Came across this article by Jim Mannion on iAfrica. com and it reports that the USA's troops are at their most un-prepared since the end of the Vietnam war. Comments welcome. Link to the general link below.

The news reported today that some divers and fishermen--as well as some other idiots--were randomly killing stingrays off the Australian coast in the wake of Steve Irwin's death from a Bullray. I fail to understand the mentality of people who can be so afraid of relatively harmless sea creatures that they can bludgeon them to death. Fair enough if you catch a ray on a hook and want skate wings for supper. Very cruel and needlessly savage if you kill for killing's sake. Next thing we know ...

As a hobby I buy and sell banknotes, mainly those from Africa. I want to sell some on e-bay but I'm not sure how to get the photos of notes onto e-bay. I am "yesterday's child" and don't even know how to use my new camera yet! Once I have mastered the little camera (actually semi-mastered would be more accurate), I then need to get my photos transferred to e-bay and into the sales column. Does e-bay help you with this? I sound like a real dork, I know, but when I ask my son he says: " I...

I remember as a little boy having a tin car made in Japan. This was the late fifties and Japanese products were not high on most people's want lists. We know where Japan stands today--its cameras, to name one example, being the best in the World. Toyota and Lexus are proud examples too, of how a nation seeks perfection in technology. To get to the point, the other day I looked at some of the electronic products I have in my home and it was quite a revelation, I can tell you: Most were made...

If you can imagine those nasty sharpened bamboo shoots that the Vietcong used in their traps during the war, then that is basically what the barb on a Bullray is like. This can be seen when studying the skeleton. The barb is about 9 inches long, more or less, on an adult ray and apart from imparting the nasty sting it is known for, is sharp enough to pierce skin given freak circumstances. And that is apparently what happened to Steve Irwin. It was a freak occurence that the barb pierced St...

I enjoyed Draginol's blog :" Advice for my daughter." Some good advice, Draginol, but we never know how they'll turn out do we? And we have to adapt according to circumstances. My 26 year old daughter (married), has always enjoyed walking and talking with her Dad. I enjoy her husband too. So, when they visit we cram in as much loving and sharing time as we can get. My son, who is 19, is rebellious and cynical. He is after all the baby of the family and his dad (me), is now 60. It is a h...

I blogged the other day and said that the Supernatural was anathema to me. I had a very frightening experience when I was younger and I denied any Supernatural acknowledgement after that. Here's my short story: I was 20 years old (this is almost 40 years ago!), and my girlfriend at the time became friendly with people who belonged to a Spiritualist church. I attended a service or two and found it quite unnatural---the seances and the belief in the after-life boggled my mind. Here was a chu...

I regard myself as a logical realist i.e. let me see the facts and if they don't add up I question them. If they are fact, witnessed by hundreds or thousands, and substantiated by honourable people, I believe them. That is why I do not believe in the supernatural , Uri Geller or plain bull****. Politicians skew the facts for their own political purposes. Others turn fact into fiction. The great (sic), President of Iran, I hear, has written to the Chancellor of Germany, Ms Merkel and told h...

I am a history buff and I hope that JU regulars like Dr. G. , Moderateman and others can help me with an intriguing question. My wife and I were watching "Battlefield Detectives" on Discovery and the subject was the Vietnam War. Some clips shown were of Walter Cronkite in 1968 in Saigon. This was after/during the Tet offensive. The newsreel comment ran 'roughly' like this: Cronkite's on the scene programme turned the tide of American feeling towards the war. Note: I do not use parentheses ...

I wrote this short play for the Aussies, Brits and South Africans among us. There are Americans who may appreciate it but I do sympathise with them: they do not play the "Glorious game". Scene: The Oval Players: Two umpires. Umpire 1: This is a cricket ball. Umpire 2: Yes, funny enough it is. Umpire 1: It has been scratched. Umpire 2: Yes, yes it has. Umpire 1: This looks fishy. Umpire 2: Yes, could have been a fish hook. Umpire 1: This is serious. These blokes coul...

I wrote this short play for the Aussies, Brits and South Africans among us. There are Americans who may appreciate it but I do sympathise with them: they do not play the "Glorious game". Scene: The Oval Players: Two umpires. Umpire 1: This is a cricket ball. Umpire 2: Yes, funny enough it is. Umpire 1: It has been scratched. Umpire 2: Yes, yes it has. Umpire 1: This looks fishy. Umpire 2: Yes, could have been a fish hook. Umpire 1: This is serious. These blokes coul...

I've been blogging since '99 when blogs were still fairly new. I've tried various blogs and still have a few around that I keep because of my hobbies and my various interests. I sell banknotes and write about automobiles and discuss British politics, and I like to inject a bit of humour now and then so I have a cynical, satirical blog too. The problem with many blogs is that there is limited readership probably because a): those sites are mismanaged or: we are being crowded out by too many ...

Today I got the feeling that small news was returning. That means that the networks are not beaming 24 hours of London Heathrow, or terror plots or planes being escorted by F-15s as they land. And Lebanon, of course, has been in the news for the past month--today it got a small look-in. By "small news" I mean the murder of Jon Benet Ramsay. It is, I know, quite important, but I wonder if you also feel that it does bring us back to earth after a bad month. I only have one thought on Karr, t...

Here is a mock private conversation between George Bush and Tony Blair. The meeting is comedic--the reality around it tragic. Can you find the Eagle and the Poodle? -'Yo, Blair.' -'Mr President. What's happening in Lebanon?' -' Hey, Tone, I told ya before that the Syrians were in on this. And that Abinejad.' -' I believe it's Ahmadinejad,' Mr President. -'Whatever, try some of these peanuts. Jimmy sent me some.' -'No thank you, Mr President, I'm on a diet.' -'Like Condi huh. That wom...

That's as far back as you can remember of course! I was thinking of movies the other day and realised that I had seen some great movies since I was a teenager in the sixties. So, I thought I'd ask the older Joeusers (and younger if you wish), to tell me the 3 movies that were the best . I do remember that Easy Rider was great but not one of my greats. So were Doctor Zhivago and American Graffiti. My very best were (to kick off the list): Driving Miss Daisy (I have a love affair with old Am...