Say what you will about the quality (or lack thereof) of government officials, I’m just exceedingly glad that the people who comment on news websites are not in charge. Holy crap, the stupid burns.
I suppose newspaper editors would have always had to deal with various deranged Letters to the Editor, but I was able to retain some faith in humanity because the editor would use some discretion to weed out the most absurd, crazy letters and so I’d only see the mostly-sane letters that they’d publish.
The Internet has served to enhance communication for people all over the world, and for that I’m pleased, but it’s also served to bring the crazies out of the woodwork. Some times it makes me want to disconnect and go hide.
That said, YouTube commenters are by far the worst, but I guess I’ve adapted to that and consider YouTube to be a video side with a side of fresh stupidity. I’ve not yet wrapped my mind around the same thing with news site comments.
Category: News
On Fireworks
The Tucson area is filled with tons of fireworks stands; even the grocery stores have displays of fireworks available for sale. There’s even a “discount fireworks” tent on a vacant lot next to a road I frequently drive on.
However, the actual use of retail fireworks (as opposed to the big stuff used by professionals in approved displays) is prohibited in the city of Tucson. Indeed, many cities and counties prohibit the use of fireworks, as they’re enormous fire risks. Same thing with all Federal lands within the state borders (e.g. National Forests, National Parks, BLM land, etc.).
Nevertheless, business as the fireworks stands appears to be going gangbusters as people stock up for the Fourth of July celebrations.
It’s 103F outside now with 16% humidity (it was 108F yesterday and 8%). Combined with it being incredibly hot and dry, there’s already several huge wildfires raging in the state, so firefighting resources are occupied with combating these fires. All we need now is some idiot to inadvertently set some new fire with his fireworks.
Yes, the Fourth of July is traditionally celebrated with fireworks, but buying (and presumably using) fireworks with the current weather and fire conditions seems like an enormously stupid thing to do.
I hope people are responsible, use their fireworks in appropriate areas, and have suitable means of quickly extinguishing any resulting fires quickly and completely.
Don’t Fuck With Gurkas
You’ll lose.
Update July 19 2011: It appears that the original link has gotten domain-hijacked. Link changed to a different site covering the same story.
US Diplomat in Pakistan shoots two, claims self-defense
An American diplomat in the Pakistani city of Lahore has shot and killed a Pakistani motorcycle rider and his pillion passenger, police say.
They say that the consular official fired his pistol in self-defence. US embassy officials confirmed that an American was involved.
The men were pursuing the American in his car when the incident happened.
[…]
Weapons were recovered from the bodies of the dead men.
I’m sure that this is going to do wonders for US-Pakistan relations.
Even if the shooting turns out to be perfectly justifiable and legal, there’s going to be a lot of drama.
Wasn’t this how a Stephen King novel started?
A US military base that carries out tests to protect troops against biological attacks was locked down on Wednesday to resolve a “serious concern”, officials have said.
[…]No information was given on the nature of the problem.
They also say that nobody was in danger, which is good, but it’d be nice to know what happened.
UK Police Searching for Smuggled Guns
Police in Britain are searching for guns smuggled from the US, according to the BBC.
The alleged smuggler, who is in custody in the US, is accused of smuggling 62 guns into the UK.
The last paragraph, however, stood out to me:
Former Scotland Yard counter-terrorism chief Andy Hayman said details of the case were “genuinely shocking”.
Writing in The Times, he said: “This makes a mockery of the stringent checks we all endure at US airports, such as removing our shoes and belts, having our toothpaste confiscated and all the other irritants.
“Steven Greenoe’s guns could just have easily been bombs.”
Mr. Hayman clearly is not familiar with how things are done in the US when it comes to firearms and air travel. There are clear rules and procedures for traveling with checked firearms. In general, the firearms must be unloaded, kept in a locked case, be in checked baggage (there are certain exceptions for police officers that allow them, in certain situations, to fly with weapons on their person), and be screened by the TSA.
Since Mr. Greenoe’s firearms were in his checked luggage, they were inaccessible to himself or others during the flight. This is in accordance with US travel laws, as well as my understanding of UK laws relating to traveling with firearms. Thus, Mr. Hayman’s comments about this incident making a “mockery” of the searches of passengers and their effects is not relevant. Don’t get me wrong, I think the current passenger screening policies are absurd and well deserving of mockery, they have nothing to do with the carriage of firearms in checked luggage. While his luggage may have contained bombs, one can hope that current screening methods for checked luggage would have detected them. In addition, bombs are inherently dangerous (for example, they could explode by themselves if mishandled or if constructed incorrectly), while disassembled firearms are simply inert pieces of metal. There’s quite a difference.
NPR on Maglite
NPR ran an article on the Maglite company.
They make damn good flashlights (though I wish they had a better tailcap-to-body contact other than two little, easily-bent springs, as well as a LED single-AAA Solitaire, which is a constant companion on my keychain even though it’s dim and flickery), and it’s good to see Mr. Maglica’s insistence on making their excellent products in the US.
I’ve got a few of their LED 2xAA Minis, an LED 2xD regular, and an old incandescent 2xAA Mini that I’ve upgraded with a third-party LED bulb. Excellent, all of them.
While they might not be as bright or lightweight as my Surefire or as waterproof as my Princeton Tec dive light (not that I expect ordinary, non-dive lights to be waterproof to more than a meter or two), they’re bright, rugged, and reliable, which is exactly what I want in a general-purpose flashlight.
Note to FTC: Much like Mr. Allen, I observe a pants-free lifestyle. Feel free to kiss my ass. For good measure, the TSA is invited to do the same.
Training in Arizona
The Arizona Citizens Defense League emailed me to let me know that they’re participating in the Train Me AZ initiative.
With the Constitutional Carry legislation taking effect today, people in Arizona are no longer required to have a permit to carry a concealed firearm anywhere it is legal to open carry (a permit is still required to carry in certain places, like establishments that serve alcohol). Since getting a permit to carry a concealed firearm required that one undergo some sort of training and that such training is not required for permitless concealed carry, the Train Me AZ initiative was created to encourage people to seek out training prior to carrying firearms.
While I fully support the right for individuals to carry firearms without permits, I also strongly encourage people to seek out training to ensure that they’re well-versed in handing their firearm safely and in the complexities of applicable law.
Whether you carry openly or concealed, with or without a permit, take a training course (or many!) from a reputable, qualified instructor. Your life and future could literally depend on it.
Look out for Black Helicopters
Not because they’re some evil government conspiracy, but because they might be medical helicopters with engine trouble that fall down and go boom in a residential neighborhood. This all happened today and was just a few blocks from my work.
Sadly, the three crew onboard were all killed. My sincerest condolences.
The First Rule of Wikileaks Club
…is that you do not talk about Wikileaks Club.
The second rule of Wikileaks Club is that do you NOT talk about Wikileaks Club.
No really. Wikileaks is a fantastic resource for whistleblowers, and has many interesting (and often damning and scandalous) postings. Many people take considerable personal risks when posting information to Wikileaks, as they feel the public truly has a right to know.
However, this particular alleged poster did something stupid. He talked about it:
The ex-hacker, Adrian Lamo, said Spc Manning “boasted” to him about passing the helicopter video to WikiLeaks.
Mr Lamo said Spc Manning claimed to have leaked video footage showing an air strike in Afghanistan in July 2009.
Mr. Lamo then informed the (unnamed in the article) authorities, who arrested Spc. Manning. I can’t really fault Lamo for reporting Manning, as he would likely be considered jointly liable (Conspiracy to reveal classified information?) if it was found out that he didn’t report Manning, particularly with Manning allegedly being so absurdly stupid to brag about posting on Wikileaks.
If one is going to post stuff to Wikileaks, do so privately (they offer a Tor service, for example) and then don’t talk about it. The entire purpose of leaking files securely and anonymously is defeated if you talk about it.