England: Just Another Fascist State?

Sigh~Seems to be going that way...
Just another reason to want to live where I am a 'Citizen' and not a 'Subject'.

I visited my parents in England in the early '80s for a month on leave. The general quiet in a London that was relatively free of the Troubles (for a while after 1983) had not yet happened, so living with the idea that a bomb might go off at any time while in London was the norm for visitors. My parents were living out in the 'Shires where the threat was seen as pretty much non-existent. In London, it was all 'stiff-upper lip' and 'life goes on' as one might expect of a people who gave us Churchill and had survived the Blitz among other things.

That England is apparently no more. These days, it seems, if a 'Community Police Officer' thinks that taking pictures of Christmastime crowds is 'suspicious', and you choose to not identify yourself when asked (and evidently no answer is required by law)......then apparently that constitutes 'anti-social' behavior' (the definition of which is decided upon by policeman on the scene). Upon declaring that your behavior is anti-social, the policeman THEN can legally require you to answer with your 'particulars'.

Nice system.

The video at the link seems to be an interesting case study in how things get blown out of proportion as more people get involved in a serial fashion. Visit the link and view the video.

My take?
Most striking (I kid!), the first 2 out of 3 policemen in this video are quite attractive. Lovely Officer 1 is equally pleasant, (Community Police?) and the exchange with her is short and without event....

But she apparently follows some rule whereby if someone refuses to answer a question, she reports it up the line. A hapless cog in a Fascist 'system'? Cute as a button though...
Attractive Officer 2 (Constable it appears) comes in later at a different location.

She's all business up front. She also appears to get quite resentful that someone is not being compliant and knows the law does not require it. She has trouble forming a response to the person she wants to question and who is repeatedly questioning her if he is free to go or is he being detained, all the while trying to think of any possible reason to require the 'interviewee' to answer her questions. Her hand gestures indicate to me she is experiencing some frustration, or does she have anger management issues? Never answering if she is detaining the man or not, the men with the video camera announce that they are leaving, then walk away.

The third officer strikes me as being at heart just another 'cowboy cop' that one runs into from time to time in the US (and as a rule on the TV shows like COPS). He is going to close the deal HIS way no matter what it takes. Is he this way all the time, or does he feel his manhood is on the line on a rescue mission of the previous officer(s)? Very polite...but his punkin' head was made up before he ever approached the 'suspects'.

I have no idea how this video plays in Britain, but in Texas, I think a case could be made to reprimand Attractive Officer #2 and fire Cowboy Cop #3.

Given that 'public photography' problems have occurred in the US (example), I've got a lot more faith that this will play out in favor of the individual and Liberty on this side of the pond.

'Allo 'Allo 'Allo! What's all this then?
It's called Fascism, with a couple of cute, and one happy, face.

Bill O'Reilly Knows Not of Which He Speaks

Just one of many reasons I am not now, nor ever have been, a fan of Bill O'Reilly. Too often it has felt like he has held the right position at the time, for the wrong reason or reasons.....and this isn't even one of those times

Don't Ask Don't Tell Issue: Its Back...Again

President Obama, finally receiving pushback in his efforts to Socialize the United States of America to date, now seeks to subvert the only part of the Federal Government that is viewed positively by the American public: The Military. And it's all just to appease the radical 'homosexual activist' subset of an already small minority of the population. At Pajamas Media, I've posted my 2 cents, including reusing some point's I've made already earlier here and elsewhere:

The criteria as to what is acceptable in the military has not changed, nor should it to appease some tyrannical minority’s demand of not only acceptance but of ‘endorsement’. In the military, what delineates that which is acceptable conduct and behaviors from the unacceptable is how this this single question is answered:

Is it predjudicial to the good order and discipline of the Armed Forces of the United States?

DADT, while IMHO not a perfect solution, has worked because it focuses on conduct and behavior, and generally fits within the larger construct of required behaviors of all types.
All this bleating about ‘civil rights’ is rather limited in scope and focused on only the rights of that tyrannical minority don’t you think? Until separate sleeping and hygiene facilities that are provided in every possible field situation can be reasonably guaranteed to be equal to a heterosexual female’s vis-à-vis heterosexual male and vice versa — how will (insert heterosexual’s name here)’s sense of personal privacy and freedom from harassment be protected? Doesn’t (insert heterosexual’s name here) have as much of a right to not be quartered with a homosexual of the same sex as (insert name here) to not be quartered with a heterosexual of the opposite sex? (And isn’t all this PC gender-speak lovely?)

For the record, lest I (~sigh~once again) be accused of a being a 'homophobe'. Hardly. I am completely indifferent to it in my public life and the civilian workplace. Personally, I find the concept of 'exclusive homosexuality' itself to be in the grand scheme of things: 'pointless'. But that hasn't kept me from liking and respecting coworkers on their merits or not liking them and disrespecting them when warranted for a lack thereof.

Yeah, "What do I know?"

Updated and Bumped:

Heh.
I've been having a rather unproductive, yet sadly humorous, 'intercourse' over at the DEWLine with a 'true believer' on a mission. Apparently, I know nothing about 'persistence', UAVs, persistent UAVs, ISR, or Heaven knows what else.

NEW:
I am going to of course followup on this topic, but am working something more important for the next couple of days.

As a beginning, I think it would be helpful to first do a top-level characterization of the roadside bomb problem before we tackle any proposed 'solutions'. At first blush the challenge seems similar to a post-launch TBM neutralization scenario, but with an 'Assault Wrecker' model dynamic. I built Assault Wrecker (AW) about a decade ago for a grad school project and found AW helpful in performing several analyses after that. It is based upon the scenarios and model processes described in "To Find and Not to Yield". The model name is a play on the old 'Assault Breaker' concept: i.e. Assault Breaker on steroids. Read up a bit and try to guess how I'll apply old knowledge to the problem at hand.

But remember, according to 'some' I really don't know what I'm talking about.

I Still Can't Say Goodbye

Happy Birthday Dad
I've been looking for a certain Tommy Emmanuel CD for quite a while. (B&N has him in the 'Jazz' section, and the album itself is indexed as 'Jazz' for some stupid reason.) They didn't have the CD I was looking for, but I took a chance on this one. Glad I did, as it had a gem on it that is particularly meaningful to me on this day, January 30th. Here's Tommy performing it on You Tube. Tommy evidently first heard the song first as performed by Chet Atkins (also seen here on You Tube) who also, serendipitously, was a particular favorite of my Father.

Howard Zinn is Dead

Unfortunately, 30 Years Too Late.

(But better late than never)

An obituary that strikes the proper tone can be found here.

Update 01/30 in the PM: Lest a passerby think that my opinion of Zinn is simply Right smiting Left ideologues, note that opinions of Zinn don't vary all that much. See here. As an aside, I've also wondered from time to time if their early and close contact with Zinn is what kept Matt Damon and Ben Affleck (or turned them into) 'young skulls full of mush'*.

*Catchphrase courtesy of Dr. Paul.

Note: I posted more on Zinn after he assumed room temperature here.

Haitians Wait Desperately for Relief That Hasn't Come?

WTFO???!! (Martha Raddatz is a total effin' idiot)

Less than 3 days after an earthquake happened in one of the most Turd World countries in the hemisphere, a place with just about zero infrastructure, and we get bubbleheads carping about 'delays'?

Well...
No you don't young lady - get a grip and stop this nonsense this instant!
Somebody! Anybody! Please! Slap her already! And while you're at it could you smack some of the morons in the comments of her article as well.

The only way aid could be getting where its needed any faster than it is would be if they used teleporters to 'beam' it in. Oh wait, this is reality, and we don't have any teleporters.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who finds it amusing when people who probably have trouble remembering to make a grocery list sit around second-guessing a massive extemporaneous relief effort, one on a scale they can't possibly imagine.

All this reporter had to do was drag her keester down to the airport: she hasn't a freakin' clue.

Obama Administration Negotiating With The Enemy?

File this under "As if the Obama Administration hasn't done enough to us already" -- From Doctor Zero we now learn that while most of America was preoccupied with the holidays and evils of Healthcare 'reform':

It seems unlikely that the Khazali outrage could have happened without President Obama’s authorization. I’m ready to hear him explain this… and then, considering his reputation as a liar, every thinking American should be ready to fact-check every word he says. I don’t mind admitting I’m a hostile audience. You should be, too. Nothing this President has done since taking office has earned him a shred of trust or faith, especially in the area of national security.

Read it all HERE.

Happy New Year

Hope springs eternal. My bottle of Tito's is still intact - I WILL outlast the aged Latin despot - and his little dog (Raul) too.

Veterans Now Can Do What Comes Naturally

I'd heard about a movement towards getting this change to US law last year, but I didn't know it actually became law.

Veterans can now salute the flag during the National Anthem. - And they have been able to for a year without me knowing about it. How'd that happen? Hazards of moving among Civilians too much I guess.

I can't tell you how wrong it felt not to salute these past years after 20 years of doing it as second nature.

VDH on the Obamification of America

At some point, Obama may conclude that the vast presidential jet, the opulence of the Presidency, the power and influence at his fingertips, all that national wealth and more were not created by Acorn, community organizing, Michelle’s legal brilliance, Axelrod’s savvy advice, or Emanuel’s crassness, or by claiming that doctors needlessly take out tonsils and amputate limbs, or in general by sonorous tones promising to give someone vast amounts of someone else’s money, but rather through preserving a climate of freedom, respect for continuity and tradition, and government non-intrusion into the market place that encourage people to try to go into business and retain some of their profits—as recompense for getting up on Saturday morning at 6AM to get down to open the dry cleaning store, or borrowing one’s net worth to open a new stationary outlet, or staying late till 7PM to do a crown, or gambling that the new $500,000 crane will pay for itself in 5 years, or going under someone’s house on a Sunday to unclog the toilet when the employee doesn’t show up.

He may, Professor, he may. But I hold no hope of it happening. The supply of Obama Brand© 'Hybris' appears to be infinite.

Read all of Professor Hanson's beautiful summation of 'the story so far' here.

Guitar Center's 2009 King of the Blues Champion

Kirby Kelley. (From Texas, of course)

Lionel McIntire is a Wuss

I decided to ask a question online about this earlier in the week (source: NY Post) :

"The punch was so loud, the kitchen workers in the back heard it over all the noise," bar back Richie Velez, 28, told The Post. "I was on my way over when he punched Camille and she fell on top of me."The other patron involved in the dispute said McIntyre then took a swing at him after he yelled, "You don't hit a woman!""He knocked the glasses right off my face," said the man, who would only give his first name as "Shannon." "The punch came out of nowhere. Mac was talking to us about white privilege and what I was doing about it -- apparently I wasn't doing enough."

The question is a three-parter:

As a pampered prof teaching at an exclusive institute of higher learning, and apparently seen as some kind of 'world leader' (by somebody anyway), can you tell me:

a.) exactly WHAT are you missing out on because of this so-called 'white privilege'?

b.) What does this so-called 'white privilege' look like?

c.) Does it entitle those who do not have it with a 'You can smack around people who don't see things your way' privilege?

Reader Thomas Hoyt’ is Dead Wrong

Instapundit posted a link to a Powerline post with a picture of President Obama bowing to Japan’s Emperor Akihito. Given the brouhaha that erupted when President Obama was photographed kowtowing to a Middle East despot, one would think that the White House would have been a little more careful in instructing the President on protocol. I realize that The One [yes..sarc] is busy remaking the world and eliminating the past, but perhaps he should refer to the past in finding out how his predecessors handled these things. Hint: You will have to wade through thousands of photos before you find any of them (not named Obama) bowing.

An Instapundit reader, one Thomas Hoyt, asserts:

Obama’s bow to the Saudi king was a breach of etiquette and a horrible symbolic act, but bowing in Japan is like shaking hands in America. Anytime you introduce yourself to someone, you bow, regardless of whether it’s the plumber come to fix your sink, your new assistant in the office, or the emperor. It is a common courtesy that has none of the meaning of bowing to a monarch that we have in the West. Refusing to bow, whether to your new assistant or the emperor [sic], has the same insulting connotation as refusing to shake hands does in the US.
The faux pas here, if there is one, is shaking hands while bowing. This is a somewhat common and humorous problem when an American meets a Japanese person in Japan. The American bows and the Japanese person reaches out to shake hands, each trying to anticipate the cultural expectations of the other...

Where does Mr. Hoyt go astray? His observations on etiquette are relevant ONLY to a personal encounter WITHIN a specific culture. They have no relevance across cultures.

Rules that apply ‘when in Rome’ are not the same as when Rome itself is interacting with (fill in other nation-state* here). While Barack Obama is just a guy, President Obama in his current office, in conducting affairs of state, as the Head of State, IS for all practical purposes, the United States.
The United States. For more than two centuries, our flag has flown below no other** and until this recent aberration of a Presidency, we have bowed to no other Nation either.

To head off nitpickers:
*I know Rome is no longer a nation-state, but it was when the original wording from which the now-common phrase came was first uttered.
**Except for the Chaplain’s flag aboard USN ships during religious services.

Update: 19 Nov 09 : When I stated above "You will have to wade through thousands of photos before you find any of them [Presidents] (not named Obama) bowing", I knew that there would be a few idle minds with the time on their hands to wade through those photos.

There will no doubt be more 'evidence' forthcoming, but here is what the lamest among us have come up with to-date:

Ben Smith at Politico has a video with what he describes a a 'deep bow' but the letdown in the video shows only what appears to be a vigorous nod (of agreement on something?) that Nixon makes while shaking hands with Mao on his trip to China.

Then there's four photos at Lawyers, Guns and Money showing Eisenhower apprently:
1. Checking out the Papal Seal inlaid in the floor with the Pope. Casually standing with his hands behind his back as military men often do (goes back to spending untold hours at Parade Rest)
2. Meeting a lady and enthusiastically behaving as Gentlemen did back in the day.
3. Shaking the hand of a Greek Orthodox Archbishop and leaning forward while doing so. (there's that enthusiasm again)
4. Standing around and looking at the ground while De Gaulle bloviates over some point.

The LG&M poster apparently thinks these are all 'bows' in the same sense as Obama's bowing . So here's another hint for you children of the 60s forward: people used to be a lot more animated in their movements before the unblinking eye gained a 24hr presence.

Gen. George Casey's Finest Hour

Not!

"Our diversity, not only in our Army, but in our country, is a strength. And as horrific as this tragedy was, if our diversity becomes a casualty, I think that’s worse”

Man! He did not just say that did he?

If George Casey didn't regret spewing that crap the second he uttered it he should resign immediately. But of course, if he had a competent Commnder-In-Chief he would have been asked to submit one already for loss of confidence. Gen. Casey, Ralph Peters is talking to YOU!

Vocal Minority lays out the problem with Casey's little PC slide bullet pretty well:

"Do you understand what this man is saying? He is saying that the loss of “diversity”—the feel-good, meaningless, superficial, and artificial practice of ensuring that a given group has x number of whites, blacks, men, women, Christians, Jews, Muslims, gays, etc., etc.—is worse than 13 people’s lives violently snuffed out in cold blood by a radical fanatic. In short, protecting a politically correct sacred cow is more important than protecting human life."

I would only add to that description of 'diversity' the modifiers of 'warped' and 'poorly-conceptualized'-- because I believe in the value of the idea of 'diversity'. People from different backgrounds will bring different experience, ideas and perspectives to any group dynamic. And I contrast that 'diversity' with the perverted idea of 'Diversity!': the folly whereby the inane must be given equal respect with the thoughtful merely because it is different (aka "Diversity! for Diversity's! sake") and which eschews societal norms that are needed as a framework for applying diversity in ways that can actually move societies forward.

.....And even the unperverted idea of 'diversity' is irrelevant compared to the taking of innocent lives - the ultimate violation of a civil right.