About those binders full of women . . .

Readers may remember Mitt Romney's comment last week that as Governor of Massachusetts, he asked his staff to find women qualified for vacant positions.

“And I—and I went to my staff, and I said, ‘How come all the people for these jobs are—are all men.’ They said: ‘Well, these are the people that have the qualifications.’ And I said: ‘Well, gosh, can't we—can't we find some—some women that are also qualified?’ And—and so we—we took a concerted effort to go out and find women who had backgrounds that could be qualified to become members of our cabinet. I went to a number of women's groups and said: ‘Can you help us find folks,’ and they brought us whole binders full of women.”

There's more at the link.

Needless to say, the Internet has had a field day with his words.  Here, for example, is a compilation of images from the Daily Beast article linked above:

I particularly enjoyed the reaction of shoppers on Amazon.com.  They flooded an entry for 'Avery Durable View' binders with well over a thousand reviews, all on the theme of binders filled with women.  Here are a few examples.

I was originally going to rate this only 1 star. You see, I'm a big girl and I can only squeeze about 53% of myself into this binder. But then I decided that I'm not going to worry about the other 47%.

. . .

For any of you who might be considering, like me, purchasing this binder based on the reviews, let me just point out one glaring omission: While this is a lovely, multi-purpose binder, IT DOES NOT COME WITH WOMEN. Presumably one is expected to find women on one's own, or contact women's groups who are supposedly eager to help stock your empty binder with women.

. . .

I think that I shall never see
A binder lovelier than thee.
Full of women's names, the best
binder clutched against my breast;
This binder makes me feel like God,
When hiring gals for less-pay jobs,
A binder that my staff holds close,
Filled with women who can vote;
On whose careers we men have stood,
richer, 'cause, well, 'cause we could.
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only Avery ...
made this really useful binder.

With apologies to Joyce Kilmer.

Again, there are many more at the link.





Peter

The world's dictators want Obama re-elected

Investors Business Daily makes the most telling point I've seen yet about the presidential election.

From Moscow to Caracas to Havana, something disturbing is happening: Dictators with long records of enmity toward the U.S. are endorsing Obama for president. What does that say about the Obama presidency?

Fresh from abusing Venezuela's opposition after his own rigged re-election, Chavez declared, "If I were American, I would vote for Obama. He is my candidate." It was his second direct endorsement of Obama in a week. After that, he spooled off his plans to impose socialism on his country.

Around the same time, Mariela Castro, daughter of Cuba's ruling communist capo Raul Castro, Fidel's brother, told CNN: "As a citizen of the world, I would like for (Obama) to win."

. . .

There was more of that appreciation of Obama's heartwarmingness from Russia's stoat-faced autocrat Vladimir Putin: "Obama is a genuine person who really wants to change much for the better," he said, in what The Moscow Times said was "widely viewed as his most direct endorsement of Obama."

That has since been followed by more of the same from that bastion of dictatorships in club form — the United Nations. Monday, the U.N.'s special rapporteur on counter-terrorism and human rights warned Americans that a vote for Mitt Romney was "a vote for torture," an indirect endorsement of Obama — or else.

. . .

... some of America's other dangerous foes — from Russia to China to Iran — ... [recognize] that Obama is a weaker horse. He is therefore easier to corner or checkmate to achieve their own power ends — in the case of all — military and nuclear power.

There's more at the link.

I've said many times that I'm neither Republican nor Democrat;  I vote for the individual, not the party.  I don't believe that Mitt Romney will make a particularly good President in any way, shape or form . . . but I don't think he can possibly be worse than President Obama has been, nor is he likely to be quite as disastrous for our Republic over the next four years.  To know that the most undemocratic governments and dictators in the world would prefer to see President Obama re-elected is, as far as I'm concerned, the last straw against him.

Anyone but Obama - even if it's Romney!

Peter

More F-15's at work and at play

Last Friday we saw a video clip of USAF F-15 fighters from Kadena AFB, Okinawa, on exercise over and near Guam.  Now comes this video clip of F-15's from the 67th Fighter Squadron at Kadena, which won the Raytheon Trophy last year as the best air superiority squadron in the USAF.  This clip was made over the course of a year, with assistance from other units at Kadena. I highly recommend watching it in full-screen mode.

Congratulations to the 67th Fighter Squadron on its fifth award of the Raytheon Trophy - and thanks to all of its personnel for a great video!

Peter

Racial tensions in America

The iconoclastic Fred Reed, in his latest column, takes on the politically taboo subject of race in America.  Here's an excerpt.

If the problem of race were stable, ignoring it would be one thing. But it is getting worse, which is another. We see now what amounts to a race war of low intensity. Is there a nicer way of putting it? Maybe “an inter-pigmental conflictual situation.”  But across the country there occur hundreds of attacks against whites by ferals, and they are brutal attacks. We are not talking of black eyes and bloody noses. These are assaults by gangs of, er, teens who repeatedly kick the victim in the head while laughing about it.

If you doubt this, I suggest reading 'White Girl Bleed a Lot', by Colin Flaherty.

Now, if gangs of whites were similarly attacking blacks, I would suggest twenty years, no parole. If the victim suffered lasting damage, I would say life, no parole. The dirtballs would get the picture and stop attacking. I would then be beloved of the Washington Post for my stern stand against racism. If I suggest that blacks be held to the same standard, I will be accused of being blood brother to Julius Streicher and David Duke. See what I mean about everything being race?

There's more at the link.  Highly recommended reading.

I've written about this problem in different ways over the course of several years.  I commented on the racial tensions exposed during and after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and last year I discussed the changing urban self-defense environment, in which racial tensions played a major role.  A news report this week about the effects of crime in Detroit (which has caused up to 40% of its citizens to plan to leave within 5 years) doesn't specifically mention race, but it's undoubtedly a major factor, given the racial makeup of that city (which has just been named as the most violent city in the USA).

Unless and until we can have an open, honest debate about the issues surrounding race in America, unmarred by political correctness, this problem will continue.  If our society ever descends into greater chaos than at present, it'll come even more strongly to the fore . . . perhaps violently . . . and then where will we be?

Peter

Someone had too much time on his hands!

I've got to admit, this is one of the crazier stunts I've seen!

He clearly knew what he was doing, and timed everything just right.  Nevertheless, I've got to ask - why damage a perfectly good motorbike by dumping it in the river like that?  And why pollute the river with the gasoline and oil the bike contained?

Peter

Words aren't adequate to describe such a hero

The Atlantic has just published a worthy tribute to a hero of World War II.  I'd heard about him before (the Polish community in South Africa kept his memory alive), but this article 'put flesh on the bones', so to speak.  Here are a few short extracts.

There are very few places that can accurately be described as hell on Earth. One of these is the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II, where as many as 1.5 million people died during the five years the camp was in operation.

. . .

It is into this environment that Witold Pilecki, a 39-year old veteran of the Polish-Soviet War of 1919-1921 who fought against the initial Nazi invasion and a member of the Polish resistance, volunteered himself in 1940. Pilecki's mission was to allow himself to be arrested and, once inside Auschwitz, to collect intelligence for the Polish resistance in the country and the government-in-exile in London, and to organize a resistance from inside the camp.

. . .

During the next three years, Pilecki was involved in one of the most dangerous intelligence-gathering and resistance operations of the war. He authored three reports about life inside the camp for the Polish resistance. During his incarceration, Pilecki witnessed from the inside Auschwitz's transformation from a detention facility for political prisoners and Soviet soldiers into one of the Nazis' deadliest killing machines.

An English translation of Pilecki's third and most comprehensive report -- a primary source for this article -- was recently published as a book titled The Auschwitz Volunteer: Beyond Bravery. It is a fascinating first-hand account of virtually all aspects of life inside the camp. The original document is in the custody of the Polish Underground Movement Study Trust in London.

. . .

After approximately 2,500 roll calls and 947 days inside the camp by his own calculations, Witold Pilecki and two other inmates escaped Auschwitz. On the night of Monday, April 26 -- the day after Easter Sunday -- the three men were assigned to work in the bakery, which was located outside the camp grounds. They took advantage of a moment when the SS guard wasn't paying attention to cut a telephone wire, force open a door and made a run for it.

. . .

When the Warsaw Uprising began on August 1, 1944, Pilecki was in the thick of it. According to Norman Davies' authoritative book Rising '44: The Battle for Warsaw, Pilecki's company focused on a key building on Jerusalem Avenue that overlooked traffic on a crucial east-west thoroughfare. The street is near the present-day location of the Warsaw Uprising Museum.

"Almost every day during the first two weeks of the month, he [Pilecki] captured, lost, and recaptured this building," Davies wrote. "Repeatedly driven out, he repeatedly returned and with deadly cunning repeatedly expelled the German defenders. He lived to fight elsewhere. But so long as he threatened this one vital pressure point, the German command was constantly made to feel insecure." The area came to be known as "Pilecki's Redoubt."

. . .

Pilecki was arrested by communist authorities ... on May 5, 1947. According to Pawlowicz, "His fingernails were ripped off, ribs broken, nose broken. His interrogation was very difficult and he was tortured badly." He, and others, were given a show trial for activities against the state the following March. On March 15, he was found guilty on several charges. The court declared, "As a paid agent of General Anders' Intelligence Service, he organized a spy network on Polish territory, collecting information and sending it abroad,' and in doing so 'betraying state secrets.' Pilecki was sentenced to death. A typical capital punishment sentence was carried out within 95 to 105 days of the sentence. The order for Pilecki's execution was given on May 22, two months after his trial.

The final account of anyone seeing Pilecki alive comes from Father Jan Stepien, a Home Army chaplain whose own capital punishment was later changed to a 15-year prison sentence. His description of Pilecki as he was being led to his execution at the Mokotow prison in Warsaw: "He had his mouth tied with a white bandage. Two guards led him by his arms. He could hardly touch the ground with his feet. I don't know if he was conscious then. He seemed completely faint."

There's much more at the link.  Highly recommended reading.

What does one say when one encounters such heroism?  It makes so many other things pale into insignificance by comparison.  General George S. Patton famously said, "It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived."  I don't necessarily agree with his first sentence, but I certainly agree with the second!  Men like Mr. Pilecki are gifts indeed.

There's an official Polish Web site (in English) about Mr. Pilecki, with more biographical information, photographs, letters, etc.  It's well worth a visit.  (The photograph in the article above, showing Mr. Pilecki in 1946, may be found there.)

I hope you'll join me in praying for Mr. Pilecki, and the souls of all those who died under Nazi and Communist tyranny in Europe.  May their sins be forgiven them, and their souls rest in peace.

Peter

Could this be a solution to our debt crisis?

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard describes a radical proposal that claims to offer a solution to our debt crisis.

So there is a magic wand after all. A revolutionary paper by the International Monetary Fund claims that one could eliminate the net public debt of the US at a stroke, and by implication do the same for Britain, Germany, Italy, or Japan.

One could slash private debt by 100% of GDP, boost growth, stabilize prices, and dethrone bankers all at the same time. It could be done cleanly and painlessly, by legislative command, far more quickly than anybody imagined.

The conjuring trick is to replace our system of private bank-created money -- roughly 97% of the money supply -- with state-created money. We return to the historical norm, before Charles II placed control of the money supply in private hands with the English Free Coinage Act of 1666.

Specifically, it means an assault on "fractional reserve banking". If lenders are forced to put up 100% reserve backing for deposits, they lose the exorbitant privilege of creating money out of thin air.

The nation regains sovereign control over the money supply. There are no more banks runs, and fewer boom-bust credit cycles. Accounting legerdemain will do the rest. That at least is the argument.

Some readers may already have seen the IMF study, by Jaromir Benes and Michael Kumhof, which came out in August and has begun to acquire a cult following around the world.

Entitled "The Chicago Plan Revisited" [link is to an Adobe Acrobat document in .PDF format], it revives the scheme first put forward by professors Henry Simons and Irving Fisher in 1936 during the ferment of creative thinking in the late Depression.

. . .

The original authors of the Chicago Plan were responding to the Great Depression. They believed it was possible to prevent the social havoc caused by wild swings from boom to bust, and to do so without crimping economic dynamism.

The benign side-effect of their proposals would be a switch from national debt to national surplus, as if by magic. "Because under the Chicago Plan banks have to borrow reserves from the treasury to fully back liabilities, the government acquires a very large asset vis-à-vis banks. Our analysis finds that the government is left with a much lower, in fact negative, net debt burden."

The IMF paper says total liabilities of the US financial system - including shadow banking - are about 200% of GDP. The new reserve rule would create a windfall. This would be used for a "potentially a very large, buy-back of private debt", perhaps 100% of GDP.

While Washington would issue much more fiat money, this would not be redeemable. It would be an equity of the commonwealth, not debt.

The key of the Chicago Plan was to separate the "monetary and credit functions" of the banking system. "The quantity of money and the quantity of credit would become completely independent of each other."

Private lenders would no longer be able to create new deposits "ex nihilo". New bank credit would have to be financed by retained earnings.

"The control of credit growth would become much more straightforward because banks would no longer be able, as they are today, to generate their own funding, deposits, in the act of lending, an extraordinary privilege that is not enjoyed by any other type of business," says the IMF paper.

"Rather, banks would become what many erroneously believe them to be today, pure intermediaries that depend on obtaining outside funding before being able to lend."

. . .

Arguably, it would smother freedom and enthrone a Leviathan state. It might be even more irksome in the long run than rule by bankers.

Personally, I am a long way from reaching an conclusion in this extraordinary debate. Let it run, and let us all fight until we flush out the arguments.

There's more at the link.

It's a very convoluted case indeed.  I recommend that interested persons read the IMF's proposal in full to get a broader picture.  I'm not sure if it could work as described, or whether it's desirable . . . but it has this going for it - it would dethrone the banksters.  That's a good start, right there!

This discussion will be worth following.

Peter

About that increasing crime rate . . .

. . . as reported by the Justice Department . . . you don't suppose any of these factors had anything to do with it, do you?

I hear only crickets from the Justice Department . . . not that one would expect anything else from this particular department of the Obama administration - at least, not this close to an election!





Peter

Rotors cancel each other out!

I have to admit to amused admiration at a tactic used by residents of Benzie County in Michigan who are opposed to the proliferation of electricity-generating wind turbines in their area.  The Traverse City Record-Eagle reports:

Benzie's Joyfield Township — once considered part of a four-township site for an industrial wind farm — could soon have up to eight licensed, stand-alone public heliports. It would give the rural farming township of 800 souls south of Benzonia more heliports than the rest of Michigan combined.

Joyfield's sudden emergence as a would-be heliport epicenter raised the level of skepticism among some township residents.

"It seems pretty fishy to me," said Susan Zenker, who lives near one of the proposed heliports. "I know all of the people who have applied, and as far as I know not one of them has a helicopter."

Zenker said she's not sure if she should worry that helicopters could soon spook her horses, or if she should be angry about an "unethical" sham designed to prevent her from leasing land for a wind turbine.

State officials acknowledge the heliports could prevent construction of wind turbines or any structure taller than 200 feet within almost a one-mile radius of the landing pads.

. . .

The success of Joyfield's anti-wind faction could have serious consequences for wind energy in Michigan, said Stanley "Skip" Pruss, a former director of the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor, and Economic development who now runs a renewable energy consulting firm.

"It's a fascinating tactic," Pruss said. "It's certainly another impediment that would have to be overcome. Wind energy applications could be thwarted around the state."

There's more at the link.

I'm not a proponent of wind energy for electricity generation, as it's seldom (if ever) cost-effective without massive government subsidies.  Even without that, however, I find it deliciously ironic that the rotating blades of wind turbines could be stopped by the rotating blades of helicopter rotors - even if the latter are only theoretical at present!  Hopefully they'll keep the wind turbines that way too.





Peter

Ever heard of a 'Freebord'?

I hadn't, until I came across this video clip of 'freeborders' zooming down mountain passes near Bormio in northern Italy.  Wikipedia defines a 'freebord' as follows:

A freebord is a type of specialist skateboard designed to closely simulate the behavior of a snowboard. They have 6 wheels - two spring locked castor wheels on the central axis, and four slightly raised conventional wheels. The central wheels are able to turn freely in all directions, which allows the Freebord to slide laterally as long as no other wheel touches the ground. By exerting some pressure on the edge wheels, the Freeborder is able to control the board. The central wheels thus mimic the deck of the snowboard, while the outer wheels mimic the two steel edges.

They certainly look highly maneuverable!  See for yourselves.  (It's worth watching in full-screen mode.)  LANGUAGE ALERT:  Whoever selected the music (?) soundtrack for this video wasn't overly concerned with rude words.  Personally, I wish they'd left the music out altogether!

I want to know how they manage to brake their 'freebords' if they go round a corner, only to find a truck coming the other way!  (I presume these passes were closed while they filmed the video.)

Peter

The 'Bling' of Bond?

I was somewhat nonplussed to learn that a company has commissioned 50 examples of a gold-plated Beretta pistol to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the James Bond movie series.  Pursuitist reports:

Goldgenie decided to make the golden jubilee much more elegant with this limited edition James Bond 007 Gold Beretta.

... The company has created only 50 such gold plated Beretta replicas to honor the king of spies as well as alluring the 007 fans on this memorable occasion. Each gold plated Beretta has been given a unique limited edition number which is engraved onto its barrel. Godgenie has given a £1,995 price tag to each singular 007 Bond gun.

There's more at the link.

Given that the base model Beretta in question retails for only about one-eighth of the almost US $3,200 price (at current exchange rates) of the gold-plated version, I think the latter is not so much 'value added' as 'daylight robbery'!  I think I'll pass.  Nevertheless, here's a brief video tribute to Bond's 50th anniversary and the release of the latest Bond movie, 'Skyfall'.

I'll watch the new Bond movie, I think . . . but I'll wait until the DVD comes out.  I don't feel like paying daylight robbery prices for cinema tickets, either!

Peter

Around the blogs

As usual, the blogosphere is full of interesting bits and pieces.  Here's this week's selection.

# # #

Let's begin with a belly-laugh.  Say Uncle describes coming home to find suspicious circumstances, and how he checked his house for intruders.  A sample:

If you decide to through your house making sure everything is OK and you have a laser on the gun, your cats will think it’s a game of chase the red dot the whole time. This is distracting and annoying. They didn’t teach me that at gun school either. I guess if I was really tactical and cleared my house like that, the cats help by being attack cats.

# # #

John Hawkins discusses '5 Revolting Facets of American Culture'.  Reading his list, one has to ask if, where and when culture enters into it at all . . .

# # #

At Hell On Earth, a former (presumably retired) peace officer bemoans the abuse of law enforcement powers and responsibilities by many officers and their agencies.  Having sworn the oath of office myself, I sympathize deeply with his concerns;  but at the same time, I think he's going too far in appearing to tar the majority of current officers with the 'jackbooted thug' brush.  I've certainly met some officers who gave me cause for concern in that regard (mostly in larger, more impersonal urban agencies), but I've met many others (mostly in less large, more suburban or rural agencies) who epitomized what I'd expect a law enforcement officer to be.  Where does one draw the line?  What's the balance point?  I'd appreciate reader feedback in Comments.

# # #

Blunt Object plays 'The What-If Game', offering a libertarian perspective on misfortune and the statist response.  Worthwhile reading.

# # #

Joel and his kitten (whom we met in the previous edition of Around The Blogs) are still having adventures.  Joel managed to save his kerosene lamp . . . this time, anyway!

# # #

Farmgirl responds to animal rights and anti-hunting activists with some blunt talk and pointed arguments.  Having met her and her (numerous) animals on multiple occasions (including Butcher The Wonder Pup at Blogorado a couple of weeks ago), I can only say, "Hear, hear!"

# # #

Several readers pointed me to an article at Draw And STRIKE! titled 'So How DO You End Up With A 'Surprise!' Romney Landslide, Anyway?'  The author goes into a lot more detail than I did, but basically agrees with my earlier conclusion that this isn't a new development - it's just that pollsters are (at last!) providing a more honest measurement of public opinion, as their earlier bias has been exposed for what it is, and they've come to understand that the results of the election are about to disprove their earlier (and patently false) claims.

# # #

Karl Denninger wearily notes that 'The Mouth-Breathing On Health Care Continues'.

If you have a "pre-existing" condition then you're not buying insurance.

Remember what insurance actually is: A small payment made to someone in order to obtain pooled risk against an unlikely but catastrophic event that one either cannot or chooses not to reserve against on one's own.

By its very nature insurance is a negative-sum game.  That is, if you take all the bad outcomes that happen across the insured population and sum their costs, the cost of the insurance purchased by that population must exceed the sum of the costs.  It cannot be otherwise or the insurance company will cease to exist as it will make continual losses and eventually run out of capital.

As such if the catastrophic event already happened you're not negotiating for "insurance"; you are now trying to lay off the cost of mitigating the damage that has already occurred on someone else ex-post-facto.

The common word for that attempted act is theft.

There's more at the link.  Bold and italic print are Mr. Denninger's emphasis.  He goes on to point out that much of the excessive costs associated with medical care are the result of collusion between providers and politicians, and points to the price list (payable in advance) of the Surgery Center of Oklahoma as evidence of the dramatically lower prices that become feasible when a service provider 'opts out' of the politically skewed pricing scheme followed by others.  His entire article makes for very interesting reading.

# # #

Tamara links to an excellent article at the blog of TacStrike Steel Target Systems titled 'The Problems with Panic Buying'.  The author makes the very valid point that far too many people spend a great deal of money on firearms and ammunition, without a commensurate investment in high-quality training to make sure that if push comes to shove, they can employ both assets to best effect.  I've long believed likewise.  Good reading!

# # #

When I was courting Miss D., who was living in Alaska at the time, one of the fun things about visiting Anchorage was to see moose casually walking down the street (sometimes Momma Moose and multiple Baby Mooses in convoy).  Motorists gave way, pedestrians either crossed to the other side of the road or hurriedly disappeared around houses, dogs barked but (mostly) backed off (many of them having learned the hard way that an agitated moose can stomp a dog pretty flat if it wants to), and the Anchorage PD wearily sharpened their pencils and prepared to fill out more reports of moose-versus-car or moose-versus-person encounters.

It was therefore amusing to find that Rev. Paul has put up on his blog a video clip of two bull moose tussling with each other on an Anchorage residential street.  The driver shown in the background has clearly learned that moose have the right of way!  The comments are amusing, too.

# # #

Borepatch points out that "The Ship of State is captained by fools, and all this election is looking to do is replace one set of fools with a different one."  I wish I could disagree . . .

# # #

The Silicon Graybeard offers 'A Simple Guide to Understanding Bureaucracies'.  He uses space and black holes as analogies - very appropriately, too!

# # #

MSgt. B. offers a wonderful military 'Gotcha!' story.  It's enough to make any veteran smile . . .

# # #

While we're talking about things military, American Mercenary offers some cogent thoughts on the concept of a Squad Designated Marksman, his training and his equipment.  Having been 'up the sharp end' myself a time or two, I can't help agreeing with his perspective:  thorough training and basic competence are much more important than fancy hardware.  I daresay most combat veterans will concur.

# # #

Finally, My Gun Culture offers a light-hearted article titled 'A Brief History of Gun Holsters'.  Here's an excerpt (with links added for those who may not know all the connotations).

1297
William Wallace, otherwise known as Braveheart, popularizes the SmartCarry holster design – then known as a sporran. Sporrans were, and continue to be, worn on most fashionable kilts. As guns were not yet invented, historians believe that Wallace carried spare breath mints and a copy of his film rights agreement in his sporran. Wallace’s aggressive attitude prompts officials to ban sporrans in New York City.

1770
Europeans discover that kangaroos were designed with natural inside-the-waistband carry holsters when James Cook's ship Endeavour runs aground off Queensland, Australia. Kangaroos are immediately banned in New York City.

There's more at the link.  Good for a smile!

# # #

That's it from around the blogosphere for this week.  More soon.

Peter

F-15's at work and play

Here's a neat video of USAF F-15 fighters from Kadena AFB on Okinawa, flying in an exercise off Guam.  It's worth watching in full-screen mode.  The air-to-air shots of the fighters, from about 1m.30s. onward, are great.

Lovely aircraft, aren't they?

Peter

A 'eunuch museum'???

Apparently such a thing exists in China.  The Telegraph reports:

No one knows if, according to custom, Tian Yi was reunited with his private parts when he died. At the time, Chinese eunuchs would carry their “three jewels” with them in a small pouch, so that they could be made whole again in the afterlife.

Sadly, five centuries after his death, there is no record of what happened to Tian Yi’s pouch at his mausoleum, which also serves as the world’s only Eunuch Museum.

We do know that the Ming Dynasty emperor Wanli’s favourite castrato was buried in style.

The Forbidden City fell silent for three days. His body was carried to the west, to the mountains outside Beijing, and placed in a replica of an imperial mausoleum, an unprecedented honour.

Stone carvers worked carefully to decorate his tomb with some of the most intricate marble reliefs ever seen, and even etched small phallic carvings around the bottom of the tomb’s buildings.

More than 250 other eunuchs came to pay their respects, and the site, which now sits in a grey-ochre Beijing suburb that is misleadingly called Pingguoyuan, or Apple Orchard, eventually became the site of a nunnery.

When China became a republic, in the early 20th century, the tomb was looted, and when the Communists took over, it was boarded up and the site became a kindergarten.

Happily, this means it is one of the best preserved examples of a Ming Dynasty tomb in the capital.

. . .

Tian Yi, like many other poor Chinese boys, voluntarily underwent castration at the age of nine in the hopes of obtaining a role in the imperial service, and in one of the museum’s dusty display rooms is a gory diorama of how the operation might have unfolded.

Four life-size clay-brown figures are shown, three standing and one lying on the operating table, stripped from the waist down, and his genitals tied by a string to hold them up.

The Chinese, unlike the Arabs, removed everything, inserting a spring onion into the urethra while the wounds healed. There was no disinfectant, except for chilli paste. Every few years, those who survived the operation would be checked meticulously to make sure no “revitalisation” had taken place.

There's more at the link.

What happens if you don't tip the guide at the Eunuch Museum?  Would that be the unkindest cut of all?





Peter

Follow-up to my bug-out article

On Wednesday I published an article titled 'Emergency Preparation, Part 13: 'Bug-out' locations and alternatives'.  It attracted a number of comments and e-mails.  I'd like to respond to two points in particular.


1.  Travel trailers.

Reader Rova (whom I've known for many years, both in cyberspace and in meatspace) e-mailed concerning travel trailers.  She lives in an area where sudden evacuation due to forest fires and other natural hazards is a real concern.  My thanks to her for permission to republish her advice and photographs.

Check out Carson travel trailers, specifically toy haulers – we bought one (explanation follows).

The advantage of a toy hauler is the ability to carry an ATV, motorcycle, and with the entire rear being a hatch, ease of utility expansion.

For the tow vehicle, think 7.3l Ford Super Duty 4WD now selling for around $10K with under 175,000 miles.  Buy one with dual tanks and add an external in the bed.  Get a garage to add a PTO and you’re good to do with a simple genny head and voltage controller.

We decided to go with a nos that the Carson factory rehabbed to as-new for just over $11K  Carson is durable – I researched the marked and all brands for several months, and then it took a few more to locate and negotiate the final deal: we plan on using it for recreation as both of our German Shepherds are rescues and wouldn’t endure a pet hotel/commercial kennel at all, so now we can take them with us for simple overnight camping.  Too, the Carson functions as an evacuation facility, with the ease of loading both dogs and their crates, hooking up to the Durango and going.  Total evacuation time (rehearsed) under 20 minutes.  Stand-alone sustainability without shore power: 3-5 days comfortably.

I’d caution folks considering buying a bunkhouse or toy hauler to do their due diligence and research the forums for known issues with contemporary manufacturer lines.  There are horror stories out there that are thoroughly documented.  I’d recommend older Jayco’s and Dutchmans, as well as Airstreams.  Be cautious in the extreme with newer “ultralight” designs/lines!

Be knowledgeable if the travel trailer comes with a pre-installed diesel generator – these DO NOT function well above 3,000ft elevation!  Likewise, gasoline generators derate as elevation increases – plan accordingly.

Food for thought.

. . .

(Added in a second e-mail):  I researched and we purchased an Anderson weight distributing, anti-sway hitch: a spectacular re-engineering of the weight-distributing hitch that is completely effortless to attach and remove – and works in reverse as well as in off-road unimproved road applications ( a necessity as home is some distance past the end of the pavement).

Thanks, Rova!  Useful information.  I've added links to make some terms easier to understand for non-US readers.

I'd like to second what Rova says about the effect of altitude on engines.  I grew up in Cape Town, South Africa, which is on the coast - i.e. at or near sea level.  When I moved to Johannesburg in the 1980's, the altitude change was immediately apparent in its effect on my vehicle.  The Highveld is at 5,000'-6,000' elevation above sea level, and it felt like my car was suddenly about 20% less powerful!  That's certainly something to consider when choosing a towing vehicle.  What might work just fine for you in a low-lying area might be significantly underpowered if your 'bug-out' location is at higher altitude, or if you have to cross the Rockies to get there.

Another point is the size and bulk of your travel trailer.  See Point 6 of the first post in my 'lessons learned' article to learn how some evacuees from Hurricane Katrina discovered that over-large trailers and/or towing vehicles were not very maneuverable in confined spaces or heavy traffic.  This may make the difference between 'getting out of Dodge' and being stuck on the road, unable to move, at the mercy of the locals (who may not be very merciful in some parts of town).  Your need for space must be balanced against practicality when considering a trailer as an emergency 'bug-out' vehicle.  (I think Rova's choice is extremely practical from this perspective.)

Finally, if you may be moving off major routes during your evacuation, the ability of your travel trailer to cover poor-condition or unpaved roads, or even cross-country travel, is a consideration.  No civilian trailer is truly able to handle off-road travel for very long - they're simply not as tough as military trailers, which are built for such uses.  On the other hand, something small and well-built can withstand a fair amount of bumping and bashing, and if it comes with raised suspension, can get over many small obstacles.  If this is something you need to consider, I recommend (from personal experience with a friend's vehicle) the Aliner Expedition fold-down camper (which comes standard with an off-road package) or a similar compact trailer.  Suffice it to say that if I could afford one (I wish!), I'd buy one!


2.  The danger from criminals, looters and desperate refugees.

Several commenters mentioned the 'Golden Horde' postulated by James Wesley Rawles - mobs of gangsters and looters spreading out from cities during a major crisis.  He wrote about it here, and a law enforcement correspondent added his views in correspondence with Mr. Rawles, published here.

I'm of two minds about this problem.  I do agree that looting will be a serious problem in the event of a prolonged emergency.  Those 'without' will do whatever they have to in order to get the supplies they need to survive - including preying on those 'with'.  As a former prison chaplain, I know something about the criminal mindset, and I have no doubt that they'll do anything they think they have to do to get what they want.  Many of them are ruthless, determined and predatory, particularly when they roam in packs or gangs.  However, I'm not sure how far the danger will extend from major centers, or 'pockets' of those who've become accustomed to living in dependence on the state or charity for their everyday existence.

As I mentioned in the previous article, transportation systems are likely to go into gridlock and stay there if things go to hell in a handbasket.  Think about it.  Every vehicle that breaks down or runs out of fuel will have to be pushed to the side of the road to clear a lane for traffic - but if the shoulders are already occupied by other immobile vehicles, where's it going to go?  On a multi-lane highway, with every lane clogged by miles and miles of backed-up traffic, how are you going to get other drivers to make room for you to push an immobilized vehicle out of the way?  Short answer - they won't be able to do so, even if they want to.  I expect and predict that during a serious, extended crisis, road transport may break down completely in major urban areas.  It'll take weeks, if not months, to clear up the mess.

This will mean that the major threat posed by looters and the lawless will be to those in their immediate vicinity.  If you live in a major urban area, and plan (or are forced) to hunker down and stay put, you'd better be armed and ready to defend your home and your family.  The odds are very good indeed that you'll need to do so.  If you don't want to believe that, look at what happened in the Los Angeles riots of 1992, or in the same city during the Watts Riots of 1965, or the New York City blackout of 1977.  Here's a video report about events during the latter emergency.  Note the crime wave that erupted within minutes of the lights going out.

Similar problems - and worse - occurred during the two Los Angeles riots mentioned above, and during other incidents.  The same has happened in other parts of the world - I've personally experienced it in another country, as well as after Hurricane Katrina in the USA (about which I've already written).  I'm here to tell you, it wasn't fun.  During one emergency, I survived only because I was ready, willing and able to 'repel boarders' on more than one occasion.  If you think the same thing - and much worse - won't happen on an even larger scale in this country during an extended emergency, there's this bridge in Brooklyn, NYC I'd like to sell you.  It's a great investment opportunity!  Cash only, please, and in small bills.

I'm not sure how far out from major urban centers this danger will extend.  As previously mentioned, transportation's going to be problematic.  I'd say anywhere that can be reached on foot is at risk;  areas that are within one tank of fuel's range of urban areas are at greater or lesser risk, depending on how quickly transportation arteries become clogged and how many manage to escape before that happens.  Gangs and thugs are present in many communities, of course, not just major urban centers, so the risk will still be there:  but from my own experience, I can assure you that smaller towns in 'flyover country' and the more rural parts of many states are likely to be a lot less politically correct, and a lot more pragmatic, in dealing with such problems.  In such communities, quite frankly, I don't expect gang-bangers (residents or refugees) to survive long enough to become a serious law enforcement issue.  If the local law doesn't deal with the problem, the residents will almost certainly take matters into their own hands.  (Proportionally speaking, many more small-town residents than big-city urbanites are likely to own firearms, hunt, and be able to look after themselves and their neighbors.  They'll probably be more than capable of taking care of business.)

Those living in isolation (i.e. on farms, or on the outskirts of towns where there aren't a large number of neighbors or a strong law enforcement presence) will be at greater risk from looters and refugees.  If I were in such a situation, I'd 'circle the wagons', call in my friends, and make sure I had sufficient people to mount guard and support each other in defending my home.  If I couldn't get sufficient people together to do that, then I wouldn't hesitate to evacuate (with my supplies) to a more defensible location.  You can't be sentimental about buildings and 'things'.  Your life's worth more than any of them!  If you have to abandon them, or if looters steal them or burn them down, but you and your loved ones survive (as unscathed as possible), you're still ahead in the game of life.  Be grateful for that.

Peter

Who knew color choice could be so complicated?

Auto Blog has published an interesting article titled 'How Nissan found the right yellow for NYC's Taxi of Tomorrow'.  It describes how, having won the competition to build New York's new taxi fleet, Nissan set out to find exactly the right color and shade for them.  The article goes into some detail, and this video report provides more background.

I guess some may not find that sort of thing interesting, but I did.  I'd have thought that Nissan would simply copy the existing color scheme of NYC taxis, but they went to a lot more trouble than that.  Clearly, the process is a lot more complex than I'd assumed.

(As an aside, I'm intrigued by Nissan's new taxi.  It's a very different design to others I've seen.  I doubt I'll be in New York to try it, but apparently the same design will be on the road as a compact cargo van and in other forms.  I look forward to seeing it on local roads.  If it's as innovative as the company's new large delivery van, both may be game-changers compared to the 'same old, same old' vans that have been built by Ford, GM and Chrysler for so many years.)

Peter

Who says fat is all bad?

I had to smile at an article from Natural News titled 'Health alert: Why you DON'T want ripped abs if you hope to survive the coming economic collapse'.  Here's an excerpt.

You show me a guy with ripped abs, and I'll show you a guy very unlikely to survive the coming economic collapse. There are three scientific reasons for this:

1. Having "ripped abs" is only achieved by shedding excess body fat and achieving a dangerously low body fat level (such as 5% for men).
2. People with ripped abs (i.e. very low body fat) have virtually no excess calories to keep them alive if access to food is suddenly limited.
3. People with ripped abs have no built-in insulation from the cold. A person with very low body fat is extremely vulnerable to hypothermia. This may be a life-or-death matter if an economic collapse arrives during the winter months and electricity or heating fuels are not available for extended periods of time.

There's more at the link.  It makes interesting and worthwhile reading, particularly the author's assessment of how much weight bodybuilders gain after a show, when they apparently eat and drink like horses to reverse the temporary starvation they inflicted on themselves in order to look their best for the judges.  I didn't know that.

Peter

Government spending and waste, and future budgets

This week has seen numerous articles highlighting problems with wasteful and excessive government expenditure.

• Total spending on 83 welfare programs topped $1 trillion in FY2011, making it the federal government's single largest budget item.  This excludes Social Security, Medicare and other entitlement programs.  Why (and whether) the government should be spending so much on welfare programs was not addressed.
  
• Senator Tom Coburn released his annual report on government waste this week, highlighting "the 100 most egregious wastes of taxpayer money" in 2012.
• The Heritage Foundation released its 2012 edition of the report 'Federal Spending By The Numbers'.  It highlights the fourth straight year of trillion-dollar-plus deficits, with federal expenditure encompassing almost 23% of the entire US economy.

The cumulative impact of this extraordinarily excessive spending, waste of taxpayer resources, and pork-barrel politics is sickening.  In a recent video report, Prof. Antony Davies called for a 're-design of government', arguing that only if we determine what government's role should be can we assess where and how our tax dollars should be spent.

I think Prof. Davies has it right.  One way or another, we've got to rein in the tax-and-spend monstrosity that our current model of government has become.





Peter

An actual fork in the road!

I had to laugh at this report from CNN.

Jim Grant was driving home in Carlsbad, California, when he came to a fork in the road.

No, an actual fork.

The oversized kitchen utensil was 6 feet high, made of wood, painted silver and mounted in the concrete island at the intersection of Levante Street and Anillo Way in south Carlsbad.

. . .

The literal fork in the road was short-lived. A city crew pulled it out of the concrete Wednesday morning, saying in a statement that "although the fork in the road remains, the literal fork was removed this morning. We appreciate the creativity, but it's not legal or safe to put objects like this on public streets or medians."

There's more at the link, plus a photograph of the fork before it was removed.

Mr. Grant located the artist who created the fork (who wishes to remain anonymous).  The article describes how it was made and erected.  Great fun!



Peter

Passwords, computers, and . . . pacemakers?

There have been a couple of interesting articles about computer and electronic security over the past few days.

The Telegraph has a useful article about password security.  A brief excerpt:

In 2009, a minor gaming website called Rockyou.com was hacked; although you've probably never heard of the site, the hack has probably affected you or someone you know. Almost every genuine hack over the last three years can be traced back to the Rockyou leak.

The reason it was so significant is it totally changed the way hackers do business. Before Rockyou, hackers had to build word lists of potential passwords using traditional dictionaries; the 14 million or so Rockyou passwords provided an instant database showing how people actually construct their passwords.

. . .

The Rockyou leak started a chain reaction; a huge number of sites have been hacked since, releasing even more password data. Equally, technology has advanced enormously. The sort of PC you can buy in Currys can attempt 8.2 million password combinations per second. Cryptographic feats that were the stuff of legend in the Second World War could be done on your iPhone; the sort of 16-digit passcodes thought uncrackable during the Cold War are now within the reach of cracking by skilled hackers with low budgets. Goodness only knows what state-sponsored outfits in the US or China can do.

There's more at the link.  The author of the article refers to this well-known XKCD cartoon strip, which inspired a programmer to put online a random password generator that's not a bad idea at all.  Useful for lower-level security requirements.

Next, Borepatch links to a very worrying article describing how hackers could potentially gain control of implanted pacemakers and defibrillators, causing them to deliver electric shocks sufficient to disrupt normal heart activity and perhaps cause serious illness, even death.  It seems the makers of these devices built remote access in to them, for ease of maintenance . . . but included little or no security protection, because they probably never thought it would be necessary.  When you consider that not a few of our political leaders (perhaps most famously Dick Cheney) have used or currently use such devices, it's not difficult to imagine how a terrorist might be eager to exploit this vulnerability.

Moral of the story:  make yourself and your electronic environment as secure as possible!

Peter