These folks are on to something...

DON'T fool around with Monarch Airlines... they will ground you somplace where you will have time to cool off and think, say... a desert island! Yes, that's right. They can and they WILL. They just did it!
I love it. That's so perfect. Granted, the island's inhabitants likely did not deserve the bastard's presence, but I love it when such decisive action is taken rather than trying to coddle the problem people.

Another airline that simply is not playing around is El Al. Long known as people not to mess with, they are going another step beyond my installing automatic flare dispensers on six of their jets. An unfortunate sign if the times, the dispensers are actually designed for military use. Recent events like getting SAMs chucked at El Al airliners in Kenya call for such extreme gear and it would not entirely surprise me to see the day that chaff dispensers and even ECM (electronic counter-measures) pods are added.

Hot Link

Thanks to the Carnival of Comedy over at IMAO, I discovered a blog that left me rolling with laughter for most of time that I was reading it. You must check it out, it's Radioactive Liberty. This post especially got me going.

Really though, the entire Carnival is quite ammusing and you all need to check it out like good little minions. Be warned, though, the 'German Grade Humor' category is accurately described.

Narnia eclipses Kong

About time... that's the way it ought to be.

Merry Christmas!

To my few readers:

I was doing some housekeeping and noticed that many of my posts are laced with some pretty bad grammar and dyslexic devices. There are more than I feel like correcting. Just know that I have noticed and now endeavor to produce higher quality writing. -CF

No Way!

A UCLA study has concluded a left-leaning bias in the MSM! Whoa! Next thing they'll tell us is that the earth is round! Like, no way! Reading that article was downright painful, like listening to some sophomoric description of a field in which you are an expert. However, it's nice to see published what most of us already know... at least I think it's most of us. I hope it's most of us. Maybe I'm extra sensitive to media bias because so few outlets slant their stories my way, but I think it's obvious that there are no objective media and that most are slanted heavily to the left. I'd even go so far as to say that few media outlets even tell the truth these days, as right now the economy is doing very well and the GWOT is going spectacularly well... but few MSM outlets are saying that, they are saying the opposite. Is that slant, incompetence, or malevolent misinformation? There is definitly a slant component to it and incompetence would suggest an unpredictable and wildy varying slant. Make of that what you will...

This reminds me a bit of that story in Time magazine, breaking the news that men and women were different and acting as if it were some epiphany... I am ammused once again.

Do my eyes decieve me?

Yes, it's an MSM outlet with... with... something... positive? WHOA!
No way! Thanks to Blackfive for the original link... I'm not much for reading such publications because they are so damn negative so much of the time.

Tales of the Ride 2:The explosive sequel!

I thought snowboarding was going great today: I was doing carved turns, going really fast, I was really catching on. I was doing so well that the awesome airman known as Ghettorig took me down a steep trail... to a small cliff. I'm not exagerating, this was an honest cliff, 70+ degrees. There was no way down but over, so over I went, shouting 'I HATE YOU!' as I flapped my arms like a bird, hoping against all I knew of physics that this act would make the landing better. It didn't.

We kept going before I could ask anything stupid like 'where are we going?'... down we wnet, into the moguls. This is my third time boarding folks, and these moguls pushed the limits of what I can do on skiis. The only way was through... Then suddenly, I realized that I was pulling it off... and enjoying it! My legs were protesting madly, but I made it through the first set. Ghettorig told me to quit trying to carve them, so I attacked the next set and felt pretty good doing it.

Then it got steep. Ghettorig took off into the woods, leaving me to fend for myself. I spotted him, though, at the base of another little cliff. I decided that I survived one cliff already and there were only a few trees at the bottom of this one, so I decided to go over it to avoid the Volkswagens that confronted me. Having learned that the birdman appraoch does not work at all, I went over relaxed, save for the Burton arm... oh, it was sweet, the impact cushioned by about three feet of unmarked powder.

It was quite the day, but I think I can take on most of the mountain now... Ghettorig may have a sadistic streak, but I'm learning fast under his ideas... so next up, Charlie Foxtrot learns to jump. This should be good.

GWOT +5

Where angels fear to tread: Eastern and souuthern Afghanistan are dangerous places, too dangerous for civilian relief agencies. Enter Taskforce Pacemaker. They are doing the humanitarian missions that most can't and they are also clearing mines left over from the Soviets, among other things.

Can I Get an AMEN?

Once again, I link to Michelle Malkin...

Scattershot

The Army is once again ahead of its recruitment goals. Interest rates are up again. The stock market is poised to set record highs. Al-Qaeda's number 3 is no more. Japan feels they can buy American beef again and the first shipment leaves Denver in few days. Yup, doom and gloom all over, we are all going to die. Life sucks.

There is some bad news, of course... Sydney is dealing with some riots started by some racists who decided that beating up people who look middle eastern is a great way to improve their neiborhood.

People everywhere are wringing their hands over the death of Stanley Williams... yes, this is bad news. My the day never come when more sympathy is expressed for a cold-blooded murderer and looter than the people he stole from. Let it be known that the man was damn lucky to live as long as he did: while you and I (Americans) have been paying to feed him, clothe him, and shelter him, his victims have been silent, sent to the grave before their time. In fact, his victims have been silent for about all of my waking existance. That's a long time. Shed no tears for this man, he deserves none. Children's books do not make up for the dead and no amount of remorse could ever change the fact that in this man's heart lay the will to end the life of a person over nothing. Stanley Williams was honorless and worhtless.

EDIT: Gas prices are dropping too, at least in places that aren't subject to an increased tax because some looter figured that you demonstrated the ability to pay 3 bucks a gallon this summer... at the folks in Wiscosin are on the right track.

GWOT +4

Elections: The second ever free elections in Iraq began today. Without the war, today would be a day like any other in Iraq. Instead, the people there are electing their government, an act that far too many people in the free world not only take for granted, but can't connect with the wars that secured their right.

GWOT +3

Open Campaigns: "In January, most candidates outside the dominant few parties largely eschewed campaigning, fearing they could be kidnapped or assassinated. Now, even long shots are getting into the act."

Via Blackfive.

The 1911 Reborn

I took my 1911 back out to the range after replacing the old springs in it with new ones and got a nice surprise. The gun shoots better than before, and this is the same gun that already thought so highly of. I also gave it a slightly longer trigger and a full length guid rod. Those two parts are going to take some getting used to because they change hand postion and gun balance, but I'm still very happy with them. As much as I hate to say it, that pistol is almost done. What's more, I can't do any of the work left: it's time for real sights and I am not about to cut that slide up with my dremel... even if I did all the rest of the work on that gun with it. I guess I can trust a professional to put a pair of dovetails in the slide. Maybe...

No Great Loss

I never knew the bipolar disorder caused people to yell that they had a bomb on a plane! I mean, whoa! That's a major news flash!

Anyway, when a marshal tells you stop, STOP, for crying out loud! Also, telling people that you have bomb when you are on a plane is not too terribly bright.

I predict that these marshals will be subject to all kinds of fire because they did their job the right way. Why? Because there are so many people, especially in the MSM, who not only don't seem to like to confront terrorists, but also who seem to make a living by second guessing law enforcement and military personnel. Now, while you watch the inevitable beating of these marshals, try to imagine what would be going on if the man who got himself shot did have a bomb and the marshals let him go... Also keep in mind that this man's death is entierly his own fault. He never should have even thought about yelling that he had the bomb and he he damn well should have listened to the marshals! Mental illness is no excuse, after all, all terrorist seem to suffer from at least one mental illness. It does not in any way make them less dangerous.
So remember: Consequeces if the man had been right, and his death was entirely his fault.

GWOT +2

I was listening to how so much of the water system has been improved in Iraq and it remined me of some important environmental improvements. Restoring the marshland will help the people nearby quite a lot, especially those engaged in agriculture.

From the Great Frozen South

It was -5 today when I left the gym... in my shorts.
It warmed up to -4 by the time my truck died.
Ironically, after spending two hours outside bare legged, it was my nose and protected toes that froze.

How cold is -4? Every switch in my truck was frozen except the ones on the radio. I was not too impressed. It started though... of course it also made it all of a hundred yards before it died.

The good news was that it died on base. This meant that there was no shortage of help. A few of us pushed the truck all the way back to a parking lot so it would not be in anybody's way and I began to work on it. The trouble turned out to be a frozen battery, and I mean frozen solid. By the time I figured that out, the BX was open so I just bought a new one. No harm done, but I did miss the post-PT Le Peep run. My toes still feel cold...

Yeah, right

I want to pint something out real quick here. Certain people who shal remain nameless are using Viet Nam as an example of why we must leave Iraq. Yeah, well, we all remember how well went. The death toll was phenominal and the entire region went to hell. Pol Pot anyone? Remember what happened when we left the Sudan? Remeber Gulf I? Do you throw in the towel types remember anything? Seriously, what is wrong with you? Have you bothered to note that every job that we have left unfinished has left thousands or millions dead? Have you taken the time to see that the nations where we did finish are relatively peaceful, stable, and free of massacre? What makes anyone with a brain think that leaving Iraq or Afghanistan will result in anything different than we have seen before?

The only way that we will lose this war is if we choose to. If we quit, if we sit down, we will lose. However, as long as we remain standing and working toward the goals of Democracy and the elimination of terrorist organizations, we will win. There is nothing our enemies have that can stop us. Nothing they can do can defeat us. This is not some brave statement made of pride, that is the truth. There does not exist any way in the arsenal of our enemies to defeat us. Further, to think that a powerful nation with a military like ours could be defeated by a few thousand miscreants bent on their own form of world domination is just insulting. The only way that we can be defeated is from within, by deciding that our defeat is the outcome.

Why are talking of leaving, anyway? What reason is there to leave? We are routing the enemy! Would the Panthers walk off the field when they were 20 and 4 with the Falcons? Whay should we walk away from this? Why walk away from building the only democratic nations in the world of Islam? Why walk away from rebuilding a nation? Why walk away from the closest thing to an overt fight that we can ever have with terrorists? What is so terrible about us winning this?

That's what this comes down to, to leave is to lose. Losing, in this case, means that Islamofacists get a chance to regroup. It means that the naissant state of Iraq will be left out in the cold before it is strong enough to stand on its own. It will mean, most likely, the reversion of Afghanistan and possibly Iraq to old ways, and in no way is that acceptable.

A timetable does not preclude victory because nobody can ever know when the fight will be over in advance. The coach of the panthers never said, "let's play for 35 minutes." He said, "we will win." He didn't care if the game went into overtime or not. He was there to win.
Have any of you checked out the 'timetable for victory' in, say, Operation Overlord? Nobody stood around then, at Christmas time, saying that we had to pull out. Halting in December '44 is just as stupid as halting anytime soon in Iraq. Why? We are not done yet! Who in their right mind leaves a job unfinished?

Last but not least, on a partly related note, STOP DISPARAGING AMERICAN SOLDIERS! We are not terrorizing women and children as Mr. Kerry claimed. We are not torturing people. We are not killing innocents. We are not fighting for nothing. We are shooting at the people who are doing all that. They are the enemy! Get your sides straight! The good guys are the Americans.

AIDS Day

I had an idea. I know, I know, thinking is dangerous, but applied some thought to the spread of HIV and AIDS and what can be done to stop it. There are times that one is confronted with a problem that just does not respond well to the technology that one brings to bear. It's times like those that one reaches back into the dusty corners of the mind to recall the old ways. I think that there is an old idea that would stop the spread of AIDS with near total effectiveness. It's old, it's simple, kinda scary, but it has worked marvelously before.

Quarantine.

I know that there a huge number of people suffering from AIDS, but that number is only growing, so the sooner the better on this. Setting up quarantines would not only stop the spread more or less instantly where implemented, but it would give doctors and pharmaceutical experts greater opportunities to search for a cure and it would allow treatment to applied to all, not just some.

Cuba had a great deal of success with their quarantine program, ended in 1993. The program was replaced with a less effective program that allowed AIDS patients to stay in their homes after being instructed how to care for themselves and how not to spread the disease. I ordinarily whould not look to Cuba as an example of anything, but it is an example of how a mass quarantine can be excuted and, though this should be obvious through deductive reasoning, that it works.

The African continent represents a greater challenge since there are few nations there with any sort of excuse for a productive economy and fewer still that are not so rife with corruption that nothing meaningful could be done, even if attempted by foreign agencies. I don't think there is much that can be done in the third world in general. About the best that can be done is to deploy doctors to specific locations, but that is already being done with no impact to the spread of AIDS, and least, no impact in much of the African continent. Places like Thailand are more advanced, but doing little better to contain the virus. A quaratine would work in places like Thailand and Mozambique, but it would not be pretty. My guess is that, like in Cuba, life in the quarantine would a living hell (much like life in Cuba at large, but anyway...). Further, it would probably take a military operation to put the neccessary people into quarantine and military operations in most of the underdeveloped world are usually catalysts for massive abuse and death.

Still, pull of a mass quranatine of anyone infected with AIDS would stop the spread like nothing else. Too bad nobody thought of this twenty years ago when there were only a few people infected... This outbreak was entirely preventable.

In the meantime, we are presented with such bandaind-where-a-tourniquet-is-needed solutions as condoms, as promoted by the giant condom on the Buenos Aires obelisk. Yeah right! I don't know how to enforce this, but people with incurable diseases should be having sex at all! You'd think that would be common sense.

Murphy lives

Yep, he sure does. I'm normally healthy as a horse, riding out even massive breakouts in my unit without so much as a sniffle. Well, having been given the chance, I decided to take a few days off. BAM! Nobody is feeling under the weather but me. Don't think I'm complaining, though. I think this is downright funny for the pure irony. I have only once been sick during duty time, but that was in Basic and a trip to gas chamber cured that. I always get sick on vacation or weekends, never when I have to do something. No matter, I got my tea going, I got plenty of rum on hand, and a bag of Ricola. Bring it on! Hopefully, I can dispatch this with the usual speed so I can get to snowboarding.

Incidentally, there is a cure for the common cold: CS Tear Gas. Spend a minute of two breathing that, and anything that has taken up residence in your nose or throat will be dead as a doornail and you, after the effects pass, will be right as rain. It's a spicy meatball, CS, but you'll feel great afterwards. I had a bad, bad, fever and all this junk in my head the week I did chemical warfare training in Basic. It was all I could do to hide it so I would not have to go to the hospital. I pulled through, but I was about ready to keel over... until the gas chamber. I went in a sick man. I came out, after a good deal of... fun... cured. It was like a light switch. Somehow, I don't think that this 'treatment' will ever catch on.