Monday, March 10, 2014

Entangled dolphin "asks" diver for help

Via Daily Timewaster
"In this remarkable footage shot in Hawaii in January, an entangled dolphin approaches divers filming manta rays and appears to ask a diver for help.  One fin was entangled in fishing line, and the diver, realizing what was up, removed the hook and line, even using his Leatherman to do it.  It's clear in the video that the dolphin trusted the diver, even when he was using a tool, and knew he was sincerely trying to help.  Simply amazing."

Actually, black Confederate soldiers served with distinction throughout Civil War

http://blog.geneablogie.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/negro-confederate.jpg
 “Rebel Negro Pickets Seen through a Field Glass.”
 Harper’s magazine, January 10, 1863

I appreciated Tony Kendall’s column last week, but wondered if perhaps there was, in the immortal words of Paul Harvey, a “rest of the story.”
 
I also remembered a fine column appearing in this paper some years ago by William Barr, which discussed the pension records of black Confederate soldiers in Tennessee, and am surprised Mr. Kendall did not.

Then again, being married to the author means that I was perhaps more attentive to it!

Samuel Johnson said there are two kinds of knowledge — that which we know and that which we know how to find.

I would add that we are also wise if we know when to find someone who knows something in which we are interested. I am fortunate to have many historians in my life, both professional and amateur.
Rather than revisit Bill’s column, I was able to get a new perspective.

John Mark King is a Kentuckian and member of the Southern Nationalist Party, which he says “welcome(s) the participation and leadership of black men and women of the South — in the struggle for liberty and just governance.”

And now, for the rest of my column, I give you Mr. King’s remarks:

Plastic Flowers

Carolina Beach Music:  Don't' Put No Plastic Flowers On My Grave. 

 In memory of my mother who detested them in any way, shape or form :)


Weejuns and all. :)

Sharyl Attkisson resigns from CBS News

 

CBS News investigative correspondent Sharyl Attkisson has reached an agreement to resign from CBS News ahead of contract, bringing an end to months of hard-fought negotiations, sources familiar with her departure told POLITICO on Monday.

Attkisson, who has been with CBS News for two decades, had grown frustrated with what she saw as the network’s liberal bias, an outsize influence by the network’s corporate partners and a lack of dedication to investigative reporting, several sources said. She increasingly felt that her work was no longer supported and that it was a struggle to get her reporting on air.

At the same time, Attkisson’s reporting on the Obama administration, which some staffers characterized as agenda-driven, had led network executives to doubt the impartiality of her reporting. She is currently at work on a book — tentatively titled “Stonewalled: One Reporter’s Fight for Truth in Obama’s Washington” — that addresses the challenges of reporting critically on the administration.

More @ Politico

"I give my left nut to bang down your door and come for your gun…"


On Saturday, I informed you of a Connecticut police officer who said he wanted to bust through one patriot's door and take his guns. This morning I spoke with John Cinque via telephone and he provided me with screenshots of the conversation that he mentioned in the video. Many people wanted to see the evidence of what John referenced in the video. Some thought it was nothing more than ploy since he was in the video with Connecticut gubernatorial candidate Joe Visconti. I won't attempt to judge Visconti's motives. However, the evidence is clear of what Officer Joseph Peterson of the Branford Police Department said, and in the course of the conversation actually spilled the beans on what gun registration is all about: Taking your guns, which every red-blooded, American gun owner knows already.

Take a Look for yourself:

Justin Bieber: Insulting, arrogant, snotty, ignorant and disrespectful

Justin Bieber Giving a Deposition Is So Disrespectful Even TMZ Is Calling It ‘Just Unreal’
                                                                 
Needs his butt kicked.

 Video

 

Cemetery Removes Confederate Flag

Via Carl
 http://www.baldeagleindustries.com/images/719_A_CONFEDERATE_FLAG_AT_SPOTSYLVANIA_1.jpg
 Stock photo

Sirs:
I live in New York State and am a student of the Civil War. In the 1950s, the United States Congress declared ALL those who fought in the Civil War to be AMERICAN soldiers and that their symbols - INCLUDING FLAGS - are AMERICAN and therefore to be respected.

I have learned that you intend to remove the flag that flies over the graves of Confederate soldiers in your newly acquired Lakeview Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Phoenix City, Alabama. Tell me, do you intend to remove the AMERICAN flag that flies over Union soldiers in any of your properties?

 Because if you remove the one, then you must also remove the other since they are, according to the Congress, the same in value and worth. The men over whom this flag flies died for their State and for their beliefs and since the United States Government has declared their sacrifice worthy of respect, I fail to see why you feel yourself qualified to decree otherwise.

The present debate about the history, heritage and symbols of the South is a manufactured creation of a politically correct, revisionist history that has NOTHING WHATSOEVER to do with facts or truth OR history. What's next? Will you remove the Crosses or Stars of David from the graves of Christians and Jews because someone is OFFENDED? Most probably, not. Why then do you purchase "hallowed ground" in Alabama and insult the majority of the people of that state by removing a revered symbol in order to placate people who act in both ignorance and intolerance?

Let the flag of these dead heroes fly.

Thank you for your courtesy.


 Valerie Protopapas

                                            *******************************************************

At an AOT Heritage Defense meeting this week we learned…

Lakeview Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Alabama has been bought by a Pennsylvania company, which no longer allows the Confederate flag to fly over our dead.

There is a flagpole close to the monument that has always had a Confederate Flag flying. It honors those who died at the Battle of Moses Hill.

The salesman a Mr. Williams said a lady representing the owners, told the local cemetery to take down the flag, it was not acceptable.

***I would suggest you let them know how you feel, or you can just go ahead and let them trample all over our heritage.

They cannot be allowed to continue this discrimination.

Lakeview Memorial Gardens Cemetery
3800 Hwy 431 N (334) 298-0225
Phoenix City, AL

StoneMor Partners LTD. of:
311 Veterans Highway Suite B Levittown, PA 19056
Lawrence (Larry) Miller, CEO

They own 277 Cemeteries & 92 Funeral homes in 28 states.
http://www.stonemor.com/
List of states and cemeteries:
http://www.stonemor.com/who-we-are/our-properties/default.aspx

Felony Friday: Felon Arrested Trying To Sell Gun At Gun Show

 https://www.motherjones.com/files/blog_felon_disenfranchisement.jpg
My friend got a felony in 1960 and still cannot legally own a gun.

The phrase convicted felon makes most people’s ears perk up. There is a stigma associated with those that have been convicted of a felony crime. Without any background knowledge of the nature of the felony conviction or the atmosphere the crime took place, the word “felon” has the ability to define a person.

The truth of the matter is not all felons are created equally. Some felons were convicted of violent crimes and some don’t have a violent bone in their bodies. Some of the convictions occured more than 10, 20, or even 30 years ago. Yet in most states they are treated the same and none are permitted to own modern firearms.

The Oklahoma City police arrested a felon last weekend at a gun show because he was attempting to sell a gun. The officers uncovered his record as a convicted felon while completing a background check. KOCO.com has the report.

Dog Goldberg Machine by Beneful


Via Cousin Colby



Malaysia Airlines MH370 searchers scramble ships after commercial flight reports debris field off Vietnam

 An airliner enroute to Hong Kong Monday reported via radio that its pilots saw a large field of debris at a position about 92 kilometres southeast of of Ho Chi Minh City.

Vietnam’s Maritime Search and Rescue Services was scrambling ships to a debris field after a commercial Cathay Pacific airliner Monday en route to Hong Kong reported a “large amount of metal debris”.

It is possible that MH370 was a 9/11-type plot, in which the target was the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur? Until recently, they were the tallest buildings in the world. And even now, they remain a spectacular centerpiece to Kuala Lumpur’s skyline. You can see why terrorists would find them a tantalizing target.

Malaysia is a Muslim country, so it would be low on the target list for many terrorist groups. But then, so are Iraq and Syria, yet both nations regularly witness mass-casualty attacks against civilians. It’s also worth noting that Southeast Asia has played host to a number of terrorist entities for decades.

A vessel in the area confirmed material was floating in the ocean about 92 kilometres off the southeastern coast of Vietnam in the South China Sea. The debris is located about 520 kilometres northeast of a missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370′s last known radar position.

CNN Poll: 58 Percent of Americans Oppose Abortion in All or Most Cases

 

Overlooked in the CPAC shuffle of late last week were the results of a nationwide CNN survey on abortion, the results of which confirm America's anti-abortion trend. A solid majority (58 percent) of respondents espoused viewpoints associated with the pro-life movement; namely, that abortion should be legal under "few" or "no" circumstances. The 'mostly illegal' position represented a strong plurality at 38 percent. Meanwhile, just 40 percent of Americans said that the practice should be "always" or "mostly" legal. Also, public financing of abortion remains heavily unpopular:

More @ Townhall

Free ebook: Dismantling the Republic

 

Until March 15 folks can download my ebook, "Dismantling The Republic," for FREE at
Smashwords

The download information is on the right side of the page. The price is listed, but there is a coupon code to enter at checkout which will allow you to obtain the book free of charge.

Chancellorsville

 http://cdn2.americancivilwar.com/americancivilwar-cdn/civil_war_map/chancellorsville1_split.jpg

The Duke of Wellington is reported to have said that “a man of refined Christian sensibilities is totally unfit for the profession of a soldier,” though two devoted Christians, Lee and Jackson faithfully performed their soldierly duties to near-perfection against tremendous odds. 
Bernhard Thuersam, Chairman
North Carolina War Between the States Sesquicentennial Commission
"Unsurpassed Valor, Courage and Devotion to Liberty"
"The Official Website of the North Carolina WBTS Sesquicentennial"

“On the Confederate side, the force operating at Chancellorsville consisted of McLaw’s and Anderson’s divisions of Longstreet’s corps (Hood’s and Pickett’s divisions of that corps, under Longstreet, were in the vicinity of Suffolk, on the south side of the James river), and Jackson’s corps, of A.P. Hill’s, [Jubal] Early’s, D.H. Hill’s under [General Robert] Rodes, and [General Isaac] Trimble’s under [Raleigh E.] Colston, and two brigades of cavalry under W.H.F. Lee and Fitzhugh Lee.

Present, then, we find six infantry divisions or twenty-eight brigades, and the cavalry brigades of nine regiments.  The official return of the Army of Northern Virginia nearest to the battle extant – viz: 31st March 1863 . . . you have present at Chancellorsville a Confederate total on 53,303, with some 170 pieces of artillery.

Now let us see what 133,708 fighting men in blue did with 53,303 “boys in gray.”

It will be demonstrated that “the finest army on the planet” as Hooker termed it, “was like the waves of the ocean driven upon the beach by some unseen force, and whose white crests we so soon broken into glittering jewels on the sand.”

[Three of Hooker’s] corps were to constitute the left wing of the army – were to hold and amuse General Lee and prevent him from observing the great flank movement of the right wing, and to pursue him, when maneuvered out of his entrenchments, by the approaching hosts on his left-rear.  Hooker’s original left wing was about equal in numbers to General Lee’s whole army, and his right wing, or marching column, of four infantry corps and one cavalry corps [57,414], would represent his numerical advantage in strength.

The Confederate commander knew a movement was in progress.  With the serenity of almost superhuman intelligence he waited for it to be developed before his plans were laid to counteract it, for he remembered the maxim of the great Napoleon, that when your enemy is making a mistake he must not be interrupted. 000 men in front of Hooker’s 73,124 while Jackson moved around his right flank with 26,000. [Upon personally viewing the exposed and undefended enemy flank, Jackson’s] eyes burned with a brilliant glow, lighting up his sad face. His expression was one of intense interest, his face was colored slightly with the paint of approaching battle, and radiant at the success of his flanking movement. 

From what I have read and heard of Jackson since that day, I know now what he was doing then. Oh! “beware of rashness,” General Hooker.  Stonewall Jackson is praying in full view of your right flank!”

(Chancellorsville – Address of General Fitzhugh Lee, Southern Historical Papers, Volume VII, 1879, pp. 558-560; 570-572)

VW Bus

Via ravael

1526926_10151873153606082_1036250690_n

Baby Maestro

Via LH


Musical director baby has all the feels, Baby Girl Conductor, choir, church, emotional, Kyrgyzs­­tan, Little Girl Conducting a Church Choir in Kyrgyzstan, Little Girl Conducts Choir Video, Little girl moved by music during church service, Russian Girl Conducting Choir, Musical director baby girl, Musical director baby has all the feels

How to Kill a Transformer

Via avordvet

 

The main components in our power grid distribution system are transformers.  They step up the generated voltage to a higher level for more efficient transport over very long lines.  Then they step the voltage back down in several stages for final consumption.  These transformers are located at the power plants and thousands of substations.  They are big and right out in the open.  Weather does not bother them, but bullets do.  They are the weak links in our power grid.

Pro-Russia Troops Install Minefields, Border Markers in Crimea; Gazprom Ups Price of Natural Gas 37%, Calls in $2 Billion Gas Debt

 

Pro-Russian supporters hold a placard reading "Nobel Peace Prize to Putin" during a mass rally in the center of Sevastopol, Ukraine on March 8, 2014.

The takeover of Crimea by Russia is nearly complete. All that remains is the final vote on March 16. There would not be a vote if the outcome was uncertain.

Troops Install Minefields, Border Markers in Crimea

Bloomberg reports Pro-Russia Forces Occupy Ukraine as Separatist Vote Looms.

More @ Townhall

S&W Model 69 Combat Magnum Revolver in .44 Mag


For the first time, a .44 Magnum ‘Combat Magnum’ will be offered by Smith & Wesson in the L-frame.  The new Model 69 revolver will look like the classic Combat Magnum revolvers (such as the recently re-introduced Model 66.)

The guns will have a 4.25″ barrel topped with a red ramp front sight and adjustable rear sight.  The stainless steel frame is glass bead finished, and the stainless steel cylinder holds five rounds.  Like the classic Combat Magnums, the top strap and barrel have ridges.



Have American mercenaries been deployed to Ukraine?





  • Unidentified armed men seen on the streets of Donetsk in east Ukraine
  • Russian diplomat claims 300 mercenaries had arrived in Kiev this week
  • Mercenaries in the region could give Putin pretext for military action
  • Donetsk has been the scene of big pro-Russian demonstrations this weekSpeculation was growing last night that American mercenaries had been deployed to Donetsk after videos emerged of unidentified armed men in the streets of the eastern Ukrainian city.

    At least two videos published on YouTube earlier this week show burly, heavily armed soldiers with no insignia in the city, which has been gripped by pro-Moscow protests.

    In one of the videos onlookers can be heard shouting 'Blackwater! Blackwater!' as the armed men, who wear no insignia, jog through the streets.

    More with video and pictures @ Daily Mail
  • States use trick to undo food stamp cuts

     

    Congress last month passed a revamp of agriculture and food policy that was supposed to save the U.S. government $8.6 billion in food-stamp costs over a decade.

    That may not happen, though, now that some states are finding a way to avoid the cuts.

     New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania are triggering extra nutrition spending by adding money to a home-heating subsidy tied to increased food-stamp aid. The move feeds needy families while thwarting spending-reduction goals.

    Russia warns Ukraine over 'lawlessness' in east

    Via Billy


    KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia's Foreign Ministry on Monday denounced alleged lawlessness by far-right activists in eastern Ukraine, a statement likely to trigger alarms in Ukraine about possible Russian intervention there.

    Ukraine's foreign minister said Monday his country already feels like it's almost in a state of war after Russian forces took effective control of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. A referendum has been called there for Sunday on whether the region should split off and seek to become part of Russia.

    Pro-Russia sentiment is also high in Ukraine's east and there are fears Russia could seek to incorporate that area as well.

    The Kremlin statement also claimed Russian citizens trying to enter Ukraine have been turned back at the border by Ukrainian officials.

    More @ Windstream