Full Moon Party Bound
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Habibi in Party Mode
Archive for 2010
The Great Gazan Humanitarian Crisis of 2010
In Middle East, Military, Politics, Religion, Spirituality, Stupidity, Travel, Useful Information, War, islam, thinking out loud on July 22, 2010 at 2:19 pm
Shame on Israel!
For shame, for shame…making those poor Gazans hunt for bargains in such circumstances. Is there no humanity….OH! THE HUMANITY!!!!
But really…shame on the West for being so freakin’ stupid as to believe the propaganda out of Gaza and Iran and the lands of the Wahhabis, etc…
I have a question.
Egypt is also in on the blockade. Why are there no complaints about the Egyptian part being played in the blockade? Hmm, I wonder.
Cordoba House at Ground Zero! Are People Really This Stupid?
In Politics, Religion, Spirituality, Stupidity, islam, thinking out loud on July 21, 2010 at 8:17 pm
Do you realize that this Cordoba House is funded by the Wahhabi Cult of Saudi Arabia?
Or are folks simply gullible enough to think that all Muslims are peaceful and take it at face value.
Even Muslims across the world fear the Wahhabis. How do I know this? Because I’ve traveled to almost every Islamic Republic across the Globe. Muslims who are NOT Wahhabis regularly speak of their fear of this Saudi Cult.
Wahhabism is the official Religion of Saudi Arabia. This Cordoba House is being funded by Wahhabi Islamic Charities and in large part by Saudi Arabia.
Wahhabism again is the Official Islamic Religion of Saudi Arabia.
Wahhabism is the most intolerant cult on this planet.
It is akin to Nazism.
Any Aemrican should find that repugnant.
In supporting the Cordoba house, one is effectively supporting what amounts to Islamic Nazism.
Millions of Muslims across the Globe are peaceful and generous citizens of the World. This can not and will never be said of the Wahhabis.
Before folks go spouting their ignorant screed, they should learn something about the subject matter on which they so blithely and stupidly screech.
Learn. Then speak.
Building this Mosque or House on American soil and especially at Ground Zero is exactly the same as building a Shrine to Raynald de Chatillion in Mekkah.
The Saudis would not let that happen. Nor should we.
Now, go out and learn before you spout your hateful screed again.
269 Words and a New Birth of Freedom
In Military, Politics, Quotes, Spirituality, Useful Information, War, culture, thinking out loud on July 20, 2010 at 7:49 am
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate — we can not consecrate — we can not hallow — this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
Identification Please?
In Immigration, Politics, Stupidity, Useful Information on July 18, 2010 at 12:02 amI could have done without the last portion. Kinda childish. But, what are ya gonna do…
Obama and the US Sabre Rattling over Iranian Nukes
In Middle East, Military, Politics, Useful Information, War, thinking out loud on July 17, 2010 at 12:01 am
Gates is sounding more belligerent these days. “I don’t think we’re prepared to even talk about containing a nuclear Iran,” he told Fox News on June 20. “We do not accept the idea of Iran having nuclear weapons.” In fact, Gates was reflecting a new reality in the military and intelligence communities. Diplomacy and economic pressure remain the preferred means to force Iran to negotiate a nuclear deal, but there isn’t much hope that’s going to happen. “Will [sanctions] deter them from their ambitions with regards to nuclear capability?” CIA Director Leon Panetta told ABC News on June 27. “Probably not.” So the military option is very much back on the table.
What has changed? “I started to rethink this last November,” a recently retired U.S. official with extensive knowledge of the issue told me. “We offered the Iranians a really generous deal, which their negotiators accepted,” he went on, referring to the offer to exchange Iran’s 1.2 tons of low-enriched uranium (3.5% pure) for higher-enriched (20%) uranium for medical research and use. “When the leadership shot that down, I began to think, Well, we made the good-faith effort to engage. What do we do now?”
But it is also possible that the saber-rattling is not a bluff, that the U.S. really won’t tolerate a nuclear Iran and is prepared to do something awful to stop it.
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2003921,00.html#ixzz0tmPRNrwm
What’s more awful?
A nuclear Iran or someone stopping it.
If Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE want Iranian Nuke Programs stopped, why don’t they come out and straightforward ask for it.
I can see why they’re scared. Iran is more likely to use it against them than us.
Saudi could bring China on board.
We should arrange a deal. Cheap oil in exchange for a strike. Also, we should make them make peace and I mean real peace with Israel in exchange for a strike against Iran and we should make them disown Wahhabism.
1. Cheap Oil
2. Peace with Israel
3. Crush Wahhabism and become Sufi Muslim
4. They have to bring China in on it. China must invade Iran.
lol
Potentially, we have the Middle East by the balls with this Iranian thing. Only if we use it correctly.
Why are our Armed Forces still in Europe?
In Afghanistan, Central Asia, Introduction, Middle East, Military, Politics, Stupidity, Travel, Useful Information, War, thinking out loud on July 16, 2010 at 12:01 am
We need strategic relocation.
Europe needs to pay for their own defense. See how they like being out from under our Defense umbrella. The cowards would have to foot the bill and they’d have to back their talk with more than “We disagree with America.”
I’d say out of Europe altogether unless they want to pay us for having our troops there. Europe should be paying the US for their defense. As should South Korea. We should not be paying them for the privilege of defending them. I’ve never understood the concept of renting bases from Germany or the RoK. We’re there or were there to keep their sorry asses from being invaded. They should have been paying us.
I’d say withdraw from NATO and form a separate treaty organization with Australia and Great Britain.
We should withdraw completely from Saudi Arabia unless they start paying us for their protection with billions of barrels of oil.
We should negotiate a base in Ethiopia. Hell, at least they’re Christian. We should negotiate a base with Israel and all of our aid should be dependent on their allowance of our use of their lands. Put a base right square in the Negev. Negotiate another base with Jordan and one with Egypt. We give aid to all of these countries. That gives us an eye for Europe. A quick hop across the Med and boom ——–> Italy and Greece. I’d even be for placing a base in the Christian areas of Lebanon to counter the Iranian Rev Guards, Quds Force and Hizbollah.
We should negotiate a base with India as well. In Hindu or Christian areas. Stay out of Muzzie areas of India.
Keep a small force in Afghanistan and a small force in Iraq for the foreseeable future but draw down the rest and let those countries build themselves.
That puts us strategically located across the globe and gives us some damn fine opportunities for sightseeing.
The best thing that we could do is to get out of Europe.
We should declare war on Pakistan and let India go in with us and kick their asses.
Solve Pakistan and Afghanistan is solved. It’s that freakin’ simple.
That will scare the shit out of Iran and China as well as put Russia on notice.
We screw around way too often. End this shit. NOW!
Khmer Apsara 2010
In Cambodia, Literature, Spirituality, Travel, Unny, beauty, culture, thinking out loud on July 15, 2010 at 12:39 am
I purchased this painting in Siem Reap, Cambodia. I’m a huge fan of the Apsara theme and the mythology behind them.
Also picked up the Angkor themed painting below.
WAR by Sebastian Junger
In Afghanistan, Introduction, War, culture on July 13, 2010 at 12:01 am
My take on WAR by Sebastian Junger from a Political Forum to which I contribute (or decimate…depending on your view point…lol)
It’s a damn good read.
I read it in two days while drinking beers in Phnom Penh. I couldn’t put the damn thing down.
Closest thing I’ve ever read to being there. Though, I’ve never been in that kind of situation as those in the Korengal Valley. He gets the feel of Afghanistan and conveys it to the reader as flawlessly as it is possible to do on the written page.
Best book I’ve read about the Afghan War.
The guy captured it perfectly. It’s in the little nuances and in the way that he talks to the reader.
The story of those soldiers in that valley is well worth the read.
And Sebastion Junger has balls the size of Afghanistan. That guy voluntarily walked out and was airlifted into combat so that he could tell that story as authentically as possible.
While I was there, I went out with the expectation that I’d run into something. Sometimes we did, sometimes we didn’t. I never came close to what those guys experienced though. Not remotely close, I may as well have been on Mars as compared to their experience. BUT I NEVER went out there HOPING for contact. I was always hoping for as little action as possible.
Those guys in that Valley have my utmost respect for having been there and Junger too for writing that book.
Though, I didn’t go through the crucible that those guy have gone through, I know exactly what they are talking about when the express their apprehension to returning Stateside.
After being out there, there’s no way that living in America can measure up to the experience of being out there. Where life can be measured in inches and seconds and chance serves you as well (or as poorly) as preparation and planning.
I don’t know…I’m having a hard time not going on and on about this book.
If you are interested in Afghanistan or the Military, Read It!
If you are looking for a political hit book….this one isn’t your book.
I hope that no Republican types starts trying to target this book as Liberal writing and that no Democrat tries to hype it as an anti-War book. It’s so much more.
So much more…
Soldier from the Korengal Valley up for the Medal of Honor
In Afghanistan, Central Asia, Military, culture, thinking out loud on July 12, 2010 at 5:26 pm
A US paratrooper who took part in some of the heaviest fighting in the war in Afghanistan – in the remote Korengal Valley – has become the first living nominee for the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam war.
The highest American decoration for military valour, the Medal of Honor has been awarded only eight times, all posthumously, since 1973. Two were given to snipers for the part they played in the battle of Mogadishu in 1993 in protecting a downed helicopter pilot. Since then, there have been six awarded from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, but none of them has been given to a surviving serviceman.
Although the Pentagon has refused to comment on the identity of the soldier, the Army Times reported on Friday that it had established that the proposed recipient was Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta of the 173rd Airborne Brigade. His name is understood to have been put forward after he charged into a wall of fire from Taliban fighters, who were attempting to overrun his position, to drag away another US soldier.
The episode, which took place on 25 October 2007, is described in Sebastian Junger’s new book, War, which describes the fighting in the Korengal Valley. A documentary, Restrepo, made by Junger with cameraman Tim Hetherington and covering the same period, is released this weekend.
Describing his attempts to reach a wounded colleague, Giunta told Junger: “I did what I did because that’s what I was trained to do. I didn’t run through fire to save a buddy – I ran through fire to see what was going on with him and maybe we could hide behind the same rock and shoot together. I didn’t run through fire to do anything heroic or brave. I did what I believe anyone would have done.”
Read those last few words again. This guy is a true, real and live hero.
Neither Afghanistan nor Iraq are light situations. They’re deadly serious. There are areas in both that are deadly. There are areas in which one can sit on a FOB for a year and never come under enemy fire. The media doesn’t run stories on this phenomenon. The enemy-less FOBs out there that see no real enemy combat. I’ve been on quite a few FOBs over there that see no enemy contact. I’ve been on some that see rocket and mortar attack. And I’ve been on some that have taken enemy fire.
I’ve never been anywhere close to the Korengal Valley or it’s daily hazard of enemy contact.
The guys in that valley acted heroically on a daily basis for weeks at a time. There are lulls, of course. Times when the taliban and the Arab fighters crawl back into Pakistan to lick their wounds and re-supply. Even so, the danger is ever present in a place like Korengal. There is no let down. The stress is unimaginable. The bond created by that stress. A bond forged in fire is indescribable. Seeing your friends killed or wounded and the unspeakable horror of the possibility or likelihood that you could be next. How does one speak to that.
I had conversations back in the States with some civilian friends of mine. Guys who had never been in a combat zone. They kept telling me that all of our soldiers were heroes. Some even characterized me as a hero. I’m simply a contractor over there. I can leave any time that I feel the pressure is too much. Hell, I could leave just for the hell of it. I was able to take holiday every 3 or 4 months.
Not so for soldiers. They’re there. For the duration. They’ll rotate in and out on leave once during their 12 to 15 month tour. Other than that, they’re stuck. No choice but to sweat it out.
But. There are two types of soldiers over there. Those who see combat and those who don’t. Some soldiers never leave their FOB. Never see an enemy combatant outside of CNN, Fox News or MSNBC. Some of these sit at FOBs that directly support combat troops. Some sit in rear areas like Bagram or Camp Phoenix and never leave the FOB. Others drive around green zones wherein no enemy contact is made.
I spent 18 months at Bagram Air Field (BAF). We were rocketed or mortared once a month at best. There was always a rumor that the insurgents would try to infiltrate. Bullshit rumors at best. Anyone with any knowledge of the situation in Afghanistan and of the insurgency knew that the insurgents had neither the equipment nor the manpower to breach BAF. It just wasn’t going to happen. Aside from the occasional rocket and the daily detonation of mines being detonated on the perimeter, I never felt truly threatened at BAF and the war rarely intruded on my day.
That’s how a great majority of soldiers and almost all of the Navy and Airmen spend their tour in Afghanistan. Contractors are, for the most part, in the same category.
Not so for your average Combat Soldier in Afghanistan. Not so for your average Marine in Afghanistan. These guys are sent out to do the heavy lifting. These guys fight. For those in Western Afghanistan, it’s a bit of a lighter load. Excepting parts of Farah and Badghis Provinces. I know this because I was there for 30 months as a mentor and trainer for the Afghan National Police. I know how much more dangerous some areas are than others in Afghanistan. I’ve spent time in Qandahar as well and up in the Mountains of Ghor. I’ve experienced some of these places and have spoken with folks just out of other areas. I know people in some of these places right now. Out in the East and the South, the fighting is much more intense. Korengal is in the East. Curved up next to Pakistan. I’m sure that during some of the Ops that those guys ran in Korengal, they looked straight down into Pakistan.
Those guys are fighters. Those guys are heroes.
I knew Officers and NCOs over there who never left the FOB. 12-15 months sending Soldiers and Marines out in harm’s way. Never once did they inspect these troops. Never once did they share their hardships and dangers. These Officers and NCOs were not heroes. They weren’t even leaders.
I know this is not politically correct of me to say, but, the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines who sit at FOBS and never see the enemy. They’re just Joes doing their job. There doing nothing heroic. Contractors out there are hired to do a job. They’re not heroes. There are exceptions to this, of course. Some men and women will fall into situations and become heroes. Others will fail and become cowards.
The men who fight on those hills. They’re guilty. Guilty of going above and beyond and becoming heroes. These are the men who in earlier times would have inspired tribal tales and cultural myths such as Hericles, Perseus and Achilles. These are the rough men standing ready to defend us. They join the military for adventure. They join the military for college funds. They join the military because if they didn’t, they’d probably spend their lives in prison. They join the military for as many reasons as there are individuals out there fighting. Regardless, they find themselves in hell. They fight for their brothers and die for their brothers.
Personally, I feel it’s a stain on the honor of the truly heroic to call all members of the military heroes. It’s even worse the way the term is bandied about as concerns Sports personalities and others of the like.
The title of hero is an honorific that’s earned. It’s an honor above all others. It’s about selflessness. It’s putting the lives of others above yours.
Despite their protestations. these men in the Korengal Valley and similar places are heroes.
We should not diminish their legacy by such easy use of the word.
If you want to delve more deeply into the War in Afghanistan or the Korengal Valley, I recommend reading WAR by Sebastion Junger. It is an amazing read.
It’s true that heroes are inspiring, but mustn’t they also do some rescuing if they are to be worthy of their name? Would Wonder Woman matter if she only sent commiserating telegrams to the distressed?
Author: Jeanette Winterson
“True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.”
Arthur Ashe
A “Visit” to North Korea
In Military, Politics, Quotes, Travel, Useful Information, thinking out loud on July 6, 2010 at 12:02 amTechnically, I’ve been to North Korea. I’ve never been to a city there, but, I’ve stepped foot across no man’s land into North Korea while stationed at Camp Bonifas
in the Republic of Korea as part of the United Nations Command Security Forces-Joint Security Area (UNCSF-JSA). While there, I was allowed to go over to the North Korean side of Pan Mun Jom a couple of times. I, also, snuck across a couple of times in the DMZ.
Not very far mind you. Technically, the North Korean Guards could shoot you if they spotted you crossing the DMZ. They would point their rifles at us all the time. There were a couple of areas on the North side of the DMZ that were over grown with shrubs, trees and high grass. We used to go up there and take our pics just to say; “I’ve been to North Korea.”
The North Koreans would point their rifles at us all the time even when we were on the RoK side of the DMZ. They (and we) were authorized to shoot at anyone in the two klik (or mile?) no man’s land within the DMZ. I think the DMZ is like 6 miles or kliks across. I remember the first time that I saw a rifle OBVIOUSLY pointed at me. I was at “The Bridge of No Return” re-enlisting. US Flag and everything. Standing there at the mid point with my right hand raised reciting the oath of re-enlistment and out of the corner of my eye I could see a NK sniper pointing his rifle square at my head. I swear to God the guy even winked at me.
Back then the US had soldiers patrolling inside the DMZ. We had maps of minefields on hand for our side and known MFs for their side. I actually kept one of these maps and have it in my storage room back in Kentucky. It delineates all major and minor positions as well as minefields and known incursion sites and incident sites, known trails as well as the defensive perimeters and positions around PMJ, Bonifas, Liberty Bell, OP Oellette, Barrett QRF Facility and Freedom Village. We used to drive around up there as kind of a joy ride/patrol. They encouraged us to go out as a show of force. Mostly just for that….for show. I was actually able to take my (ex)wife up to Freedom Village and pretty close to the DMZ. She was pretty excited about it.
I was up there when Kim Il Sung passed. The NKs pulled everything up on line as if they were massing for an attack. They pulled out of the Armistice. We were preparing mentally to die when that went down. Making peace with our maker so to speak. We didn’t know what was going to happen. Clinton sent Carter in and Carter sold us down the river and Clinton was hailed as a hero and peacemaker. When in reality all it did was give NK the potential and tools to go Nuke on the World.
While there I learned about the “Axe Murder incident.” One of the Korean guys who worked for me was the man that drove the truck over Bonifas and Barrett to stop the NK Guards from further mutiliating their bodies. He risked his life. It was huge. Meeting a real life hero. He was also a Vietnam War vet. Korea sent one Brigade over there for a time. I think they were pulled out because they were so brutal. US Soldiers who were stationed at the DMZ during the incident and a few other times were authorized to wear the 2ID Patch as a Combat Patch. It was odd seeing old guys running around with that Combat Patch.
I’ve heard that when the US patrolled the DMZ, that occasionally US troops would meet up with NK troops and sometimes they’d actually interact in a positive manner. That said, if either sides troops are caught on the opposite side patrolling, deadly force was authorized. To my knowledge, the US was caught up in firefights as late as ’92 when we pulled the majority of our troops out of the DMZ.
In Pan Mun Jom, the NK soldiers and US and RoK troops interact on a limited basis. Mostly eye contact and smiles, though.
Every once in a while, a NK trooper will defect by running across to the RoK side. When that happens, it usually results in a firefight. The NK Officers will order their men to shoot the defector. The RoK and US soldiers will try to get him under their protections as soon as possible. To my knowledge, no RoK Soldier has ever defected to the North in Pan Mun Jom. No US soldier has ever defected via that route either. Though, I seem to recall a US Navy Seaman defecting to NK in the 80s or early 90s. I may be mis-remembering.
It was fascinating being up there. That said, when I crossed Freedom Bridge out of the DMZ for the final time…it was as if a great weight was lifted off of my shoulders. I hadn’t realized that it was so stressful while I was there, but, as we crossed Freedom Bridge and we stopped for one last look back and to throw our coins into the Han River, a feeling of intense relief that I had survived that year flooded through me. It was immense. Intense. Indescribable.
Below is a photo of the North Korea Flag which flies just beyond the DMZ.
While I was there, Soldier of Fortune magazine had a 1,000,000 USD reward for a piece of the flag…and proof, of course.
Sanity
In Afghanistan, Middle East, Useful Information, culture, islam, thinking out loud on July 5, 2010 at 12:01 am
“Sanity is a madness put to good use.” — George Santayana
The Declaration of Independence
In Quotes, Religion, Useful Information, culture, family on July 4, 2010 at 12:01 am
On this day in 1776, the colonies of England in the Americas declared independence. Thus was born these United States of America. I still believe that we, the United States of America, are the best hope of Earth. The best government on Earth. The most freedom loving people on Earth. Though lately, we seem to have lost sight of Freedom and Liberty and are more beseeching of Comfort and Security. By virtue of this need for comfort and security, we may well lose our Freedom and Liberty.
Think hard America or lose the ability and freedom to do so.
In honor of this day, I though it fitting to display our Founding Document of my blog.
May God Bless America and keep the tyrant at bay. Even if that tyrant be us.
Lest we forget…
The Bill of Rights
In Immigration, Introduction, Politics, Quotes, Religion, culture, thinking out loud on July 3, 2010 at 4:35 pm
For those who seem to have forgotten.
Forwarded Emails ~ A non-Useful Idiots Guide to the Internet
In Humor, Introduction, Politics, Stupidity, Useful Information, culture, thinking out loud on July 3, 2010 at 12:01 am
Don’t believe a thing you read on the internet without fact checking it yourself. And I’m not talking about snopes.com. I’m talking about real research. 90% of the tripe that folks forward is half lie, half truth or pure unmitigated frakin’ bull scheit!
Ya gotta love the things that people forward. Great jokes. Awesome stories that inspire and some that help with every day things like getting stains out of your favorite shirt.
Then….ya get those political emails.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I actually like a good political email. I love talking politics. I go to several political boards and get down to the nitty gritty arguing various issues and policy as well as Foreign Affairs.
What I can’t stand are the email forwards that are full of idiotic lies and propaganda. These emails irk the shit out of me. It doesn’t matter to me at whom the lies are directed. Lies directed against Barry Obama. are just as idiotic and heinous and INSULTING to my intelligence as lies directed against George Bush. Often times, it’s so easy to tell that the forwards are lies and ignorant hit pieces that I find it difficult to believe that anyone is sending them to me with a straight face. Even more incomprehensible is the fact that so many willingly believe these lies. I’m told that the world is full of idiots. Stalin called them useful idiots and there is truth to Stalin’s claim.
The latest email is this classic batch of outright lies and not so clever half truths:
This is chilling…
=============================================
In
1952
President Truman
established one day a year as a
“National Day of Prayer.”
—————————————————————————————————————————-In
1988
resident Reagan
designated the
First Thursday in May of each year as
the National Day of Prayer.
—————————————————————————————————————————In June
2007
(then)
Presidential
Candidate Barack Obama
declared that the USA Was no longer a
Christian nation.
—————————————————————
This year
President Obama
canceled the
21st annual National Day
of Prayer ceremony
at the White
House under the ruse
Of “not wanting to offend anyone”————————————————————————
On September 25, 2009
from 4 am until 7 PM,
a National Day of Prayer
for the Muslim religion was Held on Capitol Hill,
Beside the White House.
There were over 50,000 Muslims that
Day in D.C. (Dave’s Edit: This prayer rally was not government sanctioned. This was free people assembling near the White House to express their beleifs. This is part of what it means to be America and American. Freeedom of Assembly is a right of every American. It’s no only for White Americans or Black Americans or Christian Americans or Heterosexual Americans. It’s for all Americans. It’s in the Bill of Rights. Is it possible that the idiot who sent out this email is only for the Bill of Rights when it assists his cause. If the Bill of Rights is used by “others” it’s bad. That’s what this assmite is saying. Do you agree with this?)
HE PRAYS WITH THE MUSLIMS! (Dave’s Edit – NO! He’s taking his shoes off to enter a Mosque. He’s not praying. Not that there is anything wrong if he did. I’ve prayed with Muslims in Mosques. Does that mean that I’m a Muslim? No, It doesn’t. It means that I was with a group of people that I respect and feel that most of the holy places of the world are filled with people who are humbly beseeching God for comfort and assistance or simply peace of mind. Praying does this. It gives peace of mind. Even for a heretical non-believer such as me.)
I guess it Doesn’t matter
if ”Christians”
Are offended by this event -
We obviously
Don’t count as
“anyone” Anymore.The direction
this country is headed
should strike fear in the heart of every Christian,
especially knowing that the
Muslim religion believes that if Christians cannot be
converted, they should be annihilated.This is not a Rumor –
Go to the website
To confirm this info:
( http://www.islamoncapitolhill.com/ )
Pay particular attention to the very bottom of the page:
“OUR TIME HAS COME”
I hope that this information will stir your spirit.
The words of 2 Chronicles 7:14
“If my people, Who are called by my Name,
Will humble themselves And pray,
And seek my face, and Turn from their Wicked ways,
Then will I hear from Heaven
And will forgive their Sin and will heal Their land.”We must pray for Our nation, our communities,
Our families, and especially our children.
They are the ones who are going to suffer the most.
.
If we don’t PRAY
May God have Mercy.
IN GOD WE TRUST.Please pass this on
Maybe someone, somehow can figure out a way to put America
back on the map as it was when we were growing up,
a safe place to live, and by
The Ten Commandments and Pledge of Allegiance.
For Obama to continue as our president
is an INSULT TO OUR FOUNDING FATHERS
AND DISGUSTING TO EVERY RED-BLOODED AMERICAN.
Honestly, every red blooded American who received this tripe should be hunting down the lying fuck who created this Orwellian fabrication. I’d love to mangle his fingers so that he’ll never be able to type out idiotic tripe like this again.
This is a 100% fabrication.
The pic is of old Barry entering a the Blue Mosque in Istanbul Turkey.
EVERYONE takes their shoes off to enter that Mosque and every other mosque in the world. I’ve been to hundreds of Mosques and I’ve taken my shoes off in each and every Mosque that I entered. There are quite a few pictures to that effect on my blog.
So this is just another big lie being sent round and round the internet that gullible folks who don’t know the definition of the word “research” will believe because they’re, well……gullible.
Should I be offended that someone thinks I’m this stupid and that I would unquestioningly believe propaganda reminiscent of Stalin and his KGB ran Tass news organization? Should you? Are other people out there who have Right Leaning, Conservative Views truly this willing to be lied to and led by the nose? Is America this devoid of integrity? I wonder. More and more, I wonder. And If one such as I am asking this question, the problem runs deep. Barack Obama can’t get out of office soon enough for me. But I don’t want just another, dumb ass Republican in the White House after him. It’s like trading in a broken down Ford for a broken down Hyundai.
I want someone who will make a real difference instead of lie about changing things like Bush and Obama did and do.
What’s the diff?
How about someone who actually gives a damn about our Republic?
We could start by people rejecting this internet trash.
Honestly and from experience, I know that there are many weak minded folks who believe all of this tripe. Many who want to believe these lies and go on believing these lies even after they have been unequivocally exposed as lies.
I’m constantly told that I need to move back to America because I refuse to lay down and accept these lies or because I don’t see the world so black and white that I will intentionally become angered by machts nicht issues such as these and “Dialing 1 for English.” I do not understand the angst caused by these issues now nor will I if I move back to the States. I’m not apologetic about it either. I have no wish to become somoenes useful idiot.
Enlighten yourself. Raise your awareness. Do no believe the lies. Counter the lies at every opportunity. I’d say that folks should go so far as to ridicule the proponents and propogators of these lies. Certainly, those who lie to us in order to attain high office will lie to us in order to maintain their power. Look no further than Bush and Obama. Both live in houses built upon lies and had/have no choice but to build lie upon lie to stay in power and to keep one step ahead of prosecution.
Yet, we voted these folks into power along with their lying staffs and lying sycophants and press agents. Each lie degrades our Republic and all for which it stands. We are no longer One Nation Under God, we are a nation under a house of lies and our house grows daily into a decrepit cess pool of lies, half truths and propaganda.
Is this the America that was once called the Last Best Hope of Earth by Abraham Lincoln or the America that we are accused of being by our enemies.
You tell me.
Peace and God Bless all of you…Dave
P.S. Obama did not cancel National Prayer Day. And I don’t really care if he did. Americans who want to pray should pray. And be happy that they don’t live in the old Soviet Union where you might have been shot for praying. Depending on how drunk the Officer in Charge was or if he liked you or not.
Allahu Akhbar!
That simply means God is Great in Arabic. Surely, you agree with that and surely one can have no problems with these words as there are many an Arabic speaking Chrisitan living in the Middle East.
Monetary Notes of the World
In Afghanistan, Cambodia, Central Asia, Commerce, Middle East, Useful Information, Vietnam, beauty, culture, thinking out loud on July 2, 2010 at 10:36 pm
Unny and I had this table custom made for our new digs out in the ‘burbs. Cost a bit, but, not too much. It’s made from teak wood. I wanted something in which to display the monetary notes which I’ve collected from my travels. I only wish that I had some of the notes that are in my storage room back in the States.
There are notes in there from China, Dubai, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, India, Iran, Bahrain, Egypt, Vietnam, North Korea and a few other countries. As well as notes from old French Indochine. The note with the tiger is from Vietnam during the US war era. I actually got that one from ebay.com because I thought it was cool.
There are also coins in there from all over (Japan, Malaysia, EU, England, etc). Some old ones but mostly newer coins. I placed my three French Indochine Silver Dollars. They’re probably counterfeit, but, I don’t care. That actually makes them a little more interesting to me and I paid a pittance for them. 3 or 4 bucks. Nothing to cry over. I knew or thought that they were fakes when I purchased them.
I also placed of couple of Greco-Bactrian coins in there. Supposedly, they’re silver and over a thousand years old. I don’t know. So many fakes being sold in Afghanistan these days. Even so, those coins are supposedly a dime a dozen over there. Chances are they’re real. They’re not rare, though. At least not for anyone who’s traveled in Central Asia. They’re all over the place there. It is said that one can find them walking out in open ground or on fields and such. They’re that common place. Neat little pieces of history.
The necklace is a Kuchi piece that I purchased at a bazaar in Herat. It’s made of brass and copper with a few worthless gems thrown in for good measure. It has an old animist relief on it. Looks to be an old Ganesh likeness to me. I also placed my Bamian Buddha stamps in the lower right corner and four little jewelry/snuff boxes. The two with Camels depicted on them are from Dubai and made from silver and glazed to make the camel likenesses. The other two I purchased in Herat. Those two are supposed to be silver as well. Though, I doubt it.
There you have it. My little collection of monies (and sundry items) from around the world.
Kentucky Makes NBA Draft History ~ Awesomeness
In Sports, UK Basketball on June 26, 2010 at 10:29 pmCoach Cal put five Cats into the NBA Draft this Thursday. Never been done before (in a single draft).
I’m happy about it. Not nearly as excited as I’d have been if those 5 players had led UK to the National Championship. Still it’s a great accomplishment.
Kentucky Coach John Calipari sounded like a proud papa on Friday when discussing his five former players who were picked in the first round of the NBA Draft the previous night.
And while the exodus means that UK must adjust to a lot of new players next season, Calipari is hoping that the Cats continue to be a big player on NBA Draft night.
“I hope we do it again,” Calipari said. “My dream now would to be to have the No. 1 overall pick and six first-round draft picks. I want my sixth man to get drafted in the first round.”
John Wall was the No. 1 draft pick. DeMarcus Cousins checked in at No. 5, Patrick Patterson at No. 14, Eric Bledsoe No. 18 and Daniel Orton at 29th.
1948 US Olympic Basketball
In Sports, UK Basketball on June 24, 2010 at 12:01 amGames of the XIVth Olympiad — 1948London, England • July 30 – August 13, 1948
An easy United States march to the gold proved in the first post-World War II Olympiad that the U.S. remained the world leader in basketball. Obviously, a war-torn Europe had not had the opportunities to advance the game like the United States and South America. In fact, five of the eight teams in the quarterfinals were from the Americas, and a sixth, Argentina, almost upset the U.S. in the preliminaries.
(USA Basketball Photos)
1948 USA RESULTS (8-0)
USA 86 Switzerland 21 USA 53 Czechoslovakia 28 USA 59 Argentina 57 USA 66 Egypt 28 USA 61 Peru 33 USA 63 Uruguay 28 USA 71 Mexico 40 USA 65 France 21 *1948 OLYMPIC GAMES FINAL STANDINGS
1. United States (8-0) 13. Cuba (4-3) 2. France (5-2) 14.Iran (2-5) 3. Brazil (7-1) 15.Argentina (4-4) 4. Mexico (5-2) 16. Hungary (3-5) 5. Uruguay (5-3) 17.Italy (4-4) 6. Chile (4-4) 18.China (5-3) 7. Czechoslovakia (4-4) 19. Egypt (2-6) 8. Korea (3-5) 20. Great Britain (0-7) 9. Canada (6-2) 21. Switzerland (2-6) 10.Peru (4-4) 22. Iraq (0-7) 11.Belgium (5-3) 23. Ireland (0-6) 12.Philippines (4-4) The Phillips 66ers, winners of the 1948 national AAU title, met the 1948 NCAA champs, University of Kentucky, in the final game of the Olympic Trials. The 66ers edged Kentucky,
53-49, and Bud Browning of the 66ers was named head coach, and University of Kentucky legend Adolph Rupp was selected as his assistant.During a pre-Olympic tour in Scotland, Browning and Rupp, each believing his own members of the team played best as a unit, concocted a strategy of unit substitution — one unit of five 66ers and one unit of five Kentucky Wildcats.
Relying on the two coaches’ unit plan, Switzerland was beaten 86-21 as Alex Groza led all scorers with 19 points, and several days later, nine Americans scored in a 53-28 win over Czechoslovakia. Still utilizing the unit plan as much as possible against Argentina, the starting 66ers five forged a 14-9 lead. When the second group of Kentucky players were substituted, Argentina rallied and by half led 33-26. The original starting crew returned at the start the second half, but eventually it had to be revised because of foul trouble. With three minutes remaining and the score even, 55-55, Kenneth Rollins sank a free throw, Jack Robinson added a field goal and Gordon Carpenter added one free throw to clinch the USA’s 59-57 victory. Rollins and Carpenter led the U.S. with 12 points each.
Egypt proved no match for the U.S. in a lopsided 66-28 U.S. win, and with Wallace Jones leading the way with 12 points, the U.S. crushed Peru 61-33. Kurland scored 19 points as the Americans handed South American champion Uruguay a 63-28 setback, and the U.S. moved within a victory of the Olympic gold after discarding of Mexico, 71-40, as Groza scored 19 points.
Facing France in the finals, Browning started his five 66ers. Only leading 9-4, the unit system was abandoned and Browning began substituting one player at a time. At half the U.S. was in command 28-9, and the Americans went on to record an easy 65-21 victory over France. The USA’s scoring was led in the gold medal game by Groza and Raymond Lumpp who tallied 11 points each.
1948 USA Men’s Olympic Games Roster
NAME POS HGT WGT AGE SCHOOL HOMETOWN Clifford Barker F 6-2 185 27 University of Kentucky Satsuma, FL Don Barksdale C 6-6 200 25 Oakland Bittners (UCLA) Los Angeles, CA Ralph Beard G 5-10 176 20 University of Kentucky Louisville, KY Lewis Beck G 6-0 165 26 Philips 66ers (Kansas) Pendleton, OR Vincent Boryla G 6-3 190 21 Denver Nuggets (Univ. of Denver) Englewood, CA Gordon Carpenter C/F 6-7 220 21 Phillips 66ers (Arkansas) Lakewood, CA Alex Groza C 6-7 220 21 University of Kentucky San Diego, CA Wallace Jones C/F 6-4 205 22 University of Kentucky Lexington, KY Robert Kurland C 7-0 220 23 Phillips 66ers (Oklahoma St.) Bartlesville, OK Raymond Lumpp G 6-0 170 25 New York University East Williston, NY R.C. Pitts F 6-5 200 29 Phillips 66ers (Arkansas) Baton Rouge, LA Jesse Renick G 6-2 185 30 Phillips 66ers (Oklahoma St.) San Francisco, CA Kenneth Rollins G 6-0 170 24 University of Kentucky Charleston, NC Jack Robinson G 6-0 180 21 Baylor University Fort Worth, TX HEAD COACH: Omar Browning, Phillips 66ers (Bartlesville, OK) ASSISTANT COACH: Adolph Rupp, University of Kentucky MANAGER: Louis Wilke, Phillips 66ers (Bartlesville, OK) 1948 USA Men’s Olympic Games Cumulative Statistics
NAME G FGM-FGA PCT PCT Alex Groza 7 35- .571 Robert Kurland 7 27- .733 Don Barksdale 6 20- .737 R. C. Pitts 4 13- .833 Raymond Lumpp 5 14- .800 Wallace Jones 6 19- .556 Gordon Carpenter 5 13- .750 Vincent Boryla 5 11- .600 Jesse Renick 7 17- .714 Lewis Beck 7 13- .636 Kenneth Rollins 6 10- .800 Clifford Barker 5 7- .417 Ralph Beard 7 10- .500 Jack Robinson 5 6- .333 USA TOTALS 8 215- .648 OPP. TOTALS 8 81- .566
These are Stats and a write up of the 1948 Olympic Basktball Team.
The interest for me in this is that Adolph Rupp was assistant Coach or “co-coach” as some have called it saying that an agreement was made whereby he was more or less equal with Philips 66ers Coach Omar Browning. I don’t know if that is true or not. Nonetheless, Rupp was on the Coaching staff and that’s good enough for me. Also, the ’48 NCAA Champion Kentucky Wildcats Starting 5 plus were on that Olympic Team.
I’ve met one member of that team ~ Mr. Wallace “Wah Wah” Jones. Actually I’ve met Wah Wah a few times. First time was at a function put together by Mel McCane for WildcatFaithful.com back in 2000. An Adolph Rupp impersonator was brought in to give a performance of Rupp talking and coaching his team. A bit of storytelling. It was a great show. Afterward, Vernon Hatton and Joe B. Hall spoke about their time with Rupp. Hall being the Coach who both played and coached with Coach Rupp and later replaced him. Hatton being a member of the ’58 NCAA Championship Team.
Here is an interesting quote on Adolph Rupp by Don Barksdale:
“[Rupp] turned out to be my closest friend,” Barksdale said. “We went to London and won all 12 games and got the gold medal.” But he had to brush off indignities just about every step of the way. . . Later, coach Rupp told Barksdale, “Son, I wish things weren’t like that, but there’s nothing you or I can do about it.” Barksdale agreed. He lived by a very simple philosophy. He wasn’t interested in protest; he was interested in playing basketball. He had faced prejudice before, and he knew that he would face it again.
Don Barksdale was the only African American on the ’48 Olympic Team. He was the First Black NBA All Star and only the 3rd Black NBA Player.
I’ll leave it there. Take from it what you will.
The Muslim World
In Afghanistan, Central Asia, Introduction, Middle East, Military, Religion, Spirituality, Stupidity, culture, islam, thinking out loud on June 23, 2010 at 12:01 am
I like this. Except that I don't see any of them as scary. I see those labeled as scary as folks who need to be dealt with violently. Not all, but, those who would act violently against US.
On the Muslim World
Muslims see themselves as a community. They always have and always will. The only way to stop that is to kill all of them. Christians think of themselves as a community as well. Christendom is a concept only recently gone out of fashion. There are mentions of Christendom from the 19th Century, I know. Europe was still speaking of Christendom until only recently. I think Churchill mentions it a few times. That was the 20th Century. It is not a foreign concept to think in terms of a World Wide Religious or Cultural community. We think of the West. The West is Christian. No matter how greatly this is denied by atheists and secularists within the West. The West is merely a more secular term for Christendom. The West is as guilty of this kind of speak as is Islam. The difference is that we, in the West, agree with Western Culture. We don’t see it as problem and arrogantly believe that the rest of the World should be overjoyed to join us. Muslim lands. Christan lands. During World War I and at the end of World War I, “The West” celebrated the return of the “Holy Land” to it’s rightful Christian hands by virtue of it’s capture after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire encompassed most of what we now speak of as the Middle East. Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Palestine, Israel, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and a few others were 
all part of the now defunct Ottoman Empire. This was considered the Muslim World or the Lands of the Mohamadens (Saracens) and spoken and written about as such by Christian or “Western” writers and historians. That some in our era do not understand the concept of Muslim lands is fairly meaningless. The Great Tides of History are against their ignorance. It’s simply that they are ignorant of the history of the region. Not their fault. Our schools are more interested in Political Correct thought processes than learning. If one truly desires to rail against this concept and this ideology, though, one should at least be aware of this history. Me, I don’t care what history says about Muslim lands. Prior to the Muslims, these lands were all Western (Roman) and/or Christian. Not that Christians ruled them justly either.
History also shows us that the most violent and war like culture wins out in the end. The winners determine the future and control history. Except in our current era, where idiotic pacifists, socialist, multi-culturalists and self defeatists in the West want to write history based strictly upon their feelings of guilt and ignorance of history. They remind me of mini-Pol Pot or Mao Tse Tung pretenders. The greatest threat to the West (Christendom) is not the Muslims or even Communist China. It is the 5th Column of corrupt leftists and extreme liberals within our own borders. In order to finally defeat the Islamic threat, we will need to defeat this 5th Column by making them irrelevant.
Thoughts on Latino Immigration by Latino Leaders
In Immigration, Politics, Stupidity, Useful Information, culture on June 22, 2010 at 12:01 am
Augustin Cebada, Brown Berets; “Go back to Boston! Go back to Plymouth Rock, Pilgrims! Get out! We are the future. You are old and tired. Go on. We have beaten you. Leave like beaten rats. You old white people. It is your duty to die . . Through love of having children, we are going to take over.
Richard Alatorre, Los Angeles City Council. “They’re afraid we’re going to take over the governmental institutions and other institutions. They’re right. We will take them over . . . We are here to stay.”
Excelsior, the national newspaper of Mexico, “The American Southwest seems to be slowly returning to the jurisdiction of Mexico without firing a single shot.”
Professor Jose Angel Gutierrez, University of Texas; “We have an aging white America. They are not making babies. They are dying. The explosion is in our population . . . I love it. They are shitting in their pants with fear. I love it.”
Art Torres, Chairman of the California Democratic Party, “Remember 187–proposition to deny taxpayer funds for services to non-citizens–was the last gasp of white America in California.”
Gloria Molina, Los Angeles County Supervisor, “We are politicizing every single one of these new citizens that are becoming citizens of this country . . . I gotta tell you that a lot of people are saying, “I’m going to go out there and vote because I want to pay them back.”
Mario Obledo, California Coalition of Hispanic Organizations and California State Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare under Governor Jerry Brown, also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton, “California is going to be a Hispanic state. Anyone who doesn’t like it should leave.”
Jose Pescador Osuna, Mexican Consul General, “We are practicing ‘La Reconquista’ in California.”
Professor Fernando Guerra, Loyola Marymount University; “We need to avoid a white backlash by using codes understood by Latinos . . . “
How successful do these folks think that these areas would be if Mexico still owned these lands? With Mexico as the example, I’d say that they’d be pretty destitute and that the population would be largely poor with a few ultra rich Dons scooping up all the profits.
A call for Islamic Reform
In Afghanistan, Central Asia, Middle East, Military, Politics, Religion, Spirituality, Stupidity, Useful Information, culture, islam, thinking out loud on June 21, 2010 at 12:02 am
OUR GOALS
- to educate Muslims about dangers presented by Islamic religious texts and why Islam must be reformed
- to educate non-Muslims about the differences between moderate Muslims and Islamists (a.k.a. Islamic Religious Fanatics, Radical Muslims, Muslim Fundamentalists, Islamic Extremists or Islamofascists)
- to educate both Muslims and non-Muslims alike that Moderate Muslims are also targets of Islamic Terror
OUR MANIFESTO
Brothers and Sisters!
Do not make the next generation of Muslims clean up your mess!
Fight Islamic Fascism now, so your children won’t have to!Acknowledging mistakes
The majority of the terrorist acts of the last three decades, including the 9/11 attacks, were perpetrated by Islamic fundamentalists in the name of Islam. We, as Muslims, find it abhorrent that Islam is used to murder millions of innocent people, Muslims and non-Muslims alike.Inconsistencies in the Koran
Unfortunately, Islamic religious texts, including the Koran and the Hadith contain many passages, which call for Islamic domination and incite violence against non-Muslims. It is time to change that. Muslim fundamentalists believe that the Koran is the literal word of Allah. But could Allah, the most Merciful, the most Compassionate, command mass slaughter of people whose only fault is being non-Muslim?The Koran & the Bible
Many Bible figures from Adam to Jesus (Isa) are considered to be prophets and are respected by Islam. Islamic scholars however believe that both the Old and the New Testament came from God, but that they were corrupted by the Jews and Christians over time. Could it be possible that the Koran itself was corrupted by Muslims over the last thirteen centuries?The need for reform
Islam, in its present form, is not compatible with principles of freedom and democracy. Twenty-first century Muslims have two options: we can continue the barbaric policies of the seventh century perpetuated by Hassan al-Banna, Abdullah Azzam, Yassir Arafat, Ruhollah Khomeini, Osama bin Laden, Muslim Brotherhood, al-Qaeda, Hizballah, Hamas, Hizb-ut-Tahrir, etc., leading to a global war between Dar al-Islam (Islamic World) and Dar al-Harb (non-Islamic World), or we can reform Islam to keep our rich cultural heritage and to cleanse our religion from the reviled relics of the past. We, as Muslims who desire to live in harmony with people of other religions, agnostics, and atheists choose the latter option. We can no longer allow Islamic extremists to use our religion as a weapon. We must protect future generations of Muslims from being brainwashed by the Islamic radicals. If we do not stop the spread of Islamic fundamentalism, our children will become homicidal zombies.Accepting responsibilities
To start the healing process, we must acknowledge evils done by Muslims in the name of Islam and accept responsibility for those evils. We must remove evil passages from Islamic religious texts, so that future generations of Muslims will not be confused by conflicting messages. Our religious message should be loud and clear: Islam is peace; Islam is love; Islam is light. War, murder, violence, divisiveness & discrimination are not Islamic values.Religious privacy
Religion is the private matter of every individual. Any person should be able to freely practice any religion as long as the practice does not interfere with the local laws, and no person must be forced to practice any religion. Just as people are created equal, there is no one religion that is superior to another. Any set of beliefs that is spread by force is fundamentally immoral; it is no longer a religion, but a political ideology.Equality
Islam is one of the many of the world’s religions. There will be no Peace and Harmony in the World if Muslims and non-Muslims do not have equal rights. Islamic supremacy doctrine is just as repulsive as Aryan supremacy doctrine. History clearly shows what happens to the society whose members consider themselves above other peoples. All moderate Muslims must repudiate the mere notion of Islamic supremacy.Sharia
Sharia Law must be abolished, because it is incompatible with norms of modern society.Outdated practices
Any practices that might have been acceptable in the Seventh Century; i.e., stoning, cutting off body parts, marrying and/or having sex with children or animals, must be condemned by every Muslim.Outdated verses
The following verses promote divisiveness and religious hatred, bigotry and discrimination. They must be either removed from the Koran or declared outdated and invalid, and marked as such.Outdated words & phrases
Use of the following words and phrases or their variations must be prohibited during religious services:
• Infidel / Unbeliever: these terms have negative connotation and promote divisiveness and animosity; Islam is not the only religion
• Jihad: this word is often interpreted as Holy War against non-Muslims
• Mujaheed / Holy Warrior: no more wars in the name of Islam
• American (Christian / Crusader / Israeli / Zionist) occupation: these terms promote bigotry; at this point in time, Muslims living in non-Muslim lands have more freedoms than Muslims living in Muslim landsIslam vs. violence
Islam has no place for violence. Any person calling for an act of violence in the name of Islam must be promptly excommunicated. Any grievances must be addressed by lawful authorities. It is the religious and civic duty of every Muslim to unconditionally condemn any act of terrorism perpetrated in the name of Islam. Any Muslim group that has ties to terrorism in any way, shape, or form, must be universally condemned by both religious and secular Muslims.Portrayal of Prophets
While portrayal of Prophets is not an acceptable practice in Islam could be personally offensive to some Muslims, other religions do not have such restrictions. Therefore, the portrayal of the Prophets must be treated as a manifestation of free expression.The Crusades vs. The Inquisition
While the Inquisition was a repulsive practice by Christian Fundamentalists, the Crusades were not unprovoked acts of aggression, but rather attempts to recapture formerly Christian lands controlled by Muslims.
So long as idiots in the West keep excusing it, the violence of Islamic extremism will exist.
Muslims and The West: Hate, Fear and Suspicion
In Afghanistan, Central Asia, Middle East, Military, Politics, Religion, Spirituality, Stupidity, Useful Information, islam, thinking out loud on June 20, 2010 at 12:01 am
On Trust, Fear and Hate
Moderate Muslims do what moderates of all stripes do. They stay home and keep to themselves. It’s why their called moderates. Look, I absolutely abhor the Wahhabis and about 90% of the inane nonsense that is preached by these idiots and the Clerics and the IRG and Hizbollah and Hamas, etc. You won’t find many people who know as much about Islam as I AND who rails against that idiotic religion more than I. That said, the logic of the “hate, fear, [dis]trust” rhetoric here is flawed. I know many Muslims who want no part of the extremists. I know some “moderate” Muslims who feel threatened by the West. We have encroached upon their lands, their culture, their people. We’ve forced our way on them. It’s only natural that eventually there will be push back. If they did the same to us would we sit back and take it. There are regular, every day people out there who just happen to be Muslim. The majority of Muslims are like any other people. They observe their religion casually and don’t really get all that silly about it. Then you have the freaks. The Government of Iran and most of it’s Clerics, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and it’s pets — Hamas, the Quds Force and Hizbollah. You’ve got al Qaida and the Muslim Brotherhood, al Jihad and the rest of the off shoots from those gangs of criminals and miscreants. You can brand all Muslims as this or that about as much as you can brand all Americans as this or that. I’ve traveled, lived and worked amongst Muslims for over a decade. They’re not all bad people. Are all Christians bad because of the murderers of abortion doctors? Are all Texans bad because of the murderers who dragged that black kid in chains a decade ago. Are all Americans bad because of the criminals who take advantage of war and rape and pillage the people whom we are supposedly liberating? NO!
I don’t think that ALL Muslims distrust the West/America. I don’t think that ALL Muslims trust the West/America either. I’ve met Muslims who like and respect America who still don’t really trust us per se. They know that America is going to do what is right for America. This is correct. They understand this. Some of these people also understand the politics of America and know that we will change depending on the mood of the country and who we elect based upon that mood. America doen’t really have much continuity of ideals. We are ever evolving and constantly moving between the two political polars. Bush initiated the current Iraq war and Obama ran with our withdrawal as part of his platform. Many of the Muslims with whom I have dealt over the years understand this dynamic. Many of the Muslims with whom I have dealt know that America and the West have no real stomach for actual violence and war. Even though we love the fantasy of it. The enemies of the West and America understand this as well. They know that we’ll get riled and ramped up for a period of time. They also know that they can wait us out and we will grow impatient with a lack of result or too many dead bodies even when we are winning the greater war. They know that our ardor for war and patriotism has clear boundaries. They know that they can wait us out. The Muslim community and especially that part of it that hates the West/America knows that over time they can defeat us because we do not have the stomach for war. They know that the majority of the West has that pacifist strain that will eventually lead to our downfall. There are many Muslims out there who would love to ally themselves with the West and bring about a more or less secular Islam. These people, though, do not trust the West to help them see that struggle through to it’s conclusion. They know that their deaths and the end of this alliance is one Obama (or Carter) away. Even Reagan withdrew from Lebanon after the bombing there that killed 280+ Marines. Reagan stared Soviet Russia in the eye and still backed down quickly from the violence of Islam. It happens time and time again. Many Muslims love the West/America. They see the potential for a life of liberty and freedom AND Islam therein. Even so, they fear our inability to stay the course. They do not trust our fortitude especially in the face of adversity and violence of the type that the other extreme of Islam will bring to bear while fighting us.
In the West and amongst Modern Christianity, voicing one’s opinion that runs counter to the Extremists brings criticism and possibly ostracism. In the lands of Allah, criticizing the extremists brings violence and death. Who here, in the West, would raise his voice first with the full knowledge that it will bring death and/or violence to yourself and your family?
That’s about what I thought…
This is what happens to Muslims who speak out against Jihad and the battle against the West.
Voting Obama ~ What does it mean?
In Politics on June 19, 2010 at 12:01 am
I was recently asked if I wanted Obama to fail.
Though not a Republican, there are parts of the OBAMA Agenda that I most definitely want to see fail. I don’t like his domestic agenda all that much and I don’t particularly care for his desire to cede parts of US sovereignty over to the that den of thieves in the United Nations. So, yes, I want the Obama Agenda to fail, but, in no way do I wish for him to fail America. America can pass him like a bad gall stone. I fervently wish for this to happen in a most expeditious manner. Much like Carter before him, Obama needs to be a one term President.
He is a danger to America. This has nothing to do with his religion or his birth certificate. I think he’s scum. I liked Bill Clinton. I didn’t particularly care for all of the Clinton policies, but, Clinton seemed to me to be pro-America. He was a bit loose with our Country. Even so, I think he had her best interests in mind. I don’t feel that way about Obama. I feel Obama wants us to be liked more than anything else. Not respected. Not feared. Liked. That’s an assinine way to run foreign policy. Obama is weak and vacillating. He’s a pox upon the American house. We need a good vaccination.
Obama needs to be flushed. Period. Anyone stupid enough to vote for him in ’08. I give a pass. He talked a good game. By now, it is apparent that talk is all Obama will ever be. Vote for him in ’12 and, in my opinion, you are not a real American. You’re a Euro Trash wannabe. Move to Europe and leave America for Americans. The illegal immigrants belong here more than those who vote twice for Obama.
Obama is a Citizen and eligible for the Presidency
In Politics, Quotes, Useful Information, thinking out loud on June 18, 2010 at 12:01 am
If Obama’s Mother was a US citizen, then it matters not one iota where Obama was born.
Was his Mother not born in the US?
What does the Constitution state?
No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty-five years, and been fourteen years a resident within the United States.
The 14th Amendment defines citizenship this way: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” But even this does not get specific enough. As usual, the Constitution provides the framework for the law, but it is the law that fills in the gaps. The Constitution authorizes the Congress to do create clarifying legislation in Section 5 of the 14th Amendment; the Constitution, in Article 1, Section 8, Clause 4, also allows the Congress to create law regarding naturalization, which includes citizenship.
Currently, Title 8 of the U.S. Code fills in the gaps left by the Constitution. Section 1401 defines the following as people who are “citizens of the United States at birth:”
- Anyone born inside the United States *
- Any Indian or Eskimo born in the United States, provided being a citizen of the U.S. does not impair the person’s status as a citizen of the tribe
- Any one born outside the United States, both of whose parents are citizens of the U.S., as long as one parent has lived in the U.S.
- Any one born outside the United States, if one parent is a citizen and lived in the U.S. for at least one year and the other parent is a U.S. national
- Any one born in a U.S. possession, if one parent is a citizen and lived in the U.S. for at least one year
- Any one found in the U.S. under the age of five, whose parentage cannot be determined, as long as proof of non-citizenship is not provided by age 21
- Any one born outside the United States, if one parent is an alien and as long as the other parent is a citizen of the U.S. who lived in the U.S. for at least five years (with military and diplomatic service included in this time)
- A final, historical condition: a person born before 5/24/1934 of an alien father and a U.S. citizen mother who has lived in the U.S.
* There is an exception in the law — the person must be “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States. This would exempt the child of a diplomat, for example, from this provision.
Anyone falling into these categories is considered natural-born, and is eligible to run for President or Vice President. These provisions allow the children of military families to be considered natural-born, for example.
Separate sections handle territories that the United States has acquired over time, such as Puerto Rico (8 USC 1402), Alaska (8 USC 1404), Hawaii (8 USC 1405), the U.S. Virgin Islands (8 USC 1406), and Guam (8 USC 1407). Each of these sections confer citizenship on persons living in these territories as of a certain date, and usually confer natural-born status on persons born in those territories after that date. For example, for Puerto Rico, all persons born in Puerto Rico between April 11, 1899, and January 12, 1941, are automatically conferred citizenship as of the date the law was signed by the President (June 27, 1952). Additionally, all persons born in Puerto Rico on or after January 13, 1941, are natural-born citizens of the United States. Note that because of when the law was passed, for some, the natural-born status was retroactive.
The law contains one other section of historical note, concerning the Panama Canal Zone and the nation of Panama. In 8 USC 1403, the law states that anyone born in the Canal Zone or in Panama itself, on or after February 26, 1904, to a mother and/or father who is a United States citizen, was “declared” to be a United States citizen. Note that the terms “natural-born” or “citizen at birth” are missing from this section.
Obama’s mother was a citizen. Therefore ————->>>>>>>> Obama is a citizen.
Now, can we please move to something real.
Like perhaps the fact that he is an incompetent ass.
I’ve got a friend who was born in Japan. His pops is American. His mother is Japanese. He married a Thai woman. His child was born in Bangkok. That child is still an American citizen.
I know a guy from the Army. He is Jewish and was born in Israel to an American father and an Israeli mother. He’s still an American.
I dated a gal in the early 90s. She was born in Korea. Lived there most of her life. Her father was a civilian working in Seoul. Her mother is a Korean. The girl is still an American citizen.
So what if Obama was not born in Hawaii or inside the United States. His Mother is an American. He is an American.
What’s the big deal?
Clearly, his mother was a US citizen. His maternal Grandparents are US citizens.
What is the importance of the Birth Certificate? He is clearly a US citizen by virtue of his Mothers lineage. It matters not what his absentee daddy did or did not do. It matters not that or if he was raised in Indonesia. It matters not that his step father lied on a school enrollment to get cheaper tuition or whatever.
I don’t even care that he may or may not have been schooled in a madrassah. He was born much to early to be some sort of Muslim Manchurian candidate. The huge rift between the Muslim world and the US did not occur until the years ’67 and ’73. Obama is a little older than 42 or 43. The Manchurian Candidate seems so far fetched as to be insane. Especially in light of the fact that he doesn’t truly seem to understand Islam or Muslims. At least, not from what I can tell.
Obviously (to me), if Obama is Muslim, he’s still not Muslim enough to understand Muslims or Islam. The guy is too stupid, clueless and ridiculous to have an understanding of much of anything if you ask me.
I’ve never understood this birth certificate hype.
Unless his mother’s family is in cahoots and has been for decades, he’s an American citizen.
The guy is arrogant. He’s a puffed up empty suit. He’s an idiot. He’s Captain Kick Ass. He’s a lipsticked pig on a stick. He’s a tool. That doesn’t make him an alien. It’s makes him a Liberal.
MRAP and a Horsedrawn Buggy ~ Herat, Afghanistan June 2009
In Afghanistan, Travel, thinking out loud on June 17, 2010 at 12:01 am
This is life in Afghanistan. The people there live in a strange twilight between the ancient world and the modern. Modern day Jet Fighters, Airliners and UAVs passover villages whose inhabitants live in Mud and Thatch huts. Some of these folks might even have a TV jerry rigged to a small 3.5 kw generator. These are the “rich folks” of the village. Most of the men of the police force who come to train at the RTC live on mud floors or in caves outside of their village. To marry. one must pay a dowry. These folks ride horses and donkeys. They carry their goods and belongings to and from the bazaar or home in donkey carts or horse drawn wagons.
They still judge travel there in days rather than hours.
Not all. A goodly portion of Afghanis, though, travel in this way. Even when a motor vehicle is involved, travel that in America or Europe would take a few hours can sometimes take a day or two and sometimes more. There is also the danger of bandits and taliban gangs on the roads. Caution is needed and a good ear for trouble.
It’s a strange place. It’s also an enchanted land where anything might happen. Good or bad.
Kabul Beauty School
In Afghanistan, Literature, Spirituality, Travel, Useful Information, thinking out loud on June 16, 2010 at 12:01 amThis is an old post that I wrote up a few months ago while I was in Herat, Afghansitan. This happened between June and September 2007 in Kabul.
I read the book Kabul Beauty School and decided to seek out the real place. The actual beauty school. Try to meet the author and get her to sign the book. The books more about life in Kabul than just a Beauty school. So I get there and decide to get a hair cut. This is a few years back. The reason that I decide to get a hair cut is that the receptionist is pretty as hell. lol Just an excuse to talk to her and stick around longer. And she smelled so good I didn’t want to stop inhaling her scent. Whatever it was. Some combination of fruit and flowers that left my knees weak. haha
I get my hair cut and while in the middle of that. I’m talking to the receptionist. I get her name ~ Muzghan. She’s Afghani but had moved to London with her parents during the diaspora. I figured she was about 24 or 25. We talked for a while and eventually I talk her into meeting me for lunch at my hotel. We exchange phone numbers.
Back to the hair cut. The gal cutting my hair had underarm stench that cut the freakin’ wind. A couple times I actually thought that I was going to start gagging or pass out from it. It was strong. Like she hadn’t taken a bath in a month stink. I just started laughing. I let her finish my hair. She does an ok job. I spike my hair up anyway so if they screw it up, it usually looks like I did it on purpose. lol
Back to Muzghan.
Muzghan calls me up and asks me to meet her in the lobby of my hotel. I get all excited. Woohoo, I’ve got a DATE in Kabul, Afghanistan! hahahaha You have no idea how big a deal that is until you spend a few months in Afghanistan.
She shows up with a body guard and stinky hair cut lady as a chaperon. We have tea and talk for a while down in the coffee shop in the mall area of my hotel. And it’s actually a pleasant afternoon and good conversation. I seem to have met a Kabuli socialite.
Her body guard has an AK47. And stands there like he’s ready for the attack from hell.
Of course, I am the perfect gentleman during this meeting and each subsequent meeting under the watchful gaze of the body guard. The last couple of meetings she didn’t bring the chaperon. But she never went any where without her body guard. She laughed at me for being nervous.
Turns out Muzghan is only 20.
And she is a member of the extended family of Agha Khan.
If you don’t know who Agha Khan is…look the dude up. He’s so rich that he has his own consulate in London and a couple of other countries. He’s the head of the Ismaeli Clan. The Ismaelis are a sect of Islam. Shi’a Islam. They’re small. Maybe 30 million worldwide. The largest group is in Canada. Agha Khan is their leader/father/benefactor. He sets up scholarship foundations for them. Businesses and keeps them organized and in touch. He’s no Osama bin Laden. Quite the opposite. He believes in education. For Muslims. Men and women.
Anyway, I meet with Muzghan a few more times. At first because I’m interested and I think I might get laid. lol Then later, I figure out that there ain’t a prayer in hell of getting laid and it’s just interesting talking to this girl.
Out of curiosity, I asked a guy named Sher Ahmad (a whole other story) who is the Security Boss of Rashid Dostum (look him up). I asked Sher what would happen if I wanted to marry Muzghan. He told me with a straight face; “David, they would kill you.” I looked at him in disbelief at first. Then I just laughed. Realizing that he was telling the truth. That’s when he told me that she was a relative of Agha Khan and she would be matched with another Ismaeli and never have a worry in her life.
She emails me out of the blue every once in a while. She returned to London not long before I departed for Herat. Apparently, they’d found out that she was meeting with some strange American. Thankfully, I had sense enough to not make any Rico Suave moves on her or anything stupid like that. The bastards probably would have killed me had I tried. For me, it was enough to meet an nice, educated Afghan woman and learn a bit more about the culture.
I tell ya. Lots of crazy experiences over here.
The first email that I got from her after her return to London: “David, I miss you so much.” I must have been her first crush. It was a cute email. She was a nice girl and pretty as hell. Had this lilting sing song voice that made ya wanna break out in song yourself. It was a great experience for me and a beautiful side of Kabul that not too many Westerners are privileged to have.
Saudi Clerics say drink your Neighbors Breast Milk (Breast Milk Sibling “Custom”)
In Middle East, Politics, Religion, Spirituality, Stupidity, Useful Information, islam, thinking out loud on June 15, 2010 at 12:01 am
Saudi Clerics Advocate Adult Breast-Feeding
(June 5) — Women in Saudi Arabia should give their breast milk to male colleagues and acquaintances in order to avoid breaking strict Islamic law forbidding mixing between the sexes, two powerful Saudi clerics have said. They are at odds, however, over precisely how the milk should be conveyed.
A fatwa issued recently about adult breast-feeding to establish “maternal relations” and preclude the possibility of sexual contact has resulted in a week’s worth of newspaper headlines in Saudi Arabia. Some have found the debate so bizarre that they’re calling for stricter regulations about how and when fatwas should be issued.
Sheikh Al Obeikan, an adviser to the royal court and consultant to the Ministry of Justice, set off a firestorm of controversy recently when he said on TV that women who come into regular contact with men who aren’t related to them ought to give them their breast milk so they will be considered relatives.
“The man should take the milk, but not directly from the breast of the woman,” Al Obeikan said, according to Gulf News. “He should drink it and then becomes a relative of the family, a fact that allows him to come in contact with the women without breaking Islam’s rules about mixing.”
Obeikan said the fatwa applied to men who live in the same house or come into contact with women on a regular basis, except for drivers.
Al Obeikan, who made the statement after being asked on TV about a 2007 fatwa issued by an Egyptian scholar about adult breast-feeding, said that the breast milk ought to be pumped out and given to men in a glass.
But his remarks were followed by an announcement by another high-profile sheik, Abi Ishaq Al Huwaini, who said that men should suckle the breast milk directly from a woman’s breast.
Shortly after the two sheiks weighed in on the matter, a bus driver in the country’s Eastern Region reportedly told one of the female teachers whom he drives regularly that he wanted to suckle milk from her breast. The teacher has threaten to file a lawsuit against him.The fatwa stems from the tenets of the strict Wahhabi version of Islam that governs modern Saudi Arabia and forbids women from mixing with men who are not relatives. They are also not allowed to vote, drive or even leave the country without the consent of a male “guardian.”
Under Islamic law, women are encouraged to breast-feed their children until the age of 2. It is not uncommon for sisters, for example, to breast-feed their nephews so they and their daughters will not have to cover their faces in front of them later in life. The custom is called being a “breast milk sibling.”
In another bizarre fatwa (ruling) by the Wahhabi Clerics of that insane religion from the Nejd, a group of Saudi Clerics has stated that men who frequently interact with women from outside of their family should drink the breast milk of said women in order to become their “siblings.”
Why make rules or even follow the Qu’ran if they are going to go to such lengths to get around them. The Saudi Kings and Princes [supposedly] follow Islam while they are in the Kingdom. When they depart the sacred land of Arabia, these Princes do as they please. The rules apparently only apply while they are on sacred Saudi soil.
I know that while I was in Kuwait several Filipino gals were kidnapped, raped, murdered and then deposited in the desert. The desert tells no tales. Another “custom” of these holy men of Arabia is to lure young Filipino and other Asian gals into one of the desert Kingdoms with the lure of employment. Come to Kuwait or Saudi Arabia or one of the UAE countries to become a maid, an aux pair or run a restaurant. Once the girls arrive, the sponsor takes her passport. The first thing that takes place is that the girl is raped and beaten. She no longer is in possession of her passport. This is in the possession of her sponsor. She has no recourse. She can’t complain to the police. They’ll not believe her. Especially as the rules of Sharee’ah are in force. She needs witnesses. If she claims rape, yet, has no witnesses, she’s guilty of adultery or fornication or crimes against chastity. She’ll be judged against and punished harshly. Up to and including beatings, canings, lashes and death.
I guess now, though, all they have to do is give up a little breast milk and their siblings.
Hey! Then everything is A-OK.
Ain’t that grand.
And that’s Islam in a nutshell.
Patriarchal idiocy.
Utter nonsense.
Power in the name of religion, Allah, Mohammad.
Wahhabism.
The Wahhabis need to be ended. Period.
Without Wahhabism, Islam could be a decent religion. Possibly have a renaissance era that brings it into an era of peace and out of it’s essence of death, violence and war.
Any person in the West who is mad enough or stupid enough to justify or rationalize this lunacy should be deported and made to live in Saudi Arabia in the Nejd.
Air drop their ridiculous selves into the Nejd and let them fend for themselves. That’s a perfect punishment for child molestors, rapists and murderers, too. Hell, perhaps we could send our politicians there, too. Let’s make Obama the first example of Islamic “Justice.”
Islamic Justice!
In Introduction, Middle East, Politics, Religion, Spirituality, Stupidity, culture, islam, thinking out loud on June 14, 2010 at 8:55 am
A Septaugenarian Woman given 40 lashes for having two men in her home.
The two men were delivering bread to her.
Is this the Mercy of Allah?
(CNN) — A Saudi Arabian court has sentenced a 75-year-old Syrian woman to 40 lashes, four months imprisonment and deportation from the kingdom for having two unrelated men in her house, according to local media reports.
According to the Saudi daily newspaper Al-Watan, troubles for the woman, Khamisa Mohammed Sawadi, began last year when a member of the religious police entered her house in the city of Al-Chamli and found her with two unrelated men, “Fahd” and “Hadian.”
Fahd told the policeman he had the right to be there, because Sawadi had breast-fed him as a baby and was therefore considered to be a son to her in Islam, according to Al-Watan. Fahd, 24, added that his friend Hadian was escorting him as he delivered bread for the elderly woman. The policeman then arrested both men.
Saudi Arabia follows a strict interpretation of Islam called Wahhabism and punishes unrelated men and women who are caught mingling.
The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, feared by many Saudis, is made up of several thousand religious policemen charged with duties such as enforcing dress codes, prayer times and segregation of the sexes. Under Saudi law, women face many restrictions, including a strict dress code and a ban on driving. Women also need to have a man’s permission to travel.
Good Old Islamic Justice of Saudi Arabia. It’s gotta make Muslims all over the world so proud.
This “culture” needs to be eradicated. The stain of this belief needs to be removed from the world.
Someone please explain to me how the Saudis are different from the taliban? I’ll give you a hint. They’re not. The only real difference is that Saudi Arabia has oil. Therefore, no one cares that they are savage animals with no morals. No one cares for their people or that their brand of Islam is exactly that which was espoused and enacted by the Taliban. No one cares that Saudi Arabia and their rulers practice the exact same brand of Islam as Osama bin Laden and his cronies in al Qaeda.
Saudi Arabia is one of the greatest enemies of freedom and liberty extant in the world. They are second only to Iran and their dogs in hizbollah, Quds force and Revolutionary Guards.
Yet, they are our “allies.”
Continuing to do business with Saudi Arabia is like handing your enemy a loaded gun, pointing it at your heart and assisting said enemy in pulling the trigger. It is insanity.
CAPT Kick Ass and the Real American Dream Team
In Politics, Spirituality, thinking out loud on June 13, 2010 at 6:08 am
Though, not all of them are American or even human.
Bascially, Obama wants to posture and act tough and “kick some ass” when it comes to CEOs and Corporate Executives, but, he thinks that we should talk to terrorists and their leaders such as Iran, Hamas, Hixbollah, etc
Terrorists – Obama wants to talk
American and Foreign Corporations – Obama wants to kick kick kick kick — kick some ass. YOURS!
Who elected this idiot?
An Introduction to World Geography: America and the World
In Commerce, Introduction, Middle East, Military, Politics, Religion, Stupidity, Thailand, Useful Information, Vietnam, beauty, culture, family, thinking out loud on June 11, 2010 at 11:29 amMy Fellow Americans! Is this how you see the world, too?
A friend sent me this on facebook. I almost died laughing. Especially the depiction of Europe. He’s a Brit, though. He wanted to know where the Brit Isles were or wy they were omited. His thought was that surely the Brits weren’t being mixed in with the Euros. lol
His comment:
no, but the nation that gave you your great great (repeat as req,) families doesn’t make the map????? its wrong…
and why would an anti-american spell centre like a yank???? not sure, but I like the map!!!
As for me, I love the map. Especially the summation of Europe.
John Wall Jersey on Ebay for $1000.00
In Sports, UK Basketball, thinking out loud on June 10, 2010 at 7:49 am
I wonder if anyone will match the “buy now” price.
John Wall is popular, but, is he that popular. Those Jerseys were extremely difficult to obtain. I was able to get a John Wall Jersey for myself and my girlfriend and a friend of mine. They sold out almost instantly online and in the store.
The Development of the Alphabet
In Introduction, Literature, Middle East, culture, thinking out loud on June 6, 2010 at 1:07 amThis is a cool gif that I picked up on the Web.
Turkish Activist brought to you by The Iranian Revolutionary Guard
In Middle East, Military, Politics, Religion, Stupidity on June 5, 2010 at 3:51 am
If that was a boat load of activists, then the Hitler led invasion of Poland was a hunting party. Yeah, they were Fox hunting.
People are so stupid.
Lao Hill Tribe Dolls
In Holidays, Humor, beauty, culture on June 4, 2010 at 12:01 am
I ran across these dolls in at the Night Bazaar in Luang Prabang, Laos.
I started laughing when I saw them. My first thought was; “Damn! Those wouldn’t go over well back in the States at all!” lol They bring to mind the Amos and Andy black face characters of the early 1900s. Racially sensitive folks would immediately say; “Oh my! Those dolls are RACIST!” Then I thought to myself. Damn, I gotta have those! lol They’re cute. I didn’t purchase them on my first trip through Luang Prabango, though. I just had to grab them on my second trip this past April. Could no longer resist. Unny thought they were cute. That clinched it for me.
They’re cute dolls and representations of the Hill Tribe folk BY the Hill Tribe Folk and sold BY the Hill Tribe Folk. Take that for what it’s worth. They’ve nothing to do with Africa or African Americans. Nothing racist about them Momma, so no worries. haha
Our trip through Laos was awesome. We did the total backpacker thing. Took buses to different cities. We stayed in the cheapie hotels. We broght with us nothing except what we could carry on our backs. No extra bags (until we made a purchase or two). We tooled around Luang Prabang for a few days. We saw some amazing temples. I sent around a few pics of these via email and on facebook earlier. I’ll get around eventually to going through them all and placing them in a new post or just edit them into this one. After that, we bussed down to Vang Vieng. There we went kayaking and I added to my Buddha collection. A little cheap one that the lady said was no more than 5 years old. It was unique enough that I liked it. I’ve got enough of the regular, run of the mill Buddha statues in my collection. Looking for something unique now.
When Unny and I went kayaking, I wore my iPod. Big Mistake. I’ve been kayaking before and never went under. This was Unny’s first time, however. So! We went under. The water was calm. So I wasn’t really paying attention. Another mistake. We rolled on our first small rapid. Hit a pretty large rock. The water at this point was about 8 feet deep. Not too deep for someone who can swim. Unny is not a great swimmer, though. When we rolled, my only thought was “GET UNNY!” She was wearing a life jacket. So she floated. Initially, though, she went under and you could see the panic in her eyes at first. She go the hang of it quick enough. A little adventure for her. My iPod got the worst of it. Totally immersed and stopped working. (with the help of nephew Benjamin and some rice, though, it’s back in working order….thanx Ben). The rest of the kayak excursion went smoothly. I tried to race the guide and damn near killed someone. Unny kept getting nervouse when we would stray to far ahead of him. She thought we’d get lost on the river. I fugured he could out kayak me to hell and back and that when he needed to get up on us, he would. I tried to race him near the end. We got going pretty fast and I think I bulled ahead of him pretty good but I couldn’t attain speed while directing the kayak and damn near rammed him and some other river traveler. lol
After that, we just hung out around town. Shopped a bit and made ready for our trip to Vientiene.
At Vientiene, we saw all of the usual spots. Patuxai ~ the Lao Arc de Triomphe, Pha That Luang ~ the huge Golden Monument that’s built over the spot that supposedly contained a breast bone of the Buddha, Wat Si Saket. We even made it down to Xieng Khuan, the Buddha Park. We also got off the beaten track a bit as is my wont. We were heading up to Patuxai. I decided it was time for one of my infamous side tracks. It was hot and I was tired of being on the main streets. As we walked down these alley ways, we passed by locals. You could get a glimpse of how these folks really live. It’s bare essential except for the occasional TV or radio. All electricity that I could see was provided by generators. I don’t know why they weren’t allowed or couldn’t access the city electricity. As we walked along, I passed a little house with a little girl inside. I smiled and she didn’t seem to notice me. I kept moving. I got about ten feet further along and suddenly I heard “FALANG! FALANG! FALANG!” I didn’t catch what she was saying at first. She repeated; “FALANG FALANG FALANG!” At this point, I knew that she had to be talking to me. The only other non-Lao person there was Unny and she wouldn’t be calling Unny “falang.” So I turned around and smiled and waved to her. I wish that I had something to give to her. I’ll have to make a point to carry around candies next time we’re out. She was cute and it made me smile.
Of course, we did a bit of shopping. Unny bought some local handicrafts (purses) and I bought a Buddha and a Water Buffalo horn with Buddha carved on it.
After three days in Vientiene, we headed for home. It was a nice little adventure that we both enjoyed.
Did You Vote For Obama
In Humor, Politics, Stupidity, thinking out loud on June 3, 2010 at 12:01 am
Received this photo in an email. Succinct, yeah?
Apsara Authority of Angkor says No Dogs Allowed
In Cambodia, Holidays, family, thinking out loud on June 2, 2010 at 4:38 am
Dogs Prohibited
Too bad. I wanted to take Malalai and Cierra there. Well, we can still take them to Cambodia. They’ll just have to hang out at the pool.
Prince Obama
In Politics, Quotes, Stupidity, Useful Information, thinking out loud on June 1, 2010 at 5:42 am
This quote was translated into English of an article appearing in the Czech Republic as published in the Prager Zeitung of 28 April 2010 .
“The danger to America is not Barack Obama but a citizenry capable of entrusting a man like him with the Presidency. It will be far easier to limit and undo the follies of an Obama Presidency than to restore the necessary common sense and good judgment to a depraved electorate willing to have such a man for their President.” “The problem is much deeper and far more serious than Mr. Obama, who is a mere symptom of what ails America. Blaming the prince of the fools should not blind anyone to the vast confederacy of fools that made him their prince. ” The Republic can survive a Barack Obama who is, after all, merely a fool. It is less likely to survive a multitude of fools such as those who made him their President.”
I know not if this was actually extracted from a Czech newspaper. I do know that whoever wrote it has my complete agreement. The more of the ilk of Obama and his crowd of Liberals that we, citizens of America, vote into office, the dimmer the future of our Great Nation.
Memorial Day ~ Thank You All for Your Service to our Great Nation
In Holidays, culture, family on May 29, 2010 at 12:05 amThe DNC and Leftist Omni-Rebuttal for Obama
In Politics on May 28, 2010 at 2:17 am
Be careful out there.
If you aren’t an Obama Drone and you dare criticize an Obama move, you are an instant bigot.
They’ll pull the race card on you faster than Biden can make a gaff.
* Caveat — If you are a forwarder of racist or bigoted trash on the internet or if you are an actual bigot/racist, you deserve to be called out. You make the rest of us look bad.
Sawatdii Stickers
In Commerce, Thailand, beauty, culture, thinking out loud on May 28, 2010 at 12:41 amHas anyone seen thses stickers around or know where I can get them or some like them?
AN OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA
In Commerce, Politics, Quotes, Useful Information, thinking out loud on May 26, 2010 at 6:51 pmAll who have ever written on government are unanimous, that among a people generally corrupt, liberty cannot long exist. ~ Edmund Burke
Below is an open letter written by former Proctor & Gamble VP Lou Pritchett to President Obama. This letter was sent to the New York Times. The NYT received it but never printed it.
Dear President Obama:
You are the thirteenth President under whom I have lived and unlike any of the others, you truly scare me. You scare me because after months of exposure, I know nothing about you. You scare me because I do not know how you paid for your expensive Ivy League education and your upscale lifestyle and housing with no visible signs of support. You scare me because you did not spend the formative years of youth growing up in America and culturally you are not an American. You scare me because you have never run a company or met a payroll. You scare me because you have never had military experience, thus don’t understand it at its core. You scare me because you lack humility and ‘class’, always blaming others. You scare me because for over half your life you have aligned yourself with radical extremists who hate America and you refuse to publicly denounce these radicals who wish to see America fail. You scare me because you are a cheerleader for the “blame America” crowd and deliver this message abroad. You scare me because you want to change America to a European style country where the government sector dominates instead of the private sector. You scare me because you want to replace our health care system with a government controlled one. You scare me because you prefer ‘wind mills’ to responsibly capitalizing on our own vast oil, coal and shale reserves. You scare me because you want to kill the American capitalist goose that lays the golden egg which provides the highest standard of living in the world. You scare me because you have begun to use ‘extortion’ tactics against certain banks and corporations. You scare me because your own political party shrinks from challenging you on your wild and irresponsible spending proposals. You scare me because you will not openly listen to or even consider opposing points of view from intelligent people. You scare me because you falsely believe that you are both omnipotent and omniscient. You scare me because the media gives you a free pass on everything you do. You scare me because you demonize and want to silence the Limbaugh’s, Hannitys, O’Reillys and Becks who offer opposing, conservative points of view. You scare me because you prefer controlling over governing.
Finally, you scare me because if you serve a second term I will probably not feel safe in writing a similar letter in 8 years.
This letter was sent to the NY Times but never acknowledged. Never printed. Why? You can guess. It’s been vetted by Snopes, if you’d like to check. Supposedly, this letter has received over half a million hits since it hit the net.
I don’t necessarily agree with the whole of it. That said, it hits home on some key points. Obama’s ongoing World Apology Tour sickens me. Obama strikes me as supremely arrogant as well. He’s not fully disclosed his life story either. From what I can gather, he’s more a pawn of Arab Muslim interests than even the Bush Family. I thought that would be a diffuclt level to reach for a non-Bush scion. I believe that I was wrong.
The obvious has occurred here in that every Obama supporter and their lackeys have come out of the woodwork to tell the world that Pritchett is full of hate, a bigot and a racist. Any time the sacred Obama is criticized, these folks come out. One can not make a single commet about Obama that is not full of flattery for fear of his minions and White Guilters coming out of the closet in droves to shout one down by calling all and sundry racists, bigots, etc. How does that aid racial relations?
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.
There is, however, a limit at which forbearance ceases to be a virtue. Observations on a Late Publication on the Present State of the Nation (1769)
People crushed by law, have no hopes but from power. If laws are their enemies, they will be enemies to laws; and those who have much to hope and nothing to lose, will always be dangerous.Letter to Charles James Fox (1777-10-08)
Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods. Preface to Brissot’s Address (1794)
Bangkok Looted and Burned
In Thailand, Travel, thinking out loud on May 23, 2010 at 4:10 am
Well, looks like the excitement is almost over. They’ve called off the curfew in most, if not all, areas.
But this picture is the epitome of the past weeks insanity.
John Calipari is a Recruiting God!
In Sports, UK Basketball on May 20, 2010 at 5:02 pm
With Terrence Jones joining the roster for 2010, Cal brings in his 2nd Number One Class in a row. 2nd Number One Class in two years at the helm of UK. 2 Years, 2 Number One Classes. More than likely, next year will see the Number One Class as well.
Now, he needs to build continuity for the decade and I need to secure some Final Four tickets for the Next Few Years.
GO CATS!!!
And then there is John Wall
Jimmy
#1 Draft Pick of the 2010 Draft
“I think there’s no question John is by far the most dynamic player in the draft,” Saunders said. “He’s probably one of the most dynamic guards to come out in a while, when you combine his athleticism, his ability to defend and the speed that he has. A lot of times when players come into our league, you’re trying to develop a guy into a point guard.
“Sometimes you’re trying to change him from maybe a guy that was a scorer and more of a shooting guard in college to a point guard who tries to run a team. Whereas John is definitely a guy that is definitely a point guard. He averaged a lot of assists at Kentucky and pretty much dominated games with his ability to make plays for other players.”
Bangkok Burning!
In Politics, Stupidity, Thailand, thinking out loud on May 19, 2010 at 5:00 pm
Getting reports that the Red Shirts have started an “Arson Campaign” around the city. Channel 3 News Station is on fire. Central World and Paragon Shopping centers are on fire. The Red Shirts seem to be setting fires everywhere and they’ve been said to be targeting Reporters in the affected areas. There is smoke all over the city. The looters are knocking off ATMs and rolling out with all of the money.
Chiangmai is also embroiled and various places have been set to fire up there as well.
These guys are desperate and have or are losing any popular support that they may have had with these latest acts. They’re setting themselves up to be caricatured and treated as mere thugs instead of a true protest for social justice.
Michael Yon Sitting with a couple French journalists now. One has blood on his pants. Says it was from another journalist who was hit but no medics would come to him. Said he saw a soldier shot in half by a grenade and also saw a female freelance journalist named Vanessa who was slightly wounded.
The TV Stations are all playing what I can only describe as propaganda. They just played 21 Guns by Green Day with scenes from the Red Shirts battling the Army and such. Earlier they were playing paeans to the King. Cartoons with music and such.
Got a message from a friend that a girl was shot while standing on her balcony. No one knows if this was on purpose or if it was an errant shot. Now people are fearful of standing near their windows or on their balconies.
Right now, they are announcing officially the curfew for tonight. Guess we can’t go outside. This is pretty crazy. Afghanistan wasn’t this insane.
P.S. but don’t worry Momma, we’re ok! Thinking about getting out of the city tomorrow until this thing calms down.
photo by Nick Sivapon Fakthep
Apparently, Central World has been damaged heavily as fire and rescue could not get into the area to put out the fires.
Kabul Blast ~ Afghans and Americans Slain by Islamic Suicide Bomber
In Afghanistan, Politics, Quotes, Religion, Stupidity, Travel, thinking out loud on May 19, 2010 at 12:06 am![[carbomb0518]](http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OB-IN443_carbom_F_20100518053313.jpg)
By ALAN CULLISON
A spokesman from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization said six “international service members were killed and several wounded” in the attack, but wouldn’t reveal their nationalities.
Gen. Khalil Dastyar, the deputy police chief of Kabul, said the dead NATO members were American. The Associated Press reported that five of them were U.S. troops; the nationality of the sixth wasn’t immediately disclosed.
A Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that a car loaded with 1,200 pounds of explosives rammed into a U.S. convoy at about 8:30 a.m. local time.
The blast destroyed at least 12 civilian vehicles, one of them a civilian bus; its charred remains were left resting near the road. NATO said five of its vehicles were damaged.
The bomber targeted a small convoy of U.S. military vehicles that were moving along the road near the recruitment center, officials said. The road also skirts a U.S. military base, Camp Julien, that hosts a counterinsurgency training academy for both Afghan and U.S. military personnel.
I stood at this spot not two months ago. This exact spot. That pillar that is knocked over is from the 19th Century from the time of the Afghan Kings. Off to the right of the pillar is the National Museum of Afghansitan. I took a photograph standing next to that pillar when I stopped at the Museum. Strange to think that this could have been me getting hit. Wrong time, wrong place. I was lucky. Right time. Right place. No bombs. Aside from the scant traffic, it was just begger kids, Afghan Police, a few other tourists and a few merchants. No talib assholes or other Wahhabist scum around.
Thank God!
May God Protect our Soldiers and Civilians in Afghansitan and may he protect the Afghan People as well. May he strike down the scourge of evil that is the taliban. Amen.
Bangkok, Thailand ~ Get Out of the Affected Areas….OR ELSE!
In Politics, Thailand on May 17, 2010 at 3:09 pm
The Thai Government is issuing orders to evacuate the Red Shirt areas by 1500hrs today.
Any caught in those areas will be deemed a terrorist or criminal and jailed subject to punishments of a minimum of 2 years in prison.
Apparently, the Thai Gov’t is finally taking this thing seriously and are going to put an end to it.
It’s about damn time!
Mosque to be opened just steps away from Ground Zero in New York City
In Middle East, Politics, Religion, Stupidity, islam, thinking out loud on May 17, 2010 at 2:58 pm
The five-story building at Park Place, just two blocks north of the former World Trade Center site, was the site of a Burlington Coat Factory. But a plane’s landing-gear assembly crashed through the roof on the day 19 Muslim terrorists hijacked the airliners and flew them into the Twin Towers in 2001.
I suppose if the owners are NOT Wahhabists and have nothing to do with the Iran, Saudi Arabia or the Pakistan, then, I’d have no problem with it. Apparently, though, the Saudis have a major stake in it. I’m opposed to that.
I like this suggestion:
I have a simple, elegant, and deeply moral solution. Let the Islamic Cultural Center be built. Let the mosque be included. But, the Muslim organizations building it should commit right now to making the principal focus of the building a museum depicting the rise of Islamic extremism, its hate-based agenda, and how it is an abomination to Islam. The museum would feature exhibits showing the major fomenters of Islamic hatred worldwide and the cultural and religious factors that have gained them so wide a following. It would have exhibitions on some of the terrible atrocities committed by these Islamic fundamentalists, focusing specifically on the slaughter at Ground Zero on 9/11. The Islamic Center would have a major exhibition on the evil of Osama bin Laden, detailing his crimes against humanity and the number of innocent people he has killed. Most importantly, the museum would repudiate these haters by showing how their actions are an abomination to authentic Islamic teaching and how every G-d-fearing Muslim has a responsibility to spit them out.
I would have absolutely no problem with that. I’d travel to see that and support it. THAT will not happen, though. The Saudis will not allow it. Barack Obama, like every President since FDR, will appease the Saudis on this issue. This mosque will be created and eventually, it will be used to preach against all that we hold dear. This! Mere steps away from Ground Zero.
The Saudis along with their support for and proliferation of Wahhibism should be ended. I fully advocate a Nuclear option for Wahhabism, the Nejd, Riyadh and any Saudi Royalty strong hold.
The Democratic Nations of the World will eventually need to face the fact that we are financing our worst enemy in the Saudi Kingdom. The Saudis are, by far, a greater danger than Iran. It’s not even close. The Saudis don’t need a Nuke to hurt us. They have millions of fanatics who are hell bent on bringing the West and Democracy down. They also have our deliberate obtuseness in the face of the threat that they pose as well as our greed. These are powerful tools that can and are used against us.
In any case, building a mosque so near ground zero and opening it on the 10th anniversary of 9/11 seems on the face of it to be extremely incongruous. But! That’s America in a nutshell. Liberty and Freedom.
We have Muslims here who are actually part of America and love it here. Those persons should not suffer due to the lunacy of insane men and our stupidity in supporting the Saudi funded and proliferated evil that is Wahhabism.
As the Angst Builds in Bangkok…
In Commerce, Military, Politics, Thailand, culture, thinking out loud on May 15, 2010 at 7:10 amDave is heading to the beach.
It got real bloody last night. Sirens all night long. I couldn’t hear the explosions or shooting, but, you could tell something was going down.
Yesterday, they shut down the BTS at 1630. It really wasn’t that big of a deal. I simply walked home and fortunately found a shorter way home.
I hope this thing gets settled without more bloodshed. It will only cause more problems later on.
Seven civilians have died in clashes between United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship protesters and security officers in downtown Bangkok.
Soldiers take up position as anti-government protesters burn tyres near Bon Kai intersection yesterday. Security forces tried to push protesters back, sparking sporadic clashes. APICHART JINAKUL
Clashes started late yesterday morning and continued throughout the afternoon at the Witthayu intersection, the Thai-Belgium Bridge, Lumpini police station, Ratchaprarop Road, Din Daeng intersection, Silom Road and Soi Sala Daeng.
Soldiers used tear gas, rubber bullets, and live rounds against protesters, who retaliated using home-made rockets and Molotov cocktails to block advancing soldiers and by setting fire to a bus.
The sound of gunfire was heard from both sides.
Masjid Jami
In Afghanistan, Central Asia, Travel, islam on May 13, 2010 at 7:28 pmSometime during my tour in Afghanistan, I got outside the wire. I tend to do this from time to time. Get out and wander around with a friend or two.
This particular time, I was doing some business with the ANP Province Headquarters. While there, I crept out with a few guys and one ANP Colonel and strolled over to the Masjid Jami in Herat. COL Khoda Dad spoke with the head Mullah there and asked him to give me a tour of the Mosque. After intros were made, I was escorted about and taken to almost every part of the Mosque. One of the more interesting parts of the tour were when they showed me the room where all of the repairs are made for tiles and such. They do all repairs by hand. Exactly the same process as hundreds of years ago when the Mosque was first created. They even hand paint the ceramics onto the tiles.
I took these pictures as I walked around in awe of the agelessness of the place.
I’m very lucky to have been able to have had this and other experiences in Afghanistan. I’d venture to say that not everyone has such incredible and unique adventures over there.
Khoda Hafiz!
Muslim Woman Raise Your Voices! Be Heard! Fight!
In Central Asia, Middle East, Politics, Religion, Stupidity, culture, family, islam, thinking out loud on May 12, 2010 at 6:18 pm
The French legislators who seek to repudiate the wearing of the veil or the burqa—whether the garment covers “only” the face or the entire female body—are often described as seeking to impose a “ban.” To the contrary, they are attempting to lift a ban: a ban on the right of women to choose their own dress, a ban on the right of women to disagree with male and clerical authority, and a ban on the right of all citizens to look one another in the face. The proposed law is in the best traditions of the French republic, which declares all citizens equal before the law and—no less important—equal in the face of one another.
It is way past time for the world to band together to take on this unjust tradition.
Could anything be more obvious and yet so ignored a danger to women of this world as this despotic, idiotic religious/ethnic tradition?
Money!
In Afghanistan, Cambodia, Central Asia, Commerce, Holidays, culture on May 9, 2010 at 6:48 pm
I’m not a numismatists or serious collector of coins and notes. Not by any means. Even so, I usually grab a few notes and/or coins when I’m traveling. The part that is cool for me is to find old money that is still in circulation. The old Mao notes in China. Older notes in Thailand that have an earlier version of King Bhumipol. The notes in Cambodia that highlighted the various peoples and ethnic minorities or have varying versions of Angkor Wat and other sites. The notes used in Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion, the Civil War and the Taliban eras.
These notes convey a sense of history to me. They’re part of the fabric of the history of these lands. That fascinates me. I’ve monies of varying sorts from nearly every country that I’ve visited plus a few other notes that were gifts from the homelands of folks whom I’ve met out on the road.
These are a collection of items from Laos, Cambodia and Thailand. The Lao and Khmer notes, I picked up in Luang Prabang, Vieng Vang and Vientiene (Laos). The Thai notes were given to me by Unny’s parents. She was telling them that I had a crazy fascination with money so that brought me some from her Grandfather’s house. Some of the notes are pretty old with the oldest dating to the 1920s.
The coins are all Thai with the exception of the old French Indochine Piastres. They are probably fakes, but, they were too cool to pass up. I tested them as I have been instructed. The ring test and the obverse/reverse line test. They actually passed those test. Even so, they were much to cheap and felt too light to be solid silver coins of that size. Perhaps, I’ll have them checked one day. I don’t care if they are real or not. They look cool and that’s all I’m interested in at this point.
Rambling Through Laos
In Holidays, Religion, Spirituality, Thailand, Travel, Unny, culture, thinking out loud on May 8, 2010 at 2:16 am
Spent the past week in Laos on my Visa run.
Had a great time with Unny. Can’t wait to do it again. It’s so cool traveling with her. Everything seems more enjoyable to me.
We spent a couple of days doing the backpacker gig. Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng, Vientiene. Kayaking and drowning in the Nam Khan! Then we flew back home and the plane damn near kills us…well, the pilot or the wind
But we made it and I laughed my ass off while the girl next to me puked her guts out!
.
Touring Herat with the ANP
In Afghanistan, Middle East, Travel, culture, islam, thinking out loud on May 1, 2010 at 12:01 am
Last few days in Herat.
I had asked General Akrummuddin and COL Zahir to arrange a tour of Herat for me. There are hundreds of architectural and historical wonders in and around Herat. The Primary locations being the Minarets, the Citadel and the Masjid Jami. All beautiful with centuries of history. These structures have been witness to Alexander, Tamerlane, Genghis Khan, Babur Khan and a host of other historical figures of greater or lesser renown.
With about a month to go, I felt safe to get the tour underway. COL Zahir and General AKs Securty Deputy were worried. What would happen to them if I were kidnapped or harmed in some way under their watch. Probably would be a mess. Not that I’m a huge target or an important target.
I talked to General AK and COL Zahir again. They arranged everything.
I was given a two vehicle entourage with security guards for protection. I was driven around the city and taken to the Martyrs Museum, the Citadel, an ancient aqueduct, a couple of Shi’a Shrines in the area the names of which I can’t remember right now (I’ll have to update this later) and to the Minarets and the Ghowharashad Shrine.
The Minarets had to be magnificent in their day. They’re still a site to behold. Especially considering the age of the things. The Citadel was extraordinary. I was able to get our and mix it up a bit with the locals right around the Citadel.
It was an incredible adventure about which I plan to write more in the future.
For now, I simply wish to share the photos from the event.
Hope you enjoy.
Air Assault!!!
In Military, thinking out loud on April 30, 2010 at 12:02 am
Graduated from Air Assualt School in 1992.
It wasn’t all the difficult, but, it wasn’t all the easy either.
A Dude in Korea at Camp Greaves drew this for me from a picture my friend took right after the 12 Mile Road March that was the “graduation ceremony.” We started out with about 160 students. At the end of the course, there were about 70 of us left. Drop outs. Test failures. Injuries. All had taken their toll.
Most of us made the road march in the alloted 4 hours. One guy did it in 1 hour and 14 minutes. He was hauling ass. I think I did it in 3 hours. It wasn’t that difficult. We ran 7 to 10 miles each day over the course of that 2 week course. By the time it was over, most of us were in pretty good shape. I aced my next PT test.
After the road march, those of us who finished on time were lined up in groups of about 12 to 15 and presented with our Air Assault Badge or “wings.” Our instructor walked over to us, pinned our wings on our uniforms. Then he asked if we wanted blood wings. I think everyone opted for blood wings. Everyone in my group at any rate.
He had pinned our wings on us without the backing. The wings are placed on the graduates chest about where the heart is located. Our instructor then hit us in our chest. Right on top of the wings. The wings stick in your pectoral muscles and when you pull them out, you bleed. I bled a bit, but, not much. A couple of guys were bleeders and the blood spread over their t-shirts.
After that, you are blooded. Blood Wings!
It actually pretty cool and not painful at all. Our instructor was a pretty big dude. 6′ 6″ and about 250 pounds or so. Not fat. Muscle. When he hit those wings, you didn’t feel the pins sticking into your pec. You felt his fist hitting your chest. Took my breath away. I didn’t feel the wings sticking into my chest. Didn’t feel anything until I snatched out of my chest and started bleeding.
Air Assault School was a challenging and really cool experience.
You start by learning to rappel from a tower and proceed until you can prep equipment to be air assualted (carried by helicopters) to an objective and you finish by rappelling from a helocopters. We trained on Blackhawks. Rappelling from a helo is awesome. I loved it.
Later, I went to Rappel Master School. In that course, we started with 22 students. 7 of us graduated. When the instructor told me that I had passed the Final Exam, I almost jumped through the roof of the building. Amazing feeling of accomplishment. Especially since I was a Corporal at the time and everyone else were more senior NCOs and Officers. I was about 22 years old at the time. Hell of a great experience for me.
A buddy of mine who also went through Air Assault School sent me the following:
I got my AA badge in the spring of 1986. I didn’t think it was that hard, either – at least physically, but then again I was 18 and in shape from running cross-country and playing soccer during my senior year of high school. The most challenging aspect for me was the rigging and slingloading phase – we lost quite a few from our class for screwing that up. Very few had problems with the “pathfinder” phase – setting up LZ/DZs – and very few had problems with the actual rappelling (the guys who were scared of heights were weeded-out on the big obstacle course on Day One), but we lost a lot of students for “gigging-out”, uniforms fucked up, trying to cheat with lightened rucksacks – that sort of thing. Everyone had hyped it as “the toughest two weeks in the Army”, so maybe I had built it up in my own mind, but it didn’t phase me ’cause I loved that kind of shit. The funny thing though – it was a big deal for my unit. When I came rolling back onto school grounds at the end of that final road-march/run (2 hours/10 minutes), my team leader, PLT SGT, and company commander were all awaiting me, clapping me on the back, cheering me on. That made me feel pretty fucking proud, I’m not embarrassed to admit. lol It’s funny you brought this up, Dave – I was just reminiscing about Air Assault School earlier this week when we were talking about going rapelling in Red River Gorge. At the Ft. Campbell school we had a rule that you had to always be running anytime you were on AAS property, and every time your left foot hit the ground you had to yell “Air Assault”, so it was pretty comical to have a couple hundred students at any given time sprinting around the block talking to themselves. lol
Going back even further, my best buddy growing up was a kid named Eric Reynolds (he’s the guy who had a lung removed a few years back from what he’s convinced is Gulf War Syndrome), and we used to rappel all the time – off the roof, out the attic window, from the tops of tall trees – you name it, we jumped it. Anyhow, at Ft. Jackson they have that big obstacle/rope course called Victory Tower, which culminates in a 20-ft rappelling wall. After watching many of my BT platoon struggle down – shaking/trembling, flipping upside down, just freezing in fear, whatever – I went down in a single bound. Hit the ground, yelled “off rappel!” to my belay man, and as I was sprinting off my DSGT grabbed me and pulled me aside. Of course, my first thought was “oh, fuck, what did I do?” until he just looked at me, grinned, and said “you’ve done this before, haven’t you Daniels?” lol You know what I mean when I say that it was the first moment during the entire Basic Training stint when I thought “wow, my Drill SGT might actually be human after all”. lol It was another one of those proud moments for me.
I’d forgotten about having to yell “Air Assault” every time your left foot struck the ground. It was funny as hell. A bunch of soldiers running around; “Air Assault! Air Assault! Air Assault!” everywhere they ran. And yes, you had to double time (run) everywhere you went. There was no walking during Air Assault School.
Every school of this sort in the Army left me with a sense that I just passed a huge test. That I’d come closer to being a real soldier.
Finishing Jungle Warfighting School in Panama left me with the same feeling of accomplishment. You feel a better part of the team. You’re now able to offer more to your peers and to yourself after having graduated with a new set of skills. These schools teach real world skills. It’s not like a college course or high school wherein you pass a course but aren’t sure exactly how that course is going to help you in life.
Eventually in the Army, you’re going to deply. You’re going to war. You’re going to be sent on a mission. Many of the skills one learns are directly translatable to those endeavors. Along with the drop out rate for some of these schools which can be staggeringly high, this sense of having learned something useful is a unique feeling in my learning process throughout my life. I’ve never felt the same sense of accomplishment after having gone to a University or College course.
It’s an excellent sense of accomplishment that one feels when finishing a course of this sort in the US Army.
Coffee Filters are useful little critters…
In Useful Information, thinking out loud on April 29, 2010 at 12:01 amSnatched this from an email. I liked it so much, I had to throw it on here.
Better than paper towels and a lot less expensive…
COFFEE FILTERS
Coffee filters ….. Who knew! And you can buy 1,000 at the Dollar Tree for almost nothing even the large ones!—now that’s an idea!I would bet the cost comparison to paper towels is very favorable. And….how about these ideas below??
1.over bowls or dishes when cooking in the microwave. Coffee filters make excellent covers.
2. Clean windows, mirrors, and chrome… Coffee filters are lint-free so they’ll leave windows sparkling.
3. Protect China by separating your good dishes with a coffee filter between each dish.
4. Filter broken cork from wine. If you break the cork when opening a wine bottle, filter the wine through a coffee filter.
5. Protect a cast-iron skillet. Place a coffee filter in the skillet to absorb moisture and prevent rust.
6. Apply shoe polish. Ball up a lint-free coffee filter.
7. Recycle frying oil. After frying, strain oil through a sieve lined with a coffee filter.
8. Weigh chopped foods. Place chopped ingredients in a coffee filter on a kitchen scale.
9. Hold tacos. Coffee filters make convenient wrappers for messy foods.
10. Stop the soil from leaking out of a plant pot. Line a plant pot with a coffee filter to prevent the soil from going through the drainage holes.
11. Prevent a Popsicle from dripping. Poke one or two holes as needed in a coffee filter..
12. Do you think we used expensive strips to wax eyebrows? Use strips of coffee filters..
13. Put a few in a plate and put your fried bacon, French fries, chicken fingers, etc on them. It soaks out all the grease.
14. Keep in the bathroom. They make great “razor nick fixers.”
15. As a sewing backing. Use a filter as an easy-to-tear backing for embroidering or appliqueing soft fabrics.
16. Put baking soda into a coffee filter and insert into shoes or a closet to absorb or prevent odors. (or record room!)
17. Use them to strain soup stock and to tie fresh herbs in to put in soups and stews.18. Use a coffee filter to prevent spilling when you add fluids to your car.
19. Use them as a spoon rest while cooking and clean up small counter spills.20. Can use to hold dry ingredients when baking or when cutting a piece of fruit or veggies.. Saves on having extra bowls to wash.
21. Use them to wrap Christmas ornaments for storage.
22. Use them to remove fingernail polish when out of cotton balls.
23. Use them to sprout seeds.. Simply dampen the coffee filter, place seeds inside, fold it and place it into a plastic baggie until they sprout.
24. Use coffee filters as blotting paper for pressed flowers. Place the flowers between two coffee filters and put the coffee filters in phone book..
25. Use as a disposable “snack bowl” for popcorn, chips, etc.
OH YEAH THEY ARE GREAT TO USE IN YOUR COFFEE MAKERS TOO.
Buddha Statues
In Religion, Spirituality, Thailand, Travel, beauty, thinking out loud on April 28, 2010 at 12:05 amThese are my favorite two Buddha statues that I’ve purchased over the years.
Favorite Buddha Statues
The statue on the Left is Buddha meditating under the Bodhi Tree where he reached enlightenment or Nirvana (nibbana). The state on the Right is Buddha resting atop and being shaded/protected by Naga. Both of these are important events in the Buddhist tradition. I have not seen a duplicate statue of either one of these. I like that they are both unique and detailed. These statues tell a story. I like that.
Islamic Rage Boy ~ He Never Tickled Hasim’s Thighs!
In Middle East, Religion, Stupidity, islam, thinking out loud on April 27, 2010 at 12:05 am
Muslims ~ Outraged by Anything since 700AD.
Beatdown at Soi Cowboy!
In Stupidity, Thailand, Travel, thinking out loud on April 26, 2010 at 1:02 am
Unny, Bupe and I took a taxi over to Sukhumvit Soi 11 to eat some Mexican food at Charley Browns. The food was decent. A bit bland, but, near enough to Mexican food so as to please te palate. Afterward, Unny and Bupe were craving Oysters and Somtam. So we headed over to Soi Cowboy.
Soi Cowboy is one of the “SexPat” areas of Bangkok. Go Go Bars and Prostitutes galore. Everything an old guy who can still get it up with a viagra induced libido could desire. And the old fellas were out in force as usual. It’s hilarious walking around the SexPat areas. You see everything there. Let your imagination soar. It’s probably there or right around the corner.
As we pulled up to Soi Cowboy, a group of men came running out. Must have been ten or twelve of them. Once we got to Sams 200o–the bar that serves Oysters, we were filled in on the details of all the excitement. It seems that yesterday an ExPat attempted to depart Spice Girls Go Go Bar without paying his bill. The bouncers ganked him up and proceeded to rough the guy up. The next day or that same night, Mr. (s)Expat paid a group of Thai hooligans to go to the Spice Girls Go Go Bar and raise a little hell. This was the group that we saw running out of Soi Cowboy as we pulled up.
Apparently, they ran into Spice Girls Go Go Bar and beat down at least one of the bouncers. When we passed by the Spice Girls Go Go Bar, a crowd had gathered and was rubber necking the situation. I laughed. One of the bouncers was sitting on the floor of the deck at Spice Girls Go Go Bar looking dazed and confused. Obviously, he’d gotten the worst of the beating.
There was an air of excitement on Soi Cowboy, but, for the most part, it was just another day for the gals on the strip. I assume that they’re used to the violence and insanity that consumes their lives and the strip called Soi Cowboy.
I just laughed and yelled; “Get some!” And laughed some more.
Later, the police showed up and probably took statements. Nothing will come of it, of course. I’m sure the hooligans were attached to some organized crime element in the city. The police will be paid off or more than likely will let it quietly subside and go away.
That’s life in the big city. Life on Soi Cowboy.
Excitement. Insanity. Laced with violence and sex and anything goes…
Took those two snaps with my iPhone. Decent little cam on the thing.
Home Invasion, Well, Sort of…
In Humor, Thailand, Unny, thinking out loud on April 26, 2010 at 12:05 amThis little bugger invaded my Condo last week. Evil looking little sucker. Those claws look like they could be used to filet an elephant!
Anyone have any idea what it is?
Damn thing flies, too. Startled the hell out of me. It was all I could do to not scream like a school girl when it took flight and headed for my head. lol Don’t get me wrong. I got out of it’s way. Those claws are scary. Used a pair of tongs to pick it up and throw it off the balcony. Felt like it weighed a good 10 or 12 ounces. That shell protecting it’s wings and body was hard as rock.
Those claws and pinchers. I had no desire to test their tensil strength.
Grabbed it. Ran for the balcony and tossed it as far as I could.
No idea how it got up that high. We’re on the 15th floor. Must have been a good gust of wind that pushed it up to us.
Damn thing gave me the heeby jeebies. haha
Israel has the Right to live under a Government of their choosing! They have the right to exist as they are now.
In Middle East, Military, Politics, Religion, Stupidity, islam on April 25, 2010 at 12:01 am
Right:
18. a just claim or title, whether legal, prescriptive, or moral: You have a right to say what you please.
19. Sometimes, rights. that which is due to anyone by just claim, legal guarantees, moral principles, etc.: women’s rights; Freedom of speech is a right of all Americans.
Their claim to the land in which they lived. Their claim to the land which they purchased. Their right to live under governance of their own choosing as opposed to being forced to live under an Islamic Despotic State.
My opinion is that they had/have this right.
Would we deny this right to ourselves.
In 1948, there was no real and just governance or government in that region. It was a mandate. Once the mandate ended, the people should have been able to choose their form of government. The Muslim despots wanted to force all and sundry to live under Islamic rule or authoritarian, monarchic rule. The Jews did not wish to live in a state of that kind. They did not wish to live under a government that was wholly corrupt and historically pre-disposed to violence and genocide towards non-Muslims in general and Jews in particular.
Therefore, I say that the people of the area had a right to choose and fight for the governance of their liking. They had to right to fight to not be forced to live under Islamic rule.
If the Muslims didn’t like it, they had the choice to fight it. They have and they do.
I don’t think that we have blindly supported Israel. Anyone who resorts that that hyperbole is wholly ignorant of the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict or lying to make their point seem better.
The Israelis have more or less been our allies in the region since ’48. We have acted counter to their security interests at times. They have acted violently towards us and at times, they have acted counter to our national interests. Over all, we have acted with each other in accordance with the standard practices and behaviors of allies.
The Muslims have almost never acted as allies. More often that not, they have diabolically and diametrically opposite of how an ally would act towards us. The Arabs sided with the wrong side in World War I. The Arabs sided with Hitler in World War II. Going so far as to travel to Berlin to learn the art of the Final Solution so as to import it to the Middle East. In order so that they might use the Final Solution on the Jews of the Levant. In the Cold War, Syria and Egypt both sought to be non-aligned until they were obviously in the Soviet Camp. By then, it was obvious that non-alignment meant taking money from the West and Tactical/Strategic aid, advisors and equipment from the Soviets.
We should have severed ties with the Arabs decades ago.
The Israelis had just as much right to an Independent Nation in the areas that comprised the Palestine Mandate as did any other people who lived there. The Jews created the major cities. The Jews created the jobs to which the Arabs flocked in mass numbers in the area. If it weren’t for the Jews who live[d] in Palestine, there would be nothing over which to fight in the area.
If the Jews were to leave Palestine, they’d take with them their technology, their labor and the area would return to the dust from whence it sprang.
Economic right. They created the economy of Palestine. Were it not for the Jews, there’d be a few date farms and a few thousand sheep and some dusty old towns wherein lived naught but poverty stricken Muslims.
The Jews are the only reason that the area is worth having. Without them, there would be absolutely nothing there.
For a great example, look to the Sinai. When the Israelis occupied it, they civilized the land. Cultivated the land. Irrigated the land. They started pulling oil out of the Sinai. You can see the remains of the old Israeli settlements. Even as remains after having been bulldozed by the Israeli Gov’t in order to keep the settlers from returning, they’re still more habitable than the Arab/Egyptian towns. Oil production is almost nil. The ARabs can do almost nothing without outside assistance.
Israel had to go to Egypt and show the Egyptian government how to irrigate and desalinize to save their cotton crops. Egypt! One of the oldest civilization on the planet is no longer able to properly irrigate their crops without the assistance of Israeli science and technology.
The Israeli people had the right to choose the government under which they would live.
The Arabs wanted to force them to live under Muslim rule. The Arabs wanted submission.
That is why I can not, will not support he Arabs in this conflict.
The Israelis should have driven all of the Palestinian Arabs into Jordan. Jordan is the true homeland of the Palestinians.
http://www.theaugeanstables.com/essays-on-france/paris-notes-fall-2o05/
http://middleeastfacts.com/images/thearabworld.gif
http://www.danielpipes.org/6257/arabs-israelis-and-underdogs
All of the Nations not in Blue are Muslim countries. Yet, they [the Muslims] must have this spec of blue territory as well. Why?
| Number | English | Français | עברית | العربية | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Israel / Israël | 1 | Israel | Israël | اسرائيل | |
| Gaza strip & West Bank / Bande de Gaza et Cisjordanie |
2 | Gaza strip | Bande de Gaza | ||
| 3 | West Bank | Cisjordanie | |||
| Arab Nations / Nations arabes | 4 | Morocco | Maroc | ||
| 5 | Algeria | Algérie | |||
| 6 | Tunisia | Tunisie | |||
| 7 | Libya | Libye | |||
| 8 | Sudan | Soudan | |||
| 9 | Djibouti | Djibouti | |||
| 10 | Somalia | Somalie | |||
| 11 | Oman | Oman | |||
| 12 | U.A.E. | E.A.U. | |||
| 13 | Qatar | Qatar | |||
| 14 | Kuwait | Koweït | |||
| 15 | Mauritania | Mauritanie | |||
| 16 | Comoros | Comores | |||
| Have been in war with Israel / Ont été en guerre avec Israël |
17 | Saudi Arabia | Arabie Saoudite | ||
| 18 | Iraq | Irak | |||
| 19 | Syria | Syrie | |||
| 20 | Jordan | Jordanie | |||
| 21 | Lebanon | Liban | |||
| 22 | Egypt | Egypte | |||
| 23 | Yemen | Yemen |
UK Fan of My Life!
In Thailand, Unny, beauty, family, thinking out loud on April 24, 2010 at 4:57 am
Habibi and below are our pups ~ Malalai and Cierra.
Malalai (left) and Cierra (right) ~ my little pups!
I’m having a beautiful time in the City of Angels!
Muslims United Against South Park
In Middle East, Religion, Stupidity, islam, thinking out loud on April 23, 2010 at 11:17 pm
Muslim boy rages against Matt Parker and Trey Stone
In a new twist on an old hate, Muslims have warned Matt Parker and Trey Stone that they have insulted the Prophet Mohammed.
They didn’t go so far as to say that they were going to kill Matt and Trey. The misunderstood Muslims simply put a gruesome picture of Theo Van Gogh, the Dutch filmmaker of Fitna fame who was murdered by a Muslim extremist in 2004. They didn’t threaten anyone. Nope. Just said that Matt, Trey and the producers could meet the same fate.
I’m told all the time that Muslims are simply misunderstood. I disagree.
These guys aren’t Wahhabis or al Qaeda operatives. They’re run of the mil hooligans set loose on the world by the cowardice of the West in dealing with Islamic intimidation.
If a War is coming, I hope we get to it soon. The Muslims are too incompetent to win. They’ll lose because they’ll put all of their eggs in one retarded basket–their faith in Allah. Their corrupt societies will fall. Islam will whither on the vine and die away.
It can not happen soon enough. Perhaps, then, the people of the Muslim world will be spiritually, emotionally and intellectually liberated after having been enslaved by Mohammad and his insane minions for the past 1400 years.
This needs to be put to a halt. NOW!
Thai New Year ~ Songkran in Bangkok
In Uncategorized on April 23, 2010 at 5:56 pm
Songkran is the Thai New Year. It’s also known as the Water Festival.
I arrived about 3 days before Songkran began this year. My first Songkran in Thailand. It’s a wild experience. Fun. There was an air of fellowship in the celebration. Easy to sit back and sink into the occasion.
I called up my boy Arik and planned a walkabout. We decided to explore the areas on the Chao Phraya near Wat Arun and the Santa Cruz Church. We stopped at Wat Arun first. I didn’t take a lot of pics there. I’d been there so many times before that I have hundreds of photos of the Temple of Dawn. While we were there, we ran into a group Child Monks in the temple proper. I snapped a few photos as did Arik.
Next we moved on to the Temples down the river. I don’t know the name of this Temple, but, it has one of the biggest Buddha statues that I’ve seen anywhere in Asia inside of a building. It is a site to behold. Beautiful. Majestic. Worthy of a place of worship and reflection. A note on Buddhhists. They do not worship Buddha as a God. They pay homage to him as the first Bodhisattva to teach the path to enlightenment. When you see Buddhists bowing before Buddha, they are paying homage and respect to the Buddha for his teachings which are called the Dharma or Dhamma. What these folks are murmuring or repeating is as follows:
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sammbuddhassa
which is Pali for:
Homage to the exalted one, perfectly enlightened by himself.
We wandered around the Temple for a bit as Arik admired all of the pretty girls in the Temple area. I, of course, averted my eyes and thought only pleasant thoughts of Unny~my beautiful girlfriend. lol
As we walked out of the Temple complex, we entered into a group of vendors selling local foodstuffs and drinks. Arik and I bought some pork sala pao which are little round breads filled with pork stuffing or whatever you choose — pork, beef, shrimp, veggie. They’re tasty to the max. Aroi mak mak. We made our way over to another vendor selling drinks and both of us purchased a Pepsi with ice. As we sat there, Arik struck up a conversation with the vendors. They were a daughter, mother, father team who had been running that stall for years on the same spot. Such nice folks. We sat and talked to them for a good while before we decided to move on.
I wanted to explore the local area.
We ventured on towards the Santa Cruz Church. I knew that the church was there. Though it was a mystery as to how a Catholic Church wound up there in Bangkok. Concidentally, there is a Mosque not too far down the river. Arik and I entered an alley way that was reminiscent of the Chinese hutongs on Beijing. Dark, narrow lanes lined with houses and storefront/houses. People everywhere. Talking, napping, watching TV, eating lunch, selling their wares…all fo the daily activities that comprise the lives of these folks. We passed Chinese lookiing facades. Plain gates. Gates adorned with photos of the King and Queen. Doors open and ajar. Doors decorated with chinese art and caligraphy. Older women and men napping on benches. Cats meowing at us as we passed wanting to be petted or fed. We passed an open area full of Roosters crowing at the noon day sun. It was a panoply of actiivity and life. Thoroughly enjoying and invigorating.
Of course, it was Songkran. As we made our way through the cuts and shoots of this microcosm of Thai life, we came upon Thai folks celebrating. Folks such as the little girl and her father pictured below with the white paste on their faces. Water splashing everywhere. The locals all sent good wishes our way. Alternately wishing us a Happy Songkran or Sawatdee Bee Mai (Happy New Year)! I felt privileged to be able to take part in this local celebration. Everyone was happy and celebrating. Not a grumpy or sulky soul to be seen.
Eventually, we passed through the narrows and came upon an open street. There was a group of Khun Thai (Thai People) gathering with musical intruments ~ drums and cymbols, mostly– making ready to march down to their neighborhood temple. They were accompanied by two or three military men and at least one monk. They stopped for us to take a few pictures of them. Arik obliged and started snapping away. They seemed happy to have their moment recorded.
After watching them march down the street a ways, Arik and I pushed on to Santa Cruz.
We stopped at the Church and snapped some photos. I caught that cat napping and took it’s photo. He seemed to me to be the mascot or guardian of the area. Lounging about uninvolved and unbothered. Lazy and relaxed. Looking as if we were trespassing upon his majesterial perch. He urged us on with a look and we obliged.
After surveying the church and the immedate area. We decided that we were thirsty again. Around the corner, there would be a small storefront or vendor. In Southeast Asia, there always is. You can count on it.
We coursed through a narrow alley and came upon a group of young Thai men celebrating. Beer and whiskey flowing. They shouted to us. Happy Songkran. One of them asked Arik to take his picture. Arik obliged him. Ariks first picture came out blurry. The sun was going down and the young man was a bit on the drunk side of the night. He kept moving. Low light and movement guarantees blur unless you have an excellent flash. Even then it can be iffy. He asks Arik why he took such a bad photo with such an expensive camera. What he said was; “Damn, you suck. Taking bad pictures with such an expensive camera.” There were a few older ladies sitting about and they all started chattering about the exchange and laughing at us. I couldn’t help but laugh along.
The yong man walked on.
Arik and I walked on behind him.
When we reached the main road, the young fellow was standing there with a group of friends. They were throwing water at passersby as is the fashion of Songkran. We were offered drinks and food by the group and wound up staying for a good two hours with them. Snapping photos and talking and laughing and smiling. Celebrating in Thai style. A fun experience.
Our day was a success. We experienced Songkran. Took some pretty good photos. Plenty of laughs and smiles to go around.
After a while, I called Unny. She and her friend Bupe met us at Khaosarn Road. We drank a bit more and celebrated and were thoroughly soaked by the end of the night. A little excitement occurred when two groups of drinks interrupted the celebrating with a mini-riot. They threw beer bottles back and forth. With all of the Red Shirt activity of the previous days, many of the folks around us panicked. Scared teenagers cowering in the corners of Khaosarn. The party was interrupted. I grapped Unny, Bupe and Arik and we moved on down the street.
Even with the sort lived violence, it was a good night and a good end to a good night.
Smiles and laughter all around us.
Peace and happy belated Songkran.
As you can tell from the photos near the middle of the group, the Thai folks with whom we were celebrating had tattooes of Mary and Jesus. They were Catholic Thais. I asked them if they were Catholic. One of them answered; “80%!” He mentioned Buddha and the Whiskey as the reason for the lacking 20%. lol We took that picture together because I thought it was hilarious. Here is a White guy from America with a tat of Buddha and a Thai fellow in Thailand with a tat of Mary, mother of Jesus. It doesn’t get more ironic than that. They were a cool group of people. Welcoming. Open. Straightforward. And they “partied like rockstars!”
Big Bag of….HOPE?
In Politics, Quotes, Stupidity on April 19, 2010 at 4:29 am
“It is impossible to introduce into society a greater change and a greater evil than this: the conversion of the law into an instrument of plunder.”
“If the natural tendencies of mankind are so bad that it is not safe to permit people to be free, how is it that the tendencies of these organizers are always good? Do not the legislators and their appointed agents also belong to the human race?”
Life in Bangkok
In Thailand, Travel, thinking out loud on April 16, 2010 at 3:56 pm
A couple of days ago, Arik and I strolled around Bangkok.
We ran into a group of Thai Catholics. Something that you’d think would be pretty rare and I suppose it is.
It was Songkran. So we hung out for a bit and everyone threw water on us and we drank some whiskey with them. Arik ran down to 7-11 and bought them another bottle of whiskey and we sat for a while and watched them throw water on passersby. All in good fun. They put the white powder on us and we all sat around laughing and having a good time. Later that night, we met Unny and Bupe at Thanon Khaosarn for drinks. A little battle broke out around us with folks throwing beer bottles. Unny and Bupe hid behind a beer tub and Arik and I went out and tried to get pics of the mob.
Good times all around on my 4th night in Bangkok. ; )
Americans United for Separation of Everything and State
In Military, Politics, Quotes, Religion, Stupidity, culture, thinking out loud on April 13, 2010 at 12:10 am-
“Socialism, like the ancient ideas from which it springs, confuses the distinction between government and society. As a result of this, every time we object to a thing being done by government, the socialists conclude that we object to its being done at all.
We disapprove of state education. Then the socialists say that we are opposed to any education. We object to a state religion. Then the socialists say that we want no religion at all. We object to a state-enforced equality. Then they say that we are against equality. And so on, and so on. It is as if the socialists were to accuse us of not wanting persons to eat because we do not want the state to raise grain.”“The state is the great fictitious entity by which everyone seeks to live at the expense of everyone else.”
“Life, liberty, and property do not exist because men have made laws. On the contrary, it was the fact that life, liberty, and property existed beforehand that caused men to make laws in the first place.”
“It is impossible to introduce into society a greater change and a greater evil than this: the conversion of the law into an instrument of plunder.”
“If the natural tendencies of mankind are so bad that it is not safe to permit people to be free, how is it that the tendencies of these organizers are always good? Do not the legislators and their appointed agents also belong to the human race?”
–Frederic Bastiat
“The instant formal government is abolished, society begins to act. A general association takes place, and common interest produces common security.”
–Thomas Paine
“I believe that all government is evil and that trying to improve it is largely a waste of time.”
“The kind of man who demands that government enforce his ideas is always the kind of man whose ideas are idiotic.”
–H.L. Mencken
“It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right.”
“Law never made men a whit more just.”
–Henry David Thoreau
“Force is the vital principle and immediate parent of despotism.”
“Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add ‘within the limits of the law’ because law is often but the tyrant’s will, and always so when it violates the rights of the individual.”
–Thomas Jefferson
“If man is not fit to govern himself, how can he be fit to govern someone else?”
–James Madison
“Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for yourself.”
–unknown
“I let go of the law, and people become honest. I let go of economics, and people become prosperous. I let go of religion, and people become serene. I let go of all desire for the common good, and the good becomes common as grass. When the will to power is in charge, the higher the ideals, the lower the results.”
–Lao Tzu
“The smallest minority on earth is the individual. Those who deny individual rights cannot claim to be defenders of minorities.”
“A government is the most dangerous threat to man’s rights: it holds a legal monopoly on the use of physical force against legally disarmed victims.”
“Civilization is the progress toward a society of privacy. The savage’s whole existence is public, ruled by the laws of his tribe. Civilization is the process of setting man free from men.”
“Individual rights are the means of subordinating society to moral law.”
“There can be no such thing, in law or in morality, as actions forbidden to an individual but permitted to a mob.”
–Ayn Rand
“Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet deprecate agitation, are men who want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the roar of its many waters.”
–Frederick Douglass
“Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws.”
–Plato
“The triumph of persuasion over force is the sign of a civilized society.”
–Mark Skousen
“The society that puts equality before freedom will end up with neither.”
–Milton Friedman
“But whether the Constitution really be one thing, or another, this much is certain–that it has either authorized such a government as we have had or has been powerless to prevent it. In either case, it is unfit to exist.”
–Lysander Spooner
“The measure of the state’s success is that the word ‘anarchy’ frightens people, while the word ‘state’ does not.”
–Joseph Sobran
http://www.antiwar.com
http://www.lewrockwell.com
http://www.mises.org
http://www.reason.com
http://www.constitution.org/law/bastiat.htm (read less)
Malalai and Sierra’s First Day Out
In Holidays, Kids, Thailand, family on April 12, 2010 at 4:19 pm
Unny and I decided that we needed to get them out. Take them to the park. Try to get them to poo somewhere else besides my Afghan rugs. So we packed them up into my Afghan pack and rolled out.
We attempted to go to the Lumpini Park first. No Dogs Allowed!
Next.
We head over to Suan Roe Fai (Old Rail Way) Park. Technically no dogs allowed there either. But we snuck them in.
We rented some bikes and tooled on over to a secluded and shaded area in the park. I let my babies out of my backpack and watched their reaction. I think they were in shock from the ride. They just sat there. Scared. Intimidated by their surroundings. I forced the issue. I put their leashes on and pulled them along. Malalai wasn’t having any part of it. I had to drag her for a bit and afterward she’d just stop and sit there. Refusing to sally forth into new territory. Sierra was a bit more adventurous. She roamed around a bit. She followed me and I didn’t need to pull her but every so often to make her move.
When we left, we placed them in the baskets and rode them back to the park entrance. I had to lock Sierra onto the basket because she kept trying to climb out. Malalai simply sat there and looked around until we neared the front of the park. She started getting a little more interested at about that time. So I held her with one hand and steered the bike with the other.
There were funny. I laughed. They whined. I laughed some more.
Things I noticed.
Thai people really seem to love dogs. Everyone pointed and talked about our pups. Everyone was interested. The Taxi drivers had absolutely no problem picking us up with our dogs. The ones who drove us to the parks seemed to actually enjoy having our pups along for the ride.
It was hot.
I think three crows were interested in making more than casual acquaintance with Malalai and Sierra. I had to shoo them away twice. I think they wanted a nice little snack.
The Red Shirts were out in force. Don’t know if it was full force but there were a lot of them. They were announcing over their hand held bull horns that today was not a day for Red Shirts or Yellow Shirts but a day for Democracy. Apparently, the Reds love their King and aren’t bothered by the dichotomy of love for a King and love for Democracy. Kind of schizo if you ask me or it may simply be that they haven’t thought through their actions to the full spiritual, emotional and political extent. It’s their country. I’m simply a guest. It’s an observation.
Malalai and Sierra were or seemed to be dizzy and in calm shock for most of the trip and were exhausted afterwards. We took them for their 2nd and 3rd car ride. 1st moto taxi ride. 1st bike ride. 1st trip to a park.
I accidentally knocked Sierra into a creek or tributary of some sort to the Chao Phraya. She didn’t like that too much. I placed Malalai into the basket of my bike. She just lay down and went to sleep. I did the same thing with Sierra. She moved around too much and the bike crashed to the ground. That might be why she kept trying to climb out of the basket later.
A bird strafed Malalai while she was sleeping in the basket of the bike that I had rented for the park. Funny but disgusting and I had to clean her.
On the way back in the taxi, both of them fell asleep on me. Malalai on my leg. Sierra on my shoulder.
They were cute. It was a nice day at the park for all of us. When we arrived back to the Condo and I let them out of my backpack, they looked around as if to say; “How’d we get back here.” Then they took a nap.
Big day out for our Pups. I think they enjoyed it. I know Unny and I did.
Satan College won their 4th NCAA Basketball Championship today
In Uncategorized on April 6, 2010 at 10:18 am
How disgusting?
DUKE SUX!!!
Why Does the University of Kentucky Snub It’s Fans?
In UK Basketball, UK Football on March 16, 2010 at 12:05 am
I’ve been to three or four SEC Tournaments and 50 plus games thus far.
At each tournament, several local Alumni clubs and Kentucky Websites have organized events for UK fans. I have not seen one event organized by UKAA. UKAA seems to think that it’s above it’s fans. It seems to want to “lord it over” the fans and the various organization that support UK and the Wildcats teams each year.
I find this incomprehensible.
It seems as though the UKAA takes the fan base for granted. The UKAA does not seem particularly interested in returning the support that the fan base lavishes on UK.
Truly, I do not understand this.
Other SEC Teams organized various functions for their fans. UKAA organized NOT ONE function for it’s fans. The pep rally was organized by the local Nashville Alumni association. No one from UK became officially involved.
Without the fans, the UKAA would not have been able to pay that HUGE salary to John Calipari. Without the fan base, UKAA would be hard put to find boosters to support the UKAA. After all, why do boosters support UK?
Because they make dump trucks full of dollars off of the UK fan base.
If the Wildcat Nation or the Blue Haze stopped following UK to every tournament and game, there’d be no dollars to be made.
Why does UK seem to distance itself from it’s own fan base?
I know many organizations and websites who get the UK fan base mobilized and motivated. UKAA attempts to control them and the dollars that these organizations raise without lifting so much as a finger to assist in planning or logistics. If you don’t follow the overly structured rules of the UKAA, they’ll attempt to bully you and/or shut you down completely.
It’s a bit sickening.
I’ve even heard that they sic their attack dogs on fan organization for daring to use the combination of colors of blue and white.
Should not the UKAA be thankful for the fan base and be more supportive. After all, if the fan base dried up, there would be no Kentucky Wildcats program.
Look at the UK football team as an example. UK football is mid-level at best. Why does it remain so? Because the UKAA knows that the UK fan base will purchase those tickets, apparel and related items regardless of the product on the field.
UKAA cares about one thing. The bottom line.
Had the UK fan base stayed awake for the Gillispie era or the end of the Tubby era, those coaches would still be in Lexington. As soon as UKAA started losing profit, Tubby had to go. The same occurred with Billy Gillispie. Had UK fans and boosters continued to spend the dollars, Gillispie could have stuffed one of his athletes into a toilet.
The UKAA should not neglect it’s fan base. They should provide the same support for the fan base that the fan base provides for UKAA.
2010 SEC Tournament Champions ~ Kentucky Wildcats
In Sports, UK Basketball on March 15, 2010 at 9:10 am
Killer Game!
That Big Cuz tip in was incredible.
AWESOME!
Great times in Nashville!
Helicopters in Afghanistan
In Afghanistan on March 9, 2010 at 12:01 am
This was the view outside my front door in Afghanistan. I watched these birds come and go all the time.
Speeding off to places like Farah, Bala Magob, Bala Baluk, Delarom or Torqundi. Carrying men, equipment, ammunition, food. You name it. Taking the battle to the insurgents. Some days it was non-stop. Some days it was a trickle.
I took these pics the day after Thanksgiving 2009 while I was working for MPRI.
GAME FACE!!!
In Sports, UK Basketball, thinking out loud on March 8, 2010 at 8:39 am
Attended the game today.
UK and UF.
UK Smoked ‘em. I dig it. Loads of fun…
A night out in Frankfurt!
In Holidays, Travel, culture, family, thinking out loud on March 7, 2010 at 3:13 am
Rocked it with my little Bro in Frankfurt GE. Sometimes, it seemed like we were in the Turkish Province of Frankfurt. lol Kinda like walking around in parts of Northern VA wherein one could be forgiven for thinking that one was somewhere in Southeast Asia.
I kinda liked that about Northern Va, though. lol
We were out walking all day and we decided that we wanted to hit Hard Rock Cafe. Only problem. There is no HRC in Frankfurt. They do have them in Cologne, Munich and Berlin. Just not Frankfurt.
We jumped in a cab. Told him HRC. He acted like he knew where it was. We drive past the Hauptbahnhof and through a shopping district and arrive at this place called Wallyz. The Cab driver swears up and down that it’s HRC.
Turns out that he was half correct. Wallyz used to be a bootleg HRC. Looked like it. Served food like it. Even had the same name. Just different enough to avoid copyright infringement.
That placed closed down and was replaced by Wallyz Irish Pub. Wallyz looked cool enough and they were playing futbol on the “telly.” So we pulled up a stool, got some eats and a few drinks.
Jonathan brought his camera along and we took pics of random stuff and we did some of those silly jumping pictures that I love so much. lol Enjoyed ourselves, thoroughly.
Malalai Joya ~ The Only Real Hero of the People of Afghanistan
In Afghanistan, culture on March 3, 2010 at 3:40 pm
The US, EU and the UN should do the right thing and agitate to have her re-instated to the Parliament. It’s a travesty that we stand idly by and let Democracy be made a sham by the Warlords and that dog Karzai.
Let’s Build a Mormon Temple in Makkah (Mecca)
In Religion, culture, islam, thinking out loud on March 1, 2010 at 12:11 amSo! I was thinking. I’d like to build a synagogue and a Mormon Temple in Mekkah, Saudi Arabia. I feel Christians and Jews should have a place to worship when they visit Mekkah. What’s that you say? Non-Muslims aren’t allowed to travel to Makkah. But, then….why…well, why are they offended that Switzerland banned …minarets when they ban whole groups of humanity from their town?
Mecca (pronounced /ˈmɛkə/), also spelled Makkah (English: /ˈmækə/; Arabic: مكة Makkah and in full: Arabic: مكّة المكرمة transliterated Makkah Al Mukarrammah [mækːæt ælmukarːamæ]) is the holiest meeting site in Islam, closely followed by Medina. The city is modern, cosmopolitan and while being closed to non-Muslims, is nonetheless ethnically diverse.[1][2][3]
Muslim tradition attributes the beginning of Mecca to Ishmael‘s descendants. In the 7th century, the Islamic prophet Muhammad proclaimed Islam in the city which was by then an important trading center. After 966, Mecca was led by local sharifs until 1924 when the Ottoman Empire collapsed and it came under the rule of the Saudis.[4] In its modern period, Mecca has seen tremendous expansion in size and infrastructure.
The modern day city is the capital of Saudi Arabia‘s Makkah Province, in the historic Hejaz region. With a population of 1.7 million (2008), the city is located 73 km (45 mi) inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of 277 m (910 ft) above sea level.
Where is the UN condemnation over the fact that only Muslims can enter Makkah?
They certainly stepped up quickly enough to condemn Swizerland because they voted against allowing minarets to be built in their country.
Saudi Arabia, the country from which most terrorism originates, bans whole people from even entering their city.
Some enterprising Swiss individual needs to petition to build a Church or Temple in Makkah. See how well that goes over.
Entry to Mecca for Non-Muslims
“Non-Muslim Bypass:” Non-Muslims are not permitted to enter Mecca.
Non-Muslims are not permitted to enter Mecca under Saudi law.[1][37]
The Saudi government supports their position using Sura 9:28 from the Qur’an:
“O you who believe! The Mushrikeen (idolaters) are (spiritually) unclean, so they shall not approach the Sacred Mosque after this year; and if you fear poverty then Allah will enrich you out of His grace if He please; surely Allah is Knowing Wise.”[Qur'an 9:28]
The existence of cities closed to non-Muslims and the mystery of the Hajjis have often aroused intense curiosity in people from around the world. Some have falsely claimed to be Muslims in order to visit the city of Mecca and the Grand Mosque to experience the Hajj for themselves. The first to leave a record was Ludovico di Varthema of Bologna in 1503.[38] The most famous account of a foreigner’s journey to Mecca is A Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina, written by Richard Francis Burton.[39] Burton traveled as a Qadiriyyah Sufi from Afghanistan; his name, as he signed it in Arabic below his frontispiece portrait for The Jew The Gypsy and El Islam, was al-Hajj ‘Abdullah.[citation needed] Individuals who use fake certificates of Muslim identity to enter may be arrested and prosecuted by Saudi authorities.[40]
Last Stop in Kabul
In Afghanistan, Kids, Travel, culture on February 28, 2010 at 12:14 pm
I flew to Kabul to out process the company and depart for home. First day back, I relaxed. Chilled out a bit. I set up a tour with the Afghan Logistics Service (ALS). ALS is a company in Kabul that provides everything–Logistics services, Security, Vehicles, Tours, Cars. Anything you might need when setting up in country. They also provide a “mini-cab” service. They’ll take you anywhere in the city for 7 bucks. They’re a pretty handy company to have around in Kabul. I’ve used them quite a bit.
While working for MPRI, we’re only supposed to go to authorized areas. The Green Zone, ISAF, KIA, etc.
I can’t do it. I have to get out and see things. How can you experience life with those “granny” rules? MPRI is concerned with lawsuits and such. I don’t care. I want to do what I want to do. Rules be damned.
I called ALS and set up a tour of Kabul. The primary site I wanted to visit was the Bagha Babur. The Garden of Babur Khan. Babur Khan was a minor Prince in Central Asia. He came to the throne of Ferghana when he was 13 or 14. Young! He was a scion of both Timurlane and Genghis Khan. That’s a serious blood line. He started out not so well. He captured Samarkand and had it taken back twice. The Uzbeks were a riddle that he wasn’t quite powerful enough to solve in his youth. His Kingdom Ferghana was also usurped by his half brother while he was in Samarkand. He left his 6 open and his half brother took advantage and left him a homeless bandit prince.
Later, he was offered the throne of Kabul when the King there died with no heir. It was important to keep the bloodline of Genghis and Tumr on the throne. He took the throne and used it as a base to forge an empire. The Moghul Empire. He carved his empire using modern technology. He was the first to bring fire arms to bear in battle in Central Asia. He purchased that technology from the Turks and used it to create Hindustan which is the approximate area covering what we today know as Kabul to Peshawar down to New Delhi and Agra today. He named it Hindustan and called himself the Moghul Emperor after the Persian word for Mongol.
Babur Khan was a Muslim. As a descendant of Genghis, though, he never forgot his roots and still openly courted the favor of the Great Blue Spirit of his homeland and the same deity or spirit whom Genghis worshiped. The Mongols felt a great kinship with the land and nature. This was reflected in the Moghul brand of Islam. Babur also learned about the Hindu religion of his new Empire and took an interest in the animism, Sikhs and Buddhism of his Empire as well. Like Genghis, he was open to different voices where God was concerned.
Having read about Babur Khan and his trek from Herat to Kabul through the Mountains of what is today Ghor province, I wanted to visit his Gardens. Babur died in Agra, but, his wish was to be buried in Kabul. His son, Humayun, had his body preserved in ice and transported back to Kabul where he was laid to rest in his favorite garden spot. Today, this site is known as the Bagha Babur.
Like everything else, Bagha Babur was destroyed by the ravages of the Mujahideen Warlords in the post Soviet Era. Instead of celebrating peace and the defeat of the Soviets, the Warlords became factional and turned on each other like animals. No city suffered more than Kabul. Doostum, Rabbani, Massoud, Hekmetyar and others fought for control of Kabul. They bombed, rocketed, looted, raped and pillaged. Many people hate the warlords today for these crimes against the Afghan people.
The warlords then, of course, lost everything to the taliban and most fled the country like cowards.
Recently, UNESCO and the Agha Khan Foundation repaired the garden and the walls of the Bagha Babur. It was nicely done. Even so, one can still see scars on the structures. Bullet holes and nicks in various places on the Shah Jahan Mosque and the various grave stones in the Tomb area. Like everything else in Afghanistan, funds are short and everything has a ragged quality to it. Bagha Babur is no exception. It’s a magnificent garden and tomb. Hundreds of years of history. We almost lost it all. Thanks to UNESCO and Agha Khan, though, the people of Afghanistan have an important piece of their history to share with each other and the world.
I also drove around other parts of the city. We drove out to the Palaces and the Kabul Museum in Darulaman. The Darulaman Palace is all but destroyed as you can see from the pictures. Another legacy of the Warlords.
The city of Kabul was virtually untouched as the Soviets withdrew. Not until the Warlords started fighting each other did Kabul feel the ravages of modern war. These are the same folks whom we (the US) supported during the Afghan War against the Soviets. Later we imposed these same Warlords on the people of Afghanistan. Many of them are no better than and in some cases worse than the Taliban. I suppose you could say that they are “our” taliban.
Lastly, we cruised up to TV mountain where one can take photos of both sides of the city. It was a cloudy, dusty day. So my photos aren’t great. Even so, they give one an idea of the dusty, central Asian city of Kabul.
Note: Shah Jahan is the man who built the Taj Mahal. He is the Grandson of Babur Khan.
Vandy Unable to Surmount the Great Wall!
In Sports, UK Basketball on February 22, 2010 at 8:54 pm
Vandy guard Jenkins proves unable to shoot over the defensive presence that is John Wall.
In the closing seconds of the game, Jenkins attempts a 3 point shot. John Wall gets a piece of it and the shot is off the mark. More last second heroics by Wall who had made the winning shots for Kentucky only seconds earlier.
This Kentucky Team refuses to lose. The swagger is definitely back at Kentucky.
GO BIG BLUE!!!
Farewell Party
In Afghanistan on February 21, 2010 at 6:17 pm
I planned a Farewell Party for my guys (and me, of course).
I had Shoaib bring in a Kabob guy from downtown Herat. Had the whole Afghan Kabob platter. Cucumbers, tomatoes, lamb, beef and chicken. Nan (Afghan bread). Apples and Oranges. Soda and water. The meat was grilled right there on Camp Zafar by the Kabob shop owner. He knew he had to get it right because of our guests. I don’t reckon it would be good for his business to piss off the Regional Police Commander. lol
That morning (18 Feb), Shoaib was dropped off downtown. He picked up the fruit, drinks, the kabob shop guy with all of his supplies and meats and such. Yama drove them all to the gate.
At about 1030, I headed for Camp Zafar. 15 minutes later, Shoaib calls from the gate. The ANA (Afghan Army) didn’t want to cooperate. They wouldn’t let the kabob guy into the base. I jumped into one of our vans and raced to the gate. We were running late. I had expected everything to be set up and smokin’ by 1030. I rolled up to the gate like the Po Po in Miami Vice and started my routine. Talking loud. Shaking hands and walking straight through to where Shoaib was being held up outside the main gate. I stormed up to the ANA sentry and loudly proclaimed: “Hey, these guys are with me!” I pushed them all to the gate and started walking that way myself.
No problem. It’s fairly easy to deal with the ANA if you are an American.
Finally, my man was on the scene and ready to start cooking.
Fortunately, the ANP are always late. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them on time. It’s that whole “insha’allah” mentality. Things happen according to God’s will and timeline. It’s just part of dealing with Muslims in general.
We got the kabob guy set up and cooking. I had told Shoaib to have different types of meat. I wanted an Afghan style party. All we needed was for someone to get up in the middle and dance and we’d have been on it.
MG Ak and COL Zahir arrived with about 20 ANP Officers and the security detail at 1200 hours. We greeted them at the side of our class room building and brought them inside to start the party.
I got everyone seated and then stood in the middle to get everyone’s attention. It was time to give out certificates to my guys ~ Milton, Wahid, Farhad and Shoaib. I gave a short opening remark then brought my guys in along with MG AK and Al, our MPRI Team Leader, and we gave each of them a Certificate. I also gave Milton an Afghan Flag on a marble mount with Herat, Afghanistan 2007 ~ 2010 inscribed on it.
I gave a little speech in effect saying that all of my success was due to these guys and that it was an awesome opportunity for me to have worked with them and the ANP as well as all of the MPRI team members. Over all, Afghanistan has been an excellent experience for me. I feel honored to have been able to take part in this grand adventure in some small capacity.
MG Ak stepped up next and presented me with another Cert and a beautiful carpet that I’ll probably have framed and hang at home. It depicts the Minarets and the Ghowharashad Masjid. It’s quite colorful as well. I liked it. He gave a little speech and saying that he’d enjoyed our time together and that I was a true member of the team and had become a part of the Afghan family. So much so that they had given me the nickname “Dawood Khan.” Everyone got a laugh out of that. He presented Milton with a Cert as well and talked him up a bit.
Milton spoke a bit after that. Thanking everyone for the successes out here and saying that the Herat Team was his favored place of the teams with which he had worked. And this is true. We’ve had our squabbles. Some ongoing. For the most part, though, we’ve got on like family. To include the squabbles. lol Some of it reminds me of sibling rivalry. Some of us just want to do the job. We don’t care about recognition or awards. Some want to be heroes and want to be recognized as such. All part of the game.
We had a good group out here. And it was a joy to work with these guys.
I gave a few last remarks and then said; “Alright, time to eat!”
Then I walked out and started pushing the guys to get the food in to our guests.
At some point, I sat down to eat with MG Ak. We talked about my plans after Afghanistan. He asked me if I’d be coming back at some point. I told him that I didn’t plan to do so, but, that only God knows the future. Of course, sometime during the conversation he told me to take care of my health because I’d gotten a bit heavy since I’d been here. lol I laughed and told him that Unny was making me join a gym in Bangkok. He got a kick out of that. As always, he asked after family. Wanted to make sure that I was keeping in touch with Momma. I told him that, of course, I was.
I have to say that Shoaib did a most excellent job with arranging everything. The guy has been key to all my endeavors out here. I’m lucky to have had such a great friend and co-worker. Gods blessings.
Everyone ate. We joked. Laughed. It was a good time.
I stood up to ask MG AK for a last picture together. Called COL Zahir over for the pic.
As soon as MG AK stood, the whole of the ANP stood and started filing out.
We took pics with the General. All of us together. Before COL Zahir got away, I grabbed him for one last photo. He started talking about Bangkok and told MG Ak that I was soon to be married. lol MG Ak asked me about Unny. I showed him a picture of her. He complimented her effusively saying how pretty she was and that I should take care of her. Not let her get away. Get married and have a family. I told him that this was in my plans.
Then we said farewell for a final time. MG AK wished me well in my future endeavors and told me to give greetings and his thanks to my Mother for sending him such a “fine young man” to mentor his Officers. COL Zahir started joking on me and we exchanged a few last jibes.
Then it was over. As sudden as it started. In with a bang, out with a bang.
It was a great end to my time here in Herat.
That night and the next day, all of the MPRI guys kept stopping by to tell me that it was a great party and they had appreciated being a part of it.
They had to be a part of it, though. They were part of my time here. It’s only fitting that they be in on the end.
I’ve had a great time here in Herat. It’s been a joy to work here with my American colleagues as well as the ANP and ABP. They’ve been a great bunch and have helped to make this “tour of duty” extremely rewarding for me.
Below are photos of the event. There are a bunch, though. lol Enjoy and Khoda hafiz.
Thanks for stopping by and feel free to leave a comment or two…
Walking around Camp Stone on a Friday morning
In Afghanistan, Thailand, Travel, Unny, culture, thinking out loud on February 19, 2010 at 2:01 pm
Art for Unny's Bangkok Cafe
I walked over the bazaar to say a final farewell to a friend. Hossein sells bootleg DVDs at Coalition Camps all over Herat. I’ve run into him all over the place. Primarily at the RTC, Camp Stone and Camp Arena. I’ve seen him tooling around downtown Herat once or twice as well. We struck up a friendship of sorts over the past couple of years. So I stopped by to say farewell.
While I was doing that, I ran into the Tea Pot. Unny wants to have a small cafe in Bangkok. So I figured it would make a nice piece to display at such a place. I picked it up for her. It’s inlaid with turquoise, lapis and some kind of red stone. I like it. It’s a nice little piece that I think she’ll like as well. It’s decorated with figures from Hindu and Buddhist mythology which ties in nicely with Thailand. Garuda is front and center in the picture.
The other pics are just random shots taken as I waswalking about the bazaar area and the camp.
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- Art for Unny’s Bangkok Cafe
We Are The World ~ Haiti
In Afghanistan, Music, Politics, Spirituality, Travel, culture, thinking out loud on February 17, 2010 at 12:01 am
Personally, I like it. They updated it and signed on artists who will ensure great sales.
I don’t get the criticism of this effort. I liked the hip hop portion of the song. This is a more contemporary tune with current music stars. That will only help sales.
Anything that is done will be criticized by someone, though.
The only thing that I don’t like about the song is that it highlighted how out of touch I am with the States these days. I didn’t know who half of the artists were. I was amazed at the voices of Jennifer Hudson and Celine Dion.
I wish the endeavor success and I hope that the monies raised go towards helping the right people.
Cheating Kansas ~ Recorded for Posterity
In Sports, thinking out loud on February 16, 2010 at 11:49 amWHAT? Me Cheat? No way? Darrel Arthur changed those transcripts. I knew nothing about it. Who's Derrick Rose? Memphis what? Huh? What? What?
http://josephmathieu.blogspot.com/20…l-history.html
Brandon Rush commits to Kansas basketball program. Rush narrowed his college choices to Illinois and Oklahoma. Rumors are that he couldn’t qualify at Illinois or Oklahoma. He decided he would have to enter the draft straight from high school as he couldn’t qualify at a D1 university, except it looked as though he wouldn’t be a first round selection, something his brother already had happen to him. His brothers talked him out of it. Two weeks after school started he got into KU and even though he at times carried a 0.0 GPA in high school managed to get a 3.6 at KU while missing the first two weeks of classes. This strangely coincided with the same time frame which their compliance department was noted to be severely understaffed and inadequate by the NCAA and academic fraud was occurring.
Sherron Collins commits to Kansas amidst various media reports that he was steered by his coach Anthony Longstreet, (More on Longstreet in a future post), considered by Chicago Public League coaches as the new Landon “Sonny” Cox for his ability to recruit players to Crane. Scheduled visits promised to various other schools are abruptly canceled. Afterward, Longstreet, without being prompted or even accused of taking money, bizarrely challenged local sportswriters to “get the proof, produce the canceled check.” Thereafter, Longstreet refused to ever speak again on the subject. He explained, “Right now, I’ve been told to be quiet because
this stuff is getting too ugly.”Darnell Jackson is ruled ineligible by NCAA Eligibility Committee for nine games for receipt of $5,000 in benefits from a Kansas booster over a three year period while being recruited by Kansas.
A cbssportsline.com article suggests that J.R. Giddens is also ultimately wrapped up in the Darnell Jackson scandal, questioning: “Did Don Davis also have a “relationship” with Jackson’s best friend and former AAU teammate, J.R. Giddens, the McDonald’s All-American who signed with Kansas in 2003? Because if the answer is yes, Kansas has a big, big, big problem.”
2005-2006 Season
Kansas loses to Nevada at home, 72-70, falling to a record of 2-3 for the first time in over 30 years. After the game, ESPN TV cameras captured an exchange between Kansas University assistant coach Joe Dooley and 19 year old Nevada player Nick Fazekas. When Fazekas
held out his hand to shake Dooley’s in an apparent show of sportsmanship, Dooley instead screamed “F*** YOU!!!!” directly at Fazekas. Afterward, Coach Bill Self reprimanded Dooley stating: “Obviously, in a hotly contested game like this one, emotions were high after the game. Coach Joe Dooley responded in an inappropriate manner to an exchange with a Nevada player.” Coach Dooley added: “I have great respect for the Nevada team. They played well tonight. I
responded in a negative manner to something that was said to me following the game. I certainly apologize to the Nevada program and this is not the manner in which Kansas basketball should be represented.”Reports surface regarding an NCAA investigation into potential violations involving Kansas freshman Brandon Rush. The potential violations centered around Rush’s involvement with an agent and possible payment of travel expenses by NBA teams the previous summer during Rush’s workouts with the teams.
The NCAA suspends Brandon Rush after the NCAA determined that he had improperly received benefits from an agent after applying for the 2005 NBA draft. An appeal by Kansas is granted within one day and Rush is re-instated without missing any games.
Kansas loses to in-state rival Kansas State at home, 59-55.
Micah Downs announces he is transferring from the Kansas basketball program.
Following up the once in the last 20 year accomplishment of losing in the first round of the NCAA tournament, Self manages to again accomplish this feat by losing to Bradley, 77-73. Considerable pressure mounts as “win at all costs” goes into full effect when the fan base begins to call for his firing.
2006 Off-season
Christian Moody becomes the first Jayhawk player since the 1980s to not be eligible for his graduation checks from alumni, as the pending investigation causes KU to cease such open forms of paying their players. Later, his agent writes a note requesting video of him missing free throws to lose a game to Missouri be taken down from youtube.com as he feels it is hindering his client from finding gainful employment.The NCAA responds that KU failed to demonstrate Institutional control and that the minor violations self reported in basketball in KU’s report do not seem to be all-inclusive.
KU is placed on probation for major violations across multiple sports and for Lack of Institutional Control. The committee seems impressed with KU’sKU didn’t detect or report
violations in a timely manner, which resulted in them being able to claim a statue of limitations on many violations and go unpunished), however they are still charged with:
•Illegal payments given to potential recruits
•Illegal payments given to current players with the approval of coaching staff
•Illegal payments given to players after eligibility is exhausted
•Providing illegal transportation to recruits Providing illegal clothing and other benefits to recruits
•Providing illegal transportation to family members of recruits
•Making special arrangements to facilitate a vehicle for family members of recruits.
•Academic Fraud
•Failure to report violations
•Failure to employ a compliance auditor
•Negligence to provide adequate oversight
•Lack of Institutional ControlKU is placed on three years probation including reduction in the total of grants-in-aid award in the men’s basketball program to no more than 12 during the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons. Also reduced the total of official paid visits by a total of eight from the maximum number allowed during the 2006-07 and 2007-8 academic years, dissociation of a representative of the university’s athletics interest for a period of four years, and annual compliance reporting required. innovative strategy of eliminating the middleman (by electing to not maintain a compliance department, Summation: probation and a reduction in 2 scholarships to be taken in the years KU chooses for the above violations.
CJ Giles is suspended indefinitely.
Giles re-instated to team, then 5 days later kicked off team for misdemeanor battery to his girlfriend.
2006-2007 Season
Despite what most consider Self’s best coaching job to date, he is under enormous pressure as the NCAA tournament get underway as most feel a repeat of the last two years will cost him his job. Self’s Jayhawks do advance before being knocked out by UCLA, 68-55.2007-2008 Season
Brandon Rush arrested for failing to appear in court. The hearing is ultimately delayed until after the basketball season.Self begins to be courted by Oklahoma State to take over their head coaching vacancy. KU beings to make a strong push to retain Self despite the distraction it is causing.
The beneficiaries of a historic collapse by Memphis, who led by nine points with two minutes to play and could have done about five different things to ensure KU had no chance of getting back in the game, KU wins its second national title of the modern era. They are the first team ever to win a championship while on probation for cheating, and every player on KU’s roster who played more than 21 minutes in the championship game had a shady story surrounding them.
2008 offseason
Self claims he wants to stay at Kansas, but won’t rule out talking to OSU. He elects to stay at KU.
Reports surface that Darell Arthur, KU’s leading scorer in the championship game, did not actually pass high school and passed through the NCAA clearinghouse by submitting fraudulent transcripts. If ruled ineligible, per NCAA rules KU would be required to forfeit all games in which Arthur was a participant, which would result in KU being the first ever 40 loss team in a single season, the worst season in the history of the NCAA.Listing of NCAA rules he was in clear violation of:
10.1 UNETHICAL CONDUCT
Unethical conduct by a prospective or enrolled student-athlete or a current or former institutional staff member (e.g., coach, professor, tutor, teaching assistant, student manager, student trainer) may include, but is not limited to, the following:
(d) Knowingly furnishing the NCAA or the individual’s institution false or misleading information concerning the individual’s involvement in or knowledge of matters relevant to a possible
violation of an NCAA regulation;(g) Failure to provide complete and accurate information to the NCAA or institution’s admissions office regarding an individual’s academic record (e.g., schools attended, completion of coursework, grades and test scores)
10.4 DISCIPLINARY ACTION
Prospective or enrolled student-athletes found in violation of the provisions of this regulation shall be ineligible for further intercollegiate competition, subject to appeal to the Committee on
Student-Athlete Reinstatement for restoration of eligibility. (See Bylaw 10.3.2 for sanctions of student-athletes involved in violations of 10.3.) Institutional staff members found in violation of the provisions of this regulation shall be subject to disciplinary or corrective action as set forth in Bylaw 19.5.2.2 of the NCAA enforcement procedures, whether such violations occurred at the
certifying institution or during the individual’s previous employment at another member institution.14.01.3.3 Unethical Conduct.
A prospective or enrolled student-athlete who is found to have engaged in unethical conduct (see Bylaw 10.1) shall be ineligible for intercollegiate competition in all sports.14.11.1 Obligation of Member Institution to Withhold Student-Athlete from Competition.
If a student-athlete is ineligible under the provisions of the constitution, bylaws or other regulations of the Association, the institution shall be obligated to apply immediately
the applicable rule and to withhold the student-athlete from all intercollegiate competition. The institution may appeal to the Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement for restoration of the student-athlete’s eligibility as provided in Bylaw 14.12 if it concludes that the circumstances warrant restoration.June, 2008. A judge rules in favor of the woman Sherron Collins sexually assaulted in an elevator in May of 2007, granting damages in excess of $75,000. She accused him of exposing himself and rubbing against her on May 18, 2007, in an elevator at a University of Kansas apartment complex. Collins does not show up to court.
Ronnie Chalmers, no longer the son of a KU player after Mario declares early for the NBA draft, vacates the Director of Basketball Operations position.
While living in university paid for housing prior to being eligible for scholarship benefits, 18 year old Markieff Morris drunkenly shoots a lady with a BB gun from his dorm room window. No action is taken.
Two weeks after school starts (shades of Brandon Rush before them), the Morris twins are cleared to play basketball for KU. “While it may have taken a bit longer than we had hoped, the important thing is that the process worked,” Self said regarding having them take classes in
Lawrence.Dallas School District re-opens case regarding Arthur not really being a college eligible player. Ashmore, Arthur’s Math teacher said when Arthur was failing Algebra I as a freshman in the fall of 2002, his coach asked for leniency. Ashmore said when he refused, Arthur was
abruptly moved to another class. A closer examination of Arthur’s grades reveal that his English III grades of 75, 60, 70 and 65 don’t actually add up to a 70 as is reflected on his transcript. In fact, the average should be 67.5, meaning he should have failed the course that is needed to graduate. “Like I said, he [Arthur] just kind of checked out that third six weeks,” Yourse, his English teacher said. Melanie Kidd was Arthur’s theater arts teacher in the fall of 2004.
She said she remembers Arthur failed the course during the final six weeks. Arthur made a grade of 50, she said. According to his transcripts, Arthur’s grades for the last six weeks of theater arts are also missing. A block of grades from Arthur’s Algebra II were also
missing on the transcript from the fall semester of 2005. All that is present is a final grade, which was changed from “failing” to a passing grade of 70 nine months later in September the following year. NCAA officials have confirmed that if Arthur never officially graduated, his eligibility at Kansas is something that may have to be investigated. My question is: are they investigating it?
2008-09 Season
During a ‘no contact period’ as defined by NCAA rules, Self pays a visit to John Wall, the #1 unsigned recruit in the nation. To demonstrate his respect for NCAA rules states in front of a witnesses:
Self: “I’m not supposed to be talking to you, and you know that, but I just wanted to tell you that was a great win.”Confirmation comes in the Darell Arthur case that his grades were artificially changed and that his ‘graduation’ from high school wasn’t legit.
This is all on record. Yet, KU is still a National Champion for one of these years.
And Memphis has had their wins vacated.
The NCAA up to their usual shenanigans.
http://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/02/sports/ncaa-acts-against-kansas.html?pagewanted=1
Nahida, Jalil an Ali ~ Last Visit
In Afghanistan, Kids, Travel, Unny, thinking out loud on February 14, 2010 at 3:00 pm
It was the last time that I’ll see them. A bittersweet moment that left me feeling a bit melancholy.
I drove over to the RHQ to see them one last time. I pulled in and saw them sitting out in front of their little store. We waved to them as we passed into the RHQ. I had a little bit of business to conduct inside the RHQ. I wanted to get some Certificates signed by General Ak to present to my guys on Thursday when we have our little Hail and Farewell. Shoaib and I sat with the General for a bit. He signed our Certs and we chatted for a bit. He told me that he was going to get me a gift for Thursday. We joked a bit and then said our farewells.
After that, we went and visited with COL Zahir for a bit. He was all harried and had a cold. So he was cursing everything and grumpy until everyone left his office. We chatted for a bit and laughed and joked for a bit. Then I had to get going. I told my boss that I’d not be long out and about.
Funny thing. Jonathan called me while I was there and cursed at me for being out so close to departure. He doesn’t want to party alone in Dubai. haha
Finally, it was time to see the kiddies. We drove out of the RHQ and turned left into the parking lot where there family store is located. I jumped out. As I was pulling the bags out of the back of the SUV, Ali and Jalil came running over. Nahida, reserved as usual, stayed by the door of the mud brick store which her father built. I grabbed everything out of the SUV and carried it to the store. I held out the Kangaroo bag and the Mickey Mouse bag to give the boys a choice as to their preference. Ali chose the Kangaroo bag. Ali picked the Mickey Mouse bag. Next, I opened the big bag with all of the girl stuff that Unny, Orawan and Emmy had sent.
Odd to think that these items came from so far away. Bangkok and Australia. Such distance and worlds that couldn’t be more different than Afghanistan.
I took out the things in the bag and showed them to Nahida. Her eyes lit up as I showed her the sandals that Unny sent. She seemed to love the pajamas that were sent by Orawan. The favored item, though, was what I’d forgotten in the SUV. As I was showing her all of hair thingies, I remembered the Barbie Doll that was in my back pack. I walked over and pulled it out. The biggest smile I’ve seen on Nahida broke on her face. I think that one really made her happy. The pajamas ~ she loved them. The shoes ~ Nahida didn’t want to hand them back to me so that I could put them back in the bag. The Doll, though, she lit up and her smiled beamed as bright as Polaris. It was a lovely moment.
Nahida doesn’t smile a whole lot. She’ll break in a smile, but, it quickly goes away. A flash of brilliance just as quickly vanished. Seeing that smile come out for the Doll really made my day. As I’m sure the Doll and assorted other goodies made her day.
As you can tell from the pics, I tried to get them to do that John Wall dance. lol Not too successful there. But it was cute.
After we talked for a bit. I told them that this would be my last visit. They didn’t understand at first because Ali asked me when I’d be coming again. So I pulled Shoaib in and told him to make them understand that I was leaving Afghanistan. It was a little emotional I knew I’d get a little emotional once I got to that moment. I’m a little girly like that sometimes. lol I didn’t, however, think that I’d damn near start to cry. It was funny for me. Shoaib made fun of me a bit. He teased me for looking like I was going to cry. I told him; “Hell, I couldn’t help it. I’ve grown close to those cute little bubbas.”
I’ve been asked by a couple of people about adopting Nahida or Jalil or Ali. The subject has been brought up with the father. I asked about taking Nahida to the States to put her in school. A fairly affluent couple from Scandinavia asked about adopting or simply sponsoring Ali and Jalil for European citizenship/schooling. The Father will not do it. It’s a shame. Those kids could have a great life and excellent opportunities if their Father would allow it. He said that he wants to keep his family together. Who can blame him. Not I.
The other side of that is that families are economic units in Afghanistan. All of the children are earners of some sort. Whether it be bringing in money for odd jobs or working the shop that their father built or begging on the streets. They all bring in money to the family. Lose one and the whole family loses money. To lose three would be a fairly large dent in the family economic situation/ability to earn. Even so, I know that he’s been offered money to allow the children to go outside of Afghanistan.
Whatever his reasons, Baba jan wants his family to stay together.
Last note. I think Nahida thinks that Unny is as beautiful as I think she is. She asked me for another picture while I was there. So I gave up my last pic of Unny to her. I’ll have to get more printed. I like to look at Unny from time to time and see her brilliant smile. I think I’ll take all of the pictures on my wall and have Shoaib take them to Nahida. I’ve got them posted all around my room. I’ll not need the pics for much longer as I’ll have her.
I hope the Gods watch over my little children here in Afghanistan. I know I’ll think of them from time to time and wonder how they are. I wish there were a way to keep in touch. I will always feel blessed to have had these little people in my life. Even for so short a time. As I left, I gave the boys a big hug and swung them around one last time. It’s taboo to do such a thing to Nahida, so, I just shook her hand. I told them to take good care of themselves and to be brave and strong in life.
Khoda Hafiz Nahida, Jalil and Ali…
Our Constitution and laws exist to protect this Nation
In Politics, Quotes, thinking out loud on February 13, 2010 at 12:05 am
“And let me say this, with respect to those who wish to harm us, I believe that our Constitution and laws exist to protect this Nation – they do not grant rights and privileges to enemies in wartime. In dealing with terrorists, our tax dollars should pay for weapons to stop them, not lawyers to defend them.”-Senator Scott Brown
Pictures from the Road ~ Gozarah District and the Farah-Herat Road
In Afghanistan, Travel, culture on February 13, 2010 at 12:01 amEnjoy!
Gifts from Amrikkiya
In Afghanistan, Kids, Unny, thinking out loud on February 12, 2010 at 12:08 am
Since the Larry Vaught article a few people sent messages via email that they were sending gifts for my kids. The first box arrived on Wednesday night. I called and asked the military for a ride to the RHQ and took the gifts to Nahida, Jalil and Ali. They were so excited to receive the toys and other items. It was a cool day for all of us.
This particular box was from a friend from WildcatNation ~ PsychoCat. Thanks to PsychoCat, I was finally able to give some real girly stuff to Nahida. Like I said earlier, I’m clueless as to what a girl might want. Nahida loved the gifts and so did the boys. We played frisbee together for about a half hour and then I watched as the boys wrestled and tried to go all John Cena on me. lol Their words, not mine. I barely know who John Cena is…
I want to get these pics posted and I’m tired. So since a picture speaks a thousand words…
Nahida is so much more vibrant in person than these pics portray. She’s just super shy. A lot of it is cultural. I showed her a picture of my girlfriend Unny and told her that Unny said hello and that she (Nahida) was “such a pretty little gal.” You should have seen her smile when I told her that. So cute. She seemed extremely reluctant to give it back to me. So I gave it to her. She kept looking at it. Then she’d put it in her pocket and then take it out again for a peek. She asked Shoaib to tell me that Unny was “besyar makbullah.” I laughed and smiled and told her that I agreed.
Classic Coach K Moment!
In Humor on February 11, 2010 at 12:45 am
On Jeopardy, the topic was something like “College Movies.” Each answer contained the name of a college.
The clue was something to the effect of “Coach K should be very familiar with this movie.” The correct answer was “What is ‘The Dukes of Hazard?’”
However, the contestant responded with “What is Jackass?”
Awesome! The Dude had to be a UNC or Kentucky Alum.
Wherever he went to school, he definitely learned well.
Burqa, Burqa, Mohammad, Hijab!
In Afghanistan, Middle East, Religion, Stupidity, culture, islam, thinking out loud on February 8, 2010 at 4:51 pm
The dumbest bit of fabric ever devised by an evil group of patriarchal assholes!
For these woman, like the women in Afghanistan and other countries where the rights of girls and women are being stripped away under the pretext of religious piety, feminism is a life and death matter. A spectacular example is the life and near-death of Malalai Joya.
She had committed no crime, had set up an orphanage and a health centre, been elected to parliament, but for her affront to the dignity of the new male-dominated institutions, for calling it a sanctuary for “warlords and theocrats” and comparing it to a zoo, she was thrown out of office by a majority vote of parliament, threatened with death, abandoned by the government, forced to move from safe house to safe house. She has survived two assassination attempts.
She is also banned from flying. To get to Australia she had to leave home under the all-enveloping burqa – a garment she describes as “disgusting” – travel by van to the Pakistan border, then by another van to a city in Pakistan, then fly to Bangkok, then to Sydney. The journey took almost three days. As the most outspoken woman in Afghanistan, she lives with the constant risk of murder.
On April 12 a leading Afghan feminist and member of the regional parliament in Kandahar, Sitara Achakzai, was abducted and then murdered by Taliban gunmen.
Any man who is for this bit of oppressive fabric is an uneducated lout and, most probably, a bigot. Any woman who has a positive view of the burqa or hijab is a self hating, propaganda laden soul who has no idea of her own potential as a human being. God did not intend for half of humanity to be covered and marginalized or he’d have not blessed women with the intelligence that is so obviously present in their gender.
The UN and every other so called humanitarian organization should be ashamed of themselves for not doing all that they can to stamp out this stain on human dignity.
Some Muslim women argue that they wear the hijab out of a desire to appear humble before God. It is their personal beliefs that motivate them to wear the hijab (veil). This is all good and well for those Muslim women who have a choice. The problem is with the millions of poor, uneducated women who do not have the same choices and opportunities as these women.
On the other hand, we have the women in places like Afghanistan and the Sinai who are forced to wear the hijab and the burqa. These women do not have a choice. These women are subjugated by the medieval minds of men who have no respect for women and see them as only a vessel for their seed in the production of offspring.
It is all good and well that educated women from privileged backgrounds in the Middle East, other predominantly Islamic countries and the West have the choice as to whether to wear the hijab or not. The unfortunate outcome of their donning the hijab, though, is that said decision is used by oppressive forces and backward, patriarchal madmen to enslave the minds and to physically oppress of millions of women in Central Asia, the Middle East and India. These men use Islam, the hijab and the burqa as a means to keep their boot heals squarely across the neck of women in all of the lands of Islam. To women who are forced to wear these garments, the hijab and the burqa are not a symbol of humility in the face of God, but, a symbol of systematic rape, oppression and violence.
Islam is like any other religion. There exists both beauty and ugliness within the pages of all religious books. Evil men and women pick and choose the verses and suras which back their decrepit and despotic philosophies in order to further their personal wealth and twisted designs. Good men and women use those words and phrases from these books which advance the cause of humanity towards a better tomorrow.
Until all Muslim women have the freedom of choice to wear the hijab, I believe it is the duty of all peoples to take a stance against the use of the veil for ill intent. This obligation is especially incumbent upon Muslim women whose Sisters in Islam are the primary victims of this particular form of oppression. This is a choice that Muslim women have to make. I agree that the hijab when it is worn in free choice is an idea of beauty. Humility before God (for those who believe in these religions) is an appeal to the grace of humanity. It is, indeed, a beautiful act. The problem is that millions of men across the Muslim world use the hijab and the burqa not as an appeal to God but as a tool of personal power and in acts of narcissism and nihilism. These acts are in direct contravention to the Qu’ran, the Bible and the will of God. To deny or ignore these acts and the suffering of these women is to deny reality. Muslim women must stand together on this issue. The oppression of one is the oppression of all.
Louisville Snow Panic!
In Stupidity, Travel, thinking out loud on February 6, 2010 at 10:31 pm
I remember growing up in Louisville and when the snows came there was always an air of panic.
Everyone would run down to Kroger to buy Milk and Bread.
Never understood it.
Later, when I was working out at Fort Knox, I owned a Camaro. I’d drive home from work in a “snowstorm.” I had a Camaro with bald tires in one snow storm. The funniest thing is that I drove home to the Crescent Hill area from Fort Knox. I can’t count the number of 4WD SUVs that I passed stuck on the side of the road.
Louisville is insane when it snows.
Another Excellent Cartoon Commentary on Afghanistan
In Afghanistan, Central Asia, Military, Politics, islam on February 4, 2010 at 11:52 am
- Rape and Murder: The Tools of Karzai Democracy
The Karzai Government is corrupt and beholden to Thugs, Thieves and scandalous, corrupt Mullahs who want to force medieval religious “values” on the common people as they use Islam to rape the country. These thieving scoundrels use Islam as a tool of rape, plunder and intimidation. They use their power in the government and their association with the United States to empower themselves and to bully the people. They use rape and murder to intimidate any voice which rises in defense of the people of Afghanistan.
The worse thing about this situation is that it is American money and influence which allows this situation. Rumsfield, Cheney, Bush and, now, the Obama Administration are keeping these men in power. These scum are the anti-thesis of Democracy. They are Taliban lite and in some cases, they are worse than the Taliban. They have become so under the protection and with the help of the US and NATO forces.
We empower these corrupt “leaders” and allow them to use Democracy as a guise under which they protract a decrepit despotism that they started after the fall of King Zahir Khan.
America is not spreading Democracy in this region. We are doing the very opposite. It’s shameful.
We should be supporting the Malalai Joyas of Afghanistan. Instead, we are supporting the evil, murdering and raping despotic Warlords who are democratic only in the sense that they mouth the word from time to time.
IT IS SHAMEFUL!
America ~ Exporting Democracy
In Afghanistan, Central Asia, Politics, culture on February 3, 2010 at 9:31 pm
This is the basic accomplishment in Afghanistan after 8 long and deadly years.
DeMarcus Cousins for President!
In Sports, UK Basketball on February 2, 2010 at 5:34 pmBig Cuz slams on Long Beach State
DeMarcus Cousins doesn’t answer questions after games so much as he holds court.
The gregarious freshman center is as refreshingly unfiltered as head coach John Calipari is polished. Blunt and direct, Cousins is unapologetically honest whether the topic is his sometimes eccentric postgame attire or his ability to attract controversy wherever he goes.
Yes, Cousins thinks he may be the best center in the Southeastern Conference. Yes, he believes the referees swallow their whistles sometimes when the ball is in his hands. Yes, he may have pushed a South Carolina student out of the way while trying to get off the court last week, but he didn’t punch him as at least one reporter claimed.
Hey, it’s all a part of the game when you’re “Big Cuz,” one of the handful of monikers Cousins goes by.
“I’m just doing my part,” Cousins said from behind his nonprescription black-rimmed glasses, part of what he calls his “Peter Parker” swag.
And he’s playing his part as well as any player in the country.
Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/basketball/ncaa/wires/02/01/2060.ap.bkc.t25.kentucky.s.beast.0994/#ixzz0eKeRGTfU
Get a free NFL Team Jacket and Tee with SI Subscription
Cousins is a GREAT College Player. Period. Only a fool would deny this. Yes! He has a bit of an edge. It’s an edge that Kentucky has been sorely missing throughout the Tubby “Never to High, Never too Low” Smith Era. Not since Jamaal Magloire was recruited by Pitino has a Kentucky Baller had the attitude that’s needed to reign supreme. Not only in Rupp Arena, but, in the SEC.
The past few years of BCG and Tubby saw Florida and Vandy come in with their chumps. These “chumps” punked Kentucky to the tune of 5 wins AT RUPP ARENA. Unheard of when Pitino was here. Rupp was rolling over in his grave and screaming lamentations of disbelief.
That was then. This is now.
The era of Big Cuz and the Great Wall. Eric Bledsoe. Patrick Patterson.
Finally! Warriors on the Court. Take no prisoners athletes who will their way to a win if the fickle Gods of Basketball aren’t favoring them.
DeMarcus Cousins is exactly what Kentucky Basketball has been missing. He’s a character. He’s a record breaking Beast. He’s the King of the Bluegrass.
I love the Kid and I hope I get to shake his hand at the SEC Tournament.
GO BIG BLUE!
Afghanistan ~ Pushtoon Culture, Pedophilia and Homosexuality
In Afghanistan, Middle East, Religion, Travel, culture, islam, thinking out loud on February 1, 2010 at 12:05 am
The "chaste and glorious" love of the Pushtoon version of Islam. Kuni Bacha!
Afghan Men Struggle With Sexual Identity, Study Finds
An unclassified study from a military research unit in southern Afghanistan details how homosexual behavior is unusually common among men in the large ethnic group known as Pashtuns — though they seem to be in complete denial about it.
As if U.S. troops and diplomats didn’t have enough to worry about in trying to understand Afghan culture, a new report suggests an entire region in the country is coping with a sexual identity crisis.
An unclassified study from a military research unit in southern Afghanistan details how homosexual behavior is unusually common among men in the large ethnic group known as Pashtuns — though they seem to be in complete denial about it.
The study, obtained by Fox News, found that Pashtun men commonly have sex with other men, admire other men physically, have sexual relationships with boys and shun women both socially and sexually — yet they completely reject the label of “homosexual.” The research was conducted as part of a longstanding effort to better understand Afghan culture and improve Western interaction with the local people.
The research unit, which was attached to a Marine battalion in southern Afghanistan, acknowledged that the behavior of some Afghan men has left Western forces “frequently confused.”
The report details the bizarre interactions a U.S. Army medic and her colleagues had with Afghan men in the southern province of Kandahar.
In one instance, a group of local male interpreters had contracted gonorrhea anally but refused to believe they could have contracted it sexually — “because they were not homosexuals.”
Apparently, according to the report, Pashtun men interpret the Islamic prohibition on homosexuality to mean they cannot “love” another man — but that doesn’t mean they can’t use men for “sexual gratification.”
The group of interpreters who had contracted gonorrhea joked in the camp that they actually got the disease by “mixing green and black tea.” But since they refused to heed the medics’ warnings, many of them re-contracted the disease after receiving treatment.
The U.S. army medic also told members of the research unit that she and her colleagues had to explain to a local man how to get his wife pregnant.
This lovely young girl is unclean? According to the Pushtoon version of Islam she is. Amazing!
The report said: “When it was explained to him what was necessary, he reacted with disgust and asked, ‘How could one feel desire to be with a woman, who God has made unclean, when one could be with a man, who is clean? Surely this must be wrong.’”
The Pashtun populations are concentrated in the southern and eastern parts of the country. The Human Terrain Team that conducted the research is part of a military effort to learn more about local populations.
The report also detailed a disturbing practice in which older “men of status” keep young boys on hand for sexual relationships. One of the country’s favorite sayings, the report said, is “women are for children, boys are for pleasure.”
The report concluded that the widespread homosexual behavior stems from several factors, including the “severe segregation” of women in the society and the “prohibitive” cost of marriage.
Though U.S. troops are commonly taught in training for Afghanistan that the “effeminate characteristics” of Pashtun men are “normal” and not an indicator of homosexuality, the report said U.S. forces should not “dismiss” the unique version of homosexuality that is actually practiced in the region “out of desire to avoid western discomfort.”
Otherwise, the report said, Westerners could “risk failing to comprehend an essential social force underlying Pashtun culture.”
Mullah Omar ~ Boy Bugger Extraordinaire
Fortunately, I work in a predominantly Tajik area. The Tajiks call these little boy buggers “Qandaharis.” Because they say that all of the men down in the Southeast love to capture little boys and keep them for sex (I cleaned that up. They’re much more graphic about it). It’s pretty much common knowledge here. The Pashtuns may be in denial about it, but, the Tajiks aren’t and make fun of them all the time.
The call them all kuni bacha’a which pretty much translates to “boy buggers.” lol
Not news to me. lol
The Egyptians say the same thing about the Arabs of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Isn’t Saddam famous for having made a similar statement about Saudi Arabia.
Aside from that, anal sex is pretty common in the lands of Islam because of the importance of female virginity. The vagina must be pristine with hymen intact at the time of marriage. Apparently, though, the anal cavity and sphincter muscle can worn to hell and back. lol
Hooking up for Man Love Thursday!
What a strange bunch. It’s Arab culture. The Pashtuns are more heavily influenced by the Arabs. The Tajiks are influenced more by China, Asia and Russia.
I’m going to show this to my terps. They’ll laugh their butts off.
Of course, they’re all Tajik.
Here’s an interesting link for additional information.
KENTUCKY TAKES OUT THE ‘DORES!
In Sports, UK Basketball, beauty, thinking out loud on January 31, 2010 at 4:56 am 
BIG CUZ got T’d up! AND his 12th Double Double!
Patterson hit 3 of 4 from three.
Liggins was scrambling and Bledsoe was rockin’.
Even Stevenson showed fire out there.
Wall was back! Back in excellent form.
Dodson brought his three back with him.
Great game for the Cats.
Way to come back and take a win in Rupp.
Keep that Rupp record intact and undefeated.
Ready for a run and Rupp to be invincible again.
Great Job Coach Cal!
GO BIG BLUE!!!
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — DeMarcus Cousins posted his 12th double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds as No. 1 Kentucky bounced back from an upset loss to South Carolina with a 85-72 win over No. 23 Vanderbilt on Saturday.Darnell Dodson added 16 points in a rare start for the Wildcats (20-1, 5-1 Southeastern Conference), who played like the nation’s top-ranked team for long stretches in front of special guest LeBron James.
GAME REPORT: Kentucky 85, Vanderbilt 72Kentucky built an early 19-point lead then made it hold up while the NBA superstar, a friend of coach John Calipari, watched from courtside.
US Policy in Afghanistan ~ Failure 101
In Afghanistan, Central Asia, Middle East, Military, Politics, Quotes, Religion, Stupidity, islam, thinking out loud on January 30, 2010 at 3:31 amJALALABAD, Afghanistan — The leaders of one of the largest Pashtun tribes in a stronghold said Wednesday that they had agreed to support the American-backed government, battle insurgents and burn down the home of any Afghan who harbored Taliban guerrillas.
Adam Ferguson for The New York TimesShinwari tribal elders meeting this week in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, established harsh penalties against Taliban sympathizers.
Shinwari elders united against the Taliban on Wednesday in a pact set in Jalalabad, Afghanistan.
Elders from the Shinwari tribe, which represents about 400,000 people in eastern Afghanistan also pledged to send at least one military-age male in each family to the Afghan Army or the police in the event of a Taliban attack.
In exchange for their support, American commanders agreed to channel $1 million in development projects directly to the tribal leaders and bypass the local Afghan government, which is widely seen as corrupt.
“The Taliban have been trying to destroy our tribe, and they are taking money from us, and they are taking our sons to fight,” said Malik Niaz, a Shinwari elder. “If they defy us now, we will defeat them.”
_________________________________________________________________________________________
This is a band aid. We are bandaging one wound to cover up a sucking chest wound that lies across the heart of Afghanistan and Central Asia.
We have not proven to be a friend to all of Afghanistan. We are seen as an occupying force to many Afghans.
With that in mind, I’m not surprised that it takes money and other inducements to obtain the loyalties of these people. Even after World War II, we purchased the loyalties of Europe via the Marshall Plan and other economic programs. There is no free lunch. We aren’t in Afghanistan simply to help the Afghan people. They know that. We know that. Everyone knows that except for brainless Americans who are half illiterate.
The taliban are still supported in the country side. Many Afghans thought that America was going to come in and introduce democratic reforms. We didn’t. We didn’t support democracy or democratic minded leaders. We came in and we supported Warlords and persons who had destroyed Afghanistan for their personal gain and to enhance their personal power.
With that in mind, how could we expect anything except the situation that we have at present. Karzai is beholden to the Warlords.
We pay taliban and warlords to NOT attack our convoys. When we do go into an area, we bring with us “collateral damage.” The Afghans see this. They don’t like it.
We pay off the very people against whom we are supposedly at war. We spent 2002-2008 and on to the present giving monies to Pakistan that we knew were being funneled to the extremists in the FATA and the NWFP. Yet, we continue the same failed policies. We refused to bring Musharaf to heel and instead poured money into his coffers. Even though, we knew that he was essentially hiding the very men for whom we “searched.”
We’ve not done our best. Sometimes, I think we’ve done our worst.
We’re told and it’s preached by locals that we should support our soldiers. Yet, our government engages in activities with persons and groups and strategies that ultimately lead to the deaths of our soldiers.
American leadership is confused and many individuals are confused about Afghanistan and the taliban. We are told that we are looking to make peace with “moderate” taliban. It’s like seeking a moderate serial killer.
The only way to defeat the taliban in my opinion is to go into the FATA and NWFP. That would put us at war with Pakistan. What would Pakistans reaction be to a full scale invasion of the FATA and NWFP.
My opinion is that it’s time to give Karzai an ultimatum.
He’s got 18 months to get his shit together or we are pulling out militarily.
Give the same ultimatum to the Warlords.
Tell them that if they want our support, they must play ball. They must go legit.
Produce a series of milestone. If they meet them, they get so much in return. If they don’t, they get nothing.
We’ve been dancing in circles with these murdering thieves long enough.
I see no strategic advantage to Afghanistan.
The real enemy is sitting in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
We sit in Afghanistan and Iraq.
We are insane.
We’re looking for a Unicorn to solve our problems when the beasts that attack us sit in plain site in Golden Palaces built with Black Gold.
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell ~ Obama and the US Military
In Politics, Religion, Spirituality on January 29, 2010 at 3:59 pmDon’t Ask, Don’t Tell is a moronic policy. It was a farce from the start. I knew several gay and lesbian persons while in the Military. Their sexuality never posed a problem in carrying out their duties. I didn’t know many people who had a problem with them.
Prohibitions against homosexuals in the Military should be removed period. Sexuality has absolutely nothing to do with ones ability to accomplish the mission. Forcing one to hide ones sexuality and the pressures involved in that endeavor causes unnecessary stress on military persons who may be deployed to already stressful environs.
If your religion carries with it a belief that homosexuality is wrong or an abomination, you should express that belief and the angst involved in the Church, Temple, Mosque or Synagogue. Leave it there and come to work ready to accomplish the mission. Your religion has no place on the job. It belongs in your heart. Leave it there.
Personally, I believe that Christianity and Islam should be purged from the face of the earth.
I leave that belief at the door when I go to work.
If you believe in God and are Christian, you are supposed to believe in free will. It’s a fundamental part of the message of Christ. You are supposed to love your fellow man. Regardless. It’s the Golden Rule.
If you are Muslim, well, you probably believe that homosexuals are an abomination and that they should submit to the will of Allah. Even so, Mohammad and Allah say to leave the judgment of souls to Allah.
The Constitution guarantees religious freedom. It does not guarantee that you won’t be offended by the beliefs, lives or practices of others. It guarantees that you and others can express yourselves religiously as you see fit. It does not give you the right to force your beliefs on others. It does not give you the right to force others to conform their lives in accordance with your mythological deity.
Homosexuality is strange to me as well. I don’t get it. I don’t have to get it. Nether do you. As long as they can do their jobs, so be it. Let them in, let them be.
Facebook ~ Patrick Patterson
In UK Basketball, thinking out loud on January 27, 2010 at 10:27 pm
“To the entire Big Blue Nation.. Do not talk to me or message me about the performances of myself & my teammates OR question our talent, pride, or love for this University.” ~ Patrick Patterson
Established. Some UK fans are retards. Idiots. Morons. Call them what you will. Anyone who would go on the board/page of a UK player and talk smack to one of the Athletes on the team or any team for that matter is a low life piece of human trash. They deserve their trailer park lives. If you know the guy(s), it’s one thing. If you’re a fan, get off the stalking vibe and let these dudes live their lives. Give ‘em room. Let them breath. Especially after a loss.
I’ve got a few choice words that I’d like to use to any moron who went onto Facebook and was talking smack to Patrick Patterson or any of the team. I like to keep this site PG rated, so I’ll not post it here. Gimme some face time with one of these cyber-tards and I guarantee I’ll make the little punk cry.
Peace!
Sports Quotes
In Quotes, Sports, thinking out loud on January 27, 2010 at 12:05 am
“Excellence is not a singular act but a habit. You are what you do repeatedly.”
-Shaquille O’Neal
“Football is a great deal like life in that it teaches that work, sacrifice, perseverance, competitive drive, selflessness, and respect for authority are the price each and every one of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile.”
-Vince Lombardi
“I can’t play being mad. I go out there and have fun. It’s a game, and that’s how I am going to treat it.”
-Ken Griffey, Jr.
“A good coach will make his players see what they can be rather than what they are.”
-Ara Parashegian
“In the end, it’s extra effort that separates a winner from second place. But winning takes a lot more that that, too. It starts with complete command of the fundamentals. Then it takes desire, determination, discipline, and self-sacrifice. And finally, it takes a great deal of love, fairness and respect for your fellow man. Put all these together, and even if you don’t win, how can you lose?”
-Jesse Owens
“Nobody will think you’re somebody if you don’t think so yourself.”
-African-American proverb
“The impossible is often untried.”
-Unknown
“The probability that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just.”
-Abraham Lincoln
“Teamwork is the fuel that allows common people to produce uncommon results.”
-Unknown
“Do not throw in the towel; use it for wiping the sweat off your face.”
-Unknown
“I can accept failure. Everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.”
-Michael Jordan
“I ran and ran and ran every day, and I acquired this sense of determination, this sense of spirit that I would never, never give up, no matter what else happened.”
-Wilma Rudolph
“It’s not the will to win that matters—everyone has that. It’s the will to prepare to win that matters.”
-Paul “Bear” Bryant
“It’s not how hard you’ve pushed along the way. It’s having something in you to finish.”
-Michael Jordan
“The purpose of any athletic endeavor is to challenge human limits both on and off the playing field.”
-Unknown
“Most people run a race to see who is fastest. I run a race to see who has the most guts.”
-Steve Prefontaine
“You win some, you lose some, but you always try again.”
-Unknown
“Do you know what my favorite part of the game is? The opportunity to play.”
-Mike Singletary
“The man who can drive himself farther once the effort gets painful is the man who will win.”
-Sir Roger Bannister
“The higher the goal, the harder the climb, but taken each day, one step at a time. The goal is accomplished, the dream is attained, and the prizes? The wisdom and strength that are gained.”
-American Greeting Cards
“I’ve worked too hard and too long to let anything stand in the way of my goals. I will not let my teammates down, and I will not let myself down.”
-Mia Hamm
“Victories in life come through our ability to work around and over the obstacles that cross our path. We grow stronger as we climb our own mountains.”
-Marvin Ashton
“Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.”
-Mark Twain
“The only way you can truly control how you are seen is being honest all the time.”
-Tom Hanks
“We have all been placed on this earth to discover our own path, and we will never be happy if we live someone else’s idea of life.”
-James Van Praagh
“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.”
-Henry David Thoreau
“The most important decision I ever made in my career was to live my life in sports as honestly and ethically as possible. Never having compromised my values allows me to look back on my life with no regrets and feel satisfaction in what I was able to accomplish.”
-Greg LeMond
“1 goal, 10 assists.”
-Adidas commercial on USA Women’s World Cup Soccer Team
“The time when there is no one there to feel sorry for you or to cheer for you is when a player is made.”
-Tim Duncan
“If you accept the expectations of others, especially negative ones, then you never will change the outcome.”
-Michael Jordan
“Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.”
-Wayne Gretzky
“Persistence can change failure into extraordinary achievement.”
-Matt Biondi
“It’s lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believed in myself.”
-Muhammad Ali
“Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe.”
-Gail Devers
“The Spirit of Sports: The spirit of sports gives each of us who participate an opportunity to be creative. Sports knows no sex, age, race or religion. Sports gives us all the ability to test ourselves mentally, physically and emotionally in a way no other aspect of life can. For many of us who struggle with ‘fitting in’ or our identity – sports gives us our first face of confidence. That first bit of confidence can be a gateway to many other great things!”
-Dan O’Brien
“The most important lesson I’ve learned from sports is how to be not only a gracious winner, but a good loser as well. Not everyone wins all the time, as a matter of fact, no one wins all the time. Winning is the easy part, losing is really tough. But, you learn more from one loss than you do from a million wins. You learn a lot about sportsmanship. I mean, it’s really tough to shake the hand of someone who just beat you, and it’s even harder to do it with a smile. If you can learn to do this and push through that pain, you will remember what that moment is like the next time you win and have a better sense of how those competitors around you feel. This experience will teach you a lot on and off the field!”
-Amy Van Dyken
“Athletic competition clearly defines the unique power of our attitude.”
-Bart Starr
“Doing your best is more important than being the best.”
-Shannon Miller
“I always tell kids, you have two eyes and one mouth. Keep two open and one closed. You never learn anything if you’re the one talking.”
-Gordie Howe
“Sports creates a bond between contemporaries that lasts a lifetime. It also gives your life structure, discipline and a genuine, sincere, pure fulfillment that few other areas of endeavor provide.”
-Bob Cousy
“The answers to these questions will determine your success or failure. 1) Can people trust me to do what’s right? 2) Am I committed to doing my best? 3) Do I care about other people and show it? If the answers to these questions are yes, there is no way you can fail.”
-Lou Holtz
“Confidence is a very fragile things.”
-Joe Montana
“Ask yourself is it right or wrong and act accordingly.”
-Otto Graham, Jr.
“Follow your dreams as long as you live! Never be afraid to go out on the limb to live up to your expectations. Always do things your way and Have Fun!”
-Picabo Street
“Never look to the ground for your next step. Greatness belongs to those who look to the horizon.”
-Bud Greenspan
“To play is in the mind. To win is in the heart.”
-Jennifer McCombs
“Competitive sports are played mainly on a five-and-a-half inch court, the space between your ears.”
-Bobby Jones
“Winners must have two things, definite goals and a burning desire to achieve them.”
-Brad Burden
“Victory is in the quality of competition, not the final score.”
-Mike Marshall
“Your chances of success in any undertaking can always be measured by your belief in yourself.”
-Robert Collier
“I have always tried to be true to myself, to pick those battles I felt were important. My ultimate responsibility is to myself. I could never be anything else.”
-Arthur Ashe
“You never get a second chance to make a good first impression.”
-Unknown
“An open mind opens doors.”
-Unknown
“Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.”
-Robert F. Kennedy
“Treat a person as he is, and he will remain as he is. Treat him as he could be, and he will become what he should be.”
-Jimmy Johnson
“Each of us is affected by what happens to the other. Just as our movement interact on the field, so our lives interact to a certain degree. This is what is so great about being a member of a team.”
-Eric Lund
“Fall seven times, stand up eight.”
-Japanese Proverb
“A team with a star player is a good team, but a team without one is a great team.”
-Unknown
“Never give up, never give in, and when the upper hand is ours, may we have the ability to handle the win with the dignity that we absorbed the loss.”
-Doug Williams
“I play to win. Even when common sense should tell me I no longer have a chance. Even when I have been playing at my worst and all the breaks have been going against me. I approach each new day, and each new game as a glorious opportunity to get going again.”
-Unknown
“Winning isn’t always finishing first. Sometimes winning is just finishing.”
-Manuel Diotte
“Not all are blessed with great ability, but with teamwork and perseverance, all can accomplish great things.”
-M.D. Boyer
“You win the race only after you cross the finish line, regardless of what place.”
-Unknown
“Perseverance is a great element of success.”
-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
“The will to prepare, the guts to risk, and the desire to be the best…these are the trademarks of a champion.”
-Unknown
“If you meet a team with desire, you better be able to match that desire or you will lose.”
-Unknown
“Concentration is the ability to think about absolutely nothing when it is absolutely necessary.”
-Ray Knight
President Obama to “Thank” Cats on “Hoops for Haiti”
In Quotes, Spirituality, Sports, UK Basketball, thinking out loud on January 26, 2010 at 9:25 pm
Kentucky is getting all the great press lately.
Unanimous #1 College Basketball Team in the Nation.
Cousins, Patterson and Wall ~ One of them is either Player or Frosh of the Week almost every week of this season.
Wall and Patterson are front runners for National Player of the Year.
Wall is frontrunner for SEC Player of the Year.
Cal puts together “Hoops for Haiti” on a moments notice. He and the Cats raise over 1,000,000 USD in less than a week.
Now, the President of the United States of America wants to thank them for their efforts. Put aside politics for a moment and hear those words. THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IS GOING TO THANK THE CATS! This is an honor of the highest order. It matters not whether you voted for the man or not. He’s the President. He is the human embodiment of the Nation. He wants to either meet with the Cats or in some manner convey his and the nations appreciation for their efforts.
Aside from the honor associated with receiving this magnanimous gesture, it’s publicity of the highest order. This is a publicity bonanza.
Coach Cal is a master. I’m not saying that he did this for the press that it’s garnered. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that the University of Kentucky is getting a public lift that is amazing in scale. It’s unbelievable what Coach Cal has done.
I have to admire the man.
He’s amazing.
UK has not seen this kind of public adulation since…well, not in my memory.
Congratulations Coach Cal and to the Cats are in order. This is incredible. I love it.
It’s awesome to be a Cat fan right now and to be associated with this incredible team and its Coach.
GO BIG BLUE!
The Lost Spirit of Good Sportsmanship
In Stupidity, UK Basketball, UK Football, culture, thinking out loud on January 26, 2010 at 12:05 am“Football is a great deal like life in that it teaches that work, sacrifice, perseverance, competitive drive, selflessness, and respect for authority are the price each and every one of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile.”
-Vince Lombardi
A friend on WildcatNation wrote a timely piece on the decaying spirit of sportsmanship across America today. Really, it’s a global phenomenon. From the Football Hooligan of Europe to the assassination of sports stars who fail on the world scene such as the Olympics and the World Cup. In America, we have Soccer Moms fighting with each other. Fathers berating their sons on the Football field and fighting with other Fathers and Coaches over playing time and Coaching Tactics. Fans fighting in their seats in every Stadium across the Nation. There was the big brawl during the Pacers~Detroit game. The infamous Knicks~Miami brawls. Football players and Basketball players carrying guns into the Stadiums and Arenas across America. The list goes on and on.
Lighthouse touches on all of this and gives a few suggestions as to how to improve this dynamic for the future in the following article:
Sportsmanship, What Happened?
Who’s at Fault?
Webster describes sportsmanship as, “a fairness, courtesy, being a cheerful loser etc.” How far have we come from the time in our country when that was a meaningful description? I’m ashamed to say, too far. Who’s to blame? Again I’m ashamed to admit, me, you, parents, coaches, administrators, rules makers, officials, in other words, we are all guilty in one way or the other.
We in Kentucky are very fortunate to have many outstanding athletes at all levels who compete each year in a multitude of sports on the gridirons, fields and courts. These student athletes are coached by a dedicated group of professionals and are supported by thousands of parents and fans. However, the Kentucky High School Athletic Association reports that approximately 700 players and coaches are ejected from high school contests each year due to unsportsmanlike conduct. (The breakdown is 80% athletes, 20% coaches. No statistics are kept on fan ejections, which could easily surpass those of players and coaches). When you add in the NCAA in all sports and levels, it’s mind boggling.
During my nearly 30 years of officiating basketball, football, baseball, and softball, I have seen the decline in sportsmanship in all sports at all levels. I have had the privilege of officiating every level, especially basketball, from small children to the old ABA professional level. I felt blessed to officiate every game, but have personally experienced several upsetting situations. One was at a peewee football game; a dad ran out of the stands and yelled at his son that he would whip him if this much bigger kid knocked him down again. At a DII basketball game; police had to be called to control a coach who the next day was fired because of his behavior. I had to remove a scorekeeper and have fans escorted out. We had to stop a college basketball game because four teenagers were using thick rubber bands to shoot nails at the opposing players. Finally they were arrested. And I could go on and on. I feel very fortunate to have only ejected a few players or coaches.
As you can imagine, I’ve endured a lot of verbal abuse. I guess I’ve heard every vulgar name you can think of. I once had a school administrator threaten me on my way to the locker room at halftime. One of my friends received a very nasty letter, anonymously of course. One official was shot at with a BB gun, they missed. Some of this stuff you expect, but some of it, certainly not. One fact I’m particularly ashamed of, Christian schools are among the worst. I heard this comment from a High School official, “Those Christians, they pray before the game and then all hell breaks loose.” And I have to admit it’s true because I witnessed it myself.
I strongly believe the underlying problem is the lack of respect that individuals have for each other and for authority in our society. Many people feel they can say whatever they want to whomever they want. This particularly seems to apply to individuals in positions of authority. All you have to do is ask school teachers, policemen, even parents. And, the problem is widespread.
We recently witnessed trash talking used to get in the heads of opposing players, and it seemed to be supported by the coach. We hear vulgar chants from fans, and they are not all students, but it is never addressed by school administrators. Hence, a message of support. This language is allowed in the classroom, so why not in the gym. Our students learn in the gym just like they do in a science lab. This lack of respect detracts from the otherwise positive benefits derived from sports participation.
I challenge everyone associated with athletics to make good sportsmanship a priority. Set a positive example to reinforce these critically important values associated with interscholastic sports participation. I propose the following specific measures to improve sportsmanship and the student athlete experience.
UCLAs Aaron Afflalo comforts Adam Morrison after a loss in the NCAA Tournament
ATHLETES
Just play the game! Concentrate on your performance, not on putting down your opponent. Whether you’re a professional or in middle school, realize you are a role model, and you have someone looking up to you, so set a good example.COACHES
Hold your players accountable for their conduct. Remember, you control your players’ most precious commodity-playing time. Don’t allow your players to engage in unsportsmanlike behavior. Set the proper example with your own conduct. Your players will take their lead from how you behave. Never allow your players to abuse opponents under any circumstances. Never berate the officials. If you disagree with a call, ask (in a gentlemanly manner) for an explanation of what the official saw. If you feel you can “bait” an official, simply scratch him, because the other coach probably feels the same way. If you’re both right, that official has no business on the court anyway.ADMINISTRATORS
Create an atmosphere at your athletics where good sportsmanship is expected. Don’t allow your students to engage in vulgar chants or demean the other team. Have zero tolerance for any act that is not in the interest of good sportsmanship. Use athletic contests as an opportunity to teach positive values. Control your coaches, after all, they are teachers of young adults and you would never allow a science professor to act like some coaches do.FANS
A spectator’s ticket for admission must be considered an opportunity to watch the performance of highly impressionable athletes from children thru college and even into adults. It’s not a license to abuse coaches, players, officials or other fans. Fans must understand that attending a game is a privilege and should be treated as such. Fans should focus on positively encourage their teams and not engage in demeaning conduct toward opponents. Fans need to understand they are subject to removal from the premises if they exhibit inappropriate behavior. Officials are going to make bad calls, players are going to make mistakes, and coaches are not always going to play the players fans think they should play.OFFICIALS
We must shoulder some of the blame for the deterioration of sportsmanship. When we fail to address unsportsmanlike actions by coaches and players, we do a disservice to the game. We must have the courage and conviction to address those situations. When it comes to dealing with unsportsmanlike acts, we have broad discretion in our responses, from verbal warnings to ejections. Remember, enforcing rules related to poor sportsmanship, and all rules, is our job. The game is there for you, you are not there for the game. You know the rule for walking so, call it whether it happens in the paint or 30 feet out. It does have an effect on the game. If you allow a coach to “bait or work” you and you turn a deaf ear because you’re worried about your rating, please for the betterment of the game, turn in your stripes!Everyone associated with athletics must take responsibility for improving sportsmanship. From player to coach to official, we are all equal partners in promoting the positive values inherent to interscholastic participation. No matter what your role is in the game, do YOUR part to support good sportsmanship.
I’ll admit that I’m guilty of some of these activities. I’ve heckled the refs in my time. Mostly in fun. To get a laugh from the crowd. However, I can see how it can be taken too far. I’ve heckled fans as well. Coming close to physical altercations a time or two in the past.
I reckon it’s time to modify my behavior so as not to countenance this behavior in the future.
It’s a great piece Mr. Lighthouse. Thank you for taking the time to highlight this issue.
One man practicing good sportsmanship is far better than 50 others preaching it.
— Knute Rockne, football coach
I never thought about losing, but now that it’s happened, the only thing is to do it right.
— Muhammad Ali, boxer
Always imitate the behavior of the winner when you lose.
— Anonymous
“In the end, it’s extra effort that separates a winner from second place. But winning takes a lot more that that, too. It starts with complete command of the fundamentals. Then it takes desire, determination, discipline, and self-sacrifice. And finally, it takes a great deal of love, fairness and respect for your fellow man. Put all these together, and even if you don’t win, how can you lose?”
-Jesse Owens
When the Great Scorer comes to mark against your name, He writes not that you won or lost, but how you played the Game.
— Grantland Rice, sportswriter
“It’s good sportsmanship to not pick up lost golf balls while they are still rolling.”
Mark Twain
Kentucky ~ IS THE SEC!
In Sports, UK Basketball on January 25, 2010 at 1:16 pm
With the Gators and Wildcats being down for the last several years, the SEC has struggled to gain its footing nationally. Tennessee and Bruce Pearl make a nice story, sure, but they are nothing compared to the vaunted Wildcats.
This is the cold, hard truth that the rest of the SEC doesn’t want to acknowledge.
When it comes to basketball, UK is the SEC. The SEC needs a dominant Kentucky in order to be relevant. Much like the ACC needs FSU in order to remain relevant in the BCS of Football. It’s the natural order.
Get used to it.
Kentucky is back. Coach Cal will keep UK at the top. More than likely, Cal will stay 8 to 10 years which means that Mitch Barnhart should should be keeping an eye out for a successor. It’s too early to bring in an assistant. Two or three years down the line, Cal should start looking for someone to whom he can hand the reins. Recruit this young and talented coach to the bench at UK and start his training to take over. Unlike Tubby Smith, Cal selects young and enthusiastic talent for his bench. No re-treads on the bench under Coach Cal. Keep that bench full of young hungry assistant and associate coaches. Hopefully, Cal finds a few ex-players from UK teams to carry the torch after he leaves.
2018 or so, Cal can hand the reins over to a pre-selected individual. No coaching searches. No guessing. Simply a seamless turn over. This is how it should be done.
UK reloads and keeps rocking the SEC and the NCAA.
Kentucky is Number One!
In Stupidity, UK Basketball on January 24, 2010 at 4:11 am
Box Score vs Arkansas
Cats blow out the Hogs to earn debut at #1 in 2010.
No. 2 Kentucky dominates Arkansas 101-70
LEXINGTON, Ky.(AP) Darius Miller had a career-high 18 points and DeMarcus Cousins got his 10th double-double as No. 2 Kentucky coasted by Arkansas 101-70 Saturday.
The Wildcats kept alive the nation’s only unblemished record and a near certain return to the top of the college basketball rankings.
Kentucky (19-0, 4-0 SEC) hasn’t topped The Associated Press poll since 2003, but that streak is almost certain to end Monday courtesy of its dominating victory over UK alumnus John Pelph
rey’s Razorbacks and top-ranked Texas’ loss to Kansas State earlier in the week.
This one was practically over by tipoff. Kentucky scored the game’s 10 points, stretched the lead to 30 by halftime, then added the first 14 points of the second half.
With that much margin for error, the Wildcats easily avoided the kind of second half letdown that made recent wins over Georgia and Auburn much closer than anticipated. Arkansas (8-11, 1-3) did make an 18-3 run midway through the second half, but by that time, Kentucky had plenty of cushion to withstand it.
The Wildcats’ largest lead was 46 after John Wall hit a jumper with 14 minutes left. The Razorbacks got it no closer than 92-62 with under 4 minutes to go.
Arkansas was led by Courtney Fortson ‘s 21 points, but it wasn’t nearly enough to keep up with the Wildcats’ scoring barrage.
They ended the first half and began the second on a 21-0 run, including a 3-pointer by Ramon Harris at the halftime buzzer and later consecutive 3s by Miller.
Miller connected on four of six attempts from long range.
Cousins, who finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds, secured his double-double just seconds into the second half. He probably would have gotten it even sooner but was sidelined for all but nine minutes of the first half with a minor injury.
Calipari tried to keep expectations low going into the Arkansas game, joking, ”What’s going to happen the next day, we go to the electric chair?”
One thing that did concern him was the Wildcats have been vulnerable against 3-point shooters this year, and Arkansas has one of the nation’s best of those in Rotnei Clarke . However, Clarke was just 2-of-9 from beyond the arc and the Razorbacks managed just one other 3.
It was Kentucky’s third 100-point effort of the season and first in SEC play.
Pelphrey has now lost all three meetings against his alma mater as an opposing coach.
Kentucky should be ranked #1 on Monday.
Darius Miller was stroking it from the outside hitting 4-6 from the Trey. Stevenson got in early and had a killer dunk. Wall and Bledsoe played like Siamese Twins out there. Cousins got a double double and lost a tooth. Patrick Patterson had his normal outstanding game.
Kentucky remains undefeated. Is soon to be ranked #1 and is on their way to the Top #1 Seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Less than two months until the SEC tournament. I can’t wait to get there and see it. Live and in person.
GO BIG BLUE!
BONUS: Mich St defeats the Gophers in their house. TLT strikes again. Double Bonus: UL and UNC lost this week.
Kentucky is 18-0
In Sports, UK Basketball on January 22, 2010 at 10:55 amUK has gone from NIT loser to potentially the Number 1 Team in the Nation in less than a year. Coach Cal has accomplished an amazing turn around at Kentucky. Simply amazing.
GO CATS!
Beat the Hogs!
In other news, both UL and UNC are on three game skids. Pitino must be pulling at those plugs and you just know Roy is crying into an ice cold Coca Cola right now.
Spreading that Big Blue Love!
In Afghanistan, Humor, Military, Sports, UK Basketball, thinking out loud on January 21, 2010 at 10:18 pm
Today was my last Graduation ceremony at the Regional Police Headquarters in Herat. Seems like I’m doing a lot of “lasts” these days.
The ceremony started about like most of them have. It ended like no other. I’ve graduated around 30 classes in the past 2 1/2 years. Each course had about 20 students. Pretty good. That’s not counting individual one to three day classes and seminars and our Work Shops on Camp Zafar. We’ve held our classes mostly in Herat. Either at Zafar, the MRI/RHQ or at the Park Hotel when it was the RHQ. We’ve also held classes at Shoust, Shindand, Ghalla Attar and Chaghcharan. We tried to edge into other locations, but, were unsuccessful. Eventually most of the students from the areas to which we could not visit made it to one of our classes in Herat and Shoust.
The Graduation started with prayer. In the beginning, this practice made me feel awkward. Today, though, without consciously realizing it, I found myself participating. Surprised myself. At the end of the prayer, the Afghans simulate cleansing themselves by holding their hands in front of themselves palm facing inwards and “washing” their hands over the faces. They don’t actually touch their faces but raise their hands up to their foreheads and then sweep their hands down their faces from forehead to chin.
After the prayer, MG AK rose to give his speech. He tore into the Regional Logistics folks. Really let them have it. I chuckled at first. As he ran on for 30 minutes, I began to wonder if he’d ever come to a conclusion. He’d come to low rumble and then return to a blood curdling crescendo and do it again. 30 minutes passed and finally COL Zahir called Shoaib up to the front. That was the hint that people were about to pass out from his screeching. We could take it no longer. It’s funny, but, the General tends to keep it going long past the point wherein folks start to drown him out.
Finally, he reached his conclusion.
COL Zahir called me up to start the Graduation Ceremony. I hadn’t intended to make any sort of speech. I’ve said my speech. Going so far as to do my own screeching a time or two. Since AK had touched on the Logistics Cadres shortcomings, I reiterated the simple correction for said shortcomings stating that “they’re one indispensable guide is the Log Policy which had been issued by the MoI.” Therein are instructions and guidance for any task that an ANP Loggie is expected to carry out. Easy policy guidance and step by step instruction to the MoI Logistics Program. I didn’t add “GET OFF YOUR DEAD @** AND READ IT!” As I’d stated that two days previously for the millionth time during our course.
I finished my little talk and it was time to get down to business. I’d planned this last course as a kind of friendship tour. I was able to get around and visit with old friends. Greg gave most of the course and I was free to socialize. The Graduation was the final step in cementing a life long friendship in Herat. I had purchased the carpet that I posted last week as a parting gift for MG Akrummudeen. Part of was a show of appreciation for support that he’s given me since I’ve been here. He’s always treated me like a long time friend. Since day one actually. I convened the graduation and then stated that before we recognized the graduates that I had a gift for the General and for COL Zahir.
I called the General to the front and presented him with the carpet. He seemed to be genuinely touched and blushed at the gesture. A few folks remarked that they’d never seen anyone get a reaction out of him. Apparently, I had set a new mark in Afghan~US relations. It’s part of the job, I reckon. It was a nice feeling to see genuine gratitude in his eyes and smile. I was told that it was a fairly touching scene.
MG AK took over at that. He really talked us up. He told them that I was one of the top Mentors in the region and that I had worked tirelessly to mentor and train the Logistics Cadre. I wish I had been able to have been properly utilized for the whole of my time in that manner. As it was, I probably was only able to do about 30% of that which I should have accomplished with the proper logistics/transportation support from MPRI and the Military. It’s not the local Military’s fault, though. Herat Region has always been underfunded, under-supplied, under-equipped and undermanned. It’s how it is and with the Italians taking over, it will only get worse for whoever replaces me. MG AK then presented me with a Certificate signed by the Deputy Minister of Interior. That was pretty cool. After MG AK handed me the cert and we shook hands, the loudest applause that I can remember broke out. It shocked me. lol It was probably the size of the room. We were in a small conference room. MG AK then presented Greg and Milton with their certificates.
Afterwards, MG AK handed the event back to me. I called COL Zahir up to the podium. Faced the crowd and told them that I had one more presentation before we could move onto the the graduates.
I stated:
Since I started working with COL Zahir, he and I have developed a great friendship as well as a professional relationship. As I am a fan of the Big Blue, I always try to spread the faith. With that in mind, I want to take this time to present this #54 Patrick Patterson Kentucky Jersey to COL Zahir as a small token of thanks for both his friendship and for his support during his tenure. GO BIG BLUE!
I, then, presented the Jersey to COL Zahir. We shook hands and, hell, we might have hugged. I can’t remember.
Then that same loud applause broke out.
We handed out the certs to the students and the ceremony was brought to a conclusion.
After the ceremony, I explained to COL Zahir the whole Big Blue hysteria and talked a bit about
Patrick Patterson. Compared him to Pele and David Beckham in soccer. I told him that this time next year, Patterson would be playing in the NBA with the likes of Kobe and Lebron. We chatted for a bit longer and then it was time to get ready to roll back to Camp Stone with the Army.
Later on, Milton and I were talking and came to the conclusion that it was the most emotional and sincere ceremonies in which we had participated in Afghanistan.
It was damn fine day. Another day of being blessed with a simple happiness and contentedness. Days like this make me feel privileged to be alive and to be part of all of this.
And to top it off, I was able to bring the BIG BLUE into it. Ya gotta love that. Spreading the Gospel.
GO BIG BLUE!!!
……
…..
An Idea So Good That There Is No Way Congress Will Go For It!
In Politics, Quotes, Stupidity, thinking out loud on January 20, 2010 at 6:29 pm
What One Stimulus Buck Could Do
Mazria has vetted his plan with bankers at Wells Fargo, Bankers Trust, and Bank of the West, all of whom are interested in providing loans; while in Washington, he also met with the Teamsters, who are eager to get in on the green economy. The city of Des Moines, whose mayor, Frank Cownie, helped Mazria develop and pitch his proposal to state and federal leaders, has been fully on board. Cincinnati has expressed interest, too. Ditto Atlanta, Dubuque, Santa Barbara, Albuquerque, Fort Wayne. North Little Rock, population 61,000, is “absolutely” planning to file a 14x application, according to Mayor Hays.
The Arkansas contingent, in fact, is already devising new twists on the concept. Green business pioneer Martha Jane Murray, an architect and shoe factory co-owner who set up free home energy audits and energy-efficiency loans for her employees, is now considering ways to incorporate mortgage-rate paydowns into her program. By offering cheaper home loans as an employee benefit—contingent on an energy retrofit—a company could effectively give workers a pay raise that encourages them to stay put. Mayor Hays suggests that cities might even use such incentives to, say, entice police officers to live in what he calls “challenged” areas of town. “It’s a simple idea,” he notes, “but it certainly seems to hold promise for some profound opportunities.”
DOE officials seemed “real excited” about 14x, Mazria says, and will likely look favorably upon local variations of his plan as the stimulus money begins to flow in earnest in late June. (“Yes, we’re excited,” confirms Claire Johnson, the department’s efficiency advisor for the stimulus package, “but we’re excited by a lot of things. The department is always interested in innovative ways to increase energy efficiency.”)
Phase 2 of the plan would elevate the concept to the federal level. Mazria envisions dipping into the $1.2 trillion pot the Federal Reserve has set aside to buy up debt and toxic securities and bolster Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. A mere $60 billion of that money, Mazria says, would enable the federal government to tie mortgage-rate paydowns to energy efficiency on a grand scale, leading to $572 billion in construction spending, 9 million jobs, and $40 billion in state and local tax revenue.
Best of all, the whole thing will pay for itself: Within a year, Mazria calculates, that $60 billion will have brought in a whopping $120 billion in federal taxes. “To turn the country around,” says the architect, “you need to turn the building sector around. And you have an opportunity to transform it as you’re bringing it back.”
Michael Mechanic is a senior editor at Mother Jones. For more of his stories, click here.
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Just think if the American Political Leadership did something right for once…
What a concept!
All Around Beijing ~ From the Forbidden City to the Summer Palace in 7 Days
In Holidays, Travel, thinking out loud on January 20, 2010 at 12:05 am
I went off to China again. Unny and I spent 7 days in Beijing and then went on to Xi’an. The pics below are all from Beijing. We popped around the city, traveled by taxi, subway, train and the little three wheel taxi the name of which I can’t recall right now.
We had a great time. Spoke to a few pf pir Chinese neighbors and generally trotted around the city as safely as if we were in the States. Beijing has to be one of the safest cities in the world. There are Army and Police all over the place. Everywhere you look. Even with them trolling around everywhere, I never felt like Big Brother was watching. Though, I’m sure that they were. There are cameras in every building and seemingly in every corner of the city. I didn’t see as many in Xi’an. Neither the police nor the cameras were as ubiquitous.
Above is a picture of the Buddha from the Lama Temple. It’s the tallest Buddha in the world carved from one piece of wood. One big tree. They wouldn’t let us take a picture, so I had to google this one to post here. It’s a beautiful and serene temple. Peaceful. Incense burning continuously. Smoke billowing around the altars. Buddhist pilgrims wandering around paying homage to Buddha and his principles. It’s a beautiful feeling. Peace all around.
We walked out of the Lama Temple to grab something to eat and then catch a bus. After we ate, we passed a Camel shote store. Camel seems to be a Chinese version of Timberland. Same look and same line of clothing and shoes. Apparently, China not only bootlegs electronics by whole clothing lines as well. Unny had been walking around in these thin shoes. They’d rubbed her heel raw in one place that was starting to get nasty. I’d told her that she needed better shoes, but, she wouldn’t listen. This time, though, I put the full press on. There’s no way that she could climb the Great Wall with those shoes. I tried and tried to reason with her and get her to buy a pair of hiking shoes. Finally, I prevailed. So when we passed the Camel Store, I asked her again. When I described the Great Wall to here again. Reason finally prevailed. Thank God. Her feet would have frozen on the Wall in those little thin shoes that she brought with her. We walked into the Camel Store.
I walked in the store and started laughing. They had some groovy music playing, so I started to dance around the store like a wild man. Jumping and gyrating. The ladies in the store were laughing. Unny, though, is a little shy. So she kept telling me to stop. I just kept going and laughing. Unny finally just started trying on shoes. She bought her shoes. I bought a jacket. We decided to take a taxi to the Hostel.
Our 7 days in Beijing were nothing less than incredible. Some days we froze our butts off and some days, we were enjoying ourselves so much that the cold just didn’t matter.
The Confucius Temple was being renovated last time I was there as were major parts of hte Forbidden City. So I was able to see before and after versions. The Chinese artisans did amazing work. The Confucius Temple was beautiful. I love how peaceful all of these temples are. The Forbidden City looked much the same. Immense and awe inspiring but with a new paint job.
It’s funny. Walking around Beijing, you don’t get the feeling that you are in a communist country. It’s very commercial. Very consumer oriented. The major difference is in employment. You can tell that the Chinese create jobs. They still operate on a mass project basis. Mass employees over taking an area and getting the job done. Whereas in the West or more modernized nations, we have machinery and automation that takes the place of mass numbers of people. Aside from that, the police for the average tourist are just curiosities. As are the Military men and women walking about. You don’t really feel any oppressive weight bearing down on you. The Facebook thing is an obvious clue that you are in a totalitarian country. Xi’an had an even more open feel. Out there, there was almost no presence and Xi’an had a fairly large Muslim population. I wondered at that as I was walking round. They all seemed fairly content in their lives. Who knows. I didn’t sit down and talk to them about it. Although, I did have an interesting conversation with a girl who works in a Shop/Cafe down by the Xi’an Mosque (more on that later).
Unny and I had a great time. That’s what mattered for us.
More later. For now. Here are some photos from the first few days in China. Hope you enjoy.
Last Class
In Afghanistan, Holidays, culture on January 17, 2010 at 1:57 pm
This is the group of gentlemen who will more than likely comprise my last course with MPRI/Herat Region. At least for this contract period. I was told that February would not be a good month to conduct a class. As I’m leaving, I didn’t really fight it that much. I’ll try to get guys in to do conversion work shops over on Camp Zafar and I might try to go out to a couple of places. After that, I’m out the door.
I’ve got less than two months to go and I’m pretty excited about getting home for a while. It will be nice to spend time with family. Really looking forward to seeing and spending time with Momma. I don’t know what else I’ll do or where I’ll go while I’m back there. Plan on playing it by ear. No specific plans other than the SEC Tournament.
I’ll spend a day or two in Dubai after I depart Kabul and then go on to the US.
The guys in this class, as usual, did not bring their information. They kept saying; “Oh yes, we have everything. We are prepared.” Then we finally sit down to start the conversion to the new system and they tell me that they do not have the correct information. One guy brought his maintenance documentation. Another guy brought his furnishings and housing data. No one brought anything about end items or weapons, vehicles or comms gear. I just laughed. Business as usual.
We’ve made some decent progress over here. Not near as much as I would have liked. But with the assets available and the paltry support from most of the military, I feel we did a pretty good job for the time we’ve been here.
Being over here. In Afghanistan. In the midst of religious civil war. I have come to the conclusion that religion is madness. All Religion. Islam and Christianity especially.
Today, I gave the Regional Commander a Jayavarman VII statue. Just thought it would be a cool gift. I told him the story of JVII. How he is the most revered of the kings of the Ancient Khmer Empire. How he came to be revered and admired because of his dedication to the people in that he built schools, hospitals, roads, aqueducts and other infrastructure in and around Angkor for the people. That he cared for the people. And I spoke a bit about how the people of Afghanistan and the people of Cambodia have much in common. That the Khmer people lost their way and descended into madness but eventually found their way out. That the Afghans had followed a similar path and that I hoped that they would finally find their way out.
The taliban and the Khmer Rouge have many similarities in that they both wanted to erase history and start over from year one. They were both murderous regimes who cared not for the people but for an ideology. Both were violent and oppressive. Both disgusting stains upon the history of humanity.
Both should be eradicated. But we know this will not happen. Even as we fight the taliban, we strengthen them. We pay them off. We seek a moderate taliban where none exist. Not in the sense that we in the West understand moderation. Moderate to a talib simply means that they don’t go to war at the drop of a hat. All taliban believe in Sharee’ah. They all believe that women have no rights. They all believe in a soul crushing, medieval Islam that corrupts the soul and enslaves women and non-beleivers. That Obama and Bush believed that we could come to an agreement with these folks only highlights the ignorance of the politicians of the West. That our leaders are willling to talk to these decrepit, souless men only shows the corruption that exists in the hearts and souls of our political leadership. They are all disgusting to me.
But! It’s time for me to move on. Find my own life and a new path to follow.
Fare thee well, Afghanistan. Until we meet again. I’ll miss ya. But I’m happy as hell to be going out of here.
Go Big Blue!
.
…..
Farewell to Afghanistan
In Afghanistan, Military, Politics, UK Basketball, culture on January 16, 2010 at 10:03 pm
6o6th Ansaar Zone HQ
I had this carpet made after the pattern of the Regional Police uniform patch. Plan on giving it as a “Fare Thee Well” gift to the Regional Commander ~ MG Akrumuddin.
Sort of a way of immortalizing myself. haha
I told him a while back to keep a space open on his office wall because I would be giving him something to hang there.
I think it’s pretty cool and had one made for myself as well.
I’ve got 43 days remaining in country and then it’s off to the SEC Tournament, My Family and Unny. It’s getting close. Gotta keep my head down and not do anything foolish.
Peace…
Help for Haiti ~ Red Cross, UPS, American Airlines
In Uncategorized on January 15, 2010 at 6:11 pmUPS is shipping anything under 50 lbs for free to Haiti. You can send food, clothes, or shoes…and American Airlines is taking doctors and nurses to Haiti for free. Please call 
212-697-9767
. Spread the word…Red Cross needs Creole speaking volunteers for a 24hr phone bank…. Call Mr. Wilfrid @ 305-776-6900 ASAP…Please Repost
See this link for further information on “Texting” donations.
Apparently the UPS and AA deals were a hoax. Some sick individuals out there.
Nahida, Jalil and Ali Say “Go Big Blue!!!”
In Afghanistan, Central Asia, Kids, Sports, UK Basketball, culture, family, thinking out loud on January 14, 2010 at 4:46 pm
GO BIG BLUE!!!
I purchased a couple of UK sweatshirts to give to my little friends over at the RHQ. I wanted to give the sweat shirts to the kids before I left for leave as a Christmas gift. I didn’t have the time, though. So I put them away until after my R&R.
Wahid, Shoaib and I took the sweatshirts and a few other items (puzzles and candy) to the kids today. It was fun playing with the kids and explaining them the meaning of the puzzles. I explained to them who Donald and Daisy Duck and Huey, Dewey and Louie are as well as the 101 Dalmatians and the Cookie Monster. As I was doing it, Shoaib reminded me that I used to call Wahid the cookie monster. When I first met Wahid, he scammed one of my cookies off of me. I got mad and told him that I’d kick his ass if he ever touched my stuff again. lol Then I started messing with him and nicknamed him cookie monster. It ran on for a year and finally I just let it tail off. He was pretty embarrassed by it. Of course, that just made me rub it in all the more.
We gave them the sweatshirts and the candy. Baba brought over his baby girls as well. They were cute little girls. One of them was scared to death of me and the other just looked at me as if I was a curiosity. I laughed and laughed. Kept tell ing her; “so you’re the brave one of the family” and laughing. She let me hold her and talked to me and generally was a fearless little gal. I loved it. Too cool.
After the boys put on their sweatshirts, I got them to pose with the flags and yell “Go Big Blue!” It was too funny and too cute. I wish I had my vidcam, but, I left it in Thailand with Unny. I had to coax Nahida over to get into the picture. She gets shy when the camera comes out.
I sometimes wonder what these kids think of all of this. I’m some strange American man and I bring them things for no reason. Shoaib teased Nahida today and told her that I wanted to take her back to the States to marry my son. She didn’t take to the idea. I told her that he was joking and I don’t have a son. No need to worry about that. Even so, she seemed nervous the whole time. As if she thought we might take her away.
I kept re-assuring her that it was in no way going to happen. Although, I’d love to adopt her and take her home with me. Get her away from the fate that most likely awaits her as an adult Afghan woman. Send her to school and lead her to a happier life.
I gave Shoaib the camera and he snapped away as I played and acted like a kid myself. I think they enjoyed it. Little Jalil called me Dear Uncle today. I can’t remember the Dari word for Uncle or I’d type it here. Then Jalil and Ali started calling me Dawood Khan. lol That’s what was on my name tag on my uniform when I first met them. I laughed and laughed. I got them to yell “Kentucky!” and “GO BIG BLUE!”, “Patrick Patterson” and “John Wall.” I was trying to get them to say “The Great Wall of Kentucky!” But I think it was too long. lol
Then I got them to yell “UK is Number One” and “Go Big Blue!” again.
It was a fun time. Always nice seeing my little friends. Peace!
-
- GO BIG BLUE!!!
New UK Rug
In UK Basketball on January 11, 2010 at 8:12 pm
Got this made in Afghanistan.
What do you think?
Tonight I get to watch my first live UK Game of the Cal Era
In Sports, UK Basketball on January 10, 2010 at 1:24 amI almost missed it. For some reason, thought the game was tomorrow night.
But I get to watch it. I’ve got to stay up damn near all night to do so. It’s worth every second of lost sleep, though.
Can’t wait to see Wall and Patterson in action…with the outcome unknown. Although, I am pretty certain that UGa is a gimme this year. Mark Fox and Company are outmatched from top to bottom and there’s no Coach Gillispie to choke the drive and will to win out of the talented kids who take the floor for UK this year.
GO BIG BLUE!!!
I wish Meeks was here to experience this year with the Cats. Without Meeks, this UK team is incredible. With Meeks, they’d be a juggernaut. Unstoppable!
Kentucky Fans Care
In Kids, Spirituality, UK Basketball, UK Football, beauty, family, thinking out loud on January 8, 2010 at 9:51 amAs Kentucky fans, we have been bountifully blessed this year with Coach Calipari and this outstanding Kentucky Basketball team. I know that many of you, like me, are very grateful for this program’s return to prominence as we have endured the longing for success now for several years.
I believe that Kentucky fans are the most loyal, passionate and generous fans of any sports team in America. And, I think I have a way that we can share who we really are with the rest of the world.
There are extremely cold temperatures throughout America now and will be next week as well. Even Florida has had a series of record low, freezing temperatures. Most of us are blessed to have warm clothes and a warm enough place to sleep to endure the arctic air that surrounds us.
But not everyone in America will have what they need to stay warm tonight. They need things that most of us already have in our closets, under our beds, or in our attics. I believe that everyone reading this has something, even just one thing, that they could share with another human being to help keep them warm.
Since Kentucky has the most dedicated fans in the world and we are a caring group of good people, I have an idea how we can show the rest of the world.
Between now and next Friday, January 15th let’s each find some way, small or large, to make a difference in the life of one single homeless person. Let’s choose to unite in belief, for one moment in time, that every homeless person can’t help where they are in life right now.
Let’s look throughout our homes for anything extra we have that we can share. The economy is too tough for many of us to go out and buy new things to give away. So, let’s simply share what we already have with just one other person
Look for blankets, sweatshirts, sweatpants, warm socks, gloves, hats, scarves, candles, or anything else you can share to keep someone warm.
Next, write in permanent ink on the label or somewhere discretely this one simple phrase, “Kentucky fans care.”
Finally, go find a homeless person and give it to them directly or take the items to your local homeless shelter for distribution to those in need. Sadly, there is no shortage in our country today.
Let the message resound throughout America that indeed, “Kentucky Fans Care”.
Feel free to share this message in any way or any place that you can. Post it on other boards. Send it in email to friends and family that bleed blue like us. Print 50 and hand them out at the game Saturday. Just try and help to spread the word in any way you see fit.
I know what good and kind hearted people we have in this Big Blue Nation of Kentucky fans. Just think of how many lives we can touch for the better. It’s a very small thing for each of us to do. But together, we will shout this message to the rest of the world. Let’s help one other human being trying to simply survive, one night at a time.
CurlyCat in Tampa
I think this is a fine idea. Please feel free to copy this and pass it on and use it. I’ll find a way to do it here in Afghanistan as well. I’ll post pics later.
Thanks, Dave
Jinshanling and Simitai
In Holidays, Travel on January 1, 2010 at 9:24 pm
These are the pics from our day at the Great Wall. What a cool day!
I screwed up a bit, though. I had my camera on an off setting. The pics aren’t as good as they could be. I’ll try to fix some later.
For now, these will do.
At the end of the portion of the Wall that we trekked, we took a wire rope bridge ride to the bottom. Much faster and saved us about 20 minutes more walking. That and it was really fun and cool. Hook up, jump and zoom…to the bottom in seconds.
Once we made it to the bottom and re-joined our group, we headed off to have lunch. I think it took us about 3 hours to walk the 10 kilometres from Jinshanling to Simitai. I was ready for a nap afterwards. We headed back to the hotel and napped for most of the rest of the day.
The next day, Unny stayed in while I went out to see the Marco Polo Bridge. It’s a bridge described and made famous by Marco Polo’s writings of his journey in China and on the Silk Road.
Later that night, Unny and I took in a Chinese Acrobatic show. It was a great show. The acrobats ranged in age from what looked like 12 to 21 or so. A hugely talented group of young folks. We thoroughly enjoyed the show.
