A 120 mm mortar round flies out of the tube as U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Ramey J. Brown (left), a section sergeant from Marshville, N.C., Spc. Tyler L. Dillon (center), a team leader from Williamstown, W.Va., and Pvt. Gabriel C. Fields (right), from Fort Worth, Texas, all mortarmen assigned to Troop C, 1st Squadron, 32nd Cavalry Regiment, Task Force Bandit, take cover while at Observation Post Mustang in eastern Afghanistan’s Kunar province on Jan. 26. “It gets pretty intense sometimes when firing, especially if a firefight is going on,” said Dillon. Photo by Staff Sgt. Mark Burrell
H/T Marc
Wednesday, 2 February 2011
Tax reminder..!
The IRS has announced that this year they will give a free pencil sharpener to all taxpayers.
It can be placed on your desk as a constant reminder of the service they provide to you each year.
H/T DML
Video: 20mm Personal Assault Weapon (South Africa)
The Neopup/Denel PAW-20 is a hand-held, gas operated, semi-automatic grenade launcher that fires a 20 mm point detonating round. It holds up to seven rounds in a conventional box magazine, with an effective range of 300–400 metres.
H/T Marc
Casting shadows......from Rico
While many are waiting to see if the famed groundhog Punxatawny Phil can 'see' his shadow or not, predicting how much longer Winter will be with us, here is a graph showing another marmot-like creature's 'shadow'....a shadow that will be with us for a very long time!
Thanks Barry!
Movie Review: Devil (2010)
Short Review: If you're into finely tuned storytelling or compelling theological statements, you can move along. You're not going to find either with this flick.
Full Review Here
News..........
An Ill Wind?
Michigan School District Allows Sikh Students to Wear Religious Dagger to School
Large Hadron Collider (LHC) to run into 2012
Obama's Ongoing War on Inspector Generals
Crude Prices Retreat As Suez Worries Ease
OBAMACARE: D.O.A.
Charlotte to host 2012 Democratic National Convention
Video: Robert Redford, environmental hypocrite?
Valerie Jarrett to uniformed general: More wine, garçon!
Bill Lohmann: Last U.S. WWI vet approaches 110
Scientists grow 'cultured' meat in a lab
SPCA investigates slaughter of 100 Whistler sled dogs
A Gurkha soldier, who fought 40 train robbers, to be felicitated in the Republic Day of India
China poised to pour $10bn into Zimbabwe's ailing economy
Crime maps: chaos surrounds launch of police site
'Poundland' cemetery must go: Fury as ornaments and trinkets on graves are banned
Levin interviews Frank Gaffney on Egypt
Putting the council to shame: How two farmers and their 80-year-old steamroller fixed a pothole problem
Cyclone Yasi: Queensland battens down as onslaught begins
Popeye was right: spinach really does boost your muscles
Italian women plan knicker-throwing Berlusconi protest
Mexico complains about 'vulgar' Top Gear
Yemen president to step down
New Zealand extends military deployment to Afghanistan
Kim Jong-un hat: power goes to the Korean heir's head
Ireland expels Russian diplomat over spy fears
Escalation off Somalia: German Shipowners Turn to Mercenaries to Protect against Pirates
Tuesday, 1 February 2011
Can Spring Be Far Behind a Groundhog's Behind?
When Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow on February 2nd, you can be sure that spring will arrive on March 20 this year. Truth is, even if he doesn’t see it, it will still occur on March 20. On some years, it occurs on March 21.
Groundhog Day is a holiday celebrated in both the U.S. and Canada, thus ensuring the eternal bonds between our two, great nations. It well may be celebrated elsewhere, depending on whether a groundhog population exists along with the vicissitudes of winter. It is an import that began as a Pennsylvania German custom in the 18th century.
A nation in which generations have grown old without once stepping foot on a farm or gone hunting in the woods can be forgiven for wondering what the heck Groundhog Day is all about, let alone what a groundhog is.
It has to do with Candlemas, a holiday to celebrate the ritual purification of Mary, forty days after the birth of Jesus. It is one of the four “cross-quarters” of the year, occurring halfway between the first day of winter and the first day of spring.
The tradition was that, if Candlemas was sunny, the remaining six weeks of winter would be stormy. Thus, if the groundhog emerges from hibernation on February 2nd and looks behind himself to see his shadow, it must be sunny.
I have some serious doubts whether a member of the family Sciuridae, that of ground squirrels, can in fact actually look behind himself. My bet is that Marmota monax has to turn his fat little self around entirely for that.
In earlier times, the job of looking behind himself belonged to the badger, but was reassigned to groundhogs which, by the way, are also known as woodchucks.
At this point you’re saying, Alan, you are telling me far more about groundhogs than I ever even wanted to know. Hey, don’t blame me. Blame those Pennsylvania Germans of yesteryear who were, by the way, also called Pennsylvania Dutch.
Someone in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania clearly had an idea to put the little village on the map. A thriving trade in groundhog paraphernalia can be purchased there as well as via the Internet because Groundhog Day has its own website. Of course!
In a nation that is totally snowed and iced-in on Groundhog Day, any indication that winter will come to an end is a welcome one, so we shall all breathlessly wait to see if Phil sees his shadow. Or not.
The cliché is that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. My bet is that winter will linger beyond March 20th this year. Meteorologically speaking, we are all in for longer, harsher winters while Old Man Sun sleeps through the Maunder Minimum, a solar cycle in which there is far less solar radiation.
All the groundhogs in America and Canada will be sleeping in for a while.
© Alan Caruba, 2011
An Iraqi Army tanker with the 9th Armored Division drives an M1A1 Abrams tank under the instruction of soldiers with Company C, 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, United States Division-Center Jan. 16 at Camp Taji, Iraq. The IA tankers are preparing for a 45-day new equipment operatorÂ’s course this spring at the Besmaya Combat Training Center, Iraq. Photo by Sgt. Chad Menegay
H/T Marc
News........
E15 Gas: A green disaster for your car
The Scarlet Letter "R" - Conservatives in Hollywood
The Muslim Brotherhood: The Enemy in its own Words
The Greatest Anti-Retirement Video of All Time
Egypt: Winning After the Fall
Report warns of Iran nuke disaster
South Africa's ANC deplores 'sushi on models' after scandal
Britain secretly advised Libya how to secure release of Lockerbie bomber
Barack Obama's health care reform 'unconstitutional'
Liam Fox: Iran could have nuclear weapons next year
Dozens of New York taxi drivers plead guilty to fare scam
North Korea prepares for annual flowery tribute to its 'Dear Leader'
Japan's space agency teams up with fishing net maker to collect space debris
and finally.......
7 items that will cause a man to never leave his home
10 Useless But Awesome Facts About Life
Comparisons..............from Rico
Anyone who lets rags like Time Magazine do their thinking for them has (a) no common sense, and (b) no ability for critical thought.
- In a word: morons.
The comparison of Jimmy Carter and Barry Soetoro must have been too challenging for Time (Carter 'lost' Iran; Soetoro "lost" Egypt...Hell, the entire Middle East, but what did you really expect from a guy who claims 'Hussein' as his middle name?).
But suggesting that our feckless Barry is today's equivalent of Reagan? This is a perfect example of why Time needs the "whang" from the flat of a shovel to the head! Let's compare them, shall we?
Ronnie: Fostered national pride in the military.
Barry: Fostered gay pride in the military.
Ronnie: We begin bombing in five minutes.
Barry: We begin golfing in five minutes.
Ronnie: Made big government a bad word.
Barry: Made big government a bad dream.
Ronnie: A shining city on a hill.
Barry: A home mortgage under water.
Ronnie: Stood up to the Soviets.
Barry: Bowed to the Saudis.
Back to a comparison with Jimmy Carter. I wondered what Barry's "killer rabbit" moment would be....until I remembered that he was married to Michelle, the First Wookie!
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