Wonderful writer, veteran of WWII, creator of Harry Flashman. Got to thinking about him today, and thought I'd post something I wrote a few years back. First, on the subject of preparedness:
In Royal Flash he's been enticed into a trip and he's packing, when he runs into a quandary over a pair of pistols:
But I pondered about taking them. The truth was, I didn't want to believe that I might need them.
I knew, as I hesitated with those pistols in my hands, that if I took them I should be admitting the possibility of my own sudden death or maiming in whatever lay ahead.
And experience has taught me that, as with all weapons, while you may not often need it, when you do you need it badly.
From Flashman and the Mountain of Light, Flashman is making a list of good and bad points about his situation:
Evil
If I were a praying man, the Almighty would hear from me in no uncertain terms, and much good it would do me.
Good
Being a pagan(attached C of E) with no divine resources, I shall tread uncommon wary and keep my pepperbox handy.
And later, when he’s sneaked out of his quarters in answer to a summons, and finds himself in a tavern in enemy territory:
I’d settle for you alongside this minute, thinks I, as I surveyed the company: villainous two-rupee bravos, painted harpies who should have been perched in trees, a seedy flute-and-tom-tom ban accompanying a couple of gyrating nautches whom you wouldn’t have touched with a long pole, and Sikh brandy fit to corrode a bucket. I’ll never way a word against Boodle’s again, says I to myself; at least there you don’t have to sit with your back to the wall.
He wrote about his and other peoples experiences in WWII(Quartered Safe Out Here, MacAuslan in the Rough, The General Danced at Dawn), all good books. And then, at the end, the Daily Mail published his Last Testament, which included
In the Nineties, a change began to take place. Reviewers and interviewers started describing Flashman (and me) as politically incorrect, which we are, though by no means in the same way.
This is fine by me. Flashman is my bread and butter, and if he wasn't an elitist, racist, sexist swine, I'd be selling bootlaces at street corners instead of being a successful popular writer.
But what I notice with amusement is that many commentators now draw attention to Flashy's (and my) political incorrectness in order to make a point of distancing themselves from it.
It's not that they dislike the books. But where once the non-PC thing could pass unremarked, they now feel they must warn readers that some may find Flashman offensive, and that his views are certainly not those of the interviewer or reviewer, God forbid.
I find the disclaimers alarming. They are almost a knee-jerk reaction and often rather a nervous one, as if the writer were saying: "Look, I'm not a racist or sexist. I hold the right views and I'm in line with modern enlightened thought, honestly."
They won't risk saying anything to which the PC lobby could take exception. And it is this that alarms me - the fear evident in so many sincere and honest folk of being thought out of step.
...
I think little of people who will deny their history because it doesn't present the picture they would like.
My forebears from the Highlands of Scotland were a fairly primitive, treacherous, blood-thirsty bunch and, as Robert Louis Stevenson once wrote, would have been none the worse for washing. Fine, let them be so depicted, if any film maker feels like it; better that than insulting, inaccurate drivel like Braveheart.
...
I loathe all political parties, which I regard as inventions of the devil. My favourite prime minister was Sir Alec Douglas-Home, not because he was on the Right, but because he spent a year in office without, on his own admission, doing a damned thing.
This would not commend him to New Labour, who count all time lost when they're not wrecking the country.
I am deeply concerned for the United Kingdom and its future. I look at the old country as it was in my youth and as it is today and, to use a fine Scots word, I am scunnered.
And the part that probably caused a lot of pants-wetting and outrage, and would have had some idiot threatening him with jail if he weren't dying:
Whether the public can be blamed for letting them pursue their ruinous policies is debatable.
Short of assassination there is little people can do when their political masters have forgotten the true meaning of the democracy of which they are forever prating, are determined to have their own way at all costs and hold public opinion in contempt.
I feel I speak not just for myself but for the huge majority of my generation who think as I do but whose voices are so often lost in the clamour.
We are yesterday's people, the over-the-hill gang. (Yes, the old people - not the senior citizens or the time-challenged, but the old people.) Those of ultra-liberal views may take consolation from this - that my kind won't be around much longer, and then they can get on with wrecking civilisation in peace.
The man could write, and didn't give a damn if someone was outraged or had hurt feelings from his words.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Hopefully the only post I'll do on Trump
I think he started the "I might run" noise just to stir things up; now I think his ego is also involved, and if he gets a chance he just might screw things up the way Perot did and help Obama win another term. Hell, maybe that's what he's planning on, considering his past record of supporting the most far-left/socialist politicians around(including Schumer and Lautenberg).
And, in case you're wondering about his position on the 2nd Amendment,
I generally oppose gun control, but I support the ban on assault weapons and I support a slightly longer waiting period to purchase a gun. With today’s Internet technology we should be able to tell within 72-hours if a potential gun owner has a record.
And, in case you're wondering about his position on the 2nd Amendment,
I generally oppose gun control, but I support the ban on assault weapons and I support a slightly longer waiting period to purchase a gun. With today’s Internet technology we should be able to tell within 72-hours if a potential gun owner has a record.
I'm curious: with al-Assad's forces actually shooting unarmed protesters
and so forth, has anyone heard the UN declaring the world has a 'duty to protect'? Or Obama stating we have to prevent massacres? Oh, there's stuff like this:
UN chief Ban Ki-moon said Assad's government must "respect international human rights" and called for an independent probe into the killings, as France urged Syria to launch a "political dialogue without delay."
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton called the crackdown "intolerable," and urged Damascus to launch "profound political reforms."
and Obama(for a change) is actually, flatly condemning the killing; but I haven't heard one word of the demanding that we act that got us involved in Libya.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon said Assad's government must "respect international human rights" and called for an independent probe into the killings, as France urged Syria to launch a "political dialogue without delay."
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton called the crackdown "intolerable," and urged Damascus to launch "profound political reforms."
and Obama(for a change) is actually, flatly condemning the killing; but I haven't heard one word of the demanding that we act that got us involved in Libya.
I've got one hell of a headache, but being
First, actual free speech is messy and often upsets somebody; that doesn't mean you get to silence people on the grounds 'there might be trouble'. I realize the problems involved, but we cannot allow the authorities to shut people up because of the Heckler's Veto. Or in this case the Upset Muslim Veto.
Second, next time some clown starts lecturing on how we should give amnesty(by ANY name, including 'pathway out of the shadows' or other bullshit) to illegal aliens, point them to this.
As a side note, a while back I heard a OKC cop say that if it weren't for illegal aliens we'd have maybe half the gang problems we do.
Third: for some of these goat-humpers video of them cutting a head off isn't good enough, they want video of their mass murder.
Last, this is what all those taxes for education in NYEffin'C are paying for:
'How to teach Marxism to the kids in your class without getting caught'. Or maybe 'in trouble'.
Denny got a letter about fixing Congress
that did not involve tar, feathers and a rope. I'm going to borrow it:
I've been saying for years, 'NO retirement system for House, Senate or President: it's supposed to be a position of service, not a career. You want to stay there for decades and want a retirement system, open a IRA. And I VERY much like #8, but I'd make it something like 'no Senator or Rep can take a job that involves lobbying Congress or a contract with the Federal government for a minimum of ten years', or 'ever, you bastards'. In proper amendment language, of course.
The 26th amendment (granting the right to vote for 18 year-olds) took only 3 months & 8 days to be ratified! Why? Simple! The people demanded it. That was in 1971...before computers, before e-mail, before cell phones, etc.
Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, seven (7) took 1 year or less to
become the law of the land...all because of public pressure.
I'm asking each addressee to forward this email to a minimum of twenty people on
their address list; in turn ask each of those to do likewise.
In three days, most people in The United States of America will have the
message. This is one idea that really should be passed around.
Congressional Reform Act of 20111. Term Limits.
12 years only, one of the possible options below..A. Two Six-year Senate terms
B. Six Two-year House terms
C. One Six-year Senate term and three Two-Year House terms
2. No Tenure / No Pension.
A Congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when
they are out of office.
3. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security.
All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security
system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system,
and Congress participates with the American people.
How long do you think it would take Congress to fix Social Security if this happened? ... GOC
4. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.5. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will
rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.
I've got a better idea. They only get a pay raise when the budget is balanced. Deficit spending means no pay raise for the congresscritters. What kind of politicians are they if they can't survive on their already generous salaries and all the money they get in bribes and graft? ... GOC
6. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same
health care system as the American people.
Wonder what that would do to Obummercare? ... GOC
7. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.
8. All contracts with past and present Congressmen are void effective 1/1/11.
The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen.
Congressmen made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is
an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators,
so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work.
If each person contacts a minimum of twenty people then it will only take three
days for most people (in the U.S. ) to receive the message. Maybe it is time.
THIS IS HOW YOU FIX CONGRESS!!!!! If you agree with the above, pass it on.
If not, just delete.
I've been saying for years, 'NO retirement system for House, Senate or President: it's supposed to be a position of service, not a career. You want to stay there for decades and want a retirement system, open a IRA. And I VERY much like #8, but I'd make it something like 'no Senator or Rep can take a job that involves lobbying Congress or a contract with the Federal government for a minimum of ten years', or 'ever, you bastards'. In proper amendment language, of course.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Does anyone else get pissed when some talking head
or 'economics expert' plays "How high will the price of gas have to get to affect people?" Do these morons not realize what it's doing now, or are they playing games so as to not whack on Obama & Co. for this?
Insty pointed to this article which takes notice that prices NOW are causing real problems for people. However,
If gas were to go to $5 a gallon and stay there, some analysts believe, it could erase the steady gains the economy is making and tip the nation back into recession because Americans would sharply curtail their spending elsewhere.
is bullshit: the current prices are erasing any 'gains' and people are ALREADY cutting other spending as well as driving less if they can. If it does get to $5 a gallon nationwide we're screwed, and it doesn't matter how much The Lightworker blames speculators and tells people to buy new cars, it won't help. The only thing that really will is permits to explore and drill being approved, and I think he and his minions would rather see the country crash than do that.
Insty pointed to this article which takes notice that prices NOW are causing real problems for people. However,
If gas were to go to $5 a gallon and stay there, some analysts believe, it could erase the steady gains the economy is making and tip the nation back into recession because Americans would sharply curtail their spending elsewhere.
is bullshit: the current prices are erasing any 'gains' and people are ALREADY cutting other spending as well as driving less if they can. If it does get to $5 a gallon nationwide we're screwed, and it doesn't matter how much The Lightworker blames speculators and tells people to buy new cars, it won't help. The only thing that really will is permits to explore and drill being approved, and I think he and his minions would rather see the country crash than do that.
Anyone who makes excuses for Hamas is either a fool
or a hater of Jews equal to the Hamassholes:
Seraphic Secret learned, early this morning, that Daniel Raphael Viflic, the 16-year-old who was severely wounded by the anti-tank missile fired at an Israeli school bus by Hamas terrorists, died on Sunday. May his family be comforted among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.
The Hamas attack on the bus was intended to kill as many Jewish children as possible. In fact, Hamas are proud of this murder, labeling young Daniel a “Zionist soldier.”
These worthless shits fired a guided missile at a SCHOOL BUS.
The same people who put rocket launchers and weapons dumps in or next to homes and schools specifically to get civilians killed so they can use the pictures and dance in the blood and blame the nasty JOOOOOOS for it.
I've had people give me hell for calling them Palisimians; blaming the Israelis for all the troubles. They make excuses for things like the murders of Eldad Fogel
age 4, and Yoav Fogel
age 11. And the rest of their family, including their sister Hadas, THREE MONTHS OLD. And the palisimians celebrated these murders, gave out candy.
There are no excuses for these wastes of oxygen, or for those who excuse their actions.
Seraphic Secret learned, early this morning, that Daniel Raphael Viflic, the 16-year-old who was severely wounded by the anti-tank missile fired at an Israeli school bus by Hamas terrorists, died on Sunday. May his family be comforted among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.
The Hamas attack on the bus was intended to kill as many Jewish children as possible. In fact, Hamas are proud of this murder, labeling young Daniel a “Zionist soldier.”
These worthless shits fired a guided missile at a SCHOOL BUS.
The same people who put rocket launchers and weapons dumps in or next to homes and schools specifically to get civilians killed so they can use the pictures and dance in the blood and blame the nasty JOOOOOOS for it.
I've had people give me hell for calling them Palisimians; blaming the Israelis for all the troubles. They make excuses for things like the murders of Eldad Fogel
age 4, and Yoav Fogel
age 11. And the rest of their family, including their sister Hadas, THREE MONTHS OLD. And the palisimians celebrated these murders, gave out candy.There are no excuses for these wastes of oxygen, or for those who excuse their actions.
Ref the Michigan State Police possibly scanning phones
on routine traffic stops. Insty says
If you consent to a search, however, all bets are off. It’s hard to see why anyone would do so: If you’re a criminal, you’ve got something to hide; and if you’re not a criminal, why would you want to let the police paw through your email?
True enough; the reason people do is they're pressured into it. People, including lots of honest people, are somewhat scared of the cops: they know they can be arrested for pretty much anything if it's a bad one stopping you. They may have the kids in the car, be on the way to a job, may just be short of time and they get
"You realize refusing permission looks suspicious?"
"Sir/Ma'am, I can keep you here until I can get a drug dog to sniff around the car..."
and so on. Someone short of time or intimidated gives in and says "Ok, search." Lots of cops are very good at pressuring and scaring people into giving permission. That's why so many people surrender their 4th Amendment rights to the man with the badge.
And yes, they can make you sit around for a while waiting or a dog, and there's no set time; I asked a lawyer about this once and he said the time 'depends on the circumstances'. Think about that while wondering why people get spooked and surrender.
If you consent to a search, however, all bets are off. It’s hard to see why anyone would do so: If you’re a criminal, you’ve got something to hide; and if you’re not a criminal, why would you want to let the police paw through your email?
True enough; the reason people do is they're pressured into it. People, including lots of honest people, are somewhat scared of the cops: they know they can be arrested for pretty much anything if it's a bad one stopping you. They may have the kids in the car, be on the way to a job, may just be short of time and they get
"You realize refusing permission looks suspicious?"
"Sir/Ma'am, I can keep you here until I can get a drug dog to sniff around the car..."
and so on. Someone short of time or intimidated gives in and says "Ok, search." Lots of cops are very good at pressuring and scaring people into giving permission. That's why so many people surrender their 4th Amendment rights to the man with the badge.
And yes, they can make you sit around for a while waiting or a dog, and there's no set time; I asked a lawyer about this once and he said the time 'depends on the circumstances'. Think about that while wondering why people get spooked and surrender.
Two things on the Gunwalker mess and Mexico wanting to sue
US gunmakers:
First, timing: I missed something in this at first glance. Something big. Mexico hired the law firm back in early November 2010 while the Gunwalker scandal still hadn't come to the surface. Here's an excellent question: Could it all been a part of the plan, just a soliloquy from Act II? Does this demonstrate that Calderon was in it from the beginning? Flood the border with U.S. traceable guns so you can prove the "90%" (or as close as you can get), and then have Calderon file suit to cripple the industry financially and keep the NRA busy, while Melson calls for new emergency restrictions and then put it all to bed with new comprehensive totally encompassing legislation. Now that actually could fit. If you're slightly mistrusting of the governments of Mexico and the United States, that is.
Second, about that law firm:
Found something interesting that may be of interest to Grassley. Apparently one of the partners of that law firm, just so happens to have been appointed by Obama to the Texas Federal bench.
Yep.
http://texaslawyer.typepad.com/texas_lawyer_blog/2010/07/president-nominates-marina-garcia-marmolejo-for-southern-district-bench.html
President nominates Marina Garcia Marmolejo for Southern District bench
In a press release today from the White House, President Barack Obama announced his nomination of Marina Garcia Marmolejo, a partner in Reid Davisin San Antonio, as a judge for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
Well, isn't that interesting?
First, timing: I missed something in this at first glance. Something big. Mexico hired the law firm back in early November 2010 while the Gunwalker scandal still hadn't come to the surface. Here's an excellent question: Could it all been a part of the plan, just a soliloquy from Act II? Does this demonstrate that Calderon was in it from the beginning? Flood the border with U.S. traceable guns so you can prove the "90%" (or as close as you can get), and then have Calderon file suit to cripple the industry financially and keep the NRA busy, while Melson calls for new emergency restrictions and then put it all to bed with new comprehensive totally encompassing legislation. Now that actually could fit. If you're slightly mistrusting of the governments of Mexico and the United States, that is.
Second, about that law firm:
Found something interesting that may be of interest to Grassley. Apparently one of the partners of that law firm, just so happens to have been appointed by Obama to the Texas Federal bench.
Yep.
http://texaslawyer.typepad.com/texas_lawyer_blog/2010/07/president-nominates-marina-garcia-marmolejo-for-southern-district-bench.html
President nominates Marina Garcia Marmolejo for Southern District bench
In a press release today from the White House, President Barack Obama announced his nomination of Marina Garcia Marmolejo, a partner in Reid Davisin San Antonio, as a judge for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
Well, isn't that interesting?
Taking a look around, oh, where to start?
How about this:
The combination of rising gasoline prices and the steepest increase in the cost of food in a generation is threatening to push the US economy into a recession, according to Craig Johnson, president of Customer Growth Partners.
We got OUT of the recession? Really?
If we don't raise the debt ceiling:
"What will happen is that we'd have to stop making payments to our seniors -- Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security. We'd have to stop paying veterans' benefits. We'd have to stop paying all the other payments on all the other things the government does. And then we would risk default on our interest payments."
...
Is any of this true? Will seniors not get their June Social Security checks? Will doctors be stiffed for the health care they provided Medicare patients? Will the Pentagon be unable to buy fuel for missions in Afghanistan? If history is any guide, the answer to all of these questions is "no."
The United States has reached its debt limit three times in the past 30 years and not only did economic Armageddon never materialize, but not a single Social Security check was late.
So why is Geithner saying this(besides being a tax-cheating dirtbag)?
The GAO reports highlights the tremendous discretion Geithner has over how and when the federal government pays what bills. So the only reason June Social Security checks might not go out, as Geithner warned they might not, is if Geithner chose not to send them.
Anyone willing to be that he wouldn't decide to stop SS checks or something similar just to make the situation worse?
The government of Gambia says muslims are hair-triggered nutcases who can't act like civilized people. Not what they wanted to say, but that's what it works out to. They also demonstrate their ignorance of how things work here.
Breakables alert in effect. Remember the name Johnny Sutton? The slimy little bastard federal prosecutor? He's at it again:
This latest prosecution against a U.S. border agent stems from an October 2008 incident near the Rio Grande River in Eagle Pass, TX where Diaz and several other agents responded to illegal aliens who had crossed the river into Texas with bundles of drugs.
Agents apprehended the aliens and as Diaz was getting ready to put one of the aliens in the truck for transport, he allegedly pulled on his handcuffs, a common law enforcement technique to get suspects to cooperate. It was 1:30 in the morning and Diaz and the other agents were trying to find the drugs brought over by the suspects and determine if any other cartel smugglers were hiding in the bushes nearby. The suspect refused to answer their questions. They eventually found the drugs and all were taken to the station for processing.
Go read.
Near the city of Qom, Iran has a secret plant that is part of its chemical weapons program, according to a secret U.S. cable sent by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, which is part of the WikiLeaks documents obtained by Haaretz. Clinton instructed the U.S. Embassy in Beijing to take action against a Chinese company that is involved in the transfer of equipment, know-how and technology to Iran.
Joy, the thought of the Iranian government making lots of chemical weapons.
Ah, the integrity of pacifist principles in Spain; "We won't fight terrorists, but we'll sell weapons to ANYBODY."
Go read why Sarah Hoyt calles him that.
One more thing, it I'll put it in a Post Of Its Own
The combination of rising gasoline prices and the steepest increase in the cost of food in a generation is threatening to push the US economy into a recession, according to Craig Johnson, president of Customer Growth Partners.
We got OUT of the recession? Really?
If we don't raise the debt ceiling:
"What will happen is that we'd have to stop making payments to our seniors -- Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security. We'd have to stop paying veterans' benefits. We'd have to stop paying all the other payments on all the other things the government does. And then we would risk default on our interest payments."
...
Is any of this true? Will seniors not get their June Social Security checks? Will doctors be stiffed for the health care they provided Medicare patients? Will the Pentagon be unable to buy fuel for missions in Afghanistan? If history is any guide, the answer to all of these questions is "no."
The United States has reached its debt limit three times in the past 30 years and not only did economic Armageddon never materialize, but not a single Social Security check was late.
So why is Geithner saying this(besides being a tax-cheating dirtbag)?
The GAO reports highlights the tremendous discretion Geithner has over how and when the federal government pays what bills. So the only reason June Social Security checks might not go out, as Geithner warned they might not, is if Geithner chose not to send them.
Anyone willing to be that he wouldn't decide to stop SS checks or something similar just to make the situation worse?
The government of Gambia says muslims are hair-triggered nutcases who can't act like civilized people. Not what they wanted to say, but that's what it works out to. They also demonstrate their ignorance of how things work here.
Breakables alert in effect. Remember the name Johnny Sutton? The slimy little bastard federal prosecutor? He's at it again:
This latest prosecution against a U.S. border agent stems from an October 2008 incident near the Rio Grande River in Eagle Pass, TX where Diaz and several other agents responded to illegal aliens who had crossed the river into Texas with bundles of drugs.
Agents apprehended the aliens and as Diaz was getting ready to put one of the aliens in the truck for transport, he allegedly pulled on his handcuffs, a common law enforcement technique to get suspects to cooperate. It was 1:30 in the morning and Diaz and the other agents were trying to find the drugs brought over by the suspects and determine if any other cartel smugglers were hiding in the bushes nearby. The suspect refused to answer their questions. They eventually found the drugs and all were taken to the station for processing.
Go read.
Near the city of Qom, Iran has a secret plant that is part of its chemical weapons program, according to a secret U.S. cable sent by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, which is part of the WikiLeaks documents obtained by Haaretz. Clinton instructed the U.S. Embassy in Beijing to take action against a Chinese company that is involved in the transfer of equipment, know-how and technology to Iran.
Joy, the thought of the Iranian government making lots of chemical weapons.
Ah, the integrity of pacifist principles in Spain; "We won't fight terrorists, but we'll sell weapons to ANYBODY."
Go read why Sarah Hoyt calles him that.One more thing, it I'll put it in a Post Of Its Own
Thursday, April 21, 2011
A new way to describe the nonexistant 'gun show loophole':
Mind you, "closing the gun show loophole" is collectivist-speak for banning the individual transfer of firearms without federal permission. Want to hand down your grandpa's twelve gauge to your son? You'll both have to undergo a background check. Not even King George the III was this grasping.
Stupid: you do it really well
Mike Quigley is proud of his new bill, it would seem. Here are some things it does:
1. Does dumbass have no real idea what happens in a gun barrel? or is he hoping this would mess things up somehow?
2. Does he know of a magical ink that'll glow in infrared and never, ever wear off? or is this one of those "And this is where the magic happens!" moments?
* A second, hidden serial number on every gun, “This provision would require gun manufacturers to install additional, tamper-resistant serial numbers either inside the gun barrel or visible only in infrared light.”I'll let you read the rest over at SiH. On the above, I have two questions:
1. Does dumbass have no real idea what happens in a gun barrel? or is he hoping this would mess things up somehow?
2. Does he know of a magical ink that'll glow in infrared and never, ever wear off? or is this one of those "And this is where the magic happens!" moments?
So if you've got a safety deposit box or some other property,
you'd better make sure it's still there.
San Francisco resident Carla Ruff's safe-deposit box was drilled, seized, and turned over to the state of California, marked "owner unknown."
"I was appalled," Ruff said. "I felt violated."
Unknown? Carla's name was right on documents in the box at the Noe Valley Bank of America location. So was her address -- a house about six blocks from the bank. Carla had a checking account at the bank, too -- still does -- and receives regular statements. Plus, she has receipts showing she's the kind of person who paid her box rental fee. And yet, she says nobody ever notified her.
...
To make matters worse, Ruff discovered the loss when she went to her box to retrieve important paperwork she needed because her husband was dying. Those papers had been shredded.
And that's not all. Her great-grandmother's precious natural pearls and other jewelry had been auctioned off. They were sold for just $1,800, even though they were appraised for $82,500.
Lots of other cases of theft by government. Which is exactly what this is.
Oh, her bank?
Bank of America told ABC News it deeply regrets the situation and appreciates the difficulty of what Mrs. Ruff was going through. The bank has reached a settlement with Ruff and continues to update its unclaimed property procedures as laws change.
Well, considering the bank HAD her name and address AND knew she had a current account and DIDN'T BOTHER to try to contact her... I'll bet they did 'reach a settlement', considering their part in this theft.
San Francisco resident Carla Ruff's safe-deposit box was drilled, seized, and turned over to the state of California, marked "owner unknown."
"I was appalled," Ruff said. "I felt violated."
Unknown? Carla's name was right on documents in the box at the Noe Valley Bank of America location. So was her address -- a house about six blocks from the bank. Carla had a checking account at the bank, too -- still does -- and receives regular statements. Plus, she has receipts showing she's the kind of person who paid her box rental fee. And yet, she says nobody ever notified her.
...
To make matters worse, Ruff discovered the loss when she went to her box to retrieve important paperwork she needed because her husband was dying. Those papers had been shredded.
And that's not all. Her great-grandmother's precious natural pearls and other jewelry had been auctioned off. They were sold for just $1,800, even though they were appraised for $82,500.
Lots of other cases of theft by government. Which is exactly what this is.
Oh, her bank?
Bank of America told ABC News it deeply regrets the situation and appreciates the difficulty of what Mrs. Ruff was going through. The bank has reached a settlement with Ruff and continues to update its unclaimed property procedures as laws change.
Well, considering the bank HAD her name and address AND knew she had a current account and DIDN'T BOTHER to try to contact her... I'll bet they did 'reach a settlement', considering their part in this theft.
So it's not only 'Don't break the CFL bulb!', it's
'Don't use it very much!'
Fears have been reignited about the safety of energy saving light bulbs after a group of scientists warned that they contain cancer causing chemicals.
...
But the German scientists claimed that several carcinogenic chemicals and toxins were released when the environmentally-friendly compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) were switched on, including phenol, naphthalene and styrene.
Andreas Kirchner, of the Federation of German Engineers, said: “Electrical smog develops around these lamps.
Well, isn't that just wonderful? There are mentions of other studies indicating problems with the things, too.
Fears have been reignited about the safety of energy saving light bulbs after a group of scientists warned that they contain cancer causing chemicals.
...
But the German scientists claimed that several carcinogenic chemicals and toxins were released when the environmentally-friendly compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) were switched on, including phenol, naphthalene and styrene.
Andreas Kirchner, of the Federation of German Engineers, said: “Electrical smog develops around these lamps.
Well, isn't that just wonderful? There are mentions of other studies indicating problems with the things, too.
Philip Luty was the creator of a website on, among other things,
homemade firearms. So far as I know he never actually built one , just wrote about it. (I stand corrected: He built and test fired the gun for the original book which Paladin publish.
He got five years in a high security prison for that one, stuck in with the murderers and hardened violent crimminals, I don't think they even let him attend his mother's funeral) For which the British government and bastard excuses for lawmen harassed him- actually jailed him a couple of times- for daring to do.
I just got word he died. His website is being kept in service here in the US, well worth browsing through.
He got five years in a high security prison for that one, stuck in with the murderers and hardened violent crimminals, I don't think they even let him attend his mother's funeral) For which the British government and bastard excuses for lawmen harassed him- actually jailed him a couple of times- for daring to do.
I just got word he died. His website is being kept in service here in the US, well worth browsing through.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Someone I know informed me that the upset over the Wonkette
attack on Palin's son is based on "Palin gets her fee-fees hurt and now you want us to talk nice to each other?" This based on all the nastiness and death threats and personal attacks conservativ- oops, I had to inform her that that crap mostly came from her side. And that trying to play the upset on Wonkbitch's attack on a child was 'because Palin's feelings are hurt'. Got news for her: I have no idea what Palin might say about this(know what I would), but I do know that decent people think bullshit like that is inexcusable. These are the people who shit bricks when someone took notice of Al Gore's son getting arrested, or comment on Chelsea Clinton- after she was grown up- working on her mom's campaign, but garbage like this directed at some nasty conservative's kid? Oh, THAT's fine.
Taking their lead from idiot academics like this. Who basically excuse themselves with "You offended me, so I can say anything I like about you." Hey, Prof. Lewin, go fuck yourself; how's that for offensive, you scab on the butt of humanity? Of course, a professor of Anthropology and Gender, Women’s & Sexuality Studies in the Department of Gender, Women’s & Sexuality Studies is probably going to be a thin-skinned nasty-tempered bitch, but you'd think would have the brains to not act like a sorostitute who just got her ass fondled by a non-PC male.
Speaking of idiots who want to mind your business, take a look at this:
So now putting alcohol in an alcoholic beverage and making it taste like something other than burnt coffee is an obvious ploy to "entice young people". What do you recommend, Paul? An independent commission of prune-faced busybodies who will sign off on new beverage flavors provided they taste awful enough?
That's probably EXACTLY what they have in mind, headed by the named member of the think tank that promotes justice in the media. Though anyone who is part of a group like that should be permanently locked up on general principles of Stay The Hell Out Of My Life.
Taking their lead from idiot academics like this. Who basically excuse themselves with "You offended me, so I can say anything I like about you." Hey, Prof. Lewin, go fuck yourself; how's that for offensive, you scab on the butt of humanity? Of course, a professor of Anthropology and Gender, Women’s & Sexuality Studies in the Department of Gender, Women’s & Sexuality Studies is probably going to be a thin-skinned nasty-tempered bitch, but you'd think would have the brains to not act like a sorostitute who just got her ass fondled by a non-PC male.
Speaking of idiots who want to mind your business, take a look at this:
So now putting alcohol in an alcoholic beverage and making it taste like something other than burnt coffee is an obvious ploy to "entice young people". What do you recommend, Paul? An independent commission of prune-faced busybodies who will sign off on new beverage flavors provided they taste awful enough?
That's probably EXACTLY what they have in mind, headed by the named member of the think tank that promotes justice in the media. Though anyone who is part of a group like that should be permanently locked up on general principles of Stay The Hell Out Of My Life.
Railguns are getting better and better
A nice, aerodynamic projectile in a sabot, goes through a 1/8" steel plate 100 yards downrange and travels more than four miles further.
Also amazing is the video of the projectile in flight
Also amazing is the video of the projectile in flight
IITF Box of Truth velocity readings
Went to the range today and was able to put together the same guns(minus one) and set up the Chrony to get some velocity readings for the ammo I tested last week. Here's the results, standard DISCLAIMER on the load information.
7.62x25 Tokarev 90 grain Hornady XTP hollowpoint, 5.8 grains W231 1300fps
.32acp, 60 grain Gold Dot hp, 2.5grains Bullseye 857fps
.25acp, Gold Dot factory load 900fps
.380acp, 95 grain Montana Gold hp, 3.2 grains W231 820fps
.45apc, X-Treme 200 grain plated hp, 7.0 grains Unique, 850fps
And I had a chance to shoot that Bernardelli Baby again; using CCI .22 Long solids, 750fps
Notes: these are averages depending on how many rounds I had handy to fire, so don't call these Official X-Round Average Velocities.
All fired over the Chrony at ten feet.
The .380 was fired from a Ruger LCP
7.62x25 Tokarev 90 grain Hornady XTP hollowpoint, 5.8 grains W231 1300fps
.32acp, 60 grain Gold Dot hp, 2.5grains Bullseye 857fps
.25acp, Gold Dot factory load 900fps
.380acp, 95 grain Montana Gold hp, 3.2 grains W231 820fps
.45apc, X-Treme 200 grain plated hp, 7.0 grains Unique, 850fps
And I had a chance to shoot that Bernardelli Baby again; using CCI .22 Long solids, 750fps
Notes: these are averages depending on how many rounds I had handy to fire, so don't call these Official X-Round Average Velocities.
All fired over the Chrony at ten feet.
The .380 was fired from a Ruger LCP
Well, think about Melson receiving THAT notice
Yesterday, I brought you up to speed on GOP Sen. Charles Grassley’s fight with DOJ over its Project Gunrunner stonewalling.
Today, GOP Rep. Darrell Issa warns that DOJ’s intransigence could lead to contempt proceedings.
He released a letter this morning to acting ATF chief Kenneth Melson.
You can read the PDF version here.
Couple of bits of the letter I wanted to put up, but !*()#**#$ PDF won't let me; go read it, see what you think.
So I guess this is what the left considers civil discourse?
In a completely unwarranted response to the gesture, the folks at Wonkette questioned Trig’s parentage, implied incest within the Palin family, called the little boy a retarded political prop, and recommended that he get drunk to deal with his family that's even stupider than he is.
So is the government of Mexico owned by the cartels,
or trying to buy favor with crap like this?
In a letter to the editor today, Mexico’s ambassador, Arturo Sarukhan , comes to the defense of these mass murdering, torturing, dismembering, bombing, beheading, kidnapping and drug trafficking organizations, arguing that they are businessmen, not terrorists. Folks, we have a first here. You will not, until now, have seen any top Mexican official actually defending the cartels to this extent. But Sarukhan, taking issue with our editorial last week in defense of a bill before Congress to put Mexico’s six biggest cartels on the State Department’s list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations, strongly disagrees.
Yes, they are very violent criminal organizations, he says. But “they pursue a single goal. They want to maximize their profits and do what most business do: hostile takeovers and pursue mergers and acquisitions.”
In a letter to the editor today, Mexico’s ambassador, Arturo Sarukhan , comes to the defense of these mass murdering, torturing, dismembering, bombing, beheading, kidnapping and drug trafficking organizations, arguing that they are businessmen, not terrorists. Folks, we have a first here. You will not, until now, have seen any top Mexican official actually defending the cartels to this extent. But Sarukhan, taking issue with our editorial last week in defense of a bill before Congress to put Mexico’s six biggest cartels on the State Department’s list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations, strongly disagrees.
Yes, they are very violent criminal organizations, he says. But “they pursue a single goal. They want to maximize their profits and do what most business do: hostile takeovers and pursue mergers and acquisitions.”
“There runs a German soldier shrieking like an insane one,
the helmet on his head on fire. Another one shouts madly ‘Juden…Waffen…Juden… Waffen!’” [Jews…weapons!]
From Kopel's article(PDF document here) about the revolt at Sobibor:
In the wild battle that ensued, 600 prisoners tried to flee; about 400 of them escaped the camp boundaries, and about half of them survived the land mine field around the camp. More escapees were caught later, but a band of 60 men and women, led by the Soviet officer Alexander Perchersky, made contact with Soviet partisans.2 Ten SS troops were killed, and one was wounded. Thirty-eight Ukrainian guards were killed or wounded, while forty Ukrainian guards took the opportunity to desert.3
Four days after the revolt, a special German unit obliterated the Sobibor camp, attempting to keep the revolt a secret.4 A death camp which had already murdered six hundred thousand people was put out of operation forever.5
These people should always be remebered, and honored.
From Kopel's article(PDF document here) about the revolt at Sobibor:
In the wild battle that ensued, 600 prisoners tried to flee; about 400 of them escaped the camp boundaries, and about half of them survived the land mine field around the camp. More escapees were caught later, but a band of 60 men and women, led by the Soviet officer Alexander Perchersky, made contact with Soviet partisans.2 Ten SS troops were killed, and one was wounded. Thirty-eight Ukrainian guards were killed or wounded, while forty Ukrainian guards took the opportunity to desert.3
Four days after the revolt, a special German unit obliterated the Sobibor camp, attempting to keep the revolt a secret.4 A death camp which had already murdered six hundred thousand people was put out of operation forever.5
These people should always be remebered, and honored.
So Napolitano says the border is 'more secure' because
they're apprehending fewer illegal aliens; slight problem with that:
FoxNews.com first reported this month that Dever said several Border Patrol officials, including at least one senior supervisor, told him they had been directed to keep the number of border apprehensions down by chasing illegal immigrants back toward Mexico. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has recently cited a reduction in border apprehensions as evidence of an increasingly secure border.
The head of the Border Patrol says that's nonsense, but
But accounts from law enforcement officials around the country continue to pour in supporting Dever and the conversations he says he had with Border Patrol officers, including at least one supervisor, about keeping arrest numbers down.
“This is nothing new, during my career with the border patrol, this was done regularly,” said another email to Dever reviewed by FoxNews.com. “By assigning agents to different tasks, locations, etc., the apprehensions can be increased or decreased dramatically,” wrote Dan McCaskill Jr., a retired Border Patrol agent who worked in the Anti-Smuggling Unit.
McCaskill went on to describe how, he said, apprehension numbers were regularly manipulated to achieve various budget, equipment or manpower goals.
So once again, "Play games with how we do things to show we're doing better" beats out 'actually do something effective'.
FoxNews.com first reported this month that Dever said several Border Patrol officials, including at least one senior supervisor, told him they had been directed to keep the number of border apprehensions down by chasing illegal immigrants back toward Mexico. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has recently cited a reduction in border apprehensions as evidence of an increasingly secure border.
The head of the Border Patrol says that's nonsense, but
But accounts from law enforcement officials around the country continue to pour in supporting Dever and the conversations he says he had with Border Patrol officers, including at least one supervisor, about keeping arrest numbers down.
“This is nothing new, during my career with the border patrol, this was done regularly,” said another email to Dever reviewed by FoxNews.com. “By assigning agents to different tasks, locations, etc., the apprehensions can be increased or decreased dramatically,” wrote Dan McCaskill Jr., a retired Border Patrol agent who worked in the Anti-Smuggling Unit.
McCaskill went on to describe how, he said, apprehension numbers were regularly manipulated to achieve various budget, equipment or manpower goals.
So once again, "Play games with how we do things to show we're doing better" beats out 'actually do something effective'.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
The Oklahoma City Bombing happened sixteen years ago
I was at work, and while other people in the building said they heard a rumble, nothing back in our area. But we had two drops in the Murrah Building, and they both went offline at the same time. No big deal, it happens: a cable pair craps out, somebody cuts a wire, whatever.
Then someone said there was a report on the radio of a explosion downtown. Again, of itself not alarming. A few years before a boiler had blown up at a school.
Then "Turn on the tv!" Did, and saw the mess.
That was not a fun day.
Then someone said there was a report on the radio of a explosion downtown. Again, of itself not alarming. A few years before a boiler had blown up at a school.
Then "Turn on the tv!" Did, and saw the mess.
That was not a fun day.
Ok, there are two points in this story for which the Michigan State Police
need a big legal kick in the ass.
...that department has several forensic cellphone analyzers deployed in the field. Forensic analyzers are routinely used in police investigations to recover data from computers and other digital devices. Lately, cellphones have become valuable sources of evidence for police, since one phone can include almost all of an individual's private communications (SMS, recently dialed numbers, email, Facebook and Twitter posts) as well as location data from the device's GPS unit.
...
This type of forensic device is nothing new, but the ACLU's concern is that the UFED mobile units might have been used in routine traffic stops—which, the ACLU contends, would violate the Fourth Amendment's protections against unreasonable search and seizure.
Well, no shit; there is no damned excuse for them to do this in a routine traffic stop. Period. That's the first point.
Here's the second:
According to the ACLU's letter, the organization requested usage logs from the Michigan troopers' devices, but the state police requested more than half a million dollars to pay for retrieval of the documents and records, which the ACLU claims is unreasonably high. In a statement to PM, Tiffany Brown of the Michigan State Police said: "The Michigan State Police will provide information in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). As with any FOIA request under statute, there may be a processing fee to search for, retrieve, review, examine and separate exempt materials, if any."
Hell YES that's unreasonably high; that's like them demanding $5 per sheet for copies 'to cover the expense'. It's bullshit and it's trying to deny the information without actually saying "We won't do it."
...that department has several forensic cellphone analyzers deployed in the field. Forensic analyzers are routinely used in police investigations to recover data from computers and other digital devices. Lately, cellphones have become valuable sources of evidence for police, since one phone can include almost all of an individual's private communications (SMS, recently dialed numbers, email, Facebook and Twitter posts) as well as location data from the device's GPS unit.
...
This type of forensic device is nothing new, but the ACLU's concern is that the UFED mobile units might have been used in routine traffic stops—which, the ACLU contends, would violate the Fourth Amendment's protections against unreasonable search and seizure.
Well, no shit; there is no damned excuse for them to do this in a routine traffic stop. Period. That's the first point.
Here's the second:
According to the ACLU's letter, the organization requested usage logs from the Michigan troopers' devices, but the state police requested more than half a million dollars to pay for retrieval of the documents and records, which the ACLU claims is unreasonably high. In a statement to PM, Tiffany Brown of the Michigan State Police said: "The Michigan State Police will provide information in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). As with any FOIA request under statute, there may be a processing fee to search for, retrieve, review, examine and separate exempt materials, if any."
Hell YES that's unreasonably high; that's like them demanding $5 per sheet for copies 'to cover the expense'. It's bullshit and it's trying to deny the information without actually saying "We won't do it."
Remember I mentioned the new gas lines on this street?
This morning they started running the new house lines. Instead of trenching and so forth, they dug down to where the old line met the main, shut it off, cut it, and the new line- a yellow poly pipe- came off the roll and was pushed through the old steel line; they only had to dig other holes at corners or if some other circumstance demanded it.
And for most of the digging they had a couple of tracked backhoes that were small enough to drive through a standard gate. And had box blades to speed up the filling-in when they were done.
Because of the way the line was routed my place took longer than the house next door, but it was still one of four or five they got done today. Better living through tech.
And yeah, there've been a few times I could really have used one of those backhoes.
And for most of the digging they had a couple of tracked backhoes that were small enough to drive through a standard gate. And had box blades to speed up the filling-in when they were done.
Because of the way the line was routed my place took longer than the house next door, but it was still one of four or five they got done today. Better living through tech.
And yeah, there've been a few times I could really have used one of those backhoes.
Two thoughts on the new DNS head
and her 'Close the loophole!' crap:
A: so gun sales are likely to spike again.
B: Get this:
Licensed dealers must perform these screenings in all venues — including gun shows — but unlicensed dealers are under no obligation to follow them anywhere. Critics of the policy discrepancy call it the "gun-show loophole."
So a citizen selling a gun to another citizen makes you a 'unlicensed dealer'; these people are going to owe a LOT of royalties to Orwell, aren't they?
A: so gun sales are likely to spike again.
B: Get this:
Licensed dealers must perform these screenings in all venues — including gun shows — but unlicensed dealers are under no obligation to follow them anywhere. Critics of the policy discrepancy call it the "gun-show loophole."
So a citizen selling a gun to another citizen makes you a 'unlicensed dealer'; these people are going to owe a LOT of royalties to Orwell, aren't they?
Let's start with NYEffin'C:
Cop gets shot. Bystander grabs cops gun and fights robbers. NYEffin'C considered charging bystander because The agent, who is not licensed to carry a gun, could face charges, sources said. It's since been announced they won't charge him for the horrendous act of picking up the dropped gun and fighting the bad guys; that the authorities would even consider charging him- especially for that 'reason'- is just disgusting.
The gun bigots and banners are still at work; and Rep. King is apparently a fan of Lautenberg. Or just an idiot, I don't know which:
In essence, you can be accused of international or domestic terrorism by some unknown accuser and then be turned down for a firearms purchase. If the Attorney General deems it in the interest of "national security", then he doesn't need to even tell you why you were denied and you are prohibited from suing to seek answers. This law would strip you of your right to due process.
That's HR1506.
The two pieces of human waste who murdered the Fogels, including a baby, have been caught. Two more teenaged palisimians who insist they did a wonderful thing.
On the subject of Gunwalker and the fallout:
The terrible thing about this scandal for the Corrupt Powers That Be is that, in the final analysis, it is not about guns, but about power and corruption. This is not some hard-to-understand bit of firearms law arcana. The people who were entrusted -- who we pay big taxpayer bucks along with that trust -- to keep arms out of the hands of the evil bad guys facilitated the very thing they were trusted to prevent AND PEOPLE DIED. A reporter told me, months ago now, that they had been told that Gunwalker "was as bad as Watergate." I replied, "Nobody died at the Watergate Hotel." We have likely hundreds of dead from this scandal already and it is certain that more Mexicans die at the muzzles of these weapons every week if not every day.
This is not something the average American, even one politically clueless, is going to understand or take lightly once he or she learns of it. It involves simple issues of trust and common sense. And believe me, despite the best efforts of the politically-reliable media elites to ignore this story, that pestilence-ridden cat is out of the bag. Even if the administration was able to stop the reporting of this scandal now, today, it could not stop the continued threat of this awful story to its own legitimacy. For that we have the Internet to thank. Commissar Lanny Breuer does not control all the printing presses any more. The fact that the media elite is in the tank for Obama becomes increasingly irrelevant as their own media outlets become increasingly ignored by a growing public that no longer trusts them either.
A bit more on what has been caused by this idiocy:
In the two years since Barack Obama took office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives ramped up its Project Gunrunner and Operation Fast and Furious gun trafficking sting operations, drug war homicides in Mexico nearly tripled, according to an article published over the weekend by Global Research.
This revelation comes coincidentally to the publication of the transcript of an interview on Univision, made available today by independent blogger Mike Vanderboegh, one of two men responsible for uncovering the Project Gunrunner controversy.
Figures quoted by the Global Research article come from the Trans-Border Institute at the University of San Diego. They appear in a report titled Drug Violence in Mexico: Data and Analysis Through 2010, and show that the body count has risen sharply at the same time that the Obama State Department has allowed private arms sales to Mexico exceed those to Iraq, Afghanistan and Israel. My colleague, Kurt Hofmann takes a hard look at those arms sales here.
It doesn't really matter to the dead and their families whether the idiocy we call Project Gunwalker was due to fools thinking they could somehow 'get the cartels' by this, or if it was a deliberate act to try to destroy the 2nd Amendment as the folks at Sipsey Street suspect: agents of the US Government actually assisted criminals in carrying out illegal acts, and lied about it, and literally God only knows how many people are dead because of it, how much damage done. And, as pointed out, if the guilty are allowed to get away with their coverup, the damage to this country is, well, incalculable.
An anniversary I doubt the major media gives a damn about since it involved armed Jews killing Nazis.
I'll close with what Insty describes as "You told them what works": excuses have been made for , actual encouragement given to the muslim version of the Heckler's Veto("You offend us and we'll riot and kill"), so it looks like someone took the lesson to heart.
The gun bigots and banners are still at work; and Rep. King is apparently a fan of Lautenberg. Or just an idiot, I don't know which:
In essence, you can be accused of international or domestic terrorism by some unknown accuser and then be turned down for a firearms purchase. If the Attorney General deems it in the interest of "national security", then he doesn't need to even tell you why you were denied and you are prohibited from suing to seek answers. This law would strip you of your right to due process.
That's HR1506.
The two pieces of human waste who murdered the Fogels, including a baby, have been caught. Two more teenaged palisimians who insist they did a wonderful thing.
On the subject of Gunwalker and the fallout:
The terrible thing about this scandal for the Corrupt Powers That Be is that, in the final analysis, it is not about guns, but about power and corruption. This is not some hard-to-understand bit of firearms law arcana. The people who were entrusted -- who we pay big taxpayer bucks along with that trust -- to keep arms out of the hands of the evil bad guys facilitated the very thing they were trusted to prevent AND PEOPLE DIED. A reporter told me, months ago now, that they had been told that Gunwalker "was as bad as Watergate." I replied, "Nobody died at the Watergate Hotel." We have likely hundreds of dead from this scandal already and it is certain that more Mexicans die at the muzzles of these weapons every week if not every day.
This is not something the average American, even one politically clueless, is going to understand or take lightly once he or she learns of it. It involves simple issues of trust and common sense. And believe me, despite the best efforts of the politically-reliable media elites to ignore this story, that pestilence-ridden cat is out of the bag. Even if the administration was able to stop the reporting of this scandal now, today, it could not stop the continued threat of this awful story to its own legitimacy. For that we have the Internet to thank. Commissar Lanny Breuer does not control all the printing presses any more. The fact that the media elite is in the tank for Obama becomes increasingly irrelevant as their own media outlets become increasingly ignored by a growing public that no longer trusts them either.
A bit more on what has been caused by this idiocy:
In the two years since Barack Obama took office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives ramped up its Project Gunrunner and Operation Fast and Furious gun trafficking sting operations, drug war homicides in Mexico nearly tripled, according to an article published over the weekend by Global Research.
This revelation comes coincidentally to the publication of the transcript of an interview on Univision, made available today by independent blogger Mike Vanderboegh, one of two men responsible for uncovering the Project Gunrunner controversy.
Figures quoted by the Global Research article come from the Trans-Border Institute at the University of San Diego. They appear in a report titled Drug Violence in Mexico: Data and Analysis Through 2010, and show that the body count has risen sharply at the same time that the Obama State Department has allowed private arms sales to Mexico exceed those to Iraq, Afghanistan and Israel. My colleague, Kurt Hofmann takes a hard look at those arms sales here.
It doesn't really matter to the dead and their families whether the idiocy we call Project Gunwalker was due to fools thinking they could somehow 'get the cartels' by this, or if it was a deliberate act to try to destroy the 2nd Amendment as the folks at Sipsey Street suspect: agents of the US Government actually assisted criminals in carrying out illegal acts, and lied about it, and literally God only knows how many people are dead because of it, how much damage done. And, as pointed out, if the guilty are allowed to get away with their coverup, the damage to this country is, well, incalculable.
An anniversary I doubt the major media gives a damn about since it involved armed Jews killing Nazis.
I'll close with what Insty describes as "You told them what works": excuses have been made for , actual encouragement given to the muslim version of the Heckler's Veto("You offend us and we'll riot and kill"), so it looks like someone took the lesson to heart.
Couple of days ago Anonymous left a comment
that amounted to
A: Advertising for the Religion of Peacetm, and
B: Telling what non-humans Jews are.
It's gone. For future reference: you want to advertise your bigoted/racist beliefs, you don't get free space here. Piss off.
A: Advertising for the Religion of Peacetm, and
B: Telling what non-humans Jews are.
It's gone. For future reference: you want to advertise your bigoted/racist beliefs, you don't get free space here. Piss off.
Monday, April 18, 2011
The new Democrat National Committee head, to borrow from Tam
says something legal she doesn't like is a 'loophole'.
The Florida Democrat is sponsoring a soon-to-be-released proposal extending the screening requirements to all gun purchases, commercial or private. ”It is outrageous that gun buyers evade the background check system every day, even in broad daylight,” Wasserman Schultz said Monday at a gun reform rally in Miami sponsored by Mayors Against Illegal Guns …”
So if you make a personal sale/purchase of a firearm- a legal activity- it means you're 'evading' the system...
Sounds good to me. And I wonder whether she doesn't understand how this will play in the next elections, or doesn't care? She IS a (literal) National Socialist Democrat, after all.
The Florida Democrat is sponsoring a soon-to-be-released proposal extending the screening requirements to all gun purchases, commercial or private. ”It is outrageous that gun buyers evade the background check system every day, even in broad daylight,” Wasserman Schultz said Monday at a gun reform rally in Miami sponsored by Mayors Against Illegal Guns …”
So if you make a personal sale/purchase of a firearm- a legal activity- it means you're 'evading' the system...
Sounds good to me. And I wonder whether she doesn't understand how this will play in the next elections, or doesn't care? She IS a (literal) National Socialist Democrat, after all.
Yeek! That is a flat nasty thought
"I always wanted to experience medieval Europe; now, if I live to be 101, I just may get the chance."
Normally April 15 is Buy A Gun day,
but since the official due day was delayed due to a Special to DC holiday, I consider it today. Things being as they are a new gun wasn't in the works, so I made my buy of a brick of .22 ammo.
Really, there's not much in the way of firearms I want. I'd like a Mk IV or V Webley, I'd love(but not likely to have) a double-rifle, and I really want a S&W K32 revolver. And that's pretty much it. Oh, I'll run across some interesting piece and think "That'd be nice to have", but no real desire to grab more boomsticks(other than the above).
Right now, I wish I had some ice cream in the freezer; a ride to Sonic or Braums may be in order.
Really, there's not much in the way of firearms I want. I'd like a Mk IV or V Webley, I'd love(but not likely to have) a double-rifle, and I really want a S&W K32 revolver. And that's pretty much it. Oh, I'll run across some interesting piece and think "That'd be nice to have", but no real desire to grab more boomsticks(other than the above).
Right now, I wish I had some ice cream in the freezer; a ride to Sonic or Braums may be in order.
Seems lots of places are having immigrant problems
From Marja:
The Finnish elections are over. Perussuomalaiset (now it seems to be translated as 'True Finns', well, whatever, but it does not have quite the same meaning) rose from a marginal small time party into the third largest, which may be the biggest election victory in this country ever. One thing they are highly critical about is taking immigrants - they want people who come here to work, are well educated and actually needed, and willing to become, well, true Finns if they stay permanently (okay, maybe that translation isn't so bad after all).
I haven't had time to read this whole piece, what I've gotten through so far is bloody infuriating:
Last Thursday, I reported here exclusively at PJM on a DOJ memo dated March 31, 2010, from Assistant Attorney General David Kris to Acting Deputy Attorney General Gary Grindler. The memo effectively ended the prosecution of Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) co-founder and Chairman Emeritus Omar Ahmad — in addition to the prosecution of other prominent American Muslim leaders — for helping support the Hamas terrorist organization. This decision, according to my source, was not made based on the overwhelming evidence that had been compiled over the past decade by the U.S. attorney’s office in Dallas, but was made due to potential political embarrassment for the Obama administration and out of fear of inflaming the American Muslim community.
...
In all my years working for the U.S. government I have rarely seen anything as mystifying as our outreach to Muslims. Do we really need it? Sure. We need to be reaching out to the Muslim leaders who are working to prevent radicalization, not the ones who are making it happen. But that isn’t what we’re doing.
Instead we’re having countless meetings from the Cabinet level on down with groups and individuals that we know are bad guys and who we’ve repeatedly said in court are actively working to support terrorist groups overseas. We even had [FBI General Counsel] Valerie Caproni meeting regularly with these Hamas guys to get their guidance. What advice do you think they were giving her?
This is bad. Really bad. And when/if it blows up, as usual, the people actually responsible will be hiding behind 'official actions' crap to prevent being held responsible.
No, no reason to worry about this sharia stuff, not at all, nooooo.....
Women who do not wear headscarves are being threatened with violence and even death by Islamic extremists intent on imposing sharia law on parts of Britain, it was claimed today.
Other targets of the 'Talibanesque thugs', being investigated by police in the Tower Hamlets area of London, include homosexuals.
Stickers have been plastered on public walls stating: 'Gay free zone. Verily Allah is severe in punishment'.
Over the last few years I stopped worrying about what the food police said and started eating what I wanted; I like fruits and veggies, and meat, and butter and cheese. And, according to the doc, my health is fine. Then I ran across some of the stuff linked over at Advice Goddess on the subject of fat. Today there's a report from the UK on the subject that's interesting. This bit caught my eye:
'This may also show that, while it is important to eat right, not all bad foods should be avoided all of the time.
'This could change the way we view nutrition and dietary recommendations.'
Thing is, what if they're NOT 'bad foods'? Talk about 'changing the view'...
Really? This is a good example of law enforcement? Geez.
Things to do, amuse yourselves.
The Finnish elections are over. Perussuomalaiset (now it seems to be translated as 'True Finns', well, whatever, but it does not have quite the same meaning) rose from a marginal small time party into the third largest, which may be the biggest election victory in this country ever. One thing they are highly critical about is taking immigrants - they want people who come here to work, are well educated and actually needed, and willing to become, well, true Finns if they stay permanently (okay, maybe that translation isn't so bad after all).
I haven't had time to read this whole piece, what I've gotten through so far is bloody infuriating:
Last Thursday, I reported here exclusively at PJM on a DOJ memo dated March 31, 2010, from Assistant Attorney General David Kris to Acting Deputy Attorney General Gary Grindler. The memo effectively ended the prosecution of Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) co-founder and Chairman Emeritus Omar Ahmad — in addition to the prosecution of other prominent American Muslim leaders — for helping support the Hamas terrorist organization. This decision, according to my source, was not made based on the overwhelming evidence that had been compiled over the past decade by the U.S. attorney’s office in Dallas, but was made due to potential political embarrassment for the Obama administration and out of fear of inflaming the American Muslim community.
...
In all my years working for the U.S. government I have rarely seen anything as mystifying as our outreach to Muslims. Do we really need it? Sure. We need to be reaching out to the Muslim leaders who are working to prevent radicalization, not the ones who are making it happen. But that isn’t what we’re doing.
Instead we’re having countless meetings from the Cabinet level on down with groups and individuals that we know are bad guys and who we’ve repeatedly said in court are actively working to support terrorist groups overseas. We even had [FBI General Counsel] Valerie Caproni meeting regularly with these Hamas guys to get their guidance. What advice do you think they were giving her?
This is bad. Really bad. And when/if it blows up, as usual, the people actually responsible will be hiding behind 'official actions' crap to prevent being held responsible.
No, no reason to worry about this sharia stuff, not at all, nooooo.....
Women who do not wear headscarves are being threatened with violence and even death by Islamic extremists intent on imposing sharia law on parts of Britain, it was claimed today.
Other targets of the 'Talibanesque thugs', being investigated by police in the Tower Hamlets area of London, include homosexuals.
Stickers have been plastered on public walls stating: 'Gay free zone. Verily Allah is severe in punishment'.
Over the last few years I stopped worrying about what the food police said and started eating what I wanted; I like fruits and veggies, and meat, and butter and cheese. And, according to the doc, my health is fine. Then I ran across some of the stuff linked over at Advice Goddess on the subject of fat. Today there's a report from the UK on the subject that's interesting. This bit caught my eye:
'This may also show that, while it is important to eat right, not all bad foods should be avoided all of the time.
'This could change the way we view nutrition and dietary recommendations.'
Thing is, what if they're NOT 'bad foods'? Talk about 'changing the view'...
Really? This is a good example of law enforcement? Geez.
Things to do, amuse yourselves.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Just not feeling the enthusiasm today,
so just pointing to a couple of things:
Conclusion:
1. “You don’t burn the Koran, because if you do, Muslims might go on a killing spree.”
2 “You do burn the Bible, because if you don’t, Muslims might go on a killing spree.”
Which reminded me of a comment at Uncle: Of course the World Trade Center is still a hole in the ground. The Moslem world will go on a murderous spree if we deface their monument.
So who IS doing all the threatening of ATF agents? And why?
Also at Sipsey, the kind of crap people who live near the Mexican border are dealing with.
Oh boy, government idiocy at its finest. Not only is the original claim bogus, the attempts to disappear it are hilariously inept. Apparently, they’ve never heard of Google Cache at the UN. Rather than simply saying “we were wrong,” they’ve now brought even more distrust onto the UN.
50 million climate refugees who don't actually exist? Damn, that's a miscount. Or something.
Conclusion:
1. “You don’t burn the Koran, because if you do, Muslims might go on a killing spree.”
2 “You do burn the Bible, because if you don’t, Muslims might go on a killing spree.”
Which reminded me of a comment at Uncle: Of course the World Trade Center is still a hole in the ground. The Moslem world will go on a murderous spree if we deface their monument.
So who IS doing all the threatening of ATF agents? And why?
Also at Sipsey, the kind of crap people who live near the Mexican border are dealing with.
Oh boy, government idiocy at its finest. Not only is the original claim bogus, the attempts to disappear it are hilariously inept. Apparently, they’ve never heard of Google Cache at the UN. Rather than simply saying “we were wrong,” they’ve now brought even more distrust onto the UN.
50 million climate refugees who don't actually exist? Damn, that's a miscount. Or something.
I have no memory of how I discovered the stories,
but one of my favorite series was written by Leslie Charteris about a man named Simon Templar, known in the trade(his at least) as the Saint. Short stories and novels, I loved every one I read. Occasionally still pull out one of the books I have and read a story or two.
Daughter has a Kindle and says she gets more reading done with it as it's easier to haul around; I wish these books were available for Kindle, as she'd love them.
Daughter has a Kindle and says she gets more reading done with it as it's easier to haul around; I wish these books were available for Kindle, as she'd love them.
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