Hi there, !
Today Wed 08/23/2017 Tue 08/22/2017 Mon 08/21/2017 Sun 08/20/2017 Sat 08/19/2017 Fri 08/18/2017 Thu 08/17/2017 Archives
Rantburg
531710 articles and 1856002 comments are archived on Rantburg.

Today: 63 articles and 162 comments as of 15:23.
Post a news link    Post your own article   
Area: WoT Operations    WoT Background    Non-WoT        Politix   
Kenya Says Police Killed Most Wanted Al Shabaab Commander
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 4: Opinion
4 15:03 g(r)omgoru [] 
11 20:12 DarthVader [1] 
5 19:19 ed in texas [] 
2 16:39 ed in texas [1] 
4 20:58 Alaska Paul [] 
15 18:04 Besoeker [] 
1 20:36 Anomalous Sources [] 
1 01:00 Hupeting Sforza8196 [] 
21 23:07 swksvolFF [1] 
Page 1: WoT Operations
6 20:08 gorb []
0 [2]
0 [1]
1 07:52 AlanC []
1 10:55 Frank G []
0 []
0 [1]
0 []
0 [1]
0 []
0 []
0 []
0 []
0 []
0 []
0 []
0 [1]
0 [1]
0 []
0 [1]
3 12:36 Pappy []
0 []
0 []
7 20:39 trailing wife [2]
2 21:18 M. Murcek []
Page 2: WoT Background
0 []
1 07:52 Skidmark []
2 11:57 trailing wife []
1 03:50 g(r)omgoru []
2 20:03 Gomez Slereck8543 []
0 []
2 19:14 ed in texas [1]
0 []
0 []
0 []
0 []
0 [1]
1 17:53 Frank G []
10 15:52 DarthVader [1]
0 []
1 08:33 ed in texas [1]
Page 3: Non-WoT
13 20:16 Besoeker []
1 19:16 ed in texas [1]
4 14:19 Glenmore [1]
0 []
8 14:37 Anguper Hupomosing9418 [1]
0 []
0 []
5 12:41 Rambler in Virginia []
4 08:24 Pappy []
3 19:22 Pappy []
7 11:06 Procopius2k []
2 19:17 ed in texas [2]
Page 6: Politix
11 19:28 Pappy []
Home Front: Politix
Missouri Gov. Greitens demands ouster of Sen. Maria Chapelle-Nadal over assassination remark
[ABC] Missouri Governor Eric Greitens on Friday demanded the removal of a state senator who called for President Trump's assassination in a now-deleted Facebook post. Those remarks prompted an investigation by the U.S. Secret Service.

Sen. Maria Chapelle-Nadal, a Democrat, wrote on her personal Facebook page Thursday, "I hope Trump is assassinated!" She later deleted the post.

Chapelle-Nadal has balked at calls for her resignation.

"I am not resigning," she tweeted Thursday. "When POC [people of color] are respected by this WH & they are willing to do real work, I'll sit down with them. People are traumatized!"
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/20/2017 13:24 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Surely the state Executive branch can do something else, like withhold her paycheck?
Posted by: Raj || 08/20/2017 13:36 Comments || Top||

#2  Recall petitions might be allowed but I suspect her constituency agrees with her.
Posted by: Glenmore || 08/20/2017 14:20 Comments || Top||

#3  I suspect her constituency agrees with her. So do I. Her constituency should resign & be replaced with a better one.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 08/20/2017 14:41 Comments || Top||

#4  Now, I'm sure her district receives a lot of federal and state funds. And I'm equally sure that the legal criteria for these funds transfer was not rigorously applied.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 08/20/2017 15:03 Comments || Top||


Dershowitz: Russia investigation 'endangers democracy'
[The Hill] Attorney Alan Dershowitz says special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia "endangers Democracy."

"The idea of trying to create crimes just because we disagree with [Trump] politically, and target him, really endangers democracy. [It] reminds me of what the head of the KGB said to Stalin: 'Show me the man, and I will find you the crime,'" Dershowitz told John Catsimatidis on New York's AM 970 in an interview that aired on Sunday.

"[This is] where things happen in darkness and secrecy. The American public doesn't learn about it," he said, accusing the investigators of not sharing information with the public. "This exactly the wrong way to approach the problem of Russia’s attempt to influence American election. We do not know what is going on. We get leaks, but the leaks are selective leaks."

The Harvard law scholar, who is an opinion contributor to The Hill, also criticized former FBI Director James Comey, whom he called one of the "worst offenders" of leaks that have encouraged other members of government to leak classified information.

"One of the worst offenders of leaks is the former head of the FBI, Comey," Dershowitz says. "[He] created a very very bad precedent for people in government, making it sound like it is okay to leak material. It is not okay to leak material."

Comey had a friend leak several memos of his conversations with President Trump to the New York Times shortly after he was dismissed from the FBI in May.
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/20/2017 13:04 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  What Russia investigation? The media have abruptly and absolutely ceased to cover it, so I thought we were all supposed to pretend that it never happened?
Posted by: Tom || 08/20/2017 13:26 Comments || Top||

#2  #1, Tom, it wasn't getting any traction so now we've moved on to Charlottesville.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 08/20/2017 14:30 Comments || Top||

#3  Those Charlottesville Russians Nazis!
Posted by: Frank G || 08/20/2017 16:56 Comments || Top||

#4  That might be a problem if the other side believed in democracy.
Posted by: Iblis || 08/20/2017 17:08 Comments || Top||

#5  Most of the stuff the FBI is up to endangers democracy, so does this one come in pastel, or what?
Posted by: ed in texas || 08/20/2017 19:19 Comments || Top||


Former health chiefs to POTUS: Avoid new 'Obamacare' crisis, send money and lots of it
[SF Chronical] 'Obamacare' crisis. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. Don’t make things worse. That’s the advice of former U.S. health secretaries of both parties to President Donald Trump and the GOP-led Congress, now that "Obamacare" seems here for the foreseeable future. The 2018 sign-up season for subsidized private health plans starts Nov. 1, with about 10 million people currently being served through HealthCare.gov and its state counterparts.

That's the advice of former U.S. health secretaries of both parties to President Donald Trump and the GOP-led Congress, now that "Obamacare" seems here for the foreseeable future. The 2018 sign-up season for subsidized private health plans starts Nov. 1, with about 10 million people currently served through HealthCare.gov and its state counterparts.

Stability should be the immediate goal, said former Health and Human Services secretaries Kathleen Sebelius, Mike Leavitt and Tommy Thompson. At minimum: Dispel the political and legal uncertainty -- fueled by presidential tweets -- around billions in subsidies for consumers' insurance copays and deductibles. The three former officials shared their views with The Associated Press.

Beyond the urgent need to calm markets by providing clarity on subsidies, Democrat Sebelius and Republicans Leavitt and Thompson differ on the direction Trump and Congress should take. They agree that Republicans still have an opportunity to put their stamp on the Affordable Care Act, even if the drive to "repeal and replace" former President Barack Obama's legacy program appears to have hit a dead end.

"They can make changes that signal a new ideological direction without generating a logistical and political mess," said Leavitt, who led HHS during former President George W. Bush's second term. "They won the right to make changes. However, they should do it in a skillful way." Leavitt shepherded the Medicare prescription drug benefit through its rocky rollout in 2006.
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/20/2017 11:40 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  ....even if the drive to "repeal and replace" former President Barack Obama's legacy program appears to have hit a dead end.

Yes, at a "dead end" thanks to a demented, virtue signalling senator with a massive brain tumor.
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/20/2017 11:49 Comments || Top||

#2  Take the money out of their retirement and benefits and send it on over.
Posted by: ed in texas || 08/20/2017 16:39 Comments || Top||


Black Americans: The Organized Left's Expendable Shock Troops
[Juliette Ochieng's Baldilocks Blog] Black Americans are, for the most part, a tribe. Some will take offense to that opinion, but if we consider the specifics of our existence as Americans since the practice of enslaving imported Africans became widespread in this hemisphere, we see that there is nothing else that we can be called.

Remember, our ancestors, of various West African tribes, were brought here, sold, and forcibly stripped of their various names, languages, cultures, and religions. That conditioning created a new tribe: The Negro. And even after the abolition of slavery and the extension of legal citizenship to former slaves, Americans of African descent were confined under a societal barrier. A few managed to break through the barrier, but the clear majority remained in the legal, economic, educational social and tribal space into which the US Supreme Court decision Plessy v. Ferguson allowed state and local governments to pen them.

But along came the Civil Rights Era, really beginning in the 1940s and reaching its apex in the 1970s. The Civil Rights and the Voting Rights Acts heralded the end of our status as an insulated tribe within a nation and they harkened back to the objective ideals on which this nation was founded.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/20/2017 01:32 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.”
~ C.S. Lewis
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/20/2017 7:52 Comments || Top||

#2  Good quote Besoeker.
Posted by: JohnQC || 08/20/2017 9:40 Comments || Top||

#3  They choose to be shock troops in a classic "rational but wrong" calcultion that they benefit from this.

And true be told, there some near term benefits, even if it leads to long term misery. There's been plenty of time to figure this out but they choose this path again and again.

I'm all out of sympathy for the poor dears.
Posted by: charger || 08/20/2017 18:47 Comments || Top||

#4  They have been rolled by the dems for many decades---for what? You either learn or you do not. Burn down a city or kill who you want to kill? It is your choice, but there are unintended consequences.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 08/20/2017 20:58 Comments || Top||


Rush Limbaugh: ‘We Are on the Cusp of a Second Civil War'
[Breitbart] Friday on his nationally syndicated radio show, conservative talker Rush Limbaugh said given the state of affairs in the country, particularly in the wake of last week’s events in Charlottesville, VA, it could be said the country was on the cusp of a second civil war.

Limbaugh insisted much of the angst was being driven by forces from the outside wanting to see the United States cease being a "super powerful nation."

Partial transcript as follows (courtesy of RushLimbaugh.com):

America is under attack from within. Our culture, our history, our founding are under the most direct assault I have seen in my life. And I’m sure it’s the same with you. We haven’t seen anything like this. You might even get away with saying that we are on the cusp of a second civil war. Some of you might say that we are already into it, that it has already begun. However you characterize it, though, we are under attack from within. And it’s being bought and paid for by people from outside America, in addition to inside.
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/20/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  My one and only hope is that I'm living"The Anomalous Show."
Posted by: Anomalous Sources || 08/20/2017 20:36 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Culture Wars
Jeh Johnson: Removal of Confederate Statues a Matter of ‘Homeland Security'
[Free Beacon] Former Obama administration official Jeh Johnson said the removal of Confederate statues was a matter of "public safety and homeland security" on Sunday.

In the aftermath of deadly violence in Charlottesville, Va., when a man with white nationalist ties was arrested for ramming his car into a crowd of counter-protesters last week and killing a woman, Confederate monuments across the country have been taken down. The furor in Charlottesville began with a protest by white supremacists against the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee.

Johnson served as Secretary of Homeland Security under Obama, and he said on ABC's "This Week" that the monuments to Confederates were helping to rally white nationalists.

"What alarms so many of us from a security perspective is that so many of the statues, the Confederate monuments, are now, modern-day, becoming symbols and rallying points for white nationalism, for neo-Nazis, for the KKK, and this is most alarming," Johnson said. "We fought a world war against Naziism. The KKK reigned terror on African Americans for generations."

"I salute those in cities and states who are taking down a lot of these monuments for reasons of public safety and security," he added. "And that's not a a matter of political correctness. That's a matter of public safety and homeland security and doing what's right."

Host Martha Raddatz said she felt the Trump administration would call that a "slippery slope," referring to local Washington locations like Washington-Lee High School and Jefferson Davis Highway.
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/20/2017 13:11 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Continuing to hear from these bitter einder Soetoro appointees is troubling.
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/20/2017 13:15 Comments || Top||

#2  So he didn't do it while he was Secretary of HS because...?
Posted by: Tom || 08/20/2017 13:24 Comments || Top||

#3  So he didn't do it while he was Secretary of HS because...?

Good question. Some of those statues have been there for over 150 years and never caused any trouble. Now it's suddenly a matter of great urgency that they be removed. Might be they think they can blame the trouble of removing them on Trump.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 08/20/2017 14:19 Comments || Top||

#4  And it needs to happen TODAY because they will come to life during the eclipse and slaughter us all!
Posted by: Glenmore || 08/20/2017 14:21 Comments || Top||

#5  "slaughter us all"? Nah, I think the first thing those statues will do is kill every pigeon in sight.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 08/20/2017 14:39 Comments || Top||

#6  So he didn't do it while he was Secretary of HS because...?

They wanted to be re-elected
Posted by: Airandee || 08/20/2017 15:02 Comments || Top||

#7  And why wasn't this a crisis the past 8 years?
Posted by: DarthVader || 08/20/2017 15:55 Comments || Top||

#8  What, and derail the Soetoro gravy-train?
Posted by: Pappy || 08/20/2017 16:09 Comments || Top||

#9  "I salute those in cities and states who are taking down a lot of these monuments for reasons of public safety and security," he added. "And that's not a a matter of political correctness. That's a matter of public safety and homeland security and doing what's right."

I don't agree with any of those statements. It's another instance of this guy trying to insert DHS into one more thing. It is another instance of political correctness. It's like when he tried to declare the voting process a part of “critical infrastructure" and taking it over; thus making it easier to rig elections.
Posted by: JohnQC || 08/20/2017 18:03 Comments || Top||

#10  Wanna bet Jeh Bush totally agrees?
Posted by: M. Murcek || 08/20/2017 19:55 Comments || Top||

#11  Well, Jeh Bush is on his payroll so I would bet he would.
Posted by: DarthVader || 08/20/2017 20:12 Comments || Top||


GOP senator: 'It feels like violence is coming'
[The Hill] A GOP senator on Friday evening warned that "it feels like violence is coming" and the president won't be able to calm the nation in the face of it.

In an extensive Facebook post, Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) shared thoughts he said were prompted by the violence last weekend in Charlottesville, Va. that left three dead and multiple injured.

He unloaded on President Trump and his administration over the response to the incident, which Sasse called out as motivated by white supremacists. Sasse charged that some of Trump's closest advisers see racial division as an opportunity.

However, he also blamed misunderstandings - some deliberate - on both sides of the aisle and argued that the current national debate should not be "a fight about historical monuments." Many state and local governments are taking steps to remove Confederate statues in the wake of the Charlottesville violence, which was originally organized to oppose the removal of a Gen. Robert E. Lee statue there.

Trump has criticized the removal of Confederate monuments, citing their historic value.

Sasse also said that he doesn't believe Trump can bring the country together after the violence, both what was caused last weekend and what may come in the future.
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/20/2017 01:12 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  However, he also blamed misunderstandings...

No senator, you perfidious, backstabbing POS, there are no "misunderstandings." You are one of the many swamp creatures who earnestly desire that President Trump fail.
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/20/2017 1:25 Comments || Top||

#2  Sasse is a POS, but he's correct, violence is definitely coming.
Posted by: Bigfoot Elmerenter4120 || 08/20/2017 5:56 Comments || Top||

#3  Violence is coming? Rep. Scalise could not be reached for comment.

Did they try Bill Ayers or his buddy Obama?
Posted by: AlanC || 08/20/2017 8:11 Comments || Top||

#4  You don't understand the senator. As long as violence was one sided: the oppressed and their "champions" against the oppressors; it was perfectly OK
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 08/20/2017 8:15 Comments || Top||

#5  Riots outside Republican Primary gatherings in Chicago, Oakland, and on inauguration day and now, just now, he's noticing it?

The Illusive Man: [From Trailer] We're at war. No one wants to admit it but Humanity's under attack. One very specific man might be all that stands between Humanity and the greatest threat of our brief existence.

We need a leader, and surround him with the brightest, the toughest, the deadliest allies we can find. The team will have to be strong, their resolve unquestionable.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 08/20/2017 9:30 Comments || Top||

#6  Violence has already come in dribs and drabs. I just wonder when the gloves will come off, the restraints gone, and people are completely fed up with the lefty crap which has been foisted upon common, decent citizens for far too long. We're talking about that Ft. Sumter flashpoint moment where there's no going back.
Posted by: JohnQC || 08/20/2017 9:48 Comments || Top||

#7  I'm not entirely certain humanity is under attack, but Western Civilization most assuredly is along with any vestiges of charm and grace.
Posted by: Cesrae || 08/20/2017 11:41 Comments || Top||

#8  It is coming more and more with the left forcing it upon us.

Just remember, I don't play Chicago rules. If you pull a knife, I won't stop with a gun.

You, your friends, their friends and everyone you know is gone.

Get it?

This is what happens when you Balkinize and tribalize nations.
Posted by: DarthVader || 08/20/2017 15:57 Comments || Top||

#9 
that left three dead


Just how are the victims of a helicopter crash connected to the demonstration and the attack upon it? Has anyone established that, or are the just trying to claim the demonstrators (and *not* the rioters) are responsible for those men being in the air?
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 08/20/2017 16:30 Comments || Top||

#10  Just how are the victims of a helicopter crash connected to the demonstration and the attack upon it?

Anyone check the local hospice care center? Perhaps someone expired whilst watching the protest on the tellie. Everyone counts in a feeding frenzy.
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/20/2017 16:41 Comments || Top||

#11  Why just local Besoeker? You know how many people died worldwide on that day because they couldn't take white supremacy anymore?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 08/20/2017 16:50 Comments || Top||

#12  Why just local Besoeker? You know how many people died worldwide on that day because they couldn't take white supremacy anymore?
Posted by g(r)omgoru


No, not certain how many died, but I know whom to blame.
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/20/2017 16:53 Comments || Top||

#13  Just how are the victims of a helicopter crash connected to the demonstration and the attack upon it?

My thoughts exactly. While tragic - I'm unaware of any direct connection between the clash and the crash.

Unrelated and FYI for my fellow Rantburgers - Mrs Billy and I have made the move to the Pear of the Orient. 3 years in the magical city of Hong Kong.
Posted by: Bangkok Billy || 08/20/2017 17:35 Comments || Top||

#14  Bangkok Billy: Good luck to you and Mrs. Billy during and after the move.
Posted by: JohnQC || 08/20/2017 17:55 Comments || Top||

#15  Hong Kong is it? Congrats! Absolutely in keeping with my axiom of 'anywhere for per diem.'
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/20/2017 18:04 Comments || Top||


Civil Rights Icon Andrew Young Argues for Confederate Monuments to Remain in Place
[PJ] The Left has made the removal of monuments to the Confederacy their cause du jour. The alt-right, white-nationalist rally and its ensuing violence in Charlottesville, Va., last weekend stemmed from the planned removal of a statue of General Robert E. Lee, and in the wake of the horrific events in that town, more monuments have come down while others are sure to follow.

Stacey Abrams, a Democratic candidate for Georgia's governor, has called for the removal of the iconic Confederate memorial carving on Stone Mountain, just outside of Atlanta. A little further east, in my hometown of Covington, the county Board of Commissioners heard from a handful of citizens who want the Confederate monument at the center of the town square removed or relocated; for what it's worth, our first African-American county commission chair has said that he doesn't want our town to become another Charlottesville.

One voice from the civil rights movement has chimed in on the new trend of erasing the history of the Confederacy. Former Atlanta mayor and United Nations ambassador Andrew Young told reporters on Tuesday that the fight to remove Confederate monuments is not worth having. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution quoted Young:
"I think it’s too costly to refight the Civil War," Young said Wednesday at a press conference in which he and fellow civil rights icon C.T. Vivian endorsed Atlanta City Council President Ceasar Mitchell to succeed Kasim Reed as the city’s next mayor. "We have paid too great a price in trying to bring people together."

Young said that he believes that civil rights movements of the past and present have been mistaken in targeting the symbols of even ugly history and should have concentrated more on fighting for issues like economic progress and education. He also reiterated the tried-and-true adage that nonviolent protests are the way to bring about genuine change.
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/20/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The Dallas Police had to remove from the cemetery today who were there to desecrate the graves of our ancestors.

I agree with the Reverend Andrew Young, as he speaks in the same manner as the late Reverend Martin Luther King and I will now repost a comment I posted last week:

***

Abraham Lincoln in the Gettysburg address where thousands of fresh graves were being dug for the dead of that battle proclaimed that the United States was "One Nation".

To heal the wounds via honor to one another after the civil war, the monuments were built. Indeed, still One Nation. Only this time all men were free and inclusive. Including the Americans these statues are of who accepted defeat and afterwards lived honorably.

In Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech he dreamed that people of all colors will come together in peace. That would include all Americans past and present.

Tearing down these statues of Americans is the tearing down of the United States of America through the gross divisiveness that rules the hearts of the so called "political class" seen for the first time in the most divisive history of this nation.

You know nothing about healing and being one, you only know violence, all you know to do is to tear people down.

***

An added point. Because of the honor, respect and dignity our fore fathers of the South were shown, their sons and daughters fought along side all Americans in all the wars since and knew how to honor the defeated.

General McAuthor left the defeated Hirohito in power because he knew that respect of the leaders of the defeated as only Americans of that time uniquely knew how to do, they would helped him heal the nation and Hirohito's son Akihito succeeded him and continued to build Japan into a great, free nation again.

The true understanding of "Love your enemies" has been erased from this nation. Perhaps it is because we truly are no longer an exceptional Christian nation but have become just another nation of hate.
Posted by: Hupeting Sforza8196 || 08/20/2017 1:00 Comments || Top||


This Week in Books - 8/20/17
The Myth of the Andalusian Paradise
Dario Fernandez-Morera
ISI Books, Intercollegiate Studies Institute, 2016


Within the official introduction:
Page 11, Introduction

This book gives special attention to primary sources (medieval Christian, Muslim, and Jewish chronicles; literary works; religious and legal texts; and biographies), and usually quotes them verbatim so that nonscholars can read these materials (which in modern publications on Islamic Spain frequently are not part of the narrative and often not even part of the notes) and decide for themselves whether the widespread hagiographic interpretations of Islamic Spain are warranted or not. Unless otherwise indicated, assertions in this book are abundantly supported by these medieval Christian, Muslim, and Jewish primary sources, which are either quoted in the text or cited in the notes.

There is extensive notation, and every premise is backed up. So when a subject is approached, the reader can find the source of information.
Page 60

Despite the bubonic plague, locusts, drought, and the civil wars that ravaged Spain in the years before the Muslim conquest, the Catholic kingdom of the Visigoths still presented itself as a wonderland to the uncultured eighth-century Berber invaders. Medieval Muslim chronicles tell of the astonishment the Islamic warriors experienced at the splendor of Toledo, Seville, Cordoba, Merida, and other Visigoth cities. They also tell us that the Muslim armies' sacking of Spain was stupendous. Christian chronicles corroborate these accounts, as does the archaeological evidence of the treasures Christians buried before fleeing the invaders.

Other indicators are noted, including the shadow of the coin showing the value of slaves.
Pages 154-155

Elsewhere Avila observes, "In spite of the existence of sporadic instances of women whose activities seem to indicate a certain independence and freedom - the most famous example being that of the well-born poetess Wallada - all indications are that freedom of activity for Andalusi (free) women was limited to the domestic sphere." Wallanda was the daughter of a sexual slave of foreign origin, from whom she may have inherited her mores, and she was never married, so she never became a muhsan.

At the very least, this book is a fine counterweight to the perceived multi-culturism of Andalusia, the book quotes very precise slave prices and the Muslim view of the black African. To continue:
Page 237

As Robert M. Haddan, Aptin Khanbaghi, Louis Milliot, and other scholars have noticed, the Christian dhimmis served as an intermediary between the more primitive society of the Islamic invaders and the superior civilizations of the Christian Greek Roman Empire and the Zoroastrian Persian Empire. The Persian Muslim chronicler Ibn al-Nadim testified that "in tenth-century Iran, the majority of philosophers were still Christian."

In all, the book is a damning counterpoint to the Muslim occupation of Spain. The author does a fantastic job of remaining relatively neutral while laying out the evidence. Of course a decent understanding of history and dates will help the reader, but the text can stand on its own.

This Week in Emergency Preparedness

Ah, the boogie bag. Nothing around our campfire can start a conversation or confrontation quite like this topic. So no shit, there I was About six months ago I looked west and saw a wall of fire moving towards us at 50+mph. It was the very explanation of why to have a boogie bag - the decision to move or shelter had to happen quickly, and there was no telling for how long.

As the emergency preparedness planner for the family, and as a volunteer firefighter, I had identified an out of control prairie fire as threat number one, so I had a boogie bag tailored for such a threat.

I give myself a C, perhaps a C- on packing.

The easy part: what I got right. Food, though not tasty. Water, though not enough. A Mick Dundee for when the creepy truck driver was walking about the family car at the refugee post. Basic medicines and first aid. That I had one. That last point was probably the best part (puts on Jack Burton voice) because when the ash flakes of hell are falling and the air is crackling one thing for sure is Dad had thought of this, and you hit the road and find safety.

Huge morale boost. Nobody was blindsided or froze. Life is not fun when you can't see one block and the temperature goes up 15 degrees in fifteen minutes.

What I got wrong. To start with, all my vehicles had less than half a tank of gas, one less than a quarter tank. Not enough food and water for three, for three days. What I had was not fun to eat - more on that later. No spare clothing which cost about fifteen minutes. In my defense on that one, the season was winter to spring transition and my children had outgrown their previous spring clothing; the difference between the C and C- viewer's discretion.

Clothing, what a hassle. You desert people can relate; 90 in the day, 20 at night. Fortunately we had a second pack handy and were able to pack current clothing for the affair. Not enough for three days, but extra undies and socks are nice to have, if not necessary. My first chance off the line I changed socks and it was like peeling duct tape off of wall paper, an actual health and safety issue. I have two packs now, tools and textiles. Textiles has socks and undies pre-packed.

What else I missed? Charging cords, or rather, had old ones which didn't fit new things. Some of those port-a-battery-chargers would have been nice. Also missing was the DC/AC power inverter, probably located next to my three missing tape measurers.

Point of order - cell phone reliability was totally squashed. I have good walkie-talkies which are no good if left on the charger. A pre-flight checklist would be good to have; I would have had the walkies, among other things, which would have pushed me into B or even B+ range.

What else would have been nice? Pack of playing cards. Coloring books and crayons. Actual physical stuff to keep minds occupied during lulls, and lulls in this circumstance were long and often. Comfort food would have been nice. Marine emergency rations will get a person by, but some cherry or sour apple hard candies would have been fun. I had nicotine gum, but not nearly enough for a three day odyssey. Whatever habits a person has, smoking, drinking, chewing pencils, is going to explode in a high stress situation. Take that into account.

And my wife, whoa was she hard on herself. She had a total firearm failure when creepy trucker dude started creeping. In short, she grabbed what was convenient instead of what was hers. She must have done that while I was getting gasoline.

Ah, gasoline. The time I saved with having a boogie bag allowed me to beat the crowd to the pumps. Internet was sporadic; took me about eight attempts for the transaction to occur. Lucky there was still power. I do have a mechanical pump in inventory, but it would have done me no good in this instance. It was not yet spring, so I had not filled my lawn mower gas cans yet. Almost a very costly mistake - family could have made it out of the way, but not to the planned destination and would have had to fill up. Because scared people suck and attract predators, it is in my playbook to avoid filling stations especially.

All in all, having a boogie bag and route of escape (go to x's house via a-town and b-town) proved to be very handy, if anything it is having a starting point during an emergency. I was assisting the town's evac and it was apparent who had and had not pre-planned an emergency. It could have cost lives.

I am sure I will think of other things, and questions/comments are certainly encouraged, especially as you all in cities get ready to consider widespread civil disobediences. If I lived back where I have, in a city, I would plan to be stuck in my neighborhood or even residence for up to five days without power or even water. Just me. I lived next to a major interstate intersection; evacuation would have been near impossible. Shoot, it was tough getting anywhere on regular traffic days, and was too close to the intersection to take back roads, they would cram up way too quickly. I'll leave it at that. Urban shelter in place is about exact opposite of my considerations.

Again, I am just sharing a story, not an instruction manual. If anything, I hope I am showing there is no right way to pack, only good and better. Keep up to date as well - bandage technology has progressed bounds since I put together my basic first aid kit some ten years ago. Tourniquets were not even a consideration then, now they are being built into clothing expressly designed to be applied by the patient operating solo. There is some very neat stuff out there if it has been a while since packing your boogie bag. I mean flashlights, are you kidding me? Remember when a mag-lite was holy crap bright? I have a dang nick-nack key deal with a light brighter than they were and for $5. Multi-tools, there are some very cute ones out there, probably some which look rustic and have beard trimmers. Basically, if it can't disconnect/reconnect a car battery it is worthless.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 08/20/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  It's time for me to review our situation. What we have is what I assembled when the trailing daughters were young, and I organized it for sheltering in place for a few days after a tornado. For clothing I used two of each of the girls' previous seasons soccer uniforms -- they have names across the back, so useful for identification if separated -- a hoodie and sweatpants for warmth, and lots of crayons, coloured pencils, and paper for writing and drawing.
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/20/2017 12:04 Comments || Top||

#2  Everyone with a car should already have their DC/AC voltage inverters installed and ready to use at a moment's notice. I'm a ham operator & once took a poll at a club meeting, only about 10% of those present had their inverters installed & ready. Of all people, they should have known better.
I have a small power strip in the car, which allows me to charge 4 or 5 AC devices simultaneously. I have also pre-wired a 12VDC power strip with 4 sockets, keep that tucked under the front seat.
If you get walkie-talkies, some will operate while being charged, and some will not. Buy what works for you.
Besides a multi-tool, have multiple tools stashed all over the car. No reason why you can't conceal tools allowing you to remove your car's battery - right next to the battery.
? spray strong enough to repel a grizzly bear, along with a Mick Dundee ?
A checklist is essential, not just good to have.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 08/20/2017 14:27 Comments || Top||

#3  Tornadoes. Very dangerous, quickly occurring, yet very localized event. Wind is your enemy here: blocked roads, slow emergency response, no power or phone. What I like about the soccer uniforms is that they are usually brightly colored, and with the names on them, quickly identifiable. Laceration then trauma from flying debris, so maybe bonus points if a cache of clothes has blood type/important information permanently on the clothing?

Our cache has work gloves, old shoes, in case of getting caught off-guard and have to self extricate. Bandages, flashlight, all that is good, probably my most important piece of equipment is a simple whistle. I consider if we are trapped, the whistle can identify our location. Practicing a cadence can locate a rally point for those who know the tune.

Again, just plan on roads and cell phones being out for at least 48 hours. Local effective responders may have to come from 15-30 miles out, and if each road has a block of trees and/or power lines, there will be some lag, especially as priorities and the too distressed are addressed.

If you have walkie-talkies, remember your radio etiquette. At the least.
-Who you are, who are you asking for-. Over.
(wait for response)
-Give communication-. Over.
(wait for confirmation, preferably with 24 hour local time)

Stay calm; enough going on without panic blurts. Be right with your maker, the morning calm may get grabbed by the Jolly Green Giant and shook like a snow globe before the evening sets.

*Just talked with my wife; she said she also grabbed photo albums, our emergency currency, and what extra essentials we had. Filling up with gas longer than I thought, and she is that good.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 08/20/2017 14:49 Comments || Top||

#4  Photo albums are so 1890's. Put your valuable photos on a half dozen or so flash drives & distribute them with family & friends all over the world. Do it now, avoid the rush.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 08/20/2017 14:58 Comments || Top||

#5  Totally agree AH9418.
We (fire department) have inverters and cigarette to USB Charger units in all our vehicles. Cell communication was sketchy but very effective. Stories of people using their cell phone travel locator to show when a turn is coming while visibility was next to nothing.

If my math is right, I can run my inverter to a extension cord to my refrigerator. Not certain I can run the freezer at the same time, so random bags of ice are in there already. In a pinch, bowls of ice in the fridge. S'Why I was so mad at myself for the gasoline levels being so low.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 08/20/2017 15:01 Comments || Top||

#6  A Technician license for operating amateur radios has a test fee of about $15. I mastered the questions using online teaching aids in a couple of afternoons. It's not rocket surgery. I can routinely reach out & hit a repeater 50 miles away using a homemade 5/8 wave magnetic mount car antenna, cost about $5, and a 50 watt 2M amateur transceiver costing about $125, which runs off a car battery. 2M walkie-talkies can be had for $25-35 new.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 08/20/2017 15:02 Comments || Top||

#7  Stories of people using their cell phone travel locator to show when a turn is coming while visibility was next to nothing. GPS route finding on cell phones usually requires an internet cell connection. An almost unknown feature of Google Maps is that one can download - ahead of time - local maps anywhere & save them on your smartphone. Then, even if there is no cell data connection, you can still use your phone's GPS & downloaded maps to find your way.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 08/20/2017 15:06 Comments || Top||

#8  I can run my inverter to a extension cord to my refrigerator. Your inverter better be a honking huge one &/or your fridge extremely low powered. I once bought a 2000W inverter to conceivably run a refrigerator off a car battery, then learned that properly sized cables from the battery to the inverter had to handle 200A or so of 12VDC to supply 15 A 120VAC to the fridge when it powers up. I would also need to buy several extra deep discharge batteries for my car to deliver all this power. It was far cheaper to buy a small generator. It just might be possible to power one of those very small ice making machines off a much smaller inverter. I still have that humungous 2000W inverter on the shelf.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 08/20/2017 15:13 Comments || Top||

#9  Great idea, especially for identification/medical reasons. I would think saving it in a format easily accessible.

Actually looked into a document scanner recently, about $60. Claimed searchable, usable formats.

A lot of what my wife grabbed is not scannable, and dated about that time.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 08/20/2017 15:13 Comments || Top||

#10  While I'm thinking of it, a Prius or similar hybrid vehicle has the capability to supply a lot of power to an voltage inverter. It will automatically start its engine to keep its main battery charged, and also has a 12VDC system. People in hurricane affected areas have reported running their entire house off of their Prius type vehicles parked outside, for days at a time. This also requires advance planning.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 08/20/2017 15:18 Comments || Top||

#11  Thank you AH9418; do have a table-top ice maker, but that was backup. Largest inverter I could find at the time.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 08/20/2017 15:20 Comments || Top||

#12  Good topic; perhaps our hurricane Rantburgers could assist with extended power outages?
Posted by: swksvolFF || 08/20/2017 15:32 Comments || Top||

#13  I've been scanning photos for years & already have most of my old family stuff on chips & hard drives. A digital camera skillfully used can make very good copies of old photos as long as they are visible. Drawback of using a camera is the resulting image tends to be skewed. Then the digital result can be edited to improve on the original, & occasionally to reduce the skew. I once located a family photo of mother & child taken in 1909 - not known to exist before 2006 & absolutely precious to their descendants. It was a hand colored large format photo, way too big for a scanner. I took it out of the frame, took it to someplace like Kinko's where they have giant color scanners, and made full size color copies of the original. Rolled up the copies & mailed them in tubes to the descendants to frame. Put the photo back into the frame. All this cost very little.
In 2006 I examined an old trunk passed down in the family since the Civil War. Found a folded, blackened document on heavy grade paper which appeared to have printing on it - illegible due to the darkening caused by moisture & age. I scanned this with a regular photo scanner, 24 bits of color & 1200 or 2400 dots per inch. Result was a very dark color image. Then I fiddled with it, every setting on the photo editing software, gamma, contrast, brightness, remove red, remove blue, etc. I didn't keep notes, but suddenly a very clear image popped out of the darkness - an original honorable discharge from the US Army dated July 1865. Had I not attempted this, the existence of this document would still be unknown.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 08/20/2017 15:34 Comments || Top||

#14  I have gotten fairly good results with my smart phone, just copying family photos under glass & inside frames, hanging on living room walls. A regular digital camera with a polarizing lens would work much better for this. You need to know about lighting, reflections and contrast to do this properly, practice will teach you. On summer afternoons I have taken framed photos outdoors, propped them up on a kitchen chair under open shade, copied them with a digital camera on a tripod with very good results. I visit relatives all over the country & have a large selection of photos I got this way.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 08/20/2017 15:38 Comments || Top||

#15  Dog tags for everyone. McMaster-Carr sells bulk quantities of s.s. ball chain & fasteners, enough to make dozens of necklaces & lanyards for whatever, far cheaper than regular retail outlets. I've gone through more than a 100 feet of ball chain over the years. My small LED flashlights all have s.s. ball chain lanyards, very easy to keep track of this way.
Many companies sell s.s. tags with whatever you want engraved on them.
There might be flash drives that can be worn indefinitely on these chains, containing one's medical history, maps, photos, whatever. I have tried a couple which stopped working correctly after being worn & showered for a year or so.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 08/20/2017 15:44 Comments || Top||

#16  Anguper Hupomosing and swksvolFF, two amazing individuals who have just convinced me of man's ability to survive nearly anything.
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/20/2017 16:37 Comments || Top||

#17  Got to keep plenty of non perishable food and water available. Have enough buckets on hand to grab and go toot sweet. Bug out bags to keep you surviving in your car. I keep one in my truck for me. If I get stuck at work, like an earthquake happened, I will walk home. Be prepared to batch it outside for a while. Have paper maps of the area, esp topo. Water resistant if possible or at least in zip lock bags. First aid, etc.

You have to think through the scenarios to kit up appropriately. GPS may work, but cellular may be worthless. Know the basics: survival, navigation, appropriate self defense in your situation, morale stuff. Work through it with your family. Situational and self awareness. Get cracking. Tempus Fugit.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 08/20/2017 17:42 Comments || Top||

#18  Dunno Besoeker, still took us 30 minutes from me getting home to getting the three of them on the road. About 15 minutes later I heard a call to evacuate a town on route 15 miles away. Felt sick, still do. Credit to my wife for having the guts to go it alone - and creepy trucker dude or whoever was already done for in my wife's mind before encounter.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 08/20/2017 21:32 Comments || Top||

#19  Maybe better than a thumb drive, a micro SD. Thing could be sown into clothing.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 08/20/2017 22:16 Comments || Top||

#20  Our emergency food supply is complicated due to the wife's wheat and barley allergy. She gets mild anaphylaxis when exposed.

Posted by: Silentbrick || 08/20/2017 23:02 Comments || Top||

#21  Rice?
Posted by: swksvolFF || 08/20/2017 23:07 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
29[untagged]
9Moslem Colonists
7Islamic State
4al-Shabaab (AQ)
2Taliban
2Commies
1Govt of Pakistain Proxies
1Govt of Pakistan
1Govt of Qatar (MB)
1Hezbollah
1Houthis
1Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters
1Jamaat-e-Ulema Islami
1Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (IS)
1Sublime Porte
1al-Nusra

Bookmark
E-Mail Me

The Classics
The O Club
Rantburg Store
The Bloids
The Never-ending Story
Thugburg
Gulf War I
The Way We Were
Bio

Merry-Go-Blog











On Sale now!


A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.

Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.

Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has dominated Mexico for six years.
Click here for more information

Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
Steve White
Seafarious
tu3031
badanov
sherry
ryuge
GolfBravoUSMC
Bright Pebbles
trailing wife
Gloria
Fred
Besoeker
Glenmore
Frank G
3dc
Skidmark

Two weeks of WOT
Sun 2017-08-20
  Kenya Says Police Killed Most Wanted Al Shabaab Commander
Sat 2017-08-19
  War crimes suspect Mahmoud Warfali arrested on Hafter’s orders
Fri 2017-08-18
  Finland attack – ‘Several people injured after multiple knifemen rampage through city of Turku' amid reports of shots fired
Thu 2017-08-17
  Breaking: Barcelona Van Attack on Pedestrians.
Wed 2017-08-16
  Tunisia says IS plot to seize territory foiled
Tue 2017-08-15
  Russia foils two ISIS suicide bombers who planned to blow themselves up on the subway in Moscow
Mon 2017-08-14
  At least 17 killed in attack on restaurant in Burkina Faso
Sun 2017-08-13
  IS executes its Legal Judge in Hawija for attempting to secede
Sat 2017-08-12
  30 Taliban insurgents killed as suicide vests explodes in Farah gathering
Fri 2017-08-11
  Theft and kidnapping ravages north Aleppo as Erdogan’s Syrian caliphate experiment fails
Thu 2017-08-10
  Gang convicted of sex offences against vulnerable girls in England
Wed 2017-08-09
  Police hunt BMW driver who mowed down six French soldiers in Paris
Tue 2017-08-08
  Kurdish authorities arrest 1700 Islamic State militants among displaced civilians
Mon 2017-08-07
  Taliban kill 30 villagers in Afghanistan's Sari Pul province
Sun 2017-08-06
  Governor of Galgaduud region shot dead in Somali capital

Better than the average link...



Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
34.206.64.143
Help keep the Burg running! Paypal:
WoT Operations (25)    WoT Background (16)    Non-WoT (12)    (0)    Politix (1)