After reading the comments on this post, I scraped off the white dot and, very carefully, applied one that was centered. I tried holding the gun a few times with the original grips plus a grip adapter. That didn't feel good, so I put a set of Pachmyer combats on it.
Then I went to the range and gave it a try. Slow fire-- 80/100. Timed fire, 89-2x. Rapid fire-- 89-4x. If I were consistent across an entire 900 match, that'd put me in the mid 770s. The little white dot really did work for drawing my eye.
This could really work. But I do need to practice more.
Friday, July 31, 2015
Congressional Jerkoffs at Work
A bill championed by U.S. Rep. Todd Young requiring any rule or regulation resulting in an economic impact of $100 million or more to receive a vote by Congress has again passed the House.No president, D, R or otherwise, would ever agree to this. Any politician that's made it as far as an election to the Zoning Board knows that you never ever agree to give up power. This'll be vetoed faster than a bill to have a national holiday in honor of sex offenders.
But the REINS Act, which stands for Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny, has been threatened for veto by President Barack Obama, and still would have to be approved by the Senate. The legislation has been introduced before, including a stalled attempt to pass the REINS Act through the Senate in 2013 after it was OK'd in the House.
Todd Young, and the other 200+ jerkoffs who voted for this bill, know that. This bill is nothing more than grandstanding, or, if you will, political onanism.
Trophy Hunting
With all the coverage of the killing of Cecil the Lion, you might be curious as to my thoughts on trophy hunting.
So, let's pop into the Wayback Machine, set to over five years ago.
So, let's pop into the Wayback Machine, set to over five years ago.
Thursday, July 30, 2015
After All, Hiring Mercenaries Worked Well Before
The overstretched US military has hired hundreds of private sector contractors in the heart of its drone operations to analyse top secret video feeds and help track high value terror targets, an investigation has found. ... Some individual analysts even publicly advertise their skills on sites such as LinkedIn, with one boasting of helping with the “kill/capture of high-value targets”.What can possibly go wrong with turning some functions in warfare over to contractors?
GOP Now Needs a Circus Train
The Republican presidential contest has grown to 17 candidates with Wednesday's entry of Jim Gilmore.How do you handle that many candidates? Copy the NCAA!
The former Virginia governor told The Associated Press earlier this month that he would announce his candidacy in early August. On Wednesday, he filed the necessary paperwork with the Federal Election Commission
[H]ere’s a modest proposal: Seed the field like the NCAA seeds its annual basketball championship fields each spring. The first weekend features four regional tournaments of 16 teams apiece.They'd have to tinker with it to add Gilmore and any other Johnny-Come-Latelies, but as the editorial goes on to note, this format would be likely fairer than any other. Do the first round, run polling, and then do the second round. The ones who can't handle debates and tough questions will flare up and burn out.
The teams in each regional are seeded, 1 through 16, by a committee that compares their records and relative strengths. The top seed plays the bottom seed, the No. 2 seed plays the No. 15 seed and so on. No 16-seed has ever beaten a No. 1 seed, but there have been seven No. 2 seeds upset by No. 15 seeds. Ask the University of Missouri about Norfolk State in 2012.
The accompanying bracket seeds the 16 announced GOP candidates according to their showings in the latest RealClearPolitics.com “poll of polls.” RCP took the findings of six polls and averaged them, leaving out only former New York Gov. George Pataki. In late-breaking news, former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore on Wednesday became the 17th GOP candidate to file papers for the election. He can be in a play-in game with Mr. Pataki, whom we seeded No. 16 and put up against Donald Trump, the frontrunner. The most intriguing matchup has 6-seed Ben Carson, a brain surgeon, taking on 11-seed Rick Perry, the former Texas governor.
Of course, some won't go away. Both The Donald and Scotty Walker (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Koch Industries) have a lot of money behind them, so unless they fail at the "fall-on-the-floor-frothing-at-the-mouth" level, they're not quitting. But this still might cull the herd somewhat.
70 Years Ago
The USS Indianapolis was torpedoed and sunk.
The officer in charge of monitoring her movements never reported that she was late. Of the three stations that received her distress call, one commander was drunk, one had ordered his men not to wake him up and the third thought it was a Jap deception.
The men were in the water for nearly four days before they were spotted by a patrol plane. Other airplanes came. One PBY pilot disregarded orders and landed to rescue survivors. The USS Cecil J. Doyle came, shining a searchlight against the clouds, to give the survivors in the water hope that they would be rescued.
Fully two-thirds of the men who had survived the sinking perished while awaiting rescue.
The Navy revamped the MOVREP system.
The CO of the Indianapolis, Captain McVay, was court-martialed in a Navy cover-up of a type that was not seen until the turret explosion on the USS Iowa. He was eventually exonerated, though it was decades after he took his own life.
The officer in charge of monitoring her movements never reported that she was late. Of the three stations that received her distress call, one commander was drunk, one had ordered his men not to wake him up and the third thought it was a Jap deception.
The men were in the water for nearly four days before they were spotted by a patrol plane. Other airplanes came. One PBY pilot disregarded orders and landed to rescue survivors. The USS Cecil J. Doyle came, shining a searchlight against the clouds, to give the survivors in the water hope that they would be rescued.
Fully two-thirds of the men who had survived the sinking perished while awaiting rescue.
The Navy revamped the MOVREP system.
The CO of the Indianapolis, Captain McVay, was court-martialed in a Navy cover-up of a type that was not seen until the turret explosion on the USS Iowa. He was eventually exonerated, though it was decades after he took his own life.
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
What Cameras Are Good For
Indicting cops who try to cover up murdering people by lying.
But you can bet your last dollar that the Apologistas Pro Policia will be out there, proclaiming that this only happened because the dead guy wasn't subservient to the officer.* Because, as they see it, not being submissive to the cops is worthy of a summary execution.
We know what the truth is, and that's that probably 99.44% of such shootings in the past have been labelled as "good shoots".** Hell, even the Feebies are fond of saying all of their shootings are justified.
Cheap video cameras and cellphone video have changed that game, as other cops are finding out the hard way.
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* Subtext: "Ain't it a shame that one of our boys may go to jail for killing a nigger."
** That percentage is likely rather on the low side, to be sure.
Authorities in Cincinnati have indicted a university police officer for murder in the shooting death of an unarmed black man earlier this month.I have zero doubt that, without the video, the prosecutor and the grand jury would have accepted the lies of the police officers and this would have been ruled as a justifiable shooting.
But you can bet your last dollar that the Apologistas Pro Policia will be out there, proclaiming that this only happened because the dead guy wasn't subservient to the officer.* Because, as they see it, not being submissive to the cops is worthy of a summary execution.
We know what the truth is, and that's that probably 99.44% of such shootings in the past have been labelled as "good shoots".** Hell, even the Feebies are fond of saying all of their shootings are justified.
Cheap video cameras and cellphone video have changed that game, as other cops are finding out the hard way.
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* Subtext: "Ain't it a shame that one of our boys may go to jail for killing a nigger."
** That percentage is likely rather on the low side, to be sure.
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Eye-Dot; Gunnie Ed.
I made my first run at slow-fire with the Model 17. On a ten round string at a 25 yard slow-fire target, I shot 59. Pretty horrible.
I'm trying to not add a set of Pachmyers to the gun, but my grip felt off. I swapped a grip adapter from a Model 10 to it, we'll see how that feels next time.
The balance is different from my Ruger and it's a few ounces heavier. That'll take getting used to.
The sights, well, they're traditional target and that presents a problem. I have t really work at it to keep my focus on the front sight, because it's a black featureless surface. My eyes tend to focus on the target, but that's a path to shitty scores.
So when I came home, I tried adding this:
That's a dot of white nail polish. It's not centered and I doubt if it needs to be. Its function is to give my eye something to focus on.
Also, mostly I've been using an indoor range recently, because it's only five minutes away. This weekend, I'll take a trip to the outdoor range where the matches are held and see how I do there.
I'm trying to not add a set of Pachmyers to the gun, but my grip felt off. I swapped a grip adapter from a Model 10 to it, we'll see how that feels next time.
The balance is different from my Ruger and it's a few ounces heavier. That'll take getting used to.
The sights, well, they're traditional target and that presents a problem. I have t really work at it to keep my focus on the front sight, because it's a black featureless surface. My eyes tend to focus on the target, but that's a path to shitty scores.
So when I came home, I tried adding this:
That's a dot of white nail polish. It's not centered and I doubt if it needs to be. Its function is to give my eye something to focus on.
Also, mostly I've been using an indoor range recently, because it's only five minutes away. This weekend, I'll take a trip to the outdoor range where the matches are held and see how I do there.
Spies and Killers
An American jailed for 30 years for spying for Israel is to be freed in November after the US granted his parole, according to his lawyers.I've made my feelings about him clear. Since the Israelis have granted him citizenship, he should go directly from stir to an El Al airplane.
Jonathan Pollard, a former US Navy intelligence analyst, was jailed for life in 1987 after being found guilty of passing documents to Israel.
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Now this one ought to be pegging the irony meter:
British terrorist “Jihadi John” has reportedly left the Islamic State (aka ISIS) group, fearing for his life after being identified six months earlier as a Kuwaiti-born Londoner from a well-to-do family.At this point, all of the press reports trace back to a single unconfirmed report. So who knows.
Jihadi John left because the terrorist organization might drop him "like a stone or worse if they feel he is no longer of any use to them," according to a source for the British news outlet, the Daily Express.
But it would indeed be sweet justice if he was eaten by the tiger he was riding.
Fiat: Such a Deal They Had For You.
You might recall that, for a couple of years, Chrysler was owned by Ceberus Captital Management (motto: "We're Not as Evil as Bain. But Close."). But then Chrysler (surprise, surprise) almost went under, only to be eventually bought out by Fiat.
What did Fiat get for their money, you ask. This:
You have to wonder how much worse things were going to get for Chrysler if that's what they've agreed to as a plea bargain. Is there a version of the infamous Ford-Pinto-Gas-Tank memo ("fuck fixing it, let them sue us") out there?
What did Fiat get for their money, you ask. This:
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles will pay up to $105 million in fines and penalties to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, submit to oversight and buy back nearly half-a-million of the vehicles it has recalled, penalties issued Sunday for the auto company’s lax attitude toward addressing safety issues in millions of its vehicles.It had to be pretty bad, for that was what Fiat-Chrysler consented to.
NHTSA said it was concerned about slow completion rates on recalls the automaker announced, slow or inadequate notifications to consumers, faulty approaches to fixing the safety issues and improper actions by dealers.
You have to wonder how much worse things were going to get for Chrysler if that's what they've agreed to as a plea bargain. Is there a version of the infamous Ford-Pinto-Gas-Tank memo ("fuck fixing it, let them sue us") out there?
Monday, July 27, 2015
Jindal Plumbs the Depth of Stupidity
Bobby Jindal is promising that if the Westboro Baptist Church folk show up in his state to protest at funerals, that he'll stop them.
Bobby, Bobby, Bobby. Are you truly that ignorant about the Fist Amendment or are you just desperate to grab some air time from The Donald?
The pathetic fuckers from the WBC don't "disrupt" anything. They stand out on a public sidewalk and spew their hate, which they have a Constitutional right to do. See, Bobby, the thing about "free speech" isn't about cost. No, the "free" part is "freedom from the requirement to get what you're saying approved by a government censor."
You don't like the WBC, I get that. Nobody likes the WBC. But not liking somebody should not have anything to do with denying them their rights.
Moron.
Bobby, Bobby, Bobby. Are you truly that ignorant about the Fist Amendment or are you just desperate to grab some air time from The Donald?
The pathetic fuckers from the WBC don't "disrupt" anything. They stand out on a public sidewalk and spew their hate, which they have a Constitutional right to do. See, Bobby, the thing about "free speech" isn't about cost. No, the "free" part is "freedom from the requirement to get what you're saying approved by a government censor."
You don't like the WBC, I get that. Nobody likes the WBC. But not liking somebody should not have anything to do with denying them their rights.
Moron.
Amerikanski Politzei State
The Department of Homeland Security has gotten into the business of monitoring peaceful protests, breast cancer walks and music parades. (H/T)
Because those breast cancer survivor pose what kind of threat, exactly?
Defunding DHS should be on the Congressional "to-do" list.
But sadly, DHS is not alone in quaking in pants-shitting terror at American citizens exercising their rights. Not by a long shot.
Because those breast cancer survivor pose what kind of threat, exactly?
Defunding DHS should be on the Congressional "to-do" list.
But sadly, DHS is not alone in quaking in pants-shitting terror at American citizens exercising their rights. Not by a long shot.
Fer Cryssake, Just Shoot the Fucker
Some folks at a website called "SimpliSafe Security Systems" have some advice about what to do if you are the victim of a home invasion.
Some of it is good. Some of it will get you killed.
Locking yourself in an interior room or a closet: Not much better than using a SuperSoaker as a defensive tool. Not unless you've shelled out the money to install a secure door. Interior doors are mostly hollow-core doors that can be shattered by one or two good kicks. Or, if the perp is really determined, he'll kick a few holes in the adjoining sheetrock.
Beeping on your car's panic alarm: Mostly a dumb idea. Car alarms are background noise in most places. The frequency of false alarms is so high that everyone ignores them. Also, if you're living in an apartment complex, who the hell is going to connect the alarm of a 2008 Taurus sounding in the parking lot? If you live in a house and your car is in the garage, well, that's not going to help much.
Guy breaks into your home: Shoot the fucker. Call 911.*
As for your cell phone? If you can't speak into it, how long do you think it'll take for them to get a location? And how good will that be if you're in a multi-story apartment building? Get a landline- pick up the phone, dial 911 and if you can't speak, kick the handset under your bed.
(And no, that's not legal advice.)
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* In the UK, call 999 or 112, hide, and sound your rape alarm.
Some of it is good. Some of it will get you killed.
Locking yourself in an interior room or a closet: Not much better than using a SuperSoaker as a defensive tool. Not unless you've shelled out the money to install a secure door. Interior doors are mostly hollow-core doors that can be shattered by one or two good kicks. Or, if the perp is really determined, he'll kick a few holes in the adjoining sheetrock.
Beeping on your car's panic alarm: Mostly a dumb idea. Car alarms are background noise in most places. The frequency of false alarms is so high that everyone ignores them. Also, if you're living in an apartment complex, who the hell is going to connect the alarm of a 2008 Taurus sounding in the parking lot? If you live in a house and your car is in the garage, well, that's not going to help much.
Guy breaks into your home: Shoot the fucker. Call 911.*
As for your cell phone? If you can't speak into it, how long do you think it'll take for them to get a location? And how good will that be if you're in a multi-story apartment building? Get a landline- pick up the phone, dial 911 and if you can't speak, kick the handset under your bed.
(And no, that's not legal advice.)
_______________________________________________
* In the UK, call 999 or 112, hide, and sound your rape alarm.
Sunday, July 26, 2015
Saturday, July 25, 2015
"I'm Resigning For the Good of My Family! Yeah, That's the Ticket!"
[State] Sen. Paul LeVota, D-Independence [Missouri], resigned his Senate seat Friday over sexual harassment allegations involving capital interns.I call "bullshit". All of these clowns quit "to spend more time with my family" when they get caught doing something wrong (or if it's clear they're going to get shelled in the next election). When they're in power, the last that they want to do is spend more time with their families.
LeVota posted a message on Facebook denying that he engaged in harassment but saying he would not put his family or the Senate “through the process of dealing with the veracity of false allegations and character assassination against me.”
Time to Sell a Few Guns
For I didn't plan on buying this Model 17-3:
They're also commonly known as "K-22 Masterpieces". It has two of the three "T"s: Target hammer and target trigger. The grips are original. Single action shooting- as good or better than a Ruger Mk. III with a full Volquartsen trigger job. The price, well, I'm not going there. It was dear, by my standards. But it was less than I've seen them go for gun shops for the last several years.
Sold a hard-used Model 10 (had more than I need) and a Taurus Model 94 is on consignment.
I had a 17-4 ages ago. I then moved to a place where it was difficult to find places to shoot. Back where I had lived, a neighbor's kid was getting into target shooting. He had a H&R revolver, so I loaned him the Model 17. Make a long story short, it was stolen.
I have regretted that ever since. The last Model 17 that I saw for sale at a reasonable price was rode hard and not terribly well cared for. I thought about that one, went back two days later and, well, you know how that tune goes.
I took it to the range and fired it from a rest to test it with several different .22 loads. It did best with Federal auto match. Bulk Remington golden bullet was almost as good, followed by CCI standard. It didn't seem to care for CCI Mini-mags.
And yes, I'm going to shoot this in Bullseye matches.
They're also commonly known as "K-22 Masterpieces". It has two of the three "T"s: Target hammer and target trigger. The grips are original. Single action shooting- as good or better than a Ruger Mk. III with a full Volquartsen trigger job. The price, well, I'm not going there. It was dear, by my standards. But it was less than I've seen them go for gun shops for the last several years.
Sold a hard-used Model 10 (had more than I need) and a Taurus Model 94 is on consignment.
I had a 17-4 ages ago. I then moved to a place where it was difficult to find places to shoot. Back where I had lived, a neighbor's kid was getting into target shooting. He had a H&R revolver, so I loaned him the Model 17. Make a long story short, it was stolen.
I have regretted that ever since. The last Model 17 that I saw for sale at a reasonable price was rode hard and not terribly well cared for. I thought about that one, went back two days later and, well, you know how that tune goes.
I took it to the range and fired it from a rest to test it with several different .22 loads. It did best with Federal auto match. Bulk Remington golden bullet was almost as good, followed by CCI standard. It didn't seem to care for CCI Mini-mags.
And yes, I'm going to shoot this in Bullseye matches.
Caturday
Jake is home from a checkup and not happy about the process.
He's breathing a little heavy. He's on prednisone for that, now. No airway or lung obstructions showed on the x-ray. And he's gained back a little weight, now that his thyroid is under control.
In human equivalents, he's 92. Jake's doing pretty good by that yardstick.
He's breathing a little heavy. He's on prednisone for that, now. No airway or lung obstructions showed on the x-ray. And he's gained back a little weight, now that his thyroid is under control.
In human equivalents, he's 92. Jake's doing pretty good by that yardstick.
Friday, July 24, 2015
Tone-Deaf CEO's; Dunkin Donuts Edition
The CEO of Dunkin Brands, which owns the doughnut chain, thinks that paying people $15/hr is "absolutely outrageous."
Right. This from a guy who was paid over ten million clams last year. (I'll take my coffee and doughnut with a side order of pitchforks and tumbrels.)
There may be reasons why paying a wage of $15/hr isn't a good idea, but when really rich fuckers start saying "it's outrageous", they sound as though they might as well be saying "let them eat cake"; like the Aussie billionaire and heiress who got upset at having to pay more than $2 a day.
Right. This from a guy who was paid over ten million clams last year. (I'll take my coffee and doughnut with a side order of pitchforks and tumbrels.)
There may be reasons why paying a wage of $15/hr isn't a good idea, but when really rich fuckers start saying "it's outrageous", they sound as though they might as well be saying "let them eat cake"; like the Aussie billionaire and heiress who got upset at having to pay more than $2 a day.
NSFW & Keyboard Alert
Yeah, you might want to lock your phone if you leave it somewhere...
(Funny, but if it happened to me, somebody would be looking for a good dentist.)
I Got Nothing, So...
.. the Boston Driving Song.
Though most of the action footage is from Russia, where they're graduate-level insane.
Though most of the action footage is from Russia, where they're graduate-level insane.
Thursday, July 23, 2015
Enfield Gunning
I took the SMLE to the indoor range and fired it at 25 yards with HXP 69 ammo.
It shot very close to point of aim with the micrometer sight set at 200 yards. The battle sights shot 4" high; they're set at 300 yards and, according to some ballistics tables, that's about where they should be hitting. Dead on in windage, which is good, as the sights aren't easily adjustable for windage.
As for the provenance of the rifle, it was built in 1956 by the Pakistan Ordnance Factory. The Brits sold/gave the tooling from the Royal Ordnance Factory Fazakerley for the No.4 rifle to the Pakistanis a short time before then.
It shot very close to point of aim with the micrometer sight set at 200 yards. The battle sights shot 4" high; they're set at 300 yards and, according to some ballistics tables, that's about where they should be hitting. Dead on in windage, which is good, as the sights aren't easily adjustable for windage.
As for the provenance of the rifle, it was built in 1956 by the Pakistan Ordnance Factory. The Brits sold/gave the tooling from the Royal Ordnance Factory Fazakerley for the No.4 rifle to the Pakistanis a short time before then.
You're Really Not Helping, Pilgrim
I understand the sentiment, mostly. They want to do something.
But this is a bad idea.
Because stupid shit like this happens.
People are showing up in clothes unsuited for any sort of exertion (gunfighting in flip-flops or crocs? Really?) and, in all probability, lacking any sort of formal training in such work.
They look like a pack of clowns. And they're not helping gun rights any. With freedom comes a degree of responsibility. If you don't exercise such freedoms with a degree of responsibility, you aren't going to have them for very long.
Idiots flying drones around crime scenes and fires will result in the FAA saying "See, toljaso". You can't buy most high-powered lasers anymore because idiots have been shining them at aircraft. Openly parading around armed whilst looking like a complete mouth-breather will result in our rights to carry being scaled back.
Knock off the stupid shit, people.
But this is a bad idea.
(From here)
Because stupid shit like this happens.
People are showing up in clothes unsuited for any sort of exertion (gunfighting in flip-flops or crocs? Really?) and, in all probability, lacking any sort of formal training in such work.
They look like a pack of clowns. And they're not helping gun rights any. With freedom comes a degree of responsibility. If you don't exercise such freedoms with a degree of responsibility, you aren't going to have them for very long.
Idiots flying drones around crime scenes and fires will result in the FAA saying "See, toljaso". You can't buy most high-powered lasers anymore because idiots have been shining them at aircraft. Openly parading around armed whilst looking like a complete mouth-breather will result in our rights to carry being scaled back.
Knock off the stupid shit, people.
Deepsea Challenger- Fire!
The New London Day is reporting that the Deepsea Challenger caught fire this morning on a trailer on I-95 in Stonington, CT.
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Changed My Mind, Gunnie Edition
I rethought what I said here and ordered 480 rounds of Grade B .303 from LETDS.
With shipping, that worked out to under 27¢ a round. The nice stuff that I bought at a LGS was 75¢/round. So, as long as at least a third of the stuff from LETDS was usable, then I would be OK. A quick check of the boxes would seem that while most are tarnished, only a small minority had visible corrosion.
So as far as pricing goes, I think I came out OK.
With shipping, that worked out to under 27¢ a round. The nice stuff that I bought at a LGS was 75¢/round. So, as long as at least a third of the stuff from LETDS was usable, then I would be OK. A quick check of the boxes would seem that while most are tarnished, only a small minority had visible corrosion.
So as far as pricing goes, I think I came out OK.
Projected Trump to GOP: "Go Frak Yerself"
Update: This satirical Trump op-ed on The Onion is spot-on.
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There are some serious GOP politicians in the race, but when was the last time you saw a mention of George Pataki or John Kasich? For all of the impact they're having, they might as well be running for a seat on the Absaroka County Commission. Frothy, Johnny Bush and the rest, they've largely disappeared because Trump is sucking all of the oxygen out of the GOP Prezidenshul Short Bus.
Trump is right where he wants to be. As long as he has a firm grip on the mike and he's polling well, he's not about to give even a single fuck about the party establishment.
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The Republican establishment is making the most of the chance it had long sought to finally say this to Donald Trump: You crossed the line. (Self-launching video alert.)I suspect that The Donald doesn't give a fuck, for good reasons. He's currently riding atop the polls. He's playing with his own money, so he doesn't have to appease any donors (unlike, say, a certain Koch-owned puppet from Wisconsin). And very few political conversations are going on this summer without his name being mentioned.
There are some serious GOP politicians in the race, but when was the last time you saw a mention of George Pataki or John Kasich? For all of the impact they're having, they might as well be running for a seat on the Absaroka County Commission. Frothy, Johnny Bush and the rest, they've largely disappeared because Trump is sucking all of the oxygen out of the GOP Prezidenshul Short Bus.
Trump is right where he wants to be. As long as he has a firm grip on the mike and he's polling well, he's not about to give even a single fuck about the party establishment.
Thoroughly Modern Killers
There is an article in the current issue of Scientific American which posits that the success of humanity as a species began about 71,000 years ago when humans developed projectile weapons and then likely tipped them with poison. The evidence is the discovery of manufactured stone points that were too small for hand-held spears.
The atlatl was the first stand-off weapon. It did not require the user to get within bad-breath range of the target. More significantly for combat, it was the first weapon for which skill was more important than strength. A small man, a woman or a child could kill a large animal or a strong man.
Which became significant when human and Neantherthal tribes began bumping into each other. The Neanderthals were bigger, stronger and they had spears. Humans were smaller, weaker, and they had poison-tipped atlatls.
And, for the Neanderthals, that was all she wrote.
The atlatl was the first stand-off weapon. It did not require the user to get within bad-breath range of the target. More significantly for combat, it was the first weapon for which skill was more important than strength. A small man, a woman or a child could kill a large animal or a strong man.
Which became significant when human and Neantherthal tribes began bumping into each other. The Neanderthals were bigger, stronger and they had spears. Humans were smaller, weaker, and they had poison-tipped atlatls.
And, for the Neanderthals, that was all she wrote.
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
SMLE, Baby!
Rifle No.4 Mk.1:
By then, the Brits had stopped designating them as "SMLEs", but everyone still called them that. This one appears to have been refurbished at some time in a Royal Army arsenal; a process that apparently included having a drain-bamaged preschooler paint the receiver with black laquer.
The rifle has Mark 1 sights:
Later rifles had two-position peep sights, regulated for 300 and 600 yards, kinda like an old M-16. The Mark-1 sights are click adjustable in elevation for fine work. Like the Mosin rifles, windage can only be adjusted by an armorer.
The bore is in decent shape. The stock is a short one (the Brids made them in three lengths of pull), so I added a slip-on recoil pad. That brought it to the proper length and hell, I was going to do that, anyway.
The rifle does need a good cleaning, which I will get to before the inevitable range trip.
By then, the Brits had stopped designating them as "SMLEs", but everyone still called them that. This one appears to have been refurbished at some time in a Royal Army arsenal; a process that apparently included having a drain-bamaged preschooler paint the receiver with black laquer.
The rifle has Mark 1 sights:
Later rifles had two-position peep sights, regulated for 300 and 600 yards, kinda like an old M-16. The Mark-1 sights are click adjustable in elevation for fine work. Like the Mosin rifles, windage can only be adjusted by an armorer.
The bore is in decent shape. The stock is a short one (the Brids made them in three lengths of pull), so I added a slip-on recoil pad. That brought it to the proper length and hell, I was going to do that, anyway.
The rifle does need a good cleaning, which I will get to before the inevitable range trip.
If You Have Enemies, You May Not Want to be Driving a Jeep.
Or some other cars. Because it's no fun at all to drive a car which has its systems under attack by hackers.
In the meantime, you might want to stick with an older car that doesn't have any of that wireless gimcrackery built in.
In the meantime, you might want to stick with an older car that doesn't have any of that wireless gimcrackery built in.
Monday, July 20, 2015
One Small Step
46 years ago, right now.
The initial video was crappy as all hell. But I watched it, live and on CBS.
The first footprints on another celestial body, less than 66 years after the Wright Brothers' first flight and 43 years after the first flight of a liquid-fueled rocket.
The initial video was crappy as all hell. But I watched it, live and on CBS.
The first footprints on another celestial body, less than 66 years after the Wright Brothers' first flight and 43 years after the first flight of a liquid-fueled rocket.
"Swiss Tritum" in Gunsights?
Truglo claims thus:
So what would make tritium out of a Swiss reactor any better than tritium out of any other reactor?
Or is this another instance of "nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American consumer"?
Utilizes quality Swiss tritium for maximum brightnessNot to belabor the obvious, but tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen. It's produced by nuclear reactors.
So what would make tritium out of a Swiss reactor any better than tritium out of any other reactor?
Or is this another instance of "nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American consumer"?
Sunday, July 19, 2015
Trump, et at.
Jeffry Tucker, a conservative libertarian, thinks that Trump's not just a clown, that he's a dangerous demagogue, that he's a fascist for this new century. The piece is worth a read. (H/T)
I don't believe that this is Trump's time. Maybe if the election had been in 2010, in the midst of the Great Recession, maybe more people would have been open to his xenophobic/racist platform.
But for the sake of discussion: What if Trump won? Trump's not a politician, he's an egomanical businessman who has no tolerance for those who disagree with him. I don't know how he'd handle dissent, but I suspect that Trump would end up making Dick Cheney look like a member of the ACLU.
------------------------
Probably the most corrupt cops can be found in Florida, where in two departments, the cops helped themselves to large amounts of supposed drug-money without any oversight or accountability. As in, possibly, many millions of dollars. (H/T)
------------------------
I am so going to read Our Man in Charleston: Britain's Secret Agent in the Civil War South. Robert Bunch was the British consul in Charleston from 1853 into 1863; his reports to London may have been key in the refusal of the British to recognize the Confederacy. The Brits were willing to tolerate American slavery, so long as they got cotton in the bargain. But the slave-owners were eager to re-open importation of slaves, which the British couldn't tolerate. And even if they might have been inclined to, Bunch's dispatches tore the bark off any fig-leaf of denial.
Long article here about the book, worth a read.
I don't believe that this is Trump's time. Maybe if the election had been in 2010, in the midst of the Great Recession, maybe more people would have been open to his xenophobic/racist platform.
But for the sake of discussion: What if Trump won? Trump's not a politician, he's an egomanical businessman who has no tolerance for those who disagree with him. I don't know how he'd handle dissent, but I suspect that Trump would end up making Dick Cheney look like a member of the ACLU.
------------------------
Probably the most corrupt cops can be found in Florida, where in two departments, the cops helped themselves to large amounts of supposed drug-money without any oversight or accountability. As in, possibly, many millions of dollars. (H/T)
------------------------
I am so going to read Our Man in Charleston: Britain's Secret Agent in the Civil War South. Robert Bunch was the British consul in Charleston from 1853 into 1863; his reports to London may have been key in the refusal of the British to recognize the Confederacy. The Brits were willing to tolerate American slavery, so long as they got cotton in the bargain. But the slave-owners were eager to re-open importation of slaves, which the British couldn't tolerate. And even if they might have been inclined to, Bunch's dispatches tore the bark off any fig-leaf of denial.
Long article here about the book, worth a read.
I Was Going to Rant Some, But
I've really been kind of disheartened about the number of people, some of whom I know, who have been willing to jump to conclusions about the Chattanooga Asshole based on a single datapoint-- his faith.
More than a couple have been saying that such conclusions are equivalent to liberals concluding that the Charleston Asshole is a racist because he was waving the Confederate Flag, which, of course, is bullshit. The Charleston Asshole had a track record of racist statements, he posted a racist screed online to "justify" his murderous rampage, and there were some other things.
Part of my reaction is also because I am a member of a different religion, to which the good Christians of the last 1,800± years have ascribed various unsavory characteristics.
So I was really going to dig into all that.
But then I saw this video from Finland:
It's hard to rant while laughing.
More than a couple have been saying that such conclusions are equivalent to liberals concluding that the Charleston Asshole is a racist because he was waving the Confederate Flag, which, of course, is bullshit. The Charleston Asshole had a track record of racist statements, he posted a racist screed online to "justify" his murderous rampage, and there were some other things.
Part of my reaction is also because I am a member of a different religion, to which the good Christians of the last 1,800± years have ascribed various unsavory characteristics.
So I was really going to dig into all that.
But then I saw this video from Finland:
It's hard to rant while laughing.
Saturday, July 18, 2015
Shorter DOJ: "We Don't Shut Down Criminal Enterprises If They're Banks."
HSBC’s procedures to prevent money laundering, sanction-breaking and criminal activity still have deficiencies so serious that to publicly disclose them would risk serious crime, the US Department of Justice has said.And the cops and prosecutors are slavering over their share.
Which may explain why the Feds are so loathe to do to the banks what they do to other criminal enterprises: Shut them down. For the banks, especially the Huge Scumbag Banking Corp, can be counted on to keep breaking the law, which makes them cash cows for the cops.
Shorter Donald Trump: "Fuck You for Your Service."
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump slammed Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a decorated Vietnam War veteran, on Saturday by saying McCain was not a war hero because he was captured by the North Vietnamese.No doubt in the mind of The Donald, wounded vets are to blame for having been wounded.
"He's not a war hero," Trump said. Sarcastically, Trump quipped, "He's a war hero because he was captured." Then, he added, "I like people that weren't captured."
Trump would have been 19 in 1965. He graduated college in 1968, which was a year when the draft boards were going full steam to fill up the Army's ranks. But Trump couldn't have been a draft-dodger, for if you believe the party line, only Democrats dodged the draft. Republicans back then, on the other hand, "had other priorities" than serving their country in time of war.
Trump is the worst type of chickenhawk: A man who didn't serve and who is willing to throw rocks at those who did.
Update: Andy Borowitz chimes in.
It Really Comes Down to Astronomical Arrogance
So Dr. Tyson admitted that the decision to declassify Pluto was more of a bit of Earth-based arrogance than anything else.
The downgrading of Pluto came after the discovery of Sedna in 2003 made it evident that there could be even more planets further out. Astronomers, who faced the possibility of having more planets than they had fingers to count them, had to do something about that. So they reclassified Pluto. And so Pluto was demoted.
Friday, July 17, 2015
Anticipation; Gunnie Ed.
The rifle isn't here yet, but the price for this stuff was acceptable.
An online retailer, whose name is similar to Less Expensive Than Dogshit, has some "Grade B" ammo. Reports are that some is good stuff, some not. I've had a couple of problems with LETDS not standing behind their products, so I'm not about to give them another go.
"Operation Protect Our Ricebowl" Continues
The choice to be #2 at the Joint Chiefs of Staff is parroting the Fort Fumble party line:
Russia is a greater threat to the U.S. mainland than the Islamic State militants who are capturing territory in Iraq and Syria, said Air Force Gen. Paul Selva, President Obama’s nominee to become America’s No. 2 military officer. This seemed to surprise several of the senators gathered for Selva’s confirmation hearing on Tuesday.Really. Other than atomic throw-weight, the only way that the uniformed division of the defense lobby can arrive at that conclusion is to ignore the buildup of the People's Liberation Army Nay/Air Force and to ignore China's very provocative claims and actions in the South China Sea.
Jerks in Office; Law `n Order Edition
The Middlesex County Prosecutor wants to try the surviving Boston Bombing Asshole for murdering a cop.
Said Asshole is currently sitting inside of a Federal supermax while the appeals process runs on his convictions. When those run out, however long it takes, the Feds will take him to Terre Haute and execute him. Unless the Supremes invalidate the death penalty, in which case, Asshole will be in said supermax until he dies.
So why spend a few million bucks on a state trial, given that the Commonwealth doesn't have a death penalty? Just so DA Ryan can get some fucking headlines? So all of the survivors can have the whole thing thrown in their faces, yet again?
It's a waste of taxpayers' money. And that's all it is, folks.
Said Asshole is currently sitting inside of a Federal supermax while the appeals process runs on his convictions. When those run out, however long it takes, the Feds will take him to Terre Haute and execute him. Unless the Supremes invalidate the death penalty, in which case, Asshole will be in said supermax until he dies.
So why spend a few million bucks on a state trial, given that the Commonwealth doesn't have a death penalty? Just so DA Ryan can get some fucking headlines? So all of the survivors can have the whole thing thrown in their faces, yet again?
It's a waste of taxpayers' money. And that's all it is, folks.
Bloom County 2015
Apparently, Berkeley Breathed isn't planning to publish them in newspapers because deadlines suck the joy from it. (Back in the day, when the strip was running, he did a storyline about how deadlines for comic artists suck.)
But you can still see his FB page, where the new strips are posted, without signing up for the Social Media Borg.
Some Asshole with a Gun
Some Asshole shot up two Navy offices in Chattanooga yesterday, killing four Marines before either he offed himself or the cops did it for him.
Of course, given Asshole's religion, everyone is jumping on the "but the terror" bandwagon, instead of waiting to see what Asshole's true beef was. I'm reasonably certain that once the shooter's name was released, it took Fox News all of a femtosecond to start screaming about ISL.
Of course, given Asshole's religion, everyone is jumping on the "but the terror" bandwagon, instead of waiting to see what Asshole's true beef was. I'm reasonably certain that once the shooter's name was released, it took Fox News all of a femtosecond to start screaming about ISL.
Thursday, July 16, 2015
News to Absolutely Nobody
The Asswipe of Aurora was found guilty today of 1st degree murder. I doubt if there's a jury anywhere that's going to let somebody off for 12 counts of murder, no matter how batshit-crazy he is.
IMF to EU: "Include Us Out!"
The International Monetary Fund has told the Eurozone, in no uncertain terms, that the German ECB's plan to bail out Greece is unrealistic and doomed to fail. The IMF said that the debtors will have to take a massive haircut if there is to ever be a chance of the Greek economy gaining its footing.
The Greek parliment voted to surrender to the Germans. Which sounds like an inflammatory way to describe it, but that's exactly what it was. And yet, it would seem that the German finance minister is apparently disappointed that the entire country wasn't plowed under and the ground sown with salt.
Anglea Merkel may go down as the third-worst German leader since the Prussians welded the country together 144 years ago.[1] She has torn off the fig leaf that Germany was one of many nations in the EU to reveal that Germany has primacy in the EU. If there ever was a chance in Hell that Britain would join the monetary union, it evaporated on Sunday. It is more likely that the Brits will leave the EU entirely. You may see more and more EU countries having second thoughts about having their borders as open as those between most American states.[2] The Schengen Agreement will collapse, especially when nations begin withdrawing from the Eurozone. All the blame will be laid at Merkel's feet.
Meanwhile, one of the intellectual creators of the EU now seems to regard the EU as a German hegemon.
And everyone else will soon realize that Churchill was right.[3]
______________________________________________
[1] Kaiser Wilhelm II holds the #2 spot.
[2] California is an exception.
[3] "The Hun is either at your throat or at your feet."
The Greek parliment voted to surrender to the Germans. Which sounds like an inflammatory way to describe it, but that's exactly what it was. And yet, it would seem that the German finance minister is apparently disappointed that the entire country wasn't plowed under and the ground sown with salt.
Anglea Merkel may go down as the third-worst German leader since the Prussians welded the country together 144 years ago.[1] She has torn off the fig leaf that Germany was one of many nations in the EU to reveal that Germany has primacy in the EU. If there ever was a chance in Hell that Britain would join the monetary union, it evaporated on Sunday. It is more likely that the Brits will leave the EU entirely. You may see more and more EU countries having second thoughts about having their borders as open as those between most American states.[2] The Schengen Agreement will collapse, especially when nations begin withdrawing from the Eurozone. All the blame will be laid at Merkel's feet.
Meanwhile, one of the intellectual creators of the EU now seems to regard the EU as a German hegemon.
And everyone else will soon realize that Churchill was right.[3]
______________________________________________
[1] Kaiser Wilhelm II holds the #2 spot.
[2] California is an exception.
[3] "The Hun is either at your throat or at your feet."
What Next?
I wonder if we'll revisit Pluto in a shorter timeframe than the 28 years between the Mariner 10 and MESSENGER missions to Mercury.
Nothing beyond paper proposals has been done about another visit to either Uranus or Neptune. An orbiter to either planet would take the better part of 20 years to get there. That's difficult to do, when Congress can't think past four news cycles.
Nothing beyond paper proposals has been done about another visit to either Uranus or Neptune. An orbiter to either planet would take the better part of 20 years to get there. That's difficult to do, when Congress can't think past four news cycles.
The World Changed 70 Years Ago
The "Trinity Test" of the device that was called "the Gadget" was conducted on July 16th, 1945:
The world changed in ways that weren't appreciated by many. Nuclear weapons eventually made direct war unthinkable between nations possessing them. The cost has been massive amounts of land that was contaminated, usually with waste from the production of the weapons and their components. Tens of millions of people (maybe hundreds of millions) were exposed to radiation from above-ground tests and toxic elements.
It's been a high price to pay for a kind of peace.
The world changed in ways that weren't appreciated by many. Nuclear weapons eventually made direct war unthinkable between nations possessing them. The cost has been massive amounts of land that was contaminated, usually with waste from the production of the weapons and their components. Tens of millions of people (maybe hundreds of millions) were exposed to radiation from above-ground tests and toxic elements.
It's been a high price to pay for a kind of peace.
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
Why Wouldn't You Trust a Rapacious Agri-Chemical Company?
Monsanto said Tuesday it will pay for an independent review of a soon-to-be released study declaring glyphosate a probable carcinogen.Ayup, who wants to bet that Monsanto's "independent" researchers won't find that Roundup is hazardous to, well, anything other than weeds?
I think that it's a safe bet that they'll find that you can drink Roundup, even if you don't want to. Because Monsanto has a huge interest in this "independent" review coming out in a way that benefits them. I don't know a lot of row-crop farmers*, but the few that I do despise Monsanto.
Speaking of drinking Roundup:
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* The farms in this area are predominantly cattle farms.
"I'm All Right, Guys!"
New Horizons made radio contact last night.
Stand by for about 18 months' worth of data, as the download speeds from the spacecraft will be akin to those of an old acoustic modem. At over three billion miles from Earth, New Horizons is a very long way from the nearest fiber optic junction box.
Stand by for about 18 months' worth of data, as the download speeds from the spacecraft will be akin to those of an old acoustic modem. At over three billion miles from Earth, New Horizons is a very long way from the nearest fiber optic junction box.
Lockmartsky?
Lockheed-Martin is trying to buy Sikorsky from United Technologies Corp..
Because LockMart isn't growing any. Sikorsky has some civilian business.
My question: Why United Technologies wants to dump Sikorsky? Do they need the money that badly that they're selling off a company with good growth potential? Of is there an issue that UTC would just be happy to get rid of?
Sikorsky is based in Connecticut. Which, coincidentally, just added a disguised tax on estates: The probate court fee for an estate in CT is now 0.5% with no cap. So if you're rich and you live in Connecticut, it's in your best interests to move.
Because LockMart isn't growing any. Sikorsky has some civilian business.
My question: Why United Technologies wants to dump Sikorsky? Do they need the money that badly that they're selling off a company with good growth potential? Of is there an issue that UTC would just be happy to get rid of?
Sikorsky is based in Connecticut. Which, coincidentally, just added a disguised tax on estates: The probate court fee for an estate in CT is now 0.5% with no cap. So if you're rich and you live in Connecticut, it's in your best interests to move.
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
À Bastille!
Today is the French National Day.
A version that is more familiar to American audiences:
(Full translation, which makes The Star-Spangled Banner look pacifistic.))
A version that is more familiar to American audiences:
Allons enfants de la Patrie
Le jour de gloire est arrivé !
Contre nous de la tyrannie
L'étendard sanglant est levé
Entendez-vous dans nos campagnes
Mugir ces féroces soldats?
Ils viennent jusque dans vos bras.
Égorger vos fils, vos compagnes!
Aux armes citoyens
Formez vos bataillons
Marchons, marchons
Qu'un sang impur
Abreuve nos sillons
(Full translation, which makes The Star-Spangled Banner look pacifistic.))
New Horizons: CPA Pluto!
(Actually, one second ago.)
A photo that was taken yesterday afternoon:
Today also marks 50 years (minus about 12 or so hours) since Mariner 4 flew by Mars, the first probe to photograph another world. If you're kind of a science geek, it's been a great ride.*
___________________________________________
* Too bad that Carl Sagan didn't live to see this.
Monday, July 13, 2015
.22 Shortage Almost Over?
For the first time in years, I saw boxes of .22 shorts on a shelf. While I don't know for certain, I'd imagine that an ammo company must be feeling rather caught up on .22 long rifle to shift over to making .22 shorts.
And I'm seeing more .22 on shelves. Not so much at Wally-Woild, but in the regular gunshops.
And I'm seeing more .22 on shelves. Not so much at Wally-Woild, but in the regular gunshops.
Oh, Please, Stop This Stupid Shit; Fort Fumble Edition
(First, my apologies. This post has been in my edit pile for a few days, as life's gotten a little busier. But in a good way. Now, back to the program:)
Doug Feith has competition for his title[1]:
Other than firing off its nukes, which would be really stupid, as we'd shoot back (and then it's all over), what can Russia really do? Their navy is a pale shadow of the Soviet navy[2]. Their air force relies on mostly Soviet-era aircraft, with predictable results. They're short of pilots. They lack tanker aircraft and many of their airplanes can't be refueled in flight.
Despite bruited-about proposals and proclamations for military reforms, the accounts are that the Russian army is still a conscript-based force where recruits are not so much trained as brutalized into submission. Corruption and theft has been rampant and, short of Putin having some senior officers shot, probably will go on.
Russian military power is a small fraction of Soviet power. The Russians have the ability to project land power, but only so long as they can roll their forces across the ground. They likely don't have the capability to conduct sustained combat operations against a capable foe. Oh, sure, they beat the hell out of the Georgian army and they probably could make short work of the Ukrainians. (ETA, seven years later, I was sure wrong about that.) The Russian threat to what they call their "near abroad", the countries that sprang into existence after the collapse of the USSR is probably real enough.[3] But a serious non-nuclear threat to the United States-- not so much.
But Gen. Dunford isn't that stupid. We know what is really going on: Operation Protect Our Ricebowl. The American military is facing significant budget cuts, due largely to the GOP-instigated sequester law. The Army is planning to cut its force by 40,000 soldiers. Similar cuts will hit the Air Force, the Navy and the Marine Corps. Bases will be closed.
The service chiefs don't want any of that, especially given the proclivity of our government to engage in diplomacy by bombing. But they can't really go to Congress and say "we wouldn't need so many troops, planes and ships if you'd stop getting us into stupid conflicts."[4] That would never fly. So the good General has to gin up existential threats for the Congress to lap up.[5] Because, without busting the sequester, some real force contractions are coming, and nobody who wears stars on their collar points ever wants to preside over that.
___________________________________
[1] The fucking stupidest guy on the face of the earth.
[2] The Soviet navy, whether for internal security fears or reliability issues, spent 80% of its time in port or at anchor.
[3] What idiot thought it was a good idea to let the former Soviet Baltic republics into NATO? Did anyone even look at a fucking map when they came up with that?
{4] Not to mention the fact that Miss Lindsey, who has climbed aboard the 2016 Short Bus, is a strong advocate for using bombs to remedy everything, including being overcharged by rude Parisian waiters.
[5] He also thinks we should send weapons to the Ukraine, which has worked out well for America in previous conflicts about roughly once. (ETA: 2022- I was wrong about that, too.)
Doug Feith has competition for his title[1]:
Throughout the hearing, when asked about threats, General Dunford returned repeatedly to Russia, characterizing it as one of the few countries or forces in the world, or perhaps the only one, that could be considered a threat to the United States.Really?
“If you want to talk about a nation that could pose an existential threat to the United States, I’d have to point to Russia,” he said. “And if you look at their behavior, it’s nothing short of alarming.”
(From here)
Other than firing off its nukes, which would be really stupid, as we'd shoot back (and then it's all over), what can Russia really do? Their navy is a pale shadow of the Soviet navy[2]. Their air force relies on mostly Soviet-era aircraft, with predictable results. They're short of pilots. They lack tanker aircraft and many of their airplanes can't be refueled in flight.
Despite bruited-about proposals and proclamations for military reforms, the accounts are that the Russian army is still a conscript-based force where recruits are not so much trained as brutalized into submission. Corruption and theft has been rampant and, short of Putin having some senior officers shot, probably will go on.
Russian military power is a small fraction of Soviet power. The Russians have the ability to project land power, but only so long as they can roll their forces across the ground. They likely don't have the capability to conduct sustained combat operations against a capable foe. Oh, sure, they beat the hell out of the Georgian army and they probably could make short work of the Ukrainians. (ETA, seven years later, I was sure wrong about that.) The Russian threat to what they call their "near abroad", the countries that sprang into existence after the collapse of the USSR is probably real enough.[3] But a serious non-nuclear threat to the United States-- not so much.
But Gen. Dunford isn't that stupid. We know what is really going on: Operation Protect Our Ricebowl. The American military is facing significant budget cuts, due largely to the GOP-instigated sequester law. The Army is planning to cut its force by 40,000 soldiers. Similar cuts will hit the Air Force, the Navy and the Marine Corps. Bases will be closed.
The service chiefs don't want any of that, especially given the proclivity of our government to engage in diplomacy by bombing. But they can't really go to Congress and say "we wouldn't need so many troops, planes and ships if you'd stop getting us into stupid conflicts."[4] That would never fly. So the good General has to gin up existential threats for the Congress to lap up.[5] Because, without busting the sequester, some real force contractions are coming, and nobody who wears stars on their collar points ever wants to preside over that.
___________________________________
[1] The fucking stupidest guy on the face of the earth.
[2] The Soviet navy, whether for internal security fears or reliability issues, spent 80% of its time in port or at anchor.
[3] What idiot thought it was a good idea to let the former Soviet Baltic republics into NATO? Did anyone even look at a fucking map when they came up with that?
{4] Not to mention the fact that Miss Lindsey, who has climbed aboard the 2016 Short Bus, is a strong advocate for using bombs to remedy everything, including being overcharged by rude Parisian waiters.
[5] He also thinks we should send weapons to the Ukraine, which has worked out well for America in previous conflicts about roughly once. (ETA: 2022- I was wrong about that, too.)
The New Flag of Greece
It was almost a total capitulation.
Other nations, who had considered joining the Eurozone and who have been watching how this played out, might want to rethink that. You can be pretty certain that the Brits have been spraining their arms, patting themselves on the back, for keeping to the Pound.
Sunday, July 12, 2015
No Wonder That No Banksters Were Ever Prosecuted
It now becomes clear that our most recent AG was to prosecuting the banksters, what it would have been to have put Joaquín Guzmán in charge of the DEA.
This time around, zip point shit.
Thanks for nothing, Eric.
Eric Holder has gone back to work for his old firm, the white-collar defense heavyweight Covington & Burling. The former attorney general decided against going for a judgeship, saying he's not ready for the ivory tower yet. "I want to be a player," he told the National Law Journal, one would have to say ominously.Anyone left to wonder why the DOJ never successfully prosecuted a single banker? Why nobody went to prison for fraud? When the S&L crisis almost wrecked the economy, over a thousand bankers were convicted of various crimes.
This time around, zip point shit.
Thanks for nothing, Eric.
Wrong Hashtag, Guys
#ThisIsACoup is the wrong hashtag.
Try: #ThisIsAnInvasion. Paul Krugman thinks that the Euro, in the long run, will be doomed because of German intransigence.
The EuroBanksters and Merkel have, essentially, declared economic warfare on Greece. Every other county in the Eurozone had better wake up to the reality that Germany views the Eurozone as their economic empire. The Greek people didn't like it, so now the Germans are going to stomp them into the dirt for daring to believe that they had any degree of independence from the dictates of theGerman European Central Bank.
Bottom line: The Euro currency has gained, temporarily, for Germany what its Panzers could not.
Update: Infidel753's Euro-flag.
Try: #ThisIsAnInvasion. Paul Krugman thinks that the Euro, in the long run, will be doomed because of German intransigence.
The EuroBanksters and Merkel have, essentially, declared economic warfare on Greece. Every other county in the Eurozone had better wake up to the reality that Germany views the Eurozone as their economic empire. The Greek people didn't like it, so now the Germans are going to stomp them into the dirt for daring to believe that they had any degree of independence from the dictates of the
Bottom line: The Euro currency has gained, temporarily, for Germany what its Panzers could not.
Update: Infidel753's Euro-flag.
20 Years On
Twenty years ago, Serbian military forces, both the army and militias, massacred over 8,000 Bosnian men and boys in what is now known as the Srebrenica massacre. It was a mass killing that was planned at the highest levels of the Serbian military command.
The massacre, and then an attack where the Serbs mortared a marketplace, led to NATO[1] intervention into the Bosnian War. In essence, the Serbs were bombed to the peace table.[2]
The Russians vetoed a Security Council resolution that would have designated what happened in Srebrenica as an act of genocide. The Russians did so to protect the sensitivities of Serbia, which has been allied with Russia from the beginning. The American ambassador to the U.N. made a speech in reply.
I don't doubt the sincerity of Ambassador Power's remarks. What I doubt is the sincerity of the U.S. government, which was in favor of calling what happened in Srebrenica a genocide, but has been loathe to call what happened in Armenia a century ago by the same word. Because Turkey has better lobbyists.[3] And because geopolitics matters.[4]
And then there is our own Christian Taliban, which thinks that permitting gay marriage is persecuting them, but when Serbian Christians murdered Bosnian Muslims, they were and have been noticeably silent.
________________________________
[1] Minus the Greeks.
[2] The Serbs, being slow learners, got a repeat treatment in 1999.
[3] Former Congressman Dick Gephardt, who was in favor of recognizing the Armenian genocide, changed sides once he left Congress and was hired by the Turks. (The Turks also hired a pederast.)
{4} When it comes to geopolitics, "hypocrisy" is a forbidden term.
The massacre, and then an attack where the Serbs mortared a marketplace, led to NATO[1] intervention into the Bosnian War. In essence, the Serbs were bombed to the peace table.[2]
The Russians vetoed a Security Council resolution that would have designated what happened in Srebrenica as an act of genocide. The Russians did so to protect the sensitivities of Serbia, which has been allied with Russia from the beginning. The American ambassador to the U.N. made a speech in reply.
I don't doubt the sincerity of Ambassador Power's remarks. What I doubt is the sincerity of the U.S. government, which was in favor of calling what happened in Srebrenica a genocide, but has been loathe to call what happened in Armenia a century ago by the same word. Because Turkey has better lobbyists.[3] And because geopolitics matters.[4]
And then there is our own Christian Taliban, which thinks that permitting gay marriage is persecuting them, but when Serbian Christians murdered Bosnian Muslims, they were and have been noticeably silent.
________________________________
[1] Minus the Greeks.
[2] The Serbs, being slow learners, got a repeat treatment in 1999.
[3] Former Congressman Dick Gephardt, who was in favor of recognizing the Armenian genocide, changed sides once he left Congress and was hired by the Turks. (The Turks also hired a pederast.)
{4} When it comes to geopolitics, "hypocrisy" is a forbidden term.
Your Sunday Morning Jet Noise
Aardvark!
A lot of the other F-111 videos have music tracks, which may have been overlaid by the induhviduals who uploaded them. I prefer the music that the airplanes make as, I presume, you do, as well.
A lot of the other F-111 videos have music tracks, which may have been overlaid by the induhviduals who uploaded them. I prefer the music that the airplanes make as, I presume, you do, as well.
Saturday, July 11, 2015
Slow Bangity
I shot a 3-gun match this morning. It was a local club match and the course of fire probably doesn't comport with most other ones. Minimum of 10 shots with a handgun, 4 with a shotgun, and 8 with a rifle: Any caliber, any sights.
My time was slow, probably because this was my rifle:
(At least I had stripper clips.)
It wasn't the loudest gun there, for sumdood had an SBR AR-15.
My time was slow, probably because this was my rifle:
(At least I had stripper clips.)
It wasn't the loudest gun there, for sumdood had an SBR AR-15.
Rolling Up a Criminal Enterprise
The hornbook method is to get the guys at the lowest level. You build a case against them and then get them to roll over on their bosses. Wash, rinse, repeat until you get to the top dogs.
Which may be how we start to hold our own war criminals accountable.
Both can be pressured through their licenses.
But I don't think that this country has the stones to clean up its own mess. Oh, we'll work to prosecute war criminals from Serbia or Liberia or wherever, but our own war criminals will get a pass.
Which may be how we start to hold our own war criminals accountable.
The largest association of psychologists in the United States is on the brink of a crisis, the Guardian has learned, after an independent review revealed that medical professionals lied and covered up their extensive involvement in post-9/11 torture. The revelation, puncturing years of denials, has already led to at least one leadership firing and creates the potential for loss of licenses and even prosecutions.I have to wonder, Gentle Readers, whether or not the American Medical Association is going to follow along. Because it wasn't just shrinks overseeing torture, there were physicians involved, as well.
For more than a decade, the American Psychological Association (APA) has maintained that a strict code of ethics prohibits its more than 130,000 members to aid in the torture of detainees while simultaneously permitting involvement in military and intelligence interrogations. The group has rejected media reporting on psychologists’ complicity in torture; suppressed internal dissent from anti-torture doctors; cleared members of wrongdoing; and portrayed itself as a consistent ally against abuse.
Now, a voluminous independent review conducted by a former assistant US attorney, David Hoffman, undermines the APA’s denials in full – and vindicates the dissenters.
Both can be pressured through their licenses.
But I don't think that this country has the stones to clean up its own mess. Oh, we'll work to prosecute war criminals from Serbia or Liberia or wherever, but our own war criminals will get a pass.
Friday, July 10, 2015
Thursday, July 9, 2015
"The Klan Moved In Next Door"
I was at a coffee joint and overheard this:
I doubt it. But the analogy would be accurate, I suspect.
Person 1: "Good to see you! How's life in San Antonia?"I didn't know those people. But I imagined what if a Southern Baptist church was being built down the road-- would they have said that "the Klan is moving in"?
Person 2: "Not good. ISIS just moved in down the street."
P1: "No shit?"
P2: "Yep. They're building a mosque."
I doubt it. But the analogy would be accurate, I suspect.
South Carolina: Maybe It's Done
The Confederate flag, a symbol of racism for many in the United States and of Southern heritage for others, is set to be removed from South Carolina's state Capitol grounds on Thursday after lawmakers sealed its fate in a late-night session.As many commentators have pointed out, the "Confederate Flag" was never the flag of the Confederacy. It was an army battle flag and one that, not long after the war was done, was appropriated by racists and killers. The article noted that South Carolina (among other Southern states), only began flying it as a "fuck you" to those pushing for civil rights and voting rights for all.
The bill to remove the flag, which dates back to the 1861-65 American Civil War, would transfer it to the "relic room" at a military museum in the state capital, Columbia, as soon as midday Thursday.
It passed a third and final vote in the House of Representatives shortly after 1 a.m. Thursday by a hefty margin of 94-20, after 13 hours of at times rancorous debate and stiff opposition from a group of conservative white Republicans.
What gets me, though, was this line:
[South Carolina] House members who supported the flag denied its association with slavery, repeatedly referred to the need to show respect for their ancestors who fought for the state and the Confederacy on the losing side of the Civil War.No, but you also don't flaunt it. We all know that millions of German soldiers were killed during the Second World War. We all know for whom they fought, to whom they swore allegiance. But if the German swastika flag flew over their cemeteries, everyone (other than the neo-Nazis and the white supremacists) would regard that as being both insane and offensive.
"I have wept over this thing. I have bathed this thing in prayer," said Eric Bedingfield, a white Republican flag defender. "You can't erase history."
And so it is here.
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
Tab Clearing (Not Good Stuff)
The NY Stock Exchange has halted all trading due to "technical difficulties".
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The Feebies want backdoor access to everything to "fight ISIS". I'm not a software guru, but it would seem to me that the idea that the engineers can install a backdoor to encryption that hackers would not be able to exploit is an opium-derived fantasy.
And that Senator Feinstein is for it is, to my mind, a good enough reason to be thoroughly skeptical of the concept. For DiFi's default is always for giving more power to the American Police State.
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The Feebies want backdoor access to everything to "fight ISIS". I'm not a software guru, but it would seem to me that the idea that the engineers can install a backdoor to encryption that hackers would not be able to exploit is an opium-derived fantasy.
And that Senator Feinstein is for it is, to my mind, a good enough reason to be thoroughly skeptical of the concept. For DiFi's default is always for giving more power to the American Police State.
"If You Don't Follow My Version of (Insert Name of Faith Here), You Are Not a Believer."
Judaism is not immune to that particular form of religious horseshit.
Funny thing, though: When the Germans came for the Jews in the `30s and `40s, they didn't separate out Reform Jews, agnostic Jews, or even people who had been of Jewish heritage raised Christian. They stuffed all of them into boxcars and sent them to the camps. When the Spaniards expelled their Jewish population in 1492, even very many of those who adopted Christianity were later pushed out. When the English expelled the Jewish population in 1290, there apparently no religious purity tests. (Forgotten is the fact that the English Crown required Jews to wear special badges.)
Azoulay is full of shit.
Israel’s strictly Orthodox minister of religious services said Tuesday that he did not consider Reform Jews to be Jewish, inflaming internal discord over religious issues and underscoring tensions with American Jews, who mostly belong to the more liberal streams of Conservative and Reform Judaism.Same shit, different faith. Sunni v. Shi'a, Catholic v. Protestant, different religions, same tired tune.
“The moment a Reform Jew stops following the religion of Israel, let’s say there’s a problem,” the minister, David Azoulay of the Shas party, said on Army Radio, adding, “I cannot allow myself to call such a person a Jew.”
Funny thing, though: When the Germans came for the Jews in the `30s and `40s, they didn't separate out Reform Jews, agnostic Jews, or even people who had been of Jewish heritage raised Christian. They stuffed all of them into boxcars and sent them to the camps. When the Spaniards expelled their Jewish population in 1492, even very many of those who adopted Christianity were later pushed out. When the English expelled the Jewish population in 1290, there apparently no religious purity tests. (Forgotten is the fact that the English Crown required Jews to wear special badges.)
Azoulay is full of shit.
Wow
Just watch.
That crack's just under nine feet wide and keep in mind that wingsuits have a glide ratio that is worse than that of a helicopter (or a F-4).
That crack's just under nine feet wide and keep in mind that wingsuits have a glide ratio that is worse than that of a helicopter (or a F-4).
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Coz the Sexual Predator
So now it comes out that Bill Cosby has been drugging and raping women since the 1970s.
He admitted as much ten years ago.
He's done.
He admitted as much ten years ago.
He's done.
It doesn't appear that "The Cosby Show" of the 1980s is airing regularly anywhere now in the U.S., said Bill Carroll, an expert on the syndication market for Katz Television. He said he doubts it will return while its star, who turns 78 on Sunday, is alive.If even then. Seen any Fatty Arbuckle movies, lately?
Eurobanksters Don't Bow to Reality
Eurozone finance ministers arriving for emergency talks in Brussels made it clear they were waiting on Athens to sign up to further reforms and were in no hurry to discuss debt relief.The unemployment rate in Greece is 25.6%. The youth unemployment rate is 49.7%. How much more austerity to the Eurobanksters expect the Greeks to put up with?
There is a precedent for all of this. A long time ago, roughly 84 years back, Germany owed other nations a lot of money. When Germany couldn't pay, there were demands for more and more austerity. What happened in Germany (and in other countries) was the rise of political parties that were hostile to the financial system. And we all know, or should know, how that worked out.
Greece has been heading down a similar road. For all of the Eurobanksters' hyperventilation, the Syriza party is at least willing to talk. The ECB can either deal with them or deal with what comes next.
There is much evil spread about. The Eurobanksters, like the American mortgage lenders, raked in huge fees by making loans that they had reason to know had a high risk of failure. The Germans have been hyper-fixated on controlling inflation, but in the current situation, the German remedy is like ordering a person who is starving to go on a diet. The Greeks borrowed money that they couldn't repay, but as so many people, including the ECB, willingly ignore, making a loan to an unsound borrower also requires a lender who will turn a blind eye to that condition.
The Eurozone looks more and more like a collection agency for German banksters. The ECB doesn't seem to give a rat's ass about anything else, other than collecting on bad debts. Whether or not the Eurozone economy functions, whether or not the Euro-members' economies are sound, is, apparently, not their concern.
I suspect that much of this is dawning on the Grecians. Which may be why they voted for Syriza, why they voted "no" on the referendum, and why they may be gearing up to tell the ECB to bugger off.
Monday, July 6, 2015
Maybe It's Just Me; Billary Ed.
I can't shake the feeling that the bottom-line message of the Clinton campaign is "Hillary: it's Inevitable."
Which, come to think of it, was pretty much what I recall was her campaign's theme in the first few months of 2008. And which may explain some nervousness at Borg H.Q.
Which, come to think of it, was pretty much what I recall was her campaign's theme in the first few months of 2008. And which may explain some nervousness at Borg H.Q.
Hope for a Shanking
An unusual sentencing hearing gets under way Monday for a Detroit-area cancer doctor who admits committing fraud against insurance companies and hundreds of patients.That asshole didn't just give unnecessary treatments to cancer patients, oh, no. He told people who were healthy that they had cancer, and then subjected them to debilitating rounds of chemotherapy and radiation.
The court will hear from patients beginning Tuesday, in the case against Dr. [Some Asshole], who admitted to giving unnecessary treatments to cancer patients to reap millions from insurance programs.
Prosecutors are seeking a 175-year prison sentence, while the Oakland County doctor is asking for no more than 25 years.
Hanging's too good for him.
UPDATE: 45 years in stir for him. Even with "good time" and credit for time served, he won't be released until 2053.
Bernie, Bernie, You're Fucking Up
He seems to think that there is a "middle" on gun control.
I don't understand why Democrats can't break their addiction to gun control. It costs them a shitload of votes. There are millions of people across this country who might otherwise be open to Sanders' messages on economic fairness and support for working families. But if he keeps blathering about gun control, he won't have those voters listening to him.
Sanders would seem to be in favor of the same crap that, when the then-current congressman in Vermont said such things, gave him a window to run for the Congress. If he had hewed to that line back then, he'd still be the mayor of Burlington.
It seems pretty moronic to me to take positions that have been proven to cost your party elections, but hey, that's why I'm not a politician, I guess.
I don't understand why Democrats can't break their addiction to gun control. It costs them a shitload of votes. There are millions of people across this country who might otherwise be open to Sanders' messages on economic fairness and support for working families. But if he keeps blathering about gun control, he won't have those voters listening to him.
Sanders would seem to be in favor of the same crap that, when the then-current congressman in Vermont said such things, gave him a window to run for the Congress. If he had hewed to that line back then, he'd still be the mayor of Burlington.
It seems pretty moronic to me to take positions that have been proven to cost your party elections, but hey, that's why I'm not a politician, I guess.
Weathervanes, GOP Edition
On June 16th., The Donald, in his declaration of candidacy for the presidency, said this:
July 3rd: Marco Rubio said:
Then, yesterday (July 5th), Rick Perry chimed in to call Trump's remarks "offensive".
It takes real courage and leadership to wait to see which way the political winds are blowing before hoisting a sail.
_____________________________
* In the glorious tradition of "tell me which way the people are marching, for I am their leader."
“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending the best. They’re bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime. They’re rapists and some, I assume, are good people.”July 1st: George Pakati (whose been crushed to the floor of the GOP Presidential Short Bus) asked why other GOPers aren't condemning Trump. Which wasn't exactly brave of Pataki, given that he waited to see if this was going to be an issue before saying anything.*
July 3rd: Marco Rubio said:
“Our next president needs to be someone who brings Americans together – not someone who continues to divide.”Ol' Johnny Bush waited until the following day to "take the remarks personally."
Then, yesterday (July 5th), Rick Perry chimed in to call Trump's remarks "offensive".
It takes real courage and leadership to wait to see which way the political winds are blowing before hoisting a sail.
_____________________________
* In the glorious tradition of "tell me which way the people are marching, for I am their leader."
Thunderbolt
A film from the war.
I once had this on a videocassette, but that disappeared many years ago.
I once had this on a videocassette, but that disappeared many years ago.
Sunday, July 5, 2015
Bowling Pin Shoot
I'm not saying that it was me who yelled: "Just fucking die, already!" at a bowling pin that seemed to be immune to being shot. Not saying it wasn't, either.
Bowling pins are challenging targets, for you have a very small horizontal target to hit, if you don't want them falling down on the table. It's even harder with ball ammunition, which has a tendency to glance off the suckers.
And I think I'm going to shoot the next Bullseye match with open sights. I downloaded a Bullseye commands app and got a patch cord to feed that from my iPhone into my headset. It works well on an outdoor range. On an indoor range, not so much. I do need to practice to get my timing down with rapid fire, as it's a bit harder to get back on target with open sights.
Ordered a 100 25 yard timed/rapid fire targets. Or I thought I had, for I got 200. Oh, well, so I ordered 100 50 yard slow-fire centers. The ring spacing is the same, the only difference is that the 8 ring is black on the 50 yarders.
I did get a spotting scope. Which will save some walking.
Bowling pins are challenging targets, for you have a very small horizontal target to hit, if you don't want them falling down on the table. It's even harder with ball ammunition, which has a tendency to glance off the suckers.
And I think I'm going to shoot the next Bullseye match with open sights. I downloaded a Bullseye commands app and got a patch cord to feed that from my iPhone into my headset. It works well on an outdoor range. On an indoor range, not so much. I do need to practice to get my timing down with rapid fire, as it's a bit harder to get back on target with open sights.
Ordered a 100 25 yard timed/rapid fire targets. Or I thought I had, for I got 200. Oh, well, so I ordered 100 50 yard slow-fire centers. The ring spacing is the same, the only difference is that the 8 ring is black on the 50 yarders.
I did get a spotting scope. Which will save some walking.
Grexit
The vote on the Greek referendum on whether or not to bow to the demands of the Euro-banksters wasn't even close.
Greece lurched into uncharted territory and an uncertain future in Europe's common currency Sunday after voters overwhelmingly rejected demands by international creditors for more austerity measures in exchange for a bailout of its bankrupt economy.
Results showed 61 percent voted "no," compared with 38 percent for "yes," with 93 percent of the vote counted.
Britannia Ruled the Waves
She did, in 1840. RMS Britannia was the first true ocean liner, the first in reliable service between England and North America.
As Peter mentioned, the commercial importance of reliable ocean transport would be difficult to overstate. If you've read any books about life on sailing ships, such as Two Years Before the Mast, two things stand out: First off, sailing ships typically didn't sail until they had a full load of cargo. Second, even if they wanted to sail, unfavorable winds could keep sailing ships in port for days or longer. The two factors probably ran together, because since a ship couldn't count on sailing at a certain date or time, there was no reason to sail until the ship was fully loaded.
The Britannia changed all that. While no ship is immune from weather, steamships were able to sail if the winds were not favorable. Schedules could be made and kept. Businessmen could make appointments from the other side of the world and keep them. Companies could compete for business with a reliable way to get their products to another continent.
Mariners are conservative, for good reason. It was another ninety years before commercial sailing vessels disappeared, which likely had something to do with the adoption of oil as a maritime fuel. But it all began, 175 years ago this month.
As Peter mentioned, the commercial importance of reliable ocean transport would be difficult to overstate. If you've read any books about life on sailing ships, such as Two Years Before the Mast, two things stand out: First off, sailing ships typically didn't sail until they had a full load of cargo. Second, even if they wanted to sail, unfavorable winds could keep sailing ships in port for days or longer. The two factors probably ran together, because since a ship couldn't count on sailing at a certain date or time, there was no reason to sail until the ship was fully loaded.
The Britannia changed all that. While no ship is immune from weather, steamships were able to sail if the winds were not favorable. Schedules could be made and kept. Businessmen could make appointments from the other side of the world and keep them. Companies could compete for business with a reliable way to get their products to another continent.
Mariners are conservative, for good reason. It was another ninety years before commercial sailing vessels disappeared, which likely had something to do with the adoption of oil as a maritime fuel. But it all began, 175 years ago this month.
New Horizons-- Oh, No!
The New Horizons space probe may have shit the bed.
The spacecraft is nine days away from its closest point of approach to the Pluto-Charon dual-planet system. It's not now collecting science data. If they can't get it working, there will be no do-over.
I know of no proposals for another probe to Pluto. If New Horizons fails, we may not get another chance within the lifetime of anyone reading this.
The spacecraft is nine days away from its closest point of approach to the Pluto-Charon dual-planet system. It's not now collecting science data. If they can't get it working, there will be no do-over.
I know of no proposals for another probe to Pluto. If New Horizons fails, we may not get another chance within the lifetime of anyone reading this.
The "Some Asshole" Initiative
(Stickied for a while. Let's make this happen, people!)
I've been using the term "asswipe", but this works:
Another benefit is that, by not showing the face or the name of the asshole, asshole's attorneys can't claim "pretrial publicity" in a change-of-venue motion.
The only exception to the "some asshole" rule ought to be if the asshole is still at large. Then they could print his photo. But it'd have to come down once asshole was either dead or arrested.
I've been using the term "asswipe", but this works:
(H/T to Mr. Natural)
Another benefit is that, by not showing the face or the name of the asshole, asshole's attorneys can't claim "pretrial publicity" in a change-of-venue motion.
The only exception to the "some asshole" rule ought to be if the asshole is still at large. Then they could print his photo. But it'd have to come down once asshole was either dead or arrested.
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