I like English Injuns. Iron Maiden at Rockin’ Rio!

Yikes! That was one hell of a ride. I think I’ll buckle up for the next one and break out the popcorn. Oh wait, I can’t do that anymore. OK, let’s try this: Enjoy your snacks of choice, and watch as much TV as you possibly can. That way you’ll be properly informed if you do have to make any important decisions this year. Just kidding of course: my wife owns a TV set, I don’t have the patience for that kind of bunk. Never did care much for clown acts either until my older years. Now I just smile, if I’m not rolling on the floor and laughing my ass off. They’re actually doing a pretty good job (congress clowns) in the clown sense, but I’m not sure if I’d want that bunch running anything with buttons that actually did something on it.

Anyhow, a cold front just dipped through the mid-west so I’m going to put a log on the fire now.

Update Jan.1 10:47 AM: 20 degrees, snow flurries, and wind today. Sure glad I carried my carbon credits wood in ahead of time. I put them in the Harman wood boiler and don’t bother with the fireplace. I need heat, not ambiance at this point in the game.
Al Gore was all tied up so I had to do it myself. What a concept…….

I’ve often wondered if Pakistan was somewhat more of a problem than most realized. Benazir Bhutto’s assassination today will have it’s consequences, of that you can be sure. As a matter if fact, I’m starting to see a whole lot of pale looking canaries these days. That’s not a good sign……..

How bad it can get isn’t the crucial question here folk’s; It’s how fast it can get that way…..

RIP Benazir Bhutto…..

Seconds later she was dying.

Pakistan’s Bhutto killed in attack

Ten dead in Pakistan rioting; police on highest “red alert” level

Great news folks. Mad815 registered today and is one of the gunners in the picture of “Wild Thing” that Okie provided HERE. Working the rock quarries off compound was a lot safer thanks to these guy’s. Stray bullets, dynamite, and blasting caps just didn’t mix very well.

That makes four of us now that spent time together at Camp Dillard and have managed to hookup thanks to the Internet.

Merry Christmas and thanks for the gift that keeps on giving Mad815. Come to think of it, you may be responsible for me still being here in the first place. Welcome home Brother Deuce!

Mad815 sent me this picture of “Wild Thing” in it’s current re-incarnation. Heh, I didn’t realize it would actually follow me home. For the big picture just click on the image below.

I had the distinct pleasure of watching these guy’s using the Minigun. It’s a sound you’ll never forget, and won’t hear if you happen to be on the receiving end.

Here’s a video of one firing at about 3000 RPM if I’m hearing it right. Click on the YouTube button. The music track is just a bonus…..

I also would like to welcome Dick Bowman to the blogroll. He’s got a website dedicated to the 815th that chronicles the history of the unit and keeps tab’s on those of us that served with it. Nice job on his part.

Check it out HERE or click on the sidebar button in the left column.

Thanks Web!/Exspider/out/log on fire.

Merry Christmas too all of you, and never give up on your sense of humor folks. Wear it as a badge of honor and have a Happy New Year or “I’ll Keel you!”.

Achmed/out

The recently passed energy bill includes the phasing out of the incandescent bulb. It’s just another example of knee jerk reactions from the so-called environmental movement and global warming crowd. More often than not these attempts to “go green” backfire on everybody and do more harm than good. It’s nothing other than feel good, nanny state politics run amuck.

Somewhere, Mr. Edison Gently Weeps The American Spectator

Kiss your bulbs goodbye WorldNetDaily

Popular Mechanics Lab Test

Read the comments section on the PM article for some insight as too how well CF bulbs work out in the real world.

H/T to bdfaith at Old War Dogs for the link. His daily “Politics and National Defense Roundup’s” are a good source for information in this brave new world we seem to have inherited.

The Ethanol Fallacy: Op-Ed. From Popular Mechanics

America needs smart alternative to oil, but the just-passed energy bill puts too much emphasis on the wrong alternative, PM’s editor-in-chief says.

The idea is so appealing: We can reduce our dependence on oil—stop sending U.S. dollars to corrupt petro-dictators, stop spewing megatons of carbon into the atmos¬phere—by replacing it with clean, home-grown, all-American corn. It sounds too good to be true.

Sadly, it is.

(More)

My comment: Politics by nature shouldn’t be part and parcel to national security. It all too often gets to be the main focus for people however, and takes away from the real job at hand. It’s kind of like not paying attention when you’re operating presses or something I guess. Get distracted and you could loose some fingers…….

Israel’s Shattered Trust
By: P. David Hornik
The NIE has stunned Israel into facing the unthinkable.

Is Israel standing up for itself at last? The U.S. National Intelligence Estimate on Iran—particularly its lead sentence that “We judge with high confidence that in fall 2003, Tehran halted its nuclear weapons program”—has caused wall-to-wall consternation in Israel, whose intelligence community is convinced that Iran has never, except possibly for a brief intermission, stopped working on its bomb.

(More)

I encourage everybody to watch this video that Matt posted over at 1913Intell HERE.

The audio is weak, so you may have to adjust your hearing aids or speakers somewhat. Niall Ferguson is right on target in the geopolitical sense, he makes some points that should be common knowledge, but are never heard by most.

Oh, while we’re on the subject check this out:

The Stale Fortune Cookie Of U.S./ Red China Foreign Policy

The Taiwan issue is going to come up in the near future whether we like it or not. Remember that and vote accordingly. Your life may be in the balance of it all….

Maybe South Korea is on to something here. Of course in America, we just throw “mud pies” at each other. Same effect, but not nearly as entertaining.

I love it enough to fight for it; what a concept…….

From Slapstick Politics in regards to the recent Colorado shootings.You really need to check this out ….

Colorado Shootings Day Two

This lady is a true hero and saved countless lives.

Nice shot Jeanne Assam!

I’d also like to give a h/t to Bmac over at A Fine Line Between Stupid And Clever for linking to IOR.

This ones for you Mary Lamb……. 

Its sad to say that he probably won’t get what he truly deserves, which would be a quick boot on his $ss while he’s headed out the back door. I’ve had it up to here with these clowns trying to run the circus. Heh, and they wonder why things don’t go as planned?

It’s (Past) Time for Murtha to Resign
By: FrontPage Magazine
The surge is working; Jack Murtha shouldn’t be.

“Every public official has the right to be wrong on an issue, even forcefully wrong – and to bear the responsibility for his stand. That’s what being a “Profile in Courage” is all about. As the most publicly visible advocate of American surrender, his endorsement of the surge he derided as hopeless and opposed even as it was bearing fruit just months ago amounts to an almost total self-repudiation. His continued, full-throated defense of American withdrawal from Vietnam, Beirut, and Somalia – the three reversals that convinced Osama bin Laden he could attack the Great Satan with impunity – indicate the Congressman is not merely passionately wrong but possibly ineducable. This alone would demand for the resignation of an honorable man. The most compelling reason for John Murtha’s resignation, though, is that he is not an honorable man. Citing inside military sources, he publicly accused U.S. Marines of murdering innocent Iraqis “in cold blood.” (Unfortunately, Murtha was not referencing these informants when he said, “Look, these guys have lied to us so much, I’ve even lost confidence in the military”; he was referring to those honest enlisted men who said the surge was working.) Although all but one of the accused has been cleared of criminal charges, Murtha pointedly refused to apologize for painting American troops as pariahs, sadists, and maniacs – even as they face al-Qaeda demons who cook their opponents’ children alive”.

Continue Reading…..

H/T to 1913 Intel for the link. Matt does a great job of providing news links that you won’t get anywhere else, without doing some digging on your part of course. Nice work IMO.

A Terrorist State in the G8?
by Lt. Gen. Ion Mihai Pacepa

“There is no historical precedent for a country to be governed by former and active officers of a political police organization that killed millions in the past and still considers murder an acceptable, even obligatory, practice.”

continue reading…….