America's North Shore Journal » Archive
Blogging Update
New plug-in, called Post Teaser, by Jonathan Leighton. Post Teaser generates a preview or “teaser†of a post for the main, archive and category pages, with a link underneath to go to the full post page. It includes features to generate a word count, image count, and an estimated reading time. I took out the read time. Let me know what you think. I can vary the number of words on the main page, which is currently set to display 125. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Blogging
Bringing the Dead Home
UPDATE: From the D&C comment thread – As a funeral director, I can say this is a fabrication. I have been to airports many times picking up remains and I know how this procedure works. Caskets are shipped in airtrays (with a plywood bottom and cardboard box). One would never see an exposed casket. They do remove caskets from the planes on the conveyor belts (simply because of the height of the cargo bay to the ground) but they are then loaded onto a cart to be transported to the freight office. They may pull 3-4 carts at a time (like a train) but human remains are always hauled on a cart by themselves… never with other luggage. There is no way anyone could see a flag draped casket coming down … Read entire article »
Filed under: Commentary, Military, Original writing
Mourning Our Heroes
Kim Priestap, a member of the Wizbang gang, has lost a family member in Iraq. We salute the memory of Sgt.1st Class James Priestap and honor his service to our nation. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Blogging, Military, Obits, Other Bloggers
But, Seriously, Folks
Why doesn’t someone write a spam filter that recognizes that the e-mail is written in non-western characters, like Russian? … Read entire article »
Filed under: Blogging
Scared and Concerned
I’m sitting here, as scared and concerned as I have been in a very long time. I went to the doctor’s this morning to find out why my back, left thoracic, was spasming so badly so often. I’m put it off for nearly a year but the lovely wife insisted. Exam, sent for x-rays. X-rays came back. Multi level degenerative disc disease in the thoracic spine. And “something” on a vertebrae that the radiologist would like examined again in 3-6 months. The nurse practioner that I saw says it’s arthritis. Well, if it’s arthritis, the radiologist would have said that. As for the “something”, it’s probably a blood vessel not quite where it belongs. OK, so I looked up the symptoms and some of the things I’ve laid off to being an old(er) man could be … Read entire article »
Filed under: Me and Mine
Canadian Forces’ ‘pinup girl’
Hamilton Spectator Don’t let the blond hair, blue eyes and dazzling white smile fool you. Corporal Shannon Fretter of Springhill, N.S. is as hardcore as any grizzled fighting man in the Canadian Forces. Fretter, a medic who has been stationed with troops during the heaviest fighting in Panjwaii district, was on her way to Kandahar Air Field yesterday for a couple of days of downtime. “I just want to smell like a girl again,” she lamented, pulling at a strand of hair sticking out from under her tuque. Fretter, 32, is a mother of five and has a husband waiting at home in Petawawa, Ont. She has become a popular photo subject for members of the Afghan National Army, who are forever begging her to pose for pictures with them. “It’s the blond hair and blue … Read entire article »
Filed under: Afghanistan, Military, Our Allies, Our Best: Military Women, War on Terror
Operation Medusa
In September, NATO and the ISAF launched a campaign to remove the Taliban from Panjwayi and Zhari districts, Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. You never heard about it. For the ten days from September 2 to September 12, 2006, Afghan and allied forces moved in a pincer movement to reoccupy the region and open Highway 1 to traffic again. You never heard about it. At least 517 Taliban and other terrorists were killed. You never heard about it. It was called Operation Medusa. The Canadians ran it, losing 15. You never heard about it. See September 2006 Terrorist Death Watch for the cites. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Afghanistan, Terrorist Death Watch, War on Terror
Texans Talk Different
Houston Chronicle “People could not believe that we could still speak German,” said Behrend, a 78-year-old fourth-generation Texan. “They invited their neighbors to hear us speak because they were so amazed by it, and so were their neighbors. They thought we spoke like their grandparents.” The couple, married 60 years in June, still speak the language of their parents and grandparents when they’re alone, away from “the Americans,” as they still sometimes call non-German speakers. They speak German with friends at card games or social events. But their children never learned to speak fluently. The Behrends know that when they go, the language will likely die with them. It’s the same scenario with German families across the state, where only as many as 10,000 speakers of the Texas dialect survive in a state that … Read entire article »
Filed under: Immigration, Odd News
Coming Soon: Future Posts
- Declaration of War 1812 (in 132 days)
- USS President vs HMS Belvidera (in 137 days)
- General Hull Invades Canada (in 156 days)
- First Battle of Sacketts Harbor (in 163 days)
On Y!CN
- Radioactive Gravel from Japanese Nuke Disaster Used in Buildings
- Fuel Supplies Reach Nome
- Fuel Convoy Reaches Nome
- Russians Sail to Rescue of Ice Bound Alaska Community
- Pope Embraces Anglicans in U.S. with New Ordinariate
- Nebraska Nuke Plant Placed on Special Inspection Status
- Radioactive Water Leaks at Japanese Nuke Site
- Japan Damaged Nuke Plants Still Not Under Control
Social Links
Do Not Abandon Iraq
November 30th, 2006 | Comments Off
The opinions that pundits and politicians alike are voicing about Iraq these days concern me. Iraq has little history with democracy. For the most of the last two generations it was governed by a criminal gang that deliberately played upon the fears and loyalties of the Iraqi people to stay in power. Fourteen million or so Iraqis voted to form the present government. They have voted on provincial and local governments as well. They appear to be convinced that a popularly elected government will work in their country. The country is largely peaceful, with the violence centered around Baghdad and its surrounding provinces. The terrorists engaged in the violence have demonstrated the ability to create large numbers of dead and horrific images for the media to capture. To deal with this violence, and to … Read entire article »
Filed under: Commentary, Iraq, Original writing, War on Terror