Isn’t this clever? Unarmed security guards.
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - Somali pirates hijacked a chemical tanker with dozens of Indian crew members Friday and a helicopter rescued three British security guards who had jumped into the sea, officials said . . .
Still on board were 25 Indian and two Bangladeshi crew members, said diplomats who could not be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media. The British security guards escaped by jumping into the water, said a news release issued by their company, Anti-Piracy Maritime Security Solutions.
The company said it was aware of the incident on the chemical tanker it identified as M/V BISCAGLIA.
“We have been informed by coalition military authorities that three of our unarmed security staff were rescued from the water by a coalition helicopter and are currently on board a coalition warship in the Gulf of Aden,” the company statement said.
J.D. Pendry, retired Command Sergeant Major, recalls one of Obama’s campaign statements and asks a good question:
“We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives we’ve set. We’ve got to have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded.”
“Just as powerful, just as strong, just as well funded” According to the Department of Defense, the active duty military strength as of June 30, 2008 was 1,385,122. There are 1,105,297 active duty military in the United States and its territories and 279,825 in foreign countries. These numbers do not include the military reserves. The National Defense Budget for 2008 was 647.2 billion dollars. Why would we need a “civilian national security force just as powerful, just as strong, just as well funded” as that?
What exactly does the President-elect envision as the mission of this force? Every state has a State Police Force. Every Governor has at his or her disposal the state’s National Guard. We have the Federal Bureau of Investigation, The Drug Enforcement Agency, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, The U.S. Border Patrol, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the US Coastguard and probably some agencies I have never heard of. The question that comes to mind is what exactly will the President’s national security force do that is not already accomplished by these organizations? I am not going to write the answers that keep popping into my mind; just suffice it to say that none of them are good.
But there’s another way to make a civilian security force just as powerful and well-funded as the military, and that’s to make the military just as weak and under-funded as your civilian national security force. If you can’t bring one up, then take the other down.
Maybe the new administration could pattern it after that British security force of three unarmed guys who abandon ship when it runs into trouble.
November 30th, 2008
Posted by
Fitzroy |
Ammo, Politics |
no comments
“I only wish I had a gun rather than a camera.” – Sebastian D’Souza who photographed terrorists at the Mumbai train station.
“Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword obviously never encountered automatic weapons.” – General Douglas Macarthur
U.N. Committee Acts to Criminalize Defamation of Islam. From the Jewish Daily:
The United Nations saw another shred of its tattered dignity stripped away November 24, when a committee of the General Assembly approved what amounts to a direct assault on Western liberal democracy. In an 85-50 vote, with 42 abstaining, the so-called Third Committee adopted a resolution, submitted by a caucus of Islamic nations, to criminalize expressions deemed to be “defamation of religion,” with special concern for Islam. All U.N. member states would be called on to amend their criminal codes accordingly. The measure’s next stop is the General Assembly, where it is expected to win handily, probably in December.
More troubling: “Many legal scholars believe that the decisions of international conferences of this sort can be incorporated into international law, putting them under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.”
And that would be the international law, I suppose, that the Supreme Court (Justice Kennedy in particular) has found so many occasions to cite in recent years as the proper lens through which to view our Constitution.
Seeking a Less Discriminating Disease. The Carleton University Students’ Association has raised over $1 million in the fight against cystic fibrosis over recent years as part of orientation week. This year brings a new resolution:
Whereas Orientation week strives to be [as] inclusive as possible;
Whereas all orientees and volunteers should feel like their fundraising efforts will serve the their diverse communities;
And Whereas Cystic fibrosis has been recently revealed to only affect white people, and primarily men. . . .
Saddest List of Saddest Songs. Yahoo provides a list of “The 20 Most Heart-Breaking Songs of All Time.” Although the list includes a few tunes worthy of mention, my definition of “all time” would go back a little earlier than 1959. Imagine the possibilities if people knew more music than what they are spoon fed by the industry.
November 30th, 2008
Posted by
Fitzroy |
Ammo, Music, Politics |
no comments
My Thanksgiving 2008 was almost destroyed by a small 12-pound turkey. It brought me to my knees; it brought tears to my eyes; it almost sent me to bed.
All week I knew I needed to get a cheap frozen turkey and start thawing it by putting it in the fridge for a good three days. But this is the land of post-Katrina procrastination, and Monday and Tuesday passed and I was just too damn busy or exhausted to get the damn turkey. So Wednesday morning on my way to work I put a cooler in the car, bought the turkey and other provisions, and headed to the office, figuring the turkey could spend the day in the back of my Trailblazer relaxing in his styrofoam cell. (I left the lid loose so he could have some ventilation.) Got home around 4:00 p.m. and put Mr. Turkey in the fridge, thinking he’d had a nice head start after the day in the Trailblazer. Woke up at midnight thirsty and put the still-disappointingly hard turkey in the pre-cleaned sink full of cold water to continue thawing ’til morn. 3:00 a.m., bathroom break, noticed all water had drained out, refilled. By 7:30 a.m., I had that miserable bastard thawed about 75%, and needed to get his neck out of the chest cavity to finalize the process from the inside.
This is where my delay in preparation began to sharpen its fangs. I reached into the chest cavity and got hold of the cold, greasy turkey neck, and began to pull. Thus began a wrestling match, as the neck was caught deep in the mostly frozen chest cavity. The devil of it was, it always seemed to be on the verge of coming free — a truly delusional feeling. And so I pulled. And I twisted. And I cursed. And I sweated. (Repeat the foregoing for like 10 minutes.) All the while water was running into the cavity, mind you, as I’m trying to thaw it from the inside out. Well, when that neck finally came out, it came out with a pop! Right in my face, full of water and deadly turkey juice and bacteria! And a goodly spray all over the kitchen! MASS CONTAMINATION with turkey blood and juice! Much cursing of myself and the turkey and whatever devil stuffed that neck so far into that cavity like a booby trap from hell.
By now, my entire right hand was frozen, and my right arm was twitching from pulling and twisting and wrenching on that misbegotten neck for 15 minutes. As I went to complete my rinsing of the jolly Mr. Turkey, I accidentally pressed his already damaged breast up against the faucet head, causing an amazing 360 degree spray of, you guessed it, ATOMIZED TURKEY BLOOD/JUICE bacteria media all over me and my kitchen! We’re all gonna die because I couldn’t buy a turkey on Monday! My kitchen was now a bacteria wonderland! My self esteem: 0; turkey, 10.
Well, the turkey and I took a rest, both of us seeking a more moderate temperature. After a while, I gave him a good rub down with olive oil (he still laughing) and sprinkled him with Tony Chachere’s cajun seasoning, further spreading contamination of turkey juice, olive oil, and seasoning all over myself and the kitchen and the bird. Then I popped him into a hot 425 degree over, using my mother’s method of searing the outside to hold in more juice. After that I reduced the heat to 350 and started pouring cheap wine over the high points of the turkey every half hour. Things were looking better . . . for the moment.
Having been terrified by TV shows about poultry cross-contamination, I mixed up a solution of floor cleaner and bleach, and began wiping down my entire kitchen with this mix — including my oven door handrail, which, unbeknownst to me, pushed the temp knob to . . . 450. Right then, being the red-blooded, red-state guy I am, I called Mom to wish her a happy Thanksgiving (and to seek sympathy for my travails) . . . and headed way up to the other end of the house.
I had a nice long chat with Mom, then proceed back toward the kitchen, only to be greeted by (1) clouds of dense blue smoke; and (2) the sound of vigorous crazed loud sizzling emanating from the oven (along with the smoke). OH #*@&!!!! Instead of roasting quietly at 325 or 350, my turkey had been in a 450 degree CRUCIBLE for almost 30 minutes!!! OH &@*#!!! I turned off the oven, threw open doors and windows, turned on my new central air-conditioning system, and even turned on the old window unit (all on full blast “exhaust”). I dumped water in the roasting pan, which had been boiled free of all wine and other liquid except burnt, black, smoking turkey fat. The turkey itself looked like it had witnessed a small nuclear explosion — not totally black, but a very nice shade of the deepest brown, with the skin pulled taught. The automatic popup temperature sensor looked like it popped halfway up and died, like a soldier from the trenches in the Muse-Argonne offensive. The turkey nominally had about an hour to go, but the cooking schedule had not survived first contact with the enemy. And is that a siren I hear?
Well, you can imagine my self esteem at this point. I was concerned whether the smoke smell would permanently remain. I had ruined my kitchen, my house, my turkey, my roasting pan, my oven, and, let’s face it, my life. The neighbors were doubtlessly laughing and taking bets on whether this is a covered insurance claim as the smoke billowed out every orifice of the turkey and my house.
After things stabilized, I put the much-abused turkey back in the oven and turned it up to 350 to give it like 45 minutes, trying to compensate for the double-flash pyroclastic volcanic torture it had been through.
Well, it was then time to leave for the “official” T’Giving dinner at my ex-inlaws, so I left the turkey on the stove top where he could survey the spoils of war. When I got back five hours later, I saw that not very far below his charred skin was . . . pink. Okay, so he wasn’t really done. I fired up the oven and put the no-doubt bacteria laden turkey back in for an hour, along with some potatoes.
In the end, the turkey was not that bad. The juices from the pan tasted like soy sauce, which must be made by burning soy. I made some stove top stuffing. I made turkey-and-stuffing burritos.
The dinner at my ex-inlaws might better be called “Ranks-Giving” as it seemed to consist of people getting ranked and no one particularly thankful for anything. Left-handed compliments and snide, cynical, sarcastic expressions of faux-gratitude were the order of the day. Nobody expressed gratitude for me, or for our new President and all the hope and “yes we can” good stuff he’s gonna bring us. Their turkey was fine, if somewhat boring.
But in the end, I had a feeling of real gratitude for the one thing that is left to us now and my only accomplishment of the day – SURVIVAL.
I survived my evil 12 lb. turkey and my own fantastic incompetence. Perhaps I can survive Christmas; perhaps I can survive . . . Obama . . . and for that, that slim, dicey possibility, I am truly grateful.
November 29th, 2008
Posted by
The Strafer |
Leisure |
2 comments
For those of you who need an extra celebration drink to go with your Thanksgiving leftovers, here’s pumpkin shot made with Kahlua, Bailey’s, and Tequila.
November 28th, 2008
Posted by
Fitzroy |
Leisure |
no comments
Two recent articles concerning the presidency caught my attention. One concerns presidential speeches, the other the electoral college, but both deal primarily with the problem of demagoguery.
John McWorther reviews Elvin Lim’s The Anti-Intellectual Presidency in First Things:
[The book] is not one more rant about the limited cognitive abilities of George W. Bush but a brisk, methodical deconstruction of “the relentless simplification of presidential rhetoric in the last two centuries and the increasing substitution of arguments with applause-rendering platitudes, partisan punch lines and emotional and human interest appeals.”
* * *
Using logos (argument), ethos (credibility), and pathos (emotion)—the distinctions Aristotle made in rhetoric—Lim observes that logos has been all but eclipsed in modern presidential speeches.
* * *
Lim considers anti-intellectualism in presidential speeches an especially dire problem, constituting a threat to democracy because it infects public discourse with demagoguery.
James W. Ceaser writes about the electoral college in The Claremont Review of Books:
The principal objective was to choose a sound statesman, someone “pre-eminent for ability and virtue,” in the words of The Federalist, by a method that satisfied republican standards of legitimacy. (The system, with electors to be chosen by the state legislatures or the public, was a remarkably democratic arrangement for its day.) How to identify a person of “virtue” was the crux of the issue. The best way would be a judgment based largely on the individual’s record of public service, as determined finally by the electors. The founders’ intent was above all to prevent having the decision turn on a demonstration of skill in the “popular arts” as displayed in a campaign. They were deeply fearful of leaders deploying popular oratory as the means of winning distinction; this would open the door to demagoguery, which, as the ancients had shown, was the greatest threat to the maintenance of moderate popular government. By demagoguery, the founders did not mean merely the fomenting of class envy, or harsh, angry appeals to regressive forces; they also had in mind the softer, more artful designs of a Pericles or a Caesar, who appealed to hopeful expectations, “those brilliant appearances of genius and patriotism, which, like transient meteors, sometimes mislead as well as dazzle” (Federalist 68). The greatest demagogues would be those who escaped the label altogether.
Skill in the popular arts is an essential attribute for presidential candidates today. The current primary system for choosing nominees carries all the problems that the electoral college was designed to avoid, and the resulting degradation of campaign rhetoric and the absence of serious discussion of critical issues are entirely predictable.
November 28th, 2008
Posted by
Fitzroy |
Language, Politics |
one comment
The president of Florida Gulf Coast University has penned a memo to his constituents concerning the upcoming “Winter Break,” which is the subject of my letter. You can read his short memo here.
Dear President Bradshaw:
It is so reassuring to hear that you are making “no attempt to suppress expression of the holiday spirit” at Florida Gulf Coast University. Nice of you to advise everyone of that up front and avoid any potential misunderstanding from your memo telling people to keep the campus undecorated.
I notice a definite article in that sentence: your use of “the,” which suggests a reference not to just any holiday spirit, but rather a particular holiday spirit. Which one would that be?
You go to great lengths to talk about the “wealth of cultural diversity” and “each other’s traditions” and “individual expression of beliefs.” That is, like, so open minded; but I can’t help thinking that when you address “the holiday spirit” you really mean the holiday that is traditionally celebrated by people on the Florida Gulf Coast. Perhaps you have done some research into local customs and discovered that Floridians and their ancestors have observed this particular holiday since before there were universities.
As you say, these revelers can certainly be vocal and almost surely comprise a majority on the Florida Gulf Coast, but do people there really think this is “the only opinion that is held”? Are your students and the citizens of Florida really so parochial and crass? My, my! They certainly are fortunate to have a university located in their community to bring them news from the outside world.
And how bold of you to appoint a committee to look into this problem! I can’t wait to see their recommendations for how we can become more sensitive. We should all take great comfort in learning – “not only in December, but throughout the year” – of all these other traditions, especially since we soon won’t have any traditions of our own left to enjoy.
With best wishes for a joyful and prosperous whatever,
Fitzroy
Anchoress also comments:
These people prattling on and on, trying to render everything sterile in the name of “sensitivity” and “accuracy” give me a pain in the ass. One wonders - if these practices are so “demeaning” and detrimental to society - how these enlightened folks (who very likely participated in all of these dress-up and decorating rituals at some point in their lives, and did so with excitement and enjoyment) ever managed to break free of the oppressive chains of their childhoods so as to lead the rest of us out of every goofy and affectionate tradition and into the promised land of blandness, where there is no joy, but lots of grave breast-beating and serious reflection.
November 26th, 2008
Posted by
Fitzroy |
Education, Religion |
no comments
A judge in Miami concluded that there is no rational basis for thinking children are better off with a father (of the male variety) and a mother (of the non-male variety).
When it comes to choosing a car or a lightbulb, we are admonished to listen to even the faintest murmurings of the Earth and conform our actions to the natural order. For nature is wise and we thwart it at our peril.
But motherhood? Rubbish.
November 25th, 2008
Posted by
Fitzroy |
Law |
no comments
Ezra Levant, who has had an ongoing battle with the ironically named Canadian Human Rights Commission, reports that the tide has turned against the thought police. The CHRC famously prosecuted Mark Steyn this year, eventually caving to reality. Its less well-known targets do not fare so well, as in the case of Stephen Boissoin who was ordered to pay reparations to the non-existent victim and never to disparage homosexuals again.
Richard Moon, designated to review CHRC’s conduct, was supposed to be a reliable ally. But instead, he has called for the repeal of the “hate speech” provision.
The CHRC was surprised, too, and obviously not pleased. Although Moon’s report used the word “repeal” 11 times — it was his primary recommendation — that word appears nowhere in the CHRC’s press release announcing his findings.
It’s no longer even a matter of serious debate in Canada. The entire political spectrum has rebelled against section 13, with critics as diverse as Egale, the gay rights lobby, PEN Canada and the Toronto Star joining the National Post, the Canadian Association of Journalists, Noam Chomsky and even TV’s Rick Mercer calling for section 13 to be repealed. The only people who don’t seem to get it are those with a personal stake in censorship — the bureaucrats and lawyers who make a living off the law; as well as the community groups that support them, such as the Canadian Jewish Congress and Canadian Islamic Congress.
The left’s penchant for regulation of hate speech has always been a bad idea. The movement gained a foothold in Canada and Europe while our First Amendment has constrained it primarily to college campuses.
Levant suggests that a bipartisan effort to repeal the measure may be in the offing. Let’s hope that’s the case. But I would think the left is more likely to amend it instead, taking the position that it was a good idea that was merely applied incorrectly. Expect any amendments to make it worse still.
November 25th, 2008
Posted by
Fitzroy |
Law |
no comments
Happy Victory in Iraq Day. In case you missed it.
Ten Politically Incorrect Propositions. It’s difficult to choose just one for an excerpt because Victor Davis Hanson puts a lot of meat on the table with this article. Number 6, however, is particularly interesting:
Something has happened to the generic American male accent. Maybe it is urbanization; perhaps it is now an affectation to sound precise and caring with a patina of intellectual authority; perhaps it is the fashion culture of the metrosexual; maybe it is the influence of the gay community in arts and popular culture. Maybe the ubiquitous new intonation comes from the scarcity of salty old jobs in construction, farming, or fishing. But increasingly to meet a young American male about 25 is to hear a particular nasal stress, a much higher tone than one heard 40 years ago, and, to be frank, to listen to a precious voice often nearly indistinguishable from the female. How indeed could one make Westerns these days, when there simply is not anyone left who sounds like John Wayne, Richard Boone, Robert Duvall, or Gary Cooper much less a Struther Martin, Jack Palance, L.Q. Jones, or Ben Johnson? I watched the movie Twelve O’clock High the other day, and Gregory Peck and Dean Jagger sounded liked they were from another planet. I confess over the last year, I have been interviewed a half-dozen times on the phone, and had no idea at first whether a male or female was asking the questions. All this sounds absurd, but I think upon reflection readers my age (55) will attest they have had the same experience. In the old days, I remember only that I first heard a variant of this accent with the old Paul Lynde character actor in one of the Flubber movies; now young men sound closer to his camp than to a Jack Palance or Alan Ladd.
Candy Asses. That’s Ann Althouse’s description of the anti Sarah Palin crowd hyperventilating over a dead turkey, and I can’t think of a better one. I guess the 52 percent will be eating bean sprouts for Thanksgiving.
Lesson for Candy Asses: “When tillage begins, other arts follow. The farmers, therefore, are the founders of human civilization.” – Daniel Webster
November 23rd, 2008
Posted by
Fitzroy |
Language, Politics, Ranching |
no comments
New Orleans shares a few traits with San Francisco. You can find excellent food and lots of people who think debauchery is a sign of sophistication. Both cities have lost some of their historical distinctiveness to economic and social fads. Politicians from either place are likely to be crazy and should not be given leadership posts in Congress.
That said, San Francisco is a place where you can actually do business. New Orleans is a place where you could actually live, as I did for quite a few years. Under no circumstances should you attempt to do business in New Orleans or live in San Francisco.
In New Orleans, 
oysters are plentiful and very much the food of ordinary folk. But the oyster shot, which has a Louisiana flavor to it, was purportedly concocted by gold miners in San Francisco who thought oysters were the food of the rich.
1 small freshly shucked raw oyster with its juice or liquor
1 ounce ice cold high-quality Vodka
Dash of Tabasco sauce or your favorite hot sauce
Squeeze of fresh-squeezed lemon juice
Place oyster and its liquor (juice) in bottom of a chilled martini or shot glass (any small glass may be used). Pour in Vodka; add Tabasco Sauce and lemon juice. Drink as a shot, allowing oyster to slide down your throat, try not to chew. Enjoy!
In New Orleans, raw oysters are eaten in large quantities, not with a dash of Tabasco but with copious amounts of Tabasco, horseradish, Worcestershire, and whatever else is handy. They should be accompanied by Dixie Beer, maybe with a dash of vodka.
November 21st, 2008
Posted by
Fitzroy |
Leisure |
3 comments
