Try not to burn the place down – be respectful – but express yourself.
Buy a delicious pie. Maybe a mug of green beer, however, in this case, I doubt the green has anything to do with food coloring.
Bullet Points:
** I’ll be back with the blog after St. Patrick’s Day.
** Adapt and overcome! When a nickel is too much money…
** The Shia cleric who was filmed at Pearson International Airport in Toronto, arriving from Iran together with his family, has been identified as Hojjatoleslam Morteza Tayyebi. He has recently obtained Canadian citizenship. Unfortunately, the government of Canada is sheltering these notorious Shia clerics of the Islamic regime, including those who have been directly involved in the killing of the Iranian people.
** (h/t Claudio) For most of this new century, China’s leaders have complained about the state of their armed forces. The critics include many irate generals and admirals. Increasingly, complaints are published so that everyone knows the problem is still being addressed. Initially, these complaints were confined to private meetings, but so many people attended that details eventually leaked to the public. Since these leaks do not represent official policy, they do not get repeated in the Chinese media, and foreign media tend to ignore them as well. It’s more profitable for the foreign media to portray the Chinese military as scary.
The situation is worse than imagined because it’s all about corruption among the military leadership. That leads to low standards for training and discipline. In short, Chinese military power is more fiction than fact, and three decades of trying to change that have not produced as much change as befits the most technologically advanced and well-equipped military China has ever produced. Corruption has been reduced, mainly with unannounced audits by anti-corruption organizations that have so far apparently been kept clean. These audits continue to find significant theft and other misconduct.
** IRGC Ground Forces have moved into Marivan – Kurdistan Province, Iran, and have told residents to evacuate. They are likely setting up positions in preparation for a possible ground conflict with the Kurds.
** It’s time for a little Chilidawg.
** Katie weighs in on the UK public sector… but it applies to the public sector everywhere, doesn’t it?
** China depends on foreign trade and is tied with the United States as the largest trading nation in the world. While losing access to Chinese products is a solvable problem for the Americans, it would be a disaster for China and its political leaders.
** An interesting perspective on Swiftboat John Kerry, and his medals.
** When the Don makes you an offer you can’t refuse.
Pickaxe Mountain – Iran
Pickaxe Mountain, also known as Kūh-e Kolang Gaz Lā, is composed of exceptionally hard, dense rock, frequently described by experts as being tougher to penetrate than reinforced concrete. While specific mineralogy for this exact peak is often grouped with the broader Karkas Mountains, nearby similar formations consist of granite, gneiss, limestone, and dolomite.
“Rods from God” (kinetic tungsten rods, typically 20 feet long and 1 foot in diameter) are designed to penetrate hundreds of feet into the Earth, with estimates often cited around 60 to 100+ meters (roughly 200–300+ feet) into reinforced concrete or hard rock like granite.
Parting Shot
End
US Military Academy birthday is today. 1802 Congress set up West Point.
Happy Birthday, USMA!
Shia Cleric Canadian Citizen; Recently read in our local R.W. Printed paper ” The Buffallo Gap”, about the 320+ mosques in TX. In 2021 DFW area had 62 Sunni and 5 Shia mosques. Other recent news reported plans for a neighborhood with schools and mosque NE of Dallas. Now to p20 of the Abilene TX print aforementioned; Over 13M in political donations in the last ten yrs to Abbott from Syed Anwar, a Midland Oil executive. During Abbots tenure 150 new mosques have gone up. Placing TX 3rd behind NY and Cali. Syed has also been appointed by Abbot to the Texas higher education coordinating board. Due to major cities and campuses turning blue, Texas is facing the plight of many western states of turning purple. Will the red rural populace be able to turn the tide?
It never ceases to amaze that people moving from one messed up state to another, that isn’t messed up, then proceed to mess that state up with the exact things that you left the other messed up state…it’s as if they can’t help themselves. Never understood that thinking, which is the opposite of ‘move to an area, ingratiate oneself, assimilate into the community, be helpful and not a PITA, and don’t screw with the inner workings unless asked.’
For the second aspect, what did anyone think would happen allowing all these unvetted Muslims into the country when it has always been apparent they do not assimilate, instead they take over (generally speaking). The brother of the Michigan synagogue attacker was a Hezbollah terrorist commander until he was killed in an Israeli strike days before the Michigan attack.
Nah, nothing to see there, move along folks. Excuses heaped on excuses in order to ‘remain tolerant’. Total baloney. The answer is simple: No more of their ilk allowed in, along with more mosques, until these people learn to play nice…which they won’t…because they can’t help themselves.
In the 90’s work led me to MT. Invested in a 5 acre lot, in an area where my conservative friends fled to from Oregon, for hunting and fishing and land use laws. A decade later visited a different area and I was shocked at the land management, land prices, and McMansions the Cali immigration brought on. MT, a far better refuge than other places, still has allowed a tranny rep in their state legislature. All the best in your new endeavors Paul.
Bozeman is changing, attributed – as with most college towns – to the university’s influence. Still nothing like Fort Collins r Laramie. The Montana AG is suing a couple of cities who are going against anti-sanc-city state law. A bright spot as people here are very wary of ‘the influx’.
Going from state to state messing things up: becoming aware of what they are doing requires several mental/emotional qualities libs treat like poison ivy. So they keep doing the same things over and over again while expecting different results.
Wish there was a cure…but once warped, always warped.
They’re like locusts….
If Texas falls…geeze. I know that Austin is weird and that metro Dallas is – sort of gone, but I had hopes that the rest of the place would balance things out.
I’m not certain if this is an old man complaining or what, but …
1. log-ons are becoming more and more complicated – supposedly to defeat hackers
a. having some (more than the usual) knowledge of the working of computers, I do not believe there is any way of preventing a good hacker who wishes to obtain data from entering any system
b. the advent of AI will make data hacking far easier
c. complicated log-ons are starting to defeat the user’s ease of employing computer for simple tasks
d. it appears to me (at any rate) that a fingerprint plus a DOB (even these can be very easily hacked from a database which is, in truth, more the protection concern of the company using them) might be far easier on the user
2. automobile headlights: 6000K and poorly aimed. Is it just me or:
a. 6000K lamps may illuminate the surface of the roadway better for the driver; I’ve been unable to locate research that proves this true (without an increase in the number of lumens) or that the retina is more sensitive to 6000K vs. 3500K
b. it may be me but it appears that the focal/aiming point of the majority of automobile headlights is horizontal today vs. a specified distance (such as ~10-15′ ahead) onto the roadway
Headlamps- There was a period when pickups were shipped without their beds but headlights were factory aimed, once the bed was installed the headlights were up 10 more degrees (let alone the general higher height). People never knew until they got ‘blinked’ a few times. Today headlights are designed more for the ubiquitous government ‘safety above all’ that fails consequences. Brightness is fine but geez, often lose my night vision for a few seconds with some of them. (so, not you.)
The only way I’ve ever been able to drive at night, while dealing with oncoming traffic, has been focusing on the edge of the pavement on the passenger side, and staying in my lane. It exposes me to the possibility the approaching driver is not in their lane, but peripheral vision alerts if there is a discrepancy in the location of the vehicle. Things are worse today for a few reasons: One is the extra bright sunlight headlamps, and in Texas, the removal of the annual safety inspection allows vehicles with headlamps out of adjustment to continue their blinding oncoming drivers, while they peruse their smart phone.
My opinion of current security for computers is stealth is the best method to avoid hacks. If you can’t be found, you can’t be hacked.
A guy who lives me was recently hacked – bad – they nailed him. But he had an old, crappy phone with little if any encryption built in and the same with his computer. You are less likely to be hacked if you use up to date equipment and stay on the ball. Nothing is fool proof.
My night vision is age degraded and the only way I can drive at night is with special tinted glasses. They are cheap and online everywhere. I too focus on the edge of the pavement. Then there are the idiots on bicycles or electric scooters that I don’t see until I right on top of them.
Last winter at a town hall meeting I was able to speak with some officers. They expressed their frustrations. Laws aren’t clear, difficult to pick out illegal headlights, etc. One did say, with an evil smile, misaimed lights will get you pulled over. Might result in further investigation.
WSF, h/t for the tip on the tinted glasses. The jacked up 4×4’s vs seat height of our Prius – like Jess i focus on the fog line.
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Pedestrians in all black. Keeps me double alert. We walk and ride toward dusk sometimes and wear bright reflective garb.
Yes, headlights are vastly too bright, today. It doesn’t even matter if they are properly aimed,
you go over a little rise in the road and the death rays sweep over all the oncoming cars,
destroying their operators’ night vision, and leaving afterimages on their vision.
We need to return the law to sealed beam lamps only; 4 or 2, round or rectangular. Halogen
should only be allowed on the high beams. It doesn’t matter how much you can see if it means
blinding the oncoming traffic.
*
Hell, even modern taillights are often too bright.
– Kle.
If there are a lot of wildlife on the road, you do need bright high beams for night driving. Usually there aren’t many other cars on the road.
open mike:
(I wonder if LL will begin to rue this whole idea?
postulate:
requirements for voting:
1. U.S. citizenship only (no one with dual citizenship allowed to vote in elections on/at any level) (“no man can serve two masters”)
2. 7 year committment and (Active and/or Reserve) service in a branch of the U.S. Armed Forces (both/only male and female: no other genders will be considered); no exemptions allowed [please do not offer the argument that the disabled (other than mentally) are unable to serve their country]
3. 7 out of 10 correct answers on a current events exam (who is the current President of the US, how many stars on the flag) administered just prior to entering the voting booth
4. no mail-in votes with the exception of people on active duty serving outside CONUS
5. fingerprint and DOB examined/checked prior to entering voting booth through a nationally connected computer (dual voting by students et al should be eliminated by this method)
#2 Mandatory seven years? I like the Heinlein suggestion that citizenship is tied to service. You don’t get one without the other. I suspect that you’d need a Constitutional amendment for #2 and #3. I think that #1, 4 & 5 could be handled by Congress. It would all but seal the fate of the Democrat Party, so they’d oppose your idea.
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I’ve always favored universal conscription. Not necessarily military service but a boot camp followed by public service of some sort for two years. At the risk of raising female ire – it’s important to the society that women (marry and) have children. I understand that some women won’t and other’s can’t, but 7 years of service would tend to interfere with that. We need to replace the population without resorting to importing foreigners to make up the difference. The US is short of replacement at the moment, though not as bad as the UK, Europe, South Korea, Japan and China.
2nd ¶
I agree – in part. Entry into the political sphere is considered “public service”; wadda load o’ horse manure. With the exception of our current President, I can think of almost no policritter I’ve known (some personally) who hasn’t benefited after/from his/her/its term of public service.
OTOH, there are many non-front-line (combat, IMHO, requires a full-time commitment – as viewed by someone who spent 2 years as as AF dentist) jobs that can be readily performed/filled once a week while allowing time to bear and raise children. There are many women in the workforce who have found ways to raise a healthy family while working a 9-5/5 day week.
Additionally, I found that a far greater proportion of men who’ve been in the Armed Services (and their wives), even those who’ve been conscripted, have a greater fondness for our Country and stand more in awe of our Constitution than those who ran to Canada (and elsewhere) to avoid the draft.
I’ve also found, for the most part, that white men who’ve been in the service have a better relationship with people of color (and vice versa) than those who’ve never had the opportunity/(been forced?) to work (and live – and fight) cheek by jowl.
I still have a discomforting question about universal conscription for those whose Book demands an all or nothing response from non-adherents (thank you Major Nidal Malik Hasan for providing me with the perfect example).
Question about the seven-year commitment. The total commitment, whether enlisted or drafted, was six years of some combination of active, guard or reserve when I was carrying the flag lo these fifty-odd years ago. Did that six-year commitment change and when? Otherwise, I’m in agreement with all of y’all ^, except that it seems to me “alternative” service for two years in a non-military setting is getting away easy (also known as “skating” to those of a certain age). Compared to those who put on the uniform and were potentially liable to great personal risk “subject to the needs of the service” versus those claiming alternative service as “a matter of conscience” who may have been exposed to paper cuts as a clerical worker.
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Now as to running off to Canada, yeah, those guys sucked but there was a silver lining. The numbers I’ve seen indicate about 10,000 Americans bugged out to Canada during Viet Nam whilst about 40,000 Canookians crossed the border and served in the United States military during the same period. Times change, eh?
volunteered AF at start of dental school (’62-’66); was advised that each subject, not the average grade, had to be above 85, otherwise the modified 2S would be reviewed “subject to the needs of the service” – that was 4 years (BTW: there was no Berry plan for dentists, we paid our own way), then 2 years active reserve (and guys could be posted to Nam though it appears that almost everyone who requested Nam was denied; active areas were only available to 2nd tour or problem children), then 1 year inactive reserve – 7 years total.
Two years, full-time (even clerical) is still better than none and, in any case, the two year once-a-week committment was meant to refer to women of child-bearing age. As in Israel, I do not see any reason why all physically and mentally fit women can’t serve their country in some (limited, if they wish) military capacity.
You can vet them out of the military but they should still pick up trash or do something by way of service. They can spray weeds and do that sort of work.
There is plenty of need to repair and restore public areas. CCC camp type work maybe operated in an improved way. Expand the Corps of Engineers and Sea Bees to improve various public services besides just parks and rec.
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7 yrs is a stretch, but at least Boron presented a starting list. The motherhood calling / occupation is to be highly valued.
Open mic, eh?
How about the movie, “The Bridge on the River Kwai.” I always thought it was a great movie. I recently found out it is an outrageous lie. Alistair Urquhart was drafted into the Gordon Highlanders and posted to Singapore. When it fell to the Japanese, he became a POW. Eventually he was sent to work on what has been referred to as the “Death Railway,” including the bridge which is the subject of the movie. POWs were given a starvation diet, regularly beaten and often killed at the whim of their guards. The conditions were akin to those of the Bataan Death March, except that the march ended: the work on the railway lasted a long time. Many prisoners died of starvation or disease. Urquhart worked as a slave on the railway for 750 days. I cannot understand how anyone could have presented the bridge building story as an uplifting example of the Brits and the Japs cooperating to build the bridge.
Urquhart’s story is told in “The Forgotten Highlander.” It is the most amazing survival story I have ever read. He survived the railway; he survived the sinking of two different prisoner ships which were torpedoed by the US Navy; he was working in a mine on the outskirts of Nagasaki when the atomic bomb was dropped. He felt the hot wind resulting from the detonation. He weighed 82 pounds when freed by the US Navy.
To top it off, when he returned home to be discharged, the British Army wanted to charge him for the rifle he gave up when ordered to surrender.
I highly recommend the book, but you need a strong stomach to read it.
I was aware of the circumstances surrounding the railway, and of the (typical) Japanese brutality toward prisoners including random executions and regular beatings. It takes a lot to forgive that sort of thing, but everyone involved is dead, so we remember and move on, living with the present reality. I also recall the exceptional bravery of Japanese Americans who fought for the US in Europe during WW2. I knew one of those men personally, but entropy – he’s gone too. There are as few stories of Japanese humane treatment of prisoners as there are hen’s teeth.
John Kerry
Frank Schmidt was an engine man (snipe) on the patrol boat next to Kerry’s. He told me that Kerry did go out, was in combat, and transferred out early. He went on to say Kerry didn’t make much of an impression on the group as a whole and his crew was glad to see him go. This was around 1992 when he talked about it.
He was a Bonesman at Yale. Admiral Elmo Zumwalt (4 stars) was his rabbi. As I recall, Kerry was awarded a Silver Star, not a Bronze Star. Pennsylvania Senator John Heinz (Ketchup King killed in plane crash) died and Kerry married the widow’s billions four years later in a private ceremony. I’m not implying anything untoward. Mid-air collision with a helicopter. For what it’s worth, I was a contractor for Heinz when Kerry was in the mix for a while and dealt with issues for them in PR China. They paid well.
‘Skull and Bones Above All Other!’
Does he have the ceremonial ‘brand’ under his Breitling? Trust but verify.
Who was it who said Kerry was America’s most well known gigolo?
“While losing access to Chinese products is a solvable problem for the Americans,”
Prescription, among other, medications?
A lot of that has moved to the US already.
The final pharmaceutical production is moving to the USA, but a lot of the source materials are still coming out of China and India. One friend who worked in quality control has a *lot* to say about the …variable… quality of source materials coming out of China, and not much better opinions out of India.
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Did you know there’s an 80/20 rule? Under 21 CFR 1312.13, We may only import morphine source stock from 7 countries, 80% must come from “traditional” morphine suppliers: Turkey and India. The other 20% comes from France, Poland, Hungary, Australia, and Yugoslavia. Factor that into your geopolitics, eh?
I expect that we’ll be importing most of it from Kurdistan in the future given the situation.
‘Maw-Maw’s Ho-Made Pies’ – We use the finest holler-grown ingredients and spring water. (Now that’s an ‘invitin’ farmer wagon!)
Glad you commented on the art pieces Paul. They are pleasant and often thought provoking, so I hope our curator keeps them coming. And or artist / author keeps enjoying the process creating and sharing.
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A “pie” as I’ve known it needs to be a deep dish pizza. But out in tha hollar they can call which ever, whatever they want.
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Caption art. Perhaps the mueble is symbolic of a sailors crows nest and the instruments are for locating longitude?
Frankly, I expect those pies would be amazing, delicious, and the crust made with an expert touch that I don’t have enough years to catch up on the skill level involved.
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The fact that they’re anything but healthy for you… it’s *pie!*
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This response brought to you by someone who considered it perfectly reasonable to fire up the airplane and fly about 120 miles past the Knik glacier, up a mountain pass dodging the interesting downdrafts and turbulence around Sheep Mountain, and land on the road, taxiing into the RV / semi overflow parking (because the airstrip beside the road was a rutted mess after some idiot landed there when it was 6 inches of mud; the road’s safer), in order to get a slice of pie and a cup of coffee at the ramshackle diner next to the Eureka gas station.
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It was even worth patiently herding the tourists * out of the way* so that I could taxi out and take off without running them over or sandblasting ’em with prop wash on the way out.
Does liking pie diminish me? Maybe. I eat so little of it these days, but there is a significant difference between “pie” and “really good pie.” A lot of people buy pre-done crust and that’s ok for “pie”.
Another site mentioned a pie shop at a nearby town. When he mentioned it to his mother she said that their pie crust does not flake properly.
I buy pre-made pie crust, because I’m not skilled enough to make it right. I know, taking the shortcut ensures I won’t build the skill, either, but it gets the pie made in the time available.
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A really good pie is a gastronomic delight, like a perfectly roasted & brewed cup of coffee… but life is too short not to appreciate a pretty decent slice of pie put in front of me with a cup of diner coffee by a tired waitress with a sympathetic smile.
PIE! Lovely stuff. I had a girlfriend in College that my buddy said was “Flakier Than Grandma’s Pie Crust”, and I understood him perfectly…..
Tayyebi is not the first, and won’t be the last mullah to run for cover. And apparently a ‘lot’ of Iranian money has also been tranferred to Canada. Time to close ‘that’ border too!
It’s not exactly news. We’ve been talking about it here for a while.
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Kurdish forces have crossed from Iraq into Iran’s Kurdistan Province, opening a new ground front against the regime. The advance follows weeks of U.S. and Israeli airstrikes that hammered IRGC border positions and military bases in western Iran, clearing the path for this coordinated push.
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Peshmerga units, long based in northern Iraq and armed in part through reported CIA efforts, are now engaging to pressure Tehran from within while the regime reels from degraded missile and drone stocks. Multiple Kurdish groups, including PAK and Komala, have signaled readiness to seize control of Kurdish-majority areas and shield civilians from repression.
This development marks a significant escalation in the ongoing U.S.-Israeli campaign, which began with strikes that eliminated key regime figures and targeted nuclear, missile, and security infrastructure. With air dominance secured over much of Iran, the entry of motivated ground forces offers a real chance to fracture the regime further and support internal unrest.
H/T for the update. I’m here for the real news, as the Lamestream reels are abhorrent. Also… here for “the rest of the story” and commentary such as fishlaw contributed.
Ah, RFG. Thanks for bringing that option up. Kinetic.
Question seen elsewhere: If I buy an all electric helicopter and use it to toss out communists, can I still get Save-The-Environment credits?
Carbon credits and biodiversity credits if wild animals and worms feast on the flesh of the dead communists.
As long as the helo has a ‘COEXIST’ bumper sticker on it you’re good to go….it’s like a Monopoly free pass thing, only the opposite mentality.
(Learning these rules about certain inhabitants late in the game, it’s like a secret code or something.)
Thank God the whales are saved. I don’t see those stickers anymore.
But there must be a blue/yellow flag sticker.
Don’t forget the polar bears, Gaia Soothsayer Al Gore said they’d be gone by now…except they’re not…hardly…apparently had a resurgence he failed to predict.
I drive with my auto-reactive welding helmet on at night.
It does limit my peripheral vision….
Chrome obviously thought this comment belonged here and not where I intended it.
Still funny…
They do make goggles which might help with the peripheral.
Has anyone here heard about Gary Plauché Day? How does the celebration go?
Random thought – one donghua had a bad guy suing a corruption song attack. It would have been a great opportunity for the main character to counterattack with a recording of Yoko Ono.
Using, not suing…fatfingeritis.