The Charge Of The Light Brigade by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Memorializing Events in the Battle of Balaclava, October 25, 1854
Written 1854
Half a league half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred:
'Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns' he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
'Forward, the Light Brigade!'
Was there a man dismay'd ?
Not tho' the soldier knew
Some one had blunder'd:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do & die,
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley'd & thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.
Flash'd all their sabres bare,
Flash'd as they turn'd in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army while
All the world wonder'd:
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro' the line they broke;
Cossack & Russian
Reel'd from the sabre-stroke,
Shatter'd & sunder'd.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
While horse & hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro' the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.
When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wonder'd.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!
~Rudyard Kipling
There were thirty million English who talked of England's might,
There were twenty broken troopers who lacked a bed for the night.
They had neither food nor money, they had neither service nor trade;
They were only shiftless soldiers, the last of the Light Brigade.
They felt that life was fleeting; they knew not that art was long,
That though they were dying of famine, they lived in deathless song.
They asked for a little money to keep the wolf from the door;
And the thirty million English sent twenty pounds and four!
They laid their heads together that were scarred and lined and grey;
Keen were the Russian sabres, but want was keener than they;
And an old Troop-Sergeant muttered, "Let us go to the man who writes
The things on Balaclava the kiddies at school recites."
They went without bands or colours, a regiment ten-file strong,
To look for the Master-singer who had crowned them all in his song;
And, waiting his servant's order, by the garden gate they stayed,
A desolate little cluster, the last of the Light Brigade.
They strove to stand to attention, to straighten the toil-bowed back;
They drilled on an empty stomach, the loose-knit files fell slack;
With stooping of weary shoulders, in garments tattered and frayed,
They shambled into his presence, the last of the Light Brigade.
The old Troop-Sergeant was spokesman, and "Beggin' your pardon," he said,
"You wrote o' the Light Brigade, sir. Here's all that isn't dead.
An' it's all come true what you wrote, sir, regardin' the mouth of hell;
For we're all of us nigh to the workhouse, an' we thought we'd call an' tell.
"No, thank you, we don't want food, sir; but couldn't you take an' write
A sort of 'to be continued' and 'see next page' o' the fight?
We think that someone has blundered, an' couldn't you tell 'em how?
You wrote we were heroes once, sir. Please, write we are starving now."
The poor little army departed, limping and lean and forlorn.
And the heart of the Master-singer grew hot with "the scorn of scorn."
And he wrote for them wonderful verses that swept the land like flame,
Till the fatted souls of the English were scourged with the thing called Shame.
They sent a cheque to the felon that sprang from an Irish bog;
They healed the spavined cab-horse; they housed the homeless dog;
And they sent (you may call me a liar), when felon and beast were paid,
A cheque, for enough to live on, to the last of the Light Brigade.*
O thirty million English that babble of England's might,
Behold there are twenty heroes who lack their food to-night;
Our children's children are lisping to "honour the charge they made - "
And we leave to the streets and the workhouse the charge of the Light Brigade!
*this verse was present in the first collection but was removed from the later editions.
Last verse might be true: The checks were in a fund which paid for Irish rebels' defense costs--maybe, and their version of the Humane Society. Leftovers went to the troops. Maybe, maybe not.
Posted by: Richard Aubrey ||
10/25/2013 16:51 Comments ||
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In Chinas Housing Bubble Born to Burst, a well known Chinese financial commentator and columnist states that the communist regimes totalitarian economic system will cause an impending economic crisis in China.
Niu Dao is an award-winning blogger who is a financial commentator on the state-run CCTV, a consultant to Essence Securities, and a teacher at Tsinghua University. His post on Sept. 26 warns that the coming crisis will bring disastrous consequences.
In a subsequent Oct. 8 article, which was deleted from the website Sina shortly after it was published, Niu explained that the Chinese peoples human rights are not protected at all under the communist totalitarian regime. In a sense, the Chinese people are not citizens, but veritable residentsthey are nothing without a dwelling.
That is the main reason why the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) dares to magnify the housing bubble indefinitely, and why the Bank of China dares to print money wantonly, Niu wrote. The housing bubble has become a tool for the ruling class to plunder national wealth.
Niu wrote that asset price bubbles are also bound to burst; and, as the rule goes, the larger the bubble, the greater the damage. Chinese people who think real estate investment could be their inheritance will eventually discover that under the CCP real estate is merely used as a tool to artificially increase the value of capital.
In the over 20 years since Japans asset bubble burst, it has had 13 different prime ministers. For China, Niu wrote, it wont be an issue of a change of prime minister, but rather the fall of the regime. Chinas bubble is even bigger than Japans bubble was back then, according to Niu.
At the China Forum during the 2013 APEC Summit , CCP State Council counselor Xia Bin said the phenomena of financial crisis already exists in China. Some local governments became insolvent long ago, and are merely surviving by taking out more loans. The crisis has not yet exploded, and bad debt has not yet been exposed, because they have been covered up by issuing more currency, Niu wrote.
[Ynet] North Korea has built two tunnel entrances at its nuclear test site in a sign it plans more of its internationally condemned detonations, a US think tank said Wednesday.
Satellite images taken on September 27 shows progress in excavation work and the presence of two new entrances to tunnels at the Punggye-ri site, Johns Hopkins University's US-Korea Institute said.
[An Nahar] Roma communities around Europe are being stereotyped and scapegoated in the wake of recent child abduction allegations in Ireland and Greece, the head of a Roma rights organization said Thursday.
"We urge the media and authorities not to assign collective responsibility to Roma communities on the basis of individual cases," Dezideriu Gergely, director of the European Roma Rights Center, (ERRC) told Agence La Belle France Presse.
The cases had encouraged stereotypes such as "Roma communities steal babies" and an attitude that "Roma are guilty until proven innocent", he said.
Authorities should avoid racial profiling and act on the basis of evidence rather than perception, he added.
A seven-year-old girl and a two-year-old boy were each removed from their biological Roma families in Ireland this week after public tip-offs that later proved to be false.
The removals sparked warnings about racial profiling following the case of a blonde girl found in a Roma camp in Greece who was unrelated to the people she was living with.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/25/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
I warn against stereotyping all "rights groups" as psychos dedicated to destroying civilization.
#2
I wonder if the Babies they "Steal" are really abandoned?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
10/25/2013 2:27 Comments ||
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#3
Or otherwise unwanted?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
10/25/2013 2:28 Comments ||
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#4
A seven-year-old girl and a two-year-old boy were each removed from their biological Roma families in Ireland this week after public tip-offs that later proved to be false.
Two for two.
You going to lie, make it big.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
10/25/2013 2:44 Comments ||
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[Ynet] Negative atmosphere, fear for personal safety prompt many young Turkish Jews to emigrate, mainly to US and European countries -- but also to Israel. 'The Moslems don't distinguish between Israel and local Jews. As far as they are concerned, if you're Jewish you're not a Turk,' one of emigrants says
Young Jews are emigrating from Turkey in masses, mainly to the United States and different European countries, due to growing anti-Semitism and the negative attitude in the country towards Israel.
Members of the local Jewish community are keeping mum over the situation, but off the record some of them describe an explosive situation which may erupt at any moment following careless statements.
"They can't talk," one of the young Jews who immigrated to Israel about two years ago following the flotilla affair told Ynet. "The current situation will only deteriorate, and in 16 years Turkey may not even be a democratic country anymore."
Turkish newspaper Daily News Hürriyet reported this week that the negative atmosphere and deteriorating relationship between the two countries was putting pressure on the small community of nearly 15,000 Jews, prompting young Turkish Jews to flee to safer places.
Uncomfortable with being 'othered'
According to the report, the wave of emigration follows the ongoing tension with Israel since the notorious "one minute" spat between Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Israeli President Shimon Peres in Davos in 2009 and the deadly IDF raid on a Gazoo-bound flotilla.
Nesim Güveniş, deputy chairman the Association of Turkish Jews in Israel, told the Hürriyet Daily News that anti-Semitism, triggered by harsh statements from the Turkish government, has led to the migration of hundreds of Jewish youngsters from Turkey to the US or Europe.
He expressed unease on the remarks of Turkish leaders against Jews, which he said did not contribute to perception of Turkish people.
"Look the environment in Turkey at the moment. We are uncomfortable with being 'othered'... I am more Turkish than many. But we couldn't make them believe it," he said.
Sources in the local Jewish community told Ynet that the Hürriyet Daily News interview sent the community members into a "defensive alert."
A member of the Jewish community in Istanbul said he could not give an open interview about the atmosphere against Jews in the country, in light of the sensitive and explosive situation. The current tensions, he explained, could lead to an additional deterioration in the bad relations and to attacks on Jews and their property.
"I am pretty familiar with the situation, unfortunately," says a young man who immigrated to Israel with his wife following the flotilla incident. He asked to remain anonymous in order to protect his family members, some of whom are still living in Turkey.
"The prime minister speaks the way he speaks, and they all hear him and do the math. The young people who want to change their lives and have children don't want to raise them in such an atmosphere," he explains.
Prefer to go rather than fight
"The Moslems in Turkey fail to distinguish between Israel and the local Jews. As far as they are concerned, if you're not Moslem you're not a Turk. You can even serve in the army and have a significant Turkish identity, but in their eyes that doesn't count. They are not even interested in understanding. If you're Jewish -- you're not Turkish."
The negative atmosphere against Jews on the Turkish street, he says, is joined by a financial difficulty. Those who are not rich and don't earn a lot of money cannot live comfortably in Turkey or even afford to send their children to a Jewish school.
"The Jewish school is very expensive," he says. "Most young Jewish families cannot afford it. They pay a sum of about NIS 50,000 ($14,195) for eight months of studies, not including the uniform and books. It's impossible.
"The choice is between sending the children to a low-standard Moslem public school, where they will be harassed and won't be able to express their Jewish identity -- or immigrating. You can fight in order to survive as a Turkish Jew, or leave."
Every week, a Turkish family makes aliyah
Turkish-born Avraham Lego, who lives in Israel today, notes that every week the "old immigrants" are informed of another family making aliyah.
"It's not a wave of emigration," he clarifies, "but there is definitely a significant aliyah compared to the number of people who emigrated from the country in the 1990s," before the Erdogan era. Most emigrants, however, flee to the US and Europe.
"You must understand that there is no one to replace Erdogan," says the young immigrant who asked to remain anonymous. "He's here and he's not going anywhere. The current situation will only deteriorate."
And the current attitude towards Israel?
"There is really nothing here except money. Europe is in a recession right now, the money is in Arab countries. There, there are good investment opportunities. So if for that purpose you have to speak out against Israel and create crises -- that's what he'll do. The goal is to improve Turkey's economy and its financial interests."
Have your friends emigrated too?
"People emigrate to Israel and Europe all the time. I have a friend who is married to a Moslem woman, and they have both decided to emigrate and raise their children here, in Israel, because life is more convenient here economically. There I had to pay NIS 20,000 ($5,700) a year for medical insurance, not including surgery. How much it is here? NIS 100 ($28) including everything?
"At the end of the day, in order to protect your freedom and your children's freedom, you much make changes. There are still young people who stay there. There are Jewish bloggers who write that they are Turks, and that this is their homeland and they're not leaving. But their number is diminishing.
"The bottom line is that it doesn't matter if they leave or not, it's enough that if they want to -- they will always be able to do it. At least I hope so."
[Pak Daily Times] The Darul Afta (fatwa council) of Pakistain Ulema Council (PUC) has issued a fatwa, saying that the administration of polio ...Poliomyelitis is a disease caused by infection with the poliovirus. Between 1840 and the 1950s, polio was a worldwide epidemic. Since the development of polio vaccines the disease has been largely wiped out in the civilized world. However, since the vaccine is known to make Moslem pee-pees shrink and renders females sterile, bookish, and unsubmissive it is not widely used by the turban and automatic weapons set... drops to children is not forbidden in Islam. It says prominent scholars and experts of the Musselmen world are convinced that polio drops do not contain anything that is harmful to health or against sharia. The fatwa issued from the PUC's central office refers to Shaykh Al-Azhar of Jamia Al-Azhar Egypt, Maulana Samiul Haq ...the Godfather of the Taliban, leader of his own faction of the JUI. Known as Mullah Sandwich for his habit of having two young boys at a time... of Darul Uloom Haqqania, Mufti Rafi Usmani, Maulana Zahid Mahmood Qasmi, Mufti Muhammad Naeem, Maulana Abdul Bari of Qabail Ulema Council, Maulana Anwarul Haq Mujahid, PUC Central Chairman Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi and other Islamic leaders. The fatwa says that the holy Koran and Sunnah command us to provide proper medication to our children. It notes that polio is an incurable disease once infected. There are only three Islamic countries where polio still exists and one of them is Pakistain. Therefore, Islamic scholars have urged parents to administer polio drops to their children.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/25/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
There are only three Islamic countries where polio still exists
Pardon my pedantic nerdiness, but shouldn't this read "There are three countries, all Islamic, where polio still exits"? Feel free to append "having been eradicated in the civilized world" as you see fit.
No fighting Science, just Islamicise it, (Name only) then it's NOT "Evil Science", and is acceptable.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
10/25/2013 2:25 Comments ||
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#3
The problem is that just about any imam can issue a fatwa. So if someone else issues a competing fatwa saying that the vaccine is Haram, what is a poor, illiterate Muslim to do?
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
10/25/2013 10:10 Comments ||
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#4
...whatis a poor, illiterate Muslim to do?
Well, whatever it is, it better not involve toothpaste!
[Pak Daily Times] Keeping in view the increasing violation of the ban on flying kites and subsequent death caused by this so-called game of death, the authorities in Rawalpindi have decided to put their foot down and ensure that the activity remains suspended for good.
In this regard, the Punjab government has issued a letter to the district administration to make sure the ban imposed on kite flying remains intact and violators are dealt with strictly.
The district coordination officer (DCO) and the regional police officer (RPO) have been ordered to take action against those involved in this activity. It has been directed in a letter that if any evidence of kite flying in the region is found then the government will take disciplinary action against the DPO and the SHO of the area. The government has directed to start a crackdown on kite flying and manufacturing in the district and those found involved in the activity would be locked away Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please!
On the kite flying festival of Basant, 13 motorcyclists were maimed and two people had their throats slit by kite twine in different parts of the city. An 11-year-old boy, Basit who was flying a kite fell from the roof and died during the Basant festival in Rawalpindi. At least 31 cases were registered in the city during Basant and the police claimed to have arrested 56 persons. Despite the arrests, kites and twines were openly sold and many people flied kites and played loud music on their rooftops the whole night.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/25/2013 00:00 ||
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[4 views]
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#1
Damn right! Because maiming and slitting throats is a holy religious act in Islam.
Because as everybody knows, Israel is an apartheid state.
[Ynet] IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz approved the appointment of the next Golani Brigade commander, Colonel Ghassan Alian. In his current position, Alian serves as deputy commander of the Golan division. He will be the first Druze officer to lead the brigade.
Other announcements: the next Nahal Brigade commander will be Colonel Uri Gordin. Appointments require the approval of the Minister of Defense.
A group of Australian Muslims has been accused of a sectarian attack on an American group during this year's Haj pilgrimage to Mecca. The Americans, who are Shiite Muslims from Detroit, claim they were assaulted and threatened by a group of Lebanese-Australian Sunni Muslim men at a pilgrim campground in Mina, near Mecca.
The Detroit Free Press reported that one of the American Muslims was strangled until his face turned blue and that women in the group were threatened with rape, according to witnesses to the assault that they say took place on October 16.
According to American Shiite cleric Mothafar al-Qazwini, the group was confronted by as many as 200 men they later learned to be Australian Salafis. Qazwini said one of the Australians asked one of the Americans if he was Shiite. "He responded 'yes'. He was immediately attacked by three men, one grabbing him in a choke hold, the others punching him in the face," Qazwini said.
Qazwini alleged that after the initial attack some of the Salafis ran to the women's tents, telling them "if they do not leave in 15 minutes, they will rape them all."
The American group was led by Mr Qazwini's uncle, Sayyid Hassan al-Qazwini, imam of the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, Michigan, the largest mosque in North America.
An official from the center declined to comment on the alleged incident until the imam returns home later this week. But the Australian Muslims took to Facebook to deny the claims, saying that the American Shiites who started the trouble.
One Australian Facebook post said "this is nonsense ... the incident happened in my camp ... the [Shiites] came insulting the sahaba [the companions of the Prophet Muhammad]. My tent was right by the tent of the [Shiite] guys who got beat up ... not (sic) it shouldn't have happened but the whole incident was instigated by them and no-one said anything near what is being claimed here."
The post added, "BTW, the police were not laughing ... there is a lot of zulm [oppression] in KSA [the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia] including against [Shiites], but this story is just idiotic."
#1
Qazwini said one of the Australians asked one of the Americans if he was Shiite. "He responded 'yes'. He was immediately attacked by three men, one grabbing him in a choke hold, the others punching him in the face,"
Good thing they were Australian Salafis. Any other nationality would've killed them after asking if the Shiites were Americans.
#3
"The American group was led by Mr Qazwini's uncle, Sayyid Hassan al-Qazwini, imam of the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, Michigan, the largest mosque in North America."
#4
It sounds so..."Islamic" ( for some reason ) PBUH.
I like the method they used tho. One man to pin your arms. One man to choke you blue and the third man to bash you in the face with a brick. Have to file that one as a keeper. Yeah.
#1
Sorry, but I think very few people care that America has declined in recent years, after all they voted for the "spread the wealth", take it away from us, humble us, we are not acceptional, guy... whats his name. right ?
America does NOT come on the bottom (Least and last) every time.
Except in "Tailor Made " Polls.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
10/25/2013 2:36 Comments ||
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#3
High-brow, leftest drivel intended for those poor souls doddering about in the chambre de domestique. We must keep them humiliated and worried, else they'll forget their place and wander off.
#4
Other factors matter: resource endowments; investment in physical capital and R. & D.; political stability; competition; openness to new innovations, ideas, and people; a reliable legal system; and ready access to finance. In some of these areas, the United States still ranks very high.
Oh yeah? Which ones? I guess even our current political system is more stable than Syria or the Sudan....
Posted by: Bobby ||
10/25/2013 9:36 Comments ||
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#5
It is hard to tell much from the demographics of Finland and Korea which leads in these charts. Finland demographics. Finland doesn't look much different than the U.S. South Korea was primitive prior to the Korean War. The U.S. built them up to what they are today. NORKS still remain primitive. Conclusion: The charts tell us little.
#6
One of the factors never taken into account is American laziness or focus. There's a lot of 'potential' that just remains potential till something motivates them. Why should anyone try harder if the product of your skill or labor is taken to provide to those who don't try harder. Why play in a game that is rigged to the benefit of others. All demotivates.
#9
#6 P2k - I could make more money than I do at present, but why bother? I can't make enough to be super-rich and have a fleet of accountants to protect my money from our ever-more-voracious gummint, so I make the minimum I need. Why should I bust my butt to make more money so the demoncrats can tax it away from me and give it to their voters who refuse to work? >:-(
Posted by: Barbara ||
10/25/2013 16:28 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.
North Korea
[An Nahar] Roma communities around Europe are being stereotyped and scapegoated in the wake of recent child abduction allegations in Ireland and Greece, the head of a Roma rights organization said Thursday.
A group of Australian Muslims has been accused of a sectarian attack on an American group during this year's Haj pilgrimage to Mecca. The Americans, who are Shiite Muslims from Detroit, claim they were assaulted and threatened by a group of Lebanese-Australian Sunni Muslim men at a pilgrim campground in Mina, near Mecca.
