A competition held to pay tribute to "generously proportioned" women is going from strength to strength in Burkina Faso. A student weighing 113kg is the lastest winner of Miss Pog Bedre (Large Lady). "I am not at all worried about my size," Amelie Sorgho told the BBC. [snip]
Contrary to the western obsession with tall and thin beauty icons, many men in Africa find fat women attractive. "Thin women are for whites," said Issa, a 47-year-old electrician. "In Africa, if a woman is large, it means her husband is looking after her."
Alain, a student, says he is prefers thinner women. "If I had a large girlfriend, she might break my motor scooter."
The BBC's Mathieu Bonkoungou in Ouagadougou says just like in Miss World, the Miss Pog contestants speak about their belief in worthy causes, such as educating girls, helping those who have suffered domestic violence and fighting Aids, prostitution and divorce. The jury voted for Miss Sorgho after the conestants had paraded in a variety of costumes, including African dresses. The only difference to Miss World is there is no swimwear section. They do wear costumes which show off their curves but little flesh is revealed. Miss Sorgho said she wanted to use her time as Miss Pog to lead a campaign to educate people - men and women - on the dangers of using skin-lightening creams.
I couldn't call it "Russian Roulette" so I made up my own term.
A man has been charged with involuntary manslaughter for fatally shooting his friend through a protective vest on an apparent dare, police said. Alexander Joseph Swandic, 20, died of a gunshot wound to the heart Monday after donning a protective vest and asking David John Hueth, 30, to shoot him, police said. Hueth initially told police that Swandic's wound was self-inflicted, but later admitted to the shooting. The two had apparently tested the vest by propping it against a dirt bank and shooting it twice, police said. Just in time for Christmas--"He's propping a vest, shooting it twice, gonna find out who's gonna be iced."
Police said the vest was designed to protect against grenade fragments, not bullets. Swandic was pronounced dead at a local hospital following the shooting. Hueth faces a preliminary hearing on Dec. 27. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison. "Too bad we wuz fresh outta grenades. Alex'd still be with us."
Posted by: Dar ||
12/15/2004 3:38:25 PM ||
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"Bush blamed for not providing proper body armor, news at 11."
Posted by: Steve ||
12/15/2004 15:42 Comments ||
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Some folks like to take their time on the can. Not Paul Stender. When the 43-year-old former pit mechanic feels the need for speed, he straps himself into his jet-engine-equipped toilet and roars off, trailing flame. Stender was running superfast snowmobiles on the drag-racing circuit when he saw his first jet-driven funny car. He liked it so much he bought one, and started building his own outlandishly overpowered vehicles: a jet motorcycle, a jet pickup, a jet school bus. Then one day at a show in Texas, he saw a windstorm blow portable toilets across the tarmac, and it was Newton's apple all over again.
Powered by a 50-year-old, 750-pound Boeing jet turbine that Stender bought for $5,000, the "Port-O-Jet" can top 46 mph with a tailwind. "It's not real aerodynamic," he allows. That said, he's beaten buddy Tim Arfons's jet barstool two of the four times they've raced.On Stender's blackboard is a jet-powered beer truck with a 24,000-horsepower F-16 engine. His advice to wannabe jet-engine hobbyists: Be careful. "So many things can go wrong," he says. "You suck in a piece of garbage, it's going to explode—and you're going to go with it."
Posted by: Steve ||
12/15/2004 10:43:12 AM ||
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#1
Does jet toilet have an ejection seat? That could be fun...
#4
They aren't real Buffalo Chicken Wings unless you make them like they do at Frank&Theresa's Anchor Bar in Buffalo, NY: jointed, deep-fried wings tossed in Frank's Louisiana Red Hot [cayenne pepper] Sauce and a little Tabasco for extra heat. Of course, if you have flying buffalos in your part of the world, Raj, I withdraw my objections of course!
An unusually smooth and swiftly growing lava dome within the crater of Washington state's Mount St. Helens volcano is an extraordinary and perplexing event with an unknown outcome, geologists said Tuesday.
I'll take eruption for $500, Alex
The dome has been building at a steady clip for about two months now as molten rock boils up from deep below.
Imagine Barry Bond's head on steroids
While no major eruptions are expected in the near term, the dome's construction can be likened to a runaway freight train in terms of the steady forces involved, scientists said. "There's a truckload of hot rock coming out of the mountain every second," said Dan Dzurisin of the U.S. Geological Survey. "We're scratching our heads about it."
Uh, Dan? That's what volcanos do before they go boom.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/15/2004 1:36:15 PM ||
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Take cover, eggheads, me thinks Miss Helens is gonna let fly once more.
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
12/15/2004 13:48 Comments ||
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"There's a truckload of hot rock coming out of the mountain every second," said Dan Dzurisin of the U.S. Geological Survey. "We're scratching our heads about it."
They got a spot open for this genius over at the UN? Maybe he could be a Weapons Inspector.
#3
We know how to prevent An Earth-shattering Kaboom. The only problem is finding the virgin grad students to "go collect some samples".
Posted by: N Guard ||
12/15/2004 14:02 Comments ||
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I majored in Geology in college, but never used my degree in that field.
Seems to me Dan Dzurisin isn't using his either.
However, despite my never using that knowledge for the past 35 years, I do remember some things, and one of those things is that a growing lava dome is caused by lava rising to the surface.
Here's a clue, Danny-boy: Expect an eruption. If you're very lucky, you'll get the Hawaiian kind instead of the Mount Pinatubo (or Mt. St. Helens) kind. But I wouldn't depend on it.
The worst possible thing that could happen is for the lava dome to rise but not erupt (or flow out), cooling in place. That would plug the natural vents for the magma below. The magma might subside now, but it will eventually rise again, and put so much pressure on the mountain that it will either blow out somewhere else or blow the plug off the top.
I'll be glad I live on the East Coast if/when that occurs.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
12/15/2004 14:07 Comments ||
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#5
I wonder if there's any way we could convince the moonbats its all a Bush-Halliburton plot and get them to start protesting on top of the thing.
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
12/15/2004 15:03 Comments ||
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#6
I have a good friend who's a retired vulcanologist for the USGS. He studied Mt. St. Helens after the earlier eruption. His comment to me: Don't move anywhere within 500 miles of the place, it's going to be the next Mt. Mazama. If you don't know what that means, do a Google search, then check out Crater Lake National Park. He also predicted that Mt. Hood and Mt. Rainier, as well as a couple of other peaks, could "go active" in the next 50-75 years. Not a good time to buy Oregon or Washington real estate...
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/15/2004 15:21 Comments ||
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#7
I majored in Geology as well but never used it. Trend? Anyway it will not be a Hawaiian style eruption. In Hawaii the basaltic magma is not rich enough in water to be explosive so it just oozes out. The andesitic magma in the Cascade Range is. I agree the volcanoes are not extinct just dormant. Mt. Ranier is the big kahuna. Here's a webcam site for Mt. St Helens
#8
tu: I suspect the reporter didn't understand what was puzzling the geologists, so he left that part out. A clue might be the "unusually smooth" part of the article. Maybe they were expecting more earthquakes?
Posted by: James ||
12/15/2004 16:10 Comments ||
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#9
Warthog - Trend? Looks like it. I barely used my geology degree. Now I sit in a cube farm in a computer company.
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
12/15/2004 16:31 Comments ||
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I think James is right. MSH type volcanos normally have sticky lumpy magma with explosive eruptions. The smooth dome may indicate an imminent non-viscous lava flow, i.e. non-explosive..
This is just a newsflash.
David Blunkett has quit as home secretary following a string of newspaper claims that he fast-tracked a visa for his ex-lover's nanny. Mr Blunkett denies the claims but has faced increasing pressure in recent days from members of his own party. His position became more uncertain after he criticised a string of Cabinet colleagues in a new biography. The BBC's Mark Mardell said the withdrawal of support by Labour colleagues delivered the final blow.
#1
at least he wont get to see the glee in the eyes of the usual snakes in our government .
Wonder if Tony will put Gordon Brown in the newly available position .... or some other inept fool ..
#2
Isn't Blunkett the main mover behind the "hate" speech laws that are plaguing Britain now, and making any one who disses Allan and the Koranimals a criminal?
I think Mr. Bean had a word or two on the subject.
#4
Blunkett is an arrogant SOB, but I don't think you can rightly call him a snob. An old school class warrior with authoritarianism in his blood. That's where the passion for unnecessary ID cards and Big Brother hate speech / thought control laws came from. I'm glad he's gone but his likely successor, Charles Clarke, doesn't inspire confidence.
United Nations peacekeepers in Haiti have launched an operation to take control of one of the most violent slums in the capital, Port-au-Prince. Hundreds of troops moved into the Cite Soleil district by land, sea and air. The UN says they will stay for at least two months before handing control to local police.
After which it will return to being a violent slum.
Cite Soleil is a stronghold of the former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's supporters, and often witnesses factional violence. Dozens of people are said to have been killed since fighting increased in early September in the area, home to 500,000 people. Haiti's interim government has criticised UN forces for failing to do enough to stop the anarchy.
A UN spokesman said peacekeepers would now establish a permanent presence in the troubled quarter. Brazilian, Chilean and Sri Lankan troops took part in the operation, backed by the Chilean air force, as well as Chinese and Jordanian riot police, he said.
Have the Chinese driven a tank over anyone yet?
"This operation will create an environment in which Cite Soleil can open again to humanitarian action," he said. Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, is still in turmoil after Mr Aristide was ousted in February.
Yeah, it was heaven on earth when Aristide was still in power.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/15/2004 9:13:36 AM ||
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Oopa, sorry, wrong quagmire.
LOL!
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/15/2004 12:00 Comments ||
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Wonder if they called it "Operation Prostitute"? ;)
#3
Haiti's interim government has criticised UN forces for failing to do enough to stop the anarchy.
Yeah, we'd do it ourselves, but we're too busy setting up our secret bank accounts and sucking the last dime out of what's left of the economy.
Haiti's the Palestinian Authority of the Western Hemisphere.
Posted by: Dar ||
12/15/2004 15:57 ||
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That's fascinating. Some how I expect the government of Russia to object to the jurisdiction of the U. S. Bankruptcy Court. Also, based on direct experience, I would say the Bankruptcy Court is the most corrupt court in the Federal judiciary. Yukos must think they've bought themselves an oil judge. And they may be right.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
12/15/2004 16:09 Comments ||
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#2
It's meaningless. Yukos is finished. Majority govt-owned Gazprom is Putin's vehicle for pushing a geopolitical strategy based on energy exports, and Gazprom will swallow up Yukos' assets. Now's a good time to sell any Russian holdings.
#3
Investment Banker Chris Weafer's one of the shrewdest analysts in Moscow. His take on what's happening: http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2004/12/15/006.html
#4
It's meaningless. Yukos is finished. Their assets are effectively being nationalized and will form part of the majority government-owned energy behemoth, Gazprom. Chris Weafer of Alfa Bank, one of the best analysts on the scene in Moscow, correctly describes Gazprom as a crucial lever in Putin's global strategy:
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2004/12/15/006.html
#5
It's meaningless. Yukos is finished. Their assets are effectively being nationalized and will form part of the majority government-owned energy behemoth, Gazprom. Chris Weafer of Alfa Bank, one of the best analysts on the scene in Moscow, correctly describes Gazprom as a crucial lever in Putin's global strategy:
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2004/12/15/006.html
#6
It's meaningless. Yukos is finished. Their assets are effectively being nationalized and will form part of the majority government-owned energy behemoth, Gazprom. Chris Weafer of Alfa Bank, one of the best analysts on the scene in Moscow, correctly describes Gazprom as a crucial lever in Putin's global strategy:
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2004/12/15/006.html
#7
It's meaningless. Yukos is finished. Their assets are effectively being nationalized and will form part of the majority government-owned energy behemoth, Gazprom. Chris Weafer of Alfa Bank, one of the best analysts on the scene in Moscow, correctly describes Gazprom as a crucial lever in Putin's global strategy:
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2004/12/15/006.html
#8
It's meaningless. Yukos is finished. Their assets are effectively being nationalized and will form part of the majority government-owned energy behemoth, Gazprom. Chris Weafer of Alfa Bank, one of the best analysts on the scene in Moscow, correctly describes Gazprom as a crucial lever in Putin's global strategy:
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2004/12/15/006.html
#9
It's meaningless. Yukos is finished. Their assets are effectively being nationalized and will form part of the majority government-owned energy behemoth, Gazprom. Chris Weafer of Alfa Bank, one of the best analysts on the scene in Moscow, correctly describes Gazprom as a crucial lever in Putin's global strategy:
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2004/12/15/006.html
#10
It's meaningless. Yukos is finished. Their assets are effectively being nationalized and will form part of the majority government-owned energy behemoth, Gazprom. Chris Weafer of Alfa Bank, one of the best analysts on the scene in Moscow, correctly describes Gazprom as a crucial lever in Putin's global strategy:
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2004/12/15/006.html
#11
It's meaningless. Yukos is finished. Their assets are effectively being nationalized and will form part of the majority government-owned energy behemoth, Gazprom. Chris Weafer of Alfa Bank, one of the best analysts on the scene in Moscow, correctly describes Gazprom as a crucial lever in Putin's global strategy:
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2004/12/15/006.html
#12
It's meaningless. Yukos is finished. Their assets are effectively being nationalized and will form part of the majority government-owned energy behemoth, Gazprom. Chris Weafer of Alfa Bank, one of the best analysts on the scene in Moscow, correctly describes Gazprom as a crucial lever in Putin's global strategy:
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2004/12/15/006.html
#13
It's meaningless. Yukos is finished. Their assets are effectively being nationalized and will form part of the majority government-owned energy behemoth, Gazprom. Chris Weafer of Alfa Bank, one of the best analysts on the scene in Moscow, correctly describes Gazprom as a crucial lever in Putin's global strategy:
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2004/12/15/006.html
Great grandstanding by politicians with neither accountability nor responsibility
The European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Wednesday in Strasbourg of France, urging the European Union (EU) to start accession negotiations with Turkey "without undue delay." The non-binding resolution, passed by 407 votes in favor, 262 against and 29 abstentions in a secret ballot, said Turkey has made impressive progress in respecting the political criteria, enough for negotiations on EU membership to start. Nevertheless, the EP acknowledged that problems continue to exist, such as regarding minority rights, religious freedoms, trade union rights, women's rights, the role of the army, Cyprus and the relations with Armenia.
 On the same day, addressing the EP European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso made the similar call. "It is now time for the European Council to honor its commitment to Turkey and announce the opening of accession negotiations. A clear date should be indicated," he said. "We accept that the accession process is open-ended and its outcome cannot be guaranteed beforehand," Barroso added. The upcoming EU summit, or the European Council in the EU's jargon, to be held in Brussels on Thursday and Friday, is expectedto make a decision on whether to open the talks and set the date. Turkey's intention to join the EU dated back to 1963, and it was not until 1999 that Turkey finally sealed the candidacy for the EU membership. However, due to considerable political, economic and cultural gap with the EU, Turkey has faced an uphill battle for starting the accession talks, a decisive step before joining the 25-member bloc. In October this year, the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, submitted a proposal to start the accession talks with Turkey, but it did not notify a date for opening the talks. Xinhua cheesecake: Kylie Minogue pops up for Christmas
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
12/15/2004 6:14:50 PM ||
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Yesterday, France suggested Turkey should apologize for the Armenian Genocide prior to gaining EU membership (might have been an empty threat, maybe a bargaining position, maybe serious - Today, Turkey answered)
-------------------------
December 15, 2004
Turkey will not apologise for Armenian genocide
By Anthony Browne, Brussels Correspondent
TURKEY has reacted angrily to a demand by France that it accept responsibility for a "genocide" against Armenians nearly 80 years ago, which is thought to have influenced the Nazi Holocaust [the theory here is that the Germans realized that if the Turks could get away with it the Germans could to] ....
Historians believe that Turkish authorities orchestrated the killing of 1.5 million Armenian Christians, who were indigenous inhabitants of Turkey, in a brutal attempt to make an ethnically pure nation....
However, a Turkish government spokesman said: "There was no such genocide, so there is no question of recognising a genocide that did not happen."
#3
I had a boss once, actually a pretty good guy who was Turkish ancestry. He maintained that the 1.5 million people died as a result of 'uncoordinated massacres'. Seemed to me a pretty thin distinction but obviously it meant a lot to him.
The Rantburg School of Engineering is now open, EFL:
The stunningly beautiful Millau Viaduct, opened by President Jacques Chirac yesterday, is a bridge to the future. Built in only three years, using construction and design techniques and materials which did not exist a decade ago, it is the highest and the heaviest bridge ever built. Seen from a distance, and even from the foot of one of its colossal split, curving piers, it has a deceptive fragility.
It's a beautiful bridge, the BASE jumpers must be drooling at the thought.
The bridge, in the southern Massif Central, designed by the British architect Lord Foster, and constructed by French engineers, has pioneered techniques which will open the way to even bigger structures. The first may be a span across the straits of Messina from Calabria in southern Italy to Sicily. Lord Foster and French engineers believe the Millau Viaduct - 2.4 km long (1.5 miles) and 270m (885 ft) above the river Tarn at its highest point, and several metres taller than the Eiffel Tower - will mark the beginning of a new era in mankind's 2,000-year-old love affair with bridge building. In the Millau Viaduct, computer-design methods, global satellite positioning and high-tech steels and concretes have come together with an aesthetic overall plan conceived by an architect, not an engineer. The result is a bridge of enormous beauty, built in record time, for a relatively cheap â¬400m (£275m), entirely financed by private investment, which will be refunded by tolls over 75 years.
"Higher, heavier, faster, cheap, pioneering techniques", I think I'll avoid getting anywhere near this bridge.
The gently curving deck of the bridge - on which the four-lane road rests - has been constructed from a new high grade of steel, rather than the more usual concrete. The French construction company Eiffage devised a method for pre-constructing the 32m-wide road-deck in 2,000 pieces at its factory in Alsace. They were welded together on the hills on either side of the valley and then shoved out like giant planks over the abyss, 60cms at a time. Satellite positioning technology was used to ensure the curving road connected correctly.
Let's hope they did a better job than they did on the Paris airport.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/15/2004 12:41:21 PM ||
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Well, I guess it's okay... as long as they didn't use any nuclear technology.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
12/15/2004 14:56 Comments ||
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Jackal
I presume they designed resonance dampers in; however, swaying may reduce the fatigue life of some of the bridge members.
Even though the article says it was a privately financed project, you can bet the farm there are govt subsidies of various kinds. This is, after all, France.
A woman translator, 43, tried to sell to China the manuals for electronics that control all the weapons aboard Germany's crack new Type 212A submarines, a court heard on Wednesday. She was caught when a Canadian counter-espionage agent posed as a Chinese buyer and met her in a bar. Because the official secrets will be presented at the trial, the public was excluded from the courtroom in the western city of Koblenz after charges were read. Michaela T., who was born in Germany but has been a naturalised US citizen since 1983, has been in custody since she was arrested while visiting her German parents in September. Her full name has been withheld in line with German journalistic ethics guidelines. The trial is expected to hear how the German manufacturers of the sophisticated weaponry, hoping for export sales, saw no risk in hiring a freelance translator living in Canada to work up an English version of the operating instructions.
Somebody go hit them aside the head with a cluebat, please?
T. has been indicted for attempted treason in October 2003. Prosecutors say she telephoned the Chinese embassy in Ottawa, offering to sell the documents, but the Canadian authorities were aware of the approach.
Got the embassies phones bugged, do you?
The undercover agent, pretending to be Chinese, made contact and met her on two separate occasions.
Exactly how does a Canadian secret agent pretend to be Chinese? Does he tape back the corners of his eyes like those old "Charlie Chan" movies?
Senior prosecutor Wolf-Dieter Dietrich told the state superior court she had been willing to compromise Germany's external security for the sake of money. He told the court she had been short of money and had got into an argument with her German client over fees. After the call to the embassy, the undercover man met her in a bar in Canada and she agreed to sell him the manuals for CAD 105,000 (EUR 64,000), the indictment said.
Bad girl, go directly to jail.
The torpedo-armed 212A, designed by shipyard HDW, is the world's first series submarine with a fuel-cell propulsion system, said to have all the benefits of nuclear power with none of the disadvantages. It enables the vessel to operate submerged for several weeks at a time, with no noise or heat from exhaust fumes that could give it away to sub-hunters.
Plus no reactor cooling pumps, wonder if this is the type the Israelies are going to purchase?
Posted by: Steve ||
12/15/2004 11:31:38 AM ||
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Article: It enables the vessel to operate submerged for several weeks at a time, with no noise or heat from exhaust fumes that could give it away to sub-hunters.
Nuclear subs can stay submerged until they need to come up for food.
#2
fuel-cell propulsion system, said to have all the benefits of nuclear power with none of the disadvantages A laughable claim. Fuel cells are just better batteries.
#3
Phil, they are using the fuel-cell to charge the batteries, details on the 212 here:The outstanding feature of this new type of submarine is its air-independent propulsion system using a silent hydrogen/oxygen fuel cell system which not only makes the submarine more difficult to detect, but also increases the time it can stay submerged. The class 212 submarine is the first in the world to be equipped with this rovolutionary propulsion system. Its performance has already been successfully tested on a German Navy submarine.
Its hybrid diesel-electric and air-independent fuel-cell propulsion system will meet the vital requirement for low detectability. A noiseless propeller will be driven by a low-noise, high-performance, permanent-magnet motor. The reactants for the fuel cell (hydrogen and oxygen) will be stored in the after part of the boat between the pressure hull and an outer, free-flooding hull. The low-detection-probability requirement will be met also by reducing the boat's acoustic, magnetic, radar, and visual signatures and by minimizing the sonar target strength (against active detection) and sonar target level (against passive detection). The pressure hull, made of high-strength nonmagnetic steel, is optimized for hydrodynamic properties and maneuverability.
A submarine that uses fuel cells rather than a diesel engine to recharge its batteries produces much less sound while doing so, and consequently the effective detection range of many of the current passive acoustic sonobuoys is reduced.
The drive system is appropriate for speed and continuous operations without snorkel times. The gas cell makes possible submerged operations of up to one month, without the necessity once to snorkels. The boat form is very hydrodynamically clean, which suggests a high speed (> 20kn). Using the X-helm for the first time for the German navy also improves the agility of the new submarine. New stainless and a-magnetic steel for the pressure hull could make over approximately 300m for submerged depths possible.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/15/2004 16:02 Comments ||
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#4
I bet it won't go over 20 kt submerged for more than 24 hours. That submerged for a mounth deal is for station keeping speed, say 3 kts. If you see 'em without the diesel, then you may have something. Still a dang good submarine tho.
#1
If I knew where to find the hard detail underlying this article, I'd do a set of maps - as I fully expected him to do by the end. Sheesh. It does report what we would logically expect to find in red / blue states in regards to white voting patterns. The on factoid he tossed out that actually surprised me was this: "Whites remain the 800-pound gorilla of ethnic electoral groups, accounting for over three out of every four votes."
Majority, yes, 75%, no - I didn't expect it to be that high.
#2
Difference in turnout rates, esp vs hispanics, but also age. The white demographic is much older than the hispanic and afr-american ones. And the great "youth vote" never materializes.
I generally agree with Kistrol's positions but, given his affinity for General McCain, it was only a matter of time for him to pile on.
You might know he published his commentary in the Washington Post.
Actually, we have a pretty terrific Army. It's performed a lot better in this war than the secretary of defense has.
President Bush has nonetheless decided to stick for now with the defense secretary we have, perhaps because he doesn't want to make a change until after the Jan. 30 Iraqi elections. But surely Don Rumsfeld is not the defense secretary Bush should want to have for the remainder of his second term.
Contrast the magnificent performance of our soldiers with the arrogant buck-passing of Rumsfeld. Begin with the rest of his answer to Spec. Thomas Wilson of the Tennessee Army National Guard:
"Since the Iraq conflict began, the Army has been pressing ahead to produce the armor necessary at a rate that they believe -- it's a greatly expanded rate from what existed previously, but a rate that they believe is the rate that is all that can be accomplished at this moment. I can assure you that General Schoomaker and the leadership in the Army and certainly General Whitcomb are sensitive to the fact that not every vehicle has the degree of armor that would be desirable for it to have, but that they're working at it at a good clip."
So the Army is in charge. "They" are working at it. Rumsfeld? He happens to hang out in the same building: "I've talked a great deal about this with a team of people who've been working on it hard at the Pentagon. . . . And that is what the Army has been working on." Not "that is what we have been working on." Rather, "that is what the Army has been working on." The buck stops with the Army.
Anyone know Kistrol's military rank?
Posted by: Capt America ||
12/15/2004 12:50:20 AM ||
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CA,according to progressive radio talk show host Ed Shultz's list of prominent politican's military service, Bill Kristol did not serve.
#2
Who has any use for Kristol? For a pundit, he's insanely hung up on being a politician: embarassing at best. Too bad, since some of the staff at his magazine do interesting stuff.
#4
Someone else said we need Patton back to slap a bunch of civilians. I agree, but think poor Patton would probably break his hand slapping so many people with thick skulls.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
12/15/2004 9:22 Comments ||
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#5
Kristol's been in love with McCain for years....
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/15/2004 10:34 Comments ||
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#6
Simmer down, y'all. No one will ever accuse Rumsfeld of an excess of tact. Or respect for his co-workers. Or humility and a willingness to subordinate his ambitions to the needs and interests of his bosses (just ask Nixon and Ford).
The truth is that Rummy's record is a mixed bag: outstanding in some areas (the brilliant war plan executed last year), very good in others (the long overdue force restructuring-- not original but good for him for making it happen), and downright shitty in other areas too obvious to mention. So whether you think this precocious and arrogant pupil deserves a B+ or a B- or a C+, he certainly does not deserve an A. Fair-minded friends of the Bush admin are perfectly justified in criticizing his overall performance.
Who's more important, Rummy or the C-in-C?
Do you think Truman was wrong to rein in MacArthur?
Rummy's time and usefulness are nearing their end. It would be counter-productive to sack him now, but my bet is that Bush will let Rummy go quietly sometime late next year or in early '06 after the Iraqi government has been constituted.
#7
The truth is that Rummy's record is a mixed bag
And what about the record of Rummy's neocon advisors in the DOD? I'd say F when it comes to Iraq.
Don't kid yourself. Kristol is a political animal and he is not so much enamored with McCain as he is with his neocon friends. Kristol sees the writing on the WH walls. The Prez almost lost the election over Iraq. Someone is going to pay because the Boss is obviously and rightly PO'd. Kristol and his bureaucrat pals are positioning Rumsfeld to take the fall so they are not the ones to get the axe and lose their positions of influence in the WH.
Angash-Joker: Kristol doesn't work in the White House. He's never been part of Bush's circle, in fact has not held an executive branch or other government post in 12 years, and has little to no influence on the Bush admin.
#12
Kristol doesn't work in the White House. He's never been part of Bush's circle, in fact has not held an executive branch or other government post in 12 years, and has little to no influence on the Bush admin.
I never said Kristol worked in the WH or held a gov't post. Read before you lather and blather a response. Describing Kristol as a political animal does not mean I thought he ran for a political office. Get a dictionary.
Here's a head's up in case you have not heard this bit of info before, lex, William Kristol is editor of the Weekly Standard a rather important conservative publication. Kristol is a highly visible proponent of the neocon Wilsonian philosophy, which had as its centerpiece the idea that bringing democracy to countries in the ME starting with Iraq will bring about peace in the ME. Iraq has not been a ringing endorsement of the idea that all men/women want freedom and liberty, so rather than have the neocon philosophy discredited and have plans for future interventions in Syria and Iran go up in smoke the neocons need to find a fall guy for what's happening in Iraq. You can call my observation trollism, if it hurts your inner sensibilities to face the reality of political games within the GOP, but that's whats happening with the recent public dumping on Rumsfeld by high profile Republicans like McCain and Kristol. William F. Buckley Jr., founder of National Review, opposes the kind of "Wilsonian interventionism" advocated by leading neoconservatives. "The kind of Wilsonianism that Bill Kristol advocates, I think, is wrong [because] it over-stretches our power [and] takes insufficient account of the institutional requirements for genuine reform, to simply impose a constitution on Iraq or anybody else," Mr. Buckley recently told Human Events, a conservative weekly. "Philosophically, either [Mr. Buckley] was right that building an American world empire was against conservative principles, or Bill Kristol, Max Boot and Paul Johnson â with some National Review and Wall Street Journal support â were correct that a new American colonialism was required to bring peace and democracy to the world," Mr. Devine says. "Even President Bush had said: 'America has no empire to extend or utopia to establish' â but neoconservatives were still trying to push him there anyway."
http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20030520-102249-1923r.htm
#13
Your information's as lame as your logorrheic style. Kristol is not an insider in this admin. He's no more influential than Pat Buchanan or David Gergen.
W's camp consists of, in descending order of influence, 1) his long-time advisors he brought with him from Texas: Rove, Card, Hughes; 2) the national security team he assembled during the campaign in early 2000, centered on Condi and Wolfowitz; 3) the cabinet he assembled after the election; and 4) prominent academics and mideast experts such as Bernard Lewis, Fouad Ajami, Amir Taheri et al.
In none of these circles do you find ANY of the Weekly Standard editors or contributors. Kristol and Kagan and their ilk are peripheral figures who have never written a single speech, as far as I'm aware, or met with any white house official, let alone Bush, for this admin.
Please do run along now. Sarcastic 1,000 word regurgitations don't cut it on Rantburg.
#14
I hope the outrage keeps building. I can not understand how anyone is able to defend Donald "MacNamara" Rumsfeld, the Architect of Quagmire. His re-appointment makes me extremely pessimistic that the Bush Administration will ever make the kinds of strategic modifications that are needed to start making progress in the Iraq campaign.
Posted by: waiting for sanity in DC ||
12/15/2004 15:18 Comments ||
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#15
Waiting, Angash-
What should have been done differently in Iraq (please remember to consider how your suggestions for better alternatives may introduce additional problems that didn't happen because of the way he did it).
What strategic modifications do you suggest that Rummy would oppose?
#16
Again, Rumsfeld's record is mixed, as is every DefSec's, but on the most important issues-- restructuring and realigning our footprint, toppling Saddam's regime-- he's done a good job. There's no reason to ditch him hefore the Iraqis have a new government and that government has its sea legs. Once that occurs, then it may make sense to bring in someone who's more diplomatic and less of an ass-kicking SOB, someone who can continue to drive the restructuring process Rummy launched.
#17
"Waiting for Sanity" seems to be hyperventilating. In 18 months, me thinks, the quagmire he/she refers to will be primarily Iranian. Our esteemed ayatollah brethren will face two functioning, Islamic-populated, representative governments, one on either side; a empowered Shiite competitor and a restive population predominately under 35. Oh yeah, thereâs also Syria, the fading remnant and last rat-hole of Baathist fascism.
#18
Waiting, Angash-
What should have been done differently in Iraq
I never said anything should be done differently in Iraq. Don't you read before you post?
Here's what I am saying to make it easier for those who are abstract thinking challenged. GWB almost lost the election due to Iraq. GWB has an MBA for good reason-he possesses a businessman's mind. He delegates authority and he relies on info from managers in his corporation. Iraq was presented to him as an easy first domino country to embrace democracy in the ME. The main proponents of this theory were the neocon wing of the GOP. Iraqis have not embraced freedom and democracy as was forecast to GWB. So no doubt GWB is PO'd with the managers who sold him the bill of goods about Iraq. Someone's got to pay the consequences for the screw up.
And while it's true that Kristol is not a neocon working in the current Administration he is in the vanguard of the neocon approach to foreign policy and there are a number of neocons with influence in the Admin as well as in the GOP.
And it looks like Rumsfeld is going to be the sacrificial lamb. Whether anything would be different in Iraq whether Rumsfeld had 250,000 instead of 150,000 is questionable. Maybe Iraqis themselves are not good democracy material.But rather than allow GWB consider various reasons for the situation in Iraq that almost cost him the Oval Office, I think neocons like McCain and Kristol are doing the pre-emptive thing which is to dump the mess on Rumsfeld's shoulders and suggest that everything would be way different and wonderful in Iraq were it not for Rumsfeld's miscalculations, as opposed to the neocons miscalculations.
Do you get it now? It's called infighting within the GOP.
Your information's as lame as your logorrheic style. Kristol is not an insider in this admin
And you are thick. Consider thinking beyond your tired and old mantras and seeing the big picture for a change.
#19
Rather than being obsessed about what "almost lost the election", you should be concerned about your own survival in the WoT. Most anti-war folks that visit this site seem to imagine that their pristine mental scenarios of positive outcomes would happen, if only America would be more diplomatic with its allies. That is delusion. You have a poor understanding of motivations of various players in this world and of human nature generally, much worse than Rumsfeld's. Of course, with magical thinking, all you have to do is have strong communications skills, a greasy palm when it comes to Europe, and and all the bad people in the world will go away. Right?
I asked you in all seriousness what your alternative was to going to war in Iraq. You don't have one-you just want to throw flames. You need to learn how to argue without being insulting, and incidentally, when you argue, you need to offer AN ALTERNATIVE. You do not persuade.
#20
[bedtime story]
Once upon a now, there is a mighty team...
Bush is the Head Coach. He just got tipped for a 4 year no-cut contract by The Fans. The PEST / BDS sufferers are in a serious tizzy.
Rummy's the Offensive & Defensive Coordinator, a very full plate indeed, who serves solely at the pleasure of the HC. Right now he's designing and installing a new offensive scheme - the Pro Set.
The HC can shuffle staff in or out almost as he pleases - and has just done so, for example replaceing Tenet, the Chief Scout, with Goss. He could easily do the same with Rummy, if he bought into the armchair BS he gets in fan mail every day. Apparently he doesn't. I would like to see him get rid of the Bus Driver, Mineta, but he hasn't seen fit to agree. I'll survive it. He did ax the Publicist, Powell, and replaced him with Dr Rice - who has a great record of her own and actually believes in the team - which I applauded.
Many fans have lost control of their faculties and bodily functions from advanced BDS and seek ways to wound the HC, since they can't get him fired by the Fans At Large. Some honestly think the OC/DC has failed in his job. When the HC agrees, he'll be gone.
One priceless aspect of Rummy's performance is his handling of post-game press conferences. No one, in my lifetime, has done it so deftly and with such aplomb. Talking waaay down to a hostile Lilliputian illiterati of self-declared Messengers of God, Rummy has demonstrated how to bitch-slap them from a great height, send them reeling, have them clamor for more, and get away pretty clean. It is just about the best entertainment available for those of us who see the Fifth Column for what it is: a tool of the competition. For this howlingly funny ego assassination, he will never be forgiven by some until he is brought low. Such is the state of what passes for journalism, today.
Meanwhile, he and the HC are busily viewing film, hammering out the next game plan, and learning from past mistakes. The hard lesson here is that every game is The Sudden Death Super Bowl. It's a Single Elimination Tournament. Lose and it's all over - no next game and no next season.
The HC "gets it" far better than the ankle-biters who would love to tell him how to run things, but would be correctly terrified of the responsibility. Let him handle his staff - his record is, since he's still there and we're still here, damned good.
[/bedtime story]
#22
You don't have one-you just want to throw flames
I don't throw flames others do which you curiously overlook.
In case you hadn't realized it the subject being discussed is Kristol dumping on Rumsfeld and some RB'ers disappointment in Kristol's article. I offered a possible explanation for why Kristol (and Mccain) are enaging in the "its all Rummys fault" line. I believe that they are dumping on Rumsfeld's so called military mismanagement in Iraq because it diffuses blaming their political wing of the GOP for miscalculations as to the lack of consistent support from the majority of Iraqis after Saddam was removed.
Now your taking this thread in an entirely different direction, implying that I am anti-war, that I am the one too lame to see the need for a WOT. What's your problem? I never said I was anti-war or anti-WOT. I never said I had better suggestions for Iraq. All I suggested is that Rumsfeld is being painted unfairly perhaps as the reason for problems in Iraq. And to deny that the Iraq situation was GWB's achilles heel in the election makes me wonder what planet you are living on. Of course it almost cost GWB the election. What did Kerry and the Dems zero in on time after time after time? What issue did pre-election polls show voters most concerned about re: GWB if not the Iraq War?
Personally I think Rumsfeld is a good DOD minister. He has done as good a job as anyone could do in Iraq considering the limited choices he had and the unpredicatable situation he faced. Choosing to have a more limited number of military in Iraq would be the way I'd go if I were in his position because American troops are resented by 2/3 of the Iraqis no matter how much good they would do in that country because they are American. Having 250,000 troops there would have increased the Iraqis resentment and drive more of them to join the insurgency.
I think McCain is grandstanding because he's hoping to get Rummys job to get a higher profile for the 2008 GOP prez candidacy and because he's a neocon just like Kristol is and neither want any changes in GWB's foreign policy approach to the ME. Rumsfeld is not a neocon so he's expendable in their eyes. Also they need to get a neocon as head of the DOD now that Cond Rice is head of state and has gained more influence over GWB regarding foreign policy in the ME. Rice is not a neocon either.
You and Andrew Sullivan are deluding yourselves that the parties remain powerful entities independent of the president and his inner circle. That organizational model that was discredited and discarded by both major parties over a decade ago. As both Clinton and Bush43 have shown, today, when your party wins the White House, it's the president who utterly dominates the party-- especially in the foreign policy sphere-- not the other way around. In fact the party doesn't even have much influence on the president's priorities or behavior. This was so for the Dems under Clinton and it's so for the Repubs under Bush.
If Bush wants Rumsfeld to stay, then Rumsfeld stays. What McCain or anyone else outside Bush's circle says in the NYT or WaPo or on CNN is of little consequence.
#24
Kristol's influence is greatest on the MSM bloviators. Neither he nor Sully nor Gergen nor Buchanan nor any of the other media-politicos will influence Bush's priorities or major decisions. He's no more influential than the major bloggers.
#25
Jules 187 - Lol! Did you eat your choco-mint and then brush your teeth? If you did it the other way around, get your heinie back in there and brush! Tell you what - tomorrow we'll go to one of the ritzy hotels and have brunch - won't that be fun?
#26
Angash-Is that what McCain and Kristol are doing-"it's all Rummy's fault"?
I don't doubt that there are politicians in this world happy to let others take the fall for them.
But I just don't see the problems in Iraq as something "blamable". It's a miracle that Iraq went as well as it did, considering the caustic coverage in the international media and the incredible odds against the coalition. A lot of this argument sounds like Monday-morning quarterbacking to me. I could be wrong-maybe he could have done something differently, better. I just wonder what that would have been.
#27
Folks, he who dare lead incurs the arrows. In the wise words of The Joker (really Jack Nicholson for those of you who thought he was for real), this town (US miliary) needs an enema.
This fact is never more evident than with the former generals who pontificate for the MSM, who were opposed to Iraq (and Afganistan for that matter). Like trained monkeys, these former generals tell the MSM talking heads what they want their audience to hear -- that Rumsfeld is a shithead idiot.
Comparing Rumsfeld to McNamara is really condescending. Vietnam was run by Johnson; the generals in theatre are running the Iraq and Afganistan conflicts. I don't see Generals McCain or Kristol in service, do you?
Posted by: Capt America ||
12/15/2004 17:45 Comments ||
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#28
By popular demand:
Top Ten Things That Should Have Been Done Differently in Iraq.
10. Securing the weapons and ammunition.
9. Maintaining civil order.
8. Guarding the oil pipelines.
7. Patrolling the borders.
6. Preventing the use of cities as sanctuaries.
5. Training, protecting, and establishing a credible Iraqi police force.
4. Taking the blame for mistakes, instead of blaming the military.
3. Increasing the production of armor kits.
2. Planning for any contingencies other than a rose parade.
Drum roll, please...
1. SENDING ENOUGH TROOPS TO DO THE JOB.
Posted by: waiting for sanity in DC ||
12/15/2004 19:07 Comments ||
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#29
It's all becoming clearer, now... More meds for the terminally insane convinced they are magikally prescient and would've done sooo much better - at everything!
Oh yeah, next time we'll look to you for all our Military needs.
You could kick it off with a detailed plan for Iran. The usual workup of options, resource reqs, etc. will be fine. Obviously, this will be a slam dunk for someone of your talents, expertise, and infallibility. Knock yerself out. No, really, use the hammer provided.
#33
Yeah, and we should have figured out about the hedgerows in Normandy, should have gone with a heavier tank than the Sherman, should have had better intelligence on the Ardennes, shouldn't have attacked through the Huertgen Forest -- damn, didn't we lose WW2?
Posted by: Matt ||
12/15/2004 20:34 Comments ||
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#34
Oh, and above all, Halsey should not have turned north. What was the dude thinking?
Posted by: Matt ||
12/15/2004 20:40 Comments ||
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#36
For 10 years the size of the military had been downsized. The sanctions against Iraq were not doing diddly squat, the UN was stalling with the help of France, Germany, and Russia. Iraq was a nexus of terrorists and money. We could not wait. the 4ID got screwed out of a Turkey transit, so weeks were lost on a Northern Front. Shit happens. Rummy pushed and made it happen.
Look at McClellan in the Civil War. Trained and trained and drilled and drilled. Never used the Army. Lincoln wanted to borrow it since Little Mac did not really use it. Lincoln made it happen eventually. He was hated for it. He stepped on toes and made personnel changes until things went his way on his mission.
Rummy is fighting the established military and conducting a war on Islamofascism. He has a three front war when he is dealing with the dogpile from Congress. McCain should be ashamed of himself. He may have disagreements with troop strength with Rummy. He does not have to air out his laundry in public. Rummy has to work with what he has in resources now.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/15/2004 22:32 Comments ||
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#37
A small nit: McCain is no neocon. He is awf'ly noisy, though.
Oh, and the issue Kerry was really pushing was fighting the War on Terror, of which Iraq is only the second major battle.
Remember all the "War is not the answer" people? They said the same thing about Afghanistan. They'll chant it again when our kids with things that go boom and bang head toward Syria (the most likely scenario: we've been reading lately about Assad training insurgents, then sending them across the border). And they'll continue to chant it unless we roll onto our backs with our paws up in the air and beg to be raped like good little dhimmis. Which Bush and Rumsfeld aren't ever going to do, thanks be to the Powers on high.
[100% Grade A US Opinion]
While this is an extremely involved article chock full of interesting goodies, it is still a Turk shit sandwich piece lecturing the US on its Foreign Policy and, of course, detailing the myriad US "mistakes" made in dealing with these uber-sensitive creatures from Venus. It concludes, after setting the stage for something a tad more rational, with the irrational: "the onus" is on the US to prove it's good intentions toward the Turks despite the fact that the US has been their stalwart friend and biggest EU booster. This song has already received incessant play, there and elsewhere. Turkey's sensitivities are over the top in the string section, while Turkey's substantive reply has been for the US to fuck off cuz they're Euros, now.
Heh, not quite - in spite of faithful efforts by the US to help them. And regards that show of faith, the balance is heavily tilted the other way, when substance is tossed on the tray. The author posits that we can have an astounding level of influence - with the right tone of hand-holding and symbolic support, yet that would only take us back to the point we were when Turkey tossed out the baby and became an Islamic state and proceeded to stab us in the back over Iraq. What value is there in teasing Turkey back to the "staunch ally" status (I think we differ somewhat regards the meaning of that phrase, lol!) he believes (hopes) we desperately long for? Beats the shit outta me. The desperation is either overplayed / overwrought in his mind - or it's on the other side. The payoff? Stability in Northern Iraqi Kurdistan for Turkish investors, perhaps?
Gee, thanks. But no thanks. In the end, he's asking the US to willingly position itself such that Turkey can play us off against the EU, and vice versa... while pretending, for their sake, that the inconvenient events of the last 2 years didn't happen. Wow - what a deal. All's not forgiven and this guy's got his thumb on the balance. Hey, the US = bad mean bully simplisme cowboy crowd is gonna love this shit. Personally, I think it needs to simmer for awhile longer. Say a century or two -- or at least as long as is necessary for our starkly differing dictionaries to come back into synch.
But hey, that's just me.
[/100% Grade A US Opinion]
The Turks are obviously innocents here and we've gone and muddied the waters and hurt their feelings.
In Yoda-speak: Wronged them, we did. Fix it, we must.
#2
Who cares about US letting it simmer a while longer or not. We are not hurt in feeling, we are hurt in our pockets. The stupid cowboy in the west things he can fuck up the middle east and Turks should follow them like sheep, well the answer is: fuck you Yoda.
The crazy mad cowboy thinks: hey let's pull up embargo's against three of Turkeys neighbours and better invade one of them, unleash a genocide there while still expecting full support of Turkey because US is supposedly a stallwart friend!
Well with such friends we can flush our economy directly through the toilet.
Let see how "friend" America works:
1974 - 1981 US trade embargo against Turkey
1980 - 2004 US trade embargo against Iran
1990 - 2003 US trade embargo + 2 times wasting the country called Iraq
1978 - 2004 US embargo against Syria
And you wonder why the Turkish economy suffers? Don't call us friends, it sucks.
Posted by: Murat ||
12/15/2004 9:51 Comments ||
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#3
You have some difficulty comprehending the meaning of the word genocide, don't you, Murat?
#5
I don't wonder why the Turkish economy suffers - you do. So the thingy about Turkish investments in N. Iraq hit home, huh? Wow. Whaddya know. So you just want a little pocket money and you'll be a "staunch ally"? Lol! Right.
You stew, we'll move on. You can seethe for us, if it makes you feel better.
#6
"...refusing to open a northern front, the AKP majority in parliament effectively forced the United States to become dependent on Iraqi Kurdish militias. The Kurds now demand a reward for their participation, and Washington appears willing to oblige."
And so it should be.
Posted by: Tom ||
12/15/2004 10:05 Comments ||
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Throwing around the "G-word" provides great sport, no doubt, but also cheapens it and waters it down from its true horrible meaning. Consult Turkey's eradication of the Armenian population for a true example, one so hideously efficient that it inspired Hitler's holocaust. For a Turk to use it against the US's kid-glove handling of the Iraq occupation is beyond pitiful. More contemptible, really.
"Don't call us friends, it sucks."
I don't think you'll have to worry about us calling you friends for a long time, 'Rat.
#10
Murat, I'll apologize for my country's treatment of your country......the minute you acknowledge that your country slaughtered Armenians, and would love to do the same to the Kurds and the Greeks if they could get away with it.
Until then, enjoy getting reamed by the EU, which, incidentally, will never accept you as a full member.
#11
Don't get to upset by all this America-bashing. It's a requirement written into The Capitulations. It's a pre-req, if you will, to being allowed to become a French colony. Enjoy your New and Improved Capitulations, Murat. They were soooooo tasty the first time around, weren't they.
#12
1974 - 1981 US trade embargo against Turkey:reason for embargo invasion of Cyprus.
Yeap,as usual Murat does the half-truth thingy.I think history has shown the Turks aren't particullarly nice folks.
#13
Murat, it is freaking hilarious when a Turk thows out a 'genocide' verbal attack against the USA when TURKEY is one of the few countries who have actually commited a Genocide.
As for the US mistreating Turkey, all I can offer is ROTFLMAO. Whudda moonbat.
#15
gosh...most of my comments were covered already. Great #1 post, .com.
To put my schendenfraud (sp?) aside, it does seem in Turkey's interests to pursue colonization by the French. Big gains for Turkey and a huge drain on the EU.
Bottom line is that EU membership isn't going to happen while any of it's current supporters are alive. And Iraq is not going to descend into chaos. That's what happens when you heed the elite's left to "Elect me! Suffer today so that utopia will be mine today and yours, um, tomorrow." The Turks picked a lose/lose combination.
#17
Everyone (understandably) puts so much energy into fighting accusations against America. Surely, in the case of Turkey's genocide, as well as in the case of Saddam's genocide, there is photo documentation galore. I cannot understand why we are letting anti-American scapegoaters in the international community go unchallenged when they make wild accusations with no proof. We need to take some folks back to school apparently to learn to distinguish between an accusation and evidence of the act.
Our current method of rebuttal is ineffective and is allowing anti-American PR to gain strength. Let the documentation out-show the photos and let anti-American ranters scramble to argue their pitiful positions in the face of the evidence. Are we too PC to challenge accusers with gory evidence? Are we too PC to stand up for ourselves with distasteful BUT FACTUAL evidence?
#19
I think an independent Kurdistan comprising eastern Turkey, northern Iraq, and western Iran is proper payment for the Kurds' support. Screw the Turks and the camel they rode in on.
#23
Oh how great heartedly you Americans are, always in for help to the surpressed ha? In the meantime let the Indians rot in their reservates, since they are the secondclass psuedo Americans huh? Great people you are bringing democracy everywhere even if you have to exterminate the population of that country :)
How about agent orange (worked in Vietnam) could fasten your genocide in Iraq.
Posted by: Murat ||
12/15/2004 18:05 Comments ||
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#24
Turkey doesn't need the U.S., they have the full support of France. Lots of luck with that, guys.
#25
Here's a little English lesson for you, Murat:
There are no "reservates" -- they're "reservations". And Indians have been free to leave them for a long, long time. Considering your desire to contain Kurds, you shouldn't talk. [And, by the way, some Indians on reservations are getting quite rich operating casino gambling since they are not subject to state laws.]
If you want to speed something up, you don't "fasten" it. "Hasten" it, maybe, but not "fasten". You "fasten" buttons and snaps and such to connect things.
Agent Orange is a herbicide (vegetation killer), not a great tool for genocide. You should consult the Kurds on genocide. They'll tell you that Saddam wasn't using Agent Orange.
And in what country did we "exterminate the population"? Iraq has 25 million people. How many have died? Armenia, Murat, Armenia. I don't care if you are in denial or just lacking freedonm of speech -- either is pathetic and unworthy of EU membership. More Arab than European.
Posted by: Tom ||
12/15/2004 19:41 Comments ||
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#26
Murat, we wish you all the best with France. Be sure and let us know if they let you in ok... as it won't make the front page and we might not notice. Good luck to you.
#27
I saw Turkey below the fold once, some Joooo killing thing a year or so back, or was it that Cyprus thing. I never can remember. Are they still the Sick Boy of Europe? Threatening to set off the Powder Puff?
A teenage girl with a mental age of eight is facing the death penalty for prostitution in Iran. The trial comes only four months after the hanging of another mentally ill girl for sex before marriage in a case that has prompted a human rights lawyer to prepare a charge of wrongful execution against the presiding judge.
The girl, known as Leyla M, is in prison while the Supreme Court decides on her "acts contrary to chastity", among the most serious charges under Iranian law. Under the penal code, girls as young as nine and boys as young as 15 can be executed.
In an interview on a Persian-language website, the 19-year-old says she was forced into prostitution by her mother at the age of eight. Amnesty International refers to reports that say she was repeatedly raped, bore her first child aged nine and was passed from pimp to pimp before having another three children.
She told the website: "The first time I was taken to a man's house by my mum I was eight. It was a horrible night and I cried a lot but then my mum came the next day and took me home. She bought me chocolate and cheese curls."
Iranian press reports say Leyla was charged with controlling a brothel, having sex with blood relatives and bearing an illegitimate child. Amnesty says the court refused to admit social workers' evidence of her young mental age and convicted her on the basis of confessions.
Her prosecution echoes the fate of an even younger girl, Atefeh Rajabi, executed in August. In her case a judge known as Hajj Rezai reportedly put the noose around her neck himself after convicting her on the basis of her confessions for the fourth time in two years. She begged for her life while being led to the gallows, shouting "repentance".
Shadi Sadr, a human rights lawyer representing Atefeh's family, has filed a suit of wrongful execution against the judiciary and is preparing a murder case against Mr Rezai after uncovering new evidence. She has found documents seen by The Independent that prove Atefeh was mentally ill and her confessions should not have been used.
"There is an article in the penal code that if somebody is sentenced to lashing on three separate occasions for the same offence, the fourth conviction incurs the death penalty," Ms Sadr toldThe Independent. "The same judge tried her for each of these past cases but we haven't been allowed to see the files."
A different man was involved in each of Atefeh's convictions. All refused to confess but the judge said it was obvious they had sex with her and sentenced them each to 95 lashes.
After her trial, Atefeh said she had been a victim of sexual assault during spells of mental ill health. After her first conviction in 2001 when 14, she spent time in a state facility for the "socially harmed". Ms Sadr has obtained documents written by officials there backing up her story.
An undated report written by the facility's psychiatrist says she had a history of "chronic sexuality" and was given to "pseudo hallucinations" and seductive behaviour. He diagnosed her with borderline bipolar disorder.
People in Atefeh's neighbourhood wrote two petitions - one before her conviction and one afterwards - affirming that she suffered from mental illness and begging for leniency. Ms Sadr has been unable to locate the defence lawyer in the case.
After the verdict, Atefeh wrote to the High Court, saying: "There are medical documents that prove I have weak nerves and soul. In some minutes of the day and night I lose my sanity. During these attacks any kind of positive or negative actions may be done by me. In a society where an insane person can be serially raped or abused it is no wonder that a person like me is the victim of such an ugly act." Ms Sadr says Atefeh's mental state should have invalidated the case.
The day before the execution Atefeh told her aunt she had written three words to the High Court: "Repentance, repentance, repentance." In Iranian law, somebody who repents their crime is granted the right to appeal against their sentence.
A social worker's report says Atefeh's father and brother were heroin addicts and after her mother's death "she sought affection on the streets".
Ms Sadr says it is impossible to verify lurid claims in dissident websites about an improper relationship between girl and judge. "We will never know what happened between Atefeh and the judge because she is dead, he won't tell and she was tried in a closed court."
Long-term exposure to American culture may be hazardous to immigrants' health. A new study found that obesity is relatively rare in the foreign-born until they have lived in the United States — the land of drive-throughs, remote controls and double cheeseburgers — for more than 10 years. The study, published in today's Journal of the American Medical Association, shows the flip side of the American dream of finding a better life in the land of plenty. "Part of the American dream and sort of life of leisure is that you also have some of the negative effects, and obesity is one of the major side effects of the success of technology and just having a life of leisure," said co-author Dr. Christina Wee of Harvard Medical School. "It's a double-edged sword." ... "Trends in obesity among immigrants may reflect acculturation and adoption of the U.S. lifestyle, such as increased sedentary behavior and poor dietary patterns," [said the report]. "They may also be a response to the physical environment of the United States, with increased availability of calorically dense foods and higher reliance on labor-saving technologies." The results are worrisome, particularly since immigrants often face a language barrier and other obstacles to good health care, the researchers said.
So all you Euro- and Southern Hemispheric-Rantburgers can just forget about moving here. You'll work hard, enjoy the fruits of your labor, raise your kids in freedom, and turn into lazy lardballs like the rest of us cowboys and be too dumb to find out how to see a doctor. Oy.
#1
Contrary to what the media would have you believe, Americans are not the world's fattest people. The average Australian woman is an astonishing 8kg (nearly 20lbs) heavier than the average american woman.
#3
Doesn't matter. You move to America, you adopt evil capitalist ways, with "calorically dense foods" and "labor-saving technologies", and you get fat and die. Why even bother? You should just stay home and starve, and let the NGO's whine that the US isn't sending enough aid.
The Bush family continues to surprise me. Considering their connections, Jenna could get any "job" she wanted. But the fact that she's even considering taking on a job in one of the worst public school systems in the country, shows she's got moxie and class.
Jenna Bush, one of President Bush's two daughters, has applied for a teaching position at a public school in Washington, D.C., according to a report in the Washington Post. The president's daughter wants to teach at Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School in the Mount Pleasant/Columbia Heights neighborhood of the capital. The school serves low-income children and has 250 pupils enrolled in kindergarten through sixth grade. Ninety percent of the pupils come from low-income homes. The White House has not released details of the job, but Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for first lady Laura Bush, told the newspaper that Jenna Bush "will live in Washington and will go to work at a public school."
Linda Moore, the school's founder and executive director, wouldn't confirm she has hired one of the president's twin daughters, telling the Washington Post in an interview that it doesn't discuss the relationship between a prospective employee and the school until there is a "formal agreement."
Jenna Bush, who is 22, holds a degree in English from the University of Texas. She has talked publicly of her desire to teach at a charter school, and last summer news reports focused on her interest in teaching in a public school in Harlem. But she deferred a decision until the conclusion of her father's campaign for president.
The kids will learn what "Don't mess with Texas" means...
#1
Anyone care to speculate on the increase in security at the Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School? ( Geez, any kid that goes there should graduate with honors if they just remember the name of the freakin' place)
#2
Good for her! I really wanted to be a teacher when I retired from the service but the pay wasn't good enough. About the only way you can make it as a teacher, is to start out as one and work your way up the pay chart. I agree with Alan on the name think, where did they dream that one up?
Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu-PF party's central committee apparently has decided to confiscate all remaining farms still owned by white farmers, reported the Zimbabwean website, Zimonline, on Monday. About 500 farms out of the initial 4,500 are still in white hands.
And we can't have that, can we?
The first farm to fall prey to this decision is that of well-known cricketer Dennis Streak, father of Heath, the former cricket captain. This decision, which is discussed in a secret report of the Zanu-PF's central committee, clashes with a statement by President Robert Mugabe and his cabinet that the land-reform process in Zimbabwe has been completed. The report reads: "The resolution, which sources in the party's inner circles believe will definitely be implemented in the next couple of months, will mean the 500 white farmers who have managed to retain their land until now will definitely lose it."
Posted by: Steve ||
12/15/2004 2:10:09 PM ||
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#1
Good luck with that famine, guys. Shall we go ahead and put you down for a few hundred thousand pounds of relief grain?
#2
Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu-PF party's central committee apparently has decided to confiscate all remaining farms still owned by white farmers, reported the Zimbabwean website, Zimonline, on Monday.
#3
AESOP FABLE -- WOLF, meeting with a Lamb astray from the fold, resolved not to lay violent hands on him, but to find some plea to justify to the Lamb the Wolf's right to eat him. He thus addressed him: "Sirrah, last year you grossly insulted me." "Indeed," bleated the Lamb in a mournful tone of voice, "I was not then born." Then said the Wolf, "You feed in my pasture." "No, good sir," replied the Lamb, "I have not yet tasted grass." Again said the Wolf, "You drink of my well." "No," exclaimed the Lamb, "I never yet drank water, for as yet my mother's milk is both food and drink to me." Upon which the Wolf seized him and ate him up, saying, "Well! I won't remain supperless, even though you refute every one of my imputations." The tyrant will always find a pretext for his tyranny.(And sheep are deeply offended by the violence inherent in non-P.C. fables.)
Posted by: Bob Mugabe ||
12/15/2004 16:50 Comments ||
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#6
They've also been confiscating farms from blacks who were settled on farms that were originally confiscated from whites.
All your farms are belong to us!
United Nations peacekeepers have fired on troops trying to enter the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) from Rwanda, the UN-funded radio station Radio Okapi reported on Wednesday. The last weeks have seen accusations flying between the Congolese and Rwandan capitals, with Kinshasa claiming Rwanda has sent troops into Congo, and Kigali denying it, but sticking to an earlier declaration that they intend to disarm Rwandan Hutu rebels in the eastern part of the DRC. According to Radio Okapi, UN peacekeepers early on Wednesday morning encountered a number of soldiers in canoes trying to cross the Ruzizi river between the two countries. Quoting UN military sources, Radio Okapi said the troops in the canoes coming from the Rwandan side of the river had opened fire on the peacekeepers, who returned fire, making the intruders turn back. When contacted by Deutsche Presse Agentur, Monuc, the UN peacekeeping mission in DRC, declined to comment on the incident.
Meanwhile, reports say fighting has restarted near the town of Kanyabayonga, also in eastern DRC, between regular Congolese army troops and dissident forces. The British Broadcasting Corporation reported on Wednesday that an estimated 35 000 people have fled the town and surrounding area after fighting broke out over the weekend. The dissident Congolese forces that now control Kanyabayonga have said they used to receive assistance from Rwanda, but are now fighting independently.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/15/2004 1:43:30 PM ||
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Like, Bush is stepping on like, science, man! And, oh yeah, science, man...he's holding back, like, science!
AMHERST - Lyle E. Craker's plans to grow marijuana in his University of Massachusetts laboratory to be used for medicinal studies have been put on indefinite hold by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Another proud alma mater moment...
Craker filed an application with DEA in June 2001 to establish a facility on the Amherst campus to produce marijuana for U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved research. A more appropriate place, I cannot think of...
Last July, he and two other plaintiffs filed a lawsuit demanding that the DEA respond to his request. Like, c'mon, government Doods! Can we like start our dope farms, man!
On Friday, he got his answer in a six-page "order to show cause" from the DEA denying his request. Doods, like, it's for important scientific... stuff.
"What we're attempting to do is to test this plant to see if it actually has any clinical benefit," said Craker, director of the medicinal plant program and member of the department of plant, soil, and insect sciences at UMass, yesterday. "Many people may be suffering from medical problems who we may be able to help." It may take hundreds of years of research and we'll have a willing student body to... ummmmmmm... assist us in our...ummmmmm... research.
He said he plans to seek a hearing at which he will show cause why the DEA should not deny his application. Under his plan, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies would fund the UMass cultivation. WOO-HOO!!! We called it "the dorms" when I was up there.
The association and Craker were plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed in July. Currently, the National Institute on Drug Abuse is the only agency allowed to oversee the cultivation of research-grade marijuana on behalf of the government. But many scientists have questioned the quality and quantity of the marijuana produced at the University of Mississippi for the institute. Enter "the professionals" from UMASS Amherst. They can solve any and all of your weed problems.
In its order, the DEA said it found that the laboratory is producing a "sufficient quantity and quality" of marijuana to meet research needs. No problem. No problem at all. All you want, when you want. If we can't grow it, we know where to find it.
"What this decision does is effectively close the doors on any foreseeable prospect of the Federal Drug Administration considering marijuana as medicine," said Bruce E. Mirken, director of communications for the Marijuana Policy Project based in Washington, D.C. ...and has set back bong technology for... who knows how long.
The order also says that an additional facility is not needed because marijuana research has not progressed to Phase 2 of clinical trials because "current research must utilize smoked marijuana, which ultimately cannot be the permitted delivery system for any potential marijuana medication due to the deleterious effects and the difficulty in monitoring the efficaciousness of smoked marijuana." Like, this weed is "efficacious", man. And I know Phase 2 has started yet, but could we put our names in early?
Rick E. Doblin, president of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, said the DEA is performing Phase 2 trials with marijuana. Oh, damn! We missed it, dood! We missed it!
He said his group wants to study the medicinal benefits of marijuana in two forms, smoked and by vaporizer. "We want to develop marijuana into a prescription medicine, or have research that says it's too risky," Doblin said. "Our broader goal is to say we have a public health issue that is being addressed as a criminal justice issue." I'll take that risk, man! I'll be the Christopher Columbus of dope!
The DEA would not comment on the order to show cause, and said Craker has 30 days from receipt of the letter in which to respond and have a hearing date scheduled. Like 30 days? Better write it down and put it on your fridge so you don't forget, doc...
Posted by: tu3031 ||
12/15/2004 11:53:39 AM ||
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#1
I see things haven't changed in Amherst since I left the area.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/15/2004 12:18 Comments ||
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#2
Was that Cracker or Craker ?
Didnt think they had Crackers in Mass.
#5
"What this decision does is effectively close the doors on any foreseeable prospect of the Federal Drug Administration considering marijuana as medicine," said Bruce E. Mirken, director of communications for the Marijuana Policy Project based in Washington, D.C.
Well I for one hope they are allowed to carry on doing research (but not sat on their asses all day smoking bongs/vapourizers). Three people i know have MS and a couple others have arthritis . Cannabis is about the only thing that helps them out that doesnt have any serious long term side effects . And yes yes yes I expect to be picked up on the long term side effects :P /yawn..
#6
Many years ago, an author friend tested his hypothesis that many drugs are illegal solely for moral, rather than medical reasons. He explained that there is a large public faction that abhors things that "give pleasure without commensurate pain", because they are inherently immoral. To test his theory, he created an imaginary drug, "perfectly harmless, yet perfectly immoral." It had only two major effects: it radically increased your sex drive (this was before Viagra); and it eliminated your inhibitions. You would have sex with anyone, and repeatedly, but be undamaged and feel great afterwards, guiltless. Sexual orientation, gender and monogamy didn't matter. For several days you would be a sex machine. Shortly after he published this fantasy, written as an "expose" of a new street drug, tongue in cheek, a large number of evil looking undercover police came looking, not for him, but for "the drug", at any price. They menaced a whole neighborhood trying to obtain samples of this new 'threat to America's youth', offering bribes and intimidation with deadly seriousness. And, as he surmised, they found the drug to be deeply, morally offensive.
#7
MacNails... have any of your friends with MS or arthritis tried flaxseed oil? I've read stuff about it helping with MS, and it seems to help with my arthritis a lot.
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
12/15/2004 15:34 Comments ||
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#8
Hey, I've been on chemo. I've smoked dope when I was on it. It helped me.
It's just that when I read UMASS-Amherst and pot in the same sentence, "research" is the last thing that pop's into my mind.
(2004-12-13) -- A California jury today sentenced Scott Peterson to death for the double murder of his wife and unborn son. The sentence sparked outrage from the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL).
"We decry the inhumanity of the death penalty for a man who simply exercised his choice to end a pregnancy and to end the woman who was harboring an unwanted fetus," said an unnamed NARAL spokesman. "This emotional jury decision shows no respect for Mr. Peterson's reproductive rights. It's a sad day for America and may have a chilling effect on the hundreds of physicians nationwide engaged in similar work."
In related news, CNN, Fox News and MSNBC announced they would "go on indefinite hiatus due to a lack of meaningful news stories now that the Peterson trial has ended."
Posted by: Steve from Relto ||
12/15/2004 9:38:20 AM ||
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Which is the best war movie ever released? That will stir always up heated debate. But before the arguing begins, one must ask what makes a good war movie?
The first thing is getting the basic things right. These basics involve respect for the soldiers portrayed, and for the right tone (war isn't to be celebrated, but it shouldn't be flinched from either). Second, does it tell the basic story right? Then, one can go into more subjective areas. For instance, is the story one that has been told multiple times before (like D-Day), or does it focus on an area that has been ignored (say, codebreaking in the Pacific theater)? Does it get preachy, or does it focus on telling the story? Does it get little details right (say everything looks like it should for the timeframe), or does it mess things up? Does something from the film stick with the viewer? Below are ten war movies that make the grade, in no particular order.
The Gallant Hours (1960): This is a film that does well in several areas: It tells a largely ignored story (the Guadalcanal campaign), it does so from a unique angle (there are no battles, instead, it focuses more on the burdens of command), and it tells the story of William F. Halsey. The story is generally right (the only real discrepancy is fast-forwarding the takedown of Yamamoto to about the time of the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal). The scene between a fictional Roy Webb and Halsey says everything about commanding forces in battle.
Gettysburg (1993): The model for any war film. Accuracy was a premium (thanks to the assistance of thousands of re-enactors). Both sides are portrayed with respect, and this film boasts one of the more memorable lines in this author's opinion ("There are times when a corps commander's life does not count.") No love story clutters it up (unlike Gods and Generals). When I go to see a war movie, I don't like having the story of the battle interrupted by mush.
Black Hawk Down (2002): This is almost up there with Gettysburg in what a war movie should be. A real bonus here is Black Hawk Down pulled no punches in showing the Battle of Mogadishu. Again, the film had a scene that stuck out (Shughart and Gordon volunteering to rescue Durant).
Midway (1976): This film is uneven. It gets points for telling a widely-ignored story (the codebreakers, led by Joe Rochefort) and for getting things mostly right (while there were some Corsairs and Helldivers that showed up in place of SBD Dauntlesses, it was outweighed in getting the basic elements of Midway correct). Bonus points for the accurate portrayals of Spruance (the calm, unflappable CO of Task Force 16) and Fletcher (the CO of Task Force 17 who was arguably in over his head). The preachiness about the internment of Japanese-American citizens cancels out the bonus points, though.
Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970): The best portrayal of the attack on Pearl Harbor in cinema today. No love story to clutter things up, no expanded coverage. Just the facts about the events leading up to and on the Day of Infamy. Had Pearl Harbor (2001) simply been a remake of this film, the special effects would have placed it in the company of Black Hawk Down and Gettysburg.
Operation Pacific (1951): Another one of the ignored stories is that of the American submariners in the Pacific. John Wayne stars as XO (and later CO) of a fictional submarine, the USS Thunderfish. The basic story is correct — showing not only the wide variety of operations (evacuation of non-combatants from occupied islands to lifeguard duty to putting Japanese ships on the bottom), but also the many torpedo problems. It helped that Vice Admiral Charles Lockwood was technical advisor.
DC 9/11 (2003): This film is probably the Tora! Tora! Tora! of the war on terror. This is a "just the facts" film that relied heavily on interviews with many of those involved. The research is impeccable, and it would have been a runaway blockbuster had it been released in theaters. If anyone wants to know why we fight, that film is a good place to start.
We Were Soldiers (2002): Mel Gibson broke the mold by doing a Vietnam War film that "got it right". Based on the book by Lieutenant General Hal Moore, this film is what should have been done all along for the men who fought in Vietnam. No punches are pulled, and it also covered the home front. Nothing in particular stick out about the film — but that is because it is so superb from start to finish.
Windtalkers (2002): This film again focuses on the oft-neglected story of codes in the Pacific War. Here, it is the Navajo codetalkers. While the characters are fictional, the film still shines — if only due to the neglected story that finally gets the attention it deserves. Japan's failure to protect its codes came back to bite them in the rear. The briefing given to Sergeant Joe Enders about his mission ("You are to protect the CODE.") stands in stark contrast.
Sink the Bismarck (1960): One of the greatest wartime naval chases is here. While the characters of Captain Shepard and Anne Davis are fictional, the basic story is accurate. This is a film crying out for James Cameron to do a remake of — and hopefully, he will just do a straight remake and not repeat the mistake Jerry Bruckheimer made with Pearl Harbor by adding a gratuitous love-triangle sub-plot.
Honorable Mention: The Longest Day (1962), Patton (1975), In Harm's Way (1965), Flight of the Intruder (1991), BAT 21 (1988), Saving Private Ryan (1998), Back to Bataan (1945), Go For Broke! (1951), The Desert Rats (1953), Master and Commander (2003). Also: Zulu!, The Enemy Below, Das Boot, Band of Brothers (HBO), Light Horsemen.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/15/2004 10:48:33 AM ||
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#1
Anything with the Duke. We need another Duke.
Posted by: Yosemite Sam ||
12/15/2004 11:20 Comments ||
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#2
I don't care if it's not technically a "movie"--"Band of Brothers" is the best damn production about men at war EVER.
Posted by: Dar ||
12/15/2004 11:25 Comments ||
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Posted by: Roy Williams ||
12/15/2004 11:44 Comments ||
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#6
I agree with you Dar (with the qualifier that I haven't seen every war movie) about BoB. I have the boxed set, but I still watch every time it's on The History Channel. (I also love the fact that Dick Winters endorsed GWB and recorded some phone messages for him.) Although it was pretty lame as a movie, "To Hell and Back" (about Audie Murphy) was great because of Murphy's amazing service. I also like "A Bridge Too Far." Finally, the LOTR movies are great movies about the war between good and evil and, indirectly, about the WoT.
Lex, I think you mean "Enemy at the Gates." "Barbarians at the Gate" was about a hostile takeover in the '80s.
Posted by: Tibor ||
12/15/2004 11:45 Comments ||
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#7
Band of Brothers was the best war miniseries or movie I've ever seen. Lots of scenes stand out, but the toppling of those 88s in the 2nd? episode has stuck most. The series was accurate, focused on an ignored area (episode dedicated to the medic - Doc Roe).
#11
AE3775--Thanks for mentioning "Master & Commander"--That is another excellent work! I completely forgot about that, and that reminds me of the wonderful A&E "Horatio Hornblower" series. Truly great works that deserve mention.
Mason--Those 88s turned out to be 105mm guns that would likely have caused hundreds of casualties on Utah if Lt. Winters and Easy hadn't taken them out. An interesting note: According to the BoB book, that battle, which appears to take 5-10 minutes in the TV series, actually took nearly THREE HOURS.
Posted by: Dar ||
12/15/2004 12:04 Comments ||
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#12
What about "Bridge Over the River Kwai"? (Alec Guinness as the quintessential British military officer....)
#14
I found moments in 84 Charlie MoPic and The Thin Red Line that were superb. It seems every film wastes time on stereotypes and subplots that have only passing interest or value (duh, I'm no critic or expert on cine verite'), but there are moments in which you know that someone who was there got the point across to the director here and here. Those two movies contained such moments, IMHO.
#15
Go Tell the Spartans (1978)
A great movie about Vietnam in 1964, before large numbers of American ground troops were committed. The Americans were still in an "advisory" and support role, although they were already fighting and dying. Burt Lancaster is at his best as the dead-ended but still professional Major Asa Barker.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/15/2004 12:32 Comments ||
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#16
I also forgot one of the best war films ever made: Pork Chop Hill
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
12/15/2004 12:59 Comments ||
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#20
Platoon. Apocalypse Now. We need to be reminded that, as Sherman said, "War is Hell. There is no way to refine it." Not only is it hell, but it can be lunacy at the same time. As Lincoln said: "Each side believes that God is on it's side. We cannot both be right, and may both be wrong."
Posted by: Weird Al ||
12/15/2004 13:07 Comments ||
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#21
I love "The Light Horseman". Wonderful ending with the last successful cavalry charge in history.
#22
What about the Big Red one, 12 o-clock high, Flying Tigers, or the Battle of Britain? Lest we forget the classics. I also enjoyed Enemy at the Gates, a pretty good story of the Russian defense of Stalingrad.
#23
In In Harm's Way Peter Lawford plays a Congressman who resigns to enlist in the Navy. He figures it'll do his career good when the war's over, though naturally he doesn't intend to do any fighting, but instead spend the war as an admiral's PR flack. His plans get changed when the admiral sends him forward to spy on John Wayne. When I learned the details about Kerry's Swift Boat service, I wondered if it was something like that, or if that was unfair to Kerry.
#24
Windtalkers did a disservice to the Navajos. It was too hollywood. It sucked.
Das boot. What about Das Boot.
As far as Band of Brothers, the fifth episode was by far the best. That is the one where Winters went to Paris. Breaking Point, where Spears takes over Easy Company was my second favorite.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
12/15/2004 13:57 Comments ||
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#26
Hey, guys -- what about "All Quiet on the Western Front?"
Posted by: Infidel Bob ||
12/15/2004 13:57 Comments ||
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#27
"Cross of Iron" was great--the German movie "Stalingrad" is also a good one to rent (or buy) on DVD!
Posted by: Dar ||
12/15/2004 14:00 Comments ||
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#28
Full Metal Jacket was so close to greatness it hurts. Mathew Modine's narration was limp but seeing the battle of Hue was amazing. Add that to the first section of Apocolypse now and you've got an incredible Vietnam film.
Still I like Kelly's Heros because its fun, and mostly accurate, and produced at the height of the hippy anti-war haze.
#30
I second Das Boot (director's cut).
I would also kill to see a modern spec-fx remake of A Bridge Too Far (though Sean Connery was a perfect Urquhart), make it about six hours long.
Posted by: (lowercase) matt ||
12/15/2004 14:32 Comments ||
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#32
#26 Hey, guys -- what about "All Quiet on the Western Front?"
Posted by: Infidel Bob 2004-12-15 1:57:21 PM
Yup , that has to be by far and away the best war movie ever , even though its anti war hehe . case rested . Any of the other bollox is just eerr , bollox ..
#33
I'd also throw in (as an honorable mention) the 4th Season of BlackAdder - Blackadder Goes Forth which took place during WW1 and had a pretty powerful final scene.
#34
.com - When I saw Blair Witch Project for the first time I knew nothing about it (especially the filming method). 30 seconds into it I knew exactly how it was going to end because the only other movie I'd seen filmed like that was 84 CharlieMoPic.
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
12/15/2004 15:24 Comments ||
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#35
rjschwarz: Mathew Modine's narration was limp but seeing the battle of Hue was amazing.
The gunbattle with the sniper made little sense to me. I've read that the traditional approach in these situations (still used today) is to knock down suspect buildings down with artillery. But the movie itself was wonderful, even if much of it was filmed in the UK.
#36
Cross of Iron...very good Deacon. Midway is a so-so on the list. The story is important but as a movie, it wasn't all that good. Bad acting and too much footage lifted from Tora Tora Tora...which I think is the best of the bunch. What about Gallipoli?
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
12/15/2004 15:29 Comments ||
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#37
"Battle of Britain" There is a very academic love story who nearly spoils the movie but there are many scenes with Spittfires and it is about those so few we own so much so watching it is a patriotic duty for any Rantburger except TGA
"The longest day" Still more impressive after visiting Omaha Beach. They landed at low tide and the beach is a very flat one, meaning they had no cover for hundreds of yards and there are steep hills at about one or two hundred yards of the beach. Nearly impossible to climb for an unencumbered man. Only one narrow breach in the hill range to leave the beach. A perfect deathtrap. You should watch the movie just before the visit, rewatch it just after and think.
"The Big Red One" by Samuel Fuller. It has the flavor of a movie made by someone who had a been real soldier.
"Pork Chop Hill"
"Saving Private Ryan"
"We were soldiers"
"Objective Burma" of Raoul Walsh. There is French movie, I think it is by Truffaut, where two friends, about 18 to twenty years old, discuss about movies: "Have you seen the last Antonioni movie" "That is the cinema of impotent (he uses the french word about erectile problems) pretention, Raoul Walsh that is the real greatness" And he leads his friend to a projection of Obejective Burma.
A movie honoring Marines in Okinawa or was it at Iwo Jima where they have to disamentle a rocket base. Dodn't remember the title.
"Alexander Nevski" Greatest propaganda movie in history
"Mash". In order to enlighten the atmosphere. It made me a football fan.
#40
Does Ron Artest's and Steve Smith's battle with Detroit basketball fans count?
Posted by: Capt America ||
12/15/2004 17:49 Comments ||
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#41
LotR - I didn't see BW, but since the style of 84CMP was so distinctive - I follow your drift. Sorry it ruined BW for you, however, lol! The stumbling across / overrun of the Japanese camp in The Thin Red Line really hit home with a couple of scenes. The chaotic firefight where two forces become mixed and everyone is shooting in every direction - or trying to suddenly get flatter than a water buffalo patty, heh, is classic reality.
#42
Gotta love Kelly's Heros. "Burning bridges lost forever more." Find my self humming it at the oddest times.
Posted by: Weird Al ||
12/15/2004 18:06 Comments ||
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#43
lets not forget
Macarthur - kinda slow but accruate
and
U-571
Posted by: Dan ||
12/15/2004 18:11 Comments ||
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#44
lets not forget
Macarthur - kinda slow but accruate
and
U-571
Posted by: Dan ||
12/15/2004 18:12 Comments ||
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#45
Zhang Fei, the book shorttimers (which the movie was based on) has two seperate sniper scenes. One in Hue where the tank blasts building after building trying to get the sniper while infantry are crawling in and around trying to smoke him out before the tank blows them up; and a second in the jungle (where Joker has to shoot his friend Cowboy who is wounded to stop the marines going in one after another trying to save him and getting shot up). The movie merged the two scenes which probably led to your confusion.
#46
I'd throw in the Halls of Montezuma with Richard Widmark- compare his character to Captain Miller in Saving Private Ryan.
Good to see the mention of Gallant Hours and The Longest Day. For me the Longest Day has always been the war movie.
Posted by: Matt ||
12/15/2004 20:26 Comments ||
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#47
Angie
>In In Harm's Way Peter Lawford plays a Congressman who resigns to enlist in the Navy. He figures it'll do his career good when the war's over, though naturally he doesn't intend to do any fighting, but instead spend the war as an admiral's PR flack. His plans get changed when the admiral sends him forward to spy on John Wayne.<
It was Patrick Neal not Peter Lawford. But still a great movie.
#48
I would include a forgotten but excellent Vietnam movie, Jump into Hell, about French paras at Dien Bien Phu.
The recent History Channel production Ike was in much the same vein as The Gallant Hours (though very different in style),with Tom Selleck doing a remarkable job in the title role.
Another TV production, TNT's Roughriders, also deserves mention. It made a hash of history in some respects: German advisors fighting at San Juan Hill is a multiply debunked WW1 conspiracy theory and Sam Elliott's portrayal of Bucky O'Neill is laughable for anyone who knows anything about the real O'Neill.
OTOH, the accuracy of the visuals; uniforms, weapons, equipment and sets; is remarkable. John Milius directed so the weapons in particular would have to be accurate.
Tom Berenger's portrayal of Teddy Roosevelt was trashed by some ignorant critics, but astonishingly convincing for anyone who knows about the real TR. It was probably as good as Martin Landau's Oscar-winning and near-legendary portrayal of Bela Lugosi in Ed Wood.
The montage of the Roughriders traveling across the country by train perfectly captures the patriotic fervor of the time, and the full vocal rendition of "Garryowen" is a great rarity.
A much ignored aspect of the Spanish-American War, its role in the final reconciliation of North and South, gets quite a bit of play. Gary Busey was a lot of fun as ex-Confederate General Joe Wheeler, though not much like the real Wheeler.
#49
Das Boot should have been there in place of Bismarck.
And Saving Private Ryan should have been in there in the top ten too, well ahead of Windtalkers - the first scene is as close to real combat sights and sounds of a stand-up firefight that you will ever see on the screen.
#50
They Were Expendable, directed by John Ford, starring Robert Montgomery, John Wayne, and Donna Reed. Now, we don't really know how effective the PT boats really were, but it's a great movie.
Run Silent, Run Deep, directed by Robert Wise, with Clark Gable and Bert Lancaster. Has any sub film made after this not stolen its plot?
The Man Who Would be King and Gunga Din. Do you like Kipling?
Henry V. Sir Larry, not Kenneth Branagh.
Gallipoli. Why do you think Mel Gibson dislikes the British?
Ran, directed by Kurosawa.
Wings, winner of the first Oscar for Best Picture.
Let's add non-battle films, such as The Americanization of Emily, Stalag 17, and Von Ryan's Express. If you have kids around, pair The Great Escape with Chicken Run. :-)
And, finally, The Best Years of Our Lives and Casablanca.
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
12/15/2004 23:21 Comments ||
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#51
The Cruel Sea
A story of the Battle of the Atlantic, C 1953, based upon a novel by Nicolas Montserrat. Some mush, but great story about men and the sea in wartime. Great line: something like this: "You learned how to strain your eyes in the fog at night, how to endure incredible fatigue, and how to die without wasting other people's time."
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/15/2004 23:26 Comments ||
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#52
Let's see. WW1: Paths of Glory (proving the French have always been assholes).
WW2: Battleground, Saving Private Ryan, Attack (Jack Palance, Eddie Albert, Lee Marvin. Rare, but if you see it listed, watch it.) The Story of G.I. Joe, To Hell and Back. Run Silent,Run Deep. Lot's more I can't think of right now. Band of Brothers was outstanding.
Korea: Pork Chop Hill, MASH.
Vietnam: Full Metal Jacket, Hamburger Hill. Platoon, if you ignore Ollie's agenda.
Others: Blackhawk Down. I'll remember about a hundred more after I hit the button.
#54
Das Boot should have been there in place of Bismarck.
And Saving Private Ryan should have been in there in the top ten too, well ahead of Windtalkers - the first scene is as close to real combat sights and sounds of a stand-up firefight that you will ever see on the screen.
#55
Das Boot should have been there in place of Bismarck.
And Saving Private Ryan should have been in there in the top ten too, well ahead of Windtalkers - the first scene is as close to real combat sights and sounds of a stand-up firefight that you will ever see on the screen.
WASHINGTON, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Top U.S. Air Force officials are working on a strategy to put surveillance aircraft in "near space," the no man's land above 65,000 feet but below an outer space orbit, Air Force chief of staff Gen. John Jumper said on Tuesday. Jumper said he would meet next Tuesday with the head of the Air Force Space Command, Gen. Lance Lord, to map out plans to get lighter-than-air vehicles into that region above the earth, where they could play a vital role in surveillance over trouble spots like Iraq. Jumper said the Air Force was working with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, to develop a stealthy aircraft without metal that could be equipped with special sensors and remain in the air for months at a time, keeping a watchful eye on specific regions of concern.
The fact that they are publicly talking about this program means it's ready to move out of the Black into the open
That would help answer the increasing need for persistent surveillance, which is difficult with current satellites, which circle the earth in orbit at altitudes above 188 miles 300 kilometres. Unlike satellites, the new breed of near-space aircraft could hover for longer periods in one area, and since they are closer to the earth, far fewer would be needed to maintain surveillance of the entire globe, Jumper said. He said this ability could greatly improve the military ability to conduct intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions in the future.
The U.S. military already has some aerostats, or blimp-like aircraft, in use to raise antennas and provide surveillance over U.S. bases in Iraq. But in near space, such aircraft could carry out radar and imaging missions, carry communications nodes and even potentially relay laser beams from a ground-based source against a wide variety of targets, industry sources said. Jumper gave few details, but said one of the remaining issues was dealing with such aircraft on the ground, where they can be unwieldy.
There have been reported sightings of a vehicle known as a "Big Black Delta" for years. This story appeared in August 2002:
A just released study by the National Institute for Discovery Science (NIDS), based in Las Vegas, Nevada, sheds new light on the dark and mysterious craft. They offer a more down-to-earth hypothesis. NIDS researchers contend that these type vehicles are lighter-than-air, blimp-style craft of the U.S. military's making. Likely powered by "electrokinetic" drive, the lifting body-shaped airships have been skirting the skies from perhaps the early to mid 1980s.
NIDS has followed up on their study of last year that correlated sightings of large triangular or delta-shaped objects with Air Force Materiel Command and Air Mobility Command bases throughout the United States. Matches were made suggesting flight paths in and out of certain base locations. (snip)
To bolster their case about military airships being taken for UFOs, analysts at NIDS make a historical note. Lighter-than-air vehicles held all records for payload, distance, duration, and altitude within the first four decades of the 20th century - even with the advent of the airplane. In fact, save for rocket-powered research aircraft, like the X-15 and the space shuttle, all absolute altitude records are still held by high-altitude scientific balloons.
NIDS makes the case that Big Black Deltas, or BBDs, are U.S. Defense Department airships. They are so large they can carry massive payloads at low altitudes, cruising at speeds three to five times as fast as surface ships.
Among a range of NIDS observations, the group believes the BBDs are powered by electrokinetic/field drives, or airborne nuclear power units. These craft also fly at extreme altitudes, high above conventional aircraft and the pulsing of ground-based traffic control radar. Elecrokinetic propulsion means that no propellers or jets are used. A hybrid lighter-than-air craft would rely on aerostatic, lift gas, like a balloon. No helicopter-like downwash would be produced. Except for a slight humming from high-voltage control equipment -- and in older BBD versions an occasional coronal discharge -- a Big Black Delta makes no noise.
Put the two stories together and they make perfect sense.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/15/2004 9:48:55 AM ||
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#1
Heh. More Terrible Secrets of Space revealed...
A prominent British lawmaker has triggered an outcry by implying that elderly and very ill people should not only have the right, but the obligation to kill themselves rather than become a nuisance. The furor erupted as British lawmakers prepared to vote on a bill that critics worry could be used to sanction the killing of patients in a vegetative state.
"I couldn't bear hanging on and being such a burden on people," said Baroness Mary Warnock, an 80-year-old medical ethicist, philosopher and member of the upper House of Lords, in a weekend newspaper interview.
"In other contexts, sacrificing oneself for one's family would be considered good," she told the Sunday Times. "I don't see what is so horrible about the motive of not wanting to be an increasing nuisance."
"If I went into a nursing home, it would be a terrible waste of money that my family could use far better," Warnock added.
Later in the interview she said: "I am not ashamed to say some lives are more worth living than others," before conceding that "if someone else decides your life is not worth living, that is very dangerous."
Warnock was speaking ahead of a House of Commons vote Tuesday on legislation that would give legal status to "living wills" and allow third parties to tell doctors to withdraw treatment -- or even food and water -- from terminally-ill patients.
"Living wills" are documents that set out how ill people want to be treated if they are no longer able to communicate their wishes directly to medical staff.
The Mental Capacity Bill is highly contentious, with some members of the ruling Labor Party opposing it and calling for the right to vote according to conscience...
Posted by: Anonymoose ||
12/15/2004 9:21:11 AM ||
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#1
Richard Lamm, Governor of Colorado 1975-87, made the same arguement.
Posted by: Jim K ||
12/15/2004 9:47 Comments ||
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#2
Yay! Let's start killing pensioners! And while we're about it, why don't we kill all 'nuisance' people - age discrimination's supposed to be a thing of the past anyway. Let's start with the disabled and work our way up to the lazy and bad-breathed. Kids are a damn nuisance most of the time too. Why don't we kill them? Oh, right. We already do.
#3
Add "prominent British lawmakers" to your list, Bulldog.
Actually, we already have "living wills" here in the U.S. I have one -- it's about four pages long and protects me the way I want to be protected. I'll only get "unplugged" under conditions that are satisfactory to me.
Posted by: Tom ||
12/15/2004 9:56 Comments ||
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#4
Don't let the Democrats hear about this. It could be their solution to the Social Security crisis. Better this then the evils of privatization.
#8
dreadnought
there was a song in the Mikado (a Gilbert and Sullivan musical)
SONG--KO-KO with CHORUS OF MEN.
As some day it may happen that a victim must be found,
I've got a little list--I've got a little list
Of society offenders who might well be underground,
And who never would be missed--who never would be missed!
There's the pestilential nuisances who write for autographs--
All people who have flabby hands and irritating laughs--
All children who are up in dates, and floor you with 'em flat--
All persons who in shaking hands, shake hands with you like _that_--
And all third persons who on spoiling tete-a-tetes insist--
They'd none of 'em be missed--they'd none of 'em be missed!
CHORUS. He's got 'em on the list--he's got 'em on the list;
And they'll none of 'em be missed--they'll none of
'em be missed.
There's the banjo serenader, and the others of his race,
And the piano-organist--I've got him on the list!
And the people who eat peppermint and puff it in your face,
They never would be missed--they never would be missed!
Then the idiot who praises, with enthusiastic tone,
All centuries but this, and every country but his own;
And the lady from the provinces, who dresses like a guy,
And who "doesn't think she waltzes, but would rather like to
try";
And that singular anomaly, the lady novelist--
I don't think she'd be missed--I'm sure she'd not he missed!
CHORUS. He's got her on the list--he's got her on the list;
And I don't think she'll be missed--I'm sure
she'll not be missed!
And that Nisi Prius nuisance, who just now is rather rife,
The Judicial humorist--I've got him on the list!
All funny fellows, comic men, and clowns of private life--
They'd none of 'em be missed--they'd none of 'em be missed.
And apologetic statesmen of a compromising kind,
Such as--What d'ye call him--Thing'em-bob, and
likewise--Never-mind,
And 'St--'st--'st--and What's-his-name, and also You-know-who--
The task of filling up the blanks I'd rather leave to you.
But it really doesn't matter whom you put upon the list,
For they'd none of 'em be missed--they'd none of 'em be
missed!
CHORUS. You may put 'em on the list--you may put 'em on the list;
And they'll none of 'em be missed--they'll none of
'em be missed!
#10
Oh yes, Gilbert and Sullivan! I'm a lifelong fan. I've been to every Madison Savoyards show since the 1993 production of Utopia, Limited. BTW, there was a Rantburger in their perfomance of Ruddigore this year: Korora. I couldn't tell which one he was, though, having never met him in person.
Nowadays, Gilbert and Sullivan would have more to lampoon than they could do in even a prediluvial lifespan.
Posted by: Steve from Relto ||
12/15/2004 10:53 Comments ||
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#11
i think Sea and I met Korora at the Cosmos..since he wrote up a bit and took some pictures. Perhaps he was the one who asked about art?? But I don't recall him taking a photo. Are you sure Korora is a guy? Care to come out of the closet Korora?
#17
I think she's correct. She's not calling for a Dutch solution where the doctors decide behind your back and then kill you. But she is questioning why people should live in human warehouses that are in may ways like prison camps without the mercy of death. We've now got the ability to overstay our usefulnes. Who better to raise the issue than an able 80 year old?
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
12/15/2004 11:38 Comments ||
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#18
...elderly and very ill people should not only have the right, but the obligation to kill themselves rather than become a nuisance.
I don't think that's right, Mrs D. Besides, actions speak louder than words. I won't stand in the way of the Baroness if she wants to give her family the greatest gift of all and shove her head in the oven before it's needed for the turkey. I do object to her suggestion that other old and ill people should feel compelled to do the same, however. If people over a certain age are to be deemed 'surplus to requirements', what's to stop me killing my neighbours' grandparents with impunity? Setting dogs on the incurable and infirm could be the sport to replace foxhunting.
#20
âCall this an unfair generalization if you must, but old people are no good at everything.â --
Moe Syzlak
Wasn't getting rid of old people a side story in "Death Race 2000"? I seem to recall the Race Announcer saying "It's Euthanasia Day down at the old folks home."
Posted by: Tibor ||
12/15/2004 11:52 Comments ||
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#21
Gosh..just think how much sooner you could get your inheritence and how much that would do for the economy. Come' on Granny - do it for the children.
#22
It's unlikely that this silliness will gain any traction in the legislative sphere. But the truly evil aspect of this withered old aristo-c*nt's idiocy is the possibility that the old and infirm, who have a great deal of time to contemplate such things, will find confirmation for their latent fears that they are a "burden" on society.
This will be the pernicious effect of her lame attempt at stimulating some kind of "dialogue" in this manner. Nice work.
#23
What is prompting this outburst of moral idiocy from those whom the British crown gives its highest honors?
First Sir Richard Dawkins explains to Clark County OH voters that Bush's foreign policy is the "law-of-the-jungle" equivalent of self-defense against an intruder in one's home. How barbarous.
Then Sir Nicholas Mollusk-Mickelthwaite of the Intl Red Cross tells us, sadly, that "non-state-organizations" like Zarqawi's neck-sawing brigade and the ba'athist assassins in Iraq do not perceive the Red X as neutral. A pity.
Charles the Dullard urges a new/old doctrine of To each his appointed sphere. And from each a subsidy to maintain a family of inbred congenital morons to the tune of millions per year each.
Now Lady Warlock tells us that old folks need to do the public-spirited thing and move along to the great beyond.
Are English aristocrats born with moral defects? Or is it something in their schooling?
#25
I dont think anyone should kill themselves, but what makes Seniors any different then anyone else ? 15,25,35, or 85 yrs, if a person feels unworthy and kills themselves for that, it is unfortunate either way. And by the way, Usefulness
is not age discriminate. What the writer thinks one way or the other does not matter either way. When your dead, your dead. No rights, no laws, no opinions matter.
#26
Suicide is the cause of an overweening ego. It is the ultimate in selfishness
Suicide takes place when a person with an over sized ego believes that their own life belongs to no one but themselves. They care nothing for others' feelings in the matter of their own lives despite all the evidence to the contrary.
Those who committ suicide should be mourned for those are left behind only. It is the least that can be done for the survivors.
#28
Steve from Relto: I was the man in the yellow shirt in the first act and the ghost in the burgundy shirt with brass buttons in the second. And why didn't you tell me you'd made it?
#1
Oh baby! Another prescient home run by Crichton, methinks. He has the knack for picking the technological wheat out from the chaff - very selectively and far ahead of the madding crowd. And, often enough to make you wonder, he anticipates the social ramifications with amazing accuracy. Moonbatism may, indeed, become a permanent state with a core of professional agitprop thugs who will keep the frenzy going well beyond the debunking.
Of course, I'll have to buy the book, now that I've read this, lol!
#2
I'd like to ask RBers for their opinion on novels that rely on wacky conspiracies for their plot. I have a specific reason for asking, because I wrote a novel in a similar vein called The Year Without A Summer where the villian is a pair of volcanos that plunge the world into abrupt global cooling. It was comprehensively knocked back by publishers with comments like 'unbelievable plot'. As a reader I hate novels whose plot is based around a conspiracy. I find them implausable and avoid them. Yet as Michael Crichton shows they sell. I'm wondering whether I should rewrite and add a similar conspiracy. TIA for any comments.
#3
I'd suggest doing something so outrageous that you make the national news....best if it has some tie in with your plot. Perhaps the claim that you have evidence to show that Mt. St. Helens isn't really erupting, but, rather, it is the result of a terrorist attack on a CIA base located underneath the volcano. If that doesn't work, try biting your dog or holding your baby over the balcony :-)
#4
Phil, you've probably heard the story that a frustrated author copied a novel by Jerzy Koszinski which had done quite well. He shopped it around and, 1, the agents and publishers had no idea it was a hoax, and 2, said it would never sell.
You know somebody turned down Tom Clancy.
There was a year without a summer, when Krakatoa went up in the early nineteeth century. Maybe you should include a bit of basic knowledge available to everybody but the publishing scene.
Posted by: Richard Aubrey ||
12/15/2004 8:31 Comments ||
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#5
Kraktoa was a wet firecracker compared to Toba. Toba caldera produced the largest eruption in the last 2 million years. The caldera is 18 x 60 miles (30 by 100 km) and has a total relief of 5,100 feet (1700 m). Large eruptions occurred 840,000, about 700,000, and 75,000 years ago. There is substantial evidence to show that within the time of the super volcano Toba's eruption in the Indonesian Pacific, the world's population of homo sapiens decreased from over one hundred thousand to less than two thousand, basically because global temperatures dropped five degrees for many years. Now that's a disaster!
Posted by: Steve ||
12/15/2004 8:53 Comments ||
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#6
Richard Aubrey, that was Mount Tambora, in 1815, that caused the year without a summer.
#7
Discovery Chanel has a great show about Yellow Stone National Park.Did you know Yellow Stone is what is called a Super valcano?If that puppy blows agin(according to Discovery)it will make Krkatoa look like a wet baby fart.
#8
Yup, I remember reading that yellowstone is the world's largest volcano and last time it blew the entire north american continent was inches deep in ash and everything within a few hundred miles was pretty much destroyed.
#9
Author C. Clarke began his book Hammer of God (about an asteroid threatening to destroy the Earth) with a chapter about the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs. He slipped in little chapters throughout the book about different asteroid hits throughout the ages. This sort of brought out a sense of, it can happen again. That's the way the movie Armageddon started as well. You might consider taking the volcanoes listed by the posters above and doing something similar.
Did anyone know that an asteroid skipped off the atmosphere over the Pacific during Gulf War 1. That the impact created a Hiroshima level explosion that caused US defense to go on alert until they figured out what it was. Didn't make the papers but Bob Zubrin wrote about it in his Case for Space.
#10
The plot is a Tambora scale eruption that causes major disruptions to agriculture, massive population moves, etc., then ends with a Toba scale eruption, whose consequences have been eluded to during the book.
Thanks for the advice, but I'm still worrying the conspiracy angle. I watched Mercury Rising last night, which is not a bad movie once you get past the plot that even my 12 yo daughter mocked as unbelievable (9 yo kid cracks secret government code. Evil businessman starts killing people to coverup). Much as I dislike conspiracies as a cheap plot device, audiences seem to have been conditioned to expect them as a way to explain what happens in the world.
#12
Screw the publishing houses. Go directly to the web. Use a Creative Commons License to let people link to but not alter your work. Provide a central site where they can read free teasers and then submit micropayments for additional chapters. Take in ad revenues from booksellers who offer fare similar to yours.
#14
it's really tough to get published if you aren't already famous or are sleeping with someone in the publishing business. Tom Clancy went with Naval Institute Press for his first book and when it was a hit, the MSM stole him out from under them.
If you make it accurate and educational with a plot, it might be possible to get a scientific publishing house to take a chance.
Things are changing with internet access...but basically what sells books are famous or infamous names. Also you can piggyback on ideas that indy publishers want to promote.
#15
2b, a poorly served market is fiction around scientific themes (outside science fiction), possibly for the teen market. Fictionalized versions of real events often of scientific significance are popular. Why not scientifically accurate portrayals of fictional events. Similar to the work Hoyle and Sagan used to write but in the geo and earth sciences.
CAIRO — The Egyptian government's human rights body has recommended to President Hosni Mubarak that he scrap emergency laws that have limited civil rights here for more than two decades, one of the council's members said yesterday.
Hafez Abu Saada, council member and director of the independent Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights, said in an interview that after lengthy study and discussion, members of the National Council for Human Rights were able to agree that the emergency laws be ended. "This was one of the main recommendations sent to the president" in early December, Abu Saada said. The council has not made its recommendations to Mubarak public, but was to issue a report on its activities in its first year in February.
The government has long argued that it needs emergency laws to fight terrorism. The laws have been widely condemned by local and international human rights groups, including Abu Saada's organisation. In an indication of the sensitivities surrounding the issue, the council's spokesman and deputy head had said earlier yesterday that members agreed that the emergency laws should be ended, but had refused to say whether such a recommendation had been made to Mubarak.
"The council believes that, taking dangers into account, we want to end the state of emergency," spokesman Ahmed Kamal Abou El-Magd told reporters. Abou El Magd was quick to add that his National Council for Human Rights was only an advisory body with no power to enforce its opinions.Â
"Please don't kill me!"
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/15/2004 12:21:21 AM ||
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#1
I'm sure something will happen. Call me when it does.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/15/2004 18:31 Comments ||
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The Cassini spacecraft completed a successful rendezvous with Saturn's moon Titan Monday. This was the last pass before the European Space Agency's Huygens probe is sprung loose from Cassini on Christmas Eve. Information gathered during this flyby will provide an opportunity to compare images from Cassini's first close Titan encounter on Oct. 26.
NASA's Deep Space Network tracking station in Madrid, Spain, acquired a signal at about 4:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time (7:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time). As anticipated, the spacecraft came within 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) of Titan's surface. As with the last flyby, a major goal of this flyby is to measure the thickness of Titan's atmosphere. This information will help determine whether Cassini can safely get closer to Titan on subsequent flybys, and will also be used to verify that Huygens atmosphere models are correct.
Titan is a prime target of the Cassini-Huygens mission because it is the only moon in our solar system with a thick smoggy atmosphere. The Huygens probe, built and operated by the European Space Agency, is attached to Cassini. After its Christmas Eve release, it will descend through Titan's atmosphere on Jan. 14, 2005, as it collects atmospheric data down to the surface.
Tuesday morning, Cassini flew by Saturn's icy moon Dione at a distance of 72,500 kilometers (45,000 miles). Images and science results from both flybys will be presented at a news conference that will take place on Thursday, Dec. 16, at the American Geophysical Union fall meeting in San Francisco. Cassini Homepage at JPL
Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy ||
12/15/2004 12:16:54 AM ||
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#1
Kewl!
Now we need to get private enterprise involved in getting people into space.
I still hope for the day when...
" The chair now recognizes the Gentelman/Gentlewoman from Planitia Utopia..." or Tharsis, or Noctis Labryntius, or where ever we go and settle.
Posted by: N Guard ||
12/15/2004 13:58 Comments ||
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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.
