Stephan Pastis reminds us that there are ways to cope, and then there are ways... Click the image to be taken to a larger version at the "Pearls Before Swine" Web page.
There's also beer, of course... At present, harder liquor is not a good idea for me, thanks to opioid painkillers washing around in my system.
Peter
Over on MeWe, Mike Williamson posted this image:
It's a quote from the character Billy Sunday, played by Robert de Niro in the 2000 movie "Men of Honor".
It made me laugh, because when I did a South African officer's course in the mid-1970's, there was a textbook titled "An Officer And A Gentleman". It was heavily influenced by British colonial military customs, such as which knife and fork to use for what course in a meal, etiquette in the officers mess, and so on.
I never forgot the bit dealing with over-indulgence in alcohol. It said, very simply, in exactly these words:
An officer is never drunk. He is only pleasantly tired.
Yeah, riiiiiiight!!! I seem to recall an awful lot of "pleasantly tired" officers from time to time . . .
Peter
Stefan Pastis draws another great cartoon. Click on the image to be taken to a larger version at the "Pearls Before Swine" Web page.
Blame, guilt, whatever . . . there's plenty to go around, for all to share. Fortunately, there are good things to share as well, otherwise we'd never get out of the moral morass!
Peter
EDITED TO ADD: Last night, when I wrote this post, I found several versions of this news article on different social media platforms. However, this morning, most of them have vanished. I'm therefore treating it as unconfirmed rumor rather than hard news, and have deleted the content until it can be properly confirmed or denied.
Peter
For people who avoid making mountains out of molehills, from Stephan Pastis. Click the image to be taken to a larger view at the "Pearls Before Swine" Web page.
My problem is that I've got so many problitos, I can't afford to concentrate on any one of them long enough to make a mountain out of that particular molehill. I've got problitos popping up all over the place!
Oh, well . . .
Peter
I had to laugh at this report from Europe.
Brussels must enforce tariffs on imports of cheap Chinese tomato imports to preserve the “dignity” of Italian produce, the boss of tinned food giant Mutti has said.
Francesco Mutti told the Financial Times: “The objective is to give tomatoes their dignity, to take a product that has often been considered a commodity and say: no – tomatoes count.
“We should stop the import of tomato paste from China or add a 60pc tax on it so that its cost will not be so different from Italian.”
There's more at the link.
I see. It's not about "dignity" at all - it's about forcing consumers to pay more for cheaper alternative products, so that Signore Mutti can maintain his share of the market and go on making all that lovely money from his more expensive Italian produce. As for the consumers' desire - for some of them, an imperative need - to save money? They can go to hell. It's all about dignity - Signore Mutti's, that is, not his tomatoes'.
Hypocrisy is the same all over, isn't it?
Peter
Courtesy of a link at Task & Purpose, we find this leave request from 1967. Click the image below for a larger view.
I'd say that's a pretty good reason to apply for leave, wouldn't you?
Peter
Anyone who's served in the US military, and many veterans of other armed forces, know of the so-called "E-4 Mafia": service personnel on the cusp between enlisted and NCO status, knowing enough to be useful and dangerous at the same time, and usually possessed of a certain self-confidence that is not matched by their competence. There have been many articles and stories about them, including (but not limited to):
The Real Army Mob: The E-4 Mafia
E4 Mafia: The Real Dons of the American Military
The E4 Mafia is a real damn thing
7 unofficial rules the E4 Mafia lives by
Now, according to Task & Purpose, there's even an "official" E-4 Mafia sleeve badge for the Navy!
Behind every great warship is a junior sailor with a mustache, a beanie that may or may not get him yelled at depending on the weather or the hour, and a belligerent streak that toes the line between humor and masochism.
We give you the E-4, the everyman of the U.S. military. In this case, he is an operations specialist aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln proudly, nay, fearlessly standing watch with a vibrant patch on the right sleeve of his jacket that practically screams “Take a look, f*****.”
There's more at the link.
I, of course, being young, sweet, innocent and pure as the driven slush, was never a member of the E-4 Mafia or anything resembling it. On the other hand, there are certain incidents in my earlier days in the military that might resemble things of which the E-4 Mafia would perhaps approve . . . but they weren't there, there were no witnesses (at least, none of higher rank than me) and the statute of limitations has expired!
Peter
Last week I noted that the declaration by the World Health Organization (WHO) of mpox (formerly known as monkeypox) as a "global health emergency" was suspect on a number of grounds, particularly the very small (relatively speaking) number of cases in even the worst-affected areas. However, as the notorious Rahm Emanuel observed some years ago, "Never let a serious crisis go to waste" - and throwing public money at another phony emergency means kick-backs, rake-offs and other benefits to far too many politicians.
Bavarian Nordic A/S, one of the few companies with an approved mpox vaccine, says it will be able to meet the immunization needs of African nations in the throes of an mpox outbreak.
Shares in the Danish company surged as much as 17% in early Thursday trading in Copenhagen, extending a 12% rise the day before, after it said it can provide 10 million doses of its vaccine to African countries by the end of 2025.
“We have inventory and we have the capabilities. What we’re missing are the orders,” Bavarian Nordic’s Chief Executive Officer Paul Chaplin said in an interview Wednesday.
. . .
“We are in late August already, so it really does need some speed in the decision making to be able to do that,” he said.
. . .
Africa CDC’s Director General Jean Kaseya has said the continent needs 10 million doses and that the shots are very expensive.
“Pricing is no doubt going to be an issue,” Chaplin said in the interview. “We’re very sensitive about the pricing. We’re fully aware we have to do our bit here and look at pricing in a responsible way,” he said, declining to provide more details.
There's more at the link.
Let's see, now. Speed is a factor, meaning governments and agencies won't be able to take their time and make a fully informed judgment before shelling out the big bucks? Check. "Pricing is no doubt going to be an issue"? Check. Company needs a good excuse to charge more for forced, rushed production? Check. External pressure to buy the vaccine anyway, regardless of price? Check. Am I missing anything here?
What's the betting that the USA (as the world's biggest donor) is going to be asked to shell out a large proportion of the cost of those vaccines to Bavarian Nordic A/S, so the company can make immense profits producing vaccines that aren't even tailored to the current strain of mpox, and send them off to Africa where they'll be misused, wasted, exposed to conditions (heat, humidity, being bounced around in trucks on poor-condition dirt roads, etc.) that will render them useless in fairly short order, and thus have to be replaced (at even more expense) in the not too distant future?
Call me a cynic if you wish, but I've had too much up-close, personal, in-your-face experience with international aid organizations and NGO's to have much faith in this announcement.
Peter
I'm long since sick of the talking heads that are yammering on about the Biden-Trump debate last week. The essential elements could be figured out by anyone with two working brain cells (or even less) in a few minutes. Nobody yet knows how it'll work out (although it promises to be a cross between a tortured melodrama and a laugh-a-minute yuckfest finding out).
There's one commenter who seems to have his finger on the political pulse of last week's encounter. Speaking in Australia at a conservative conference, Tucker Carlson had this to say. Even if you've seen or heard bits of it before, it's worth taking nine minutes out of your day to hear it again.
I wasn't very enamored of President Trump's performance last week either. Bombastic, sometimes shrill, sometimes childish, sometimes downright dishonest . . . he did not come across as presidential, I'm afraid (at least, not by my somewhat old-fashioned standards). Nevertheless, if the choice is between him and President Biden, I think most of us will line up behind him.
Unless . . . we could persuade Tucker Carlson to offer himself as a candidate?
I'm not sure that would be a good idea; Carlson is invaluable as an honest, no-holds-barred observer of the scene and a trenchant commenter. We need him doing his present job, and calling the rest of our political establishment to account (frequently). Nevertheless . . . what if we had a mind like his in charge - whether from the left or the right, I don't care - taking a long, unafraid look at the catastrophe which is our federal government at present, rolling up his sleeves, and starting in on the cleanup?
Tempting thought . . .
Peter
From Larry Lambert:
When you put a potato in a microwave oven and punch the “pizza” button, and it is still a potato, it will help you understand how gender works.
Indeed!
Peter
I refer to Seismic High Mass Ammunition, which offers very-heavy-for-caliber rounds in 12ga. shotgun slugs and 9mm. cartridges. Their slogan appears to be "Heavier Hits Harder".
I've often been asked by readers and other acquaintances what I think of ammunition for which better-than-standard and/or super-high performance is claimed. There's the Glaser Safety Slug, the infamous (and discredited) RBCD Performance Plus ammunition, the impressively named R.I.P. rounds from G2, and a host of others. Seismic joins a long line of companies who've claimed that their ammunition is significantly better than the norm for one reason or another.
Unfortunately, all of its predecessors have failed a simple acid test. There are people out there - not just police, who are often budget-constrained, but special forces units, private security firms contracting to governments, and so on - who literally depend for their lives upon the performance of their weapons and ammunition. It's not just the organizations, either: it's their individual members, most of whom earn enough to buy whatever extra gear they want, and who aren't about to waste their own money on something that's all hat and no cattle. To the best of my knowledge, none of these units and their individual members carry any of these "specialty" rounds, because they don't perform better than standard defensive ammunition when push comes to shove. If they did, such purchasers would be all over them. The fact that they're not tells its own story.
Some of these ammo manufacturers have made vague claims about "As used by special forces", or something like that: but if you press them, to pin down exactly which special forces they're talking about, they evade the issue by saying that they're contractually forbidden from identifying them. Yeah, right. You can rest assured that operators "on the ground" would be talking about it to their buddies if they found some hot new technology that really worked. The almost complete absence of such chatter says it all.
If you want to take guesswork out of the equation, the solution is simple. Buy ammunition that's been tested and approved, and is currently issued, by major law enforcement agencies and/or major security organizations. They know what they're doing, and they trust the lives of their members to the ammunition they buy. That's not a bad litmus test for the rest of us, and is why I carry rounds like Federal's HST or Hornady's Critical Duty in my defensive handguns. If I have to go to court over a defensive shooting, no lawyer will be able to allege that I bought super-enhanced-lethality ammo because I wanted to "blow away" his client. No, I'll have used rounds that any police agency might use. That will be a perfectly adequate defense against such claims.
Peter
Given my ongoing struggle with a liquid-only fast and carnivore diet, this Circle And Square comic hit me right on my funny-bone. Click the image to be taken to a larger view on the comic's Web page.
I think I need a cheat day for chocolate fudge brownie ice cream...
Peter
From author Kit Sun Cheah on Gab this morning:
It is 420 day during a partial solar eclipse, so I am absolutely confident that today will be totally peaceful and absolutely nothing weird will happen at all, especially in Florida.
Yeah, riiiiiight!!!
Peter
From Larry Lambert at Virtual Mirage:
Dating is a great way to realize that dying alone isn’t the worst thing that could happen.
Makes me glad I'm married!
Peter
Courtesy of Martin van Creveld's blog, I discovered an article with that title published in 2000. It made me laugh out loud, both for the incongruity of its title (after all, the Marines are known for breaking things and killing people, neither of which requires exceptional sensitivity!) and for its humor. Here's an excerpt.
Back then, there was racial tension. Lots of racial tension. So the Marine Corps decided that everyone should have Human Relations (HumRel) instruction, 20 hours worth, spread over five mornings. Unfortunately, I was hanging around the battery office, looking for my early-release papers, when the quota for a HumRel trainer came in. So they shipped me off to a weeklong instructors course. I graduated first in the class, having gotten a 98 on the true-false test, and they sent me back to teach the gun bunnies what was to become known as sensitivity.
We had a text. Actually, an “Our American Values” quasi comic book. In the 1960s, most basic manuals had gone comic book, including the M-16 rifle disassembly and maintenance guide (Chapter One: “How to Strip Your Sweet 16”), but that's another story. First four sessions, we sat around a conference table and reacted to the drawings and balloons.
“What do you think, Private Smith?”
“Dunno, sir.”
“What do you think, Corporal Jones?”
“Oh, I agree with Private Smith.”
Fridays were different. That's when we discussed conditions at the local base, including self-segregation, interracial sex, dapping (elaborate black-power handshakes), et cetera. When we got to the dating stuff, the scrawniest brother at the table made a comment about white male sexual prowess, as explicit as it was uncomplimentary. The nearest Caucasian immediately reached over and began acquainting his head with the tabletop, and there ensued several minutes of mass violence and general bad manners.
Once was nasty enough. When it happened the second cycle, I figured there was a pattern emerging. So did my captain. So did my colonel. So did a general or two, who suggested via the chain of command that a bit more decorum, and no more incident reports that had to go to headquarters, might be nice. Especially if I wanted to avoid being held on active duty for the investigations, which might take forever. So Thursday evening before my final class, I called the area guard shack.
“This is Lieutenant Gold. I'll be teaching sex education tomorrow and would like the reaction force standing by.”
Next morning, 20 or so Marines sat around the table, revving up. I announced the subject, then opened the door. In marched a dozen Marines in riot gear. They surrounded the table and made not a sound, save for a discreet tapping of their batons on the wall behind them.
We had a fascinating seminar, an open, genuine, and informative exchange of views. I subsequently spent 14 years as a college professor. Would that all my classes had been so… well received.
There's more at the link. It's well worth a read, and will amuse you.
Odd thing, though . . . based on a number of Marines of my acquaintance, from the armed forces of three different nations (USA, Britain and South Africa), I'd have thought the last area in which they needed instruction was sex education. In fact, I'd have thought (to judge by their comments) that most of them were pretty well qualified to serve as instructors in the field! Oh, well . . .
Peter
I read this report with unalloyed skepticism.
Los Angeles County reported Monday that over 27% of the signatures submitted on petitions to recall District Attorney George Gascón were invalid — after reporting that less than 1% of mail-in ballots were invalid in the 2020 election.
The county reported that it rejected 195,783 of the 715,833 signatures submitted, roughly 27.3%. The reasons given included that some voters were found to be unregistered; incorrect addresses were given; or signatures did not match those on file.
. . .
Recall proponents complained that they were not allowed to watch the signature verification process, after county officials said they were not required to allow observers since the petition drive did not qualify as an “election” under state law.
There's more at the link.
If you think that those petition signatures were honestly, fairly and openly evaluated; if you believe that the result of the evaluation is fair and honest; if you're convinced that the Los Angeles County electoral officials are pure as the driven slush . . . then I have a bridge in Brooklyn, NYC that I'd like to sell you. It's a real bargain! Cash only, please, and in small bills.
A few weeks ago I warned that "November 2022 will see electoral manipulation like never before". I've seen nothing to make me change my forecast: in fact, news like this makes me even more sure of it.
Don't expect the mid-term elections to save us. I fear they'll only confirm that we won't get rid of the fraudulent, illegitimate regime in Washington through the ballot box. Sterner measures will be required.
Peter
I had to laugh at this report.
A Florida man has been arrested after he was accused of stealing a pickup truck and driving to a Space Force base to warn the government about extraterrestrial and mythical creatures.
Corey Johnson, 29, was arrested Friday at Patrick Space Force Base by local deputies after he "attempted to get on base," according to an arrest citation.
Johnson reportedly explained to authorities "he was told by the president" to warn "the government there was US aliens fighting with Chinese dragons."
Johnson allegedly took control of a Ford F-150 several days prior to arriving at Patrick Space Force Base and he didn't know who the owner was, according to local authorities. He was charged with grand theft of a motor vehicle.
He told authorities the president had also instructed him to take the truck.
There's more at the link.
You just knew this had to be Florida, right? Florida Man strikes again!
I wonder what the "Guardians" thought about that particular call to action? I have visions of a miscreant E-4 being ordered by a senior NCO to prepare to interrupt warring dragons and aliens. "Er... I don't see that listed in my job description, Staff Sergeant. How's about you show me how it's done? I'll make the popcorn!"
Peter
We've discussed on several occasions how the World Economic Forum's "Build Back Better" initiative includes discouraging the use of meat, instead encouraging us to eat insects and their byproducts. It's noteworthy that many W.E.F. advocates (take a bow, Bill Gates) are investing in insect processing plants to produce such food . . . and in farmland, where they can grow something rather tastier for themselves and their "woke" cronies.
As part of that effort, we're seeing anti-meat and pro-insect propaganda articles and programming spreading throughout the news media and social media. Here's an example from the BBC yesterday.
The air in my family home in Uganda was filled with a distinct aroma, not dissimilar to the smell of beef being grilled. It was December 2000 and my sister, Maggie, was frying grasshoppers. The more she stirred the green, crispy locust-like insects, the stronger and richer the aroma became. As they sizzled and steam rose from the pan, my taste buds tingled – I couldn't wait to eat this delicious snack.
This wasn't my first experience of eating grasshoppers – I used to eat them regularly during my childhood. In Uganda, grasshoppers are a nutritious delicacy and a much sought-after snack.
. . .
Some 22 years later, in June this year, I was feeling nostalgic for this taste of home, so I decided to recreate some of my favourite grasshopper snacks. It gave me the idea for an experiment – could I swap all the meat in my diet for these crunchy critters? I had heard about the sustainability benefits of eating insects and was intrigued to find out how much I could lower my carbon footprint if I introduced grasshoppers as my main source of protein.
. . .
The beauty of grasshoppers is that you can eat them with many types of food in the same way you would eat chicken wings with French fries. Over the four days of my experiment, I ate grasshoppers with cassava, potatoes, rice and cowpeas stew.
A cup of grasshoppers is slightly more expensive than a kilogram (2.2lbs) of beef, which goes for around 13,000USh (£2.86/$3.42). However, with only one cup of grasshoppers, I made three meals.
On the second day, I had grasshoppers and potatoes, which I normally eat with meat or bean stew. On the third and fourth day, I paired the grasshoppers with rice and cowpeas stew.
I might have reduced the carbon emissions from my diet by a factor of ten by substituting beef for grasshoppers as my main source of protein.
To me, grasshoppers are like popcorn – a snack that I never want to stop eating and don't get bored of. While I personally find beef starts to taste bland if I eat it too often, my appetite for grasshoppers didn't wane, even after eating it four days in a row.
There's more at the link, if you can stomach it (you should pardon the expression).
It's all propaganda, of course. I know that, because I've been to Uganda (and many other African nations) many times. I am an African, dammit! I was born and bred there. The fact that I'm also Caucasian (in other words - gasp! shock! horror! - white) is irrelevant. I know what Africans eat in most parts of that continent, and what they like - certainly better than almost all outsiders.
All this bushwa enthusiasm over grasshoppers as a meat replacement is so much hogwash. Every word rings false. This article is so over-the-top tra-la-la about "lowering my carbon footprint" and "sustainability benefits" that it's laughable. No normal person, particularly in Africa, bothers to use such expressions in daily conversation. This is nothing more than heavily emphasized and recycled left-wing progressive talking points. It's propaganda to the max. It's "beat readers over the head with political correctness until they're so punch-drunk they're anesthetized to the facts". It's verbal effluent.
When you read such articles, remember to ask yourself, "Would locals really talk like that? Would the average African, or South American, or South-East Asian, really blather on about their carbon footprint and meat alternatives and eating insects like they were absolutely fascinated by the subject?" Of course they wouldn't! When someone tries to imply that they do, you'll know where they're coming from.
Peter
P.S.: This morning my wife and I are driving to a town about an hour away, where we'll be placing an order with a meat processor for an entire cow. We're buying it to divide among four households. That's about 800 pounds (hanging weight) of freshly slaughtered beef - and if I find a single grasshopper in or near it, I'll demand a replacement cow, plus compensation!
Another good one from Stephan Pastis. Click the image to be taken to a larger version at the "Pearls Before Swine" Web page.
I wonder if it's related to an ice cream headache?
Peter
