe.

Conservative grandee Lord Brittan, a former European Commissioner, said policy groups and meetings were vital to building relationships.
He said: ‘They are important, because how do you get influence in the European Union? You do it by building up alliances, by talking to people and you don’t do it overnight. You can’t just turn up at a meeting and say “This is what I want”.

MORE HERE

Hey folks ... this is all ya need to understand.

The Lisbon Treaty, which was masterminded in Berlin.

Posted by peiper     on 10/04/2009 at 09:36 AM   
Filed Under: • Euro-Peons • EU Pin Heads • Government • Jack Booted Thugs • Tyrants and Dictators • UK •  
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The most dangerous thing in the world today is the universities!

YouTube is amazing. Who knew you could find an interview with… Ayn Rand!

Part II

Part III

Presented without much comment. What I’ve read about Ayn Rand I like. But I’ve yet to read Ayn Rand’s writings.

h/t small dead animals

Posted by Christopher     on 10/04/2009 at 08:17 AM   
Filed Under: • Philosophy •  
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Blair can’t be allowed to become the next Napoleon…

Another headline in this morning’s Sunday Mail reads as follows.

So as Ireland votes ‘yes’ to Lisbon treaty, our 1000 years of history ends like this

It is not over yet but might be close.  As you read the comments by the Conservative leader David Cameron, I think unless you’re a Brit you’ll be as lost as I am to fully understand what Cameron is saying.

LYNDON ..... HELP?  What does this mean in plain Engrish?

“‘If the Treaty is ratified, we would not let matters rest there. But we have one policy at a time and we will set out how we would proceed in those circumstances if, and only if, they happen.”

Blair can’t be allowed to become the next Napoleon… and don’t even ask about Cherie Antoinette

By Simon Walters, Simon Mcgee and Brendan Carlin
October 4, 2009
Sunday Mail

Boris Johnson put himself at the head of a Tory Euro revolt yesterday by demanding a referendum on whether Tony Blair should be the ‘big magnifico’ President of Europe.

The London Mayor threw down the gauntlet to David Cameron after the Conservative leader declined to give a cast-iron pledge to call a referendum on the EU Lisbon Treaty if it is ratified by the rest of Europe before the next Election.

Mr Johnson demanded a referendum not just on the Lisbon Treaty, but on whether the UK should pull out of Europe altogether.

‘A referendum would send out a clear message that we do not want a badly thought-out treaty imposed on us without the chance to vote on it,’ Mr Johnson told The Mail on Sunday.

‘It also sends the message that we don’t want some big magnifico swanning round the globe purporting to be acting on our behalf when we haven’t even been consulted as to whether it should be Tony Blair or not.’

Mr Johnson denied that his surprise move was an attempt to undermine Mr Cameron on the eve of the Conservative conference in Manchester, which starts today.

Mr Cameron said if the Treaty is not ratified by the Election, he will go ahead with a referendum if he wins power. However, if it is ratified by then, he said he would ‘not let matters rest there’ – prompting claims he might call off a referendum.

Mr Johnson had no such reservations. ‘I have the solution,’ he declared. ‘What we have got to do is to have a referendum. If Tony Blair is going to be President of Europe, I want a referendum on the matter, and a lot of people will agree with me.
Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson is calling for a referendum on the EU president

‘The British people are entitled to one – and they were certainly promised one. It doesn’t mean the answer has to be “no” but it would be very interesting to hear the arguments.

‘There should be two questions: are you in favour of the Lisbon Treaty and are you in favour of remaining in the EU?’

The Mayor said he would campaign for the UK to stay in Europe but believed that the Lisbon Treaty should be torn up.

Mr Cameron said: ‘I have said repeatedly that I want us to have a referendum. If the Treaty is not ratified in all Member States and is not in force when the Election is held, and if we are elected, we will hold a referendum and lead the campaign for a “No” vote.

‘If the Treaty is ratified, we would not let matters rest there. But we have one policy at a time and we will set out how we would proceed in those circumstances if, and only if, they happen.’

MORE HERE

No matter who becomes President of Europe, and people that will be the official title if the treaty is finally forced thru, here is what the estimated cost will be for the new fuhrer. 
My source for the following information was the Daily Mail on Saturday. Sorry, no link to the following available.  I had to copy it from the paper. 

LIFE OF LUXURY FOR ‘PRESIDENT BLAIR?’

Here’s what the Brits could be helping to pay for, along with other european txpayers.

There is NO job description;
nothing on how long a person will serve, nor any details on how the successful candidate will be remunerated.
But he or she will almost certainly be paid as much as European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso.  His pay-and-perks package is:

Salary:  £269,246 a year
Residence allowance:  £40,390 a year
Entertainment allowance:  £15,635 a year

Resettlement allowance (when he leaves the post) £22,441
Transitional allowance (to help his re-entry into the non-EU world) £403,956

PENSION:  £57,557 A YEAR.

Brussels has been reluctant to say what the position entails.

Posted by peiper     on 10/04/2009 at 02:45 AM   
Filed Under: • Euro-Peons • Government • Corruption and Greed • Inflation and High Prices • International • Nanny State •  
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   Saturday - October 03, 2009

Healthcare is not a right

So, I’m doing some research for my next Toastmaster’s speech. My premise is that you do not have a ‘right’ to healthcare, or any ‘right’ to the labor of others—be they cotton-pickers, house slaves servants, or doctors.

It’s an argument that I thought was settled back in the 1860’s… but Democrats have a thing for slavery.

So, whilst surfing for info and/or quotes to plagiarize flesh out my speech to the 5-6 minutes required, I stumbled upon the fact that somebody used this line of attack 16 years ago. During the Clinton healthcare debacle.

I’ll give the pull-quote:

The Declaration of Independence applies to the medical profession too. We must reject the idea that doctors are slaves destined to serve others at the behest of the state.

That’s it! One sentence summarized the 5-6 minute speech I’m working on. That one sentence trashes the entire idea of gov’t healthcare.

This is a brilliant speech. Please go read it.

A couple more quotes:

Observe that all legitimate rights have one thing in common: they are rights to action, not to rewards from other people. The American rights impose no obligations on other people, merely the negative obligation to leave you alone. The system guarantees you the chance to work for what you want—not to be given it without effort by somebody else.

And now?

You are entitled to something, the politicians say, simply because it exists and you want or need it—period. You are entitled to be given it by the government. Where does the government get it from? What does the government have to do to private citizens—to their individual rights—to their real rights—in order to carry out the promise of showering free services on the people?

The answers are obvious. The newfangled rights wipe out real rights—and turn the people who actually create the goods and services involved into servants of the state.

Health Care Is Not A Right
by Leonard Peikoff (January 23, 1998)

Delivered at a Town Hall Meeting on the Clinton Health Plan
Red Lion Hotel, Costa Mesa CA
December 11, 1993

Yes, my Toastmasters speech will include some quotes from this speech.

Posted by Christopher     on 10/03/2009 at 08:06 PM   
Filed Under: • FREEDOM • Government • Health-Medicine •  
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AWFUL NEWS FOR THE ENGLISH …. IRELAND VOTES ‘YES’ ON EU IN SECOND VOTE.

How do ya like the way they do things here?  Neat huh?  Keep voting till Euros get the vote wanted the first time.

I’m not much on conspiracies but I tend to believe those who make the claim that Ireland was bullied or bribed this time around.

Tony Blair it is believed, is a shoe in for the new office of President of the EU.

IRELAND SAYS ‘YES’ TO THE EU.

(oh yes,yes,yes. screw me,screw me. GAK)

Irish prime minister Brian Cowen has announced Ireland’s acceptance of the EU Lisbon treaty today.

Early results and exit polls from yesterday’s referendum indicate Ireland has decisively voted “Yes”, paving the way for a radical shake-up of the EU.

Irish Taoiseach Brian Cowen, whose government has backed the treaty, heralded the victory saying it would bring about “a stronger and fairer Ireland and Europe”.

In a brief statement to reporters Cowen said: “The Irish people have spoken with a clear and resounding voice,”

Hey hold the phone there a minute.  Didn’t they do that only recently?  I do believe they did. I guess it didn’t count.

Just so you folks back home know.  The latest Pro EU vote was very well financed and very heavily promoted by people OUTSIDE Ireland, who came to that place from Brussels (to name one place) and organized the vote the way they wanted it.  I guess the people will see in time if they made a mistake.
Hey .. not to worry.  If they find they did in fact make a mistake, I’m sure they’ll get out. Of course, EU troops will have to occupy the country as IRA types start making devices of persuasion.

Here’s a link for the rest of the story should you be interested.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article6859979.ece

Cheers and enjoy the wkend.

Posted by peiper     on 10/03/2009 at 11:02 AM   
Filed Under: • Euro-Peons • Politics •  
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A fallen hero and the story of what befell the rest of his comrades in 1 Platoon.

BATTLING BRITS is not a figure of speech ppl.

I caught this late today, only minutes ago.  I have to say the way the Mail presented this really brings home what these fellows are all about.
And at the same time, it also pisses me off big time to know these heroes are being stabbed in the back.  I just can not add anything to this.
It speaks for itself.

A fallen hero and the story of what befell the rest of his comrades in 1 Platoon

By Richard Pendlebury
Last updated at 8:34 AM on 03rd October 2009

This week, hundreds of people lined the streets of Wootton Bassett to give the town’s traditional salute to a fallen hero as another British serviceman was repatriated from Afghanistan in a Union Jack draped coffin.

Corporal Michael Lockett, 29, was the most highly decorated British soldier to die in the battle against the Taliban. His body had been flown back to Britain to nearby RAF Lyneham, Wiltshire, and a fly-past was staged before a private ceremony for his family.

Corporal Lockett, a father of three, was the first holder of the Military Cross to be killed in the war and had received the honour last year from the Queen for his ‘absolutely exceptional leadership and supreme courage’ in a clash with the Taliban in Helmand.

He had rescued wounded comrades and recovered bodies of fallen pals despite heavy enemy fire in a three-hour firefight.

On the eve of battle he posed for this remarkable photograph. To the regiment, it has always been an emblematic and proud picture; a portrait of young warriors who were supreme heroes under fire.

Yet in the past fortnight the photograph has also - perhaps inevitably - come to reflect war’s growing human cost.

This band of brothers is 1 Platoon of A Company, 2nd Battalion The Mercian Regiment (Worcesters and Foresters).

Shortly after the picture was taken in 2007, in the Afghan province of Helmand, they fought one of the bloodiest engagements of the conflict.

One night, the platoon was ambushed by a strong Taliban force. In the subsequent firefight, two Mercians were killed and seven wounded, two seriously.

Sergeant Craig Brelsford lost his life (and won a posthumous Military Cross) trying to retrieve the body of Private Johan Botha, which the Taliban were attempting to drag away. Others kept trying.

Corporal Lockett directed their efforts on that night in September. He is the soldier standing on the far left of the photograph; one of the most popular of Mercians.

But the war has continued longer and proved bloodier than then expected. Two years after surviving the ambush, ‘Locky’ was killed, on September 21.

He was nearing the end of his third tour and was the 217th British serviceman to die in Afghanistan since 2001.

But what of his comrades-in-arms in the picture? War brought the platoon together. It also tore them apart. Here are their stories…

This is important BMEWS.  Go to the link below since I can’t seem to post the photos cleanly here.  Don’t know why.  There are two photos and one of them explains the following.  In trying to reduce the pix for this post, the photos just didn’t work. When left at original size, they seemed to overwhelm the page.

1 Michael Lockett. Then aged 27, from Angus. Vowed never to leave any of his men behind on the battlefield and did not. The body of colleague Private Botha was recovered from the Taliban and other wounded British soldiers saved. Promoted to sergeant. Received his MC from the Queen at Buckingham Palace. Killed on September 21.

2 Private ‘Ginge’ Jones. Territorial Army soldier from Hastings, East Sussex. Now studying military history at university.

3 Corporal Ben Umney, 25. A section commander from Chesterfield. During an ambush, a bullet pierced his helmet but not his skull, stunning him. Has just left the Army after 11 years service. Now runs his own plumbing business.

4 Corporal Lee ‘Al’ Hodson from Worcester. On active service again in Helmand.

5 Private Matthew Farr from the West Midlands. Promoted to lance corporal. Returned to active service in Helmand.

6 Lance Corporal Jonathan McEwan, 27, from Retford, Nottinghamshire. On active service again in Helmand.

7 Christopher Bell, 20, from Redditch. Left the Army last year.

8 Lance Corporal Lee Weston. Shot and wounded in the shoulder during the night ambush. Has now left the Army and is a qualified mechanic.

9 Lance Corporal Wayne Russen, 24, from Redditch. Avoided the ambush, having been injured in an attack a few days before. Has since left the Army and is looking for work.

10 Private Kyle Drury, 22. Temporarily blinded by phosphorous during ambush and shot in chest, but was saved by his body armour as bullets deflected off his radio. Since promoted to lance corporal and still in the Army.

11 Private ‘Trout’ Stout, 20, from Nottingham. On active service again in Helmand.

12 Private Latham, 20, from Nottingham. Since promoted to lance corporal. Back on the Helmand frontline.

13 Private Luke Cole, 24, from Wolverhampton. Territorial Army reservist. Shot and wounded in initial ambush, but refused morphine treatment and continued to fire at Taliban and tend to even more seriously hurt colleague Private Cooper.

Shot again, through hip and stomach, before being evacuated several hours later. Awarded the Military Cross for his bravery. Permanently disabled by leg wound, he has spent time in a wheelchair and can no longer run. Unable to return to his former job of fork-lift truck engineer.

Currently retraining at specialist college for the disabled.

14 Private Sam Cooper, 18, from Chesterfield. Youngest soldier in regiment. Shot in head and suffered brain damage in the ambush, which affects his speech and one side of his body. Treated at Headley Court rehabilitation centre.

15 Private Daniel Hammer, 19, from the West Midlands. On active service again in Helmand.

16 Lieutenant Simon Cupples, 25, from Chesterfield. Officer in command of the platoon during ambush. At times, was less than 20 metres from Taliban lines as he fought to remove his men from the ‘killing zone’.

Awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross, second only to the Victoria Cross. Now promoted to Captain and second in command of A (Grenadier) Company, 2 Mercians.

17 Privater Ben Johnson, 23. Temporarily blinded by phosphorus during the night ambush. Still serving. Has been on active service again in Helmand.

18 Private Matthew Carling, 21, from Derby. Left the Army last year.

19 Private ‘Dunc’ Dunkley, from Nottingham. No longer in the Army.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1217810/Pictured-A-fallen-hero-story-befell-rest-comrades-1-Platoon.html#ixzz0St7JbIJC

Posted by peiper     on 10/03/2009 at 10:28 AM   
Filed Under: • Heroes • UK • War-Stories •  
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GLORIOUS AND GLAMOROUS WEEKEND WOMEN.

Since beauty is generally in the eye of the beholder ... these are some of my choices of beautiful women. But I do have favorites of course.

One of my all around all time favorites of any time is
ANN MARGARET I think I’ve had a school boy crush on her ever since forever.

Naturally being male my favorite list can extend to the hundreds. But there are exceptions who stand out and go far beyond mere ‘Eye Candy.’

Some of you youngsters may not know this, but Lucille Ball in her prime, in her 20s, was one of the most awesomely, naturally beautiful and fantastic women on the planet.  Some only know her from I Love Lucy.  I’ve seen photos of her that weren’t posed and where she wasn’t wearing make up. Trust me.
She was heart stopping.

So here’s another coz I loved her dearly but it’s odd having said that, that I wasn’t a fan of the TV show.  Go figure.

Now this dame will live forever I think.  There’s generations aware of MAY WEST (Mary Jane West) who may not be aware of more recent sexy ladies of filmland.  She’s another one I have been smitten with from boyhood. Her quips and wit and I won’t deny it. I loved her looks. 

And one more just coz I still love lookin’ at her.

OK so, I’m almost obligated to include SOPHIA LOREN. How can we post pretty women and leave her out? She was never one of my heart throbs though, truth to tell. I liked her looks of course. What’s not to like?  But she’s was never an Ann Margaret or Lucille Ball or May West.  Oh boy. Here come the flames. OUCH!

Alright here.  This has to make up for my last remark and I offer it as bribe to avoid flames from her fans.

Finally, there’s this bit of sexy something and I am certain they had the wrong name attached.  It was labeled Jayne Mansfield but it surely is NOT.
Here ya go. Take a look.

Posted by peiper     on 10/03/2009 at 08:11 AM   
Filed Under: • Eye-Candy •  
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I HAVE NOW READ EVERYTHING THERE IS TO READ RE. THE “R” WORD. FOR THE BIRDS? APPARENTLY

A few of our regular commenters have, in the last 24 hours, wondered just how far down the dumb ladder some ppl would fall.  In one of his posts I believe Drew asked the same question.  Maybe not in those exact words but you get the picture.
While working on another story I found this bit of nonsense and so it’s my first for Saturday. 

The giant issue of the day ... Is killing a pesky bird .... RACIST?

This week Natural England officially deemed the ring-necked parakeet as a pest, making it possible to shoot the birds without a licence.

By Louise Gray, Environment Correspondent

However Dr Ian Rotherham, Director of the Environmental Change Research Unit at Sheffield Hallam University, said there is a danger that labelling parakeets as a “nasty alien” just because they are from abroad could be seen as a form of “racism” towards a foreign species.

Parakeets can be shot without a licence under new rules to control spread of exotic birds
‘Eco-xenophobia’ on the rise warns conservationist
Should we be shooting parakeets?

“If there is a problem - for example with the birds taking fruit - then we have to take steps to deal with it. If you start to label it as alien then that is some sort of racism. Eco-xenophobia is the label I would use.
“I suspect there is an underlying view it is because they are alien, but it should be because they are a problem.”

Matthew Frith, Deputy Chief Executive of the London Wildlife Trust, said parakeets were “as British as curry” and agreed it was dangerous to label the birds as a pest just because they are foreign.
“Parakeets are birds from the Indian sub-continent that came here is the last century and are doing very well. Just like curry,” he said.

“There are concerns that species from other parts of the world are scapegoated but we have been bringing different animals here like rabbits and hares since Roman times.
“The biodiversity in our country is a mix of native and non-native just like the social make-up of this country.”

The ring-necked parakeet first appeared in the wild in Britain in 1969, having been bought here as a pet.
By the late 1990s the birds were being seen throughout the South East and there are now thought to 20,000 birds across the country. The exotic birds are especially common in London around Richmond Park.

Farmers in Surrey have complained about the birds taking fruit and there have been concerns about parrakeets threatening native birds like woodpeckers and nuthatches.
Helen Phillips, Chief Executive of Natural England, said it was important to control non-native and exotic species.

The new rules allow people to kill parakeets or take their eggs without a licence as long as they can prove the birds are causing a nuisance. Canada geese and Egyptian geese have also been given the designation under the Wildlife and Countryside Act.
“Non-native species are a major threat to global biodiversity and it is important that licences can operate as an effective tool in helping to tackle the problem,” she said.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said parakeets are already controlled under licence and the new rules would just make it easier for people with legitimate concerns to control the birds.

SOURCE

While I don’t think anybody really is gonna take that fruitcake seriously (altho there may be a few) I doubt his “R” claim will have any effect. But what it does do, is show how easily and how ready in even the stupidest of ways, someone like the mad doctor will jump on the ‘r’ word.

Posted by peiper     on 10/03/2009 at 06:25 AM   
Filed Under: • Stoopid-People • UK •  
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   Friday - October 02, 2009

Eco Terrorists Hold Coal Mine Hostage

Climbers from Greenpeace have since early Friday morning been blocking the loading of coal from the Svea mine at Svalbard. The action is a protest against coal mining and climate changes.

The Greenpeace vessel Arctic Sunrise has spent the last months in the Arctic sailing in the waters around Greenland and now over to Svalbard area.  Onboard are both activists and scientists

researching the climate changes impact on the Arctic.

Friday morning, 22 activists from the vessel are participating in the action. Svea coal mine is operated by the Norwegain state own company Store Norske Spitsbergen Kullkompani.

A huge banner at the loading crane says “Coal fired Arctic meltdown.”

Svea mine is located in the inner part of the Van Mijenfjord in the southern part of the Spitsbergen Island at 75 degrees north in the Norwegian Arctic.

Four of the Greenpeace climbers are Friday morning hanging over the loading crane stopping the coal from land to be transferred over to the coal bulk vessel Pascha.

Greenpeace says the coal mining at Svalbard should be stopped.

Posted by Drew458     on 10/02/2009 at 08:44 PM   
Filed Under: • Environment • Politically-Incorrect •  
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You Knew There Would Be One, Right?

News From Down Unda

A SURFER escaped death in the Samoan tsunami by riding out the giant waves that surged over the Pacific Island.

New Zealand student Chris Nel was surfing on the south coast of Savai’i island when the 8.3 magnitude quake struck on Wednesday morning, The Dominion Post newspaper reports.

He had been in the water with four other New Zealand surfers and an Australian when the tsunami appeared.

“All of a sudden the water went real weird, it kind of glassed off and got real lumpy, then we started moving real quick, getting sucked out to sea,” Nel told the Post.

“It was pretty scary looking back and seeing the reef completely dried up. It looked like a volcanic riverbed - it was just gone.’’

A “big-as spurt of water’’ then hit the shore, Nel said.

“I was thinking, ‘this is it, we’re going to get washed away and smashed into the jungle’.’’

The surfers struggled to reach the shore and they lay on the surfboards as more wave surges swept in, riding them out and trying not to get smashed on beach.

“After about 35 or 45 minutes of floating around we managed to time it between a surge to get to land through the reef channel.’’

By the time Mr Nel returned, much of the surf camp he had been staying at had been destroyed.

“A lot of my stuff got washed out to sea and I found one of my surfboards in the jungle.’’

He left Samoa on Thursday, flying back to Wellington wearing a pair of jeans he had found in the jungle.

Gnarly tale, dude.

Posted by Drew458     on 10/02/2009 at 08:03 PM   
Filed Under: • Miscellaneous •  
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Letterman

Yeah yeah yeah, David Letterman was blackmailed by the producer of the news show 48 Hours. And they caught the guy. It’s all over the news, yadda yadda. But by “coming clean”:

As part of the testimony, Letterman admitted that he had engaged in sexual relationships with staff members.

“My response to that is, yes I have.

hasn’t Dirty Dave just admitted that he’s guilty of multiple counts of sexual harassment? I mean, aside from the marital infidelity? He’s the boss. And he’s screwing his staff members. Tell me this isn’t an open and shut case worth millions? And about the same amount when his wife now divorces him? Am I the only person in America to have this thought? Because the story is everywhere today, and not a single news source or blog that I’ve seen has asked this question.

Posted by Drew458     on 10/02/2009 at 07:43 PM   
Filed Under: • Hollywood •  
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New Crowder

Posted by Drew458     on 10/02/2009 at 07:25 PM   
Filed Under: • Humor •  
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Clear Thinking and Straight Talk

There have been some phony arguments put forth for another “surge” in Afghanistan. We need not a surge of troops, we merely need to let our forces there do what needs to be done – kill the enemy.

There is this misconception of Afghanistan in particular (and Islam in general) that somehow we can bring Central Asia (and the rest of the Islamic world) kicking and screaming into the 21st Century through good will. This is simply not the case. There is no amount of money to spend, infrastructure to build, schools to provide, hospitals to heal, or good will that Americans can display toward the Afghan people that will produce a lasting effect. I was once told by an accomplished Afghan intelligence analyst that, “you can rent an Afghan, but you can’t buy him.”

The hard fact is that the “hearts and minds” of the Afghan “people” are not for sale! The descendants of “The Great Khan” and their tribal cousins have no interest in being Westernized in any way. And, the human sewers that serve as their political leadership can only be rented. Americans are interlopers in a land where interlopers generally have their heads lopped off.

The current crop of Afghanistan’s “Warriors” is almost exclusive to the opposition. The true believers are fighters – cowards too, but fighters nonetheless. By contrast, the bulk of the Afghan National Army (ANA) and Afghan National Police (ANP) are not fighters, nor are they “true believers”. They are simply cowards – frauds – corrupt to the core by any standard and an apostate to their own faith. They are slovenly, drug-addicted, dimwitted, and totally unreliable at any level. Like the Taliban, they are brutal to their own countrymen. They thrive on their petty powers and refuse to shoulder any burden or responsibility. Does this sound too harsh? Not for the Marines and Soldiers who have been killed by the treachery of ANA and ANP who have purposely led them into ambush.

Iraq is a case study in deception. You have been told by the media and our politicians that the Iraqi Army is now capable of maintaining order in Iraq with limited U.S. support. Well, read the news. Iraq is still in chaos. As we withdraw it will become worse; Sunni v. Shitte, Kurd v. Sunni and/or Shitte. Arabs are as brutal as Central Asians. However, they are even worse soldiers, and bring new meaning to the term cowardly. An American colonel who tried to train an Iraqi brigade regularly quips that his greatest accomplishment in twelve months was to get the Iraqis to use the toilets. He was not exaggerating. Americans have no idea how screwed up the world is east of Greece.

With cessation of the draft in the early 1970s America cultivated a professional warrior class. For over thirty years we have trained and equipped the most lethal fighting force ever known to mankind. They have sworn an oath to our Constitution that they take seriously. The question is whether or not their political leadership takes their own oath seriously. Our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines are worthy of competent leadership that they can trust. Our president has demonstrated his contempt for America on foreign soil. In speeches around the world he has apologized for our history and failed to recognize our contributions. His personal history is littered with questionable personal friendships and professional associations. He has denied our Judeo-Christian heritage and stated that “Victory” is not in his vocabulary. We need to ask ourselves if he is worthy to be trusted with making policy that may mean the lives of our brave Warriors?

President Obama and General McCrystal need to review their history. When you treat the Afghans with kid gloves, they will bite off your hand.

This war is going to be lost on one front and one front only; at home. It is going to be lost at home because the American people are going to lose all confidence in our government’s ability to prosecute this war. This is not a military problem; it is a political problem. The daydream that we are engaged in right now is just that; a daydream. It is an experiment in social engineering with a population of people who hate us ideologically and who don’t want what we have. We MUST get back to the original mission as stated, to locate Al Qaida and kill them, deny them training ground, battle space and to hold those who aid them in their attempts to train and export violence accountable.

Sounds simple enough to me. Now all we have to do is remind our elected officials what they swore to protect and defend…

Semper Fidelis;
John Bernard, 1stSgt, ret

Sgt Bernard’s blog, Let Them Fight Or Bring Them Home has been up about a week now, so you can go and read the entire thing in about 20 minutes. His first posts are essays. Essays written from the heart, from a boots on the ground perspective absolutely in line with the name of the blog. I read the entire thing and I can’t find much to quibble with.

h/t to Atlas.

Please read below the fold:

Posted by Drew458     on 10/02/2009 at 04:47 PM   
Filed Under: • Military • War On Terror •  
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IOC Rejects The New Messiah

The International Olympic Committee on Friday eliminated Chicago and Tokyo as contenders to host the 2016 Games.  Still under consideration to host the two-week sporting spectacle are Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Madrid, Spain. After the cities made their presentations to the IOC on Friday, the IOC members sat down to cast their votes in a secret ballot.

“It’s not a requirement for heads of state to come to our session,” said the IOC spokeswoman, who asked not to be named. “We are obviously very honored if they decide to come, but there’s no particular requirement.”

So we can write this little trip off as another waste of time and money by Teh One. Now that he has nothing important left to do, how about figuring out a plan of action for Afghanistan?



UPDATE: Rio gets the 2016 games. Good for them. There hasn’t been a South American Olympics in ... ever?

Better yet: pundits are seeing Oblahma & the Klingon’s quickie visit to the Netherlands as an insult. Hey, he came, he spoke about himself, he blamed Bush. Shouldn’t that be enough to get him whatever he wants?

Chicago had long been seen as a front-runner and got the highest possible level of support — from President Barack Obama himself. But he only spent a few hours in the Danish capital where the vote was held and left before the result was announced. Former IOC member Kai Holm said that the brevity of his appearance may have counted against him.

The short stopover was “too business-like,” Holm said. “It can be that some IOC members see it as a lack of respect.”

Senior Australian IOC member Kevan Gosper surmised that Asian voters may have banded together for Tokyo in the first round, at Chicago’s expense.

“I’m shocked,” Gosper said. “The whole thing doesn’t make sense other than there has been a stupid bloc vote.”

He worried that the shock exit could do “untold damage” to the already testy relations between the IOC and the U.S. Olympic Committee. They had recent flare-ups over revenue sharing and a USOC TV network.

“To have the president of the United States and his wife personally appear, then this should happen in the first round is awful and totally undeserving,” Gosper said.

The European-dominated IOC’s last two experiences in the United States were bad: the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics were sullied by a bribery scandal and logistical problems and a bombing hit the 1996 Games in Atlanta.

Obama had held out the enticing prospect of a Chicago games helping to reconnect the United States with the world after the presidency of George W. Bush. He told the IOC earlier Friday that the “full force of the White House” would be applied so “visitors from all around the world feel welcome and will come away with a sense of the incredible diversity of the American people.”

Now, Chicago can only rue what might have been. And Obama’s gamble of expending his own political capital on the bid backfired.

UPDATE UPDATE: (stolen from Michelle Malkin’s place)

This is actually a pretty good pun, because créu means to believe and to suppose. It’s also the name of the latest fad dance sweeping Rio this summer, a kind of pelvic shaking version of the macarena set to a techno amazon beat. Lots of thrustin’ goin’ on, although it mainly seems to be a man’s dance. So Brazil is using dance (it’s what they do best!) to give Obama a big old “fuck you”! Love it!

Posted by Drew458     on 10/02/2009 at 11:50 AM   
Filed Under: • Obama, The One • Sports •  
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