We The Livid

WILLIAM ERNEST HENLEY - Invictus

2010-11-16T12:04:00.004Z

Every now and then, I come across a reference to a piece of poetry I really like. Today it was in a report from Stratfor with regards to the geopolitical situation in Romania. The poem, Invictus was mentioned in the opening paragraph and I tracked it down. I thought it was worth remembering so I'm posting it here for future reference.

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

Getting a Classical Education

2010-10-06T13:50:00.004+01:00

I've owned Susan Wise Bauer's The Well-Educated Mind for two years now. I've been trying to educate myself for some time and the best way to do that is to read. Unfortunately, I don't get through many books very quickly (I think I'm doing well if I manage to complete two books a month). I decided long ago that I would work through SWBs recommendations in a four-yearly rotation, in chronological order. Basically, I have put her list into chronological order and split that list into four, roughly based on epoch: Ancient World; Middle Ages; Early Modern Age; and Modern Age.

Beginning with the Ancient World in the first year, I selected a couple of books from the list and tried to include them in my normal reading list. Instead of just reading the book, however, I tried to ask it questions and acknowledge good prose or interesting points (by using a highlighter-pen or writing in the margins). I also kept a chapter summary, a list of characters and a list of words that were new to me (with their meaning of course).

In the second year, I took the next epoch, the Middle Ages, and I'll continue in this way until I have reached the end of the fourth year having read a couple of books from the Modern Age (I'm currently in the Middle Ages still). Once I get to the end of the fourth year, I start back at the Ancients picking another book from the list repeating the process every four years until the list is complete.

The most recent book I've finished off the list is Confessions by Saint Augustine. A remarkable work that taught me a few things about Genesis, the opening chapter to the Old Testament of the Bible.

So, here's the complete list in chronological order. I've highlighted those that I have already read in green:

ANCIENT WORLD

BC 2000 - POEM - The Epic of Gilgamesh - UNKNOWN
800 - POEM - The Iliad - HOMER
800 - POEM - The Odyssey - HOMER
600 - POEM - Greek Lyrics - GREEK LYRICISTS
458 - DRAMA - Agamemnon - AESCHYLUS
450 - DRAMA - Oedipus the King - SOPHOCLES
441 - HIST - The Histories - HERODOTUS
431 - DRAMA - Medea - EURIPIDES
400 - HIST - The Peloponnesian War - THUCYDIDES
400 - DRAMA - The Birds - ARISTOPHANES
375 - HIST - The Republic - PLATO
330 - DRAMA - Poetics - ARISTOTLE
65 - POEM - Odes - HORACE
AD 100 - HIST - Lives - PLUTARCH
400 - BIOG - The Confessions - AUGUSTINE
426 - HIST - The City of God - AUGUSTINE

MIDDLE AGES

731 - HIST - The Ecclesiastical History of the English People - BEDE
1000 - POEM - Beowulf - UNKNOWN
1265 - POEM - Inferno - DANTE ALIGHIERI
1300 - DRAMA - Everyman - UNKNOWN
1350 - POEM - Sir Gawain and the Green Knight - UNKNOWN
1350 - POEM - The Canterbury Tales - GEOFFREY CHAUCER
1430 - BIOG - The Book of Margery Kempe - MARGERY KEMPE
1513 - HIST - The Prince - NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI
1516 - HIST - Utopia - SIR THOMAS MORE
1564 - POEM - Sonnets - WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
1572 - POEM - Poems - JOHN DONNE
1580 - BIOG - Essays - MICHEL DE MONTAIGNE
1580 - BIOG - The Life of Saint Teresa of Avila by Herself - TERESA OF AVILA
1588 - DRAMA - Doctor Faustus - CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE
1592 - DRAMA - Richard III - WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
1594 - DRAMA - A Midsummer Night's Dream - WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
1600 - DRAMA - Hamlet - WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

EARLY MODERN AGE

1605 - NOVEL - Don Quixote - MIGUEL DE CERVANTES
1611 - POEM - Psalms - KING JAMES BIBLE
1611 - POEM - Paradise Lost - JOHN MILTON
1641 - BIOG - Meditations - RENE DESCARTES
1666 - BIOG - Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners - JOHN BUNYAN
1669 - DRAMA - Tartuffe - MOLIERE
1679 - NOVEL - The Pilgrim's Progress - JOHN BUNYAN
1682 - BIOG - The Narative of the Captivity and Restoration - MARY ROWLANDSON
1690 - HIST - The True End of Civil Government - JOHN LOCKE
1700 - DRAMA - The Way of the World - WILLIAM CONGREVE
1726 - NOVEL - Gulliver's Travels - JONATHAN SWIFT
1754 - HIST - The History of England, Volume V - DAVID HUME
1757 - POEM - Songs of Innocence and of Experience - WILLIAM BLAKE
1762 - HIST - The Social Contract - JEAN-JACQUES ROUSSEAU
1770 - POEM - Unknown - WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
1772 - POEM - Unknown - SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE
1773 - DRAMA - She Stoops to Conquer - OLIVER GOLDSMITH
1776 - HIST - Common Sense - THOMAS PAINE
1776 - HIST - The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire - EDWARD GIBBON
1777 - DRAMA - The School for Scandal - RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN
1781 - BIOG - Confessions - JEAN-JACQUES ROUSSEAU
1791 - BIOG - The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin - BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
1792 - HIST - A Vindication of the Rights of Woman - MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT
1795 - POEM - Unknown - JOHN KEATS
1807 - POEM - Unknown - HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW
1809 - POEM - Unknown - ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON
1815 - NOVEL - Pride and Prejudice - JANE AUSTEN
1819 - POEM - Unknown - WALT WHITMAN
1830 - POEM - Unknown - EMILY DICKINSON
1830 - POEM - Unknown - CHRISTINA ROSSETTI
1835 - HIST - Democracy in America - ALEXIS DE TOCQUEVILLE
1838 - NOVEL - Oliver Twist - CHARLES DICKENS
1844 - POEM - Unknown - GERARD MANLEY HOPKINS
1847 - NOVEL - Jane Eyre - CHARLOTTE BRONTE
1848 - HIST - The Communist Manifesto - KARL MARX & FRIEDRICH ENGELS

MODERN AGE

1850 - NOVEL - The Scarlet Letter - NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE
1851 - NOVEL - Moby Dick - HERMAN MELVILLE
1851 - NOVEL - Uncle Tom's Cabin - HARRIET BEECHER STOWE
1854 - BIOG - Walden - HENRY DAVID THOREAU
1857 - NOVEL - Madame Bovary - GUSTAVE FLAUBERT
1860 - HIST - The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy - JACOB BURCKHARDT
1861 - BIOG - Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself - HARRIET JACOBS
1865 - POEM - Unknown - WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS
1866 - NOVEL - Crime and Punishment - FYODOR DOSTOYEVSKY
1872 - POEM - Unknown - PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR
1874 - POEM - Unknown - ROBERT FROST
1877 - NOVEL - Anna Karenina - LEO TOLSTOY
1878 - NOVEL - The Return of the Native - THOMAS HARDY
1878 - POEM - Unknown - CARL SANDBURG
1879 - DRAMA - A Doll's House - HENRIK IBSEN
1881 - BIOG - Life and Times of Frederick Douglass - FREDERICK DOUGLASS
1881 - NOVEL - The Portrait of a Lady - HENRY JAMES
1883 - POEM - Unknown - WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS
1884 - NOVEL - Huckleberry Finn - MARK TWAIN
1885 - POEM - Unknown - EZRA POUND
1888 - POEM - Unknown - T.S. ELIOT
1895 - NOVEL - The Red Badge of Courage - STEPHEN CRANE
1899 - DRAMA - The Importance of Being Earnest - OSCAR WILDE
1901 - BIOG - Up From Slavery - BOOKER T. WASHINGTON
1902 - NOVEL - Heart of Darkness - JOSEPH CONRAD
1902 - POEM - Unknown - LANGSTON HUGHES
1903 - HIST - The Souls of Black Folk - W. E. B. DU BOIS
1904 - HIST - The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism - MAX WEBER
1904 - DRAMA - The Cherry Orchard - ANTON CHEKHOV
1905 - NOVEL - The House of Mirth - EDITH WHARTON
1907 - POEM - Unknown - W.H. AUDEN
1908 - BIOG - Ecce Homo - FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE
1921 - HIST - Queen Victoria - LYTTON STACHEY
1922 - POEM - Unknown - PHILIP LARKIN
1924 - DRAMA - Saint Joan - GEORGE BERNARD SHAW
1925 - BIOG - Mein Kampf - ADOLF HITLER
1925 - NOVEL - The Great Gatsby - F. SCOTT FITZGERALD
1925 - NOVEL - Mrs Dalloway - VIRGINIA WOOLF
1925 - NOVEL - The Trial - FRANZ KAFKA
1926 - POEM - Unknown - ALLEN GINSBERG
1929 - BIOG - An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments With Truth - MOHANDAS GANDHI
1932 - POEM - Unknown - SYLVIA PLATH
1933 - BIOG - The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas - GERTRUDE STEIN
1934 - POEM - Unknown - MARK STRAND
1934 - POEM - Unknown - ADRIENNE RICH
1935 - DRAMA - Murder in the Cathedral - T. S. ELIOT
1937 - HIST - The Road to Wigan Pier - GEORGE ORWELL
1938 - DRAMA - Our Town - THORNTON WILDER
1939 - HIST - The New England Mind - PERRY MILLER
1939 - POEM - Unknown - SEAMUS HEANEY
1940 - NOVEL - Native Son - RICHARD WRIGHT
1940 - DRAMA - Long Day's Journey Into Night - EUGENE O'NEILL
1940 - POEM - Unknown - ROBERT PINSKY
1942 - NOVEL - The Stranger - ALBERT CAMUS
1944 - DRAMA - No Exit - JEAN PAUL SARTRE
1947 - DRAMA - A Streetcar Named Desire - TENNESSEE WILLIAMS
1947 - POEM - Unknown - JANE KENYON
1948 - BIOG - The Seven Storey Mountain - THOMAS MERTON
1949 - NOVEL - 1984 - GEORGE ORWELL
1949 - DRAMA - Death of a Salesman - ARTHUR MILLER
1952 - NOVEL - Invisible Man - RALPH ELLISON
1952 - DRAMA - Waiting for Godot - SAMUEL BECKETT
1952 - POEM - Unknown - RITA DOVE
1955 - HIST - The Great Crash 1929 - JOHN KENNETH GALBRAITH
1955 - BIOG - Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life - C. S. LEWIS
1956 - NOVEL - Seize the Day - SAUL BELLOW
1959 - HIST - The Longest Day - CORNELIUS RYAN
1960 - DRAMA - A Man For All Seasons - ROBERT BOLT
1963 - HIST - The Feminine Mystique - BETTY FRIEDAN
1965 - BIOG - The Autobiography of Malcolm X - MALCOLM X
1967 - NOVEL - One Hundred Years of Solitude - GABRIEL GARCIA MARQUEZ
1967 - DRAMA - Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead - TOM STOPPARD
1972 - NOVEL - If On A Winter's Night A Traveler - ITALO CALVINO
1973 - BIOG - Journal of a Solitude - MAY SARTON
1973 - BIOG - The Gulag Archipelago - ALEKSANDR I. SOLZHENITSYN
1974 - HIST - Roll, Jordan, Roll: The World the Slaves Made - EUGENE D. GENOVESE
1974 - DRAMA - Equus - PETER SHAFFER
1977 - BIOG - Born Again - CHARLES W. COLSON
1977 - NOVEL - Song of Solomon - TONI MORRISON
1978 - HIST - A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous Fourteenth Century - BARBARA TUCHMAN
1982 - BIOG - Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez - RICHARD RODRIGUEZ
1985 - NOVEL - White Noise - DON DELILLO
1987 - HIST - All the President's Men - BOB WOODWARD & CARL BERNSTEIN
1988 - HIST - Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era - JAMES M. McPHERSON
1989 - BIOG - The Road From Coorain - JILL KER CONWAY
1990 - HIST - A Midwife's Tale: The life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812 - LAUREL THATCHER ULRICH
1990 - NOVEL - Possession - A. S. BYATT
1992 - HIST - The End of History and the Last Man - FRANCIS FUKUYAMA
1995 - BIOG - All Rivers Run to the Sea: Memoirs - ELIE WIESEL

Lego Street Shootout

2010-07-15T18:28:00.001+01:00

This was another one I couldn't resist at Theo's site.

THE SHE CREATURES - Sexy Robot

2010-07-15T18:20:00.004+01:00

Been catching up on Theo Spark's blog and couldn't resist the above. Had to grab a copy for myself.

Cutting Public Sector Jobs

2010-03-16T13:07:00.004Z

The public sector union, Unison, have put a video together stating that many front-line services will be cut if any future government cuts spending. The Tax Payers Alliance have doctored the Unison video and you can see the TPA's version above. Personally, I'd prefer small government, so axing non-jobs is fine by me.

The Trial of Ralph McTell

2010-02-17T11:41:00.001Z

The above is from an old episode of French & Saunders. So funny and so full of rock gods.

TJ & THE REVO - Too Late to Apologise: A Declaration

2010-02-16T10:45:00.008Z

H/T - New Jovian Thunderbolt

Why do I feel more affinity for the US of old, as described in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, than I do for the country of my birth (England) today?

My homeland has a pox of a socialist government and law-makers that are more tyrannical upon the honest citizen and more amenable to the criminal classes than at any other time in history (or so I guess).

Fear not, dear reader, for I am still fighting for change. I am fighting for change through my Member of Parliament and through the ballot box.

DIANA - by Paul Blake

2009-11-18T11:34:00.005Z

Beside the busy little brook
Which skirts that clump of cedars
Sits fair Diana with her book,
Most picturesque of readers.
By idle tales she sets no store,
Her passion is for knowledge;
She's reading up a treatise for
The tutor of her college.
She knows the structure of the eyes,
Can state the Great Bear's distance,
Can tell you where Coimbo lies,
Or gauge the wind's resistance.
She knows how fast the planets spin,
Can trace a comet's orbit;
She likes to plunge the litmus in
The acids which absorb it.
She drives half mad her brother Jack,
Who's fresh from Alma Mater,
With questions on the Zodiac,
Or Sanscrit forms of pater.
She's sorry ladies can't as yet
Join Christchurch, Caius, or Merton,
But means to ask papa to let
Her go next year to Girton.

Dover Beach - by Matthew Arnold

2009-09-02T17:36:00.003+01:00

I've been reading Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury recently, and it mentions Dover Beach by Matthew Arnold in it. I found it interesting and wanted to reproduce the poem in full here:

The sea is calm to-night.
The tide is full, the moon lies fair
Upon the straits; on the French coast the light
Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand;
Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay.
Come to the window, sweet is the night-air!
Only, from the long line of spray
Where the sea meets the moon-blanched land,
Listen! you hear the grating roar
Of pebbles which the waves draw back, and fling,
At their return, up the high strand,
Begin, and cease, and then again begin,
With tremulous cadence slow, and bring
The eternal note of sadness in.
Sophocles long ago
Heard it on the Aegaean, and it brought
Into his mind the turbid ebb and flow
Of human misery; we
Find also in the sound a thought,
Hearing it by this distant northern sea.
The Sea of Faith
Was once, too, at the full, and round earth's shore
Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furled.
But now I only hear
Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar,
Retreating, to the breath
Of the night-wind, down the vast edges drear
And naked shingles of the world.
Ah, love, let us be true
To one another! for the world, which seems
To lie before us like a land of dreams,
So various, so beautiful, so new,
Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,
Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;
And we are here as on a darkling plain
Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
Where ignorant armies clash by night.

Obama's Strategy and the Summits

2009-04-07T09:55:00.004+01:00

I received another interesting e-mail from stratfor today. It discusses Obama's visit to Europe and his various meetings with G-20, NATO, the EU, and Turkey. I thought I'd show the message in its entirety below, so you can take a look and pass comment if you wish.

It seems to me that Europe is becoming less of a major power and more of a hindrance to the US. Whilst the US will want to maintain good relations with the Europeans, I see that they will start looking for allies in strategic positions in future (such as Turkey). The UK is part of the EU process. We're not much of a player in Europe (except taking in immigrants from other EU countries) and so I see the UK losing much of its position on the world stage. Our leaders have slowly been eradicating what it means to be English, and creating a multi-cultural society (basically, that means small enclaves of minorities that refuse to integrate into society (such as learning English, following the law of the land, etc.)) You can guarantee that as soon as Turkey gets admitted to the EU (and they will, its just a matter of time and pressure from the US) you'll see Turkish communities within the UK. But will Turkey, taking a stance against Russia and expanding its influence (to what it was during the height of the Ottoman Empire), be good for the world as a whole? Hmmm...

Obama's Strategy and the Summits
The weeklong extravaganza of G-20, NATO, EU, U.S. and Turkey meetings has almost ended. The spin emerging from the meetings, echoed in most of the media, sought to portray the meetings as a success and as reflecting a re-emergence of trans-Atlantic unity.
The reality, however, is that the meetings ended in apparent unity because the United States accepted European unwillingness to compromise on key issues. U.S. President Barack Obama wanted the week to appear successful, and therefore backed off on key issues; the Europeans did the same. Moreover, Obama appears to have set a process in motion that bypasses Europe to focus on his last stop: Turkey.
Berlin, Washington and the G-20
Let’s begin with the G-20 meeting, which focused on the global financial crisis. As we said last year, there were many European positions, but the United States was reacting to Germany’s. Not only is Germany the largest economy in Europe, it is the largest exporter in the world. Any agreement that did not include Germany would be useless, whereas an agreement excluding the rest of Europe but including Germany would still be useful.
Two fundamental issues divided the United States and Germany. The first was whether Germany would match or come close to the U.S. stimulus package. The United States wanted Germany to stimulate its own domestic demand. Obama feared that if the United States put a stimulus plan into place, Germany would use increased demand in the U.S. market to expand its exports. The United States would wind up with massive deficits while the Germans took advantage of U.S. spending, thus letting Berlin enjoy the best of both worlds. Washington felt it had to stimulate its economy, and that this would inevitably benefit the rest of the world. But Washington wanted burden sharing. Berlin, quite rationally, did not. Even before the meetings, the United States dropped the demand — Germany was not going to cooperate.
The second issue was the financing of the bailout of the Central European banking system, heavily controlled by eurozone banks and part of the EU financial system. The Germans did not want an EU effort to bail out the banks. They wanted the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to bail out a substantial part of the EU financial system instead. The reason was simple: The IMF receives loans from the United States, as well as China and Japan, meaning the Europeans would be joined by others in underwriting the bailout. The United States has signaled it would be willing to contribute $100 billion to the IMF, of which a substantial portion would go to Central Europe. (Of the current loans given by the IMF, roughly 80 percent have gone to the struggling economies in Central Europe.) The United States therefore essentially has agreed to the German position.
Later at the NATO meeting, the Europeans — including Germany — declined to send substantial forces to Afghanistan. Instead, they designated a token force of 5,000, most of whom are scheduled to be in Afghanistan only until the August elections there, and few of whom actually would be engaged in combat operations. This is far below what Obama had been hoping for when he began his presidency.
Agreement was reached on collaboration in detecting international tax fraud and on further collaboration in managing the international crisis, however. But what that means remains extremely vague — as it was meant to be, since there was no consensus on what was to be done. In fact, the actual guidelines will still have to be hashed out at the G-20 finance ministers’ meeting in Scotland in November. Intriguingly, after insisting on the creation of a global regulatory regime — and with the vague U.S. assent — the European Union failed to agree on European regulations. In a meeting in Prague on April 4, the United Kingdom rejected the regulatory regime being proposed by Germany and France, saying it would leave the British banking system at a disadvantage.
Overall, the G-20 and the NATO meetings did not produce significant breakthroughs. Rather than pushing hard on issues or trading concessions — such as accepting Germany’s unwillingness to increase its stimulus package in return for more troops in Afghanistan — the United States failed to press or bargain. It preferred to appear as part of a consensus rather than appear isolated. The United States systematically avoided any appearance of disagreement.
The reason there was no bargaining was fairly simple: The Germans were not prepared to bargain. They came to the meetings with prepared positions, and the United States had no levers with which to move them. The only option was to withhold funding for the IMF, and that would have been a political disaster (not to mention economically rather unwise). The United States would have been seen as unwilling to participate in multilateral solutions rather than Germany being seen as trying to foist its economic problems on others. Obama has positioned himself as a multilateralist and can’t afford the political consequences of deviating from this perception. Contributing to the IMF, in these days of trillion-dollar bailouts, was the lower-cost alternative. Thus, the Germans have the U.S. boxed in.
The political aspect of this should not be underestimated. George W. Bush had extremely bad relations with the Europeans (in large part because he was prepared to confront them). This was Obama’s first major international foray, and he could not let it end in acrimony or wind up being seen as unable to move the Europeans after running a campaign based on his ability to manage the Western coalition. It was important that he come home having reached consensus with the Europeans. Backing off on key economic and military demands gave him that “consensus.”
Turkey and Obama’s Deeper Game
But it was not simply a matter of domestic politics. It is becoming clear that Obama is playing a deeper game. A couple of weeks before the meetings, when it had become obvious that the Europeans were not going to bend on the issues that concerned the United States, Obama scheduled a trip to Turkey. During the EU meetings in Prague, Obama vigorously supported the Turkish application for EU membership, which several members are blocking on grounds of concerns over human rights and the role of the military in Turkey. But the real reason is that full membership would open European borders to Turkish migration, and the Europeans do not want free Turkish migration. The United States directly confronted the Europeans on this matter.
During the NATO meeting, a key item on the agenda was the selection of a new alliance secretary-general. The favorite was former Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen. Turkey opposed his candidacy because of his defense on grounds of free speech of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed published in a Danish magazine. NATO operates on consensus, so any one member can block just about anything. The Turks backed off the veto, but won two key positions in NATO, including that of deputy secretary-general.
So while the Germans won their way at the meetings, it was the Turks who came back with the most. Not only did they boost their standing in NATO, they got Obama to come to a vigorous defense of the Turkish application for membership in the European Union, which of course the United States does not belong to. Obama then flew to Turkey for meetings and to attend a key international meeting that will allow him to further position the United States in relation to Islam.
The Russian Dimension
Let’s diverge to another dimension of these talks, which still concerns Turkey, but also concerns the Russians. While atmospherics after the last week’s meetings might have improved, there was certainly no fundamental shift in U.S.-Russian relations. The Russians have rejected the idea of pressuring Iran over its nuclear program in return for the United States abandoning its planned ballistic missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic. The United States simultaneously downplayed the importance of a Russian route to Afghanistan. Washington said there were sufficient supplies in Afghanistan and enough security on the Pakistani route such that the Russians weren’t essential for supplying Western operations in Afghanistan. At the same time, the United States reached an agreement with Ukraine for the transshipment of supplies — a mostly symbolic gesture, but one guaranteed to infuriate the Russians at both the United States and Ukraine. Moreover, the NATO communique did not abandon the idea of Ukraine and Georgia being admitted to NATO, although the German position on unspecified delays to such membership was there as well. When Obama looks at the chessboard, the key emerging challenge remains Russia.
The Germans are not going to be joining the United States in blocking Russia. Between dependence on Russia for energy supplies and little appetite for confronting a Russia that Berlin sees as no real immediate threat to Germany, the Germans are not going to address the Russian question. At the same time, the United States does not want to push the Germans toward Russia, particularly in confrontations ultimately of secondary importance and on which Germany has no give anyway. Obama is aware that the German left is viscerally anti-American, while Merkel is only pragmatically anti-American — a small distinction, but significant enough for Washington not to press Berlin.
At the same time, an extremely important event between Turkey and Armenia looks to be on the horizon. Armenians had long held Turkey responsible for the mass murder of Armenians during and after World War I, a charge the Turks have denied. The U.S. Congress for several years has threatened to pass a resolution condemning Turkish genocide against Armenians. The Turks are extraordinarily sensitive to this charge, and passage would have meant a break with the United States. Last week, they publicly began to discuss an agreement with the Armenians, including diplomatic recognition, which essentially disarms the danger from any U.S. resolution on genocide. Although an actual agreement hasn’t been signed just yet, anticipation is building on all sides.
The Turkish opening to Armenia has potentially significant implications for the balance of power in the Caucasus. The August 2008 Russo-Georgian war created an unstable situation in an area of vital importance to Russia. Russian troops remain deployed, and NATO has called for their withdrawal from the breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. There are Russian troops in Armenia, meaning Russia has Georgia surrounded. In addition, there is talk of an alternative natural gas pipeline network from Azerbaijan to Europe.
Turkey is the key to all of this. If Ankara collaborates with Russia, Georgia’s position is precarious and Azerbaijan’s route to Europe is blocked. If it cooperates with the United States and also manages to reach a stable treaty with Armenia under U.S. auspices, the Russian position in the Caucasus is weakened and an alternative route for natural gas to Europe opens up, decreasing Russian leverage against Europe.
From the American point of view, Europe is a lost cause since internally it cannot find a common position and its heavyweights are bound by their relationship with Russia. It cannot agree on economic policy, nor do its economic interests coincide with those of the United States, at least insofar as Germany is concerned. As far as Russia is concerned, Germany and Europe are locked in by their dependence on Russian natural gas. The U.S.-European relationship thus is torn apart not by personalities, but by fundamental economic and military realities. No amount of talking will solve that problem.
The key to sustaining the U.S.-German alliance is reducing Germany’s dependence on Russian natural gas and putting Russia on the defensive rather than the offensive. The key to that now is Turkey, since it is one of the only routes energy from new sources can cross to get to Europe from the Middle East, Central Asia or the Caucasus. If Turkey — which has deep influence in the Caucasus, Central Asia, Ukraine, the Middle East and the Balkans — is prepared to ally with the United States, Russia is on the defensive and a long-term solution to Germany’s energy problem can be found. On the other hand, if Turkey decides to take a defensive position and moves to cooperate with Russia instead, Russia retains the initiative and Germany is locked into Russian-controlled energy for a generation.
Therefore, having sat through fruitless meetings with the Europeans, Obama chose not to cause a pointless confrontation with a Europe that is out of options. Instead, Obama completed his trip by going to Turkey to discuss what the treaty with Armenia means and to try to convince the Turks to play for high stakes by challenging Russia in the Caucasus, rather than playing Russia’s junior partner.
This is why Obama’s most important speech in Europe was his last one, following Turkey’s emergence as a major player in NATO’s political structure. In that speech, he sided with the Turks against Europe, and extracted some minor concessions from the Europeans on the process for considering Turkey’s accession to the European Union. Why Turkey wants to be an EU member is not always obvious to us, but they do want membership. Obama is trying to show the Turks that he can deliver for them. He reiterated — if not laid it on even more heavily — all of this in his speech in Ankara. Obama laid out the U.S. position as one that recognized the tough geopolitical position Turkey is in and the leader that Turkey is becoming, and also recognized the commonalities between Washington and Ankara. This was exactly what Turkey wanted to hear.
The Caucasus is far from the only area to discuss. Talks will be held about blocking Iran in Iraq, U.S. relations with Syria and Syrian talks with Israel, and Central Asia, where both countries have interests. But the most important message to the Europeans will be that Europe is where you go for photo opportunities, but Turkey is where you go to do the business of geopolitics. It is unlikely that the Germans and French will get it. Their sense of what is happening in the world is utterly Eurocentric. But the Central Europeans, on the frontier with Russia and feeling quite put out by the German position on their banks, certainly do get it.
Obama gave the Europeans a pass for political reasons, and because arguing with the Europeans simply won’t yield benefits. But the key to the trip is what he gets out of Turkey — and whether in his speech to the civilizations, he can draw some of the venom out of the Islamic world by showing alignment with the largest economy among Muslim states, Turkey.

US Army Ranger School

2009-03-13T16:12:00.003Z

I recently completed a PFT for British Military Fitness (a fitness group for civilians that is run by ex- and serving military PTIs) and I got curious and wanted to compare my stats to what is expected for recruitment purposes in the UK and US military today (don't worry honey, I'm too old to serve again). I started looking on YouTube (I've no idea why I looked there) and came across this set of six videos with regards to US Army Ranger School. I thought they were cool and they reminded me of my own military training with the Royal Marines Reserve many years ago. Anyway, I wanted to post them here as a way for me to save them for future viewing. I may add other similar series in future (I can think of one series that was done regarding The Paras in 1982 (BBC production) that I'd like to grab). Hope you enjoy them too.

Glenn Beck on Obama's Gifts to Brown

2009-03-11T17:00:00.003Z

I admit it, I have no love for my current (unelected) Prime Minister, Gordon Brown (yes, I know, we elect the party not the individual in this country). But President Obama? He scares the crap out of me. The things he has planned can turn the world upside down, whereas Brown will only sink the UK. But when I heard that Brown gave historical, priceless, artifacts to the President, I thought, its painful, but they are our strongest allies. Then I heard about the special gifts that Brown got in return. I felt insulted. A selection of classic movie DVDs?

Don't get me wrong, I love classic movies but... And to think that a White House aide has said that Britain is just another country like any other in the United Nations? Hmmm, OK, we'll start pulling out our troops from Iraq and Afghanistan now then and join the rest of the EU on the side lines. What was the White House thinking? What was ObaMarx thinking when he had to hand over some DVDs in exchange for priceless artifacts? I wonder if he even cared.

Well, you've got the president you wanted. You wanted hope and change. I just hope its the hope and change you wanted, rather than what you'll get. OK, rant over.

American Tea Party!

2009-03-10T16:57:00.004Z

I've hijacked the following from Theo Spark's blog because I think it sums up my feelings for government as a whole, regardless of nationality. Whilst the following is a modern day Boston Tea Party, I think it is quite appropriate for the silent majority of US citizens to send a clear, easily understandable message to their representatives in Washington. Unfortunately, if we did the same thing here in the UK then our Lords and MPs would probably insist on adding more tax to teabags, as they'd think we had money to waste on sending them. Of course, the Boston Tea Party had a lot to do with the UK government (the colonies rebeling against the imposition of a tax from a government that wouldn't give them fair representation) but I fear that the symbolism would be lost on them. Anyway, read the following, get your teabag and envelope ready and sit back knowing you did some direct-action protesting, instead of quiet mumbling and muttering to your friends and loved ones (they've suffered enough, I'm sure)

My Teabag Is In The Mail - Are You Ready?
What a wonderful idea, I just wish it had been mine. I have a feeling that USPS is going to have a hell of a lot of tea to contend with, after all it only costs 42 cents to send a message, hopefully heard round the world!!!
So please mark your Calendars: There's a storm abrewin'. What happens when good, responsible people keep quiet? Washington has forgotten they work for us. We don't work for them. Throwing good money after bad is NOT the answer. I am sick of the midnight, closed door sessions to come up with a plan. I am sick of Congress raking CEO's over the coals while they, themselves, have defaulted on their taxes. I am sick of the bailed out companies having lavish vacations and retreats on my dollar.
I am sick of being told it is MY responsibility to rescue people that, knowingly, bought more house than they could afford. I am sick of being made to feel it is my patriotic duty to pay MORE taxes. I, like all of you, am a responsible citizen. I pay my taxes. I live on a budget and I don't ask someone else to carry the burden for poor decisions I may make. I have emailed my congressmen and senators asking them to NOT vote for the stimulus package as it was written without reading it first. No one listened. They voted for it, pork and all.
O.K. folks, here it is. You may think you are just one voice and what you think won't make a difference. Well, yes it will and YES, WE CAN!! If you are disgusted and angry with the way Washington is handling our taxes. If you are fearful of the fallout from the reckless spending of BILLIONS to bailout and "stimulate" without accountability and responsibility then we need to become ONE, LOUD VOICE THAT CAN BE HEARD FROM EVERY CITY, TOWN, SUBURB AND HOME IN AMERICA. There is a growing protest to demand that Congress, the President and his cabinet LISTEN to us, the American Citizens. What is being done in Washington is NOT the way to handle the economic free fall.
So, here's the plan. On April 1, 2009, all Americans are asked to send a TEABAG to Washington , D.C. You do not have to enclose a note or any other information unless you so desire. Just a TEABAG. Many cities are organizing protests. If you simply search, "New American Tea Party", several sites will come up. If you aren't the 'protester' type, simply make your one voice heard with a TEABAG. Your one voice will become a roar when joined with millions of others that feel the same way. Yes, something needs to be done but the lack of confidence as shown by the steady decline in the stock market speaks volumes.
This was not my idea. I visited the sites of the 'New American Tea Party' and an online survey showed over 90% of thousands said they would send the teabag on April 1. Why, April 1?? We want them to reach Washington by April 15. Will you do it? I will. Send it to: 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Washington , D.C. 20500
Visit the website for more information about the 'New American Tea Party'. I would encourage everyone to go ahead and get the envelope ready to mail, then just drop it in the mail April 1. Can't guarantee what the postage will be by then, it is going up as we speak, but have your envelope ready. What will this cost you? A little time and a 40 something cent stamp.
What could you receive in benefits? Maybe, just maybe, our elected officials will start to listen to the people. Take out the Pork. Tell us how the money is being spent. We want TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY.
Remember, the money will be spent over the next 4-5 years. It is not too late.

Milton Friedman on Greed

2009-03-03T12:13:00.004Z

As governments around the world continue to throw tax-payers money at the ecomonic problems that they, in the main, created in the first place, I thought it would be prudent to remind people of the benefits of capitalism. I found the above video on Theo Sparks blog and thought it so good that I wanted to grab a copy for myself. Take a couple of minutes to watch the video and make up your own mind.

A Pastor With Guts!

2009-03-02T10:16:00.002Z

I received the following message about a Pastor in the Kanasas Senate today, and I was amazed by it. I did a quick check on snopes but couldn't find anything on it, so if you know whether this is true or fake can you let me know?

Even if its false, I like the sentiment.

A Pastor with GUTS!
Thought you might enjoy this interesting prayer given in Kansas at the opening session of their Senate. It seems prayer still upsets some people. When Minister Joe Wright was asked to open the new session of the Kansas Senate, everyone was expecting the usual generalities, but this is what they heard:
"Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done.
We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.
We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.
We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.
We have killed our unborn and called it choice.
We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.
We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem.
We have abused power and called it politics.
We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition.
We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.
We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.
Search us, Oh, God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free.
Amen!"
The response was immediate. A number of legislators walked out during the prayer in protest. In 6 short weeks, Central Christian Church, where Rev. Wright is pastor, logged more than 5,000 phone calls with only 47 of those calls responding negatively. The church is now receiving international requests for copies of this prayer from India , Africa and Korea.
Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on his radio program, 'The Rest of the Story', and received a larger response to this program than any other he has ever aired.
With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep over our nation and wholeheartedly become our desire so that we again can be called 'one nation under God'.

Where Does a Woman's Money Go?

2009-02-27T17:32:00.002Z

Not had time to post this week, work has been hectic and I think it will be the same for next week too. I still wanted to post something though, so I thought the above video might be fun. It reminds me so much of my girl, but I'm not too sure why...? ;-)

EUROPE - Cherokee

2009-02-19T17:06:00.002Z

Having watched Iron Maiden's Run to the Hills, I was reminded of another Indian themed song I loved from the 80's too. Its Europe with Cherokee. I remember that I loved the lyrics to this song. Everyone remembers Final Countdown but how many remember Cherokee?

I thought I'd continue the Native American/Indian theme and post it here.

IRON MAIDEN - Run To The Hills

2009-02-19T16:50:00.002Z

On Saturday I went shopping with my girl. It was Valentine's Day and she loves to shop so what was a man to do? But what I found strange was that I was constantly singing Run To The Hills to myself. It didn't just start amongst the throng of eager shoppers, I was singing it to myself in the shower that morning...

Anyway, after all the recent bad news of monetary recessions, stimulus packages, and surges in Afghanistan, I thought it would be a nice change of pace to put this video up. Its been one of my long-term favourites since it was first released in 1982. Enjoy!

Obama Enters the Great Game

2009-02-19T15:37:00.010Z

For a couple of months, I've been subscribing to Stratfor's Geopolitical Intelligence Report, which is a weekly e-mail discussing issues of world politics. Each e-mail concentrates on a single topic. Whilst there's been discussions on the Drug Cartels in Mexico and the problems of China during the recession, on the 20th January 2009, I received an interesting message that discussed the problems that would be facing Obama over the term of his Presidency. I was keeping the e-mail so that I could look back on it every few months or so to see how accurate the predictions were but I've decided to copy the report here instead of keep it in my inbox (its going to get lost in there!). The following report was written by Dr George Friedman:

OBAMA ENTERS THE GREAT GAME
U.S. President-elect Barack Obama will be sworn in on Tuesday as president of the United States. Candidate Obama said much about what he would do as president; now we will see what President Obama actually does. The most important issue Obama will face will be the economy, something he did not anticipate through most of his campaign. The first hundred days of his presidency thus will revolve around getting a stimulus package passed. But Obama also is now in the great game of global competition — and in that game, presidents rarely get to set the agenda.
The major challenge he faces is not Gaza; the Israeli-Palestinian dispute is not one any U.S. president intervenes in unless he wants to experience pain. As we have explained, that is an intractable conflict to which there is no real solution. Certainly, Obama will fight being drawn into mediating the Israeli-Palestinian conflict during his first hundred days in office. He undoubtedly will send the obligatory Middle East envoy, who will spend time with all the parties, make suitable speeches and extract meaningless concessions from all sides. This envoy will establish some sort of process to which everyone will cynically commit, knowing it will go nowhere. Such a mission is not involvement — it is the alternative to involvement, and the reason presidents appoint Middle East envoys. Obama can avoid the Gaza crisis, and he will do so.

OBAMA'S TWO UNAVOIDABLE CRISES
The two crises that cannot be avoided are Afghanistan and Russia. First, the situation in Afghanistan is tenuous for a number of reasons, and it is not a crisis that Obama can avoid decisions on. Obama has said publicly that he will decrease his commitments in Iraq and increase them in Afghanistan. He thus will have more troops fighting in Afghanistan. The second crisis emerged from a decision by Russia to cut off natural gas to Ukraine, and the resulting decline in natural gas deliveries to Europe. This one obviously does not affect the United States directly, but even after flows are restored, it affects the Europeans greatly. Obama therefore comes into office with three interlocking issues: Afghanistan, Russia and Europe. In one sense, this is a single issue — and it is not one that will wait.
Obama clearly intends to follow Gen. David Petraeus’ lead in Afghanistan. The intention is to increase the number of troops in Afghanistan, thereby intensifying pressure on the Taliban and opening the door for negotiations with the militant group or one of its factions. Ultimately, this would see the inclusion of the Taliban or Taliban elements in a coalition government. Petraeus pursued this strategy in Iraq with Sunni insurgents, and it is the likely strategy in Afghanistan.
But the situation in Afghanistan has been complicated by the situation in Pakistan. Roughly three-quarters of U.S. and NATO supplies bound for Afghanistan are delivered to the Pakistani port of Karachi and trucked over the border to Afghanistan. Most fuel used by Western forces in Afghanistan is refined in Pakistan and delivered via the same route. There are two crossing points, one near Afghanistan’s Kandahar province at Chaman, Pakistan, and the other through the Khyber Pass. The Taliban have attacked Western supply depots and convoys, and Pakistan itself closed the routes for several days, citing government operations against radical Islamist forces.
Meanwhile, the situation in Pakistan has been complicated by tensions with India. The Indians have said that the individuals who carried out the Nov. 26 Mumbai attack were Pakistanis supported by elements in the Pakistani government. After Mumbai, India made demands of the Pakistanis. While the situation appears to have calmed, the future of Indo-Pakistani relations remains far from clear; anything from a change of policy in New Delhi to new terrorist attacks could see the situation escalate. The Pakistanis have made it clear that a heightened threat from India requires them to shift troops away from the Afghan border and toward the east; a small number of troops already has been shifted.
Apart from the direct impact this kind of Pakistani troop withdrawal would have on cross-border operations by the Taliban, such a move also would dramatically increase the vulnerability of NATO supply lines through Pakistan. Some supplies could be shipped in by aircraft, but the vast bulk of supplies — petroleum, ammunition, etc. — must come in via surface transit, either by truck, rail or ship. Western operations in Afghanistan simply cannot be supplied from the air alone. A cutoff of the supply lines across Pakistan would thus leave U.S. troops in Afghanistan in crisis. Because Washington can’t predict or control the future actions of Pakistan, of India or of terrorists, the United States must find an alternative to the routes through Pakistan.
When we look at a map, the two routes through Pakistan from Karachi are clearly the most logical to use. If those were closed — or even meaningfully degraded — the only other viable routes would be through the former Soviet Union.
One route, along which a light load of fuel is currently transported, crosses the Caspian Sea. Fuel refined in Armenia is ferried across the Caspian to Turkmenistan (where a small amount of fuel is also refined), then shipped across Turkmenistan directly to Afghanistan and through a small spit of land in Uzbekistan. This route could be expanded to reach either the Black Sea through Georgia or the Mediterranean through Georgia and Turkey (though the additional use of Turkey would require a rail gauge switch). It is also not clear that transports native to the Caspian have sufficient capacity for this. Another route sidesteps the issues of both transport across the Caspian and the sensitivity of Georgia by crossing Russian territory above the Caspian. Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan (and likely at least a small corner of Turkmenistan) would connect the route to Afghanistan. There are options of connecting to the Black Sea or transiting to Europe through either Ukraine or Belarus. Iran could provide a potential alternative, but relations between Tehran and Washington would have to improve dramatically before such discussions could even begin — and time is short. Many of the details still need to be worked out. But they are largely variations on the two main themes of either crossing the Caspian or transiting Russian territory above it.
Though the first route is already partially established for fuel, it is not clear how much additional capacity exists. To complicate matters further, Turkmen acquiescence is unlikely without Russian authorization, and Armenia remains strongly loyal to Moscow as well. While the current Georgian government might leap at the chance, the issue is obviously an extremely sensitive one for Moscow. (And with Russian forces positioned in Azerbaijan and the Georgian breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Moscow has troops looming over both sides of the vulnerable route across Georgia.) The second option would require crossing Russian territory itself, with a number of options — from connecting to the Black Sea to transiting either Ukraine or Belarus to Europe, or connecting to the Baltic states.
Both routes involve countries of importance to Russia where Moscow has influence, regardless of whether those countries are friendly to it. This would give Russia ample opportunity to scuttle any such supply line at multiple points for reasons wholly unrelated to Afghanistan.
If the West were to opt for the first route, the Russians almost certainly would pressure Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan not to cooperate, and Turkey would find itself in a position it doesn’t want to be in — namely, caught between the United States and Russia. The diplomatic complexities of developing these routes not only involve the individual countries included, they also inevitably lead to the question of U.S.-Russian relations.
Even without crossing Russia, both of these two main options require Russian cooperation. The United States must develop the option of an alternative supply route to Pakistan, and in doing so, it must define its relationship with Russia. Seeking to work without Russian approval of a route crossing its “near abroad” will represent a challenge to Russia. But getting Russian approval will require a U.S. accommodation with the country.

THE RUSSIAN NATURAL GAS CONNECTION
One of Obama’s core arguments against the Bush administration was that it acted unilaterally rather than with allies. Specifically, Obama meant that the Bush administration alienated the Europeans, therefore failing to build a sustainable coalition for the war. By this logic, it follows that one of Obama’s first steps should be to reach out to Europe to help influence or pressure the Russians, given that NATO has troops in Afghanistan and Obama has said he intends to ask the Europeans for more help there.
The problem with this is that the Europeans are passing through a serious crisis with Russia, and that Germany in particular is involved in trying to manage that crisis. This problem relates to natural gas. Ukraine is dependent on Russia for about two-thirds of the natural gas it uses. The Russians traditionally have provided natural gas at a deep discount to former Soviet republics, primarily those countries Russia sees as allies, such as Belarus or Armenia. Ukraine had received discounted natural gas, too, until the 2004 Orange Revolution, when a pro-Western government came to power in Kiev. At that point, the Russians began demanding full payment. Given the subsequent rises in global energy prices, that left Ukraine in a terrible situation — which of course is exactly where Moscow wanted it.
The Russians cut off natural gas to Ukraine for a short period in January 2006, and for three weeks in 2009. Apart from leaving Ukraine desperate, the cutoff immediately affected the rest of Europe, because the natural gas that goes to Europe flows through Ukraine. This put the rest of Europe in a dangerous position, particularly in the face of bitterly cold weather in 2008-2009.
The Russians achieved several goals with this. First, they pressured Ukraine directly. Second, they forced many European states to deal with Moscow directly rather than through the European Union. Third, they created a situation in which European countries had to choose between supporting Ukraine and heating their own homes. And last, they drew Berlin in particular — since Germany is the most dependent of the major European states on Russian natural gas — into the position of working with the Russians to get Ukraine to agree to their terms. (Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin visited Germany last week to discuss this directly with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.)
The Germans already have made clear their opposition to expanding NATO to Ukraine and Georgia. Given their dependency on the Russians, the Germans are not going to be supporting the United States if Washington decides to challenge Russia over the supply route issue. In fact, the Germans — and many of the Europeans — are in no position to challenge Russia on anything, least of all on Afghanistan. Overall, the Europeans see themselves as having limited interests in the Afghan war, and many already are planning to reduce or withdraw troops for budgetary reasons.
It is therefore very difficult to see Obama recruiting the Europeans in any useful manner for a confrontation with Russia over access for American supplies to Afghanistan. Yet this is an issue he will have to address immediately.

THE PRICE OF RUSSIAN COOPERATION
The Russians are prepared to help the Americans, however — and it is clear what they will want in return.
At minimum, Moscow will want a declaration that Washington will not press for the expansion of NATO to Georgia or Ukraine, or for the deployment of military forces in non-NATO states on the Russian periphery — specifically, Ukraine and Georgia. At this point, such a declaration would be symbolic, since Germany and other European countries would block expansion anyway.
The Russians might also demand some sort of guarantee that NATO and the United States not place any large military formations or build any major military facilities in the former Soviet republics (now NATO member states) of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. (A small rotating squadron of NATO fighters already patrols the skies over the Baltic states.) Given that there were intense anti-government riots in Latvia and Lithuania last week, the stability of these countries is in question. The Russians would certainly want to topple the pro-Western Baltic governments. And anything approaching a formal agreement between Russia and the United States on the matter could quickly destabilize the Baltics, in addition to very much weakening the NATO alliance.
Another demand the Russians probably will make — because they have in the past — is that the United States guarantee eventual withdrawal from any bases in Central Asia in return for Russian support for using those bases for the current Afghan campaign. (At present, the United States runs air logistics operations out of Manas Air Base in Kyrgyzstan.) The Russians do not want to see Central Asia become a U.S. sphere of influence as the result of an American military presence.
Other demands might relate to the proposed U.S. ballistic missile defense installations in the Czech Republic and Poland.
We expect the Russians to make variations on all these demands in exchange for cooperation in creating a supply line to Afghanistan. Simply put, the Russians will demand that the United States acknowledge a Russian sphere of influence in the former Soviet Union. The Americans will not want to concede this — or at least will want to make it implicit rather than explicit. But the Russians will want this explicit, because an explicit guarantee will create a crisis of confidence over U.S. guarantees in the countries that emerged from the Soviet Union, serving as a lever to draw these countries into the Russian orbit. U.S. acquiescence on the point potentially would have ripple effects in the rest of Europe, too.
Therefore, regardless of the global financial crisis, Obama has an immediate problem on his hands in Afghanistan. He has troops fighting there, and they must be supplied. The Pakistani supply line is no longer a sure thing. The only other options either directly challenge Russia (and ineffectively at that) or require Russian help. Russia’s price will be high, particularly because Washington’s European allies will not back a challenge to Russia in Georgia, and all options require Russian cooperation anyway. Obama’s plan to recruit the Europeans on behalf of American initiatives won’t work in this case. Obama does not want to start his administration with making a massive concession to Russia, but he cannot afford to leave U.S. forces in Afghanistan without supplies. He can hope that nothing happens in Pakistan, but that is up to the Taliban and other Islamist groups more than anyone else — and betting on their goodwill is not a good idea.
Whatever Obama is planning to do, he will have to deal with this problem fast, before Afghanistan becomes a crisis. And there are no good solutions. But unlike with the Israelis and Palestinians, Obama can’t solve this by sending a special envoy who appears to be doing something. He will have to make a very tough decision. Between the economy and this crisis, we will find out what kind of president Obama is.

What's Really Going on in Afghanistan?

2009-02-13T11:17:00.003Z

Nine years ago, a young lad of only 17 years, appeared in a Daily Mail (a UK tabloid) article regarding the youth of the well-to-do making merry in the sun at a seaside resort. The reason it was reported, was because Princes William and Harry were enjoying themselves there too, and of course, the paparazzi were in tow. That innocent, 17 year-old boy has done some serious growing up recently.

In an article published on Wednesday, entitled: Party Boy Who Grew Up, by Richard Pendlebury, the life of that young man, Jimmy Carroll, has changed dramatically. Initially beginning a career in the City, he decided to do something more active and so, dragged himself off to Sandhurst and became an officer in Her Majesty's armed forces (Queen's Dragoon Guards to be precise).

Whilst the article discusses some of the aspects of Carroll's life what I found interesting was the portrayal of what happens day-to-day in just one army outpost and the fact that the MOD don't want certain things to be widely known. I'd suggest that you read the article. It gives a remarkable insight into just how bad things can be over there, and what sort of calibre of men (and women) we have in our armed forces.

Keep going lads (and lasses), I'm proud of each and every one of you!

Long Division and Remainders

2009-02-12T15:21:00.003Z

Another maths video for you. This time, its long division. You wouldn't believe how often I wish I could do long division but had forgotten how to do it. I've become far too reliant on a calculator and I hate that. Well, I should be able to remember now with the above video. Plus, it also shows you what to do with remainders!

I just need to find a video that shows how to convert decimals into fractions and fractions into decimals and then I'll call it a day. ;-)

Mulitplication without Multiplication Tables

2009-02-12T13:47:00.005Z

As I've gotten older, I've found that I've forgotten a lot of the things I was taught in school. One of the things I've found difficult is remembering how to do simple mathematics. On my list of 'Things To Do' is the relearning of the multiplication tables and revisiting the mathematics I was taught as a child. I don't need it for my job (we have calculators for that) but I want to learn how to do things for myself.

I was browsing YouTube for videos on learning the multiplication tables (looking for inspiration) and I came across the above video. Whilst the presentation isn't all that great I was impressed with the method. I was going to give a few examples here, using the above method, but I can't work out how to do a table or columns in this blog just yet.

Apparently, this is a method that dates back to Egyptian times, when they didn't know about multiplication tables. Give it a try and see how you like it.

What is Politics?

2009-02-06T13:34:00.004Z

I got the following 'story' in an e-mail from a friend, thought you guys might find it funny too.

A little boy goes to his father and asks, "What is Politics and why is that Gordon Brown on the television again?"
Dad says, "Well son, let me try to explain it this way: I am the head of the family, so call me The Prime Minister. Your mother is the administrator of the money, so we call her the Government. We are here to take care of your needs, so we will call you the People. The nanny, we will consider her the Working Class. And your baby brother, we will call him the Future. Now think about that and see if it makes sense."
So the little boy goes off to bed thinking about what Dad has said. Later that night, he hears his baby brother crying, so he gets up to check on him. He finds that the baby has severely soiled his nappy. So the little boy goes to his parent's room and finds his mother asleep. Not wanting to wake her, he goes to the nanny's room. Finding the door locked, he peeks through the keyhole and sees his father in bed with the nanny. He gives up and goes back to bed.
The next morning, the little boy say's to his father, "Dad, I think I understand the concept of politics now."
The father says, "Good, son, tell me in your own words what you think politics is all about."
The little boy replies, "The Prime Minister is screwing the Working Class while the Government is sound asleep. The People are being ignored and the Future is in deep shit."

Fighting for our rights

2009-02-02T14:13:00.002Z

This video should be watched by every man, woman, and child in the United Kingdom. Its a short news item shown in the US (I think) and it briefly tells the story of what can happen when the government removes a right from its people in the hope of dealing with criminals. I came across the above clip on The Armed American's blog.

I live in the UK, and I'm trying to put a letter together to my local MP in requesting the right to go target-shooting with a pistol once again. I'd love to ask for the right to bear arms, but one step at a time. What I find worrying, however, is that this sort of report hasn't been shown in this country. I knew about Tony Martin being jailed for defending himself and his property but I had no idea that people were trying to have the laws changed in our favour, rather than the criminals. I know that the Main Stream Media have a love affair of all leftist philosophy, and that may account for its absence.

Now that I'm aware that others are making similar requests as I, then I'll continue to press my local representative. Let's face it, I have nothing to lose and so much to gain!

If you have any ideas on how to structure the letter or what to include within it, I'd be grateful for any suggestions.

Gene Tierney - Heaven Can Wait!

2009-01-29T17:19:00.005Z

I've had a lifelong love of classic movies. I find their stories engrossing and entertaining, whereas the movies of today seem thin and gaudy in comparison. Maybe it was the lack of special effects that required the writers to concentrate on the art of storytelling? I don't know what it was, but every now and then I find a small gem, in amongst the classics, that I take to heart from the very first time I watch them.

My girl recently caught a film on TV entitled: Heaven Can Wait starring Don Ameche and Gene Tierney and she told me about it. We looked at a couple of clips on YouTube and after hearing the amazing dialogue I knew I'd fall in love with this movie. I bought it from Amazon (for less than £5) and watched it recently. It was even better than I'd hoped. There was comedy, there was wonderful dialogue, there was a real feeling of affection amongst the characters. I loved the film. The film was nominated for three Academy Awards in 1943 (yes, 1943!)

Since watching those short clips on YouTube however, my girl and I have added to our in-joke repertoire. We now have 'I don't want to be an old maid! Not in Kansas!' Its simple, its clean, but we both tease each other about it. Sometimes she teases me about marriage (I'll ask when I'm good and ready!) and now I ask her if she's not happy to be an old maid. You can see where this leads us ;-)

Anyway, despite the great dialogue and the great story, I thought that the leading lady, Gene Tierney, was amazingly beautiful in this film. I don't recall seeing her in other films (though I'm sure I probably have) but she shone in this role. My heart melted when I saw her on screen for the first time (just a little honey, honest!) Whilst my girl would probably kill me if I started posting 'Weekend Women' on this blog, I thought I might just get away with posting a couple of photos of the gorgeous Gene:

Don't you just love those eyes!

A word of advice to the young girls out there on the dating scene: If you dress like a lady, then men will treat you like a lady. There's some free advice from your good ol' Uncle Yabusame ;-)

I think I'll be looking out for other films starring Gene. If they're half as good as Heaven Can Wait, then I won't be disappointed.

Look at me, I don't need subtitles!

2009-01-29T16:59:00.004Z

My girl and I have a running joke based on the above video. For months we've been saying "Look at me, I don't need subtitles!" We were sharing the joke again at lunch today and I thought it about time I posted it on this blog.

President Obama and the Muslim World?

2009-01-29T16:15:00.003Z

I was reading through an article by Ben Shapiro entitled: The Day America Lost The War On Terror and I found the following quote rather disturbing:

Most sickeningly, Obama openly jettisoned his constitutional role as the caretaker for America’s national interest. Instead, Obama posed himself as an honest broker between America and the Muslim world. “(T)he United States has a stake in the well-being of the Muslim world, that the language we use has to be a language of respect,” he said. “I have Muslim members of my family. I have lived in Muslim countries.” Obama didn’t stop there. He stated that his job is to speak for the Muslim world, defending them from Americans’ negative perceptions: “And my job is to communicate to the American people that the Muslim world is filled with extraordinary people who simply want to live their lives and see their children live better lives.”

Surely it is the President's job to speak for the American people, not the Muslim world? How can a man who has sworn (on the Bible) to uphold the constitution and all that entails then go on to give his first, official, televised interview with an Arabian TV station and say that he's going to be the voice of the Muslim (arabian) world? Surely, any patriotic President would have given his first interview to an American TV station? Surely, he should have said that he will be the voice of the American people? Can you imagine what the blogs would be saying if Obama had given his first official interview to Rush Limbaugh (radio interview of course) and had answered every single question put to him in a clear and reasoned manner? I just can't understand how a man like Obama, who seems so duplicitous, could have been elected to any sort of office. I fear for the world over the next four years (maybe longer, if he gets a second term). Why the world? Because what the US President does today will have far reaching consequences on the state of global politics for decades to come.

Another area where change seems to be an empty promise is in how different government offices have been filled with the same people that were in the Clinton administration. Obama even put a Clinton in one of those offices! What sort of change does he expect to make by simply repeating the mistakes of the past? OK, I'm not all that naive. I know that the soundbites and promises made on the road to candidacy and to the White House bear little resemblence to the actual Presidency itself, but even I could see through the platitudes and double-speak in his speeches.

I'll admit it here and now. I don't understand Obama. GW Bush was considered a buffoon by the Main Stream Media, even Channel 4 news said that 'the nightmare is over' when Obama was inaugerated (but then, Channel 4 news is most definitely an unbiased media (hahaha!)). He pledges himself on the bible on the one hand and then does the complete opposite on the other. Does this mean that Obama's promises are meaningless and it all comes down to what he actually does over the next four years?

I'll go on record, right here and now, and state that I'm amazed and a little proud of my american cousins in that they have elected their first black president. I just wish it was, for example, President Rice instead of President Obama. I fear for the change that he hopes to impose on the unsuspecting people that elected him. It is his policies that have always worried me, not his skin colour.

Women and Guns

2009-01-21T17:20:00.002Z

I'm still a bit snowed under at the moment, hence the lack of posts, but I did find the above clip on Theo Sparks blog and I wanted to share it with everyone. For a change, it seems that the media isn't against individuals (namely women in this report) protecting themselves from criminals. I wish this sort of report could've been done in the UK but we lost our right to own a handgun 11 years ago

If any of my readers are women, can you tell me what your response is to the above clip? How do you feel about taking responsibility for your own protection rather than relying on the state?

3,900 Saturdays!

2009-01-15T14:24:00.003Z

Hi folks, I hope you all enjoyed the Penguins over christmas and I'm sorry I haven't posted since I got back here on the 12th but work and life have been very busy lately. Anyway, I just wanted to quickly post something I received in an e-mail for you all to share. Its one of those usual spams but I especially enjoyed the story, hence my putting it up here. Hope you all enjoy it.

The older I get, the more I enjoy Saturday mornings. Perhaps it's the quiet solitude that comes with being the first to rise, or maybe it's the unbounded joy of not having to be at work. Either way, the first few hours of a Saturday morning are most enjoyable.
A few weeks ago, I was shuffling toward the garage with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and the morning paper in the other. What began as a typical Saturday morning turned into one of those lessons that life seems to hand you from time to time. Let me tell you about it.
I turned the dial up into the phone portion of the band on my ham radio in order to listen to a Saturday morning swap net. Along the way, I came across an older sounding chap, with a tremendous signal and a golden voice. You know the kind; he sounded like he should be in the broadcasting business. He was telling whomever he was talking with something about 'a thousand marbles.' I was intrigued and stopped to listen to what he had to say.
"Well, Tom, it sure sounds like you're busy with your job. I'm sure they pay you well but it's a shame you have to be away from home and your family so much. Hard to believe a young fellow should have to work sixty or seventy hours a week to make ends meet. It's too bad you missed your daughter's dance recital", he continued. "Let me tell you something that has helped me keep my own priorities." And that's when he began to explain his theory of a 'thousand marbles.'
"You see, I sat down one day and did a little arithmetic. The average person lives about seventy-five years. I know, some live more and some live less, but on average, folks live about seventy-five years."
"Now then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with 3900, which is the number of Saturdays that the average person has in their entire lifetime. Now, stick with me, Tom, I'm getting to the important part. It took me until I was fifty-five years old to think about all this in any detail", he went on, "and by that time I had lived through over twenty-eight hundred Saturdays. I got to thinking that if I lived to be seventy-five, I only had about a thousand of them left to enjoy. So I went to a toy store and bought every single marble they had. I ended up having to visit three toy stores to round up 1000 marbles. I took them home and put them inside a large, clear plastic container right here in the shack next to my gear."
"Every Saturday since then, I have taken one marble out and thrown it away. I found that by watching the marbles diminish, I focused more on the really important things in life. There is nothing like watching your time here on this earth run out to help get your priorities straight."
"Now let me tell you one last thing before I sign-off with you and take my lovely wife out for breakfast. This morning, I took the very last marble out of the container. I figure that if I make it until next Saturday then I have been given a little extra time. And the one thing we can all use is a little more time."
"It was nice to meet you Tom, I hope you spend more time with your family, and I hope to meet you again here on the band. This is a 75 Year old Man, K9NZQ, clear and going QRT, good morning!"
You could have heard a pin drop on the band when this fellow signed off. I guess he gave us all a lot to think about. I had planned to work on the antenna that morning, and then I was going to meet up with a few hams to work on the next club newsletter. Instead, I went upstairs and woke my wife up with a kiss.
"C'mon honey, I'm taking you and the kids to breakfast."
"What brought this on", she asked with a smile.
"Oh, nothing special, it's just been a long time since we spent a Saturday together with the kids. And hey, can we stop at a toy store while we're out? I need to buy some marbles."

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

2008-12-19T14:43:00.003Z

The above cartoon is called: Madagascar Penguins - A Christmas Caper. Its 10 minutes long, but OH SO FUNNY!!!

I'll be heading home for the holidays to see family and friends and I'll be away from the computer for about 3 weeks... ah, what bliss. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that there won't be any posts until I get back on the 12th January. Hope you all have a wonderful christmas

P.S. Let me know what you think of the cartoon.

Prinary School Subjects Overhauled

2008-12-16T13:15:00.004Z

The government has done it again. According to a BBC news article, entitled: Primary School Subjects Overhaul, Sir Jim Rose, a government adviser, has produced a report that suggests that the way subjects are taught in primary schools within the UK should be rethought.

These two short paragraphs from the news item frightened me:

But he said that this would mean a reduction in overall content - with the details of the subject matter which would no longer be taught still to be decided.
As well as cutting out subjects, Sir Jim proposes a greater emphasis on life skills, including making lessons about emotional well-being and social skills a compulsory part of the curriculum.

There are two things here, that I don't understand.

Why does any government want to remove subject content from its curriculum and replace it with feel-good tick-box sessions?
Why are the BBC not spinning this even more, as is usually their want, to make it sound like the greatest thing EVER?

The state of education in England is a sore point with me. I'm now on a personal crusade to re-educate myself. Or, more correctly, to give myself an education. I attended ordinary state schools in the 1970s and 80s and I am ashamed of the education I received. I despair at the thought of sending any child to a modern state school today. I would suggest that the government would do better to stop all of this fiddling with curriculums and targets and return education to something resembling that of the early 20th century (which worked for centuries) and allow schools to provide, and students to receive, a classical education. They could find information at the Hillsdale Academy in the US, which is doing just that. I'm looking at their 9-12 grade syllabus for ideas in planning my own reading materials. After that, I'll concentrate on the classics (the western canon).

Education in the United Kingdom? Not anymore matey, it was legislated away many years ago.

Not Ready Yet Grasshopper...

2008-12-11T10:39:00.003Z

Following the seriousness of the previous post, I thought I'd share this advert with you. Well, it made me laugh anyway.

Sword Cutting

2008-12-11T10:25:00.002Z

In the video above, you'll see a guy, who has trained with the Katana, cut different types of objects, including pork. Its interesting to see how the flesh of the pork remains motionless until he cuts through the bone and then it loses all structure and becomes floppy (as you'd expect). The cutting of an egg was very interesting, I wonder if thats how he cuts the tops off his boiled eggs? ;-)

As an aside, I have done Tameshigiri (cutting tatami mats with a Katana) several times and I was first taught how to do it by an instructor in Japan when I first visited the place in 2000. I have even tried doing Tameshigiri with a Shoto (the shorter of the two swords that Samurai traditionally wear). Let me tell you, its a lot easier with a Katana (Daito) than it is with a Shoto.

Nice Doggy...

2008-12-10T13:05:00.003Z

The above picture and the following text was just sent to me via an e-mail list I belong to (Primitive Skills Group). I wanted to share it with you all as I find it quite amazing:

The K9 above is Brutus, a military K9 at McChord. He's huge - part Boxer and part British Bull Mastiff and tops the scales at 200 lbs. His handler took the picture.
Brutus is running toward me because he knows I have some Milk Bone treats, so he's slobbering away! I had to duck around a tree just before he got to me in case he couldn't stop, but he did.
Brutus won the Congressional Medal of Honor last year from his tour in Iraq . His handler and four other soldiers were taken hostage by insurgents. Brutus and his handler communicate by sign language and he gave Brutus the signal that meant 'go away but come back and find me'. The Iraqis paid no attention to Brutus. He came back later and quietly tore the throat out of one guard at one door and another guard at another door. He then jumped against one of the doors repeatedly (the guys were being held in an old warehouse) until it opened. He went in and untied his handler and they all escaped. He's the first K9 to receive this honor.
If he knows you're ok, he's a big old lug and wants to sit in your lap. Enjoys the company of cats.
K-9 Congressional Medal of Honor Winner

Government Debt is Our Debt!

2008-12-09T16:26:00.004Z

One of my favourite Blogs to read on a regular basis is Burning Our Money. It shows me how my government is squandering its tax revenues. And when I say 'its' I actually mean 'mine'. That tax does not belong to the government it belongs to the likes of you and me. We simply authorise the government to use our money to fulfil certain financial obligations. But as I explained on a previous post on this site, the government is spending money as if its going out of fashion. How do they hope to solve the problem of government debt in the years to come?

If you look at the video above, its called I.O.U.S.A. and is about the debt in the United States. Its 30 minutes long, but its well worth sitting through as you'll learn a great deal about the power of finance and the repercussions of excessive government debt. Please watch it. Even if you don't agree, thats fine by me. Watch out for comments about the UK, such as our war in the Suez in 1956 and the state of our Trade deficit (we appear second from the bottom of the table, the USA is the only country with a worse trade deficit that the UK).

Now that you've sat through those interesting 30 minutes, take a look at this chart that I've stolen from Burning Our Money (sorry Tyler):

If that graph doesn't frighten you, then nothing will. If you want an explanation, nip on over to the Burning Our Money blog and look at the entry entitled: Servicing Gordo.

The Fight Against Terrorism Spreads

2008-12-08T15:26:00.005Z

It seems that the fight against terrorism, and most particularly against Al-Qaeda, is spreading from the Middle East to places as far flung as the Philippines. An article in The Times, entitled: Army Battles Al-Qaeda Militants In Philippines gives a brief overview of how the Philippines Army is fighting terrorists on the island of Basilan and other nearby islands.

It seems that the militants are demanding an autonomous Muslim homeland. All I can suggest is that if you love Islam, Jihad, and Sharia Law so much, why not return to the home of your ancestors in Iraq or Afghanistan and put things right there first, before demanding autonomy in a country far away.

The Disadvantages of Being Educated

2008-12-05T16:50:00.005Z

Hello dear reader, I've not had much time to add anything to the old blog this week but I wanted to point you towards an essay by Albert Jay Nock, which was published in 1937. Its called:

The Disadvantages of Being Educated

Check it out and come back and comment.

Labour Has Done It Again!

2008-11-26T11:43:00.002Z

New Labour is, once again, old Labour. Tony Blair, John Smith, and others rebuilt the Labour party following a decade or more of electoral defeats in a bid to win the middle-England electorate over to their cause. Basically, they adopted some of the Conservative middle-road policies (such as stating that they will never increase Income Tax). As has been shown in the recent Pre-Budget speech by Alastair Darling MP, Old Labour will be handing out £20bn in tax cuts over the next year or two (through VAT decreases etc) but will be increasing Income Tax for high earners. In addition, he has plans to increase the National Insurance receits by an additional 0.5% in 2010 onwards, basically, he will claw back £40bn from beleagured Britain. In order to fund these payouts intially, he intends to DOUBLE the national debt over the next five years to £1tn (£1,000,000,000,000). If every man, woman, and child in this country (approximately 60m) were to share the burden of this debt, then they would each have to pay in excess of £16,500.

But we all know that in the Socialist Monarchy of Little Britain, not everyone pays their own way. Labour has instituted so many welfare schemes, since WWII, that any party that decides to do something about it would be in danger of losing any election. The great unwashed do not need to earn a living if they can make ends meet through government handouts. Only its not the government's money that they're spending. Its mine and yours and everyone elses who pays tax. Any government that takes money from those that have EARNED it and gives it to those that give NOTHING to the country increases its electoral base. People will always vote themselves more money from the government coffers. That is why the Labour party has always been popular with Unions and the Unemployed. Why go out to work if you can vote yourself a 'pay' increase and stay home?

What this means, is that Old Labour have once again bankrupted this country and it will take a strong government with an eye to frugality to fix the problem. But who can do that? Well, the choices we have at the ballot box are New-Old Labour (Socialists who like to spend) and the Conservatives (Socialist-lite who want to attract New Labour supporters (so they'll have to spend too)). There are other parties of course but the chances of their ever gaining power is pretty remote at this time. Looking at the last time Britain was bankrupted by a Labour government (1970s) we saw Margaret Thatcher elected and strong leadership and hard decisions were made to fix the economy (some of those decisions still make me wince when I think about them). Unfortunately, I do not see anyone in either party who has her strength of leadership and willingness to make hard and unpopular decisions. She seemed like a tyrant during the 1980s but you can't deny the fact that she took Britain from the brink of economic collapse and brought us through to a point where earning money was seen as a good thing.

I guess that Labour decided to follow Franklin D. Roosevelt's policy of dealing with the current economic disaster: borrow more and spend more, etc. Unfortunately, FDR caused the Great Depression of the 1930s to continue on much longer than it would have naturally.

So thats how government deals with economic problems. They borrow even more money and give it away. On a Personal Finance basis, I think I'd do things differently. Imagine that the economic problems that this country is facing were of the personal sort rather than national. Here's what I'd do:

Plan all spending (control your outgoings to the penny)
Pay off all debt as soon as possible (including the mortgage)
Build an emergency fund in case of future unforseen problems (this could be the washing machine blowing up or losing a job)
Save money for planned expenses (such as planning to replace that old washing machine or a holiday)
Save money for retirement (in a pension plan, Shares ISA, etc)
Invest what is left to try and grow your money (stocks, shares, index trackers, etc)

No where in my list above does the word BORROW come into play to help me through difficult times. I sure hope that Labour know more about finance than I do (they have access to countless experts) but I can't help but wonder if they're just imcompetent.

Losing the Propaganda War - Continued

2008-11-21T14:20:00.004Z

I just read a very interesting article by Andrew Klavan, in the City Journal, called The Lost Art of War. I would recommend that you head on over and read it immediately!

I think its time our warriors were respected as the heroes they truly are. Hollywood used to honour them but now the intelligentsia in control of Hollywood don't think so. What do you say?

Losing the Propaganda War

2008-11-21T10:37:00.005Z

My girl and I love classic movies. We love the fact that they have a story to tell (its not all special effects) and have strong, moral, characters. She loves the old musicals for their gaiety and performances, I love the old war films for their portrayal of gallantry and courage.

But things have changed a great deal since those old movies were made. In the 1940s and 50s, Hollywood was in support of the military. They portrayed men of steel in the face of adversity and tenderness when confronted with heartache. Hollywood made a hero of the ordinary soldier. Today, however, Hollywood hates the soldier. Vile films are released by Hollywood portraying soldiers as rapists and murderers, or just the feckless tools of warmongers.

Doesn't Hollywood realise that we are still fighting two wars? Don't they realise that they are aiding the enemy in this terrible propaganda? They make these films to 'make a point', and yet it is real men and women on the front lines that are suffering. What would've happened to Hollywood if they'd committed such treason during WWII? Would there still be a Hollywood as we know it today? I'd like to think not.

I refuse to visit the cinema and support these anti-military/anti-war movies. I refuse to hand over my hard-earned money to these low-life Producers and Directors. But that decision isn't based purely on politics. Its based, mainly, on my desire to see a good film. I do not want to see a soldier portrayed as a vile creature, perpetrating ever more evil acts. I want to see a soldier as he really is. As a man simply trying to be the best human being he can be in very difficult and treacherous circumstances. I've even got a suggestion for a film too. Andrew Klavan, a contributing Editor for City Journal, wrote a very interesting piece entitled Five Days At The End Of The World. In it, he discusses a recent trip to Afghanistan and the War on Terror movie that Hollywood would never make. Go on Hollywood, I dare you!

Or are you all latte-sipping sandal-wearing liberals who have your own agenda to fulfill, which includes the demonising of the military and the people that support it? Let's face it, whilst people like myself, who will always support our military, refuse to watch these terrible films that Hollywood are curently churning out, you can guarantee that the leaders of the enemy, the Taliban, Al Quaeda, Islamo-fascists, etc are watching these films and loving every minute. As Andrew says in his article, I wouldn't be surprised if these enemy leaders are getting ideas to help further their cause.

I think that Hollywood may think they are furthering their own political goals, but they are being traitorous to our soldiers. Give me films that fulfill that need for identifiable heros in difficult situations. Give me films that show how men can be at their best when things around them are at their worst. Give me films that more accurately portray the truth about the war that is taking place today. I know you can make pro-soldier films. You did it with Band of Brothers and Saving Private Ryan, for WWII, why not do something similar but set in today's warzones with today's difficulties?

Intimidation or Foolishness?

2008-11-06T15:42:00.004Z

Instead of dwelling on the outcome of the US Presidential elections, lets take a look at the video above. I received it from a friend via e-mail and it shows a Capoeira Fighter trying to intimidate an opponent in a free-style fight. It clearly shows that it is fine to try and impress/intimidate from a distance but when you approach within striking range of your opponent then all possible caution must be taken.

I was going to talk about my own martial arts career and how I've dealt with conflict in the past but I'm short of time here. Maybe I'll address that in a future post. Anyway, enjoy the video and let me know if you learn anything from it.

Barack Hussein Obama elected President of the USA

2008-11-05T09:43:00.005Z

“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by dictatorship.”

— Alexander Fraser Tytler, (1747-1813)

I may comment further when I've stopped crying.

The Future of Freedom

2008-11-03T12:44:00.002Z

Doc Russia has written a highly interesting piece of prose with regards to what he thinks will be the result of an Obama win in the elections tomorrow. I suggest that you go read it here. Obviously, you've probably made up your own mind as to which way you will vote already, but take a look anyway and feel free to comment. Do you think he is over-reacting? Or, do you think he's hit the nail on the head?

During the race for the Democratic primaries, I was in favour of Obama. I hated the thought of another Clinton in power, and especially Hillary, and I knew nothing of her opponent. My partner was the opposite, she wanted Hillary to win. I see now that she was right. Obama has campaigned on a ticket of 'change' but has refused to say what that 'change' will be. He has hinted at it from time-to-time, and usually by accident, and the things that have been said are frightening. For example, the 'redistribution of wealth' is the theft of monies from those that earn it and the giving of it to those that do not deserve it. I might expect that sort of thing here in the UK and Europe but I pray that the US kicks this philosophy in the nuts.

I'm going to make myself clear here. I want a McCain/Palin win. Not because I hate Obama/Biden, but because my political philosophy is closer to the Republicans* than the Marxism of the Democrats. I trust that when you cast your vote, you are doing it based on political ideals and not on personality or 'change'.

----

* - Though it could be argued that McCain is a RINO (Republican in name only).

Dog Lover?

2008-10-29T15:18:00.004Z

I was reading through some of Brigid's old posts on her blog today and I came across an entry entitled One Dog Night. It was a remarkable story about her dog, Barkley. Not just how smart he is but how loving and protective a dog can be. After reading the post I replied stating that I no longer trust dogs and left it at that. But I also followed a link in her comments from Bob which pointed to a video here. When I started watching the video at the link, I remembered a time when I loved dogs.

When I was a small boy of about 7 or 8 years old, my grandmother often had a christmas visit from a distant relative. They owned a 'Lassie' dog and would bring it with them. I remember one christmas playing with it. But what surprised me was what happened the next year. I arrived later than the rest of my siblings that following year and yet that dog greeted me like a long lost friend. I was greeted in the same manner that the returning airman was welcomed in the video linked above. I haven't thought about that for a long time, but that welcome was something I was proud of. An animal I had spent a small amount of time with remembered me, and was grateful for me to be there.

As I got older, my thoughts about dogs changed and now I don't 'like' dogs anymore. I think the problem is that I don't trust them and that stems from the owners not being good with their animals. I curse dogs when I see their 'mess' on the pavement. I curse owners when I see dogs roaming the streets without their owner in sight. I hate, with a vengeance, owners who allow their dogs to misbehave or terrorise people without taking charge of their dog or their responsibilities.

Back in summer, I was visiting a friend back home. I took my step-son along with me as he wanted to see my friend's son (they had a great time playing together). After a pleasant evening of catching up, it was time to head back to my parents place so we donned our jackets and started walking back. As soon as we stepped out of his front gate, a dog on the opposite side of the road started barking and running towards us. I went into protection-mode and pulled my step-son behind me as I outstretched my arms and tried to make myself look bigger. What made it worse was the owner of this animal was stood in the doorway. Rather than control the dog, they just said 'don't worry, he won't bite'. I've learned from that mistake before, so I don't trust owners that say such things anymore. As the dog continued to bark and try to encircle us (I reckon he wanted to go for my heels) and running uncontrolled through the neighbours gardens the owner simply went back inside her house. Fortunately, my friend had the presence of mind to command the dog to go back in. It wasn't his dog and yet he had more control over it than its owner.

But my partner (step-son's mother) and I are planning to live on a remote farm in our retirement and a dog would be much better at guarding our property than a cat. I guess I'll have to learn to trust dogs again, but its something I'm not looking forward to. Reading stories like those of Brigid and Barkley make it easier for me to believe that there are good owners out there and respectful dogs.

'Lines Written In Early Spring' by William Wordsworth

2008-10-27T14:01:00.008Z

I have been reading a book entitled The Well-Educated Mind - A guide to the classical education you never had by Susan Wise Bauer and I was flicking through the poetry section when I read the following poem by Wordsworth. I fell in love with it and I wanted to share it with you all (or at least keep a record of it for myself).

LINES WRITTEN IN EARLY SPRING
by William Wordsworth
I heard a thousand blended notes,
While in a grove I sat reclined,
In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts
Bring sad thoughts to the mind.
To her fair works did Nature link
The human soul that through me ran;
And much it grieved my heart to think
What man has made of man.
Through primrose tufts, in that green bower,
The periwinkle trailed its wreaths;
And 'tis my faith that every flower
Enjoys the air it breathes.
The birds around me hopped and played,
Their thoughts I cannot measure:-
But the least motion which they made
It seemed a thrill of pleasure.
The budding twigs spread out their fan,
To catch the breezy air;
And I must think, do all I can,
That there was pleasure there.
If this belief from heaven be sent,
If such be Nature's holy plan,
Have I not reason to lament
What man has made of man?

AA12 - Atchisson Assault 12ga Shotgun

2008-10-27T13:41:00.006Z

Shortly after posting my previous blog entry regarding the choice between a Remington 870 and a Saiga-12 for home defence, I received an update e-mail from Military.com which included a clip about the AA-12. I find it funny that such a clip in the e-mail should be sent at around the same time I posted about the Saiga. Does anyone believe in coincidences?

The AA12 is a fully-automatic 12ga shotgun which can fire up to 360 rounds per minute. Unlike other shotguns currently in use by the military, the AA-12 was designed, specifically, for the job (all others are based on civilian versions).

Unfortunately, this weapon is for military & police use only. I hope they release a semi-auto version some day. Can I put it on my christmas list?

Saiga 12 -or- Remington 870 Shotgun?

2008-10-24T14:37:00.007+01:00

As you all know, I have a dream armoury list and should the day ever dawn that my socialist overlords decide they're done messing around with my rights, and start thinking that its time that they gave Freedom and Liberty a try then one of the weapons in my armoury will be a shotgun for home defence purposes.

Unfortunately, that day has not yet dawned, however, the shotgun I currently have on my list is a Remington 870 Express Jr in 20ga. The idea behind my choice is that it can hold up to four rounds of buckshot and the 20ga means that the recoil is at a mimimum and penetration through walls will be little, thus protecting family and neighbours from becoming accidental hits. But my eye was recently attracted to the Saiga 12 shotgun (see above video) which is built to the same design as an AK-47. Now, I haven't done any research on the Saiga 12, so I haven't replaced the Remington in my dream armoury for this interesting piece of hardware just yet, but I can't help but smile when I think of the possibilities.

Its possible to get a 10-round magazine for the Saiga, so that means I'd get 10 pops off at the bad guys before I have to reload as opposed to 4 with the Remington. There's no pump-action needed either, its a semi-auto so I just have to keep pulling the trigger until the bad guys fall down or the barrel melts.

But what about the 12ga as opposed to the 20ga of the Remington? Well, thats a fair point. I'm still unsure about that. I believe the Saiga does come in other 'sizes' so maybe thats something I could mull over. But I just love the thought of firing 12ga buckshot on semi-auto. But thats probably me just coming over all 'More Power!!!' and so I'd have to consider that seriously before letting the moths escape from my wallet. Still, I think I'll have plenty of time before Gordon Brown allows/forces me to make that decision. Take a look at the following pictures and help me decide...

Above, is the Remington 870 Express Jr. Yes, I know its in 'camo'... not so pretty, but I could buy different furniture for it if became too offensive to my tastes. But I still think its a worthwhile bet, and being of low recoil would probably mean that my lady would be more willing to use it should the need ever arise (God forbid). Above we have the Saiga 12K with a short barrel and a folding stock. Looks menacing doesn't it!?!

Not sure which one I'd choose as my ultimate home defence weapon, but I guess I have to consider the little lady in my ultimate choice. Not sure which way I'd go yet so I'll keep the Remington on dream armoury list for now but I may swap it for the Saiga as I learn more about it in the future.

In Love With The USA

2008-10-13T11:28:00.005+01:00

Throughout my childhood, my sister always had a love of America. She loved the celebrity and the glitz of Hollywood. I guess most children of the time did, as the output from Hollywood was in stark contrast to the lives we were living in a destitute 1970s England, but I was not a fan. I enjoyed the TV series that were shown at the time, but the thought of visiting the US was never something I ever wanted to do. I had no interest in meeting vacuous celebrities or pompous nobodies.

In the past few years, however, my thoughts about the USA have changed dramatically. Whilst I still have little interest in America as represented by Hollywood and all that is gaudy, I have started to fall in love with American history. It is a history that is so wrapped in the politics of the place and so intrinsic in the way that Americans live today that I can not help but be spellbound by it all.

As an English child, I took pride in the early victories that the British had over the colonists that sought Independence. The British victories at Bunker Hill and similar gave me pride, just as I have pride in our victories over Napoleon at Waterloo, the charge of the Light Brigade in the Crimea, or the sheer endurance of our forces to defeat the Japanese in Burma. But my study of history has shaped my mind, and continues to do so. It is altering my perspectives. My thoughts about certain events have changed from those of an innocent boy that loves his country to that of a man who wants to understand why and how.

I have managed to catch a couple of episodes of the HBO mini-series, John Adams, on the More4 TV channel. It charts the life of one of the Founding Fathers of American independence. He would later become the first Vice-President (to George Washington) and the second President of the United States of America. But this mini-series just enforces my love of early american history.

I am in love with the America of the 18th and early 19th centuries. I love the Declaration of Independence. To have said to their mother country, 'no taxation without representation' and then, after many attempts to seek a more amicable solution, to finally seek independence from Great Britain, one of the world's superpowers at that time, could not have been an easy decision to make, and a very risky one too.

I am also in love with the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Where England's laws have been based upon precedence from previous practice and judgements going back at least 1,000 years (and probably more) the US took the best that English law had to offer and made it their own. They made it clear to all the people of America what their rights were and would continue to be. They restricted government so that it could not get so big that it would by a tyrant. They made the people an integral part of the political landscape.

And so I find myself wanting to do that most american of things, the road trip. My sister did get to visit her Hollywood version of the USA. A few years ago, she got to spend some time on holiday in Los Angeles, and from all accounts she had a great time. I, however, hope to visit the historical USA. The USA that began with the 13 colonies to become the only superpower on the planet. It is my dream to take a road trip through the history of America. I want to start at Jamestown, travel through Boston and so on, until I get to Gettysburg and the migration of people from the dust bowls of Oklahoma to California and the desert of Nevada and the creation of Lake Mead.

I am in love with the history of america because it shows me what man can achieve when he is willing to make sacrifices for his own good, and not, necessarily, for the good of others.

Lincoln .410 Cal Shotgun

2008-10-08T14:29:00.006+01:00

I was looking at Kim DuToit's blog today and he posted an entry about a Winchester Mod 23 (12 ga) that he rather likes the look of. As background to that post, he also referred readers to a previous post regarding his ideal shotgun. It was whilst looking at these articles that I remembered that I wanted to make a post about my own shotgun. Its the only one I've ever owned and on a recent visit to my parents place back in the Lake District, I managed to grab a couple of photos of it to share with you. Unfortunately, my father and I didn't get to go shooting on this visit, but its something we're trying to sort out very soon. But all this shooty goodness began long ago.

At the tender age of 8 years old my paternal grandmother bought me an air pistol, it was a Diana SP50 (I'll post about that and the other air pistol I own later). My mother wasn't too pleased but that gift would ignite a lifelong interest in firearms. My father taught me the basics of how to shoot that pistol, and I still remember having to use both hands to squeeze the trigger. I also remember having to use all of my weight to cock the pistol as the barrel had to be pushed back and the pellet loaded from the rear. Those thoughts alone make me smile at the memories.

Only a year or so after getting that pistol and learning the basics of safety my father bought me a Lincoln .410 calibre shotgun. I'm sure it was a secondhand gun, but it was perfect for a young boy and it will always be special to me. My father and I would roam the family farm looking for game to bring down (usually birds). He with his 12 gauge (I forget the make) and me with my trusty .410.

I still remember us putting on our bandoleers and walking out of the farmhouse and into the fields. We'd walk the perimeter and keep an eye out for a magpie or a stray pigeon.

On one of our last shooting walks together, I remember my father bringing down a pigeon. It dropped into a public right of way that was surrounded by hedges and trees and was terribly overgrown. No one had wandered down that path in years. We managed to scramble into the thick of it and spent the next 20 minutes trying to find my father's prize.

We had wandered that farm without shooting at any game for several months, often consoling ourselves with letting off a few cartridges at a fixed target but this time was different. This time there was a moving target, and my father had hit it. Unfortunately, we returned to the farmhouse without the pigeon, but we did gloat about our feat of manliness. We had hunted. Though it was more due to luck and circumstance than any well proven tracking skills. Nevertheless, we were proud.

As I got older, I didn't visit the family farm nearly as often as I wish I had. I'd become a teenager and was interested in what teenagers become interested in. I wanted to stay home with friends rather than travel to see family. So, I stayed and didn't take the opportunity to continue shooting on the farm with my father. I did take up air pistol & pistol shooting on a local range, however, so I was still interested in the subject, I just didn't want to travel away from my friends.

After the hand gun ban was imposed by a new, labour, government in 1997, my air pistols were returned to my father's gun cabinet, to sit and gather dust alongside my shotgun (it coincided with my move to Nottingham, so I hadn't located a range before the ban was imposed). I did shoot again, however, when I was with the Royal Marines Reserve, based in Birmingham, but it wasn't the same firing an underpowered SA80, compared to the kick I felt from my shotgun as a child.

It wasn't until I started reading Kim's blog a year or two ago that my interest in firearms was rekindled. I long to go shooting again. I only visit my parents three times a year (Easter, Summer, & Christmas) and the family farm has been sold to provide for a family member in her retirement. But I want to relive my childhood memories with my father whilst he is still with me. I lost a couple of friends over the last couple of years, due to car accidents and cancer, and its shown me just how mortal we are. I want to create some new memories with my father and shooting my shotgun is an activity we did together, on our own. My father is making enquiries to use another farm for our shooting walks. I hope it won't be long before I'll be walking that field talking to my dad in whispers about how my love life is going, or how he is filling time in his retirement. The conversation may have changed, but the love and respect I hold for my father and my guns has not changed after all these years.

Note: This post is dedicated to my dad. Thanks for showing me how to shoot. Thanks for the memories I have of us on our shooting walks, alone, on the family farm.

Obama on Defence

2008-10-06T12:00:00.003+01:00

Found this clip whilst reading Theo Spark's blog. I recommend you watch the clip and decide who you want as Commander in Chief of all US military forces. Obviously, for those of us that aren't American our thoughts don't really hold much sway (thankfully, most of the people in the Socialist Monarchy of Little Britain love Obama) but its worth taking a stand anyway.

I'm for the Republicans in this fight, if only because we are at war (yes, Britain is fighting alongside the Americans) and I'd rather have someone who is willing to take a stand against tyranny than someone who speechifies but has no substance.

Have a look at the clip and make up your own mind.

30 SECONDS TO MARS - From Yesterday

2008-10-06T10:28:00.003+01:00

On Friday, I was supposed to spend the evening with friends but I was suffering from a bad cold and I didn't want to infect them all with my coughing and sneezing. Instead, I decided to confine myself to quarantine for the entire weekend. See no one. Catch up on movies and housework and basically dose myself up on Lemsip. So, Friday evening was free.

I'd done a hard day at work and didn't want to get started on the housework so I started surfing the TV channels. I eventually stopped on 4Music as The Offspring were hosting a countdown show. It was called The Offspring's Top 50 Rock Video Downloads. This was an amazing top 50. There was so much stuff in that list that I love from my younger, long haired, rocker days that I watched most of it. Anyway, one of the videos I enjoyed most, but had never heard of or seen before was 30 Seconds to Mars singing From Yesterday. I loved this video.

Apparently, it is the first western music video to be filmed entirely in China. I love Chinese martial arts movies and seeing this one was great. I even enjoyed the song. Take a look and make up your own mind. What do you guys think of it?

Don't Get Involved!

2008-10-02T09:53:00.007+01:00

My girlfriend loves to watch reality TV. She'll sit and watch Strictly Come Dancing and then The X Factor one after the other. I used to roll my eyes at this, as I hate TV at the best of times but now I've learned that I actually like it when she does this. Not because I want to watch such drivel with her (though I did watch last year's season of Strictly Come Dancing to see what all the fuss was about) but because it gives me time to spend with my stepson (girlfriend's son to a former marriage).

On Saturday evening, my girl prepared all of the ingredients for a chilli but didn't have the time to cook it because Strictly was about to start. So, my stepson and I did the cooking for her. He's only 10 and for the last couple of years I've been trying to teach him how to take care of himself, as a real man should. That includes being able to cook. If a man can cook, then he can impress the ladies when he invites them round for an intimate dinner for two and he can appreciate the work put into a meal when a lady (or his own mother) cooks for him. It goes both ways, having the skill to cook makes you independent (good for a man) and appreciative of the things you have (good for all).

Once we'd set the chilli to simmer for an hour, we retired to the bedroom (away from the TV) and started to read some poetry together. I am currently reading The Voyage of the Arctic Tern by Hugh Montgomery and my stepson didn't want to join his mother but, instead, wanted to sit with me. So, we took it in turns to read a section of the book. We had a lot of fun laughing about the flow and the explanation of different words and how it did or didn't rhyme at certain points. The book is about pirates and sailors, kings, queens and treasure. As we read along, he learned a few nautical terms too (I'll review this book properly when I've finished reading it myself). I think he enjoys listening to people read stories (I read to him when he goes to bed, and when its not too late!) and I enjoy listening to him read because I hope he improves his reading and comprehension skills, but more importantly, I hope he gets the reading bug.

Whilst my stepson and I are avoiding their influence, the judges on these shows seem to be worshipped by the general populace (I'd like to say 'the masses' but I'm not a socialist) so what they say carries weight. Simon Cowell is considered to be Mr Nasty on The X Factor, because he's supposed to be cutting in his remarks. Craig Revel Horwood is the villain of Strictly Come Dancing (hmm, is there a formula thats being used here?) Now, I don't really have much time for the other judges. They fawn over the acts/couples they like but squirm and say very little with regards to those they don't. I believe that if you could impress Simon or Craig then you're doing a good job. If you get criticism from them, then take it and work on it, because their critique carries weight. It can improve your performance.

I found it interesting therefore, when I read a short article regarding Simon Cowell being silenced by a new judge on the American version of his show. I wasn't interested in the new judge or the politics of the judging panel. What caught my eye was the fact that the interviewer tried to get him to make a comment on the Vice President candidate, Sarah Palin. He refused and said this instead:

"Me being British and coming over here and commenting on politics would be the craziest thing in the world," he said. "So you know what, I just sit back and enjoy it and somebody's going to win."

My estimation of this man has increased. He has recognised that the reporter is trying to get an anti-Palin sound bite (all journalists are latte-sipping sandal-wearing liberals) and he's refused to play that game. What's more, British politics has no resemblance to American politics (much to my dismay) and yet, Simon Cowell recognised that and decided he'd sit back and support the guy he wants to win in a private way. I never thought I would ever say this but, Mr Cowell, I salute you. Does that mean I'll start watching The X Factor with my girlfriend? No.

Besides, I enjoy the drivel that my girlfriend watches, not because I want to watch it with her, but because it makes me go and do something else instead.

Marriage & Virtual Adultery

2008-10-01T15:29:00.009+01:00

This is a difficult subject for me to discuss because I was raised in a very conservative home (in the old sense of the word and nothing to do with politics). As children and young adults, we were taught to mind our language and never to discuss sex (whatever that is). However, I want to touch on this subject because my girlfriend and I have discussed pornography in relationships in the past (we share the same ideals so nothing to worry about there) and I have read an article recently discussing the matter of pornography and marriage.

The article appeared in an american publication called The Atlantic recently, entitled: Virtual Adultery. In the text, the journalist, Jennie Rothenberg Gritz, and the senior editor of The Atlantic, Ross Douthat discuss the morality of internet pornography and its juxtaposition to a virtuous marriage.

I have to say right now that I agree with what Douthat states in this article. I believe that if a man is in a loving relationship then he should not have a need, nor a desire, to peruse the top shelves of a newsagent or surf a pornographic website. I find nothing wrong in admiring the female form, even when that female form is not your wife, but gaining sexual pleasure from it is adulterous to my mind.

I also find it interesting that Douthat suggests that streaming live-action pornography down your internet connection and into your home is closer to the idea of infidelity with a prostitute than it is admiring a model in Playboy magazine. The fact that the voyeur is gaining sexual pleasure from a real act of sexual intercourse (that does not involve his wife) and in an intimate environment (namely his home) indicates a greater infidelity than simply admiring a model in a magazine.

For a long time, I had a libertarian stance on pornography. I believed that if a woman was partaking in the production of pornography (or even prostitution) of her own free-will then said pornography should be free from government interferance. Having thought about the issue further, however, I have to agree with Douthat, in one of his closing statements:

...we’ve gone from saying that porn is bad, but that it should be tolerated, to saying that it isn’t bad at all. And that’s what I’m trying to push back against. The problem with where we are right now with pornography is not that Americans are surrounded by temptation and sometimes give in to it. It’s that there’s a tendency to cease to regard it as a temptation.

I'd suggest you read the article and make up your own mind. I'd be interested in your comments.

BOOK REVIEW: Anthem

2008-09-23T12:13:00.005+01:00

TITLE: Anthem
AUTHOR: Ayn Rand
SUB-TITLE: -
FIRST PUBLISHED: 1938
FIRST PUBLISHED IN: UK
PAGES: 105 (253 including edited manuscript)
ISBN: 0-451-19113-7

REVIEW: This is a simple novelette, only lasting a few short pages. But in those few pages, the reader learns what can happen to society if man is only allowed to work for the betterment of man and not for his own ideals.

In a society where there are no individuals, even to the point where the term 'I' has been forgotten, one man begins to learn what it is to think for oneself. He pursues an interest in the sciences and eventually invents something remarkable. Unfortunately, the society in which he lives is still celebrating the invention of the candle, invented by 20 scholars working together, and the thought of an individual being able to invent something worthwhile is abhorent to the socialist society,

There are some amazing quotes in this short novel that I'd like to share, and they are naturally part of Rand's developing Objectivism philosophy. Anyway, here are a few examples:

We stopped when we felt hunger. We saw birds in the tree branches, and flying from under our footsteps. We picked a stone and we sent it as an arrow at a bird. It fell before us. We made a fire, we cooked the bird, and we ate it, and no meal had ever tasted better to us. And we thought suddenly that there was a great satisfaction to be found in the food which we need and obtain by our own hand. And we wished to be hungry again and soon, that we might know again this strange new pride in eating.

And:

It is my eyes which see, and the sight of my eyes grants beauty to the earth. It is my ears which hear, and the hearing of my ears gives its song to the world. It is my mind which thinks, and the jugement of my mind is the only searchlight which can find the truth. It is my will which chooses, and the choice of my will is the only edict I must respect.

And:

I shall choose my friends among men, but neither slaves nor masters. And I shall choose only such as please me, and them I shall love and respect, but neither command nor obey. And we shall join our hands when we wish, or walk alone when we so desire. For in the temple of his spirit, each man is alone. Let each man keep his temple untouched and undefiled. Then let him join hands with others if he wishes, but only beyond his holy threshold.

And finally:

At first man was enslaved by the gods. But he broke their chains. Then he was enslaved by the kings. But he broke their chains. He was enslaved by his birth, by his kin, by his race. But he broke their chains. He declared to all his brothers that a man has rights which neither god nor king nor other men can take away from him, no matter what their number, for his is the right of man, and there is no right on earth above this right. And he stood on the threshold of the freedom for which the blood of the centuries behind him had been spilled.

So what did I think of this book? Well, it took me a while to get used to reading 'We' instead of 'I' at the beginning, but that was necessary to the storyline. As the story progressed, so the socialst-utopia became more apparent, and more frightening to me. I enjoyed the closing chapters most as they showed how the main character slowly developed his beliefs of what it means to be an individual. There were a few points I found unsettling about those beliefs, but I think those doubts arise from the fact that his beliefs were not explored in depth. For a short novel, I'd give this book 5 out of 5.

Can I Be Bothered?

2008-09-16T14:36:00.003+01:00

Having been away from the blogosphere for a few days because of work, I couldn't help but wonder if other people are better at it and I'm just wasting my time here? I started out with good intentions. I intended to post every single day. Even if the post wasn't very intellectual, I'd post it. Better to have poor content than no content at all.

I've had a blog for almost 2 months now and I really don't know if this is for me. I read a handful of blogs on a regular basis and they are all far more eloquent or knowledgeable than I. So, is it worth my continuing with this blog? I don't know. I can see a time where I'll ease off posting but I'll keep the blog and continue to post now and then. I think the days of me posting daily have gone. Life tends to get in the way.

Don't take this as a goodbye. I'll still be around. I'll still post from time to time. But don't expect something on a daily basis unless there's a lot going on in the world that I can comment on but very little in my own life to allow me the time to do so. If posts do dry up however, then I may remove this blog. There's no point in owning a blog if it is not being read, or if it isn't gaining new content.

For those of you who have commented on my blog in the past, I want to say THANK YOU. Without your comments I would've felt very lonely here. I especially enjoyed your insights and I look forward to hearing from you again in the future (on another blog if not this one).

RED STATE UPDATE - Sarah Palin Picked As VP

2008-09-04T16:31:00.005+01:00

From what I can learn from the leftist TV media they call 'news' over here in the Socialist Monarchy of Little Britain, Sarah Palin is the candidate that conservatives and libertarians of the United States have been dreaming of since Ronald Reagan left office. Unfortunately, to get Palin in the VP office, McCain has to be elected, but if that means Palin can run as President in 2012 with all of the experience gained in the intervening years, then I guess it isn't too bad.

How can you not respect a woman that knows how to shoot? A Rifleman in the White House. Sounds amazing. I'd vote for her! As I've always said, my vote has nothing to do with race or gender, and everything to do with the candidate's politics. I'd have voted for a lesbian martian with a feather fetish if their politics were the same as mine.

Needless to say, us Englishmen don't get to vote on Gordon Brown and his oily ilk for another couple of years. Oh, I hope the Conservative Party can find a real man to put up against him, I'd hate to think of David Cameron running the country, but what other choices are there?

The Return of Real Men - Retrosexuals?

2008-09-04T12:09:00.006+01:00

During the latter part of my recent holiday I stayed at my girlfriend's place in the city (I live in a small village in the countryside). My girl is a huge beauty and makeup fan and will spend hours every morning pampering herself. The result is usually amazing, and she often makes me drool, but I hate the wait. I used to sit around watching terrible TV programmes that I had no interest in, just waiting for her to finish. Now, I take these opportunities to get out of the house and go for a walk.

Sometimes I walk around the local park, explore the area and the side streets, or look around the 'interesting' shops in the city centre. Whilst the number of those interesting shops seem to be decreasing (thats a topic for another time) I sometimes pop into the local bookshop and browse the military history section, the latest art display, or look at the humourous books. Whilst I was there recently, I came across a humourous book called The Retrosexual Manual by Dave Besley. I spent quite some time flicking through this book. It was full of pictures and a few short paragraphs. Nothing to justify the £12.99 price tag and so whilst it was interesting, there's no way I'd buy it.

However, I find it interesting that a movement is growing to return men into real men. To turn them from metrosexuals into retrosexuals. But I can't help but smile that I am not a retrosexual because I never left being a man. I didn't give up my masculinity to keep a girl who wanted someone to cry with and discuss the latest fashionable colours. I'm not a retrosexual because I have always been a manly man. What I do find funny though, is the stories of those metrosexuals. Why would a man allow himself to be emasculated? I guess its the old story of giving a girl what she thinks she wants so he can get her in bed. I think most of these guys have paid too high a price.

There's an interesting article in the Daily Mail entitled Who Are You Calling a Metrosexual? Is It Time To Return To When 'Men Were Men'? I came across the above article a few minutes ago and it reminded me of the book I flicked through a few days ago. The article is by the same author in fact. What I found funny was that this guy was allowing his girlfriend to dress him in gay clothing and wear man-mascara and crying at mushy girly films, just because he thought he had to. He's an idiot. Having read this article, I would never buy his book and I would not want it as a gift either. He's a girly-man who decided to return to being a manly man and now he's trying to profit from it. I say that he shouldn't have been girly in the first place. Of all those real men out there, how many of us would write a book like this with glossy pictures and very little prose? Very few I suspect. If one of us real blokes was going to write a book on what it is to be manly, it'd have been more intellectual, though still humourous, and it wouldn't have had so many glossy pictures of people like Graham Norton or David Beckham.

Anyway, I'll stop ranting now and ask you to go and read the article. Its an interesting read at least, and maybe some of you ladies out there with girly-men can start asking yourself why you're with them. Maybe those of you with manly-men can appreciate your man and tell him that you like him just the way he is. We real men may be simple creatures, but we still like praise from our loved ones. Praise for being true to ourselves is probably the best praise of all.

BOOK REVIEW: The Second Messiah

2008-09-03T14:00:00.006+01:00

TITLE: The Second Messiah
AUTHOR: Christopher Knight & Robert Lomas
SUB-TITLE: Templars, The Turin Shroud & The Great Secret of Freemasonry
FIRST PUBLISHED: 1997
FIRST PUBLISHED IN: UK
PAGES: 322 (including appendices)
ISBN: 978-0-099-22732-8

REVIEW: This is Knight & Lomas' second book, following on from The Hiram Key. This book tries to prove that a royal bloodline from King David to Jesus, and on to the present day, called the Rex Deus, exists. It is claimed that a group of Rex Deus members gathered together and excavated beneath the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. Because of what is found during the excavations, the band become known as the Knights Templar and rise to become a powerful military arm, answering only to the Vatican.

A member of this bloodline, called Jacques de Molay, was the final 'official' Grandmaster of the Knights Templar from 1292-1314. Upon the orders of King Philip IV of France, he was brutally tortured by the French Catholic Inquisition and during this torture the Turin Shroud was created with his image.

During Philip's attempt to wipe out the Knights Templar and acquire its treasure for himself, several Knights managed to escape, many of whom fled to Scotland. It is in Scotland that the Knights continued to further their bloodline and the story of its creation, forming the early rituals of Freemasonry. Because the Stuarts are said to be part of Rex Deus, and because the Hanoverian house took over rule of England and the UK, Freemasonry was viewed as a threat to the new royal line of England. As such, the Duke of Sussex began rewriting the rituals of Freemasonry, to remove anything that would appear to be offensive. This led to the loss of many rituals that are said to relate to the creation of Rex Deus and the holy royal line of King David of biblical times.

What did I think of this book? There are some interesting assertions in this book, and I'd love to believe a lot of what is written here because it does seem plausible by the way that Knight & Lomas have presented their evidence. Naturally, of course, it would take an accredited historian to validate these claims. There are some points I read with a wince, such as the claim that Tarot cards are linked with the Knights Templar. This may be true but the way it was presented made me groan.

This seemed a much better read than their earlier work, The Hiram Key, and I think any Mason would enjoy reading this book, even if it is not proven to be true. There seems to be lots of speculation about the history of Freemasonry and the Knights Templar. Maybe we'll learn the truth some day, but its nice to play 'What If?' sometimes. So even if you don't believe what is written in this book, I still think you'll enjoy it. Upon reflection, I'd give this book a good 3 out of 5.

METALLICA - Wherever I May Roam

2008-09-03T13:36:00.003+01:00

I've been out of the office for work for a couple of days and when I got home late last night I watched a short documentary I'd recorded a couple of nights previously. The documentary was a Culture Show special about Metallica. During the interviews, James Hatfield commented that music, and certain songs in particular, can take you back in time, to when you first heard the song or when it first made a lasting impression on you.

As you know, I have a desert island discs thing going, where I list a few songs that I'd like to have on that island that mean something to mean personally. Wherever I May Roam, is probably one of those songs. I can't decide if it definitely would be because I know one song would have to come from Metallica's black album, but I can never make up my mind which one it should be (Enter The Sandman, Sad But True, Holier Than Thou, Nothing Else Matters... the whole album is a masterpiece). Until I decide which one I'll choose from that album, I'll just list the album as a whole as one of my desert island discs. Of course, when BBC Radio 4 come to interview me for their show, I'll have to pick just one, but I'll hold off making that decision until I really need to. The reason it is so hard, is because I always heard the whole, or most, of the album whenever I listened to it many years ago. Yeah, there were time when I'd hear one track in a nightclub and I'd get up and dance, but usually I'd listen to the album at home (mine or someone else's) or in the car.

Anyway, I just wanted to share this track with you because I'd often be driving when I'd hear it and I'd often feel like I could just keep driving, across Europe and Asia. Just wandering. Not wanting to arrive anywhere in particular but to travel and enjoy the journey. I'd often fantasise about disappearing in a VW camper van with a load of music, and this song playing as I pass over the horizon. Leaving civilisation and just wandering wherever I wished. Maybe I'll do that someday, maybe not. But whenever I hear this song, those day dreams come flooding back. Are there any songs you listen to that make you want to hit the road?

BOOK REVIEW: The Driver

2008-09-01T09:37:00.002+01:00

TITLE: The Driver
AUTHOR: Garet Garrett
SUB-TITLE: -
FIRST PUBLISHED: 1922
FIRST PUBLISHED IN: USA
PAGES: 198
ISBN: 978-87-92295-04-0

REVIEW: Set in the mid-1890s, this book tells the story of one man's rise to fortune by taking over a failing railroad. The central character, Henry M. Galt, is a successful trader on Wall Street but he has harboured a love of railroads for decades. When he sees his chance to acquire ownership of the Great Midwestern Railroad, he grabs it with both hands, comitting himself, his financial backers, and his family to the task of turning it fortunes. This story is told from the point-of-view of a news reporter who ends up working for the railroad shortly before Galt acquires ownership. It charts the rise of the railroad and its effects on the American economy. It also charts the rise of Galt's family and how sudden financial success affects them (and their new-found enemies). There is some wonderfully descriptive writing in this book, such as this description of Galt's personality:

There are two regnant passions in the heart of man. One is to tear down, the other is to build up. Galt's passion was to build. In his case the passion to destroy, which complements the other, was satisfied in removing obstacles. Works enthralled him in right of their own magic. To see a thing with the mind's eye as a vision in space, to give orders, then in a little while to go and find it there, existing durably in three dimensions, - that was power! No other form of experience was comparable to this.

The book also touches on economics and morality, and here are a couple of examples from the book:

Money is not a thing either true or untrue. It is merely a token of other things which are useful and enjoyable. Both silver and gold are sound for that purpose. Their use is of convenience, and the proportions and quantities in which they shall circulate is rationally a matter of arithmetic.

And...

Delusions are states of refuge. The mind, unable to comprehend realities or to deal with them, finds its ease in superstitions, beliefs and modes of irrational procedure. It is easier to believe than to think.

So what did I think of the book? Well, despite some interesting, though deep, subject matter, as illustrated above, the story was very easy to read. I felt fondness for Galt and his family. I liked the fact that this book made me smile with little insights into the characters. I bought the book simply because I learned that the character, John Galt, in Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, was based upon Garrett's Henry M. Galt. I can see some similarities, but Garrett's Galt seems more human. We see more of the man's humanity. More about how he feels about his struggle. Whilst Rand always thought feelings were a weakness in her characters, I find them a strength here. Knowing how the character feels, helps me understand him and his struggle better. This book will be one of my favourites for years to come and whilst I'm not sure how it could be improved, I'll give it a well deserved 4 out of 5.

Gone On Holiday!

2008-08-15T15:10:00.004+01:00

Hi folks, I'm going on holiday (vacation) for a couple of weeks. I doubt I'll get to update this blog whilst I'm away but rest assured that I will return at the beginning of September. I hope you enjoy some of the posts I've made in the past and if there's anything you'd like to see more of then let me know.

So what have I got planned for my holiday? Well, I'm travelling back to my home town to visit my family and friends. I'm looking forward to having a good old fashioned heart-to-heart chat with my mum. I'm looking forward to climbing on my soapbox and having a debate with my dad. I may even get the time to do a bit of hiking and maybe a bit of shooting on the family farm. Time will tell.

Enjoy yourselves in my absence, and be good. Remember, I'll be back on 01st September.

KATHERINE JENKINS - I Vow To Thee My Country

2008-08-15T11:55:00.004+01:00

As promised earlier in the week, here is Katherine Jenkins singing 'I Vow To Thee My Country'. The lyrics to this remarkable song are below:

I vow to thee, my country, all earthly things above,
Entire and whole and perfect, the service of my love;
The love that asks no question, the love that stands the test,
That lays upon the altar the dearest and the best;
The love that never falters, the love that pays the price,
The love that makes undaunted the final sacrifice.
I heard my country calling, away across the sea,
Across the waste of waters she calls and calls to me.
Her sword is girded at her side, her helmet on her head,
And round her feet are lying the dying and the dead.
I hear the noise of battle, the thunder of her guns,
I haste to thee my mother, a son among thy sons.
And there's another country, I've heard of long ago,
Most dear to them that love her, most great to them that know;
We may not count her armies, we may not see her King;
Her fortress is a faithful heart, her pride is suffering;
And soul by soul and silently her shining bounds increase,
And her ways are ways of gentleness, and all her paths are peace.

This is a hymn based on a poem written by Cecil Spring-Rice in 1908 whilst he was posted to the British Embassy in Stockholm (though he rewrote the first verse in 1918 to reflect the British losses of the First World War). According to Wikipedia, this poem describes how a Christian owes his loyalty to both his homeland and to heaven. The poem was eventually put to music by Gustav Holst in 1921.

It seems that patriotism is a dirty word in this country these days and while I rarely find anything to be proud about in the poltics and youth crime that surrounds me, I am always proud of our history and traditions; our arts and our sciences; our academics and our literature. One day, the people of Britain will remember what a great country this once was and start rebuilding it to be 'a land fit for heroes'. Until that day, I will continue to walk the lonely path of patriotism.

Kimber Stainless Ultra-Carry II .45 ACP

2008-08-14T10:35:00.006+01:00

We have all heard the saying "When seconds count, the police are only minutes away" and with the continuing slide into a socialists-induced anarchy in this country that statement is increasingly becoming true. What I would like to see is a return to the people of this, once, great nation being able to defend themselves and their loved ones. As I have bemoaned on previous occasions, NuLabour removed our right to shoot handguns in 1997 and yet we lost our right to carry a firearm for personal protection in the 1920s. You may think that a civilised society does not need to allow its subjects (and yes, in a monarchy we are subjects, not citizens) to be armed. How I wish that were true.

I am becoming more and more aware that an armed society is a polite society. What our illustrious leaders have done by disarming all of the HONEST, law-abiding, people of this nation is to give the criminals a guarantee that we can not defend ourselves against them. Criminals will always be armed. They flout the law of the land with regards to property, murder, rape, etc so ignoring the law that says they should not be armed (either with a knife or a gun) is not going to stop them. Its time this country said "ENOUGH!" and allowed its subjects to be armed for self-protection.

Unfortunately, firearms have been so demonised in this country that the mere thought of a gun makes some people shake with fear. As I keep saying to my ever-suffering partner "Guns don't kill people. People kill people". A gun is an inanimate object. It can not kill you without a human being pulling the trigger, just as a hammer can not hit a nail without a human being wielding said hammer. Any object can be used as a weapon. It comes down to opportunity, availability, and imagination. A firearm is simply an object designed for the purpose.

There are many types of firearms and a handgun is specifically designed for close-in defence. An average person who practices regularly may find that it is relatively easy to hit a man-sized target at about 20 metres and most confrontations occur well within that range. I believe that any man that wishes to defend himself, his property, and, more importantly, his loved ones must be allowed the right to carry a firearm. And lets face it, it is a man's responsibility to do this, not the responsibility of the Police. A real man does not shirk his responsibilities.

Carrying a firearm, however, brings great responsibilities. It is not enough to carry a weapon. You must practice with it regularly (you want to hit what you're aiming at). You must maintain it at all times (you're life may depend on that weakening recoil spring). You must be courteous (you don't want to shoot your friend at a barbecue just because of a stupid argument). So, there are rules for carrying a firearm. Whilst you MUST practice with it and you MUST maintain that firearm the most important one, in my mind, that is so often over looked, is courtesy. If I were allowed to carry a firearm for personal protection, then the only time that weapon would be drawn (when not at the range or cleaning it) is when I am protecting life or property. At ALL other times, it would remain in its holster on my hip or in the small of my back hidden from view. I may end up in a shouting match, or even exchange a few blows with a drunkard in a bar, but until I believe my life is on the line, then that gun stays hidden. There are, of course, other more formal rules for owning a firearm and I'll post about those at a later date, but I'm just talking about the big picture here.

The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) recently ratified the 2nd Amendment of the US Constitution (and what an amazing document that is) stating that the right to keep and bear arms is an INDIVIDUAL right. This means that every man and woman in the United States of America has the right to carry a firearm to protect themselves from enemies that may be foreign or DOMESTIC. That part about domestic enemies may relate to criminals intending to do you harm or the government overstepping the people's rights without due process. Having hinted at it, might I just state that I do not believe that the people of the US would ever start an armed uprising against their own government, but the fact that the people of the US could do such a thing should be in the back of every US politicians mind.

Here in the Socialists Monarchy of Little Britain we have no document like the US constitution to protect us from meddlesome politicians and corrupt lawyers. We can not hold our representatives to the standards laid down in a document written by our founding-fathers. Instead, we slowly lose our rights. But I digress...

Lets suppose that the law forbidding the ownership of handguns by honest tax payers was repealed and, in time, the idea of allowing people to use those handguns in self-defence were made law, then I'd suggest, among other things, that the following be taken into consideration:

A weapon must be concealed when carried - this would make criminals wonder who is armed and who is not. It would also stop latte-sipping, sandal-wearing, liberals swooning or coming out in hot flushes at the sight of said weapon.
The individual is licensed not the weapon - the weapon should not need to be registered. If the individual is a criminal, or has a record for crimes of violence or against property, then they would be prohibited from carrying and a hefty prison sentence would be imposed on said offender if he was found to be carrying (no slaps on the wrist for this).
To obtain a license the individual has to prove competence - that should include being able to show an ability to use the firearm competently and also a basic understanding of the laws of self-defence and how they would apply in different situations.

So, in my idea of an individual utopia, I've got the right to carry a firearm. I've proved my competence with firearms and I've obtained a license to carry a concealed weapon. Which weapon would I chose as my carry piece? Well, that would be the Kimber Stainless Ultra-Carry II. Why in stainless? Because I like the look of it. Its going to stay in the holster most of the time. Its going to be used regularly for practice. Its going to be used to frighten off the (dead) bad guy's friends.

The Kimber Stainless Ultra-Carry II is a weapon that forms part of my dream armoury. Its sole use is to be a carry weapon. I would wear it at ALL times, even about the house (to protect from home invasions). I like this weapon because its small enough to be concealable, but its .45 ACP rounds pack enough punch to get the job done quickly. It only has a magazine capacity of 7 rounds but lets face it, if I need more than one reload then I'm in more trouble than I should be without a rifle to hand.

I'm a great believer in buying the best tools you can afford so I would buy this firearm, with night sights, for the asking price of $1,049 (that's just over £500). I'd practice with it regularly because I'd want its action to become second-nature to me. I don't want to be fumbling with any weapon when the chips are down, and it's practice that makes things automatic and fluid.

As a man, I want to carry the responsibility of protecting my family and my property. I do not want another man in a uniform to carry that responsibility for me. That is not fair on him and it is not fair on me either.

JIBJAB - Time For Some Campaignin'

2008-08-13T15:16:00.001+01:00

Couldn't help but laugh at this video. Its so funny.

MOVIE REVIEW: When The Last Sword Is Drawn

2008-08-13T13:19:00.009+01:00

TITLE: When The Last Sword Is Drawn (Mibu Gishi Den)
DIRECTOR: Yojiro Takita
CAST: Kiichi Nakai, Koichi Sato, Yui Natsukawa, Takehiro Murata, Miki Nakatani, Yuji Miyake
RELEASE DATE: 18 January 2003
CERTIFICATION: 15
COUNTRY: Japan
LANGUAGE: Japanese (English subtitles)
RUN TIME: 134 minutes
COLOUR: Colour

REVIEW: Kanichiro Yoshimura (Kiichi Nakai) has left his clan and the home he loves to seek money to pay for food to ensure the survival of his starving family. He arrives in Kyoto and becomes a sword instructor for the Shinsengumi. The Shinsengumi act as police in the city of Kyoto, protecting the interests of the Shogun. At every opportunity, Yoshimura sends any money he can back to his family, desperately hoping that they'll survive the famine that is destroying the area. Hajime Saito (Koichi Sato), a member of the Shinsengumi, decides that he will kill the money-grabbing country samurai, though Yoshimura proves hard to kill and a mutual understanding grows between them.

This story is told through the use of flashback by Saito and Chiaki Ono (Takehiro Murata), a Doctor, who was the best friend of Yoshimura's son. Yoshimura's struggle between protecting his family from starvation and his honour to the clan are seen through the story, and it shows how important family is to Yoshimura when he states to his wife, that his loyalty is to her and their children (alluding to the fact that it is not to the clan as samurai morality would dictate). Yoshimura is often reflecting on his family, remembering his children and wondering what they are doing. It is the love he obviously has for his family and the interactions that he has with his daughter that prove just how moving this movie is.

This is a film that will have you sitting on the edge of your seat during the sword fights. This is a film that will have you crying at the joyful relationship between a man and his wife and children. This is a film that will validate your sense of honour in doing what is morally right. This is no Hollywood movie, this movie is all about the story and not the special effects. For the shear pleasure in watching such a beautiful, and heart-wrenching, story be told, I give this film an excellent 5 out of 5.

BOOK REVIEW: The Ghost Brigades

2008-08-13T09:19:00.005+01:00

TITLE: The Ghost Brigades
AUTHOR: John Scalzi
SUB-TITLE: -
FIRST PUBLISHED: 2006
FIRST PUBLISHED IN: USA
PAGES: 343
ISBN: 978-0-330-45710-1

REVIEW: This is the second book in the series, which started with Old Man's War. The Ghost Brigades continues the story of the Colonial Defence Force as they battle for the survival of the human race in a hostile galaxy. This book concentrates on the lives of the Special Forces, humans, created from the genetic material of the dead, and Jared Dirac in particular. Dirac is a Special Forces soldier, created from the DNA of a traitor so as to access his electronically recorded memories. But when it becomes clear to his superiors that he can't access those memories, he is sent to the Ghost Brigades. As Dirac fights for survival, the traitor's memories start to surface and with them a plan for something much worse than mankind's military defeat.

The narrative of this book rolls along quite briskly, and its good to see that the story is more important to the author than describing every nuance of the technology surrounding the characters. So many SF authors tend to make that mistake. There is an interesting philosophical undercurrent in the latter part of the book regarding that of choice in the military. Here's a short interaction on the subject:

"A choice?" Jared asked.
"Yes, Private, a choice," Cainen said, "Which is something you rarely make." He pointed to Wilson. "Lieutenant Wilson here chose this life: He signed up for the Colonial Defence Forces of his own accord. You, and all your Special Forces kind, were not given that choice. Do you realise, Private, that Special Forces soldiers are slaves? You have no say in whether you fight. You are not allowed to refuse. You're not even allowed to know that refusal is possible."
Jared was uncomfortable with this line of reasoning.
"We don't see it that way. We're proud to serve."

The Ghost Brigades is military science-fiction at its best. We travel to planets to protect the human colonists from attack from alien species. We follow the soldiers on dramatic military operations and we feel their pain for the loss of those around them but also their joy in life. I'd give this book a solid 4 out of 5.

KATHERINE JENKINS - A tribute to a British Forces sweetheart

2008-08-12T16:52:00.003+01:00

I can't help but admire anyone who will go to worn torn countries, risking their own lives, to entertain our troops. These people are special. They ignore the 'celebrity' stuff and get on with things that really matter. Katherine Jenkins, thankyou.

The opening bars to 'I Vow To Thee My Country' made me catch my breath. I'll be posting a separate entry for that song sometime in the future.

Death of the Alpha Male?

2008-08-12T11:18:00.005+01:00

Dr Pam Spurr has written an article about the Death of the Alpha Male, and how women may be to blame for it. She believes that men are confused and don't really know what to do. Unfortunately, she's probably right (just think of all those metrosexuals, those 90s men, those crying sportsmen showing their feelings on TV).

Let's face it folks, attraction of the opposite sex is always going to be high on a man's list of priorities, so if the ladies say they want sensitive men that cry with them then, eventually, thats all that women will get. Tell men they have to put a woman on a pedestal if he wants to get with her and he will. Eventually, all of these things will break a man's spirit. He may be male, but he won't be a man anymore.

Now women are complaining because there aren't enough alpha-males to go round? Well, all I can say is that you brought it on yourselves.

Women and men are different. I like those differences. I revel in those differences. I'm fortunate that my partner is feminine without being feminist. She likes the fact that I'm masculine, and that my actions are such, without being brutish. She knows that I'm a man and she's happy for me to be the best man I can be. Just as I love the fact that she is the best woman she can be. I'm proud of her, and I trust she is proud of me.

The sexes are different. I agree with equal rights, but I don't agree in making the sexes the same. Those differences between us are important. They are there for a reason. Why do feminists want to make women more masculine and men more feminine? Why can't we keep the differences between us and enjoy what each of us brings to a relationship?

Biologically, a man is supposed to be strong and solitary (thats why we like to hide in our caves) because we were built to hunt and range far from home to bring home essential meat. We'd be gone for days sometimes, only communicating with the men we were with by sign or signal, because any noise would scare off the game we were trying to hunt. It was also our job to protect our tribe and our women-folk. Women were the most valuable thing in a tribe, they guaranteed the continuation of the tribe. Women were so highly prized, that they were often stolen from one tribe by another. That is why men fought over women. They fought for the continuation of their genes. The continuation of their tribe. The continuation of their family. So you see, we men are solitary, active, and dangerous to those that threaten violence on those that we love and care for. Nature made us that way. Yet, feminists wanted to change all of that biological, save-the-species, save-the-tribe, programming just so they can understand how a man feels when his natural tendency would be to sort things out on his own first (alone in his cave again). So why do men need that time alone, in that proverbial cave? Its because men compartmentalise their feelings from their actions. When a man is doing violence (onto another man or an animal for meat) he can't allow his feelings to get in the way of the task in hand, otherwise he will risk losing his life, or losing that meat. After the deed, he retreats into his cave to deal with those feelings. They are the same feelings that women have, its just that we deal with them in a different way, and usually in a private space (even amidst a crowd).

If the last 20-30 years teaches us anything, it certainly teaches us that if women want something desperately enough, then men will give it to them. All I ask of you dear ladies, is that you think carefully and worry about the unintended consequences. Civilized society is something that lasts for a short time, with extended periods of violence separating each period of rest. Think about the man you are with. Play the what-if game. What if you were relying on your man to protect, care, and provide for you during one of those dark-ages? Do you think your girly-man would be able to do that for you? If not, then why are you allowing his genes to continue to the next generation?

OK, things aren't quite that bad. Men are modifying their behaviour, not their biology. Things that are ingrained in our DNA can not be overcome in a few short decades. But the fact that women are wanting their male children to show feelings and act like girls is not a good thing. I believe that sort of thing has caused the rise in violent teenagers too. They have all of that angst, all of that energy, all of that violence locked up inside of them but their mothers tell them to supress it because it is wrong. It is not wrong in the right environment. Let your boy explore, let him run and fall and graze his knee. He can not grow into a man when he is constantly tied to your apron strings. Let your boy have a strong male role-model (and never undermine that male role-model when that boy is around, you'll just teach him disrespect).

OK ladies, you wanted girly-men and now you find that you don't want them because they aren't manly enough. You're really that surprised? Now what are you going to do? Are you going to ask them to sit with you and discuss how it makes them feel?

Next time your man does something manly tell him you appreciate the fact that he's a real man and not like all those other girly-men out there. Next time he doesn't cry with you, but provides a strong shoulder to cry on, thank him for being supportive and being there when you needed someone strong to lean on. Next time you drag him out shopping and he starts to mumble to himself that he hates it, think about the last time he dragged you somewhere for several hours when you really didn't want to go. I bet it was quite some time ago, and I bet it wasn't every single week too. So, when he starts to complain, think about the fact that he never wanted to go looking at summery tops or shoes and he'd rather be out somewhere doing something manly (hunting) rather than just following you around as you do your shopping (gathering).

The Olympics as Politics

2008-08-11T16:25:00.003+01:00

And so the Olympic games of 2008 were begun on the 08th August 2008 at 20:00 hrs (or 08/08/08 at 8pm) in China. I watched part of the opening ceremony on Friday and I couldn't help but wonder if history was repeating itself. 72 years earlier, the Olympic games were held in Germany, a land under Fascist rule. We all know what happened only a few short years later, what will happen now that China (under Communist rule) are now the hosts?

Will China clean up its act on Human Rights? Will it sort out its pollution problem? What about free expression and free speech? I doubt anything will change for the better. If history tells us anything, then the Olympics are a political tool. How that tool is used, is dependent upon the host nation of course (yes, I am aware that the 2012 Olympics will be in the UK, but that all depends on whether we can get the stadium built on time ;-)) but I have no doubt that these Olympic games will be used to promote China and its ideal of Communist party rule. Everyone knows that the sport is only a minor player on the world stage.

OK, I hear you. Yes, I know there are some capitalist freedoms slowly working their way through Chinese society, but I believe those capitalist ideals are based on Singapore and the idea is to let people be materialistic in nature, but communist in control and we all know that the communists hate giving up control.

Anyway, I'll continue to watch the games, amazed at the ability of the gymnasts and the speed of the athletes, but I will still have that nagging little voice in my head reminding me that this sort of thing was all done 72 years ago.

Moral Dilema

2008-08-11T10:02:00.006+01:00

I received the following 'test' via e-mail and I wanted to share it with you guys. I'd be interested to hear what you would choose in the described scenario.

This test has only one question, but it's a very important one. By giving an honest answer, you will discover where you stand morally. The test features an unlikely, completely fictional situation in which you will have to make a decision. Remember that your answer needs to be honest, yet spontaneous. Please scroll down slowly and give due consideration to each line.

THE SITUATION: You are in England, York to be specific. There is chaos all around you caused by a hurricane with severe flooding. This is a flood of biblical proportions. You are a photo-journalist working for a major newspaper and you're caught in the middle of this epic disaster. The situation is nearly hopeless. You're trying to shoot career-making photos. There are houses and people swirling around you, some disappearing into the water. Nature is unleashing all of its destructive fury.

THE TEST: Suddenly, you see a man in the water. He is fighting for his life, trying not to be taken down with the debris. You move closer... Somehow, the man looks familiar... You suddenly realize who it is... It's Gordon Brown! You notice that the raging waters are about to take him under forever. You have two options: You can save the life of Gordon Brown or you can shoot a dramatic Pulitzer Prize winning photo, documenting the death of one of the country's most powerful men!

THE QUESTION: Here's the question, and please give an honest answer... Would you select high contrast color film, or would you go with the classic simplicity of black and white?

VANESSA MAE - Storm

2008-08-08T11:29:00.005+01:00

I was watching a programme on TV last night about Vanessa Mae, where she was trying to determine if her ability with the violin is due to nature (she was born with it) or nurture (she worked at it). Whilst it was obvious that Vanessa missed out on her childhood because of an overbearing parent pushing her to practice and to perform, I can't help but wonder if she isn't better for it. By her own admission, if she hadn't been pushed, she would be dabbling in music now, rather than making a career out of it. I found it heartwarming to learn that all great musicians, no matter how natural their talent appears to be, spend between 5,000 and 10,000 hours practising in the first 10 years or so (thats what one scientist said anyway).

I think that without her mother pushing her to practice and perform, then she'd have had a childhood just like any other girl. She'd have dated boys and lost interest in the violin (or at least slacked off practising for a while) and though she may have returned to music, I don't think she'd have been nearly as good nor as successful at it. I think she owes her success, in the main, to her mother. It was her mother's focus that made her the success she is today. Of course, when I heard Vanessa recount a statement her mother made:

I'll always love you, but you're only special to me when you play the violin.

I thought that was a bit harsh to say to a child. No wonder Vanessa spent so much time practising. She wanted to please her mother. I think it was a very difficult relationship between the two of them, and I can't help but wonder if her mother was more of a manager rather than a caring parent. Anyway, just prior to turning 21, Vanessa sacked her mother from being her manager. Unfortunately, they haven't spoken since. It was heartwarming to see that Vanessa still had a loving relationship with her step-father and her grandmother. What was surprising however, was to find out, via psychological tests, that Vanessa and her mother have very similar personalities. I guess, where her mother left off, Vanessa has taken over and is pushing herself and her music just as hard as ever.

Vanessa started off the programme thinking that her ability was 75% nature and 25% nurture. Through different tests and experiments she changed her original thinking to it being 50/50 instead.

This was the first time I'd seen Vanessa in discussion with the camera, rather than performing and she appeared to be a very charming woman. Just because she's gorgeous, here's a picture of the young woman.

Enfield No 4 Mark 1 - .303 British Calibre Rifle

2008-08-07T14:58:00.008+01:00

Like most red-blooded men, I have a 'dream armoury'. Whilst my government won't let me play with most of them, that doesn't mean I can't appreciate them from afar and if I ever get to live in a free society (such as the US) then I'd certainly start gathering those pieces of art and function that I appreciate most.

Some of the guns and rifles in my dream armoury are purely functional, such as the Remington 870 Shotgun for home defence, but a few are for historical reasons. Whilst, I no doubt, will be showing you more guns from my dream armoury in the future (if only to upset those latte-sipping, sandal-wearing, liberals) this blog entry will concentrate on one of my dream historical rifles, the Enfield No 4 Mark 1, chambered in .303 British calibre. Collector's Firearms in the US, have the following snipers rifle available, for a mere snip at $4,500 (its the provenance man). If I was in the US, I'd be writing a cheque right about now. Here are some more pictures of this wonderful snipers rifle

So what is it about the Enfield that makes me want to own one? Well, its all of the history that is wrapped up in that one weapon. The example shown above and currently available from Collector's Firearms was made in 1944. Still during the fighting of WWII. I'd just like to own and fire a rifle that my forebears had to carry, use, and maintain in the field. To have that connection to the past. Wikipedia has some information on the history of the Lee Enfield but I'll just repeat what Wikipedia state about the Enfield No 4 Mark 1 here:

By the late 1930s the need for new rifles grew, and the Rifle, No. 4 Mk I was first issued in 1939 but not officially adopted until 1941. The No. 4 action was similar to the Mk VI, but lighter, stronger, and most importantly, easier to mass produce.
Unlike the SMLE, the No 4 Lee-Enfield barrel protruded from the end of the forestock. The No. 4 rifle was considerably heavier than the No. 1 Mk. III, largely due to its heavier barrel, and a new bayonet was designed to go with the rifle: a spike bayonet, which was essentially a steel rod with a sharp point, and was nicknamed "pigsticker" by soldiers. Towards the end of WWII, a bladed bayonet was developed and issued for the No 4 rifle, using the same mount as the spike bayonet.
During the course of World War II, the No. 4 rifle was further simplified for mass-production with the creation of the No. 4 Mk I* in 1942, which saw the bolt release catch removed in favour of a more simplified notch on the bolt track of the rifle's receiver. It was produced only in North America, with Long Branch Arsenal in Canada and Savage-Stevens Firearms in the USA producing the No. 4 Mk I* rifle from their respective factories. On the other hand, the No.4 Mk I rifle was primarily produced in the United Kingdom.

So there you have it, its a british gun, used by british soldiers, in a war that very nearly saw the end of the british (things were a bit dicey around the time of Dunkirk and the Battle of Britain). I want one because I love history and I love firearms. I want one so that I can practice shooting it (I hate dust collectors). I want one, so that I can pass on my appreciation for such things to the next generation. Most importantly, I want one so that if another dictator (foreign or domestic) should ever rise again, I'd like to poke him in the eye with a pig sticker and tell him about the provenance of the rifle I'm sticking him with, "Honestly Mr Brown, this rifle was used in World War 2 to help remove fascism from the face of the planet. It could also have been used in the fight against communism. What do you mean, you don't see the relevance of all that whilst I'm sticking you with it Mr Piggy?"

Its a dream I have ;-)

More firearms will be shown in due course, bearing in mind that I haven't fired a rifle since I was in the Reserves and I haven't fired a handgun since before it was banned by NuLabour (the b*****ds).

NIRVANA - Smells Like Teen Spirit

2008-08-07T12:00:00.005+01:00

Way back in the early 1990s, I was a huge fan of Nirvana. Smells Like Teen Spirit was one of my favourite songs and I'd often be jumping around on the dancefloor, whipping the innocent with my long hair. This song still is a favourite of mine, but I rarely get the chance to dance to it now (too old to go to nightclubs and they probably don't play it very often now either) and I don't have the hair either (cut it all off for charity a few years ago and I've never grown it long since).

I think this song is one of those Desert Island Discs for me. It defined the times for me, although there are others that did that too, and no doubt I'll share them with you in due course. Desert Island Discs, for those of you not aware of the Radio 4 programme, are those songs that you'd like to have with you if you were to be stranded on a desert island. These songs usually form the basis for a radio interview with 'celebrities' where they discuss their lives and the music that was an impact on them at the time. Look out for more of my own Desert Island Discs in the future.

Are there any songs from your youth that are still favourites of yours? What about some of your own Desert Island Discs?

Explaining My Review Ratings

2008-08-06T12:35:00.002+01:00

It occured to me recently that I may not have explained my review ratings. Though this is usually easy to understand, I wanted to make it clear. Here's a brief overview of what my ratings are and what they mean to me:

1 out of 5 - Terrible
2 out of 5 - Poor
3 out of 5 - Average
4 out of 5 - Good
5 out of 5 - Excellent

Ok, that seems to make sense. But there are times when I want to give a movie or a book a higher score but I just don't feel justified. For instance, on Dark Knight I gave it an average mark. I was in two minds whether to give it a good instead, and I didn't want to award fractions (for instance 3 3/4 out of 5) so, in the end I decided to downgrade and give Dark Knight 3. Maybe the next time I watch it I'll be in a more receptive mood and I'll give it a higher score.

Some reviews, however, may get a higher mark simply because of a personal relevance, for instance, Quartered Safe Out Here got an excellent review from me because of the subject matter discussed in the book being of relevance to me and my family. If I didn't have that link to the book, It may have only got a good score, but then again, maybe it wouldn't because it is an amazing book.

Reviews and review scores are always a personal thing. The trick is to find a reviewer that seems to mesh with your own biases and tastes and then ignore all the others that seem to fawn over the latest starlet when they can't act for toffee.

If you don't agree with any of my reviews, please tell me in the comments, and tell me why. Perhaps I missed some nuance that the director was playing on which would have changed my whole perspective of the thing. I might be putting up my own thoughts here, but I'm still willing to learn.

Ministers Playing At Bankers

2008-08-06T09:51:00.003+01:00

What a complete fiasco the whole Northern Rock episode has been. For several years the management was using a completely flawed business-model and finally a blip in the financial markets meant that if they were any other kind of business, they'd have gone under. But wait, this is England. We are all socially-minded, we protect the little-man, and so the government came blundering into the whole debacle and said, "Don't worry, the government is here. Everything will be OK". What a load of Northern Crock that was.

Anyway, after stumping up several billion pounds of OUR money (funny how ministers never really think about that) Northern Rock has shown a massive loss over the past year (about £585 million to be exact). Now, anyone else would be thinking that maybe pouring more money into this money pit would be a bad thing, but the government are saying that Northern Rock have been good boys and they've paid back a little of what they owe the tax payer, even though their mortgage book has shrunk slightly (due to good mortgage debtors moving to other companies) and their mortgage arrears have increased (due to bad mortgage debtors not repaying their mortgages). Because of the wonderful stuff thats going on at Northern Rock HQ, the government has decided that they need more cash. Not more by way of a loan, whereby we, the taxpayer, would eventually be repaid, but rather, by way of equity, to the tune of £3 billion. Thats £3 billion that doesn't have to be repaid. Unfortunately, we, the taxpayer, are still on the hook for the total Northern Rock debt of around £97 billion. What could have been done to improve our lot with £97 billion? Alastair Darling, our emminent Chancellor, is a mentalist if he thinks he can just smile at the cameras and keep handing over our cash to these charlatans.

I say, let Northern Rock collapse. Other businesses in other industries have suffered that fate and business models were improved and lessons learned. By nationalising the Northern Rock problem, the government have taken a problem that would have affected a small percentage of people and made it affect everyone. Government should stay out of business and it should stay out of banking. It is not a government's job to meddle in markets and mortgages and loans, they are their to provide protection for the country (via the military) and protection for the people (via the police), anything else is meddling.

BOOK REVIEW: We The Living

2008-08-05T10:02:00.005+01:00

TITLE: We The Living
AUTHOR: Ayn Rand
SUB-TITLE: -
FIRST PUBLISHED: 1936
FIRST PUBLISHED IN: USA
PAGES: 464
ISBN: 0-451-18784-9

REVIEW: We The Living is set in the early years of Communist Russia. The year is 1922, only 5 years after the Bolshevik Revolution of October 1917. On the cold hungry streets of Petrograd, we meet three main characters, Kira Argounova, Andrei Taganov, and Leo Kovalensky, which forms a remarkable love triangle.

The daughter of a bourgeois capitalist, Kira is a strong-willed young woman who refuses to be put in a mould by her family, or the state. Kira is the main protaganist of the book and we follow her through her struggles, trying to protect and care for the man she loves, Leo.

Andrei is a revolutionary hero and a member of the GPU (secret police). Andrei is in love with Kira and he slowly begins to see that the promises of the revolution are not being kept.

Leo is the son of an Admiral who was killed during the revolution. Leo hates what Russia has become and tries to escape only to fail and suffer ill-health which requires an extended stay in a remote resort. After seeking help from the state and from her own family, Kira turns to Andrei for help in paying the medical fees for Leo.

With the new communist Russia as a backdrop, we see how these three characters interact and develop relationships. We see how they stay true to their core convictions and we see them lose hope and change their beliefs as reality teaches them the errors of their ways. There is some interesting debates and some wonderfully descriptive writing, for example, here is an description of a revolutionary song being sung by a group of students:

It was an old drinking song grown to the dignity of a students' anthem; a slow, mournful tune with an artificial gaiety in the roll of its spiritless notes, born long before the revolution in the stuffy rooms where unshaved men and mannish women discussed philosophy and with forced bravado drank cheap vodka to the futility of life.

The political and philosophical debates are equally as entertaining and, bearing in mind that this was Rand's first novel, at only the age of 26, she was clearly starting to form her own philosophy which would eventually become known as Objectivism a couple of decades later. Here's an example of the philosophy as Andrei and Kira are having a discussion:

"Comrade Taganov," she whispered, "how much you have to learn!" He looked down at her with his quiet shadow of a smile and patted her hand like a child's. "Don't you know," he asked, "that we can't sacrifice millions for the sake of the few?" "Can you sacrifice the few? When those few are the best? Deny the best its right to the top - and you have no best left. What are your masses but millions of dull, shrivelled, stagnant souls that have no thoughts of their own, no dreams of their own, no will of their own, who eat and sleep and chew helplessly the words others put into their brains? And for those you would sacrifice the few who know life, who are life? I loathe your ideals because I know no worse injustice than the giving of the undeserved. Because men are not equal in ability and one can't treat them as if they were. And because I loathe most of them."

Considering Rand's young age when she wrote the above, and consider, also, that Rand was an escapee from the new Russia and that English was not her native tongue, you can see that her ability to write is already developing rapidly, just a quickly as her personal philosophy.

I enjoyed reading this book. It held my attention and I enjoyed the philosophical discussions. What surprised me was how tough living in Russia in the early-1920s must have been. Rand writes about Russia from personal experience and that eye-witness account is amazing. But would I consider this book a classic like her better known works, "The Foutainhead" and "Atlas Shrugged"? No, I would not. This is Rand's first attempt at writing and it is impressive. I'd recommend it to others to read, but I'm afraid I can only give it an average 3 out of 5.

BOOK REVIEW: Quartered Safe Out Here

2008-08-04T14:00:00.008+01:00

TITLE: Quartered Safe Out Here
AUTHOR: George MacDonald Fraser
SUB-TITLE: A Recollection of the War in Burma
FIRST PUBLISHED: 1992
FIRST PUBLISHED IN: Great Britain
PAGES: 225
ISBN: 0-00-272687-4

REVIEW: Set during the fierce fighting of the Burma Campaign of World War II, this autobiography shows the author as a Private in the Borders Regiment, of the 17th Indian Division, alongside Cumbrians, and other Scottish borders men, fighting the Japanese Army.

The Cumbrian dialect is as distinctive as Cornish, but Fraser tries to make it understandable for the reader without losing any of its humour and there is a great deal of humour in this book. Bearing in mind that this is an autobiographical work, set in the midst of war and written from a Private's perspective, the humour is expectedly black. But there are some amazing conversations between the characters, for example, here's a lengthy exchange in which the author, Jock (his nickname) is talked into becoming the section's sniper-scout:

"Aye-aye, Jock lad, w'at fettle?"
"Not bad sergeant, thank you."
"Champion! They tell us yer a good cross-coontry rooner?"
"Oh... well, I've done a bit..."
"Girraway! Ah seen ye winnin' at Ranchi - travellin' like a bloody trail 'oond w'en the whistles gan on. 'Ere 'ev a fag."
"Ta very much, sarn't. M-mm, Senior Service..."
"Sarn't's mess issue, lad. Tek another fer after. Aye, ye can roon... woon a few prizes in Blighty, did ye?"
"Well, now and then... seven and six in savings certificates, that sort of thing..."
"Ah'll bet yer the fastest man in't battalion, ower a mile or two. Aye, in the brigade, likely - mebbe the division -"
"Oh, I dunno about that. There must be some good runners -"
"Give ower, Jock! A fit yoong feller like you? Honnist, noo - wadn't ye back yersel agin anybuddy in 17th Indian? Well aya, ye wad! Outroon the bloody lot o' them, eh?"
"Well, I'd be ready to have a go..."
"Good for you, son. An' yer a furst-class shot an' a', aren't ye? Good... yer joost the man tae be sniper-scout for the section."
"Eh? Sniper-scout? What's that?"
"Weel, ye knaw w'at a scout does. W'en the section cooms till a village, the scout ga's in foorst, t'see if Jap's theer."
"To... er, draw their fire?"
"Use yer loaf, man, Jap's nut that bloody stupid! Usually, 'e let's the scout ga through, or waits till 'e's reet inside the position an' then lays 'im oot, quiet-like. So the scout 'es tae keep 'is wits aboot 'im, sista, an' as soon as 'e sees Jap, 'e fires a warnin' shot... an' boogers off. So 'e'd better be a good runner, 'edn't 'e?"
"Does it matter? I mean, if he's surrounded by bleeding Japs, he might as well be on crutches -"
"Doan't talk daft! If 'e's nippy on 'is feet 'e can git oot, easy! Didn't ye play Roogby at that posh school o' yours?"
"Yes, but the opposition wasn't armed. Oh well. Here - you said sniper-scout. Where does the sniping come in?"
"Aye, weel, that's w'en we're pullin' oot of a position, nut ga'in' in. Sniper-scout stays be'ind, 'idden in a tree or booshes or summat, an' waits til Jap cooms up..."
"And then snipes one of them?"
"Aye, but nut joost anybuddy. 'E waits for a good target - an officer, or mebbe one o' the top brass, if 'e's loocky -"
"Bloody lucky, yes."
"... an' then 'e nails 'im -"
"- and boogers... I beg your pardon... buggers off."
"That's reet, son! 'E gits oot an' ga's like the clappers -"
"Being a good long-distance runner. I see. Flawless logic. Well, it must be a great life, as long as it lasts -"
"Well, it's a job for a slippy yoong feller, nut owd fat boogers like Grandarse, or 'alf-fit sods like Nick an' Foster. Ah'm glad ye volunteered, Jock. 'Ere, 'ev anoother fag."
"Thanks, sarn't, but I wouldn't want to spoil my wind. By the way, does a sniper-scout get extra pay? You know, danger money?"
"Extra peh! Danger mooney! Ye've been pickin' oop sivven an' six at ivvery cross-coontry in Blighty, an' ye're wantin' mair? Ye greedy lal git! It's reet enoof w'at they say aboot you Scotchies, ye're a'ways on the scroonge..."

This book is especially important to me personally, because my family come from the Lake District in Cumbria (some of the places I haunted as a child are mentioned in this book, such as Egremont, Grasmere, and Windermere). Additionally, my maternal grandfather fought in the Burma Campaign, although he served with the 11th East African Division rather than the 17th Indian Division, eventually being de-mobed at the end of the War as a Staff Sergeant. I can also remember my paternal grandmother using much of the language that I read in the book.

Quartered Safe Out Here is a heart-renching journey through the heat and jungle and the wait of the Burma Campaign, giving the reader a glimpse into the actions of a close-knit platoon going about its business and dealing with the ups and downs they have to endure. I would highly recommend anyone read this book, especially if they have an interest in history or the military. There are few autobiographies, of the Second World War, written from the point-of-view of the ordinary soldier. To put it simply, I would give this book 5 out of 5.

Hosokawa Gracia - Japanese Saint

2008-08-04T09:45:00.005+01:00

I attended a Catholic baptism yesterday and during the appeal to the saints I remembered an article I'd written several years ago for a martial arts newsletter and a Japanese history forum. The article is shown below, but I'll include references in Comments (all good researchers should show their sources). This article doesn't really concentrate on Gracia directly, there are other sites on the web that do that today (though not when I wrote this article), instead this article talks about the men that shaped her destiny and the times in which she lived. I hope you find it interesting.

Hosokawa Gracia (1563-1600)
(Regent’s Daughter, Samurai Wife & Mother, Christian Saint)
The Men Who Shaped Her Life

In Japan, the one hundred years encompassing 1549 to 1648 are commonly known as ‘The Christian Century’. This period started with a tremendous response to the Gospel and ended with a ferocious persecution that would almost wipe out Christianity in Japan for the next two and a half centuries. During this time, people turned to Christ in their thousands, with whole families, villages, and provinces being baptised, and Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines being destroyed [1]. These were certainly Interesting Times.

In 1577, Padre Gnecchi-Organito is said to have written a letter to Rome stating that if only one hundred Jesuits could be sent to Japan then the whole country could be converted. He also commented upon the quality of the Japanese converts, saying that should the nation submit to the faith then, in his opinion, no church in the world would surpass that of Japan [1].

Padre Gnecchi-Organito was born in Italy in 1532 and arrived in Japan in 1570, bringing a printing machine from Holland and an organ. Oda Nobunaga is said to have favoured him and helped to establish a church in Kyoto along with a seminary in Shiga Prefecture [2].

Born in 1563, during the Sengoku (Warring States) period & the Christian century, Tama was the third daughter of Akechi Mitsuhide. In 1578, Tama was married to the eldest son of the daimyo Hosokawa Yusai, Hosokawa Tadaoki, and lived in Shoryujijo castle in Nagaoaka, as Hosokawa Tama [3]. It is said that Tadaoki adored his wife and that they had a loving relationship, with several children born from that love.

Akechi Mitsuhide began his service to Oda Nobunaga in 1566. Charged with the pacification of the Tamba Province, Mitsuhide laid siege to Yagami castle in 1578. Early in 1579, Mitsuhide increased the pressure upon the castle garrison by taking Hatano Hideharu’s mother as hostage. Hideharu eventually surrendered and was taken under guard to Oda Nobunaga. Nobunaga had him put to death and his mother crucified. Hideharu’s surviving retainers killed Mitsuhide’s mother in retaliation. Mitsuhide approached his son-in-law, Hosokawa Tadaoki for help in retaliating against Nobunaga but was refused. Mitsuhide hit back at Nobunaga with a night attack in 1582 when the latter was visiting Honnoji temple in Kyoto. Accompanied only by his personal bodyguard, Nobunaga committed suicide as the temple blazed around him. Following the death of Nobunaga, Mitsuhide’s forces marched on Nijo castle, also in Kyoto, and murdered Nobunaga’s son and heir, Oda Nobutada. They then sacked Azuchi castle and Mitsuhide was appointed as regent by the court. Twelve days later, however, as he fled for his life from the Battle of Yamazaki (against Toyotomi Hideyoshi), Mitsuhide would lose his life. The leader of a gang of bandits, in a village called Ogurusu, would thrust a spear at Mitsuhide from within the protection of a bamboo grove. Mitsuhide fell dead from his horse. The following day, as Hideyoshi inspected the battlefield, Akechi Mitsuchika (a relative of Mitsuhide and who had fought alongside him) rose up from under a mound of corpses to try to kill Hideyoshi. Mitsuchika was intercepted by one of Hideyoshi’s retainers and was killed [4]. Akechi Mitsuhide is commonly known as the ‘Twelve Day Shogun’.

The entire family of Akechi Mitsuhide, including Tama, would have been killed for the assassination of Oda Nobunaga and his son, had Hosokawa Tadaoki not interceded on her behalf with the result that her life was spared. As such, Tama was obliged to retire to Mitono in the Okutango Peninsula. Two years later, in 1584, the new ruler, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, allowed Tama to take up residency in Osaka [5].

Deeply impressed by the devotion to Jesus of her baptised Christian servant, Maria, Hosokawa Tama became a baptised Christian herself in 1587 and acquired the baptismal name of Gracia. A highly educated and refined lady, Hosokawa Gracia studied Latin and Portuguese [6], but in July 1600, there would be a conflict of interests between her faith in Christ and her Samurai honour.

Under the rule of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Japan finally had peace for the first time in decades and Hideyoshi saw and felt the stirrings of his underlings for some military glory. His allies and vassals were battle-hardened veterans so Hideyoshi decided to launch a campaign to conquer China, with the immediate goal of gaining control of Korea. As ambitious as the campaign was, it was met with considerable enthusiasm from most of his vassal lords and in 1592 a flotilla sailed to Korea with 130,000 samurai [6]. Hosokawa Tadaoki took part in the Korean invasion, when on the 4th October 1592, he commanded an army of 20,000 men and laid siege to Chinju castle but the assault was eventually called off due to the support of Korean guerrillas for the castle garrison [4].

Toyotomi Hideyoshi died on the 15th September 1598, leaving Japan under the control of two five-man councils that were unable (or unwilling) to co-operate. As such the councils would eventually disintegrate into two factions, one led by Ishida Mitsunari in the West, and the other led by Tokugawa Ieyasu in the East [6].

Ishida Mitsunari is said to have had a temper that had backfired on more than one occasion and one of Mitsunari’s greatest mistakes was in the handling of the hostage situation during the build up to the Battle of Sekigahara (21st October 1600). The taking of hostages was commonplace at that time so Mitsunari decided to take the wives and families of Tokugawa Ieyasu loyalists, who had been left in Osaka, when Ieyasu had vacated the castle for Edo in July 1600 (Hosokawa Tadaoki had sided with Ieyasu in 1598, becoming a retainer and general to Ieyasu). Hosokawa Gracia was one of the wives that had been left in Osaka and Tadaoki is said to have left specific instructions that, should the need arise, his wife should be put to death rather than allow her to fall into enemy hands. Gracia was determined that she would not be a hindrance to her husband’s actions and in turn a hindrance to their lord, Ieyasu [6]. When Mitsunari sent men to place her under arrest, rather than submit, Gracia begged Ogasawara Shosai, the senior retainer of the family, to kill her in accordance with Tadaoki’s orders. Gracia could not commit suicide due to her Christian beliefs [5]. Shosai did as he was asked, set fire to their mansion, and committed suicide himself. This action so stunned the whole of Osaka that Mitsunari was only able to place token guard forces at the homes of the wives of the Tokugawa generals. Most of these hostages eventually escaped in the night, including the wives of Kato Kiyomasa, Kuroda Nagamasa, and Ikeda Terumasa [6]. Reputedly, Padre Gnecchi-Organito played his organ, at Hosokawa Gracia’s funeral. He later died in Nagasaki in 1609 [2].

During the Battle of Sekigahara, Kuroda Nagamasa held the right wing of Tokugawa’s Eastern Army. Hosokawa Tadaoki was situated next to him, along with Kato Yoshiaki (no relation to Kato Kiyomasa) and Tanaka Yoshimasu [4]. After a bloody battle, Tokugawa’s Eastern Army emerged victorious.

Hosokawa Gracia’s son, Hosokawa Tadatoshi, would later banish Christians from his lands and take part in the campaign against the Shimabara rebels. The siege of Hara castle was the main event of the Shimabara rebellion, fought with great determination by the people of the Shimabara peninsula against their hated daimyo, Matsukura Shigeharu, who frequently punished his peasants by dressing them in straw raincoats and setting fire to the straw. The rebellion broke out on 17th December 1637 and soon took on a considerable religious dimension as the majority of the population were Christian and had suffered increased persecution for their beliefs. The rebels, however, failed to capture either Shimabara or Tomioka castle but managed to fortify themselves in the dilapidated old castle of Hara. Despite the use of cannon from a Dutch ship, the rebels could not be moved (the use of foreigners also harmed the reputation of Tokugawa’s army). By April 1638, however, the rebel’s provisions were running very low, and it was found that they were eating barley and seaweed scraped off the rocks at low tide. A huge assault soon took place along the walls, and the long and bitter siege was eventually concluded with the massacre of the rebels. It is said that women and children fought alongside the men, wielding pots and pans [4]. The daimyo of the southern provinces had always been antagonistic to the Tokugawas and were often the instigators of intrigue with foreign powers and Japanese Christians, as such Hosokawa Tadatoshi fought for his lord, Tokugawa Ieyasu (alongside Miyamoto Musashi) [7]. With the fall of Hara castle, the last serious opposition to the Tokugawa regime was overcome and Ieyasu closed the ports of Japan to foreigners. They remained closed for over two hundred years.

In 1862, the Vatican rewarded Hosokawa Gracia’s life of sacrifice and enduring faith by making her the first Japanese saint. A portrait of Gracia is held in the Peace Museum in Nagasaki [3].

BLUR - Song 2

2008-08-01T16:54:00.005+01:00

Back in the 1960s there was a massive comparison being made between The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. At the time, no one knew how successful either would be and so the discussion was always about which band was better. Of course, we now know that The Beatles are revered as demi-Gods by many (though my mind is still undecided).

Fast-forward 30 years and you are in the mid-1990s. Once again, people are comparing two bands and discussing the merits of each. Which one is better? Is it Oasis or is it Blur? I was always a fan of Blur. Oasis seemed to be grumpy and taking themselves far too seriously all the time whilst Blur seemed to have fun in their videos and enjoy making music. Basically, when I watched a Blur video it didn't look like work. By 'fan', I don't mean I was going to gigs and stalking them. I wasn't. I just liked their music. Not enough to go out and buy it, I was into heavier stuff really (Song 2 is one of Blur's heavier works), but I enjoyed listening to their music when I heard it on the radio or in a bar/night club. Don't get me wrong, I do like quite a few Oasis songs and videos, its just that I prefer Blur. But then, 30 years earlier, I'd have preferred The Rolling Stones too.

Anyway, in the mid-1990s I had long hair, and I was often found head-banging to this track on the dancefloor, usually jumping around and acting the fool. Ah, happy days.

I guess that today's posts have taken the theme of friendship and music. Funny how the two often come together. What were you guys dancing to in the 1990s?

My Rules of Friendship

2008-08-01T12:24:00.009+01:00

Connie DuToit has written a very interesting article on her blog regarding Internet Friendships and this is a subject that I have discussed with others on several occassions but I'm going to say it again here.

To me, there are different types of friends and acqaintances. For instance, the people I work with are colleagues in the workplace and I have no interest in knowing them socially. I have a friend or two that I met through work, but that friendship built up over several years, until the workplace was not something that was important for the friendship to continue.

There are people I know but I wouldn't really think about inviting them into my home or down to the pub for a drink. This might be the postman or even a neighbour. These people are acquaintances. I'll say hello, I'll help them out if they need it, but thats as far as it goes.

Then we come to the people I would choose to go out of my way to meet up with. These are my friends. I would do anything for these people. Some of these people I even consider family, though we are not related.

But, as Connie discusses, what about friendships built up on the internet? Well, I've got a simple rule for that too. Until I meet anyone in person from the internet then I assume they are some lardy american bloke in his mother's basement who has very poor communication skills, a bad odour, and doesn't have any real friends (think of the guy on Die Hard 4.0 in his mother's basement). This may sound harsh to you, but keeping that in mind means that I am careful about what I say or show on the internet. On the internet, you can pretend to be anything you like. How do I know that the person on the other side of the world, pretending to be my best friend isn't actually my worst enemy from down the road? (Don't worry, I don't have such enemies). So, with that caveat in mind, here are my thoughts on internet friendships too.

An internet stranger I consider less than a stranger on the street. You may think that is harsh, but being face-to-face with a stranger I can detect (to some degree) his intentions. From his actions and movements I can tell if he intends me harm or simply wishes to smile at me and pass on by. An internet stranger can not be screened through our senses in the same way. I don't know if he is contacting me to pass on information even though an ensuing dialogue between us may mean that I eventually gain a new internet friend or whether he has ulterior motives and simply wants to gain something from me (be that money (never given out) or simply to dish out pain (physically or mentally)). We create pictures in our minds about the people we meet on the internet and these are often incorrect. As such, I consider an internet stranger someone who I have exchanged a couple of e-mails with at best but I don't know them and I wouldn't contact them. An e-mail from these people is like a smile from a stranger on the street.

Someone I may receive an e-mail from occassionally, over a protracted period, though we have never met, is an internet acquaintance. I don't know them. I have never met them. We might share some common interests. I would not wish to meet these people in real life. If they suddenly disappeared then I'd wonder why, but thats about all I'd do about it.

Internet friends, however, are slightly different. Once again, these people are unknown to me. I have never met them but we have had regular chats and exchange e-mails on a regular basis. I would like to meet these people but for some reason or other, we never have met in real life. If they suddenly disappeared I'd wonder why, and I'd do what I could to make sure they were OK. Though I wouldn't offer financial help, I would want to find out why they disappeared and if I could help in any way.

Fortunately, these groups are transient. You can pass from one group to another. For instance, once I meet an internet friend they automatically become an acquaintance (we've met in real life).

Bearing in mind that there are always exceptions to the rule, here are My Rules of Friendship:

Internet Stranger - I don't know this person and I don't know their intentions. I am wary of this individual but I may exchange an e-mail or two.
Stranger - I don't know this person and I can only guess his intentions based on body language. I am wary of this person but I may exchange a smile.
Internet Acquaintance - Someone I have exchanged several e-mails with but nothing more. I am still wary of this person because I don't know them.
Work Colleague - People at work are colleagues and no more. When I'm not at work, I don't think about them. If I change jobs and start to work elsewhere, I wouldn't go out of my way to meet up with them. I do not think they would intend me harm.
Internet Friend - Someone I have had protracted discussions with on-line. We may have exchanged photographs but we have never met in person. I care about this person and do not believe that they would do me harm.
Acquaintance - Someone I see regularly but I don't really chat to. We may exchange the odd pleasantry and I may offer to help out in jump-starting their car but thats it really. I am not wary of this person as I don't think they would intend me harm.
Friend - These are the people I know well. We meet regularly (or have done) and I feel safe in their presence. These are the people I think would go out of THEIR way to protect me, and I would do the same for them.
Close Friend - These are the people I would consider as family. I would do and expect from them the same as I would expect from my own family. I trust these people completely.

I've never thought about these rules before so it was an interesting exercise to think about it. Its all down to Connie's post though, otherwise never have laid out my rules. So what do you think about internet friendships?

TIM HAWKINS - Kids' Rock

2008-08-01T10:24:00.005+01:00

Tim is an american comedian that does some very funny musical comedy. This is the first one I saw that got me hooked. Turn up your speakers and check it out, then let me know what you think.

As to what I thought of it? Well, Nickelback doing 'Humpty Dumpty' has to be a classic. Fer shizzle dizzle yo!

Mind Your Own Business!

2008-07-31T13:49:00.011+01:00

Way back in May 2007, Fox News ran an article entitled: 'Alabama Boy Kills 1,051-Pound Monster Pig'. This was an amazing piece of hunting for anyone, but for an 11-year old? Outstanding. What's even more amazing, the boy, Jamison Stone, shot the pig with a .50 calibre revolver. Before all of the latte-sipping, sandal-wearing, liberals start bleating, Stone's weapon and hunting were both legal in Alabama. Let me convert the figures in the article for you:

1,051 lbs = 75 stones = 477 kg
9 foot 4 inches = 2.84 metres

So why am I wanting to talk about this amazing piece of hunting today, well over a year later? Because the latte-sipping, sandal-wearing, liberals are sending death-threats to Stone and his family, as this article from Fox News suggests. The article goes on to state that:

An online petition has garnered more than 800 signatures from around the world demanding prosecution for what activists are calling animal cruelty...

800 people from around the world? Thats not many. If you had a petition to be signed by people impressed by this boys actions I'm certain you'd get a lot more than 800 signatures.

Unfortunately, the world we live in is increasingly being brought down by latte-sipping, sandal-wearing, liberals. These people want us all to sit on our sofas, eating chocolate, and ordering jewellery from the shopping channel. There's real life going on outside our front doors and these people don't like that. They don't like us doing for ourselves, thinking for ourselves, or providing for ourselves. I believe that the ultimate aim of the liberals is to make us all dependent on the state. It wasn't too long ago that we depended on our friends and family.

Just to really upset the liberals, here's a picture of what may have been the gun he used, a Smith & Wesson 'X' Frame Model 460XVR Compensated Hunter firing .500 magnum rounds.

MOVIE REVIEW: The Seventh Seal

2008-07-31T09:28:00.005+01:00

TITLE: The Seventh Seal (Det Sjunde Inseglet)
DIRECTOR: Ingmar Bergman
CAST: Max von Sydow, Bengt Ekerot, Gunnar Björnstrand, Nils Poppe, Bibbi Andersson
RELEASE DATE: 16 February 1957 (Sweden)
CERTIFICATION: PG (originally X rated)
COUNTRY: Sweden
LANGUAGE: Swedish & Latin (English subtitles)
RUN TIME: 96 minutes
COLOUR: Black & White

REVIEW: Antonius Block (Max von Sydow), a knight, and his squire, Jöns (Gunnar Björnstrand), return from the crusades in the Holy Land to find their own homeland is riddled with plague. Death (Bengt Ekerot) comes for Block but Block manages to challenge Death to a game of chess. As the game progresses Block & Jöns continue their journey home searching for evidence of God and faith and learning how their homeland has changed in the 10 years they have been away.

The two most important things that stood out to me in this film were the storyline and the dialogue. The story was enthralling. Whilst the main thread throughout the film was the game of chess being played by Block and Death, it was Block's search for evidence of God that drove the film. His search would take him from flagellants to condemned witches. It was inspiring to see someone maintain his faith but still want to find phyiscal evidence that his faith is not misplaced.

The dialogue was amazing. Every character was well-rounded and the conversation between the characters was very interesting and amusing at times. Here's an example, Block is talking to Death about his search for evidence of God:

Is it so terribly inconceivable to comprehend God with one's senses? Why does he hide in a cloud of half-promises and unseen miracles? How can we believe in the faithful when we lack faith? What will happen to us who want to believe, but can not? What about those who neither want to nor can believe? Why can't I kill God in me? Why does He live on in me in a humiliating way - despite my wanting to evict Him from my heart? Why is He, despite all, a mocking reality I can't be rid of?

With insights to the characters like that, how can you not be impressed? When you start asking questions of yourself whilst watching a film, how can it not be a classic? Overall, this film was insightful, entertaining, and intelligent. I'd give this film 5 out of 5.

42 Days Detention & David Davis MP

2008-07-30T13:55:00.009+01:00

Back in June there was a lot of debate going on about 42 days detention without charge of terrorist suspects and it culminated in David Davis MP resigning from the House of Commons and forcing a by-election in his local consituency. It was his intention to raise the issue of individual liberties.

Upon hearing David Davis's resignation speech, I wrote the following letter to my local MP (who happens to be Conservative):

Dear Mr XXXX MP
I am dumbfounded that our house of elected representatives (namely the House of Commons) has voted for the extension to 42 days detention without charge (I’d be interested to hear if you voted for or against and your reasons for doing either).
Whilst you may claim that those not charged will be compensated, that does not mean that any charge won’t be imposed simply to get around this compensation scheme. The ‘suspect’ simply needs to be charged to be illegible for compensation, not even found guilty of the said charge at a later date. This leaves room for all kinds of abuse.
It worries me that a law now exists where a member of the public can be taken from the streets and locked up for six weeks without ever knowing why and without anyone else necessarily being informed. Yesterday’s vote was a disaster for all freedom-loving individuals. If terrorists wanted to change our society, they are certainly making huge strides in revoking our hard-won freedoms through new laws being created in the House of Commons.
Whilst hanging my head in shame for not contacting you earlier, with regards to this devastating vote, and urging you to vote against (I won’t even discuss the bribery that was taking place), I watched, amazed, as David Davis gave his resignation statement on the BBC One O’clock News earlier today.
I have no idea if Mr Davis truly believes in what he said or if he was simply making sound bites and politicking for his own personal gain but I’d like to believe that he meant every word (I enclose a copy of his statement, though I’m sure you are aware of it). For once, a Member of the Houses of Parliament has taken a stand for the rights of the individual against an overbearing Government bent on abolishing those rights. It does not surprise me that it was a Conservative party member that has made such a stand, for they are traditionally the party that stood for individual rights and liberties. I am surprised, however, that a member of the said party has taken such a stand in this day and age.
I sincerely hope that Mr Davis’ actions do not split the Conservative party leadership, and I would ask you, as my representative, to provide Mr Davis with whatever support he requires in his stand for freedom.
May I begin to hope that the electorate will finally be seeing a true Conservative party being reborn, rather than forever being offered the choice of Socialism or Socialism-lite at the ballot box? I sincerely hope so.
Yours faithfully,
Mr XXXX

I have since received the following reply:

Dear Mr XXXX,
I am sorry that I have not replied earlier to the letter that you sent me about the Government's proposals to give the Police the right to hold a terrorist suspect without charge for up to 42 days. I can assure you that I agree with you entirely and that I will continue to speak and vote accordingly. I still hope that the Government will be forced to drop this outrageous proposal once the House of Lords have rejected it, which they most certainly will by a thumping majority.
I think that David Davis's resignation and by-election was a little quixotic but I have absolutely no doubt that he was motivated by a very sincere belief in what he was saying. He did succeed in getting wide promotion for the stand that he was taking on individual liberties and he was successful in being re-elected. I do not think you have any reason to doubt his sincerity in all this, nor to doubt the position of the Conservative party on questions of individual rights vis a vis the state.
I hope this is reassuring.
Yours sincerely,
Mr XXXX MP

I think that this is a short but pleasing reply. This is not the first time I have written to my local MP and I hope that you, dear reader, will begin to engage with your own local representative. Even if you do not agree with my politics, I just hope you engage. The worst thing we can do is become uninvolved in our political process.

Super-Hacker Fights Extradition

2008-07-30T11:18:00.010+01:00

An article in the Telegraph reports that Gary McKinnon, a Brit, is fighting extradition to the US to face charges of hacking US government computer networks:

Mr McKinnon, 44, a systems analyst, is accused of causing £475,000 worth of damage by gaining access to 97 computer systems belonging to the Pentagon, NASA and the US military.
He claims he was only looking for evidence that America had concealed the existence of UFOs.

There is only one issue here:

Should a Brit be extradited to another country to face prosecution for crimes commited in that country?

We have extradition laws in place to deal with this question, but personally, I think he should go. He admits that he commited the crime so why shouldn't he face the consequences? Personally, I hope that he gets a harsh sentence. Some of his supporters will point out that his would-be US prosecutors have tried bullying and scare tactics to get him over there. Basically, I don't care. That can all be raised during the trial and maybe used to help reduce the sentence (if he is found guilty in a court of law).

Stating that he was simply looking for evidence of UFOs doesn't cut it with me. Maybe that was his reason, maybe it wasn't. I don't think this reason is appropriate to cut him any slack. If he was hacking to save someone's life, then I'd see this in a different light but commiting this crime for his own self-interests? Looking for evidence of UFOs is not a mitigating circumstance.

Computer crime is on the increase the world over. If these criminals learn that if you're caught then you'll suffer stringent consequences then, in all likelihood, the number of offenders will decrease. Simply slapping them on the wrist and sending them on their way does nothing to fight crime, if anything it perpetuates it.

The days of spotty teenagers sitting in their bedrooms writing viruses for fun or trying to hack for cheap thrills are over. Hardened criminals now have gangs of professional hackers and virus writers doing their dirty work with targetted attacks on corporate and military installations. Until computer crime is taken seriously, then it will continue to blight this world and the criminals will continue to do it.

Fight crime, give harsh sentences, and let these people know that if caught, they're going to suffer the consequences.

Thankyou Kim!

2008-07-30T09:55:00.003+01:00

Kim DuToit has announced his impending retirement from blogging and his wife, Connie (also known as The Mrs) will be joining him in that retirement. Sunday 30th November 2008 will be a very sad day for all of us. A leader among us is taking a step back to pursue other interests.

Whilst I wish both Kim and his wife all the best in their future endeavours, I can't help but feel like I am losing something special. Not just a reference source but a friend too. Kim's blog has given its readers so much over the years. Discussions about firearms were always entertaining as they'd remind me of learning to shoot as a child with my father. Kim's insights into American politics and an American view of British politics were always insightful. Reports about ordinary people protecting their rights and themselves against Gun Fearing Wussies (GFWs) and Goblins (bad guys) always gave me hope.

Kim's is the one blog I would check everyday. Now, I'll have to find another.

Thankyou Kim for all your efforts over the years, I have thoroughly enjoyed being one of your regular readers and I've enjoyed commenting on your articles. I wish you luck with the books you will be working on in future and I hope you mention them now and then on your blog so we can keep an eye out for them at the bookshop. Rest assured that I will remain an avid reader of your blog right up to the end.

Squaddie Makes It To The Miss England Final

2008-07-29T17:21:00.008+01:00

The BBC has an interesting news article on L/Cpl Katrina Hodge and her success in juggling her day job as a Military Clerk, with the Adjutant General's Corps, and her part-time career as a model. It seems that Hodge is something of a hero too, in that she has won a bravery commendation for protecting the lives of her regiment when serving in Iraq (more detail in the article above). Hodge managed to make it to the final of Miss England by winning her local competition to become Miss Tunbridge Wells. Just for the lads, here's another picture of our heroine:

Global Warming - The figures don't add up

2008-07-29T16:04:00.006+01:00

In an article entitled 'NASA is Out of Line on Global Warming', Christopher Booker, of The Telegraph, is casting dispersions on the data gathered by James Hansen of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) on Global Warming:

Considering that the measures recommended by the world's politicians to combat global warming will cost tens of trillions of dollars and involve very drastic changes to our way of life, it might be thought wise to check the reliability of the evidence on which they base their belief that our planet is actually getting hotter.
There are four internationally recognised sources of data on world temperatures, but the one most often cited by supporters of global warming is that run by James Hansen of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS).

It appears that Hansen has been massaging the figures to make things look bad. If it isn't that then he's imcompetent and has fudged his data model. It seems that of the four recognised sources of data, his is the most commonly referenced and the most out of line compared to the others. One expert blogger, Steven McIntyre, is investigating the situation and it doesn't look good:

It was McIntyre who last year forced Hansen to publish revised figures for US surface temperatures, to show that the hottest years of the 20th century were not in the 1990s, as Hansen had claimed, but in the 1930s. He has now shown that Hansen had been adjusting almost all his pre-1970 global temperature figures downwards, by as much as 0.5 degrees, and his post-1970 figures upwards.

People may not remember it, but in the 1970s the government and other soothsayers were predicting a new ice age. In the mid-1990s it was global warming. Now they are changing the whole thing to 'climate change' or even 'environmental change' and continuing to tout for our money to pay for schemes based on flawed data models. Until I can see that the models have been clarified by all and sundry then I'll remain skeptical about climate change and global warming.

I suggest you high tail it over to The Telegraph and read the article.

Petition for Military & Veterans Hospital in the UK

2008-07-29T11:56:00.004+01:00

As a proud supporter of our brave boys and girls fighting in several theatres of operation (and a former reservist myself), I thought it only proper to raise the profile of this very worthy petition on the 10 Downing Street website. Here is an extract from the petition that I hope you'll be signing:

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to create a dedicated Military and Veterans’ Hospital within the UK
With the growing numbers of wounded personnel repatriated to the UK and with continued growth in medically discharged personnel since the Falklands war to current conflicts and operations, our service men & women and veterans of previous operational service are owed the best medical care possible. The existing facilities are falling short and the NHS are not meeting the needs of veterans who still need treatment for their service related conditions. A dedicated Military & Veterans Hospital will greatly help resolve this National scandal since the complete closure of our military hospitals that has proved to be total folly.

Please go and read up on the petition and sign it before its time runs out (only available for 1 month).

How can a country that sends its sons and daughters to fights its wars not provide the necessary infrastructure to care for its wounded heroes? I think that the lack of a dedicated hospital specialising in the health and welfare of our military is a disgrace. The last 'military' hospital in the UK was closed several years ago, as part of a money saving scheme. Now we are fighting two wars and injured soldiers are returning home from violent conflict and joining the queues of the ordinary folks of this country in normal NHS hospitals. OK, so they get bumped up the queue for surgery and treatment but I don't think its the same as having a dedicated care package.

With a dedicated hospital, care staff will be more experienced in dealing with trauma victims and able to recognise and cope with the psychological problems of conflict.

Lets save some money by ignoring the next round of suggestions for restructuring the NHS by the next parliament and put that money where its needed, in the front lines. And whilst I'm ranting, lets build accomodation near to the hospital for the families of the patients so they can stay (for an appropriate amount) and visit their brave brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, sons and daughters.

To the armed forces of the United Kingdom. Thank you for all that you do on my behalf. When I sleep quietly at home in my bed, you stand ready in the night to defend me and my loved ones.

Obama the Messiah

2008-07-29T09:48:00.006+01:00

Who said that journalists don't have a sense of humour? Gerald Baker over at The Times has written a modern-day parable about the rise of the mighty Obama. Here's a small example of his work:

On the Seventh Day he walked across the Channel of the Angles to the ancient land of the hooligans. There he was welcomed with open arms by the once great prophet Blair and his successor, Gordon the Leper, and his successor, David the Golden One.

Now if that doesn't make you giggle like a school girl, then nothing will. Go and check out the whole thing and reflect upon what you learn. Verily, it came unto me that Obama and his supporters probably think that the article is a good piece and not a tongue-in-cheek attack on his lack of experience.

MOVIE REVIEW: Hancock

2008-07-28T15:22:00.005+01:00

TITLE: Hancock
DIRECTOR: Peter Berg
CAST: Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman, Jae Head
RELEASE DATE: 02 July 2008 (UK)
CERTIFICATION: 12A
COUNTRY: USA
LANGUAGE: English
RUN TIME: 92 minutes
COLOUR: Colour

REVIEW: An unlucky, alcoholic, superhero trying to cope in an ungrateful world. He rescues a PR guy and things start to change for the better.

Will Smith seems to play likeable characters with great ease and John Hancock (Will Smith) is no great stretch for him. I liked John Hancock and I wanted him to succeed and turn his life around.

Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman) is the PR guy who wants to help Hancock and he brings him into his home and starts putting things right. Embrey was a likeable character, though a bit mushy on sentiment. He has a loving family however and his beautiful wife, Mary Embrey (Charlize Theron) looked stunning and was an interesting character too.

Whilst all the laughs were in this film and there was some good acting (by Theron & Smith) it was the back story that I enjoyed most. At one point, Hancock is being told some of his history and my mind started racing at the possibilities of that back story. What happened to the other heroes? Why did the Gods create them in pairs? Why did the Gods want to protect the Earth and mankind from itself? Its these little things, like storyline and the back story, that I like in a good film.

What did I think of the film overall? From the start, there were laughs and I was engaged in the film. It grabbed my attention. I liked the interactions between the characters and I liked the storyline. I'd give this film 4 out of 5.

MOVIE REVIEW: The Dark Knight

2008-07-28T15:08:00.004+01:00

TITLE: The Dark Knight
DIRECTOR: Christopher Nolan
CAST: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman
RELEASE DATE: 24 July 2008 (UK)
CERTIFICATION: 12A
COUNTRY: USA
LANGUAGE: English
RUN TIME: 152 minutes
COLOUR: Colour

REVIEW: Once again, Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) dons his iconic mask and cape to save Gotham City from criminals bent on destroying the city. This time, however, he faces his old comic-book nemesis, The Joker (Heath Ledger). With the aid of Lieutenant Gordon (Gary Oldman) and DA Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) Batman tries to stop The Joker from taking over the mafia and destroying Gotham City just for laughs.

Since first seeing Christian Bale put on the Batman mask, it just hasn't worked for me. He doesn't have the features for it. I know it sounds trite, but I want to see a rugged, stoney-jawed, man in the mask. Christian Bale's Batman just appears weak and feminine. But to be fair, Bale does try to 'man-up' by talking in a gravelly way when confronting villains. I found it quite funny really. Batman doesn't need to pretend to be manly with fake voices and the like, he's manly in the old-fashioned (pre-PC times) sense of the word. OK, so Bale isn't great as Batman, but he was OK as Bruce Wayne.

But what about Heath Ledger? I've heard so much hyperbole about this movie since Heath Ledger's death that I hadn't really thought that much about the film itself. Reviewers have been stating that he deserves a posthumous Academy Award for his performance as The Joker. If you ask me, he doesn't. If they want to give him an award then I can't stop them, but it'll be to appease their own egos and have nothing to do with merit. Heath Ledger's performance as The Joker was acceptable, maybe even good in parts, but it does not deserve an Oscar. I liked The Joker character and Ledger was fine in the role but it wasn't anything unusually amazing. There were some interesting insights into The Joker's mind, such as how he likes to explain why he has such scars by telling a different (relevant) story to each of his audience but thats about it really.

So what did I think of the film over all? I thought it was too long. I enjoyed the darkness of the film but I just couldn't sympathise with any of the characters. I found myself detached and uninterested. I liked the explosions and the gun-play but as to the interactions between the characters? That left me cold. The only interactions I did like were between Bruce Wayne and Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Caine). They seemed to have a relaxed banter that is natural for a couple of friends that have known and cared about each other for years. Bruce Wayne's interactions with Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal) were stunted, uninteresting and forgetable. In fact, the Rachel character could have been cut if it wasn't because her presence was so pivotal to the story. The Joker was the most rounded character of all, and I think that was down to the writers rather than Ledger.

Overall, it was a good way to spend a lazy afternoon, but Batman seems so hard to get right. I'd give this film 3 out of 5.

A New Beginning

2008-07-28T12:24:00.005+01:00

For a few years now, I've had a profile on Friendster. Friendster is a social-networking site, much like Facebook, but not so popular or well known. For the past few months I've been wanting to post more than just a list of my interests but to share my thoughts on current events, politics, or just to discuss a book or two. A static profile isn't really approrpriate for that sort of thing and so I'm here in Blogsville. My profile will be removed from Friendster in a month or so.

You may be wondering where the title for this blog came from. I wanted to use 'The Soapbox' because my mother is always suggesting that my father and I are always on our soapboxes when we get together (we like to rant about the state of the nation and the world in general). Unfortunately, someone else has grabbed that title so I put the idea of a blog to the back of my mind for a while. When I started to read 'We The Living' by Ayn Rand I thought the title was punchy enough to use on a blog, but I wanted to change it slightly to match the soapbox idea and so we have 'We The Livid' instead. I hope you like it.

I hope you enjoy reading this blog and I look forward to checking out your comments. You can expect a plethora of stuff here, ranging from rants about politics and the slide of the UK into a socialist hell to reviews about books. We'll just see how it grows.

P.S. You can expect a review of 'We The Living' when I've finished reading it shortly.