|
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Warfare by a 7 year old
My 7 year old boy composed the following one night as a spontaneous story. He closes with a reference to three relatives who
participated in World Wars I and II - Ronnie and Patrick who did not come back.
As the wars go on and on the japinys supercaster and the U.S.A. sf megaspitfire and it has sunckin 8540000 aircraftcarryer
and 93300000 aces and it has two missiles on each wing and four bombs on each wing and it has five guns on each wing and
it brings 12000000000000000000000 megaspitfires and 5541000000000000 superfortresses and flying fortresses,megatanks,55671000000
soldiers and armoredarmycars and flying aircraftcarryers and they are ready to attack and attack the japinys...suddenly!!!
The Germans are on the U.S.A side and they are very ready to attack and the machineguns look like. chaptar .2 the
invasion of the japinys attack. As the japinys attacks the U.S.A. and the Germans...BUT!!! the U.S.A. and the Germans won!!!!!!!!!!!!
chaptar.3 the war is over.YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY we won and they who did it was armystrong but who died we will
still armystrong and we will be upon them like Ronny,Lenny and Patrick.
6:47 pm pst
Friday, September 28, 2007
Change of climate?
George Bush uses the Force to prevent two Earths colliding. Hurray!
6:21 pm pdt
Friday, September 7, 2007
Mixed messages
It took me a while to see the gap in positions here.
On August 28 last, George Bush addressed the American Legion in Reno, NV. He apparently was cheered to the rafters.
In May 1999, the following letter was sent by the Legion to President Clinton. I have highlighted some passages in italics
to contrast their approach in the 1990s against their acceptance in current times.
"President William J. Clinton
The White House
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President:
The American Legion, a wartime veterans organization of nearly three-million members, urges the immediate withdrawal of American
troops participating in “Operation Allied Force.”
The National Executive Committee of The American Legion, meeting in Indianapolis today, adopted Resolution 44, titled “The
American Legion’s Statement on Yugoslavia.” This resolution was debated and adopted unanimously.
Mr. President, the United States Armed Forces should never be committed to wartime operations unless the following conditions
are fulfilled:
* That there be a clear statement by the President of why it is in our vital national interests to be engaged in hostilities;
* Guidelines be established for the mission, including a clear exit strategy;
* That there be support of the mission by the U.S. Congress and the American people; and
* That it be made clear that U.S. Forces will be commanded only by U.S. officers which we acknowledge are superior military
leaders.
It is the position of The American Legion, which I am sure is shared by the majority of Americans, that three of the above
listed conditions have not been met in the current joint operation with NATO (“Operation Allied Force”).
In no case should America commit its Armed Forces in the absence of clearly defined objectives agreed upon by the U.S. Congress
in accordance with Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution of the United States.
Sincerely,
HAROLD L. “BUTCH” MILLER
National Commander
Att: Resolution #44
cc: Secretary of Defense
Secretary of State
Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff
Leadership, House and Senate
Chairman and Ranking Democratic Member, House and Senate Armed Services Committee"
9:23 pm pdt
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Confident?
If the ability to laugh at your own foibles is the mark of self confidence, then the stamps of Ireland have just made the
grade. It's a long way from the worthies and martyrs who once decorated the postage issued by An Post and their predecessors
since Independence.
This was the blurb from an Post about this set illustrated by the Irish Times' Martyn Turner:
"These stamps take a tongue-in-cheek look at modern Irish society and introduce some of the more easily recognisable characters
that have evolved from it. The satirical Cats featured on the stamps are;
Fat Cat: A sophisticated, brash businessman with a roguish face - a professional corporate invitee perhaps!
Celtic Tigress: Fashionable and affluent, this Tigress is shown enjoying another spending spree, in her favourite habitat,
the High Street.
Cool Cats: A young trendy Cat couple, wearing the latest street fashion, perhaps waiting for the next act to come on stage.
Kilkenny Cat: Dressed in black and amber with hurley and sliotar in hand, this cat is often found in the vicinity of Croke
Park, Dublin at this time of year."
7:40 pm pdt
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Alan Johnston freed after four months
From Alan himself:
" I have spent some time resting in the two days since I was freed, and I have only just switched on my computer.
These are the first words that I have written since I was captured four months ago, and I wanted to dedicate them to all those
many tens-of-thousands of people who signed the online petition in support of my release.
To each and every one of you, I want to say that I am so grateful.
During my incarceration I had one very important lucky break. After about a month I got hold of a radio that gave me the BBC
World Service.
I was staggered to hear that by that stage about forty-thousand people had put their names to the petition.
I'm sure every kidnap victim fears that they will be forgotten - left to rot while the world moves on. And the idea that so
many people from all around the globe were voicing their support for me was - as you can imagine - a huge psychological boost.
And as I lay there listening to the radio as the weeks and months passed the petition just grew and grew. Often messages from
it were read out to me on programmes like World Have Your Say, or Newshour.
I can't tell you how moving it was to have people who didn't know me in countries and cities that I'd never visited taking
the time to wish me the best, and urge me to hang in there.
Sometimes I would memorise a sentence or two and repeat them over and over as I paced up and down the room.
I was in the psychological battle of my life, and all those who signed the petition made it that little bit easier.
Thank you, so much"
Friday, June 22, 2007
So at the end of a busy week, I went to the end of our road to stomp around the headlands. I stepped above the usual
trails to find another view of the Pacific. What I found was another old 'youth' culture talisman: "Punk Is Not Dead". I
recently saw a photo, taken in Patagonia, of a rock with " Donde esta el punk rock?"
Same vibe - opposite hemispheres. Maybe it's the solstice. Peaks and valleys
9:02 pm pdt
Friday, June 8, 2007
Pole to Pole
So how many Polish Nationals end up in Chicago because the airline booking system mistakes ORD (Chicago-O'Hare) for ORK (Cork
International)?
6:29 pm pdt
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Finished With The War
Ninety years ago this month, Lieutenant Siegfried Sassoon M.C., of the Royal Welch Fusiliers wrote the following as an explanation
of his refusal to return from leave to the fighting in France. It was sent to his commanding officer, printed in the Times
of London the following month and read to the House of Commons by an M.P. The British Army took action and diagnosed Sassoon
as needing hospitalization for neurasthenia.
Finished with the War
A Soldier's Declaration
I am making this statement as an act of wilful defiance of military authority, because I believe that the war is being deliberately
prolonged by those who have the power to end it.
I am a soldier, convinced that I am acting on behalf of soldiers. I believe that this war, upon which I entered as a war of
defence and liberation, has now become a war of aggression and conquest. I believe that the purposes for which I and my fellow
soldiers entered upon this war should have been so clearly stated as to have made it impossible to change them, and that,
had this been done, the objects which actuated us would now be attainable by negotiation.
I have seen and endured the sufferings of the troops, and I can no longer be a party to prolong these sufferings for ends
which I believe to be evil and unjust.
I am not protesting against the conduct of the war, but against the political errors and insincerities for which the fighting
men are being sacrificed.
On behalf of those who are suffering now I make this protest against the deception which is being practiced on them; also
I believe that I may help to destroy the callous complacence with which the majority of those at home regard the continuance
of agonies which they do not share, and which they have not sufficient imagination to realise.
S.Sassoon
July 1917
8:55 pm pdt
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Mayday Mayday Mayday
Another year has passed and not much has changed for the better on the fourth anniversary of "Mission Accomplished".
This was the entry on the third anniversary:
Sunday, April 29, 2007
An Alan Johnston Link from the BBC
9:29 pm pdt
|
