A bungling armed robber shot his female accomplice as they held up a restaurant in the Dandenong Ranges east of Melbourne overnight. The couple waited until after the last customers had left the Cuckoo restaurant, in Olinda, before confronting a staff member by his car in the restaurant's car park . The pair demanded the staff member hand over a black plastic bag, which it is thought they believed contained the restaurant's takings. However, the bag actually held left-over bread rolls, which the staff member was planning to feed to his chickens. Some days it just ain't worth chewing through the leather straps, is it? More at link...
Posted by: Dave D. ||
04/02/2007 00:00 ||
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Lloyd Brown, the last known surviving World War I Navy veteran, has died. He was 105. Brown died Thursday at the Charlotte Hall Veterans Home in St. Mary's County, according to family and the U.S. Naval District in Washington.
His death comes days after the death of the last known surviving American female World War I veteran, Charlotte L. Winters, 109. The deaths leave three known survivors who served in the Army, and a fourth who lives in Washington state but served in the Canadian army, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Brown was born Oct. 7, 1901, in Lutie, Mo., a small farming town in the Ozarks. His family later moved to Chadwick, Mo. In 1918, 16-year-old Brown lied about his age to join the Navy and was soon on the gun crew on the battleship USS New Hampshire. "All the young men were going in the service. They were making the headlines, the boys that enlisted," Brown told The (Baltimore) Sun in a 2005 interview. "And all the girls liked someone in uniform."
Brown finished his tour of duty in 1919, took a break for a couple of years, then re-enlisted. He learned to play the cello at a musicians school in Norfolk, Va., and was assigned to an admiral's 10-piece chamber orchestra aboard the USS Seattle.
When Brown ended his military career in 1925, he joined the Washington Fire Department's Engine Company 16, which served the White House and embassies. He had married twice, and had a son and daughter from one marriage and two daughters from the other.
Even after reaching 100, Brown remained independent, living alone in his Charlotte Hall bungalow and driving a golf cart around his neighborhood.
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/02/2007 07:13 ||
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#2
I am now old. As a kid of the sixties, I met quite a few WWI vets - various grandparents, folks to visit in nursing homes, and a few who volunteered at weekly boy scout meetings. Great folks all, hard to believe only a few left.
#3
My regards and condolences. I used to work as a Nurses Aide over 20 years ago in a VA hospital. I had the pleasure of the company of these men. There weren't many even around even then.
Along with their deaths will pass the knowledge and wisdom of their era.
It always saddens me when I hear about stories like these. Even sadder knowing that eventually we will begin seeing more stories like these for the folks who fought in World War II and Korea. Members of my own family living and deceased were vets of this era.
#4
As a child in the 50's I remember hearing about the deaths of the last surviving Civil War veterans. I didn't appreciate what that meant until much later as my grandfathers' generation, the doughboys of WWI, passed from the scene. The sad thing now is watching our WWII veterans fade away at the rate of 1,000 per day. May the Good Lord welcome them home.
#5
As a child, I too, remember the passing of the last Civil War Veteran. I believe he was a former Confederate Drummer Boy. Great memories that define our life...
#6
It's even more unfortunate that, in this day of inexpensive video, someone didn't sit down with Mr. Brown a few years back and record all his stories. We should be doing this with all the older vets so as to preserve their words and common wisdom for the future.
I think we're going to need it.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/02/2007 14:57 Comments ||
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#7
My late father used to tell me about the spit & whittle club at Purcell's store. They'd sit out on the porch and chat hours on end and tell stories to the young lads of the village. Some were Civil War vets, and a few from the Spanish American War. It was the 1920's and the oil boom was on. Dad told of a Dr. Alan Brooks fresh out of medical school in NY, who got off the train while enroute to the great west. He liked the town so well forgot about Wyoming, and stayed on to start a medical practice on a lot behind the store. Doc Brooks took time off to volunteer as a surgeon for England in the Great War. He was discharged from the US Army and returned to Southern Illinois to practice medicine until his death in 1950. Patriots all, and none forgotten.
#9
My Great Grandpa was one last surviving Civil War vets. Both my Great Great on my mother and my father's side were flag-bearers (ie: too young to carry a gun) My mom used to watch him ride his horse every year in the parade.
He wasn't one of the last to die - there were other's after him, but he was one of the last to appear in the local parades.
#1
...The people at TIGHAR have done some incredible stuff, especially the wonderfully named Operation Sepulchure (more at their website). Myself, I think they've made their case, but they want incontrovertible evidence before they say, "this is what happened."
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
04/02/2007 8:35 Comments ||
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#2
She's DEAD, Jim!
Posted by: Natural Law ||
04/02/2007 11:10 Comments ||
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#5
Many older citizens of the Northern Marianas continue to insist that Earhart = a white female pilot was taken to SAIPAN where she either died in prison of natural causes, or as some claim was executed by Japanese authorities during WW2. The Japanese knew Amer planes + subs, etc. were watching TRUK and other major bases in Japanese-held Micronesia, or in the altern hired ordinary civilians + mercantilists to spy = describe their visits to the areas where Japan's bases were located. Unlike Truk, etc. where foreign diplos routinely demanded visitations in order to ensure Japanese compliance wid League of Nation mandates, international arms or naval treatises, and visual affirmation of Japanese treatment of local natives, etal. Japan allowed no caucasian or international foreigners or diplomats to visit Saipan save by sudden emergency or tightly-controlled/watched, airfield-only short transits -iff Japan's intention was truly to withhold their rescue = capture of Earhart, it made sense for them to send her to Saipan than keep her at Truk or other islands where risk of discovery was higher. Worse coming to worse, wid the Saipan option Japan could always blame American authorities-units based on Guam for anything detrimental to do wid Earhart. Hawaii, including Midway + Wake islands, + Philipines were too far away to blame America in case of discovery.
HONIARA, Solomon Islands (AP) - A powerful earthquake struck in the South Pacific Monday off the Solomon Islands, triggering a tsunami several yards high that destroyed a village and left at least four people missing, officials and residents said.
Judith Kennedy, a resident of the western town of Gizo, said water ``right up to your head'' swept through the town. ``All the houses near the sea were flattened,'' she told The Associated Press by telephone. ``The downtown area is a very big mess from the tsunami and the earthquake,'' she added. ``A lot of houses have collapsed. The whole town is still shaking'' from aftershocks.
Harry Wickham, who owns a waterfront hotel in the town, said the damage was widespread. ``The waves came up probably about 10 feet and swept through town,'' he told Australia's Nine Network television by telephone. ``There's a lot of water damage and a lot of debris floating around,'' he added. ``Ten feet of water washing through town - you can imagine what damage it has done here.''
The magnitude-8.0 quake triggered tsunami warnings throughout the South Pacific and as far north as Hawaii, though officials canceled the alert after the danger period passed.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/02/2007 00:00 ||
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As usual with this type of article, you have to read closely between the lines.
After initial support for the initiative, the Utrecht police have now said that they are against plans to set up a civilian neighbourhood patrol in the area of Ondiep. Residents had proposed a neighbourhood patrol after riots several weeks ago. The police announced their opposition to the plan at a residents' meeting last night, saying that monitoring order is a job for the police.
The neighbourhood meetings were called to discuss the problems that broke out in the area two weeks ago when a police officer shot and killed a resident.
To refresh your memories, a bunch of Turk thugs were hassling a pregnant Dutch woman, her Dutch neighbor came out and accosted the thugs, a (rumored to be Turk or Moroccan) woman police oficer arrived and shot the Dutchman dead.
The residents also discussed a number of other matters with neighbourhood alderwoman Rinda den Besten. One woman complained that surveillance cameras put up shortly after riots began have now been taken down. "The cameras made me feel safer." The spokesperson for the police said that the authorities had received complaints that neighbourhood residents felt unsafe because of the cameras. A number of residents took the opportunity to vent their anger at the fact that the problems in Ondiep have been dealt with so ineffectively over the past years. Some said they felt let down. And some said they were angry that a shooting had to take place before anything was done.
And even after the shooting, nothing will be done:
The police are going to open a hotline that residents can phone Thursdays through Sundays between the hours of 7 p.m. and midnight if they feel unsafe. The police will be on the site within 30 minutes, they say.
#2
"...phone Thursdays through Sundays between the hours of 7 p.m. and midnight if they feel unsafe. The police will be on the site within 30 minutes,..."
How droll. Do rioters in Holland book reservations only for week ends? Are the streets only open on week ends.
Sometimes I think that the only hope for Europe is to sell the whole place to Universal or Disney to run as a theme park.
#5
I expect there will be "civilian patrols" in short order. But they will be the new "Dutch" version of the Prevention of Vice and Promotion of Virtue so beloved by socialists and feminists the world over.
Although the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has made up its mind on selecting a local coach to replace the deceased Bob Woolmer at the helm, there are moves to hire a baseball coach from the USA to improve the teams terrible fielding.
Making the announcement on Sunday, the PCB chairman Nasim Ashraf said:The fielding coach will be not for three months or four months, we would hire him for at least one year.
On the issue of replacing Bob Woolmer, Ashraf said the PCB will not select a foreign coach and some one from within Pakistan will be approached to take over as coach.
With five months to go before their next international assignment - the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa - Ashraf insists that there is plenty of time to make the decision, but says they will look for a local coach.
In all probability we will certainly now look for a Pakistani coach, but it will take some time to find a suitable man, Ashraf said.
As for a replacement skipper for the newly retired Inzamam ul-Haq, he said: We don't want to make a hasty decision, we will name the captain and vice-captain within 30 days.
With public sentiment firmly against the players after their disastrous early exit from the World Cup, Ashraf appealed for calm.
It's not the time to panic and overreact, he said. I know people are angry and disgusted with the performance of the national team, but let me assure you that cricket is not going to die down in this country of 160 million.
Only cricket coaches die down.
Posted by: John Frum ||
04/02/2007 17:34 ||
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Behind the county hospital's tall cinderblock walls, a 27-year-old tuberculosis patient sits in a jail cell equipped with a ventilation system that keeps germs from escaping.
Robert Daniels has been locked up indefinitely, perhaps for the rest of his life, since last July. But he has not been charged with a crime. Instead, he suffers from an extensively drug-resistant strain of tuberculosis, or XDR-TB. It is considered virtually untreatable.
County health authorities obtained a court order to lock him up as a danger to the public because he failed to take precautions to avoid infecting others. Specifically, he said he did not heed doctors' instructions to wear a mask in public.
"I'm being treated worse than an inmate," Daniels said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press last month. "I'm all alone. Four walls. Even the door to my room has been locked. I haven't seen my reflection in months."
Though Daniels' confinement is extremely rare, health experts say it is a situation that U.S. public health officials may have to confront more and more because of the spread of drug-resistant TB and the emergence of diseases such as SARS and avian flu in this increasingly interconnected world.
#4
I can't fathom how any health official would let loose someone who has an airborne disease that is near 100% fatal. How many people does a guy like Daniels sentence to a horrible death if he goes to a basketball game or rides the subway?
Posted by: ed ||
04/02/2007 21:16 Comments ||
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I know what youre thinking. Did she fire six shots or only five? Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement I kind of lost track myself. But being as this is a .357 Magnum, the most powerful shell-ejecting revolver in the world, and would blow your head clean off while spewing hot casings all over the place, youve got to ask yourself a question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?
Posted by: Mike ||
04/02/2007 17:17 ||
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#1
Oh, God, that's pathetic.
Then again, that's typical of journalists: they know how to write, and how to interview subjects and compose a story, but they don't know diddlysquat about any of the subjects they cover.
I run into this again and again as an engineer as I watch journalists-- especially the tubular variety-- try to get their tiny, ignorant little minds around technical issues. Energy usage in "kilowatts per hour". A Space Shuttle breaking up "at an altitude of 200,000 miles, at the top of the Earth's atmosphere" while it is travelling at "twenty times the speed of light", that kind of shit.
So one of these ignorant dinks confusing a revolver with an automatic is hardly surprising.
Neither is their devotion to liberalism.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
04/02/2007 18:21 Comments ||
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#2
Maybe it's one of those METRIC revolvers. They sometimes do weird things when you shoot them.
#3
over on Rott they talked to her it wasn't her , her editor made the mistake, she was talking about a .22 at first then the .357 and the idiot editor combined the two.
#4
In the comments, they ripped this reporter a new one for the shell casing screwup. That said, it was at least a semi-positive article which is progress for the People's Republic of Cal. What she should have done was linked to Clayton Cramer's Civilian Self-Defense Blog. Hell, read that for a week and you'll be going out and buying guns for every room.
Posted by: Mac ||
04/02/2007 18:36 Comments ||
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#5
The other option is that the revolver was loaded with a single round and the dramatic shooter emptied the cylinder after taking the shot.
#7
No, not as far as I could see going quickly through their website.
The .357 Mag cartridge is a rimmed cartridge that doesn't lend itself very readily to use in an autoloading firearm. I suppose it would be possible to design an automatic around that cartridge, but I don't know anyone who offers such a gun. The .357 Mag, AFAIK, is exclusively a revolver round.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
04/02/2007 19:14 Comments ||
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#8
There are others I'm sure but here is one .357 magnum full auto:
Posted by: Ulimble Protector of the Pixies7480 ||
04/02/2007 19:52 Comments ||
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#9
S&W makes some really good .357 SIG chambered autos. The round is very similar in performance to the .357 Magnum but rimless. Personally, I think you are better off shooting the .40S&W. It has similar performance but 1/3 less cost than the .357 Magnum or .357 SIG rounds. Use the extra rounds to get more proficient.
Posted by: ed ||
04/02/2007 20:46 Comments ||
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#10
Desert Eagle... I'd forgot about them. I stand corrected.
"Dozens of people turned out Friday for a rally in support of D.C.'s ban on handguns. The event at the Wilson Building was sponsored by the advocacy group Peaceoholics to draw attention to a recent U.S. Court of Appeals ruling easing the ban...."
Not necessary to read further; the first three words tell the whole story. Dozens of people. Dozens!!
Posted by: Dave D. ||
04/02/2007 22:08 Comments ||
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I tried this with some 1 3/4" steel flex cable last night. Had a little trouble getting it through the trap so I forced it.
The best part was that my steel cable is military grade surplus from Lawrence Livermore Labs and it was FREE! The downside, it's a little 'HOT'---> 1,400 curies , 450 rems per hour @ 1 meter.
Couldn't get wireless tho but I managed to snag a free, high speed T-1 connection instead.
first thing downloaded was the.. Democrat "national security plan"
;-) h/t JAWA
Posted by: Red Dog ||
04/02/2007 2:52 Comments ||
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#3
very funny. I'm sure it is still April 1st somewhere in the world.
#4
I'm still tired from a hectic hour on zombo.com last night, Downloading registration-free copies of Vista and Microsoft Office 2007. I barely got them both before the hour was up.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
A bungling armed robber shot his female accomplice as they held up a restaurant in the Dandenong Ranges east of Melbourne overnight. The couple waited until after the last customers had left the Cuckoo restaurant, in Olinda, before confronting a staff member by his car in the restaurant's car park . The pair demanded the staff member hand over a black plastic bag, which it is thought they believed contained the restaurant's takings. However, the bag actually held left-over bread rolls, which the staff member was planning to feed to his chickens.
HONIARA, Solomon Islands (AP) - A powerful earthquake struck in the South Pacific Monday off the Solomon Islands, triggering a tsunami several yards high that destroyed a village and left at least four people missing, officials and residents said.
