Poll of a Billion Monkeys

Thursday, November 30, 2006

WHY JOHN PAUL CHOSE BENEDICT

Karpas - Why John Paul Chose Benedict

Digg!

When the last election for Pope was announced I was dubious, skeptical, uncertain of the choice made. I am not Roman Catholic but like many Christians around the world I came to realize over time the enormous positive influence John Paul had upon Christendom and upon the affairs of the world as a whole. It had also, by the time of the death of John Paul Magnus, come to be my realization that the Pope, no matter whether one was Roman Catholic, Orthodox, or Protestant, could be the de facto representative of all Christians, if he behaved in a manner befitting a Great Pope. That is to say, John Paul had made a Papist out of me, even though I am not a Roman Catholic. Because John Paul had visibly and personally demonstrated to me what a Real Pope is supposed to look like, how he is supposed to behave, and how Christendom might really be represented if a man had truly determined himself upon holiness as a personal and spiritual goal. John Paul was a Saint during the course of most of his life, not a perfect man of course, but a True Saint in the broadest sense of the term, both personally and institutionally. He was also a Saint in the old sense, in the ancient sense. Like a Saint Francis or a Saint Peter or a Saint Nicholas. The kind they rarely make anymore, but that the world sure could use a lot more of.

So when I later learned that John Paul had talked to the future Benedict before his death, and had told his old friend Ratzinger that if offered the post of Pope he should accept it, I began to feel much, much better. That this new Pope would be less likely a move away from God and rather a move towards a different expression of God. For John Paul and Joseph had been old friends, brothers in the cloth, and Co-Communicants of a form of modern saintliness developed from a lifetime of absorption in divine things and human suffering. John Paul, like many Saints of old was possessed of a not totally unique, but definitely nevertheless rare spiritual gift, the ability to look into the hearts of his fellow men and discern what lay within, good and ill. And where that would likely lead in the future. He looked at the Cardinal and saw three things, an old brother and friend in Christ, a basically good and humble man devoted to God and service to the world, and the makings of one helluvah new Pope. The kind that gives one helluvah problem to the problem of Hell, and Hell on Earth. And that’s sure as hell okay by me.

Now, Benedict is no cross-country skier, he doesn’t woo and wow the crowds with his rock style oratory, he isn’t much on the one step, stand-up punch line. He’s more of the old time Rock of Ages guy, he’s a Requiem Mass, a mystery of the Virgin Mary man in an age of Madonna inspired Pop Kaballah, and Scientology wig-outs on Oprah shows. But the man has what it takes in the lurch, the ability to speak the will of God and the Grace of God and the forgiveness and universal brotherhood of God while still demonstrating by action and idea that there are some things God just doesn’t really care for very much. And is not very well impressed by. And is not willing to tolerate. Like the murder of innocent people over cartoons and speechmaking.

Being a Christian is no easy task. The Role Model is an impossibly hard act to follow. Cause he’s just that good at what he does. You don’t get vacations or time off for good behavior, good behavior comes with the territory, as much as you can possibly muster over as large a swath of territory as you can reach, anyway. It doesn’t pay much and costs a lot sometimes, though the retirement benefits are pretty darn good. (However I sometimes have the disconcerting feeling that we Christians are gonna be mightily surprised when after death we are told by God as he rubs his hands and smiles enigmatically, “Okay kiddies, glad you’re finally warmed up, now let’s really get to work!”) The hours are excessive, eternity is a mighty long time, the work ain’t easy, and sometimes, a lot of times depending on where you live and how much guts you have, it’s downright lethal. A lot is expected of you, the responsibilities are writ large, the demands are constant, and it’s not for the weak of heart, mind, body, soul, or spirit.

I imagine that’s doubly or triply so for a Pope, a Patriarch, a Pastor, a Preacher, a Candlemass Maker, or just any old Christian who decides to throw his Faith into the public arena. To enter the Circus Maximus of modern life that we call human society. Somebody is gonna decide they want to crawl as deep up your rectum as they figure they can fit to get a good look at whether you’re really passing off the Bread of Life or just any old horseshit that you’re trying to pawn as manna. But then again that’s life, ain’t it? A Real Man works from his soul, God reads the soul, and the world wonders if there really is such a thing, and if there is, how much can you sell it for?

And you can’t blame the curious for wondering either. If I saw a man promising eternal life and all it cost was to surrender your soul, I’d wanna investigate too. As a matter of fact I have, and at one time or another I’ve found men selling Blue Sky and Soap Bubbles, and at others times I’ve run across men who reached inside of me, plucked out my heart, and said, “Here kid, it ain’t much but if you’re serious God will sell you the whole farm for nothing more than this. But then you gotta bury this deep and see what will grow, if anything. The soil is good so if you push up anything worth keeping go ahead and give it away. That’s the way we do things around here.” And they were right of course, it ain’t much to pay considering what you purchase, and might possibly even produce, but when it’s all you got you tend to take a shine to the devil you already know. That’s neither here nor there I guess, and if you’re God it’s pert’n’near everywhere I reckon, but I mention it to illustrate this point, it seems to me that from what I’ve seen so far Benedict is just that kind of heartless. That is, God has his already. And He’s not giving it back apparently, and I’m not sure Benedict would want the old model anyway. How you gonna keep em down on the Farm God when they’ve seen a way to Thee?

You know the thing that’s strange about the way Christ invests in a man, and something I mean to ask him about one day is, “you take a fella who should amount to nothing, reshape him into something acceptable, and then constantly remind him he’s a nobody again just so he can be of use to everybody else.” I see where you’re coming from well enough, and even how well it works, but Good Lord Almighty, you’ve got to go bankrupt first before you even make a dime. To which I guess he’ll reply, “Jack, if I’d done it your way then you’d have kept your own soul on the cheap and lost the world for nothing. And what does it profit a man to save his own soul and yet lose the whole World?”

I guess that’s a question above my paygrade. Above Benedict’s paygrade come to that. Ours is not to wonder why, ours is this, to do in life. People bigger and smarter than us plan the party; we just dance the tune, even if some of us are tone-deaf and rhythmically challenged. Nevertheless from what I’ve seen so far I’m a liking this Papa Bene. He’s okay by me. I’ll be praying for ya Papa. Give em Heaven for me, will ya? And keep the change. You’ve earned it.


© JWG, Jr. 2006

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Wednesday Religious Assessment 11/29/06

Wednesday Religious Assessment

ECUSA -
how to kill your church without really trying, and be Brutally Honest about it.

Mary in Pictures

Burning Six -
something doesn't smell right

Pastoral, Not Political

What the Pope Wrote -
It ain't the Book of Life but it was Golden.

The Mystery of Mary

Trials in Turkey -
Tolerance goes Cold Turkey

God in the Motherland

French Cultural Climax

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Where We Go

Pesharim - Where We Go

I visit various blogs, message boards, and websites.

I go to each one for different reasons. I have a lot of different interests. I go to Milblogs to get the war, defense, counterterrorism, and military scoop. I visit blogs run by former Intel officers (or they say they are, one never really knows with Spooks as people remind me all of the time, since some call me a Spook of sorts, and I guess I am sortta but I'm also not, so there you go, that's the way that kind of thing works doesn't it?) to catch a drift or two about espionage and cryptology, I visit religious blogs and missionary blogs cause I love some of those and missionary blogs are great sources of religious, cultural, and societal Intel. I visit cop and detective blogs, for obvious reasons. I visit science and technology blogs. I visit governmental project blogs. I visit Research and Development blogs, academic blogs, university and student blogs, criminology blogs, art blogs, the blogs of buddies, foreign blogs, analytical blogs, political blogs, the blogs of freelance journalists, a few blog communities.

I also visit all kinds of websites, of the same types as the types of blogs I detailed above, as well as medical sites and Deep Web sites and business and corporate sites and blah, blah, blah. I visit nerd sites and parody sites and vaddign sites and sports and athletic sites and message boards and so forth. You get the picture.

But why?

I guess what I'm driving at is not only why do I visit the types of blogs and websites I visit but why do I visit the particular blogs and websites I visit?

I've never really thought about it much, in a systematic or analytical fashion, being new to blogging myself but I am certain that the types of places you visit in cyberspace must say something about your psychespace.

I really personally enjoy some locales, others I visit because they intrigue me, some places I visit because they are excellent sources of data, information, or even Intel, some because they are interesting, some because they are useful, some because they amuse me, some because I like commenting there, and some because well, hell, I couldn't really tell you.

As a matter of fact in some sense I couldn't really tell you why I visit any of the particular sites and blogs I do other than to tell you that I like them. For instance two different guys might run two different blogs which are immensely similar in content, maybe even in arrangement and outlook, yet one will appeal to me and the other will not. One may be popular and well trafficked by any standard as well as being appealing to me, the other might be hardly touched by anyone else and yet I like going there. Why?

I couldn't tell you.

There are reasons, obviously, having to do with my nature and the nature of the other person or persons on site (though I'm not one of those people who are naive enough or deluded enough to believe you can ever really "know" someone based on what they post to the Internet, that's like saying you can know a man from his scats and tracks - you can know some of his on-line attributes, assuming he is not disguising them, you cannot though really "know him through technology") as well as unknown factors and quanta.

But why this and not that?

There's a paper in here somewhere dealing with mass personality as expressed through abstract communication modes, as well as several empirical experiments, and maybe even the framework of a few inventions regarding personality and technological applications. I'm sure in some way this relates to God Technology. But I don't have time to screw with all of the possibilities right now.

Nevertheless, now that I have begun ruminating on the subject, it sure is interesting to think about.
I guess I'll come back to this later, just as I'll continue to revisit old sites and blogs I haunt.

I'll come and I'll go and so will you, and one day maybe I'll investigate thoroughly enough to firmly suspect why.

But I guess it's kinda like a good Cold Case.
You'll never really know for sure why it happened until it's solved, and then you'll say to yourself, "Well, hell, I knew that all along, there just wasn't enough evidence yet to pin it down"

Tuesday Science and Technology Abstract 11/28/06

Tuesday Science and Technology Abstract

Extinction and Regeneration

The Intertube - I've always enjoyed the link between material and capacity

Academic Innovation? - The thought makes me laugh

Spare Me!

Mathematical Biology

Web Futurists - It's about time

Of the Bombs and the Bees - Will this lead to "Safe Sniff" or will environmentalists in this case demand abstisniff?

The Humpback Human? - This bodes very well for my theory of Parallel Intelligence. I think I'll link this and related articles to my articles on Parallel Intelligence

New Patent

Alka Seltzer and Water - Zero G and muthawhattha? - See it. You'll understand.

Army Strong, but Realism Weak

Bat Face Signal Absorption - I can think of all types of signal applications for this discovery

Monday Political Appraisal 11/27/06

Monday Political Appraisal

We Are All Lying - An excellent Article on American Digest

The Wage Gap - From IT

Africa at War -
From the American Thinker

Focus on Fabrications -
From the BCB

Pope Benedict's Bravery

Agenda Agitation?

Russian Coma

Monday, November 27, 2006

God Save the Queens

The Orbit of Justice - God Save the Queens


Digg!


I've got a buddy with a couple of friends on the NYPD.
He sent them this article from the Post (following my comments) covering the shooting.

I'm gonna post the article here cause I thought it was a pretty good write up without too much distorted political speculation.

I'm not gonna speculate too much myself on the specifics, knowing so few of the case details, but I will say this based on my own undercover work. I can very well understand how it happened.

I can even understand Bell panicking and assuming that the officer halting him was perhaps not even a real officer. When you hang around criminals, live around them and interact around them, maybe are one yourself, you develop a sense of trust no-one and assume nothing. The very same thing happens to undercover officers and deactivates, especially if you've been under a long time. Or around awhile.

You take nothing for granted, and in any situation like this don't assume anything about anyone or any group of people.

Bell could have assumed that the undercover was an unknown tag of the beefy guy (who was probably a part time pimp and bouncer both) and was fronting as a cop in order to lock the car down for a chump's ambush.

Don't get me wrong, I'm in no way defending Bell. Merely saying that knowing that kind of guy I know how they think. Personally I would have never tried to take a car from the front. That's asking for a skull chroming. But I don't know how experienced this Dick was or what approaches he had open. Or when he got there.

It is equally plausible that Bell believed the undercover was a real cop but chose to bolt anyway for other reasons. If he did hit the officer believing he was an officer then I've got little sympathy for his outcome. If he had no gun, he sure had an engine block, and I've seen those kill often enough.

I can also understand that the other cops, the plainclothes and the undercover Narc, having followed radio transmissions and suspecting it would be an all out gang war type shootout would have over-reacted and cut loose assuming all hell was breaking loose when they were simply caught in a cross fire they could not have anticipated.

Things like this happen because they are the eventual and inevitable result of the criminal lifestyle and because if you live around that kind of thing long enough, that feeling of trust no-one and no situation creeps into you. It had damned well better creep into you or your career and life will be correspondingly short.

I know the politicians will demand their pound of flesh, and some of it is justified. 50 fired is too excessive with rounds flying everywhere and innocents civilians probably meandering near enough to catch a stray. If I were involved and one of my rounds had ran wild and dropped some kid that would just about punch out my time clock, that's for sure.

I also know that Sharpton and others of his ilk will make every bit of fecal fodder they can for "demonstrational purposes."

But I wish that just for once that the Internals interrogating these guys were vets who had lived underground out on the streets for a few rather than pressed suits with knife blades to sharpen and career cranks to turn.

Sure, you need some kind of punishment. You've gotta fry a 'goat. You gotta bleed at least one neck.

Obviously this situation could have been handled with far better procedures which would have lessened the chances of catastrophe. But men are men and cops are cops and if men were perfect we wouldn't need cops anyway.

I just hope they don't hang these guys on the Cross of Public Recklessness. Cause in all probability, it wasn't. If you've never been there then you don't understand, but if you do understand, then you know it was a situation involving the fog of being under fire, and miscalculation and miscommunication, not recklessness and malice.

Sure, nobody wins.
But at least act like Nobody intended to lose either.
Because they didn't.

Things like this are the price you pay for trying to protect the innocent, and because the world is the way it is, you can be damned sure the innocent will get the sharp end of the stick, live, or die.




10 SECONDS OF HELL IN QUEENS

COP'S 'FRIENDLY FIRE' SPARKED BARRAGE THAT KILLED GROOM

By MURRAY WEISS

November 27, 2006 -- A doomed young groom was caught in the crossfire of an undercover cop, whose bullets went clear through his car, and confused officers who returned their own blistering barrage, sources told The Post last night.

The blaze of gunfire lasted just 10 seconds outside the seedy Kalua Cabaret strip club in South Jamaica early Saturday. But it ended the life of 23-year-old, unarmed Queens dad Sean Bell, who was set to marry his high-school sweetheart and the mother of his two young daughters hours after his bachelor party at the club.

Dramatic new details of the deadly mayhem include the undercover cop at one point climbing onto the hood of Bell's car - his gun drawn and his police shield around his neck - screaming, "Police! Turn off your car! Let me see your hands!" said sources who talked to some of the cops involved in the shooting.

When Bell then tried to run down the plainclothes officer - twice - the cop began shooting, with some of his 11 bullets piercing the rear window of the man's Nissan Altima, the sources said.
This left the cop's backup unit - which was just arriving on the scene amid shattering glass and the undercover's shouts of "He's got a gun!" - thinking they were being fired upon from inside the vehicle. That's when they returned fire with another 39 bullets. One 12-year veteran, a narcotics detective, pumped 31 bullets, authorities said.

The sources recounted step-by-step how quickly things spiraled out of control after a dispute inside the club involving one of Bell's associates.

According to the sources, two undercovers were at the strip joint as part of the NYPD's new Club Enforcement Initiative. The program was started after the July slaying of 18-year-old Jennifer Moore of New Jersey, who partied at a Chelsea club before being abducted, raped and killed in a Weehawken hotel.

The undercovers, who usually worked in Manhattan, were on the last night of their two-month Queens job to try to nail the Kalua and other clubs on such violations as drugs and underage prostitution.

Inside the club, one of the plainclothes cops sat next to a woman he thought was a hooker and might proposition him, the sources said.

Suddenly, a burly man approached them and told the woman that he had heard she had gotten into a fight with a group of guys earlier in the club. It was unclear what it was over.

The man said, " 'Don't worry, baby, I got you covered,' and he takes her hand, and he rubs it across [the gun in] his waistband," a source said. "Then he tells her, 'That's what I'm here for.' "
It's unclear how the man smuggled his weapon past the metal detector outside the club. He likely was a regular who knew the bouncer at the door and may have worked there part time, helping with security, the sources said.

The undercover then went outside the club and radioed his backup to tell them there was a man inside with a gun. It was around 3:30 a.m.

While the undercover was outside, the suspect came out along with the girl and others, since it was around closing time.

The undercover watched as an argument erupted between Bell's group, which included three male pals and the beefy man with the gun, and four other men - with the woman in the middle of them, the sources said.

The woman was overheard saying to the men arguing with Bell's pals, "I'm not doing you all. I'll do one or two, but not all," according to the sources.

Around the same time, the undercover said he heard Bell's friend Joseph Guzman tell his buddies, "Yo, get my gun! Get my gun! Let's get my gun from the car! Yeah, we're gonna f- - - him up!" the sources said.

The undercover, thinking there was about to be a drive-by shooting in front of the club involving Bell's group, followed Guzman, Bell and two others to their car.
"It's getting hot! Something's going to happen! Something's going down!" the undercover radioed to his backup.

He hurried to the front of Bell's Altima, which was parked on the side of nearby Liverpool Street, and jumped in front of it.

That's when the undercover put his right leg up on the hood of the Altima and began screaming that he was a cop, the sources said.

The cop was leaning over the hood of the car to try to see the hands of the people inside and make sure they didn't have any guns, they said. But Bell floored the gas pedal and headed for the cop, the sources said, striking him and badly cutting his knee.

One of the Altima's passengers - who possibly had a gun - jumped out of the back of the car, the sources said.

Around the same time, an unmarked Toyota Camry driven by a plainclothes police lieutenant and another cop behind him pulled up, but overshot Bell's car. A police van with an officer and the narcotics detective then managed to block Bell's car in.

Bell's Altima first struck the police van in the driver's desperate bid to escape, then backed up and struck the roll-down metal doors of a commercial building behind him. He then revved his car again toward the undercover - which prompted the cop to scream, "He's got a gun!" and start firing, according to the sources, with the bullets passing through Bell's car.

"The undercover thought they had more than one gun. He thought they would do anything to get away. He was yelling, 'Let me see your hands!' " one source said.

The other cops, thinking they were under attack, started firing at the car, too.
At one point, the detective thought his gun had jammed and so reloaded his magazine and emptied the clip again at the car, firing 31 bullets.

Bell was killed, Guzman critically injured, and a third friend, Trent Benefield, was shot. They are expected to live.

Benefield later told a friend from his hospital bed that he and his buddies didn't know the undercovers were cops.

He told investigators, "I got into the car, and there was all this shooting."

It was unclear when the other four men who were originally fighting with Bell and his pals fled the scene. They were spotted leaving in a black SUV.

Bell had been arrested three times in the past: twice for drugs and one on a gun rap in a case that was sealed. Guzman has been busted nine times, including for armed robbery. He spent two stretches in state prison in the '90s. Benefield has a sealed record as a juvenile for gun possession and robbery.

Some marijuana was later found near the Altima, and investigators believe that it may have been tossed out by the group before the gunfire. Two bullet casings also were recovered from the Altima, although cops said they do not believe they were from a police gun.

The shooting of Bell, who was black, has ignited racial tensions in the city - even though the cops involved included two blacks, a Hispanic and two whites.

The five cops who fired shots were put on administrative duty. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said it was the first time that any of the officers were involved in a shooting.

Detectives Endowment Association President Michael Palladino said the cops were justified in firing off a total of 50 bullets at unarmed men because Bell was using his car as a lethal weapon.
"Once the threat ended, so did the shooting."

A source told The Post: "They [the cops] feel completely sad about what happened. They made a decision, and they're going to live with it."

Mayor Bloomberg spoke to Bell's fiancée Saturday after the shooting, sources said.

Additional reporting by Stephanie Gaskell
murray.weiss@nypost.com

Sunday, November 26, 2006

Going Vadding

Humours of Idleness - Going Vadding

On Thanksgiving Day I went Vadding.


Digg!


The holidays are the perfect time to Vad, for obvious reasons. Everyone is somewhere else, people are relaxed, and concentrating upon their family and friends, few people tend to be out in any area you might have an interest in vadding, patrols are light, everything and most everyplace is left abandoned.

Which makes the job of infiltrating extremely easy compared to infiltrating efforts one might make at most any other time. So while my family, wife, and kids relaxed and digested their food or went out to the movies or watched TV I loaded some equipment, including one of my digital cameras into the car for a little light vadding. Some people find entertainment and enjoyment at parties, some at social gatherings, some playing games, some on computers, some reading, some watching film. Me, while everyone else is out doing other things, I like to Vad and infiltrate. I’ve always been that way. I’d rather infiltrate a gang nest or explore an old abandoned building or some underground complex than just about anything else. I usually go alone though, that’s been pretty much the way I’ve always done things. I’ve always vadded alone just as I’ve always worked alone. That’s just the way I’m built I guess.

I had not intended any heavy infiltration because of the simple fact that it was Thanksgiving and I knew I would only get a few hours after dinner of movement before sundown. And I did not intend to be out after sundown on this occasion because I had a backlog of work (excuse the pun) waiting for me at home.

So the only equipment I really went out with were my camera case and my standard daypack. I did not take any of my normal vadding equipment or any specialized equipment.

First I went to a construction site that was abandoned for the holidays. The site used to be a ball field and as a matter of fact I had played ball there when I was in Elementary School. I was a pitcher. They were tearing the old field up, I’m not really sure what they intend to replace it with.


I vadded the equipment, getting inside some, exploring the equipment and the various capabilities of each piece of equipment. There were two heavy dump trucks, a couple of huge backhoes, a bulldozer, and some other pieces.




Personally I love construction sites and heavy construction equipment.

Next I went to an abandoned mill. Took several shots including some of the outer perimeters and the attached water tower. I did not penetrate far inside the mill grounds, or into any buildings proper because the surrounding area was exposed across open ground in every direction and it would have been difficult to penetrate past the security officers (they have an in-house security staff) and because the entire site was easily visible from the surrounding mill villages.





I’ll have to return at night.

Next I went to the top of a nearby mountain where I explored the Antenna Farm. In part of an area the locals used to call “The Dark Corner.” This particular site was often used as a nesting site for teenagers and for teenage criminal gangs. Most of the gang activity has been suppressed by now, though the graffiti still remains.



In addition there is a nearby house that was used as an active gang nest for some time but from my explorations the other day it has been mostly abandoned as well.




I wanted to climb this old abandoned, mountain Ranger station but apparently the local police have had trouble in the area and so the tower is now completely fenced in.

I had not really expected that as I climbed it my last expedition to the mountain. They had also placed razor wire along the top of the fencing section and placed heavy padlocks on the entrance gate. I made no efforts to penetrate because of two factors: 1 I did not have my lock pick set with me, (it was at home with my Vadding packs – I could have cracked the lock but I don’t do stuff like that, I believe in vadding without causing any damage, I have never have liked “Crackers and Taggers,” people like that are amateurs and destructive, Vadding is an art of finesse, infiltration, careful surveillance, unobserved penetration, and invisibility, not a game of hacksaws and crowbars) and 2, if you look carefully at the shot you can see that the nearby facility had attached an antenna to the structural framework, effectively converting the tower itself into either an antenna or a booster. Before attempting any new climb I’ll have to test the framework and see if any loose electrical charge is being passed through the structure itself or if it is grounded or dead.

By the way I climbed part of one antenna and you can see, if you look carefully, that both the old ranger tower and the antennas are used as nesting and perching sites for the local mountain buzzards. Some of them have incredible wingspans.


I also went to an old area of the city river way and old railway system where I had last discovered a railcar (a group of them actually) a couple of years ago that were being used as a front for various types of criminal activity. But these were the only shots I got. (I have film of it and what I discovered there, but no still shots. I had hoped to pick up some still shots when I went out on Thanksgiving but it had already been cleared away.) For reasons I’ll explain below.


For the past few years now my city has been undergoing a massive and citywide renovation. Most of the old criminal haunts I used to frequent within the city itself (or on that side of the city anyway) are now either abandoned or have been converted into reconstruction/renovation sites.

It’s kind of funny but for years and years, since I was a teenager really, I have assisted with cleaning up my city, with breaking up gangs, with suppressing criminal activity, with manhunting, with casework, with infiltration and undercover operations. And now, due to renovation, much of the crime has disappeared. Violent crimes are way down and old neighborhoods that were cesspools of violence and murder have been washed clean with new money and fresh building projects. Instead of crack and whore houses you see little strip shopping malls and police substations, commerce, and security everywhere. Rarely does an


abandoned building sit more than a few months empty before it is either razed or renovated and converted into something living again.

And you’d think I’d be glad wouldn’t you? And I can’t say that I’m not. It feels awfully good to visit the city and see little kids and women walking around and old men on bicycles touring about as if they hadn’t a care in the world when just a few years before they couldn’t have passed through those areas without real and near constant fear of attack. Or robbery. Or abduction. Or rape. Or assault. Or possibly even murder.

It does my heart good to see that kind of thing. Yet strangely enough part of me misses the excitement of the days when crime was heavy, when home invasions were common, when robbery was rampant and there was always an interesting case to work. When you could go just about anywhere and ferret out a gang nest, catch wind of a shooting. When you could easily find a drug network to infiltrate, could work your way underground practically anywhere. When you could pick up leads by simply surveilling busy beats, or by watching a suspect, or catching an easy tip from an informant hoping to score three bucks for a cheap hit. But nowadays, there is very little “underground” left anymore. Not like it used to be anyway. All of the old places, all of the old haunts, all of the old vads, they’re mostly history now. The rot and decay and the murder has been driven elsewhere. The gangs are broken up or at least hobbled. The drug networks have for the most part all been driven out of the county and into other counties. The home invaders don’t even try and strike here anymore. Crime has been drastically reduced.

And although that is exactly what I have worked for, have intended for years and years, still part of me misses the excitement, the rot, the decay, the darkness of it all. I can’t really say that I’m sad to see my city clean, cause I’m not sad at all, that’s not really the proper term. It’s more like, a sort of melancholy, a sort of wistful remembrance of times past. A sort of vague desire for that kind of, or level of, excitement again.

I’ll take a safe place where kids can run around without any fear over the way it was any day. But, I have to also say; it sure was fun when it was a lot more dangerous. I have a safe city now, but it’s also prosperous, and clean, and boring as hell, comparatively speaking.

Maybe that’s just the way I’m made.
I wish you could have it both ways. That you could have a safe and secure and basically crime free city and it still be filled with a certain air of darkness and decay and rot that you could really wade into and get your hands dirty in.

But it doesn’t work that way I guess.

When you reach your goal, your goal is over, and it’s time to move on to other things.
And I have of course. It’s a big world and there’s always a Dark Corner somewhere. But part of me still misses the darkness of the old days in the old city.

I guess part of me always will.

Friday, November 24, 2006

Litvinenko Case Update

Litvinenko Case Update

Got this from the Blue Crab Boulevard.

If true it is extremely significant.

Polonium 210 Poisoned Litvinenko

Friday Cultural Calculation 11/24/06

Friday Cultural Calculation


BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: ROSIE-RIPA WAR OVER - Peace Negotiations apparently Successful. For Now.
Thank Goodness. I was losing sleep over this one. This reminds me of the time Serbian Rebels assassinated the Archduke and the Kaiser became involved. Rosie reminds me of the Kaiser.
This could all reignite however if Rosie tries to force Ripa to sign a new armistice at Versailles.

Litvinenko Dies - Personally, I'm surprised he lived this long.
Anyone wanna lay odds on how long it takes for Nevzlin to draw ill?

Duh. I think to fully prepare for the coming crisis with Russia the EU should dump all alliances with the US and instead put full faith for their future in the political and military leadership of France.

Black Friday

Another Microsoft Triumph

A Taste of OJ -
It's kinda like a Bloody Mary, but with OJ and Real Blood.

The Blade of Blaine - The man can do about anything.

The Fountain and the Tree - Personally, I'm looking forward to seeing this film.

Kramer Blows his Breadbasket then Forks the Audience - You know, I can see getting angry easily enough. Especially when you're not very good and people are in the baiting habit of reminding you of it when you're onstage. But to involve kitchen utensils? It shows the man has a bleeping disorder. It's probably Bulshinia. He just regurgitates whatever is on his mind after a bad routine.

Thursday, November 23, 2006

Thanksgiving Wishes 11/23/06

Happy Thanksgiving
To all of my American Readers,
HAPPY THANKSGIVING
No matter where you are stationed in the world right now, remember we love and appreciate you.
To my nephew and his new wife, "no duty station lasts forever."
You're a fine young man. We'll miss you at the table.
If you guys need anything then let us know.
Stay Safe and Happy Holidays.
To the Major - "Keep your powder dry, hopefully you'll be home soon."
To all of my other friends in the military, in Intel, in law enforcement, Happy and Safe Holidays.
To all of my readers who are not US citizens, Happy and Safe Holidays to you as well.
See ya later.
I'm going to eat Turkey.

Discussion Board 2

Discussion Board

Rather than ask the question this year the way it is typically asked, "What are you thankful for?" - I'm gonna ask it this way...

"Why Are You Thankful?"

Discus.

Thursday MCW Briefing 11/23/06

Thursday MCW Briefing

Analysis and Collection of Soil Samples

Energy Efficient Weaponry

Army Future Needs

Marine Corp Stretched Thin

Aegis at 20

Red Teaming

Russian Ghost Spook

Nolo NSA

Chinese Collection Efforts

Assassination in Lebanon

Defense Monitor

Terrorist Target Selection Model

SIRENE

Sheepdogs and Frogmen

Serial Killer

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Discussion Board 1

Discussion Board

1. The Religious Right - What type of relationship should the Religious right develop with Conservative Democrats? Should the Religious Right abandon traditional and recent party loyalties altogether and instead focus upon supporting any candidates, regardless of party, who shares their values and general worldview? Would this not encourage more competition for the vote of the Religious Right and allow stronger strains of Conservative Candidates to develop naturally in both parties?

2. What type of Pope do you feel Pope Benedict is becoming? Do you like him as Pope? How do you compare him to John Paul Magnus? what do you think is the most important problem he can help solve?

Discus.

New Features

Pesharim - New Features

For the benefit of my Readers I am adding two New Features to The Missal.

This First is a Research Function. Every Day I will attempt to locate the very best and most interesting links I possibly can regarding subject matter I cover in the blog on that day.

Every day I cover different subject matter and every day I will summarize the best links I could find covering the same subject matter posted for that day.

These summations of interesting items and new links will include news, reports, Research and Development Projects, technology, etc. I will try to make the links relevant to current events but also will try to include items little covered or ignored by the larger and more standard media.

Every day of the week when possible, with the possible exception of Sundays and Holidays, I will try to post a new Research Summary. I will try to continually improve the quality of the Research Links I post. These summaries will cover the following subjects by day of the week: (see Publication Schedule)

Monday Political Appraisal – An Appraisal of State, National, and International Politics

Tuesday Science and Technology Abstract – A Summary of Scientific and Technological Advances and Discoveries

Wednesday Religious Assessment – An Assessment of Important and Major and Interesting Religious Affairs

Thursday MCW Briefing – A Briefing on Events and Developments concerning Military, Intelligence, Espionage, Terrorism, and Criminal Affairs, as well as covering War and the War on Terror

Friday Cultural Calculation – A Summary and Critique on Culture, the Culture Wars, and Modern Pop Culture

Saturday A&A Inventory – Developments regarding Art, Entertainment, Film, Music, Sports, Athletics, Gaming, and Hobbies

Sunday Summary – A Summary of Important Events during the previous week


In addition I am starting a Discussion Board. I will be suggesting subject matter for each discussion but my Readers are free to discuss any subject I have mentioned during that week or any other matter they personally wish to discuss. This will be a Free Flowing Discussion and anyone is free to comment as long as they do so in a civilized and respectful manner.

I will attempt to reply to each comment as often as I can but I also encourage my Readers to discuss any subject matter that interests them among themselves.

Wednesday Religious Assessment 11/22/06

Wednesday Religious Assessment

Prayer in the Air

Muslims questioned for prayer activities in-flight.

Pope Denounces Killing of Lebanese Christian Leader

Protests in Turkey

Mystery of Christ

Christ in Russia

The Fountain - Sounds like a very interesting film from the review. I'll be going to see it.

Beslan School Massacre And Russian Churches

The Desires of Married Women

Haggard's Harrow

Conservative Democrats and the Religious Right

Beginning of the End of the Schism?

Blood Brothers

Stephen Unbound

The Christian Exodus From Israel

Tuesday Science and Technology Abstract 11/21/06

Tuesday Science and Technology Abstract

I'm just now catching up on a few things due to time and work pressures.

Black Gold - we can now change the color. Will we soon be able to change the chemical, molecular, and atomic properties without changing the basic nature of the material involved?

Quantum Decoding

Plastic State Plastics

Protein Fixed Memory

Basic Information on Thallium - related to the Litvinenko Case

Georgi Markov Case and the Umbrella Ricin Assassination

Mandelbrot's Market

Monday, November 20, 2006

My Analysis of the Litvinenko Case

The Glair - My Analysis of the Litvinenko Case



My friends and I have been recently discussing this case.



Digg!


I've been following this case with great personal interest.

It reminds me of a famous case involving a toxin that mimicked a heart attack in the victim, which was injected into a Soviet defector via the tip of an umbrella. Ricin I believe was the toxic agent in that case. Some of you may be familiar with those events.

Anywho, with the proper analysis they should be able to determine the delivery method of the poison. If it was ingested then that will narrow the suspect list considerably if he survives to testify or give details.

If it was injected into the victim by some other method then that will give strong clues all by itself, assuming secondary testimony and evidence exists, such as videotapes. However given the fact that he was meeting a contact I would imagine a former operative as experienced as he would have swept the area or made sure that the possibilities for observation were extremely limited. His contact and/or attacker would have known that as well, and would likely be just as fastidious about security matters and avoiding direct observation.

Let's assume for a moment that it was not his contact that developed the toxin or was the agent of delivery. That means of course someone else knew of the meeting. There's your vector of overlap right there. (There is always the possibility it was purposely self delivered or accidentally ingested, but those are not very likely probabilities.) However that does not necessarily mean that either the victim or his contact were aware of the third party or that either knew their movements were being observed or their communications intercepted.

There is also the very real and distinct possibility that the contact, not Litvinenko, was the real target. Maybe both were. At this point it is nearly impossible to analyze who was the real intended target without proper background information on the contact.

Of course a careful and detailed analysis of what occurred differently between contact and victim would give good and vital clues as to how delivery was made, when, and by what actual agent.

…… is also quite correct about motivation being open-ended at this stage of the investigation. Since so little hard information is known at this point it is very difficult to resolve the probability aspects related to possible motives.

However personally I think it was politically arranged and/or motivated by reasons related to espionage and national security. I have studied the case involving the assassinated Russian journalist. She was assassinated not because of her criticism of Putin, in my opinion, but because of her recent gathering of information about how close to collapse Russian efforts are in Chechnya. If Chechnya collapses then the entire South Western frontier could follow suit from the example and Chechnya is the Russian Iraq in many respects, but unlike our Iraq Chechnya sits on the border. Making it far more directly dangerous to Moscow and to the Federation. Think of a hostile Southern and South Western Islamic Frontier, a US allied Afghanistan and Eastern Europe, a US Allied Pakistan and a US friendly India, and China as a wild card and Russia is nearly completely surrounded. That's basis for paranoia even among the hyper-paranoid Russians. You can bet dollars to doughnuts some in the Kremlin, some in the military and some in the Services are at least a bit skittery about the likely near term prospects.

I think it quite possible that many people in the Russian government, fearing a collapse of support for Chechnya would lead to abandoning the entire area and therefore exposing Russia to the danger of an indigenous regime, likely Muslim, and openly hostile to Moscow gave at least tactic support for the idea of assassinating the journalist. Therefore someone in the Russian government and/or military decided to use their contacts within the Red Mafia (who also had no love for her) to provide logistical and maybe monetary support to contract the assassination. The police did not find the man because he was an outside contractor or was "washed" by the military and/or Intel services before he could be tracked.

As odd as this may seem she could have also been assassinated by the Chechnyans (I use this term as opposed to Chechen to distinguish the rebels from the Russian backed government). The reason is that apparently her contacts were deep among the rebels. If she had planned on exposing rebel leaders or their operations, or they suspect she were going to, down she would go, and quick. Apparently, and there is no real way to verify this, one of the last stories she was working involving Russian torture of Chechnyan rebels. If that story included operational details of information gained through torture then that kind of information might sit very poorly with both Chechen military leaders and Chechnyan rebels. The rebels have already shown they will kill children; a journalist would be nothing by comparison. Assassins kill Russian journalist on a regular basis. I have yet to discover how much of what she was working at the end was really recovered or if what was apparently recovered and printed was planted. I doubt we'll ever really know.

In any case I suspect that Litvinenko's meeting with his contact did not really involve her assassination, or it would not have been publicly advertised as such. That's cover, and a good one since it is tangential, but likely not instructive. What it more than likely had to do with is either what she had really discovered (the reason or reasons she had been assassinated) and/or information regarding a movement within the Russian military and/or Intel services to abandon Chechnya or something about Chechnya itself which could have been used either against Putin or against the rebels, or both.

Putin would not have had to approve such an operation nor need make overt attempts to be directly aware of it, it could have been a rogue operation, or it could have been Chechnyan. But I agree with Gordievsky, the odds are very good that Putin at least knew the operation was afoot, if it was indeed a Russian operation.

We also have to consider the fact that retired Spooks rarely really retire. Litvinenko was more than likely employed by MI5 or MI6, at least on a freelance or consulting basis. Neither Putin nor the Chechnyans, nor the Chechens for that matter have any real interest in seeing a leak downstream to London, especially with the current situation in Iran and the Middle East. British Intel and Security would not play that data publicly and directly but could use that information as leverage in other respects. The British are already every bit as aware as we are of Red Mafia and official Russian efforts to supply arms to various enemies of ours around the world and to barter for gaining greater influence in the Middle East and Iran.

The British cannot afford to see Russian interests triumph in the region. I am very certain that the British took a positive and up-front interest in this meeting and that they were expecting Litvinenko to pass something of what he discovered. Even if they did not monitor the meeting real-time I cannot imagine they were not expecting "to gather and collect" at a later date.

In any case I'll continue to follow this case with some real interest and fascination.


Litvinenko Case


Addendum: This case just keeps getting more and more interesting.



LONDON — A former Russian spy and fierce critic of the Kremlin who is fighting for his life in a London hospital may have been given a radioactive poison, a doctor said Tuesday.
Col. Alexander Litvinenko, an outspoken former KGB and Federal Security Service agent, "has some symptoms consistent with thallium poisoning and he's also got symptoms consistent with some other type of poisoning, so it's not 100 percent thallium," Dr. John Henry, a clinical toxicologist at University College Hospital, told reporters.

"It could be radioactive thallium," he said, adding that Litvinenko may require a bone marrow transplant.

Thallium is a colorless, odorless and water-soluble heavy metal, and can be deadly in even tiny doses of as little as one gram.

Litvinenko was under armed guard at the London hospital, the victim of what his friends and fellow dissidents called an assassination attempt by the Russian government. The Kremlin and Russia's security agency have strongly denied any involvement.

Link to New Article

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Speaker Pelosi and The Proud American Tradition of Retreat and Surrender

The Exchange - Speaker Pelosi and The Proud American Tradition of Retreat and Surrender

By Justin Wade Galahad
For The Missive
November 16, 2006
4:45 EST


Digg!


The United States of America has a very long and proud tradition of retreat and surrender when faced with difficult and challenging situations. From our very earliest experiences the idea of retreat and surrender has been deeply engrained in American custom and culture. It is a part of our character, the nature of our people.

One need only look back in time to formative events like the American Revolution, when the Colonial Forces buckled under the tremendous strain of war against what was then the mightiest Empire on earth. The lack of supplies and proper housing, the constant frostbite, the tattered clothes, shortages of ammunition, the inexperienced and under-trained units, the hardships of starvation, and the rationing of basic goods, all were far too much for both her military and her citizens to endure. How could anyone expect Americans to rise under those conditions, to continue forward and persevere, to triumph against such overwhelming odds? The logical thing to do of course was capitulate. And so we did, at the first available opportunity.

The War of 1812 is another sterling example of American Victory by Abandonment. Because we were wise enough and had enough foresight to realize that expansion Westward was a grave mistake we abandoned any further attempt to move West and were furthermore quite satisfied to allow the British to burn our Capital. A great nation always admits any mistake it might have made in the past and bows out gracefully before the situation comes too close to any actual triumph. One can never be sure that if one continues forward that victory will result, but one can always be assured that victory can be grasped by surrender. Leadership is after all the art of knowing when to know that you don’t really want to try anymore.

The Civil War was another catastrophic and vicious war fought for no good reason. Fighting to preserve the Union and to eventually extend the blessings of liberty to all Americans were simply not sufficient reasons to excuse the losses and cost in blood and treasure. No same or rational person could possibly say that it was. That war, which relieved so many Americans of their lives was a senseless, brutal, pointless and by today’s standards a totally unreasonable and unnecessary war. So America did the right thing, the only thing that made any sense, we simply stopped fighting. Pulled our troops out. Negotiated the end of the conflict before anything could be permanently, and perhaps even disastrously, resolved. Why would any sensible nation do otherwise?

The First and Second World Wars were horrible tragedies. Not worth our time. Once casualties began to mount it quickly became obvious to all that the only way to win was to lose. Admit your mistakes. Sure, some argued changing tactics, but why bother? It really wasn’t our set of wars and it doesn’t matter what happens in the rest of the world. The rest of the world is for the rest of the world to lose, we have enough problems losing well right here at home.

Korea was a joke. The Chinese? Who wants to fight a billion Chinese? It is literally impossible to imagine any scenario in which the Korean War could have turned out to the benefit of anyone. Little slant-eyed yellow people, who cares about them? If they really wanted to be free then they would have done all of the fighting themselves and would have done it like we did, by retreat and submission. You almost always gain more by giving up than going on. Any shrink will tell you that.

Vietnam. We all know of what a tremendously successful war we had there, when we finally learned to let go and love the Tet. Vietnam stands as a shining example throughout all of human history of how to lose a war the right way, so that everyone prospers as a result. And we all know everyone did.

The Cold War. Thank God no one took that seriously. Over forty years of protracted conflict, competition, and war by proxy? Who wants that? We gave up early and we gave up often. You can’t win the freedom of a world by constantly exciting tensions and demanding that people everywhere be free. Be realistic, won’t you? The only Good War is a Lost War.

And now we find ourselves yet again embroiled in War, the War on Terrorism, in Afghanistan, and Iraq. Let’s start from the beginning. All Muslims are constitutionally incapable of desiring liberty. Now that we have that rough truth out in the public for open examination, let’s follow it up with an even more logical axiom. You win immediately, or you don’t win at all. If you can’t solve everything within the first forty-eight hours, like they do on television, then you’re in the wrong business. Best get out.

Three and a half years. Coming up on four. Three years and counting and what do the Iraqis have to show for themselves? They haven’t won a thing yet. Which means of course that they have lost more than they have won. Three years is an awfully long time in the modern world to have gone without fixing your most pressing problems, and defeating your most dreadful and persistent enemies. Suppose America had fought the Nazis that long, the British that long, the Soviets that long? Suppose it had taken three and a half (or even more years) to fix Social Security or to provide Universal Healthcare?

No, this situation is obviously ridiculous. Men are dying, women are dying, and children are dying. And it is the fault of the Americans. It is our fault. And the fault of the vast majority of Iraqis. The one group who cannot be blamed however is the enemy. The enemy is Muslim; they don’t understand these things, don’t perceive the wisdom and enlightened benefits of surrender and retreat like more hardy and civilized peoples. If the Iraqis were more like us, like real Americans, then this would have been over long ago in an early capitulation. As it is, alas, I’m afraid the Iraqis won’t really come to understand the full benefits of surrender, abandonment, and retreat as we do, until it is far, far too late. Thank God we do have that kind of foresight, that kind of wisdom, that kind of a Can’t-Do American Spirit. It’s the way we were made, from our very inception. Our Grandfathers were quitters, their grandfathers were quitters, and their grandfathers were quitters as well. Changing now would only be like changing jackasses in the middle of the Rodeo. And our jackasses are doing just fine, thank you very much. The Iraqis could learn a thing or two from the fine example of our American leadership. You don’t need freedom when you can have higher taxes, more unemployment, and Nationalized Healthcare.

So I say, “Thank you Speaker-to-Be Pelosi.” Sometimes it takes a special kind of female to remind men everywhere of just how much of a woman they can really be too, if they just try hard enough. And thank you liberal Democrats and American liberals everywhere. You have reminded us all of the very finest traditions of American Sacrifice Sealed with Honorable Retreat, and of how to achieve Victory through Abandonment without even trying. You make me want to leap to my feet and sing the French National Anthem even as I write these words. Deep, deep, down in your little hearts, you must want to as well.

Congratulations. You’ve finally made Europeans of Americans.
Now we can all sleep much easier at night, safe in the knowledge that you helm the Ship.

© JWG, Jr. 2006

Wednesday Religious Assessment 11/15/06

Wednesday Religious Assessment


Pope calls Curia to discuss married priests, Archbishop Milingo - I have a personal interest in this matter. See here.

Violence grows against Christians in Iraq

Entry of the Theotokos Church of Hengdaohezi - to me an extremely beautiful church.

Coptic Orthodox school enjoys growth - I sometimes attend Mass on high Holy Days at the local Coptic church. The congregates there are extremely nice, many refugees from Egypt. I especially enjoy Easter Mass there.

Fate of partial-birth abortion ban may rest with Kennedy


Icons - I have a personal love of Eastern and Orthodox Icons.
To finish out today, some Icons I like.








Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Tuesday Science and Technology Abstract 11/14/06

Tuesday Science and Technology Abstract

Research on Magnetic Bacteria - good Naval Research Lab summary of magnetic bacteria. A DARPA project. Their idea of creating biological magnetic sensors gave me the idea of creating strains of pathogenic bacteria that become magnetically disposed when exposed to certain immuno agents, such as T-Cells. These strains of pathogenic bacteria could then be introduced into host environment with genetically altered immuno-cells and agents that more easily detect magnetic pathogens and therefore it would be like marking the infectious bacteria, only magnetically instead of chemically or genetically. The bacteria would be easier to "spot" or "tag" by immuno agents. It would be a form of bacterial inoculation in which the magnetic bacteria would retain the same morphology, but would be magnetically easier to track. The immune agents would then "train" against the magnetic pathogens so that they could learn to more easily chemically spot non-magnetic bacterial pathogens.

Reforestation

Bezos' Private Spaceport Launch

Moon Colonization Possibilities

Virtual Limbs

Mirror Test - I am doubtful of this statement: They are the only other animals besides humans and apes to do so.

Both my Great Dane and Great Bernard (half Saint Bernard, half Great Dane) both seem to instantly recognize their own reflections. Of course they have been around full length body mirrors often. They also display the same self-examination procedures described here.

Human Robot Interfacing - good Army Research Labs report on human Robot interfacing and design problems.

Wireless Energy

Rapid Learning

Artificial Spider Silk - improvements to artificial means of producing spider silk. I'm especially interested in this research because of both the defensive (armor) possibilities (I can even see armor for tanks and subs being interwoven and grown at the molecular level and boned with artificial spider silk, which would make much lighter and more flexible ablative and reactive armor) and the possibilities of developing a whole new generation of extremely effective Non Lethal and Less than Lethal weapons.

Antimicrobial Grammar


Oscillation and Concentric Orbital Patterns in My Coffee

Invisible Hand - Oscillation and Concentric Orbital Patterns in My Coffee


Digg!


I drink coffee with both cream and sugar, sometimes, depending on my mood, heavy on the cream. (Actually I use milk as creamer most of the time.)

Last week my wife bought a small Honeywell fan for vacation bible school because her room had so many students, and the air conditioning was operating so poorly, that she wanted extra ventilation and air circulation.

I had set the fan up in the living room and run it during the day time cause it amuses and fascinates my new bitch Nola (Beethoven is doing much better now that he has a new companion) and keeps her extra cool. Today she lay in front of it and slept most of the day.

Well, I had also made a cup of coffee and set it beside the fan and forgot about it and went about doing other things. When I just went to turn the fan off I noticed and remembered the coffee cup but looking down in it I saw with fascination that apparently the action of the fan and the vibrations from it's operations had filtered and separated the milk from the coffee, causing the milk to appear in pure and undiluted sections even though I had earlier carefully stirred the suspension.

But far more fascinating was the pattern the milk had taken on. The milk was in perfectly formed concentric circles with a large bulls-eye circle in the exact middle of the surface. Each circle radiated outwards from the others in separate bands looking very much like orbital patterns (only more or less truly circular) seen from above of a mock up of solar system. The patterns were undiluted and perfectly shaped and radiated from center to near the inner edge of the cup itself but did not touch the cup.It suddenly gave me several ideas. First, suppose you were growing substances, semi-solid or liquid in a liquid suspension but instead of applying energy directly to the suspension you merely placed it near a moderately energetic vibrational field or oscillating energy field? My coffee and milk produced a particular pattern but I'm sure with experimentation you could create all kinds of various shapes and formations depending upon the interacting field or energy and how applied.

Suppose you also exposed such a growing solution to overlapping fields of vibration or oscillation and perhaps even indirectly bombarded this same solution with other forms of controlled energy like harmonic resonance and fields of magnetic and spintronic resonance?

By experimenting with indirect exposure to energy fields and oscillation and vibrational fields during the construction and/or growth process you could create all kinds of sub-structural formational patterns and lines of force and conductive energy routing within and throughout the more general and larger structure.

This has given me all kinds of new ideas about indirect energy exposure and bombardment and oscillation and vibrational entrainment during the growth and manufacturing process, especially as regards alloys, exotic materials, and man-made materials during the growth and manufacturing processes. It has also given me ideas for a new non-lethal weapon and an anti-materiel's weapon.

I'm also wondering, and it should not be difficult to do experimentally, what effects such overlapping fields of oscillation and indirect bombardment would have on the cellar structure of organic materials, especially plant and insect cellular structures? It might be possible to grow insects and plants with other substances inside them in cavities or woven into the overall cellular pattern and it might even be possible to effect the DNA structure of primitive and minor life forms such as algae and bacteria and perhaps even a virus with patterned formations, or it might be possible to mix genetically alien, but not rejectable, material or tissue.

Thereby creating bacteria which would fail to inflict harm on certain targets, would kill itself under certain conditions, would be instantly recognizable by pattern affiliation by the immune system of a person or animal and which might even entrain itself to host symbiotically thereby converting itself from enemy invader to symbiotic ally. It might also be possible to use such ideas as localize forms of entrained oscillation or overlapped indirect energy bombardment for the treatment of certain disease organisms and disorders, if properly applied.

Anyway the idea of indirect energy manipulation and fields of oscillation and vibration in the creation of structural and growth and manufacturing patterns in other materials has given me numerous ideas.

So as you can imagine I was very excited to see the milk in my coffee.

Monday, November 13, 2006

Under

Pesharim - Under

I caught a cold, or worse, from my daughter.

So the posting I planned to do on politics will have to wait until I recover.

That's why nothing of any real import up today.

Jack.

Today's Warm Up

The Glair - Today's Warm-Up

An excellent post on the American Thinker.

Misreading the Election Tea Leaves

Sunday, November 12, 2006

Image Manipulation

Humours of Idleness - Image Manipulation

These are different versions of a single photograph which I have modified via my new image manipulation software (newest versions of Corel Photo-Paint and Picasa) to produce various effect copies of the same subject.

The first shot is of the original image taken with my digital camera, the last shot is modified as if the image were a stained glass window.

I feel I am becoming much, much better at artistic manipulation of digital images.
See what you think.

If you have any comments, suggestions or criticisms then please let me know.
Remember though, these are only .JPEG images.





Jack.


Original Shot


First Manipulation



Second Manipulation


Third Manipulation



Fourth Manipulation


Stained Glass Image


Rumsfeld Aside, Realpolitik

The Glair - Rumsfeld Aside, Realpolitik

A very good summation by VDH of both political and military affairs.


Rumsfeld, Webb—and Being careful about what you wish for

Vaya Con Dios, Rummy!

Here is the record of Donald Rumsfeld. (1) Tried to take a top-heavy Pentagon and prepare it for the wars of the postmodern world, in which on a minute’s notice thousands of American soldiers, with air and sea support, would have to be sent to some god-awful place to fight some savagery—and then be trashed live on CNN for doing it; (2) less than a month after 9/11 he organized the retaliation against al Qaeda in the heart of primordial Afghanistan that removed the Taliban in 7 weeks, when we were all warned that the U.S., like the British and Russians of old, would fail; (3) oversaw the removal of Saddam in 3 weeks—after the 1991 Gulf War and the 12-years of 350,000 sorties in the no-fly-zones, and various bombing strikes, had failed. (4) Ah, you say, then there is the disastrous 3-year insurgency—too few troops, Iraqi army let go, underestimated “dead-enders” etc.?

But Rumsfeld knew that in a counterinsurgency (cf. Vietnam 1965-71) massive deployments only ensure complacency, breed dependency, and create resentment, and that, in contrast, training indigenous forces, ensuring political autonomy, and providing air and commando support (e.g., Vietnam circa 1972-4) is the only answer—although that is a long process that can work only if political support at home allows the military to finish the job (cf. the turn-of-the-century Philippines, and the British in Malaysia). He was a good man, and we were lucky to have him in our hour of need.

James WebbI received a lot of angry private email objecting to a pre-election syndicated column I wrote for Tribune Media Services, in which I criticized the Allen campaign’s attack on Webb’s shocking passages in some of his novels, along with the lamentable trend to confuse fiction with reality (http://victorhanson.com/articles/hanson110606.html.) I thought the Allen tact was both silly and wrong to equate a novelist with his literary characters, especially in wartime landscapes where realism is essential to a chronicle of battle and its effects on men.
I also wrote that Webb had led an exemplary life, and it might be a good change to have a novelist as a Senator. I know the campaign was cruel on both sides, but it was both an ethical and practical mistake to go after the veteran Webb on his literary characterizations, especially when his record of public service had long ago proved that he was a principled person. If the Democrats are to recapture any stature as a serious party, it will be because of moderates like Webb, whom I have always respected and admired. So no apologies here.

Be careful of what you wish for

Liberals used to deplore realists—a James Baker (“F*** the Jews” or “Jobs, jobs, jobs”), a Brent Scowcroft (letting the Shiites and Kurds get mowed down by helicopter gunships in late February/early March 1991), or George Bush Senior shaking down the Japanese et al. to pay for the first Gulf War and then leaving Saddam in power to “balance” Iran. But now with Baker and Gates sort of back, and apparent greater reliance on the first Bush’s realism, it will be interesting to see what the Democrats in the House will do—especially if there is a realist-Right and anti-war Left convergence that gives up on Iraq and comes home.

Link to Full Article:

Out West

Pesharim - Out West


Interesting archaeological and anthropological news:



Stolen artifacts shatter ancient culture

Looters ravage Indian ruins to sell pottery, heirlooms on black market

Dennis Wagner
The Arizona Republic
Nov. 12, 2006 12:00 AM

SAN CARLOS - In the dead of night, looters are destroying the history of America, desecrating sacred Indian ruins.An estimated 80 percent of the nation's ancient archaeological sites have been plundered or robbed by shovel-toting looters. Though some of the pillaging is done by amateurs who don't know any better, more serious damage is wrought by professionals who dig deep, sometimes even using backhoes. The motive is money. Indian artifacts are coveted worldwide by collectors willing to pay for trophy pieces of the past. Fine antiquities are displayed in glass cases at mansions and museums. Lesser objects wind up on fireplace mantels or stored in garages.

Looters are just the first link in a chain that includes collectors, galleries, trade shows and Internet sites such as eBay. But stopping the black-market business is virtually impossible because of a lack of manpower for enforcement and loopholes in the law that make it hard to convict the few who get caught.

Full Story



My Kinda Museum:


'Pretty spectacular': Museum reopens

Accolades, music fill expanded venue's halls

Lindsey Collom
The Arizona Republic
Nov. 12, 2006 12:00 AM

The usually hushed halls of the Phoenix Art Museum were abuzz with music and activity Saturday as the public got its first peek at the institution's $50 million expansion.Thousands entered through the museum's new sweeping glass-encased lobby, and more are expected today during the Go! Weekend Grand Opening Celebration. Admission is free.On Saturday, attendees lingered among the museum's new spaces, including a four-level modern art wing, canopied entry plaza, 1-acre Dorrance Sculpture Garden and expanded Museum store. Musicians played melodies in each wing, the songs twinkling above patrons' enthusiastic chatter.
"It's pretty spectacular," said Lisa McCreary of Peoria. "It's nice to see so many community people out. Being from Chicago, I miss that."Shawn McDaniel rounded a corner and looked up at a towering bronze, his eyes widening. The 7-year-old walked around the piece, studying the myriad buffalo running down a crag from a lone Indian, a spear in hand."It's so big," Shawn said.Paces away, Alex Cheroske held his 2-year-old son, A.J., and moved from piece to piece. They stopped at a painting featuring a man crouching in the desert and pointing a sword at a coiled snake."Look at this rattlesnake," Cheroske told his son, who repeated the name of the reptile.

Link

Saturday, November 11, 2006

Veteran's Day

Signal, Sygnet, and Sigil - Veteran's Day


I wish to thank all of those Veterans in service around the world a Happy Veteran's Day.

Stay safe, I am honored by your service, and wish to express my appreciation.


I know your job is exhausting, dirty, lonely, dangerous, self-sacrificial, and often thankless.

I wrote this poem to commemorate our freeing of Iraq, but I think it also expresses my appreciation of the continued service of US Veterans around the world, no matter where you are stationed, in which branch your serve, or in what theatre you might currently be operating.

Godspeed and I'll be praying for you my friends.

And for those who are serving alongside US troops as our allies, I wish to express my appreciation for your service alongside our American troops. Thank you and God bless you as well.

Jack.




CRADLE OF CONSECRATION


In memoria of our citizen soldiers and their liberation of Iraq, 2003

Vehimur in altum


When Men in loyal service bound
Die to ends far greater than themselves
A sort of Resurrection rises with their
Silent Ghosts to speak of Ancient Memory,
And when far better to the ear
This Honor married to the Just
Is crowned with Noble Good Intent
Then Memory has rediscovered kin
With Providence on Earth.
For many times have men taken sword
To cut apart and wound the truth
And many times the gilded spear
Has pierced through rib to injure hearts,
Rarer though, the noble soldier, to defense
Has stood transfixed upon the sands
To raise up mercied innocence
Where before but gore has washed the hands.
The Captains of a Newer World
With fresher banners in the wind
Have led a truer army forth
With force of arms all borne by men,
For citizens across the seas
From town and village, cities tall
Heard duty in these dire events
To acquit themselves not one but all.
So boy to man and man to wise
So lass to woman soon became
What their nation spoke of uppermost
A Legion of the True and Brave.
Let cynics boast and ill-declare
That death was never conquered there
That evidence has fled the field
Because small men in memories short do live
And life is slight that counts all lost,
Such men would never pay such cost.
A Larger Guard does post the Gates
When Victory and Justice meld
Eternal Ghosts do watch the ways
When nobility gives glory to the day,
A Memory from more Ancient Times
May resurrect some future night
When darkness clouds the summer sun
And knights from old must rise to fight.
A desert is a hot deathbed
A hard and desperate place to rest
But then again they never sleep
Who rise from death well o’er again
For Truth and Justice peace to keep.

Our Memories may wax and wane
Or sleep in graves, or fade in mind
But noble are our soldiers made
And so shall never fade from mine.