First, Tim Blair notes this comment from the Australian Democrat national secretary:
I’m going for political suicide here but I’m willing to stand up with anybody else in this country who happens to agree with Sheik Hilali’s sentiments.
Not because of any emotional or religious point of view but from sheer logic. While men who want to assault women exist, there will be women who get assaulted. Unfortunately, how a woman dresses does affect her level of likeliness to be chosen. The subsequent reaction to this latest opportunity to get angry about something is the real lesson here.
Sounds very realistic in a way; fact is that wearing a skirt that flashes your crotch when you move will attract attention, including from males you don't want it from. However, A: most men have been raised with sufficient self-control to not consider it a license to assault and B: will generally do something if some jackass steps over the line(at least in civilized places). Using "You weren't dressed modestly" as an excuse/defense for someone being assaulted/raped is a large, steaming pile of what comes out of the south end of a northbound bull.
BUT, both those things require a society that gives a crap about the concept of women as human beings, that (shades of the old horrible days in the West!) they should have protection against attack. Those ideas seem to be entirely foreign to moslem thinking in some- maybe many- places:
On the first two days of Eid in Cairo, a mob of hundreds of men swept through downtown attacking and sexually assaulting random girls in an animalistic display that must boggle every mind. Apparently, the utter lack of basic decency, respect for women, or the rule of law was not confined to Ramadan alone - in fact, Ramadan was the only thing suppressing the baser instincts of these men. I feel sick at heart, and may never spend time downtown again, as it seems we women are actively in danger there. Will Cairo one day be like Mogadishu, where every woman is raped before she turns 16?
Go read that. Then go read this from the Sandmonkey about the happenings on a holy day in a holy month. Including :That The Police forces didn;t came from another planet, that they were born and raised egyptians, amongst the egyptian people, the same egyptian people who have produced those mobs who found it in their right to attack girls in middle of crowded downtown for 5 houres under the police's watchdul eyes. The ones who approached the police asking them to do something were told : "what do you want us to do? It's Eid. Happy Eid to you too!" The same response was given to women who went to the police stations to report the incidents. The police refused to do their jobs and take a report, because it would probably reflect badly on their downtown peers.
This crap happened to muslim women, many of whom were dressed in the modest manner the cat-meat sheik demands- though they didn't lock themselves in a room in their home, shame on them!- in the full light of day in the sight of the police, and the authorities did nothing. Only some men who worked at businesses did a damn thing, and bless them for having the balls to act.
The Sandmonkey also notes this:
A second Muslim cleric in Australia has stepped into a bitter dispute
over attitudes to women and rape, charging that anti-Islamic bias
ensured Muslim rapists got tougher sentences than other men.
[…]
Both clerics referred in their sermons to heavy sentences meted out to
a group of young Muslim men for a series of notorious gang rapes in
Sydney six years ago.
One of the men received a 55-year jail sentence, which was later reduced on appeal.
"They make a big fuss about these kids because one of them, his name is
Mohamed," Omran said in his sermon, according to a report in The
Australian daily Tuesday. "Even if you kill someone, you don't go for
60 years."
Well, Mr. Cleric, got news for you. I'm one of those people who think that actual rape should be handled on the same level as manslaughter and the bastard put away for a LONG time. For you to bitch that they got long sentences because of their religeon is another pile of cow droppings. They got long sentences because they committed gang rape and flatly said their victims weren't really human because they weren't moslem. That makes your little 'victims' among the vilest kind of criminals, and they can rot in the damn jail.
Yeah, yeah, I know, many moslems don't approve of this crap. The fact remains that many either quietly agree, or refuse to say anything about it, and governments in some countries don't want to be 'bothered' with it because, after all, it only happened to women.
No wonder so many of these places and people go along with the UN 'disarm the peasants' programs; if their intended victims were packing, it just might get messy for the bastards.
(added: for further on this last, see Tam's comment on the matter)
Friday, November 03, 2006
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Remember these words:
...but don't forget that every coin the UN gets is a piece of metal that can be used to forge chains.
Found thanks to Cryptic
Found thanks to Cryptic
Here's some of the solution in Darfur,
which I'd seen before and lost track of(I'm gonna start writing stuff down), Militia keeps violence in Darfur at bay:
GUSA JAMAT, Sudan --One corner of Sudan's violent Darfur region is green and peaceful in this post-rainy season thanks to a powerful village militia that has kept the fighting around it at bay for more than a year.
Go read the damn thing. Contrast that with this:
"You have been here for three years now, and what have you done for us?" a tribal leader bitterly asked a delegation of AU soldiers and police that came to the Kassab refugee camp last week.
As they often must, the peacekeepers patiently explained to camp delegates that they had come to Darfur only to monitor the violence and have no mandate to fight it.
So on one side you've got people with arms who've kicked the ass of the murdering raping slavers, and on the other people depending on 'peacekeepers' who do nothing but stand there and watch.
To use the words of Bruce at mAss Backwards:
And you can buy the stickers here
GUSA JAMAT, Sudan --One corner of Sudan's violent Darfur region is green and peaceful in this post-rainy season thanks to a powerful village militia that has kept the fighting around it at bay for more than a year.
Go read the damn thing. Contrast that with this:
"You have been here for three years now, and what have you done for us?" a tribal leader bitterly asked a delegation of AU soldiers and police that came to the Kassab refugee camp last week.
As they often must, the peacekeepers patiently explained to camp delegates that they had come to Darfur only to monitor the violence and have no mandate to fight it.
So on one side you've got people with arms who've kicked the ass of the murdering raping slavers, and on the other people depending on 'peacekeepers' who do nothing but stand there and watch.
To use the words of Bruce at mAss Backwards:
And you can buy the stickers here
I didn't know Micheal Dukakis was an official in Britain
Fury over killer freed to wipe out family
...
He had been out of prison for less than two years after serving half of a seven-year sentence for manslaughter for killing another girlfriend who had refused to leave her husband for him.
Seven year sentance for killing a woman, and out after half of that. Flat idiotic. And to make it even better? Mark Goldstraw, 31, was jailed for life yesterday for setting fire to the house in revenge after being jilted by his teenage girlfriend. Emphasis most emphatically mine.
And it just gets better:It also emerged that Goldstraw could have been back in custody before the murders because he was in breach of his licence by living with his mother rather than at the address given to the Probation Service.
Officials insisted that mistakes were not made in their handling of Goldstraw. Rob Mandley, Staffordshire's chief probation officer, said: "From the evidence we had, Goldstraw was complying with the licence requirements as far as we knew."
Translation: "Don't blame us, we had Evidence! he was complying. It was wrong, but it ain't our fault."
I've got one disagreement with this statement from a member of the family:Last night Mr Hine's brother, Robert, said: "I'm very angry that he should be allowed out of prison to do this to my brother and these children.
"There's no appropriate punishment. He's done it before. He shouldn't be let out at all. We don't ever want to see him again. No prison sentence will replace the lives that have been lost." It's not that he shouldn't be let out at all; it's that the bastard should be hanged. Or shot. Or fried. Or some method of capital punishment. Not only does he deserve it, you know that if he stays in prison, in a few years you'll have some of the same idiot-level 'public servants' who let him out before trying to do it again.
...
He had been out of prison for less than two years after serving half of a seven-year sentence for manslaughter for killing another girlfriend who had refused to leave her husband for him.
Seven year sentance for killing a woman, and out after half of that. Flat idiotic. And to make it even better? Mark Goldstraw, 31, was jailed for life yesterday for setting fire to the house in revenge after being jilted by his teenage girlfriend. Emphasis most emphatically mine.
And it just gets better:It also emerged that Goldstraw could have been back in custody before the murders because he was in breach of his licence by living with his mother rather than at the address given to the Probation Service.
Officials insisted that mistakes were not made in their handling of Goldstraw. Rob Mandley, Staffordshire's chief probation officer, said: "From the evidence we had, Goldstraw was complying with the licence requirements as far as we knew."
Translation: "Don't blame us, we had Evidence! he was complying. It was wrong, but it ain't our fault."
I've got one disagreement with this statement from a member of the family:Last night Mr Hine's brother, Robert, said: "I'm very angry that he should be allowed out of prison to do this to my brother and these children.
"There's no appropriate punishment. He's done it before. He shouldn't be let out at all. We don't ever want to see him again. No prison sentence will replace the lives that have been lost." It's not that he shouldn't be let out at all; it's that the bastard should be hanged. Or shot. Or fried. Or some method of capital punishment. Not only does he deserve it, you know that if he stays in prison, in a few years you'll have some of the same idiot-level 'public servants' who let him out before trying to do it again.
Everybody's been piling on John Effin',
and I'd like to join in
Over at Michelle Malkin, found this post on past remarks he made, which touches both on what he thought of the military then, and how it relates to his idiot remarks now.
During a Vietnam-era run for Congress three decades ago, John Kerry said he opposed a volunteer Army because it would be dominated by the underprivileged, be less accountable and be more prone to "the perpetuation of war crimes." Bunch of dummies who couldn't get a 'real' job, and have no self-control? Check.
"I am convinced a volunteer army would be an army of the poor and the black and the brown," Kerry wrote. "We must not repeat the travesty of the inequities present during Vietnam. I also fear having a professional army that views the perpetuation of war crimes as simply 'doing its job.' Only stupid minorities would join? Bunch of moral cretins who have no problem with 'war crimes'? Check.
But we're supposed to ignore everything else he's said and believe him when he says NOW that he 'supports and respects the troops'.
And flying monkeys just flew out the back of my pants.
Over at Michelle Malkin, found this post on past remarks he made, which touches both on what he thought of the military then, and how it relates to his idiot remarks now.
During a Vietnam-era run for Congress three decades ago, John Kerry said he opposed a volunteer Army because it would be dominated by the underprivileged, be less accountable and be more prone to "the perpetuation of war crimes." Bunch of dummies who couldn't get a 'real' job, and have no self-control? Check.
"I am convinced a volunteer army would be an army of the poor and the black and the brown," Kerry wrote. "We must not repeat the travesty of the inequities present during Vietnam. I also fear having a professional army that views the perpetuation of war crimes as simply 'doing its job.' Only stupid minorities would join? Bunch of moral cretins who have no problem with 'war crimes'? Check.
But we're supposed to ignore everything else he's said and believe him when he says NOW that he 'supports and respects the troops'.
And flying monkeys just flew out the back of my pants.
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
A single murder that points out two problems
I know I whack on the Brits a lot. Well, not a lot, but I do. Things like this are why.
A successful City lawyer was stabbed to death by two hooded robbers only yards from the flat he shared with his fiancee, the Old Bailey heard yesterday.
Tom ap Rhys Pryce, 31, was just eight months away from his wedding to Adele Eastman, 31, when Donnel Carty, 19, and Delano Brown, 18, attacked him after he refused to hand over his mobile phone and Oyster card, the jury was told.
A horrible crime committed for crap. Here's the two parts that really bother me here. First, remember all those CCTV cameras that are supposed to make people so much safer, etc.?
Two people living in the street told police they had seen two hooded black youths attacking Mr ap Rhys Pryce. Mr Horwell said that the killers, cousins who deny murder, were caught because of their "incompetence and naivety".
He said that only 17 minutes before they robbed and murdered Mr ap Rhys Pryce they were caught on closed circuit television robbing another man, Kurshid Ali, of cash and his mobile phone at Kensal Green Tube station.
Ok, most crooks get caught because they're not too damn smart, but here's the problem with the damn cameras: it doesn't do any good to have them recording crimes if nothing happens about it.
And the second: "Their motive was greed," said Mr Horwell, opening the case. "It was two against one. They were armed and he, of course, was not. It did not matter to them that this man worked hard for his position in life. He had a promising career in the legal profession. Emphasis mine.
OF COURSE he wasn't armed, he be in jail if he was caught with a cane and admitted he carried it for self-defense, let alone any other 'offensive weapon'(which includes a freakin' pepper shaker). And if he'd had some hand-to-hand skills and hurt the little bastards, this same Mr Horwell would be trying to put him in jail for it.
This is so disgusting. And so sad.
A successful City lawyer was stabbed to death by two hooded robbers only yards from the flat he shared with his fiancee, the Old Bailey heard yesterday.
Tom ap Rhys Pryce, 31, was just eight months away from his wedding to Adele Eastman, 31, when Donnel Carty, 19, and Delano Brown, 18, attacked him after he refused to hand over his mobile phone and Oyster card, the jury was told.
A horrible crime committed for crap. Here's the two parts that really bother me here. First, remember all those CCTV cameras that are supposed to make people so much safer, etc.?
Two people living in the street told police they had seen two hooded black youths attacking Mr ap Rhys Pryce. Mr Horwell said that the killers, cousins who deny murder, were caught because of their "incompetence and naivety".
He said that only 17 minutes before they robbed and murdered Mr ap Rhys Pryce they were caught on closed circuit television robbing another man, Kurshid Ali, of cash and his mobile phone at Kensal Green Tube station.
Ok, most crooks get caught because they're not too damn smart, but here's the problem with the damn cameras: it doesn't do any good to have them recording crimes if nothing happens about it.
And the second: "Their motive was greed," said Mr Horwell, opening the case. "It was two against one. They were armed and he, of course, was not. It did not matter to them that this man worked hard for his position in life. He had a promising career in the legal profession. Emphasis mine.
OF COURSE he wasn't armed, he be in jail if he was caught with a cane and admitted he carried it for self-defense, let alone any other 'offensive weapon'(which includes a freakin' pepper shaker). And if he'd had some hand-to-hand skills and hurt the little bastards, this same Mr Horwell would be trying to put him in jail for it.
This is so disgusting. And so sad.
National Ammo Week is a'comin!
November 11-19. Can't believe I forgot to mention it before, but happily Kim reminded me.
Get ready, folks. 100 rounds minimum if you can. A brick of Federal .22's runs about $8 at Academy, that'd be 500 rounds. Two boxes most anywhere would only be $3-4 at most. And you know it'll get used.
Get ready, folks. 100 rounds minimum if you can. A brick of Federal .22's runs about $8 at Academy, that'd be 500 rounds. Two boxes most anywhere would only be $3-4 at most. And you know it'll get used.
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Something I've got to build one of these days
is a vampire hunting kit. No, I didn't just dream this up.
The first time I went to the big Tulsa gun show one of the first displays I stopped at was an antique dealer. All kinds of neat stuff, but right in the middle of the table was The Kit. Beautifully made case of walnut withsome light oak inlays on the top. Open the top and, neatly arranged, was
Bottle for Holy Water
Sprinkler bottle for the above
Mallet
Nicely turned stakes
Crucifix(clipped to the lid)
Butcher knife for cutting out the heart and off the head
and a couple of other things I can't remember offhand. At the bottom was a drawer that pulled out to reveal
Double-barrel percussion pistol
Box of silver ball for the pistol
Silver-plated dagger
Small mirror
Small crucifix.
All items well made, with partitions to keep them separate and from rattling around. Spent a while talking to the guy. Said his buyers turn up one or two of these every year, almost all from Louisiana and usually in/around New Orleans.
My daughter would love this setup. Dad's got a bandsaw & table saw, I've got some other stuff, the pistol can be had in kit form and everything else can be made or bought. So I need to draw up some plans and work on this. Everyone should have one; who knows, the undead might rise with the damned zombies when the time comes. On that note, you should also read this at South Park Pundit. Two of the good bits:
-The woman/man/child with the bite mark on their arm is going to get a bullet in their head. Deal with it and move on.
-It is not OK to snipe zombies from the roof of our darkened hideout. There is a reason we’re being quiet, numbnuts.
Yeah, Halloween's almost over, but next year will come. Unless the zombies show up first.
The first time I went to the big Tulsa gun show one of the first displays I stopped at was an antique dealer. All kinds of neat stuff, but right in the middle of the table was The Kit. Beautifully made case of walnut withsome light oak inlays on the top. Open the top and, neatly arranged, was
Bottle for Holy Water
Sprinkler bottle for the above
Mallet
Nicely turned stakes
Crucifix(clipped to the lid)
Butcher knife for cutting out the heart and off the head
and a couple of other things I can't remember offhand. At the bottom was a drawer that pulled out to reveal
Double-barrel percussion pistol
Box of silver ball for the pistol
Silver-plated dagger
Small mirror
Small crucifix.
All items well made, with partitions to keep them separate and from rattling around. Spent a while talking to the guy. Said his buyers turn up one or two of these every year, almost all from Louisiana and usually in/around New Orleans.
My daughter would love this setup. Dad's got a bandsaw & table saw, I've got some other stuff, the pistol can be had in kit form and everything else can be made or bought. So I need to draw up some plans and work on this. Everyone should have one; who knows, the undead might rise with the damned zombies when the time comes. On that note, you should also read this at South Park Pundit. Two of the good bits:
-The woman/man/child with the bite mark on their arm is going to get a bullet in their head. Deal with it and move on.
-It is not OK to snipe zombies from the roof of our darkened hideout. There is a reason we’re being quiet, numbnuts.
Yeah, Halloween's almost over, but next year will come. Unless the zombies show up first.
Project Valor-IT
So John Effin' Kerry is
a condescending, elitist slimeball. This is a surprise to anyone?
And his 'save' on what he said(just scroll up at Malkin's site) it just damned pathetic. Again, this is a surprise?
And his 'save' on what he said(just scroll up at Malkin's site) it just damned pathetic. Again, this is a surprise?
Monday, October 30, 2006
Well, I'm back
The last two times I planned on going to Texas to visit folks, something came up. This time I made it. Good visit.
I do have to admit that something unplanned happened. As I was nearing Fort Worth, listening to the radio, on came a commercial: there was a gun show this weekend.
(Aside: I can't help myself! I'm an addict. I need HELP, I tell you!!)
Ahem. As I was saying, turned out there was a show down there, so I went on Saturday. If anything, one matter was worse than Tulsa; some people have a very exaggerated idea of the worth of some firearms. On the other hand, I'm now the owner of a Dillon Square Deal 'B' press with dies for .45acp and 9mm. Guy who loads ammo for sale had just gotten a 550 to assist with the 650 he'd had for a short time, and decided the 'B' needed to go. So I got it with a bunch of brass and several hundred cast bullets for a good price. A few other bits & pieces, including the oil bottle I'd meant to pick up at Tulsa but forgot.
Otherwise, some good time with some good people. One of these days I'm going to be going down there at a time when Kim & Family aren't busy getting ready for some business trip, and I'm going to arrange to meet them. Didn't try this time, as I have the impression they're a wee bit busy right now, with the trip to multiple countries coming up and all.
I do have to admit that something unplanned happened. As I was nearing Fort Worth, listening to the radio, on came a commercial: there was a gun show this weekend.
(Aside: I can't help myself! I'm an addict. I need HELP, I tell you!!)
Ahem. As I was saying, turned out there was a show down there, so I went on Saturday. If anything, one matter was worse than Tulsa; some people have a very exaggerated idea of the worth of some firearms. On the other hand, I'm now the owner of a Dillon Square Deal 'B' press with dies for .45acp and 9mm. Guy who loads ammo for sale had just gotten a 550 to assist with the 650 he'd had for a short time, and decided the 'B' needed to go. So I got it with a bunch of brass and several hundred cast bullets for a good price. A few other bits & pieces, including the oil bottle I'd meant to pick up at Tulsa but forgot.
Otherwise, some good time with some good people. One of these days I'm going to be going down there at a time when Kim & Family aren't busy getting ready for some business trip, and I'm going to arrange to meet them. Didn't try this time, as I have the impression they're a wee bit busy right now, with the trip to multiple countries coming up and all.
Thursday, October 26, 2006
I have a question for those with greater knowledge
than I on the subject.
I've been looking at the drawings of the 'man-stopper bullet' from Mr. Webley. I know how you can cast hollow base or hollow nose bullets, but I'm thinking that a bullet with both would most likely have to be swaged; am I correct on this?
If I am, it makes it less likely I'll be able to get hold of some, because I have little interest in setting up to swage bullets. Among other things, I'm thinking having the dies made would be a bit on the expensive side.
I've been looking at the drawings of the 'man-stopper bullet' from Mr. Webley. I know how you can cast hollow base or hollow nose bullets, but I'm thinking that a bullet with both would most likely have to be swaged; am I correct on this?
If I am, it makes it less likely I'll be able to get hold of some, because I have little interest in setting up to swage bullets. Among other things, I'm thinking having the dies made would be a bit on the expensive side.
Not exactly my definition of 'hot stuff'
but according to Sheik Hilali, hot women are like a dish of meat left out for the cat to find. Or something like that. You expect actual sense from a BPM?
This idiots method of preventing rape: If the woman is in her boudoir, in her house and if she’s wearing the veil and if she shows modesty, disasters don’t happen. Sure, honey, just stay in the house, wrapped in a tent, in your room, and all will be well. Unless you don't like being a friggin' prisoner, of course.
Take a look. While you're there, scroll on around, Tim Blair comes up with a lot worth looking at.
This idiots method of preventing rape: If the woman is in her boudoir, in her house and if she’s wearing the veil and if she shows modesty, disasters don’t happen. Sure, honey, just stay in the house, wrapped in a tent, in your room, and all will be well. Unless you don't like being a friggin' prisoner, of course.
Take a look. While you're there, scroll on around, Tim Blair comes up with a lot worth looking at.
First one's what the enviroweenies plan for all of us
From the Telegraph, we find this:
4x4 drivers face £300 bill to park outside home
Millions of drivers of sports cars and 4x4s face hefty charges to park outside their own homes under a scheme being pioneered by a local council.
Town hall chiefs across the country were said last night to be closely watching a move by Liberal Democrats in Richmond upon Thames, south-west London, to target the owners of so-called "gas-guzzlers".
So for the 'privilege' of parking in front of your house, if you have a vehicle the weenies don't approve of, they council wants to charge you up to, I think it converts to about $450-500. And here's the "We HAVE to!" from the local council weenie:
Serge Lourie, the council leader, said: "Climate change is the single greatest challenge facing the world today. We can no longer bury our heads in the sand and pretend that it is not happening.
"For too long it has been seen as a problem that only central governments or international organisations could address. The truth is that we must all start acting now at local level."
By screwing the taxpayers again and more.
The other is just for the fun of it:Scots' plan for England as radioactive dustbin
SCOTLAND’S First Minister has said that one of the benefits of remaining part of the UK is that the country can continue to dump its nuclear waste in England.
Whee, English that glow in the dark so you can shoot them at night!
4x4 drivers face £300 bill to park outside home
Millions of drivers of sports cars and 4x4s face hefty charges to park outside their own homes under a scheme being pioneered by a local council.
Town hall chiefs across the country were said last night to be closely watching a move by Liberal Democrats in Richmond upon Thames, south-west London, to target the owners of so-called "gas-guzzlers".
So for the 'privilege' of parking in front of your house, if you have a vehicle the weenies don't approve of, they council wants to charge you up to, I think it converts to about $450-500. And here's the "We HAVE to!" from the local council weenie:
Serge Lourie, the council leader, said: "Climate change is the single greatest challenge facing the world today. We can no longer bury our heads in the sand and pretend that it is not happening.
"For too long it has been seen as a problem that only central governments or international organisations could address. The truth is that we must all start acting now at local level."
By screwing the taxpayers again and more.
The other is just for the fun of it:Scots' plan for England as radioactive dustbin
SCOTLAND’S First Minister has said that one of the benefits of remaining part of the UK is that the country can continue to dump its nuclear waste in England.
Whee, English that glow in the dark so you can shoot them at night!
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
See? I did NOT forget the bumper
Not completely. Just took 'till today for me to have the truck, and the time to shoot it, AND to remember to haul my ass outside and shoot it.
This one is a heavy stamped-steel bumper with a rubber or plastic coating. Which both means no glare off chrome and no rust from scratches and dings. It's held up nicely so far. My previous truck's bumper was chromed but otherwise identical and was still good after fourteen years, so this one I'd expect to last as well.
This one is a heavy stamped-steel bumper with a rubber or plastic coating. Which both means no glare off chrome and no rust from scratches and dings. It's held up nicely so far. My previous truck's bumper was chromed but otherwise identical and was still good after fourteen years, so this one I'd expect to last as well.
Gun show report
And one of my remaining dream finds found
Now that I've mostly recovered(yeah, I'm a wimp) and have some time, the basic would be that the Wanenmacher show is a very, very nice show. They advertised about 3900 tables, and I believe it. Guns, parts, accessories, tools, knives, more tools & parts, books and surplus gear. Unlike last year I didn't stock up on ammo, though I picked up a few bits & pieces there. Mostly I was looking for parts for the M1 Carbine receiver, some replacement screwdriver bits and other things like that.
On the Carbine, every part you can think of was indeed available, but I've got to say this: the price of GI-production barrels is officially insane. I saw one Inland barrel (in very good shape externally but a bullet would slip into the muzzle all the way to the case) priced at $350. If the damn thing was new in the wrapper, maybe; no way in hell it was worth near that much in that condition. Some others were anywhere from $150-250, with much less muzzle wear. I'd hoped to find an Inland barrel to go with the receiver, but at those prices it ain't gonna happen.
Now to the find: I'm now the owner of a Webley Mk VI revolver
chambered for the, as Kim puts it, manly .455 Webley cartridge.Unfortunately, yes, the cylinder is cut, but that's the big reason I could afford it; those with uncut cylinders run about twice what I paid for this one. The bore is bright with very strong rifling, the barrel & frame lock up without any play or slop, and the cylinder locks up like a bank vault. I saw one other for a bit less, but the barrel/frame lockup wasn't as tight as this one.
Monday was partly devoted to detail-stripping this and cleaning and lubing. I've torn down/helped with several Enfield and Webley revolvers, and the thing they all had in common was being dry inside, no trace of any lube. Cleaned and oiled(greased where appropriate) they've all proven to have smooth actions and light, clean single-action triggers(in those pistols that had single-action capability). And it's a very simple design inside. In the case of the Mk VI, the 'V' mainspring delivers power to the hammer and rebounds the trigger; the only other springs are one in the cam that works the ejector and the one that tensions the single-action sear. A very robust design.
Sights are a front post that's locked into the base with a screw(I've seen sight blades marked for the range they were sized for) and a wide 'V' rear that's actually part of the barrel latch. It should be noted that they did make target versions of this pistol which had adjustable rear sights.
Last couple of days I've done more research on this cartridge, which included finding this page of British revolver cartridge data if you want the entire rundown. Short version, this cartridge originally fired a 265-grain bullet of 12 parts lead and 1 part tin loaded to 700 fps. That, I would say, would leave a mark. There were several modifications over time, and at the time this pistol was made the standard was a flat-nose hollow-base bullet at about 650fps. One thing I'd like to note is that in 1898 this cartridge was produced with 'Thomas Webley's patented man-stopping bullet'
cast in 12 parts lead to 1 part tin. Now THAT would leave a mark. The record notes:Patented by Thomas Webley in 1897. It had a conical cavity in the nose which was to aid expansion, and the outer radius (of the nose) was slightly chamfered to aid initial penetration. This design was meant to increase stopping power when non-vital parts of the body was hit. It appears to have worked too, as the Mk III round was withdrawn from service because of it´s "over-effectiveness". I would tend to wonder, how can a combat bullet be 'over-effective'? In any case, that hollow base would also let the bullet swage out to fit the bore, which would help explain the reputation for accuracy of this pistol/cartridge.
I mentioned the cylinder was cut. At the start of WWII, when the Brits were desperate for any firearm that would go bang a lot of these were dug out of the armories for use. However, there was a shortage of the ammo for them, and no way to take manufacturing capacity from other cartridges to make them. So, since they could get lots of .45acp ammo from us, the cylinders/extractors had a little milled off the back; this made enough room for .45acp in spring-steel clips to be used. Accuracy suffered as the bullet of our .45 was of a bit smaller diameter, but it worked. So now it's not easy to find either a pistol with or an uncut cylinder alone, and the prices are high.
Fast forward, and a lot of these revolvers are on the market. You can shoot them with .45acp and clips, but if you don't want to do that there was a problem: .455 Webley ammo or brass was hard to get and expensive. Answer to this was to create the .45 Auto Rim, basically the acp case with a very thick rim
Auto Rim case on the left here. The rim engages the extractor properly, and the thickness fills in the space for the clip.
So you can set up to shoot it, but there's still a problem, the different bullet diameters. Which means not only is a standard .45acp bullet too small but the case is a bit smaller in diameter, too. I wanted to give this one a try before I wrote this so I did the same thing as I did for the .380 Enfield revolver: cast the bullet and don't size it, just lube with Lee Liquid Alox. I cast some 230-grain ball and 200-grain flat-nose, and this method gave me bullets of .455 in the ball and .453 in the flat-nose. I dug up some load information and put these in the Auto Rim cases with a suitable charge of Unique and this morning took it to the range.
Note: I've read everything from "It's perfectly safe to shoot with standard .45acp ball" to "You're a fool if you shoot it with .45acp". I've got a bunch of full-moon clips, and I'll use them with handloads kept to about the same pressure-velocity levels as the original cartridge, but mostly I plan to use the Auto Rim cases to load this.
Overall a very smooth action with, as I said, a clean and light single-action pull. I couldn't set up the chronograph so I'll have to check the velocity of the loads later. I boiled down to this: first target was fired single-action at about fifteen yards with the 200-grain loads:
(the hole an inch south & a bit east should be ignored; yes, there is a reason)
The second target was fired double-action at seven yards with the 230-grain loads, all fired in about five seconds:
Overall, I'm very happy with this thing. These groups in a dimly lit range with sights designed for fast acquisition, not precise marksmanship, ain't bad at all from my eyes. And recoil was negligible with both loads; the combination of size, weight, barrel length and grip size/shape made it very comfortable to shoot. A very nice pistol that I'm going to enjoy being the caretaker of for a while.
Other stuff about the show
One dealer was selling Duracoat in all the various colors. I got a kit of matt black(bottle of resin and bottle of hardener, with instructions) to try out. I've got an air brush I can hook up to the compressor, so we'll see how this works out. If I get good results there are a number of things I can use it on.
I found a very nice powder measure that I'm going to get when I've got some money again. Weighing every charge on a stick powder like IMR4895 or 3031 or whatever can be a pain, but every measure I've tried doesn't work well with them; you have to throw a charge that's a bit light and then put it on the scale and and add powder to bring it up to weight. This measure was dropping very consistent charges with a large, coarse stick powder( I can't remember which one offhand) with no cut grains.
There were a lot of old double-rifles out there, in calibers from .450 on up. Some absolutely beautiful examples of the gunmakers art, marred only by the fact I'd have had to sell my house to afford any of them.
Overall a very good show. I will make a suggestion if you're going to it: if you plan on buying much of anything and spending the day/s, take some kind of cart. I borrowed a suitcase cart(the kind that folds up) and used a bungee cord to hold a small storage bin on it and it was VERY nice to have. Among other things it lets you carry a couple of bottles of water and some munchies along.
Now that I've mostly recovered(yeah, I'm a wimp) and have some time, the basic would be that the Wanenmacher show is a very, very nice show. They advertised about 3900 tables, and I believe it. Guns, parts, accessories, tools, knives, more tools & parts, books and surplus gear. Unlike last year I didn't stock up on ammo, though I picked up a few bits & pieces there. Mostly I was looking for parts for the M1 Carbine receiver, some replacement screwdriver bits and other things like that.
On the Carbine, every part you can think of was indeed available, but I've got to say this: the price of GI-production barrels is officially insane. I saw one Inland barrel (in very good shape externally but a bullet would slip into the muzzle all the way to the case) priced at $350. If the damn thing was new in the wrapper, maybe; no way in hell it was worth near that much in that condition. Some others were anywhere from $150-250, with much less muzzle wear. I'd hoped to find an Inland barrel to go with the receiver, but at those prices it ain't gonna happen.
Now to the find: I'm now the owner of a Webley Mk VI revolver
chambered for the, as Kim puts it, manly .455 Webley cartridge.Unfortunately, yes, the cylinder is cut, but that's the big reason I could afford it; those with uncut cylinders run about twice what I paid for this one. The bore is bright with very strong rifling, the barrel & frame lock up without any play or slop, and the cylinder locks up like a bank vault. I saw one other for a bit less, but the barrel/frame lockup wasn't as tight as this one.
Monday was partly devoted to detail-stripping this and cleaning and lubing. I've torn down/helped with several Enfield and Webley revolvers, and the thing they all had in common was being dry inside, no trace of any lube. Cleaned and oiled(greased where appropriate) they've all proven to have smooth actions and light, clean single-action triggers(in those pistols that had single-action capability). And it's a very simple design inside. In the case of the Mk VI, the 'V' mainspring delivers power to the hammer and rebounds the trigger; the only other springs are one in the cam that works the ejector and the one that tensions the single-action sear. A very robust design.
Sights are a front post that's locked into the base with a screw(I've seen sight blades marked for the range they were sized for) and a wide 'V' rear that's actually part of the barrel latch. It should be noted that they did make target versions of this pistol which had adjustable rear sights.
Last couple of days I've done more research on this cartridge, which included finding this page of British revolver cartridge data if you want the entire rundown. Short version, this cartridge originally fired a 265-grain bullet of 12 parts lead and 1 part tin loaded to 700 fps. That, I would say, would leave a mark. There were several modifications over time, and at the time this pistol was made the standard was a flat-nose hollow-base bullet at about 650fps. One thing I'd like to note is that in 1898 this cartridge was produced with 'Thomas Webley's patented man-stopping bullet'
cast in 12 parts lead to 1 part tin. Now THAT would leave a mark. The record notes:Patented by Thomas Webley in 1897. It had a conical cavity in the nose which was to aid expansion, and the outer radius (of the nose) was slightly chamfered to aid initial penetration. This design was meant to increase stopping power when non-vital parts of the body was hit. It appears to have worked too, as the Mk III round was withdrawn from service because of it´s "over-effectiveness". I would tend to wonder, how can a combat bullet be 'over-effective'? In any case, that hollow base would also let the bullet swage out to fit the bore, which would help explain the reputation for accuracy of this pistol/cartridge.
I mentioned the cylinder was cut. At the start of WWII, when the Brits were desperate for any firearm that would go bang a lot of these were dug out of the armories for use. However, there was a shortage of the ammo for them, and no way to take manufacturing capacity from other cartridges to make them. So, since they could get lots of .45acp ammo from us, the cylinders/extractors had a little milled off the back; this made enough room for .45acp in spring-steel clips to be used. Accuracy suffered as the bullet of our .45 was of a bit smaller diameter, but it worked. So now it's not easy to find either a pistol with or an uncut cylinder alone, and the prices are high.
Fast forward, and a lot of these revolvers are on the market. You can shoot them with .45acp and clips, but if you don't want to do that there was a problem: .455 Webley ammo or brass was hard to get and expensive. Answer to this was to create the .45 Auto Rim, basically the acp case with a very thick rim
Auto Rim case on the left here. The rim engages the extractor properly, and the thickness fills in the space for the clip.
So you can set up to shoot it, but there's still a problem, the different bullet diameters. Which means not only is a standard .45acp bullet too small but the case is a bit smaller in diameter, too. I wanted to give this one a try before I wrote this so I did the same thing as I did for the .380 Enfield revolver: cast the bullet and don't size it, just lube with Lee Liquid Alox. I cast some 230-grain ball and 200-grain flat-nose, and this method gave me bullets of .455 in the ball and .453 in the flat-nose. I dug up some load information and put these in the Auto Rim cases with a suitable charge of Unique and this morning took it to the range.
Note: I've read everything from "It's perfectly safe to shoot with standard .45acp ball" to "You're a fool if you shoot it with .45acp". I've got a bunch of full-moon clips, and I'll use them with handloads kept to about the same pressure-velocity levels as the original cartridge, but mostly I plan to use the Auto Rim cases to load this.
Overall a very smooth action with, as I said, a clean and light single-action pull. I couldn't set up the chronograph so I'll have to check the velocity of the loads later. I boiled down to this: first target was fired single-action at about fifteen yards with the 200-grain loads:
(the hole an inch south & a bit east should be ignored; yes, there is a reason)
The second target was fired double-action at seven yards with the 230-grain loads, all fired in about five seconds:
Overall, I'm very happy with this thing. These groups in a dimly lit range with sights designed for fast acquisition, not precise marksmanship, ain't bad at all from my eyes. And recoil was negligible with both loads; the combination of size, weight, barrel length and grip size/shape made it very comfortable to shoot. A very nice pistol that I'm going to enjoy being the caretaker of for a while.
Other stuff about the show
One dealer was selling Duracoat in all the various colors. I got a kit of matt black(bottle of resin and bottle of hardener, with instructions) to try out. I've got an air brush I can hook up to the compressor, so we'll see how this works out. If I get good results there are a number of things I can use it on.
I found a very nice powder measure that I'm going to get when I've got some money again. Weighing every charge on a stick powder like IMR4895 or 3031 or whatever can be a pain, but every measure I've tried doesn't work well with them; you have to throw a charge that's a bit light and then put it on the scale and and add powder to bring it up to weight. This measure was dropping very consistent charges with a large, coarse stick powder( I can't remember which one offhand) with no cut grains.
There were a lot of old double-rifles out there, in calibers from .450 on up. Some absolutely beautiful examples of the gunmakers art, marred only by the fact I'd have had to sell my house to afford any of them.
Overall a very good show. I will make a suggestion if you're going to it: if you plan on buying much of anything and spending the day/s, take some kind of cart. I borrowed a suitcase cart(the kind that folds up) and used a bungee cord to hold a small storage bin on it and it was VERY nice to have. Among other things it lets you carry a couple of bottles of water and some munchies along.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Two things tonight
And I promise that tomorrow I'll write about the gun show. In this case that should be Gun Show.
First, from across the Atlantic, maybe this will finally get them to understand why we treated the Kings taxmen so nastily:
Council tax inspectors will be given the right to enter homes and fine householders who refuse to cooperate under a new property revaluation scheme, the Conservatives claimed last night.
They accused ministers of "covertly" pushing through new laws that would give the inspectors power to levy fines of up to £1,000 to back up a revaluation that could see council tax bills soar.
The new powers are due to be rubber-stamped today by a little-noticed committee of MPs dealing with delegated legislation reforming the domestic rating system in Northern Ireland.
And from the sorry excuses for journalists we have running around we get this about the CNN snuff video:
Hunter's fury over the video underscores the tightrope often walked by news media in the war. Critics of the war say Americans see very little of the daily violence in Iraq because of television's reluctance to show gory footage. Dangerous conditions also keep journalists from reporting independent of military units that provide them protection.
Don't you just love it? These are the little bastards who don't want to write about it when our troops stomp bad guys or treat sick & injured locals, they don't EVER want to write about the truly heroic actions of many troops, but the put out this crap and then excuse it with "But we're walking a tightrope, here! People need to SEE the carnage!" Worthless little shits don't worry about showing the 'carnage' of our people busting ambushes or whacking terrorists who say that murdering teachers and children is doing their gods' work, but by their god we HAVE to see this garbage.
We need a hunting season on CNN.
First, from across the Atlantic, maybe this will finally get them to understand why we treated the Kings taxmen so nastily:
Council tax inspectors will be given the right to enter homes and fine householders who refuse to cooperate under a new property revaluation scheme, the Conservatives claimed last night.
They accused ministers of "covertly" pushing through new laws that would give the inspectors power to levy fines of up to £1,000 to back up a revaluation that could see council tax bills soar.
The new powers are due to be rubber-stamped today by a little-noticed committee of MPs dealing with delegated legislation reforming the domestic rating system in Northern Ireland.
And from the sorry excuses for journalists we have running around we get this about the CNN snuff video:
Hunter's fury over the video underscores the tightrope often walked by news media in the war. Critics of the war say Americans see very little of the daily violence in Iraq because of television's reluctance to show gory footage. Dangerous conditions also keep journalists from reporting independent of military units that provide them protection.
Don't you just love it? These are the little bastards who don't want to write about it when our troops stomp bad guys or treat sick & injured locals, they don't EVER want to write about the truly heroic actions of many troops, but the put out this crap and then excuse it with "But we're walking a tightrope, here! People need to SEE the carnage!" Worthless little shits don't worry about showing the 'carnage' of our people busting ambushes or whacking terrorists who say that murdering teachers and children is doing their gods' work, but by their god we HAVE to see this garbage.
We need a hunting season on CNN.
Why I dislike Tony Blair
Here's one of the ways
Tony Blair called yesterday for the national DNA database to be expanded to include every citizen.
...
The Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 permitted police to retain DNA samples from everyone who was charged. Previously they had to destroy samples and fingerprints from anyone who was found not guilty or had their charge dropped.
The Criminal Justice Act 2003 gave police the power to take and keep a DNA sample.
...The DNA database could be a vital tool in the fight against crime but the terms of its use must be properly laid down and approved by Parliament.
"There is no provision to deal with people who have a DNA sample taken, are innocent of any crime but still remain on the database," said Mr Green.
And Blair says Mr Blair said he did not believe there was "any problem" with the public providing samples because if they had committed a serious offence they "should be convicted". The database sent a "strong signal" to the criminal community that they could be identified and caught from even the smallest trace at a crime scene.
Ok, first: apparently Blair has been watching CSI: Wherever after saying that 'smallest trace' crap. Second, it's a logical next step for Blair & Co.; they think the government should control all parts of your life. Third, don't you just love the logic? "You might someday do something wrong, so we're going to keep samples of you around. And if it turns out you were arrested in error, we'll keep all samples; never know when someone like you will do something".
Last excerpt: Downing Street said later that no thought had been given at this stage to requiring everyone to give a DNA sample, although they will have to give scans of their eye and fingerprints for a passport and eventually a national identity card. I call bullshit on this; no thought had been given my ass. They've been planning for and pushing this for years. The fact that they'll lie about it even now says all you need to know about their intentions.
Tony Blair called yesterday for the national DNA database to be expanded to include every citizen.
...
The Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 permitted police to retain DNA samples from everyone who was charged. Previously they had to destroy samples and fingerprints from anyone who was found not guilty or had their charge dropped.
The Criminal Justice Act 2003 gave police the power to take and keep a DNA sample.
...The DNA database could be a vital tool in the fight against crime but the terms of its use must be properly laid down and approved by Parliament.
"There is no provision to deal with people who have a DNA sample taken, are innocent of any crime but still remain on the database," said Mr Green.
And Blair says Mr Blair said he did not believe there was "any problem" with the public providing samples because if they had committed a serious offence they "should be convicted". The database sent a "strong signal" to the criminal community that they could be identified and caught from even the smallest trace at a crime scene.
Ok, first: apparently Blair has been watching CSI: Wherever after saying that 'smallest trace' crap. Second, it's a logical next step for Blair & Co.; they think the government should control all parts of your life. Third, don't you just love the logic? "You might someday do something wrong, so we're going to keep samples of you around. And if it turns out you were arrested in error, we'll keep all samples; never know when someone like you will do something".
Last excerpt: Downing Street said later that no thought had been given at this stage to requiring everyone to give a DNA sample, although they will have to give scans of their eye and fingerprints for a passport and eventually a national identity card. I call bullshit on this; no thought had been given my ass. They've been planning for and pushing this for years. The fact that they'll lie about it even now says all you need to know about their intentions.
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Remember I wrote about the attacks on police in France?
I noted the article spoke of 'intensifying attacks'. I just took a quick look at Gates of Vienna and found this post, When Will the First IED Explode in Paris?. Here's a key quote:
The figures are stark. An average of 112 cars a day have been torched across France so far this year and there have been 15 attacks a day on police and emergency services. Nearly 3,000 police officers have been injured in clashes this year. Officers have been badly injured in four ambushes in the Paris outskirts since September. Some police talk of open war with youths who are bent on more than vandalism.
112 cars a DAY? EVERY DAY this year? Almost three thousand injured cops, including outright ambushes?
This isn't 'going bad', this is flat out of control.
The figures are stark. An average of 112 cars a day have been torched across France so far this year and there have been 15 attacks a day on police and emergency services. Nearly 3,000 police officers have been injured in clashes this year. Officers have been badly injured in four ambushes in the Paris outskirts since September. Some police talk of open war with youths who are bent on more than vandalism.
112 cars a DAY? EVERY DAY this year? Almost three thousand injured cops, including outright ambushes?
This isn't 'going bad', this is flat out of control.
I'm back
Tired and hungry and thirsty and my legs are killing me; boots or no, spending that much time walking around on concrete is not good.
I can't honesty say I was there the entire time. I left not quite an hour early Saturday to avoid the rush, and about a half-hour early today; otherwise, two days of the biggest gun show you'll ever see. Approximately 3900 tables according to what I read.
I'll put more up about it later, right now I need to put things away and get a drink.
I can't honesty say I was there the entire time. I left not quite an hour early Saturday to avoid the rush, and about a half-hour early today; otherwise, two days of the biggest gun show you'll ever see. Approximately 3900 tables according to what I read.
I'll put more up about it later, right now I need to put things away and get a drink.
Friday, October 20, 2006
A piece on the Oklahoma City Bombing case
KTOK had this today: FBI documents reveal how the government had reported contact with the Southern Poverty Law Center and its alleged undercover operative at Elohim City before the Oklahoma City bombing, even though SPLC director Morris Dees denies any such knowledge of an operation.
They've got audio links on their on-air report, and the interview with Dees, who's apparently playing Sgt. Schultz and 'knows NOTHING!'. Yet we read His denial came Thursday in an interview with KTOK news. Yet the FBI memos released last year to Salt Lake City attorney Jess Trentadue in a Freedom of Information request contain dozens of references to the SPLC and its role in an undercover operation aimed against the white supremacists at Elohim City, a right wing compound frequented by bomber Tim McVeigh and others.
In a 1993 news conference in southeast Oklahoma, Dees talked of Tim McVeigh and Elohim City. Yet in Oklahoma City this week, he said he 'knew zip about Elohim City'.
I haven't had any respect for Dees for a long time; he's one of the people who was really pushing "The militias are coming!" crap in the 1980's, and whatever he may once have been he's a standard issue-hustling lawyer now. There's been a lot of stuff in the past reports on this, and this would further seem to show Dees is not telling the truth about this. Which makes me wonder what else he's not being forthcoming about in connection with this.
They've also got a link to the memos themselves.
They've got audio links on their on-air report, and the interview with Dees, who's apparently playing Sgt. Schultz and 'knows NOTHING!'. Yet we read His denial came Thursday in an interview with KTOK news. Yet the FBI memos released last year to Salt Lake City attorney Jess Trentadue in a Freedom of Information request contain dozens of references to the SPLC and its role in an undercover operation aimed against the white supremacists at Elohim City, a right wing compound frequented by bomber Tim McVeigh and others.
In a 1993 news conference in southeast Oklahoma, Dees talked of Tim McVeigh and Elohim City. Yet in Oklahoma City this week, he said he 'knew zip about Elohim City'.
I haven't had any respect for Dees for a long time; he's one of the people who was really pushing "The militias are coming!" crap in the 1980's, and whatever he may once have been he's a standard issue-hustling lawyer now. There's been a lot of stuff in the past reports on this, and this would further seem to show Dees is not telling the truth about this. Which makes me wonder what else he's not being forthcoming about in connection with this.
They've also got a link to the memos themselves.
In case Kim can't get to it, here's a Righteous Shooting
Masked Man Meets Match, or as I would put it, "Don't (bleep) with the ladies".
Dirtbag enters liquor store and demands money from 84-year old lady as owners wife walks in. "My wife told him his ski mask was crooked, she can't stand things like that, and to get on the other side of the counter and she'd give him the money," said Bob Almond, owner of the liquor store who was at home at the time.
"He told her he was going to blow her heart out," Almond said. "She's just had a triple bypass, and she told him it wasn't very good anyway." Ever heard a nicer way of telling someone to kiss your ass?
Sheila Almond opened the cash register to get the money and pulled out a .38 revolver and shot the robber in the shoulder. He continued to go for the money.
When the shot didn't slow the assailant down, Almond got reinforcements. She told an employee to "Bring her Baby, that's what we call the shotgun," her husband said.
Sheila Almond then shot the robber in the abdomen.
If you ain't cheering, what's wrong with you?
Guy Wade Buck, 50, was flown to a Texarkana hospital and remains in critical condition, according to OSBI.
And just to top it off? The gun turned out to be a plastic air gun, OSBI officials said.
I know, he's not dead. At least not yet. But he definately counts as stomped on.
Dirtbag enters liquor store and demands money from 84-year old lady as owners wife walks in. "My wife told him his ski mask was crooked, she can't stand things like that, and to get on the other side of the counter and she'd give him the money," said Bob Almond, owner of the liquor store who was at home at the time.
"He told her he was going to blow her heart out," Almond said. "She's just had a triple bypass, and she told him it wasn't very good anyway." Ever heard a nicer way of telling someone to kiss your ass?
Sheila Almond opened the cash register to get the money and pulled out a .38 revolver and shot the robber in the shoulder. He continued to go for the money.
When the shot didn't slow the assailant down, Almond got reinforcements. She told an employee to "Bring her Baby, that's what we call the shotgun," her husband said.
Sheila Almond then shot the robber in the abdomen.
If you ain't cheering, what's wrong with you?
Guy Wade Buck, 50, was flown to a Texarkana hospital and remains in critical condition, according to OSBI.
And just to top it off? The gun turned out to be a plastic air gun, OSBI officials said.
I know, he's not dead. At least not yet. But he definately counts as stomped on.
Well, I'm cleaned out for the weekend
Physically, due to lunch. I was taking care of some things and since I was nearby decided to try a Thai restaurant on 23rd near the capitol. By the time lunch was over I'd gone through about 1/4 of a tree in napkins to blow my nose and wipe off my face. No, not with the same napkins. If you asked me what I had I'd have to reply "Uh, vegetables and meat cooked together" because nothing was labeled. I have discovered two things about Thai cooking:
Yes, some of it IS that hot, and
Damn, it was good.
Happily, the first place I hit after that was the library, which has a bathroom, because my system informed me of the need to purge itself. I don't think it etched the porcelain in the bowl, but I didn't look all that close.
Speaking of hot, apparently I raise wussy habanero chilis. The plant I had last year and this one both. Don't get me wrong, they're hot, and they add a wonderful flavor to things, but they're more 'good hot jalapeno' hot than "I'm comin', Elizabeth!" hot. I mean, habaneros are supposed to be 'eat one and you could blow Andrew Sullivan and not have to worry about social diseases' hot, and these aren't. Not that I'd want to do that in any case.
These were just labeled 'habenero', so the places that carry them here may have the mild-to-standard level chilis instead of the 'death to the gringos' varieties. I'll have to check next spring and maybe order some of the more WMD variety to see how they come out.
Yes, some of it IS that hot, and
Damn, it was good.
Happily, the first place I hit after that was the library, which has a bathroom, because my system informed me of the need to purge itself. I don't think it etched the porcelain in the bowl, but I didn't look all that close.
Speaking of hot, apparently I raise wussy habanero chilis. The plant I had last year and this one both. Don't get me wrong, they're hot, and they add a wonderful flavor to things, but they're more 'good hot jalapeno' hot than "I'm comin', Elizabeth!" hot. I mean, habaneros are supposed to be 'eat one and you could blow Andrew Sullivan and not have to worry about social diseases' hot, and these aren't. Not that I'd want to do that in any case.
These were just labeled 'habenero', so the places that carry them here may have the mild-to-standard level chilis instead of the 'death to the gringos' varieties. I'll have to check next spring and maybe order some of the more WMD variety to see how they come out.
Thursday, October 19, 2006
So much for 'free speech' in Britain
If there was any doubt left: Man convicted for anti Muslim banner
A protest in London against the publication of a cartoon depicting the prophet Mohammed as a terrorist incensed an Aberporth man, who painted an anti-Muslim slogan on a white sheet and draped it over his garden fence.
The words in bold red paint stated: "Kill all Muslims who threaten us and our way of life. Enoch Powell was right." Harshly put, but his opinion, right?
Yeah, for which he was arrested and prosecuted for 'religiously aggravated disorderly conduct'.
He had some good questions for the court, I think:
And referring to MP Jack Straw questioning whether Muslim women should wear face veils he asked: "Are you going to arrest him?"
When prosecutor Maggie Hughes pointed out that the banner did not mention extremists Mathewson said: "That's what I meant by those who threaten us and our way of life.'"
Adding that during the protest in London a Muslim was dressed as a suicide bomber he asked: "Why was he not arrested?"
As to who complained, it was a neighbor. Why?
One of his neighbours, a retired Army officer with 23 years service, told the court he reported the matter to the police because he feared a visit from Muslim extremists.
...
"This could have come to the attention of Islamic extremists, and we could have had a visitation," he said.
There it is, nice and simple and out front: If you upset the muslims they may come here and burn down the place. And kill us.
Prosecute the muslims who demand death for anyone who offends them? Good Lord, no, what kid of racist are you? But say something that might upset their tender feelings? Off to jail with you, sir; we don't allow that kind of thing here.
I think the term is 'travesty of justice'.
Additional: I forgot to note the words of the magistrate: Finding Mathewson guilty presiding magistrate Anne Rees said she and her colleagues felt the words on the banner were likely to cause someone distress, and they did not find it as reasonable.
Oh, God, words that might 'cause distress', that an official 'doesn't find reasonable...
A protest in London against the publication of a cartoon depicting the prophet Mohammed as a terrorist incensed an Aberporth man, who painted an anti-Muslim slogan on a white sheet and draped it over his garden fence.
The words in bold red paint stated: "Kill all Muslims who threaten us and our way of life. Enoch Powell was right." Harshly put, but his opinion, right?
Yeah, for which he was arrested and prosecuted for 'religiously aggravated disorderly conduct'.
He had some good questions for the court, I think:
And referring to MP Jack Straw questioning whether Muslim women should wear face veils he asked: "Are you going to arrest him?"
When prosecutor Maggie Hughes pointed out that the banner did not mention extremists Mathewson said: "That's what I meant by those who threaten us and our way of life.'"
Adding that during the protest in London a Muslim was dressed as a suicide bomber he asked: "Why was he not arrested?"
As to who complained, it was a neighbor. Why?
One of his neighbours, a retired Army officer with 23 years service, told the court he reported the matter to the police because he feared a visit from Muslim extremists.
...
"This could have come to the attention of Islamic extremists, and we could have had a visitation," he said.
There it is, nice and simple and out front: If you upset the muslims they may come here and burn down the place. And kill us.
Prosecute the muslims who demand death for anyone who offends them? Good Lord, no, what kid of racist are you? But say something that might upset their tender feelings? Off to jail with you, sir; we don't allow that kind of thing here.
I think the term is 'travesty of justice'.
Additional: I forgot to note the words of the magistrate: Finding Mathewson guilty presiding magistrate Anne Rees said she and her colleagues felt the words on the banner were likely to cause someone distress, and they did not find it as reasonable.
Oh, God, words that might 'cause distress', that an official 'doesn't find reasonable...
Sometimes is a phrase in the report that's most important
A lot of people have written about the attacks on the police in France by gangs of youths, mainly of North African descent. Well, I found an article in the Telegraph titled 'Crisis talks over gang attacks on police. Here's the line that I think is important:
amid news that gangs of youths, mainly of North African descent, were intensifying attacks on police.
Key words: intensifying attacks. Which acknowledges that attacks have been ongoing and are getting worse. The article describes something that's happening more and more, an organized ambush of police.
Next step? They'll start using the weapons they've been holding back with. And they've got them. There was an article about two years ago about the developing problems of how islamic groups were stealing luxury cars and smuggling them to eastern Europe to sell, in some cases taking weapons- from rifles to machine guns to RPGs- as payment and then using those back 'home' in France to commit robberies. From that and other sources they've got serious weapons, the question is why haven't they used them yet?
At a guess, they're not ready to take on the national government. Yet. So they hold back the more aggressive groups, either with words or by keeping the arms from them for now. And when they think they are ready, then there'll be open guerilla warfare in the streets. Which could mean that incidents like that noted in the article aren't just an attack on the police, they're a training exercise.
Which means that I hope Kim's reports on stores in France are correct, because they're likely to need them.
amid news that gangs of youths, mainly of North African descent, were intensifying attacks on police.
Key words: intensifying attacks. Which acknowledges that attacks have been ongoing and are getting worse. The article describes something that's happening more and more, an organized ambush of police.
Next step? They'll start using the weapons they've been holding back with. And they've got them. There was an article about two years ago about the developing problems of how islamic groups were stealing luxury cars and smuggling them to eastern Europe to sell, in some cases taking weapons- from rifles to machine guns to RPGs- as payment and then using those back 'home' in France to commit robberies. From that and other sources they've got serious weapons, the question is why haven't they used them yet?
At a guess, they're not ready to take on the national government. Yet. So they hold back the more aggressive groups, either with words or by keeping the arms from them for now. And when they think they are ready, then there'll be open guerilla warfare in the streets. Which could mean that incidents like that noted in the article aren't just an attack on the police, they're a training exercise.
Which means that I hope Kim's reports on stores in France are correct, because they're likely to need them.
The World Council of Churches sticks its fat behind out again
and farts out this mess. One of the warning signs:Secondly, some civil society organizations have called for a moratorium on nanotech research and new commercial products until such time as laboratory protocols and regulatory regimes are in place to protect workers and consumers, and until these materials are shown to be safe. Emphasis mine.
I think that's called the 'precautionary principle': everything must be proven 'safe' before it's allowed. And it's one of the most idiotic and dangerous concepts around. How the hell do you prove something 'safe'? Especially when the people in charge can change the definition as it suits them? That alone is a recipe to destroy research.
And here's the kicker: The international community must create a new United Nations body with the mandate to track, evaluate and accept or reject new technologies and their products through an International Convention on the Evaluation of New Technologies (ICENT).
So a bunch of socialists who want to destroy research also want the UN to be in control of new tech and products? Surprise, surprise. And say goodbye to progress.
I think it was Poul Anderson(correction: Kevin reminds me it was Jerry Pournelle) wrote some books in the 60's that involved the CoDominium; basic idea was that the Soviets and us had divided everything up- in the name of 'stability'- and had- also in the holy name of stability- restricted all research: anyone found doing 'military-related' research without a government permit went to prison. And surprise, surprise, technology began to stagnate because when you really look at it almost anything could be said to be 'military-related'. So if you didn't have government approval you could find yourself arrested for doing research into whatever if some bureaucrat decided you'd violated the law, and if you go the permit it meant having a watcher over your shoulder every moment to see if you somehow violated those rules.
That's what the Euroweenies and luddites and Council of Churches wants, government weenies- from the UN no less- watching scientists for any sign of not holding to the precautionary principle or doing 'non-approved' research so they can control all research AND what 'products' are allowed to the peasants.
I think that's called the 'precautionary principle': everything must be proven 'safe' before it's allowed. And it's one of the most idiotic and dangerous concepts around. How the hell do you prove something 'safe'? Especially when the people in charge can change the definition as it suits them? That alone is a recipe to destroy research.
And here's the kicker: The international community must create a new United Nations body with the mandate to track, evaluate and accept or reject new technologies and their products through an International Convention on the Evaluation of New Technologies (ICENT).
So a bunch of socialists who want to destroy research also want the UN to be in control of new tech and products? Surprise, surprise. And say goodbye to progress.
I think it was Poul Anderson(correction: Kevin reminds me it was Jerry Pournelle) wrote some books in the 60's that involved the CoDominium; basic idea was that the Soviets and us had divided everything up- in the name of 'stability'- and had- also in the holy name of stability- restricted all research: anyone found doing 'military-related' research without a government permit went to prison. And surprise, surprise, technology began to stagnate because when you really look at it almost anything could be said to be 'military-related'. So if you didn't have government approval you could find yourself arrested for doing research into whatever if some bureaucrat decided you'd violated the law, and if you go the permit it meant having a watcher over your shoulder every moment to see if you somehow violated those rules.
That's what the Euroweenies and luddites and Council of Churches wants, government weenies- from the UN no less- watching scientists for any sign of not holding to the precautionary principle or doing 'non-approved' research so they can control all research AND what 'products' are allowed to the peasants.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Differential tempering
Something I don't think I've mentioned before is differential tempering. I have mentioned hardening this way, where- as shown by the line on that blade- you only bring part of the blade up to critical temperature. I've always done large blades this way, and some small ones.
There is another way to get this effect, by doing the tempering from the back of the blade with some heat source that bleeds heat into the blade from that point only. This way you wind up with the cutting-edge area hard with the area further back being softer and tougher, more flexible.
Four ways to do this, all starting with a blade that has been fully hardened, then polished so the surface is smooth and shiny. This has to be done in a place with good light so you can see the colors moving through the blade(which is why this method sucks with either stainless or some highly alloyed steels; the colors don't show the same or don't correspond to temp the same way) and a container of either water or oil handy to cool it off at the right time.
First is to use a heavy block of steel or iron, or a heavy rod, brought up to a high temperature. You hold the blade with tongs and lay the back of it on the block. You'll need to move it back & forth to keep the heating even and not let it get too hot near the point. You keep working it and watching the color, and as the chosen color/hardness approaches the edge you quench it.
Second is to put a piece of heavy steel pipe over the forge, say 8-12" long and 4-6" diameter, cut in half lengthwise. The idea is the fire heats the pipe and you work the back of the blade over it.
Third is to use a torch. Use a fine flame you can work along the back of the blade, again watching the colors as you go.
Fourth involves a torch also, but with a different method. In this case you temper the blade in the oven to desired hardness, then set it up in a shallow pan of water with the edge beneath the surface. I've used hemostats and vise-grips to hold one in place for this, they allow a fair amount of adjustment of angle, plus can help stabilize the piece so it doesn't fall over.
When it's set up, you work the torch along the back. You still need to watch the colors- don't want to get the back too soft- but unless you're using a very shallow pan and an oxy-acetylene torch it's almost impossible to draw the temper of the edge down too much.
All work, all have their drawbacks. The torch is simpler, but it's real easy to get an area too hot. If you catch it in time you can quench the piece, then shine it back up & start over.
The block & pipe methods are slow, but you're a bit less likely to overheat the piece that way.
Any of these methods, you need to temper at least twice and preferably three times; it makes for the most even result. All will give you a blade with a hard edge and a softer, tougher back.
There is another way to get this effect, by doing the tempering from the back of the blade with some heat source that bleeds heat into the blade from that point only. This way you wind up with the cutting-edge area hard with the area further back being softer and tougher, more flexible.
Four ways to do this, all starting with a blade that has been fully hardened, then polished so the surface is smooth and shiny. This has to be done in a place with good light so you can see the colors moving through the blade(which is why this method sucks with either stainless or some highly alloyed steels; the colors don't show the same or don't correspond to temp the same way) and a container of either water or oil handy to cool it off at the right time.
First is to use a heavy block of steel or iron, or a heavy rod, brought up to a high temperature. You hold the blade with tongs and lay the back of it on the block. You'll need to move it back & forth to keep the heating even and not let it get too hot near the point. You keep working it and watching the color, and as the chosen color/hardness approaches the edge you quench it.
Second is to put a piece of heavy steel pipe over the forge, say 8-12" long and 4-6" diameter, cut in half lengthwise. The idea is the fire heats the pipe and you work the back of the blade over it.
Third is to use a torch. Use a fine flame you can work along the back of the blade, again watching the colors as you go.
Fourth involves a torch also, but with a different method. In this case you temper the blade in the oven to desired hardness, then set it up in a shallow pan of water with the edge beneath the surface. I've used hemostats and vise-grips to hold one in place for this, they allow a fair amount of adjustment of angle, plus can help stabilize the piece so it doesn't fall over.
When it's set up, you work the torch along the back. You still need to watch the colors- don't want to get the back too soft- but unless you're using a very shallow pan and an oxy-acetylene torch it's almost impossible to draw the temper of the edge down too much.
All work, all have their drawbacks. The torch is simpler, but it's real easy to get an area too hot. If you catch it in time you can quench the piece, then shine it back up & start over.
The block & pipe methods are slow, but you're a bit less likely to overheat the piece that way.
Any of these methods, you need to temper at least twice and preferably three times; it makes for the most even result. All will give you a blade with a hard edge and a softer, tougher back.
Tempering
In this case I had several small blades to do, so I hardened them at the same time as this one. Two heats and quenches each. After they were all done and cooled off, I scrubbed them all with a good grease-cutting soap and put them in the oven at 375F and left them there for about 45 minutes. I always do this before any grinding/polishing; a quenched blade at full hardness can be amazingly brittle. So I give them a heat at a temp low enough to take the very edge of hardness off but not go beyond that point.
After that time I set them out to cool. Once cool I hit them with the belt sander to clean and shine up the surface. Then back into the oven at 375 again. Yeah, I just did that. Just in case the thermostat is off a bit I give them that heat again for 30 minutes. Note that these are small blades, for large and/or thick ones I'd give them a full hour. Then pull them out and check the color. It looks like it should, a barely-there yellow on these steels, I up the temp to 400 and put them back in for a half hour. With these blades that generally gets them where I want.
This is about the best I could get to show what I like for a blade like this, a medium to dark bronze color. With this steel that is hard enough to hold an edge well in use, not hard enough to chip or crack in use and not a big pain to sharpen
It depends, of course, on the use. Something like a throwing knife you'd want to temper down a lot more to a spring, probably somewhere around 450-500 and a dark purple/light blue(again, depending on steel). Something for fine cutting you want to stay sharp and don't mind taking time to touch up when it dulls, you can leave some at 375 for the temperature.
In any case, after the first full temp heat you set it out until it cools to ambient temperature, then back in the oven. Repeat until it's had three heating/cooling cycles at the chosen temperature, and after the last just turn the oven off and leave it in there until cold.
That should get the blade to a nice, even hardness.
After that time I set them out to cool. Once cool I hit them with the belt sander to clean and shine up the surface. Then back into the oven at 375 again. Yeah, I just did that. Just in case the thermostat is off a bit I give them that heat again for 30 minutes. Note that these are small blades, for large and/or thick ones I'd give them a full hour. Then pull them out and check the color. It looks like it should, a barely-there yellow on these steels, I up the temp to 400 and put them back in for a half hour. With these blades that generally gets them where I want.
This is about the best I could get to show what I like for a blade like this, a medium to dark bronze color. With this steel that is hard enough to hold an edge well in use, not hard enough to chip or crack in use and not a big pain to sharpen
It depends, of course, on the use. Something like a throwing knife you'd want to temper down a lot more to a spring, probably somewhere around 450-500 and a dark purple/light blue(again, depending on steel). Something for fine cutting you want to stay sharp and don't mind taking time to touch up when it dulls, you can leave some at 375 for the temperature.
In any case, after the first full temp heat you set it out until it cools to ambient temperature, then back in the oven. Repeat until it's had three heating/cooling cycles at the chosen temperature, and after the last just turn the oven off and leave it in there until cold.
That should get the blade to a nice, even hardness.
And more from gun-free "We banned the nasty things" Britain
Girl, 14, accused of supplying machine guns
She was charged with possessing two revolvers, a Mac-10 machine gun and a second machine pistol.
A 16-year-old male youth was also accused of possessing a revolver with intent to endanger life, as well as drugs and CS sprays.
Well, so much for 'we banned them'.
An internal police report, revealed by the Observer newspaper on Sunday, painted a grim picture of the surge in gang warfare and "post-code killings" in London.
The report focuses on Hackney, where father-of-two Steven Nyembo-Ya-Muteba was murdered outside his home two weeks ago after asking a gang of youths to be quiet.
...
It says gun and knife crime in the north-east London borough is increasing more rapidly than anywhere in the capital.
The report, written by Superintendent Leroy Logan, highlights the "terrible acts of gratuitous violence" that have afflicted the area, "ending up in young people losing their lives or being badly injured, because they were visiting the area and were known by the local violent youth, showing the serious implications of district code warfare".
You think maybe?
She was charged with possessing two revolvers, a Mac-10 machine gun and a second machine pistol.
A 16-year-old male youth was also accused of possessing a revolver with intent to endanger life, as well as drugs and CS sprays.
Well, so much for 'we banned them'.
An internal police report, revealed by the Observer newspaper on Sunday, painted a grim picture of the surge in gang warfare and "post-code killings" in London.
The report focuses on Hackney, where father-of-two Steven Nyembo-Ya-Muteba was murdered outside his home two weeks ago after asking a gang of youths to be quiet.
...
It says gun and knife crime in the north-east London borough is increasing more rapidly than anywhere in the capital.
The report, written by Superintendent Leroy Logan, highlights the "terrible acts of gratuitous violence" that have afflicted the area, "ending up in young people losing their lives or being badly injured, because they were visiting the area and were known by the local violent youth, showing the serious implications of district code warfare".
You think maybe?
"Don't make me kill you on a Friday"
That was one of the things an armed robber and murderer-to-be told a travel agent in Britain.
Mr Khokar, 28, a Muslim, said that Shah later announced: “I’m going to walk out of here with the money and I’m going to kill someone as well. Don’t make me kill you on a Friday.” He explained to Newcastle Crown Court that Friday was “the day of worship for every Muslim, a day of worship and a day of rest.”
Within minutes of issuing his threat, it is alleged that Shah — with two accomplices — left the premises and fired two shots from close range, hitting two unarmed women police officers who were outside the travel agents in Bradford, West Yorkshire.
So the holy day should not be sullied with murder- unless it's a cop about to arrest you- but armed robbery is just peachy. Ol' Muhammed would be proud.
Mr Khokar, 28, a Muslim, said that Shah later announced: “I’m going to walk out of here with the money and I’m going to kill someone as well. Don’t make me kill you on a Friday.” He explained to Newcastle Crown Court that Friday was “the day of worship for every Muslim, a day of worship and a day of rest.”
Within minutes of issuing his threat, it is alleged that Shah — with two accomplices — left the premises and fired two shots from close range, hitting two unarmed women police officers who were outside the travel agents in Bradford, West Yorkshire.
So the holy day should not be sullied with murder- unless it's a cop about to arrest you- but armed robbery is just peachy. Ol' Muhammed would be proud.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Reason #37825 not to trust the French
Peretz: French UNIFIL commanders say will shoot at IAF overflights
So the chickenshits won't even think about disarming Hizballah, or any of the other things of that type they're supposed to do, but they will threaten this? Probably because they know the Israelis, being civilized human beings, won't bomb their base just for opening their mouth and threatening whereas actually doing what they said they would about the fascists would actually be dangerous.
So the chickenshits won't even think about disarming Hizballah, or any of the other things of that type they're supposed to do, but they will threaten this? Probably because they know the Israelis, being civilized human beings, won't bomb their base just for opening their mouth and threatening whereas actually doing what they said they would about the fascists would actually be dangerous.
Since I'm already griping about politics,
take a look at this from the Times in Britain: Whites in the Deep South turn to law for equal rights on voting. Key pieces are first:
When Mr Brown, the head of the Democratic Party in this part of rural Mississippi, arrived in Macon 26 years ago, all but one of the county’s 44 elected officials were white. Today, only one is white: Ricky Walker, the county’s prosecuting attorney. He is also a Democrat, but alleges that when he sought re-election in 2003 Mr Brown recruited a black opponent — who was ineligible to run because he was from another part of the state — simply because he was white.
“That was racist,” Mr Walker says, sitting in his office on Main Street, Macon.
“He actively supports one Democrat over another, and they are always black. And he’s said he will get me sooner or later.”
Second:
“Mr Brown’s case does not surprise me,” said one lawyer who asked not to be named. “Blacks and whites are human. They tend to act the same way when they get into power.”
Mr Brown scoffs at Mr Walker’s contention that whites need protecting. He says that the case has been brought against him by the Bush Administration because he has been so successful at filling political posts with blacks.
Snork. Hmppfh. Er, excuse me, that last part kind of set off an allergic reaction.
And finally:
Whites such as Mr Walker run as Democrats, Mr Brown says, but they always vote Republican in presidential contests. Only blacks are reliably democratic. (my emphasis)
And ain't that last interesting?
When Mr Brown, the head of the Democratic Party in this part of rural Mississippi, arrived in Macon 26 years ago, all but one of the county’s 44 elected officials were white. Today, only one is white: Ricky Walker, the county’s prosecuting attorney. He is also a Democrat, but alleges that when he sought re-election in 2003 Mr Brown recruited a black opponent — who was ineligible to run because he was from another part of the state — simply because he was white.
“That was racist,” Mr Walker says, sitting in his office on Main Street, Macon.
“He actively supports one Democrat over another, and they are always black. And he’s said he will get me sooner or later.”
Second:
“Mr Brown’s case does not surprise me,” said one lawyer who asked not to be named. “Blacks and whites are human. They tend to act the same way when they get into power.”
Mr Brown scoffs at Mr Walker’s contention that whites need protecting. He says that the case has been brought against him by the Bush Administration because he has been so successful at filling political posts with blacks.
Snork. Hmppfh. Er, excuse me, that last part kind of set off an allergic reaction.
And finally:
Whites such as Mr Walker run as Democrats, Mr Brown says, but they always vote Republican in presidential contests. Only blacks are reliably democratic. (my emphasis)
And ain't that last interesting?
One of the problems
with "I'll vote Democrat to kick the Republicans in the ass" is the slight problem that while I have no problem kicking the Rs in the ass, I don't want to kick myself in the balls in the process.
A good look at what will happen if the Democrats take both houses of Congress is this: Navy 'too weak' for big role in Korea blockade.
But senior Royal Navy officers last night cast serious doubt over Britain's ability to make a significant naval contribution to the proposed UN force, claiming that drastic cuts in government spending on the navy over the past decade had severely reduced their ability to participate in major foreign operations.
"I am staggered that the Government is trying to make this commitment when it knows what our Armed Forces are going through," a senior Royal Navy officer last night told The Daily Telegraph.
Take one good look at the record and words of Pelosi and Schumer & Co. and try to tell me they don't want to do the same thing to our Navy and Army and AF and Marines. That bastard Rangel- who will be head of the House Finance Committee if they take over- has flatly said he wants to cut off funding for the war. With troops in the field fighting the enemy, this piece of crap wants to cut off their ammo and food and medical supplies and everything. And he and his little friends will do that to every branch of the military. Which will eventually put us here:
But senior navy officers expressed deep concern about their ability to defend their ships against a hostile missile or fighter threat after a decision was enforced six months ago to scrap the Sea Harrier fighter.
As a result of government cutbacks any British ships deployed to the South China Sea to enforce the UN resolution would depend on the American or French navies to provide "beyond visual range" air defence with their aircraft carriers. Except WE won't have that "beyond visual range" capacity either.
A good look at what will happen if the Democrats take both houses of Congress is this: Navy 'too weak' for big role in Korea blockade.
But senior Royal Navy officers last night cast serious doubt over Britain's ability to make a significant naval contribution to the proposed UN force, claiming that drastic cuts in government spending on the navy over the past decade had severely reduced their ability to participate in major foreign operations.
"I am staggered that the Government is trying to make this commitment when it knows what our Armed Forces are going through," a senior Royal Navy officer last night told The Daily Telegraph.
Take one good look at the record and words of Pelosi and Schumer & Co. and try to tell me they don't want to do the same thing to our Navy and Army and AF and Marines. That bastard Rangel- who will be head of the House Finance Committee if they take over- has flatly said he wants to cut off funding for the war. With troops in the field fighting the enemy, this piece of crap wants to cut off their ammo and food and medical supplies and everything. And he and his little friends will do that to every branch of the military. Which will eventually put us here:
But senior navy officers expressed deep concern about their ability to defend their ships against a hostile missile or fighter threat after a decision was enforced six months ago to scrap the Sea Harrier fighter.
As a result of government cutbacks any British ships deployed to the South China Sea to enforce the UN resolution would depend on the American or French navies to provide "beyond visual range" air defence with their aircraft carriers. Except WE won't have that "beyond visual range" capacity either.
Monday, October 16, 2006
The politically correct BS we deal with
Digging around I found two articles, this one on the 'global warming is a given' mess and this one on the idiocy that Kevin calls "Do it again, only more!".
On the first, the point is that you've got a bunch of people out there who can't handle the idea that anyone actually questions their holy belief in human-caused climate change, so it's no longer just "No responsible scientist disagrees", now it's Others have suggested that climate change deniers should be put on trial in the future, Nuremberg-style, and made to account for their attempts to cover up the ‘global warming…Holocaust’ Got that? Disagreeing on 'climate change' is the same as denying the Holocaust happened.
And from there we get this from that renowned pot of crap called 60 minutes:
Earlier this year, when a correspondent for the American current affairs show 60 Minutes was asked why his various feature programmes on global warming did not include the views of global warming sceptics, he replied: ‘If I do an interview with Elie Wiesel, am I required as a journalist to find a Holocaust denier?’ Here, climate change deniers are explicitly painted as the bad guys. He also argued that, ‘This isn’t about politics...this is about sound science’, and went so far as to claim that it would be problematic even to air the views of climate change sceptics: ‘There comes a point in journalism where striving for balance becomes irresponsible.’ Which demonstrates why I don't watch that pot of crap anymore.
So looking for a balancing point of view on this has become 'irresponsible'.
Now I come to the second article, Grasping at guns:
Since Ms. Akerman's commentary, this paper has run half a dozen letters (and received perhaps a dozen more) from professors, psychologists, health care workers and gun control advocates all calling for a gun ban, or at least wondering aloud why ordinary people should be permitted to own such destructive objects.
Banning guns is one of the most common solutions offered by urban professionals, bureaucrats and special interests in the face of each new high-profile shooting.
But consider this: A week after the Dawson shootings, Britain was transfixed by its own similar shooting. Two 17-year-olds were shot in a South London McDonald's for disrespecting their attacker during a conversation. The shooter used a semi-automatic handgun.
Yet, there were no calls for a ban on civilian ownership of handguns. Why? Because Britain had already banned civilian handguns nearly a decade ago.
Every time some piece of walking garbage commits some atrocious crime we get the same thing from the same people, the 'simple' or 'radical' idea of "Let us ban guns". Which hasn't worked anywhere in the world, but they keep wanting to do it again, only more.
Don't you just love this crap?
On the first, the point is that you've got a bunch of people out there who can't handle the idea that anyone actually questions their holy belief in human-caused climate change, so it's no longer just "No responsible scientist disagrees", now it's Others have suggested that climate change deniers should be put on trial in the future, Nuremberg-style, and made to account for their attempts to cover up the ‘global warming…Holocaust’ Got that? Disagreeing on 'climate change' is the same as denying the Holocaust happened.
And from there we get this from that renowned pot of crap called 60 minutes:
Earlier this year, when a correspondent for the American current affairs show 60 Minutes was asked why his various feature programmes on global warming did not include the views of global warming sceptics, he replied: ‘If I do an interview with Elie Wiesel, am I required as a journalist to find a Holocaust denier?’ Here, climate change deniers are explicitly painted as the bad guys. He also argued that, ‘This isn’t about politics...this is about sound science’, and went so far as to claim that it would be problematic even to air the views of climate change sceptics: ‘There comes a point in journalism where striving for balance becomes irresponsible.’ Which demonstrates why I don't watch that pot of crap anymore.
So looking for a balancing point of view on this has become 'irresponsible'.
Now I come to the second article, Grasping at guns:
Since Ms. Akerman's commentary, this paper has run half a dozen letters (and received perhaps a dozen more) from professors, psychologists, health care workers and gun control advocates all calling for a gun ban, or at least wondering aloud why ordinary people should be permitted to own such destructive objects.
Banning guns is one of the most common solutions offered by urban professionals, bureaucrats and special interests in the face of each new high-profile shooting.
But consider this: A week after the Dawson shootings, Britain was transfixed by its own similar shooting. Two 17-year-olds were shot in a South London McDonald's for disrespecting their attacker during a conversation. The shooter used a semi-automatic handgun.
Yet, there were no calls for a ban on civilian ownership of handguns. Why? Because Britain had already banned civilian handguns nearly a decade ago.
Every time some piece of walking garbage commits some atrocious crime we get the same thing from the same people, the 'simple' or 'radical' idea of "Let us ban guns". Which hasn't worked anywhere in the world, but they keep wanting to do it again, only more.
Don't you just love this crap?
Here's another good site
found through the usual roundabout.
Kim was talking about a forthcoming business trip which would mean a chance to meet someone in Tokyo whose site had a mention of a movie with breathtakingly Bad Movie Physics which leads to The Intuitor, which has a whole section on said Bad Physics.
Lots of good stuff there. It may help next time I get into one of those arguments.
Me: Cars don't explode when they hit something.
Them: Yes they do.
Me: Not possible.
Them: They why does it say the car 'burst into flames'? Huh? Huh?
Me: The tank ruptured and it caught fire, that doesn't mean it !(&*# exploded!
Them: Yes it does!
And so forth.
Ever have one of those with somebody? They saw some piece of idiocy in a movie, often involving firearms, and when you point out what BS it is, the fight's on. Or, in my case, some piece of absolute crap about swords or smithing.
In any case, good site(s) worth checking out. Now I just hope it stops raining enough that I can make it to the library before I have to head to work. Hoping that it won't be dripping all over me as I ride to work, for that matter.
Additional: by the way, I don't care who told you they saw a film, a katana CAN NOT cut through a gun barrel.
Kim was talking about a forthcoming business trip which would mean a chance to meet someone in Tokyo whose site had a mention of a movie with breathtakingly Bad Movie Physics which leads to The Intuitor, which has a whole section on said Bad Physics.
Lots of good stuff there. It may help next time I get into one of those arguments.
Me: Cars don't explode when they hit something.
Them: Yes they do.
Me: Not possible.
Them: They why does it say the car 'burst into flames'? Huh? Huh?
Me: The tank ruptured and it caught fire, that doesn't mean it !(&*# exploded!
Them: Yes it does!
And so forth.
Ever have one of those with somebody? They saw some piece of idiocy in a movie, often involving firearms, and when you point out what BS it is, the fight's on. Or, in my case, some piece of absolute crap about swords or smithing.
In any case, good site(s) worth checking out. Now I just hope it stops raining enough that I can make it to the library before I have to head to work. Hoping that it won't be dripping all over me as I ride to work, for that matter.
Additional: by the way, I don't care who told you they saw a film, a katana CAN NOT cut through a gun barrel.
Sunday, October 15, 2006
I was originally going to be down in Texas this weekend,
but due to transport troubles(not related to being rear-ended last week) wasn't able to do it. So got some stuff around the house and yard taken care of.
Today it's raining outside, started sometime during the night and hasn't stopped since. Nothing severe, varying from moderate to light, and temperature isn't cold. Just nothing can be done outside, so I've been cleaning inside and going through stuff. Until I decided this would be a good time to open a bottle of Dad's home brew.
He's not as much into experimenting as Steve, he's got a good recipe and sticks with it. I have to say, if I'd had any plans for intricate work they went out the window. This stuff will sneak up behind you and whack you good. As evidenced that I've had to backspace and correct a lot of spelling errors in the last few minutes.
Son called last night and spent about an hour on the phone. Mind you, he had his pc on an earplug on one side and a headset on the other talking to me, so I couldn't get too boring. Short version: classes started this week on his MOS, and the current DI is a bastard on PT. Also the further note that in Basic some guy offered to eat a (something) for the highest bid and got $25 bucks. As I recall anyway, I'm kind of fuzzy right now.
There was a small gun show in town this weekend, went by yesterday. Lots to look at, but the one guy that had what I'm really looking for- M1 Carbine parts- had prices that were slightly insane. So I'll see what I can find at Tulsa next weekend.
And now, if you'll excuse me,. I think I'll finish this glass and do something requiring very little in the way of motor skills.
Additional
I should also add, I tried Anarchangel's cookie recipe. Or his wife's recipie, whichever. Cut in half. The recipe, not the wife. Whatever. It was not bad at all. I think I'll have another to dilute the effect of the beer Dad brews.
And at this point I think the fact that I can type, let alone correct spelling errors, out to count for something.
Today it's raining outside, started sometime during the night and hasn't stopped since. Nothing severe, varying from moderate to light, and temperature isn't cold. Just nothing can be done outside, so I've been cleaning inside and going through stuff. Until I decided this would be a good time to open a bottle of Dad's home brew.
He's not as much into experimenting as Steve, he's got a good recipe and sticks with it. I have to say, if I'd had any plans for intricate work they went out the window. This stuff will sneak up behind you and whack you good. As evidenced that I've had to backspace and correct a lot of spelling errors in the last few minutes.
Son called last night and spent about an hour on the phone. Mind you, he had his pc on an earplug on one side and a headset on the other talking to me, so I couldn't get too boring. Short version: classes started this week on his MOS, and the current DI is a bastard on PT. Also the further note that in Basic some guy offered to eat a (something) for the highest bid and got $25 bucks. As I recall anyway, I'm kind of fuzzy right now.
There was a small gun show in town this weekend, went by yesterday. Lots to look at, but the one guy that had what I'm really looking for- M1 Carbine parts- had prices that were slightly insane. So I'll see what I can find at Tulsa next weekend.
And now, if you'll excuse me,. I think I'll finish this glass and do something requiring very little in the way of motor skills.
Additional
I should also add, I tried Anarchangel's cookie recipe. Or his wife's recipie, whichever. Cut in half. The recipe, not the wife. Whatever. It was not bad at all. I think I'll have another to dilute the effect of the beer Dad brews.
And at this point I think the fact that I can type, let alone correct spelling errors, out to count for something.
BIG gun show comin'!
In specific, the Wanenmacher show in Tulsa. Something like four THOUSAND tables.
I'm gonna have to wear the real comfortable boots.
I'm gonna have to wear the real comfortable boots.
I've been trying to figure out how to put this
so it wouldn't look like I was either sucking up, hoping for free stuff, or possibly causing somebody to send them messages along the line of "Hey, where's MY stuff?".
However, I've decided this should be mentioned in any case. Among other things, I think most of the people who read this mess I put down are not the types to do such a thing.
In any case: at one time during Basic my son wrote to his mother and told her, among other things, that he wished he had some Gun Juice to use on his M16(A2 version; they only used the-A4 when training with the optical sight). So I wrote to Microlon and told them they could consider this a testimonial; Son remembered how well it worked on various firearm uses for our guns, and that when he was out of training and going to God knows where I wanted to get a 4oz. can for him.
The gentleman who answered said to contact him directly and he'd give me a break on the price. Woohoo! So when he graduated Basic I decided to order it so it'd be ready when the time came. Sent to the gentleman and said 'I want to go ahead and order it, how much for the can and shipping?" Response: "You've been fair in your reviews, good and bad, and besides, we like to support the troops", gave me a real break on the price AND threw in some of the assembly lubricant.
Not being connected with any professional publication and not having any advertising on this blog, I've been quite free to call something a piece of crap or good or in-between depending on what my personal results have been and word from other users without worrying about messing up a 'relationship' with anyone. This is both from personal use and their actions here: these are good folks.
However, I've decided this should be mentioned in any case. Among other things, I think most of the people who read this mess I put down are not the types to do such a thing.
In any case: at one time during Basic my son wrote to his mother and told her, among other things, that he wished he had some Gun Juice to use on his M16(A2 version; they only used the-A4 when training with the optical sight). So I wrote to Microlon and told them they could consider this a testimonial; Son remembered how well it worked on various firearm uses for our guns, and that when he was out of training and going to God knows where I wanted to get a 4oz. can for him.
The gentleman who answered said to contact him directly and he'd give me a break on the price. Woohoo! So when he graduated Basic I decided to order it so it'd be ready when the time came. Sent to the gentleman and said 'I want to go ahead and order it, how much for the can and shipping?" Response: "You've been fair in your reviews, good and bad, and besides, we like to support the troops", gave me a real break on the price AND threw in some of the assembly lubricant.
Not being connected with any professional publication and not having any advertising on this blog, I've been quite free to call something a piece of crap or good or in-between depending on what my personal results have been and word from other users without worrying about messing up a 'relationship' with anyone. This is both from personal use and their actions here: these are good folks.
General news roundup and thoughts
Hit a couple of Brit newspapers, and found a number of things:
Police want spy planes to patrol troubled estates, due to 'anti-social behaviour'. Like Earlier this month, a 60-year-old grandmother had to flee her Liverpool home when it was surrounded by a baying mob after she was identified as a witness in attempts to serve Asbos on a group of youths. Which I'd have thought would be a crime like witness intimidation or something.
Tories accuse Muslims of 'creating apartheid by shutting themselves off, David Davis, the shadow home secretary, says that Britain risks social and religious divisions so profound that society's very foundations, such as the freedom of speech, will become "corroded" and that the perfect conditions for home-grown terrorism will be created. Two other bits from this summarize things nicely:
He said: "There is a growing feeling that the Muslim community is excessively sensitive to criticism, unwilling to engage in substantive debate. Much worse, is the feeling of some Muslim leaders that as a community they should be protected from criticism, argument, parody, satire and all the other challenges in a society that has free speech as its highest value. It is straightforward. I respect your religion, you respect mine and we all respect our laws. No special treatment." Responded to by the other side as:
Inayat Bunglawala, of the Muslim Council of Britain, said: "No group in modern Britain has been as systematically vilified in recent years in the media as British Muslims. To say this is to state a clear fact, it is not to be 'excessively sensitive' as Mr Davis suggests. We all as a society ought to uphold the right to free speech. However, that includes the right to protest peacefully against vilification and abuse."
I would point out to the Muslim Council that threatening to kill anybody who criticizes Islam and Muhammed doesn't quite count as 'peaceful protest', and pushing for laws to ban any criticism of your faith doesn't count as fairness, either.
On the subject of 'respecting all religeons' we have British Airways telling a lady she can't wear a crucifix, while It makes exceptions for Muslim and Sikh minorities by allowing them to wear hijabs and turbans.
Under rules drawn up by BA's 'diversity team' and 'uniform committee', Sikh employees can even wear the traditional iron bangle - even though this would usually be classed as jewellery - while Muslim workers are also allowed prayer breaks during work time.
And one more on specifically British issues, a piece of idiocy called Muslims are the new Jews. Oh yes, the calls for muslims to be sent to camps and gassed are in all the papers, haven't you heard? What? Oh, never mind, that's just in their worldview. Something about 'criticize islam or call us violent and we'll kill you' seems to be what we mostly hear about.
On the Norks we have this wonderful piece of news: THE North Korean regime’s obsession with racial purity has led to the killing of disabled infants and forced abortions for women suspected of conceiving their babies by Chinese fathers, according to a growing body of testimony from defectors.
The latest description of Kim Jong-il’s policy of state eugenics came from a North Korean doctor, Ri Kwang-chol, who escaped last year and told a forum in Seoul that babies with deformities were killed soon after birth. Last time somebody did crap like this it tended to be by that Hitler fellow, and he specifically wanted to wipe out Jews as the start. But there's no muslims involved, so at least the writer for the Times can relax.
And I've got to end with this from the Telegraph, Edwards discovers the common touch. It seems that John Edwards(aka The Silky Pony), Mr Edwards, the Democrats' vice-presidential nominee in their narrow 2004 defeat, has staked out a position to the Left of Mrs Clinton as a critic of the Iraq war. and ...whose boyish looks and southern charm have earned him comparisons to Presidents Kennedy and Clinton... and In November 2005 in a move that boosted Mr Edwards's credibility with grassroots Democrats, he repudiated his senate vote authorising the use of force in Iraq and called for the withdrawal of US troops.
So once again we're going to hear about the 'working class' upbringing of this clown and he has made the eradication of poverty in America the centrepiece of his political manifesto and unashamedly positioned himself as the voice of the trade union movement, espousing traditional Democrat causes such as universal health care to the delight of many grassroots activists. and so forth. Which translates to "I'm going to suck up to the unions and the far-left nutcases and stick the governments hand so far into your pocket you'll have to petition for money to pay the rent, but hey, I'm already rich from being a scum-sucking lawyer who channels the spirit of dead children and my money is in tax shelters, so I'm not worried."
No, I don't like the bastard.
Police want spy planes to patrol troubled estates, due to 'anti-social behaviour'. Like Earlier this month, a 60-year-old grandmother had to flee her Liverpool home when it was surrounded by a baying mob after she was identified as a witness in attempts to serve Asbos on a group of youths. Which I'd have thought would be a crime like witness intimidation or something.
Tories accuse Muslims of 'creating apartheid by shutting themselves off, David Davis, the shadow home secretary, says that Britain risks social and religious divisions so profound that society's very foundations, such as the freedom of speech, will become "corroded" and that the perfect conditions for home-grown terrorism will be created. Two other bits from this summarize things nicely:
He said: "There is a growing feeling that the Muslim community is excessively sensitive to criticism, unwilling to engage in substantive debate. Much worse, is the feeling of some Muslim leaders that as a community they should be protected from criticism, argument, parody, satire and all the other challenges in a society that has free speech as its highest value. It is straightforward. I respect your religion, you respect mine and we all respect our laws. No special treatment." Responded to by the other side as:
Inayat Bunglawala, of the Muslim Council of Britain, said: "No group in modern Britain has been as systematically vilified in recent years in the media as British Muslims. To say this is to state a clear fact, it is not to be 'excessively sensitive' as Mr Davis suggests. We all as a society ought to uphold the right to free speech. However, that includes the right to protest peacefully against vilification and abuse."
I would point out to the Muslim Council that threatening to kill anybody who criticizes Islam and Muhammed doesn't quite count as 'peaceful protest', and pushing for laws to ban any criticism of your faith doesn't count as fairness, either.
On the subject of 'respecting all religeons' we have British Airways telling a lady she can't wear a crucifix, while It makes exceptions for Muslim and Sikh minorities by allowing them to wear hijabs and turbans.
Under rules drawn up by BA's 'diversity team' and 'uniform committee', Sikh employees can even wear the traditional iron bangle - even though this would usually be classed as jewellery - while Muslim workers are also allowed prayer breaks during work time.
And one more on specifically British issues, a piece of idiocy called Muslims are the new Jews. Oh yes, the calls for muslims to be sent to camps and gassed are in all the papers, haven't you heard? What? Oh, never mind, that's just in their worldview. Something about 'criticize islam or call us violent and we'll kill you' seems to be what we mostly hear about.
On the Norks we have this wonderful piece of news: THE North Korean regime’s obsession with racial purity has led to the killing of disabled infants and forced abortions for women suspected of conceiving their babies by Chinese fathers, according to a growing body of testimony from defectors.
The latest description of Kim Jong-il’s policy of state eugenics came from a North Korean doctor, Ri Kwang-chol, who escaped last year and told a forum in Seoul that babies with deformities were killed soon after birth. Last time somebody did crap like this it tended to be by that Hitler fellow, and he specifically wanted to wipe out Jews as the start. But there's no muslims involved, so at least the writer for the Times can relax.
And I've got to end with this from the Telegraph, Edwards discovers the common touch. It seems that John Edwards(aka The Silky Pony), Mr Edwards, the Democrats' vice-presidential nominee in their narrow 2004 defeat, has staked out a position to the Left of Mrs Clinton as a critic of the Iraq war. and ...whose boyish looks and southern charm have earned him comparisons to Presidents Kennedy and Clinton... and In November 2005 in a move that boosted Mr Edwards's credibility with grassroots Democrats, he repudiated his senate vote authorising the use of force in Iraq and called for the withdrawal of US troops.
So once again we're going to hear about the 'working class' upbringing of this clown and he has made the eradication of poverty in America the centrepiece of his political manifesto and unashamedly positioned himself as the voice of the trade union movement, espousing traditional Democrat causes such as universal health care to the delight of many grassroots activists. and so forth. Which translates to "I'm going to suck up to the unions and the far-left nutcases and stick the governments hand so far into your pocket you'll have to petition for money to pay the rent, but hey, I'm already rich from being a scum-sucking lawyer who channels the spirit of dead children and my money is in tax shelters, so I'm not worried."
No, I don't like the bastard.
Saturday, October 14, 2006
ATF is apparently not only in the hotseat,
but the burner's been turned up. Looking over at Uncle's place I found this, which has links to a lot of other things. Including this:The Justice Inspector General has issued the report (pdf) on fiscal misconduct by former ATFE director Carl Truscott.
Lots going on. And another reason not to want Speaker of the House Pelosi, 'cause I guarantee her and Schumer & Co. will do anything they can to keep ATF from being whacked on.
Lots going on. And another reason not to want Speaker of the House Pelosi, 'cause I guarantee her and Schumer & Co. will do anything they can to keep ATF from being whacked on.
Thoughts on the Boiling Kettle
That being the title of a post Kim did a few days ago. Key excerpt:
I have it on reasonably good authority, from two independent sources, that there are huge amounts of WWII-era weaponry hidden in barns, buried underground and stuck behind house walls—and let me tell you, the “owners” are not part of the extreme Left, either.
I’ll bet you short odds that as the Muslim intifada grows, there are also a lot of quiet conversations going on around France, with many shrugs, incomplete sentences and nods of agreement.
That reminded me of something I read a few years back in one of the Matt Helm novels by Donald Hamilton. Took a bit to find the right book for the passage in The Terminators:
"Well, the ones who decided to stay, they went down into the cellars, back into the barns, up into the attics; and they found the oilskin-wrapped packages they'd hidden away all those years ago when the stupid government told the resistance people to turn in their arms like good little boys and girls- hell, they'd fought the invaders with hoes and pitchforks once; they'd learned their lesson the hard way. Government or no government, they weren't going to be caught unarmed again, not ever. So they unwrapped the potective oilskin or plastic, and they wiped off the preservative grease, and they loaded up the magazines and rammed them home, click. Then they took a hike up the road and said, here we are, Sigmund, where's you cottonpicking trouble?"
It might be amazing to know just how much stuff was hidden away over the years by people who'd fought the Germans and then the Soviets; stuff put away for the day it might be needed because they knew that, whatever the idiots in government said, when it came down to it it could well be them and a gun against the invaders again.
And I guarantee the conversations Kim refers to are taking place in a bunch of countries, and some of those people are, very quietly, taking things out and inspecting them, making sure they're ready, just in case. And every time a bunch of muslim fanatics riot and burn and kill, 'just in case' moves a little closer.
I have it on reasonably good authority, from two independent sources, that there are huge amounts of WWII-era weaponry hidden in barns, buried underground and stuck behind house walls—and let me tell you, the “owners” are not part of the extreme Left, either.
I’ll bet you short odds that as the Muslim intifada grows, there are also a lot of quiet conversations going on around France, with many shrugs, incomplete sentences and nods of agreement.
That reminded me of something I read a few years back in one of the Matt Helm novels by Donald Hamilton. Took a bit to find the right book for the passage in The Terminators:
"Well, the ones who decided to stay, they went down into the cellars, back into the barns, up into the attics; and they found the oilskin-wrapped packages they'd hidden away all those years ago when the stupid government told the resistance people to turn in their arms like good little boys and girls- hell, they'd fought the invaders with hoes and pitchforks once; they'd learned their lesson the hard way. Government or no government, they weren't going to be caught unarmed again, not ever. So they unwrapped the potective oilskin or plastic, and they wiped off the preservative grease, and they loaded up the magazines and rammed them home, click. Then they took a hike up the road and said, here we are, Sigmund, where's you cottonpicking trouble?"
It might be amazing to know just how much stuff was hidden away over the years by people who'd fought the Germans and then the Soviets; stuff put away for the day it might be needed because they knew that, whatever the idiots in government said, when it came down to it it could well be them and a gun against the invaders again.
And I guarantee the conversations Kim refers to are taking place in a bunch of countries, and some of those people are, very quietly, taking things out and inspecting them, making sure they're ready, just in case. And every time a bunch of muslim fanatics riot and burn and kill, 'just in case' moves a little closer.
Friday, October 13, 2006
Been reading about the death of Brtish reporter
Terry Lloyd, current article here. You'll notice the headline is US 'unlawfully killed' ITN jornalist. Read on a bit and you have "Mr Lloyd was shot in the back after his vehicle - clearly marked "Press" - was caught up in US and Iraqi crossfire, then shot in the head by American forces as he was taken away in a minibus for medical treatment. " Sounds bad, doesn't it? Especially that 'shot in the head' while being 'taken...for medical treatment', almost like he was executed.
Well, I checked back through the other articles linked at the bottom of this one, and find the following:
There was speculation that US troops may have unintentionally shot Mr Lloyd and two members of his team. 04/10/2006
A British soldier said yesterday that he saw the car of the ITN journalist Terry Lloyd burst into flames after being fired on by an American tank during the invasion of Iraq.
The soldier, understood to be a member of the special forces who was carrying out surveillance, said he thought the tank "engaged" first on a convoy which included the reporter's car and an Iraqi pick-up truck with a gun mounted on the top.
and
He said he saw an exchange of fire between the Iraqi pick-up truck and an American tank for about 30 seconds before the pick-up truck burst into flames. "Vehicle One [Mr Lloyd's vehicle] also ignited and went off to the side of the road to its right and came to rest on the side of a field, burning."
and
Earlier Nick Walshe, an ITN journalist asked by his company to investigate how Mr Lloyd died, said he had spoken to Iraqi witnesses who said Mr Lloyd had been shot in the head by American forces as he was being evacuated from the firefight.
One "very credible" witness, who said he had driven the minibus which took Mr Lloyd to hospital, said he had picked him up after he had been shot in the shoulder and had his arm broken.
Before he could get to hospital the makeshift ambulance came under fire from American soldiers and Mr Lloyd was shot in the head. 7/10/2006
So at this point you've got a reporter who, from the sound of it, was hit while a tank was engaging an enemy vehicle "with a gun mounted on the top", then the minivan somebody had him in came under fire. Do take note of the wording, the nasty American troops shooting him in the head as he was being evacuated.
Then, in an article on 11/10 you get this:
Terry Lloyd, the ITN journalist killed as he reported on the invasion of Iraq in 2003, was deliberately shot by American forces, a solicitor for his family told an inquest yesterday.
The verdict on his death should be unlawful killing, said Anthony Hudson.
Mr Hudson told Andrew Walker, the assistant deputy Oxfordshire coroner, that he could be "satisfied" on the evidence that whoever opened fire on Mr Lloyd did so with the intention of "killing him or causing serious injury".
He said that American forces were willing to open fire on civilians and were not prevented from doing so by their commanders. Got to have that part about us shooting civilians left & right, now don't we? That's followed with: Witnesses said Mr Lloyd died when the American bullet hit him in the head as he was being driven away in a Red Cross ambulance. Earlier it was just a 'minivan', now it's a Red Cross Ambulance being fired on by the evil American troops. Hmmm... But in the current article, it's just a minivan again.
And just to finish things off we have Speaking after the inquest, Mr Lloyd's family described his death as a "despicable and deliberate" act carried out by "trigger happy cowboys".
In a statement read by solicitor Louis Charalambous, the reporter's widow, Lynn, said: "This was a very serious war crime."
She said the soldiers involved should be brought to trial "under the Geneva Convention" for murder.
Mr Lloyd's daughter Chelsey said: "The killing of my father would seem to amount to murder, which is deeply shocking."
One thing in the 4/10 article that bears on all this is that Lloyd and his team were not "embedded" with British or American military units, but were independent "unilaterals". and "The military did not wish to take any responsibility for unilaterals, to such an extent that in a sense they wouldn't even recognise their existence. In my experience the British and the American military do not want unilateral teams operating full stop."
Ok, first thing, I don't doubt that there are various people who don't like the idea of reporters not having their work scanned(censored) before being released, but guess what? The military DOES NOT have any responsibility for reporters who go out on their own. They get in trouble and call for help, I don't doubt they'll get it; but the military- ANY military- has no responsibility for their safety
Second, I don't have enough facts about some things; how far apart were the convoy and tank when this started, what angles, etc? You can have PRESS in big glowing letters on the side, but if someone is seeing the vehicle from the front or rear or quartering, with other vehicles and dust flying, they may not be able to see it. And if you're travelling with an openly armed enemy vehicle, you're an idiot if you don't know that you're taking a big chance.
Third, we've got two different stories about what vehicle he was being evacuated in, either a minivan or Red Cross ambulance. And in either case, I doubt someone opened up on it 'just because'.
And last, we have the general condemnation of the "trigger happy cowboys"(you'd think they'd get tired of parroting that and call them 'gangsters' or something just for variety) and the 'deliberate' murder of civilians, etc.
I have no idea of the political views of the deceased and his family; I have strong guesses about some of the other people involved. I do know this is a beautiful example of why it's a good thing we didn't sign onto the 'International Criminal Court': it would be mailing subpoenas and demands to everyone in sight and over the horizon to try every U.S. troop within fifty miles of this incident.
Cut through all the BS and you have a reporter who was
Travelling with the enemy, and being 'unilateral' I'd bet nobody knew where he was,
Got caught in shot up in a firefight,
And killed when the vehicle he was being evacuated in was shot up, supposedly by U.S. troops.
There's too many questions unanswered in these articles for any hard & fast conclusion. Except that there's a bunch of people who will take any incident and word it to show the 'eeeeeville trigger-happy American cowboys' will shoot up anything and anybody in sight just because they feel like it. I offer my condolences to his family, no strings or conditions; losing a family member is always hard.
But I think they and his death is being used for political purposes.
Well, I checked back through the other articles linked at the bottom of this one, and find the following:
There was speculation that US troops may have unintentionally shot Mr Lloyd and two members of his team. 04/10/2006
A British soldier said yesterday that he saw the car of the ITN journalist Terry Lloyd burst into flames after being fired on by an American tank during the invasion of Iraq.
The soldier, understood to be a member of the special forces who was carrying out surveillance, said he thought the tank "engaged" first on a convoy which included the reporter's car and an Iraqi pick-up truck with a gun mounted on the top.
and
He said he saw an exchange of fire between the Iraqi pick-up truck and an American tank for about 30 seconds before the pick-up truck burst into flames. "Vehicle One [Mr Lloyd's vehicle] also ignited and went off to the side of the road to its right and came to rest on the side of a field, burning."
and
Earlier Nick Walshe, an ITN journalist asked by his company to investigate how Mr Lloyd died, said he had spoken to Iraqi witnesses who said Mr Lloyd had been shot in the head by American forces as he was being evacuated from the firefight.
One "very credible" witness, who said he had driven the minibus which took Mr Lloyd to hospital, said he had picked him up after he had been shot in the shoulder and had his arm broken.
Before he could get to hospital the makeshift ambulance came under fire from American soldiers and Mr Lloyd was shot in the head. 7/10/2006
So at this point you've got a reporter who, from the sound of it, was hit while a tank was engaging an enemy vehicle "with a gun mounted on the top", then the minivan somebody had him in came under fire. Do take note of the wording, the nasty American troops shooting him in the head as he was being evacuated.
Then, in an article on 11/10 you get this:
Terry Lloyd, the ITN journalist killed as he reported on the invasion of Iraq in 2003, was deliberately shot by American forces, a solicitor for his family told an inquest yesterday.
The verdict on his death should be unlawful killing, said Anthony Hudson.
Mr Hudson told Andrew Walker, the assistant deputy Oxfordshire coroner, that he could be "satisfied" on the evidence that whoever opened fire on Mr Lloyd did so with the intention of "killing him or causing serious injury".
He said that American forces were willing to open fire on civilians and were not prevented from doing so by their commanders. Got to have that part about us shooting civilians left & right, now don't we? That's followed with: Witnesses said Mr Lloyd died when the American bullet hit him in the head as he was being driven away in a Red Cross ambulance. Earlier it was just a 'minivan', now it's a Red Cross Ambulance being fired on by the evil American troops. Hmmm... But in the current article, it's just a minivan again.
And just to finish things off we have Speaking after the inquest, Mr Lloyd's family described his death as a "despicable and deliberate" act carried out by "trigger happy cowboys".
In a statement read by solicitor Louis Charalambous, the reporter's widow, Lynn, said: "This was a very serious war crime."
She said the soldiers involved should be brought to trial "under the Geneva Convention" for murder.
Mr Lloyd's daughter Chelsey said: "The killing of my father would seem to amount to murder, which is deeply shocking."
One thing in the 4/10 article that bears on all this is that Lloyd and his team were not "embedded" with British or American military units, but were independent "unilaterals". and "The military did not wish to take any responsibility for unilaterals, to such an extent that in a sense they wouldn't even recognise their existence. In my experience the British and the American military do not want unilateral teams operating full stop."
Ok, first thing, I don't doubt that there are various people who don't like the idea of reporters not having their work scanned(censored) before being released, but guess what? The military DOES NOT have any responsibility for reporters who go out on their own. They get in trouble and call for help, I don't doubt they'll get it; but the military- ANY military- has no responsibility for their safety
Second, I don't have enough facts about some things; how far apart were the convoy and tank when this started, what angles, etc? You can have PRESS in big glowing letters on the side, but if someone is seeing the vehicle from the front or rear or quartering, with other vehicles and dust flying, they may not be able to see it. And if you're travelling with an openly armed enemy vehicle, you're an idiot if you don't know that you're taking a big chance.
Third, we've got two different stories about what vehicle he was being evacuated in, either a minivan or Red Cross ambulance. And in either case, I doubt someone opened up on it 'just because'.
And last, we have the general condemnation of the "trigger happy cowboys"(you'd think they'd get tired of parroting that and call them 'gangsters' or something just for variety) and the 'deliberate' murder of civilians, etc.
I have no idea of the political views of the deceased and his family; I have strong guesses about some of the other people involved. I do know this is a beautiful example of why it's a good thing we didn't sign onto the 'International Criminal Court': it would be mailing subpoenas and demands to everyone in sight and over the horizon to try every U.S. troop within fifty miles of this incident.
Cut through all the BS and you have a reporter who was
Travelling with the enemy, and being 'unilateral' I'd bet nobody knew where he was,
Got caught in shot up in a firefight,
And killed when the vehicle he was being evacuated in was shot up, supposedly by U.S. troops.
There's too many questions unanswered in these articles for any hard & fast conclusion. Except that there's a bunch of people who will take any incident and word it to show the 'eeeeeville trigger-happy American cowboys' will shoot up anything and anybody in sight just because they feel like it. I offer my condolences to his family, no strings or conditions; losing a family member is always hard.
But I think they and his death is being used for political purposes.
Other things heard about boot camp
Guys from Wisconsin and Main and Ohio, shipped to southwest OK in August, have certain problems with the climate. Like collapsing from heat. Takes a bit to get used to it.
Rifle range at 112F plus sudden thunderstorm equals soaked uniform, armor and weapon and, since the temp never dropped below 112, absolute freakin' misery for the next few hours.
Comment from one of the guys from Wisconsin: "You've got tarantulas and scorpions and all kinds of critters I never saw before!"
Mice who hide in somebody's ruck in the field and jump out in the barracks have a short life span.
People who've never camped find their first experience in southwest OK to be less than wonderful. Even without the DI there's the ticks, and mosquitos, and lizards and snakes and bats and coyotes, etc.
People from the more southern states do NOT expect what the weather can do here. Like going from lows in the 70's to, within 48 hours, highs in the 70's. And back to lows in the 70's, highs in the 90's. In September.
He started AIT the other day, as in first classes in his MOS, so on it goes.
Rifle range at 112F plus sudden thunderstorm equals soaked uniform, armor and weapon and, since the temp never dropped below 112, absolute freakin' misery for the next few hours.
Comment from one of the guys from Wisconsin: "You've got tarantulas and scorpions and all kinds of critters I never saw before!"
Mice who hide in somebody's ruck in the field and jump out in the barracks have a short life span.
People who've never camped find their first experience in southwest OK to be less than wonderful. Even without the DI there's the ticks, and mosquitos, and lizards and snakes and bats and coyotes, etc.
People from the more southern states do NOT expect what the weather can do here. Like going from lows in the 70's to, within 48 hours, highs in the 70's. And back to lows in the 70's, highs in the 90's. In September.
He started AIT the other day, as in first classes in his MOS, so on it goes.
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Oooh, new stuff!
In one of those 'looked here and found a link to somewhere that had a link to here' I found myself at the Cynical Libertarian, looking at(among other things) a ironwood stock setup to make a Ruger 10/22 look like a Steyr AUG. Way to annoy GFWs and use nice wood at the same time.
He also shows a really neat accessory stock for a Marlin lever-action here; that's a really interesting idea.
AND he's another flashlightnutcaseenthusiast. Give him a look.
He also shows a really neat accessory stock for a Marlin lever-action here; that's a really interesting idea.
AND he's another flashlight
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Place you ought to take a look at
This gentleman left a couple of comments, and I looked over at his site. Well worth the trip. Go see Panday's work.
Well, Arizona, what'cha gonna do
about this crap?
Some of the commissioners actually wanted to add 19 more characters to represent the deaths of the 19 terrorist murderers who killed the victims.
The commissioner interviewed, Paul Eppinger, defends it wholeheartedly, claiming that the inscription about "Middle East Violence Causes Attacks" reflects the "fact" that "our foreign policy for years has focused on total support of Israel."
These clowns need a serious whack with a cluebat. And removal from office.
Some of the commissioners actually wanted to add 19 more characters to represent the deaths of the 19 terrorist murderers who killed the victims.
The commissioner interviewed, Paul Eppinger, defends it wholeheartedly, claiming that the inscription about "Middle East Violence Causes Attacks" reflects the "fact" that "our foreign policy for years has focused on total support of Israel."
These clowns need a serious whack with a cluebat. And removal from office.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
We're told the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights is Bad For The Children
Of course it is. After all, a 'child advocate and attorney' says so.
If Oklahoma puts a so-called Taxpayers Bill of Rights into effect, a Colorado child advocate and attorney, warns of dire consequences.
And how does she know this? Gephardt says when Colorado put a Taxpayer's Bill of Rights into effect, children, disabled people and the elderly bore the brunt. Followed by "She says" twice. With The net effect, according to Gephardt, was a major increase in disease, pregnancy and alcohol abuse among young people.
So there you have it. You want a taxpayer's bill of rights? YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT THE CHILDREN, you bastard. OR the elderly and disabled.
You'll notice she didn't give specific numbers, no study, no nothing. But she tells us so, so it must be, right?
These people are so full of crap I should have one standing in the garden for a month in the spring as fertilizer.
If Oklahoma puts a so-called Taxpayers Bill of Rights into effect, a Colorado child advocate and attorney, warns of dire consequences.
And how does she know this? Gephardt says when Colorado put a Taxpayer's Bill of Rights into effect, children, disabled people and the elderly bore the brunt. Followed by "She says" twice. With The net effect, according to Gephardt, was a major increase in disease, pregnancy and alcohol abuse among young people.
So there you have it. You want a taxpayer's bill of rights? YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT THE CHILDREN, you bastard. OR the elderly and disabled.
You'll notice she didn't give specific numbers, no study, no nothing. But she tells us so, so it must be, right?
These people are so full of crap I should have one standing in the garden for a month in the spring as fertilizer.
By the way, the History Channel has idiots writing for it
Commie idiots.
At least just idiots. They had a little blurb on last night about the 'anniversary' of castro buttmonkey Che getting whacked. Did you know he believed 'only revolution would help the disparity between rich and poor'?(I'm going by memory here and it pissed me off; I don't swear to the exact words). And that he 'joined political movements in Africa and Latin America'? And was killed by a 'CIA-backed Bolivian operation that executed him'?
Not one goddam word about he murders he committed. Not one hint of the evil this man did. Oh, no, just nice words about wanting to help the poor with a backdrop of pictures of poor campesinos and Che doing good works.
Do these idiots actually give a crap about any of this? Are they ignorant of what they're writing about, or so bigoted they don't care?
At least just idiots. They had a little blurb on last night about the 'anniversary' of castro buttmonkey Che getting whacked. Did you know he believed 'only revolution would help the disparity between rich and poor'?(I'm going by memory here and it pissed me off; I don't swear to the exact words). And that he 'joined political movements in Africa and Latin America'? And was killed by a 'CIA-backed Bolivian operation that executed him'?
Not one goddam word about he murders he committed. Not one hint of the evil this man did. Oh, no, just nice words about wanting to help the poor with a backdrop of pictures of poor campesinos and Che doing good works.
Do these idiots actually give a crap about any of this? Are they ignorant of what they're writing about, or so bigoted they don't care?
Truck bumpers
Windy asked about mine, and it made me think about my first truck. It was a red Ford Courier, one of the first mini-trucks. Actually made by Mazda for Ford(didn't know that when I bought it), four-speed stick, little 1800cc engine. Looking back, it suffered from a number of faults(body rust, not much power, etc.) but it was the first vehicle I bought by myself. And it ran. Good weather and bad, the only real problem I had until it got old was when I got some bad gas that required the carb being cleaned out. Otherwise, one of the most reliable means of transport I've ever had.
When I got it they had two options on the rear bumper, a light stamped-steel job or a heavy welded-steel number made of stock about 1/4" thick. Dad recommended the latter, and it saved the back end of that truck three times.
1. Driving to work, stopped for someone turning into a parking lot and was rear-ended. Sheared two of the mounting bolts and bent the bumper a bit, no other damage.
2. Parked in front of the house and some idiot who hadn't bothered to clean the frost off her windshield when leaving a friends' house ran into it. Scratches, bent bumper and a couple of dents in the tailgate, her bumper and grill were pretty much smashed.
3. On my way to work one snowy night, came to a stop and some idiot slid right into me. Broke a mounting tab and sheared two bolts, bent the bumper(again). His radiator was blowing steam like St. Helens and his grill smashed.
In all that had to straighten that bumper and repaint it a couple of times, but it kept the back end from being smashed up. Best $50 I ever spent.
When I got it they had two options on the rear bumper, a light stamped-steel job or a heavy welded-steel number made of stock about 1/4" thick. Dad recommended the latter, and it saved the back end of that truck three times.
1. Driving to work, stopped for someone turning into a parking lot and was rear-ended. Sheared two of the mounting bolts and bent the bumper a bit, no other damage.
2. Parked in front of the house and some idiot who hadn't bothered to clean the frost off her windshield when leaving a friends' house ran into it. Scratches, bent bumper and a couple of dents in the tailgate, her bumper and grill were pretty much smashed.
3. On my way to work one snowy night, came to a stop and some idiot slid right into me. Broke a mounting tab and sheared two bolts, bent the bumper(again). His radiator was blowing steam like St. Helens and his grill smashed.
In all that had to straighten that bumper and repaint it a couple of times, but it kept the back end from being smashed up. Best $50 I ever spent.
Monday, October 09, 2006
A few other things found in The Telegraph
First off, the 'ID card scheme' being set up in Britain. The cost of issuing biometric ID cards and running the data base that underpins the system will be £5.4bn over the next 10 years, the Home Office has said.
But the forecast, which includes start up and running costs, was immediately denounced as an underestimate by opponents of ID cards. Academics have already predicted that the cost of the scheme could rise to almost £20bn.
I think it's a rule in something like this that if the government predicts 5.4, you'll be damn lucky if it's only five times that.
Moving on, they note problems in France: Muslims are waging civil war against us, claims police union.
And get this: As the interior ministry said that nearly 2,500 officers had been wounded this year, a police union declared that its members were "in a state of civil war" with Muslims in the most depressed "banlieue" estates which are heavily populated by unemployed youths of north African origin.
and
He said yesterday: "We are in a state of civil war, orchestrated by radical Islamists. This is not a question of urban violence any more, it is an intifada, with stones and Molotov cocktails. You no longer see two or three youths confronting police, you see whole tower blocks emptying into the streets to set their 'comrades' free when they are arrested."
Sounds like things are not well over there.
Last thing was surprising, considering how the Church of England has seemed to stand for anything except Christianity and England:
The Church of England has launched an astonishing attack on the Government's drive to turn Britain into a multi-faith society.
In a wide-ranging condemnation of policy, it says that the attempt to make minority "faith" communities more integrated has backfired, leaving society "more separated than ever before". The criticisms are made in a confidential Church document, leaked to The Sunday Telegraph, that challenges the "widespread description" of Britain as a multi-faith society and even calls for the term "multi-faith" to be reconsidered.
If it's bad enough for that bunch to write such a report, it's pretty damn bad. One of the things that happened recently? "
The leaked report follows a week of tension in which a Muslim policeman was excused armed guard duty at the Israeli embassy in London, among other things. Think about that for a minute. I ask, how long do you think a Jewish officer would be employed if he refused to stand guard at, say, the Iranian embassy? Not very damn long, I think.
And forget actual even-handed treatment:It can also be revealed that the archbishop met Miss Kelly, the Communities Secretary, last month to discuss how the Church of England could contribute. Bishops are dismayed that no Christian denomination is represented on the commission. How the hell can you have a program on faith in the country and the friggin' Church of England isn't included?
The article says this is a report written for the Church and leaked to the Telegraph, so there's always the possibility that it'll either be denied, or the Archbishop will wuss out the way he has on most things I've heard about. But at least some people there have actually recognized the problem. As to whether anything will officially be said or done, we'll see.
I'm going to have to check out this paper more often.
But the forecast, which includes start up and running costs, was immediately denounced as an underestimate by opponents of ID cards. Academics have already predicted that the cost of the scheme could rise to almost £20bn.
I think it's a rule in something like this that if the government predicts 5.4, you'll be damn lucky if it's only five times that.
Moving on, they note problems in France: Muslims are waging civil war against us, claims police union.
And get this: As the interior ministry said that nearly 2,500 officers had been wounded this year, a police union declared that its members were "in a state of civil war" with Muslims in the most depressed "banlieue" estates which are heavily populated by unemployed youths of north African origin.
and
He said yesterday: "We are in a state of civil war, orchestrated by radical Islamists. This is not a question of urban violence any more, it is an intifada, with stones and Molotov cocktails. You no longer see two or three youths confronting police, you see whole tower blocks emptying into the streets to set their 'comrades' free when they are arrested."
Sounds like things are not well over there.
Last thing was surprising, considering how the Church of England has seemed to stand for anything except Christianity and England:
The Church of England has launched an astonishing attack on the Government's drive to turn Britain into a multi-faith society.
In a wide-ranging condemnation of policy, it says that the attempt to make minority "faith" communities more integrated has backfired, leaving society "more separated than ever before". The criticisms are made in a confidential Church document, leaked to The Sunday Telegraph, that challenges the "widespread description" of Britain as a multi-faith society and even calls for the term "multi-faith" to be reconsidered.
If it's bad enough for that bunch to write such a report, it's pretty damn bad. One of the things that happened recently? "
The leaked report follows a week of tension in which a Muslim policeman was excused armed guard duty at the Israeli embassy in London, among other things. Think about that for a minute. I ask, how long do you think a Jewish officer would be employed if he refused to stand guard at, say, the Iranian embassy? Not very damn long, I think.
And forget actual even-handed treatment:It can also be revealed that the archbishop met Miss Kelly, the Communities Secretary, last month to discuss how the Church of England could contribute. Bishops are dismayed that no Christian denomination is represented on the commission. How the hell can you have a program on faith in the country and the friggin' Church of England isn't included?
The article says this is a report written for the Church and leaked to the Telegraph, so there's always the possibility that it'll either be denied, or the Archbishop will wuss out the way he has on most things I've heard about. But at least some people there have actually recognized the problem. As to whether anything will officially be said or done, we'll see.
I'm going to have to check out this paper more often.
I wish the Brits would take a note from our Constitution
but I'm not holding my breath.
I took a look at the Telegraph and found this article, Law chief wants new constitution. To me, the most telling part is this:The United Kingdom was probably the only developed country in the world without a clear statement setting out the rights and responsibilities of the Government, Parliament and the judiciary, he said in an interview with The Daily Telegraph.
See anything missing there? Not a word about the rights of the people(Subjects of the Crown or Citazens or whatever), only 'the rights and responsibilities of the Government'. Which is why, barring a miracle, Britain is screwed.
He does point out a problem with no constitution:"At present, much of what we regard as our unwritten constitution consists of laws that can be changed by a simple Act of Parliament and conventions that may be open to dispute," he said. That's happened over and over. But how much better could it be if the big concern of the people writing a constitution is the 'rights and responsibilities of the Government'? They just write in that Parliament can change any rights of the people they bother to note, and that's that.
All's not lost, he does seem to have picked up on one of our problems:
When there was a dispute in court over whether ministers had exceeded their power, there was a "strong case for the British public knowing that the government is doing the right thing".
But he added: "We need to be wary of unwittingly transferring responsibility from democratically elected MPs to unelected judges." It appears he's seen the crap we have with judges playing legislator, and would like to avoid that. Join the damn club. However, we also get this from another official:
Lord Falconer, the Lord Chancellor and Constitutional Affairs Secretary, came out firmly against the idea of a written constitution in Manchester last month, pointing out that it would allow judges to take decisions on matters best left to Parliament. And, of course, if you have an actual written constitution, you can't just do whatever the hell you want.
I'm not particularly religeous, but there are times I think about falling to my knees and thanking God for the wisdom and foresight of the people who wrote our Constitution. We've got real problems, no question; it would be so much worse if we were stuck with what the Brits are.
I took a look at the Telegraph and found this article, Law chief wants new constitution. To me, the most telling part is this:The United Kingdom was probably the only developed country in the world without a clear statement setting out the rights and responsibilities of the Government, Parliament and the judiciary, he said in an interview with The Daily Telegraph.
See anything missing there? Not a word about the rights of the people(Subjects of the Crown or Citazens or whatever), only 'the rights and responsibilities of the Government'. Which is why, barring a miracle, Britain is screwed.
He does point out a problem with no constitution:"At present, much of what we regard as our unwritten constitution consists of laws that can be changed by a simple Act of Parliament and conventions that may be open to dispute," he said. That's happened over and over. But how much better could it be if the big concern of the people writing a constitution is the 'rights and responsibilities of the Government'? They just write in that Parliament can change any rights of the people they bother to note, and that's that.
All's not lost, he does seem to have picked up on one of our problems:
When there was a dispute in court over whether ministers had exceeded their power, there was a "strong case for the British public knowing that the government is doing the right thing".
But he added: "We need to be wary of unwittingly transferring responsibility from democratically elected MPs to unelected judges." It appears he's seen the crap we have with judges playing legislator, and would like to avoid that. Join the damn club. However, we also get this from another official:
Lord Falconer, the Lord Chancellor and Constitutional Affairs Secretary, came out firmly against the idea of a written constitution in Manchester last month, pointing out that it would allow judges to take decisions on matters best left to Parliament. And, of course, if you have an actual written constitution, you can't just do whatever the hell you want.
I'm not particularly religeous, but there are times I think about falling to my knees and thanking God for the wisdom and foresight of the people who wrote our Constitution. We've got real problems, no question; it would be so much worse if we were stuck with what the Brits are.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)