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Wednesday, August 22. 2007Weds. Morning LinksI have always been a big booster of Lebanon and the Lebanese on these pages. It used to be a fun place, and could be again. There are two places which are now dangerous but which I would like to see before I get old: Lebanon, and Mespotamia - especially to see the ancient ruins of Sumer and Babylon. Twisted logic on illegal immigration, via Wizbang. How does that make sense? Sex tips for women of a certain age. Want to interrupt your morning serenity with a nice anger attack? Multiculturalism in education, via Moderate Voice We have done our best to publicize The Death of the Grown-Up, and so is Scott at Powerline. Surber on the bi-partisan backtracking on the Feb. stances towards Iraq. Sammy Davis, Richard Nixon, and Jesse Jackson. Powerline. Jackson has been a shake-down artist for a long time. He is a pro, and I suspect his admirers admire this expertise. Cancer survival rates. Worstall. Clearly they just let them die right away, in the UK. Cheaper, for sure. And speaking of illness, a Winnipeg company will ship you to Cuba for treatment. Small Dead Koalas. Not a pleasant reflection on Canadian medicine. Of course, you cannot see a private doc anywhere in Canada - it's illegal. Simple thinking and male auto-castration. Dr. Helen Eleanor Roosevelt's commune experiment in W VA. Coyote Photo: Yup, another Theo beauty. We need to quit this photo stealing from Theo, but I just can't help myself: I guess I am hetero, even tho it is out of fashion these days. Or maybe I am just defending against my latent homo?
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NJ,
To add to your pride of the Lebanese I'm sure you'd enjoy this one. The first jet to jet fighter pilot "Ace" (minimum 5 kills) was one USAF Colonel James Jabara. Although born in Oklahoma, his parents and his ancestry were Lebanese. http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/jabara.htm I have fought a good fight
I have finished my course I have kept the faith. Timothy 2:4:7 ...saw a segment on him on History Channel's "Dogfights" series. Little bitty fella --deadly as hell in the air.
I see we watch the same TV shows. I even get Mrs. Skookumchuk to stay interested in "Dogfight." A major achievement on my part. If I do say so myself.
Really well-done show. interviews, graphics, background --great stuff. I don't see how she could not like it, once you get her 5 minutes into it. 'course that's the trick--
I belatedly discovered the secret. If I give her a footrub, I can watch anything. Six back - to - back episodes of "Cops" filmed in 1998 - anything. :-)
LOL --unless she happens to read this --(gulp)
#1.2.1.1.1.1
buddy larsen
on
2007-08-22 16:22
(Reply)
Here's a dogfight true story that is also a small world story.
I had a fraternity brother a few years my senior at UF back in the 60's .His name was Al Guarino and he was a leader, tough as a old piece of jerky and an AFROTC man. Another brother at the same time was one Kevin Cheney, also tough and AFROTC. Well Guarinos father, an AF Colonel got shot down in June 1965 and carted off to the Hanoi Hilton. It gave Al, my fraternity brother an extra edge and since I had seen my mother visit the wives of downed Marine Aviators over a dozen times to tell them they were now widows I knew the feeling. Well time passes and Kevin Cheney graduates, gets his wings and goes off to war. Shot down in July 1972 he's carted off to the Hanoi Hilton where he is put in the same cell as ..... AL Gaurino's father, Larry. Needless to say they had a few things to talk about. The story made Life magazine. I'm happy to say both men got out OK. Al went on to fighter planes and scored a few victories just to settle up some things. Small world. Guarino: http://www.pownetwork.org/bios/c/c156.htm Cheney: http://www.pownetwork.org/bios/c/c156.htm Ok, Iread the entire Sex Tips for older women...
Not one word, one word on Hermes scarves and ice picks...what's that all about? I also very much got a chuckle out of the juxaposition of the WizBang article immediately prior to the sex advice ...Wizbang ... Eleanor and Hillary
We are all familiar with the high esteem in which Hillary Rodham Clinton holds Eleanor Roosevelt. So much so that Hillary admits to "talking" to Eleanor. The topics weren't the china pattern for the WH but just how Hillary could coordinate Saul Alinsky, Marx,Lenin, and just a dash of Stalin inot America. I said just yesterday theat FDR & Eleanor were socialists and fellow travlers. Now NJ through the Coyote has provided us withmore grist for the socialist mill. Here is a part of the article, which if given the due it deserves will explain FDR & Eleanor selling out ....aside from there monumental egos as to "knowing" what was right for all us poor citizens. During the 1930s, the wish of the world's politicians to "plan" other men's lives was strong and, by unhappy coincidence, so was their power to do so. The urge to "educate and uplift" their fellow (if lesser) man into a state more agreeable to their theories beat brightly in every progressive heart from Moscow and Berlin to London and Washington D.C The Communist Manifesto had vastly more influence on the intellectual mind than it does today, and its exhortation for "combination(s) of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country, by a more equitable distribution of the population over the country" was taken seriously as a workable idea and, more important, as a morally correct idea. Writings such as the Manifesto undoubtedly contributed to the birth of the Back to the Land movement, an intellectual fad that swept through the brains of many 1930s Western politicians Theo thanks
I nev'r join'd up the ideer that that Theo feller was a do'n them big rig mud flaps 'til you posted dat piture of that hunk of woman. She musta been his inspration fur them flap ..hell she even got erasers up. dang dawg gud job. Gud art is a truckers best friend. Weak Horse Fading Fast .... That would be us folks
Rising powers have the US in their sights No superpower in modern times has maintained its supremacy for more than several generations. And however exceptional its leaders may have thought themselves, the United States, already clearly past its zenith, has no chance of becoming an exception to this age-old pattern of history With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the United States stood tall - militarily invincible, economically unrivaled, diplomatically uncontestable. and the dominating force on information channels worldwide. The next century was to be the true "American century", with the rest of the world molding itself in the image of the sole superpower. Yet with not even a decade of this century behind us, we are already witnessing the rise of a multipolar world in which new powers are challenging different aspects of US supremacy - Russia and China in the forefront, with regional powers Venezuela and Iran forming the second rank. These emergent powers are primed to erode US hegemony, not confront it, singly or jointly. Major-General Alexandr Vladimirov told the mass-circulation newspaper Komsolskya Pravda that war with the United States is a "possibility" in the next 10-15 years. Chavez rides high After his re-election, Chavez vigorously pursued the concept of forming an anti-imperialist alliance in Latin America as well as globally. He strengthened Venezuela's ties not only with such Latin countries as Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, Nicaragua and debt-ridden Argentina, but also with Iran and Belarus China on a stratospheric trajectory Late last year, as the host of a China-Africa Forum in Beijing attended by leaders of 48 of 53 African nations, China left the US woefully behind in the diplomatic race for that continent (and its hydrocarbon and other resources). In return for Africa's oil, iron ore, copper and cotton, China sold low-priced goods to Africans, and assisted African counties in building or improving roads, railways, ports, hydroelectric dams, telecommunications systems and schools. "The Western approach of imposing its values and political system on other countries is not acceptable to China," said Africa specialist Wang Hongyi of the China Institute of International Studies. "We focus on mutual development." Article: http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/IH22Ak02.html Habu note: If we started today rebuilding a 600 ship Navy, requiring compulsory service to the country in some form for at least one year for our high school graduates (ciirriculum to include US History and the Study of War) we might be able to turn things around. As it stands now the George Kennan "Containment policy" is being worked to perfection on the USA. And if we lose Iraq who will the fence sitting nations of the world trust? The strong horse or the weak horse? THE PRICE WE PAY
Iraqi dead are now over 3,000. Each death a tragedy, a torn family. But we have payed before. Keep this in mind as you ponder the Iraqi dead. Cold Harbor At 4:30 am on the 3rd June General Grant ordered a general assault along the entire line, there was a severe struggle, General Winfield Scott Hancock lost nearly 3000 men, and other divisions of the army were hotly engaged at the same time. The battle was sharp, quick and decisive….The Union Army was repulsed at nearly every point with great slaughter. It is estimated that in the space of 20 minutes 10,000 Union soldiers were killed or wounded , while the Confederate forces had been sheltered behind their works suffered about 1500 casualties. At 1 o’clock in the afternoon of June 3rd the Battle of Cold Harbor was over, the Union loss of 13,153 was reported That means in the first 20 minutes a man was killed or wounded every 8.3 seconds
I nearly broke down while touring Gettysburg. The long line of monuments for each regiment, with hundreds of casualties on every one of them, is heart-wrenching.
We lost 14 of our best yesterday in a crash. It hurts but it is the price we signed up to pay if necessary. I didn't break but there must have been something in the air that day cause as I crossed the field where Pickett made his sacrifice I had my tear ducts go bad on me ... it was the same when I visited Guadalcanal and Tarawa and many others.
It is never overworked to remind others that the currency we use for liberty is blood. And to cite one of my favorite quotes. People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf George Orwell Second that, the Asia Times article is a valuable read. The author is definitely stressing the "USA is weakening" meme --something that has more to do with perception than stats.
Stats are there in the oil trade, tho, which probably is, more than any perceived moral lapse, behind our pervasive sinking feeling. Also important, the author's comments on global cable tv and its effect on these political trends. Cold Harbor should remind us to remember old Abe's "House Divided" speech. "...something that has more to do with perception than stats".
Yup. There is always this yearning to see the top dog humbled - to see the Yankees lose the Series. And that is above and beyond the normal left wing anti-americansim. And that in turn suggests that the jihadis will be around for some time, since they will get so much tacit support. I third that.
One of the interesting things that is just beginning to shake out of limn into solid form is the global realignment firming up. We've got several of the old Soviets in our corner as well as those capitols that fell behind the Iron Curtain. while Russia is messing with Syria and Venezuela and some others. That's the reason we just can not end up the weak horse in perception, and certainly not in reality.....of course I have no fear if Hillary is elected, cause we'll be in the Kentucky Donkey Derby at best. Hugo and Vladimir and Huck Finn
Putin just sold some hot fighter planes to Hugo. The Suchoi Su-30, "Flanker-C"..They're still developing a very very hot fighter the Su-37 with vectored thrust. I understand it can do a flip in place.. So when do we turn one of his pilots and get one to look at? I was a youngish CIA operative who was in the right place at the right time when Viktor Belenko defected to Japan (9-6-76) with THE hottest aircraft the Soviets had at the time, the MiG-25 Foxbat..I was on the Ginza enjoying life when I got the word to get up to the civilian airport up north at Hakodate to simply "let then know the Company is here" until the heavyweights could get there. One of the things that turned Belenko was the book Huck Finn among others, but how strange. It was definitely one of the high points in my life. Once we debriefed him, gave him a home and a crate of money, a new car etc he was astonished we just let him drive whereever he wanted to go.
Initially he had been taken to DC Mall to get some clothes and kit but he thought it was just a CIA operation to show him how good the West was ... I heard some great stories about him from friends who were in on the deal..my part lasted about three hours up at Hakodate. DC Mall and freedom to drive anywhere --yep --we have a lot to defend --if we can quit listening to our sorry-ass left wing.
And get the navel out of the frame for a minute or two...
#9.1.1.1.1
Phil
on
2007-08-22 19:09
(Reply)
THE HANOI HILTON
Here's a dogfight true story that is also a small world story. I had a fraternity brother a few years my senior at UF back in the 60's .His name was Al Guarino and he was a leader, tough as a old piece of jerky and an AFROTC man. Another brother at the same time was one Kevin Cheney, also tough and AFROTC. Well Guarinos father, an AF Colonel got shot down in June 1965 and carted off to the Hanoi Hilton. It gave Al, my fraternity brother an extra edge and since I had seen my mother visit the wives of downed Marine Aviators over a dozen times to tell them they were now widows I knew the feeling. Well time passes and Kevin Cheney graduates, gets his wings and goes off to war. Shot down in July 1972 he's carted off to the Hanoi Hilton where he is put in the same cell as ..... AL Gaurino's father, Larry. Needless to say they had a few things to talk about. The story made Life magazine. I'm happy to say both men got out OK. Al went on to fighter planes and scored a few victories just to settle up some things. Small world. Guarino: http://www.pownetwork.org/bios/c/c156.htm Cheney: http://www.pownetwork.org/bios/c/c156.htm helluva story --small world. Man, those guys that got shot down in mid 60s --long time, long long time POWs.
Yea, Buddy, you bet..... Larry Guarino was one of the first to get locked up. I never had the pleasure of meeting him but his son and I were some of the very few at UF who went to anti war rallies to help the other side understand, and Al was almost as tough as a Marine. We use to give each other the devil ( a good devil he was this one) about AF vs. USMC and since both our dads were fighter jocks and Colonels, I always got to get in licks about AF 10,000 foot runways vs. jeep carrier decks and the bent wing Corsair landings.
I might have mentioned to you before but when they retired the Corsair from the Marine Corps my father had more aircraft carrier landings than any Marine ever in that bird. Before Top Gun, way before Top Gun there was the Naval Air Weapons Meet at El Centro ,CA. Navy and Marine squadrons. Strafing,bombing, rockets,dogfighting...it was always an honor to represent your branch and my father's squadron did it two years running. He took top bombing and strafing. A great guy. But I salute them all. It's all volunteer now and you've gotta have some moxie to git'r done. Servicemen and women .. eternal thanks Marines Semper Fi Commie pinkos ....#@!!*+## All i can say is, it's a miracle you were born --the Corsair was basically always too much for a carrier deck, and it was the landings that were so tough. That's why the Marines got the plane, as you well know.
Reminds me of the old Corsair-pilot joke, that the three greatest things in the world are a wild orgasm, a complete bowel movement, and a good carrier landing --and with a Corsair you get all three simultaneously -- I read the article about multiculturalism in education and I really wonder where these people come from.
The upshot seems to be that yes, our civilization is better in that it is free and constitutional and lawful, etc. Then we hear that if it is not strong enough to stand up to a little criticism, then it deserves not to survive. What seems to be lost is that if all you get in school is criticism of your society, what gives those being taught the strength to stand up for the civilization in the first place. I have no problem with being taught the bad things about my country. I do have a problem when I am not being taught in addition the good things about my country and what it stands for. I also have a problem when I am being taught that the 3rd world, 7th century civilization is superior to mine even though they still stone or hand or chop heads off gays and women who have been raped and fight back. While we are being taught how good these civilizations are, we are also being taught that we have to subliminate our antipathy to homosexuality or feminism or self-protection and also we have to give up all that we work for so that those who choose not to work will be able to make a living while not working. It is our responsibility to take care of the minorities. The other thing I find fascinating about this is that in our country these minorities cannot stand up for themselves and must be taken care of while world-wide we are being taught that their civilizations are superior to ours. I think Shakespeare was partially right about kill the lawyers. He should have added kill all the school administrators who push this drivel on the kids of today. How are we supposed to continue as a viable nation when our kids are being taught that our country is worthless and is the biggest danger to peace in the world today, and that is largely what they are being taught. Why then should the kids stand up for the country. We are lucky that the current generation contains a lot of great kids who have seen through the garbage they were fed and are standing up for us. Where would we be today if they weren't able to do that. Mig -25 Pilot Viktor Belenko was killed in a small plane crash.
"Mig Pilot" by John Barron is a great book! |