AMF: Going Through the Motions

Fox: Pennsylvania Union Leader Criticized for Threatening Legal Action Over Boy Scout's Volunteerism

CNN: North Koreans escape to cold reality - Survival requires actual work? Communism and socialism (and the media) promote unrealistic perceptions of real life? Fascinating.

BBC: Alcohol 'protects men's hearts' - Father Time is the helathiest man alive.

BBC: Egypt recalls Algerian envoy as football row deepens - A diplomatic war, vandalism, and violence. Over soccer. Unreal.

Times: Karzai signals end for private security firms - With corrupt and inept police and military personnel? Good call for politics, bad call for the actual security that's necessary to win the war and stabilize the country.

Times: Brain-eating tribe helps mad cow research - Ha!

Times: Go home (early) and multiply, bankers are told - Japan has such huge issues with population collapse that some businesses are giving their employees additional family time, in order that they might breed like we all hope Mighty Mo and the Man of Steel will do soon.

Times: Ancient Greek worshippers showed inclination towards the Sun

Times: EU to seek special status at UN - First the International Olympic Committee, now the EU? Earth to the United Nations: these aren't countries. What's next, General Assembly seats for Greenpeace, the Arab League, and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps?

UPI: Arabs go for air power to counter Iran

AFP: Afghan village armies fight the Taliban - The people in Afghanistan and Pakistan hate the Taliban. This war can be won, but President Obama needs to grow a backbone, and President Karzai needs to destroy corruption.

Wired Danger Room: In Nod to Global Warming, Navy Prepares for Ice-Free Arctic - The comments are priceless, holding the Wired blogger accountable for being a moron.

Just for Fun: Project Rho - Do you have nerdy tendencies? You may enjoy this website.

Have a great weekend, folks.

Fly Report: 20th November 2009

Good morning. I ain't had a drop of liquor since I quit singin' wit' ABBA.

It's 11° Centigrade and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 55° Fahrenheit with sunshine.

A barrel of oil is trading at $77.01. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 10,332.44. The exchange rate is $1.67 for £1, or £0.60 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is lame. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is new, and it's awesome.

Today's scripture reading is Genesis 13. The Fly is currently reading The Royal Marines: From Sea Soldiers to a Special Force by Julian Thompson and Confessions by Augustine.

I listen through your ears, and through your eyes I can see.

Featuring Mono Lake

News.

Fox: U.K. Ex-Soldier Faces 5 Years in Jail for Turning in Discarded Gun - Leave it to the British government to punish a former soldier for trying to obey the law.

CNN: U.S., China compete in Africa

Australia mulls Scientology probe (BBC, Times) - Australia could become the second country to investigate and/or prosecute the Church of Scientology under criminal laws, following France's lead a few weeks ago.

BBC: Soviet lessons - Echoes for Nato in the Soviet exit from Afghanistan - You know, it's getting really annoying to read all of the headlines attempting to compare Afghanistan (and previously Iraq) with Vietnam, and with the Soviet experience in Afghanistan. Much love to Father Time, but the sooner the Baby Boomers die out (and thus, the living memory of the Vietnam War with them), the better off American national security will be. (It would also help with entitlement reform, but that's another problem altogether.

BBC: Afghans 'blame poverty for war'

BBC: Obama 'close' to Afghan decision - Sure he is. Didn't they say that about three months ago?

BBC: Verbal war over Egypt-Algeria tie - Conflict over soccer. Unbelievable.

Times: French village to honour veteran piper's bravery

Times: Which Queen? Which speech? Who cares? - The point that this article makes is pretty profound, and pretty legitimate: people don't care enough about politics to pay attention, for a variety of reasons. That's a critical weakness for any society, because when people don't care, they don't notice when bad things start happening.

AFP: Web security company warns of 'cyber arms race' - Yawn.

UPI: Rejavi: Iran overhauls security service - Maryam Rajavi is the head of the MEK, and what she says carries a lot of weight.

Michael Yon: FYI: Paperwork for Afghanistan Media Embed

Satellite image of the day: Mono Lake. I used to pass by Mono Lake (which is featured in today's Astronomy Picture of the Day) on my way from Zoo Station to Hometown, and it's really a beautiful area. Please, do yourself a favor and look at both the APOD picture, and the satellite image.

Have a great Wednesday Thursday - thanks, Sam-Wise!

Fly Report: 19th October 2009

Good morning. The best way to start your day is with a cuppa, and an English muffin with marmalade. It's awesome.

It's 11° Centigrade and fair in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 48° Fahrenheit with sunshine.

A barrel of oil is trading at $78.98. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 10,426.31. The exchange rate is $1.67 for £1, or £0.60 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is awesome. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Genesis 12. The Fly is currently reading The Royal Marines: From Sea Soldiers to a Special Force by Julian Thompson and Confessions by Augustine.

A man builds a city, with banks and cathedrals.

A Conversation with MILF Force One

Happy, happy, joy, joy; happy, happy, joy, joy; happy, happy, joy, joy; happy, happy, joy, joy; happy, happy, joy, joy; happy, happy, joy, joy; happy, happy, joy, joy, joy! Can anyone tell me what that's from?

AskMen.com: 5 Drinks Your Father Drank

AP: Kenyans Recruited to Fight in Somali Civil War

Qaddafi to Italian Women: Convert (Fox, Guardian)

CNN: Scientist reveals life as a prostitute

CNN: Zakaria: No one thinks hikers are spies - I disagree with Zakaria on a few points, but his perspective on these issues is an interesting one.

CNN: Disarming the Velvet Revolution

BBC: Age of cyber warfare is 'dawning' - Yawn.

BBC: Fears al-Qaeda is bound for Mali's fabled desert town [Timbuktu]

Guardian: Miliband calls for majority of Taliban to be reintegrated into Afghan society - Good luck with that, Dave.

Guardian: Speed cameras - the bigger picture - Everyone should read this article.

Guardian: Gallery: Hippopotamuses attack a crocodile on the Nile

Times: British Army Tells Soldiers to Bribe Taliban With 'Bags of Gold'

Times: Muslim teachers and students reject Darwin - To some, this is the ultimate outrage. To me, it's a non-issue. Ardent Darwinians are every bit as closed-minded and dogmatic as rabid Creationists, so the fact that Islamists reject Darwin is immaterial to me.

Times: Scramble for survival: the helicopter medics who risk death to save others

Times: Photo Gallery: Afghanistan

AFP: Post-Saddam Iraq demands right to nuclear power

AFP: N. Korea unlikely to give up nuclear weapons: US expert - The irony is that this guy gets paid to say something that I could have told the AFP for free.

AFP: Russia to boost naval presence: Medvedev - This is precisely what the world needs: more broken-down Russian naval garbage clogging major waterways.

AFP: Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine create joint brigade: ministry - Good for them! The European "battle groups" and the "Franco-German" brigades are sort of a joke, really, but I think this has the potential to be a very good thing, particularly with Poland and Lithuania as NATO members, and Ukraine was a NATO hopeful that won't be allowed in due to everyone's pants-wetting collective fear of a resurgent Russia.

UPI: Iran warns it may produce S-300 system - Out of what? Rocks and sand? Iran is not Russia. Making AK-47 rifles is one thing, making an S-300 missile system that even the Russians can't reliably make work is quite another. Who do they think they're kidding?

Commentary (Michael Totten): Damascus Reverts to Form

Starship Modeler: USS Poseidon - For anyone who saw and enjoyed J.J. Abrams' Star Trek movie a few months back; and for anyone who, like me, thought the Kelvin was really cool, Starship Modeler has an original series version of the Kelvin. It's cool. If you're a Trek fan, go check it out.

And, just for grins, a conversation between me and MILF Force One, a girl I used to hang out with in college. This was by text Sunday morning, when I was still in bed and she was going grocery shopping after her bartending shift. (She lives on the West Coast, so she's three hours behind my Van Diemen's Station time zone.)

MILF Force One: Where's my early morning shopping buddy?
The Fly: Totally. I'm like a UAV pilot, providing support by remote.
MILF Force One: You're the best. So what aisle are the bagels on?
The Fly: Bagels are on the bread aisle. This is so easy! Ask me another one!
MILF Force One: LOL You made my night!

Sometimes, you just have to sit back and enjoy the simple things in life. Until they show up, have a great Wednesday, folks.

Fly Report: 18th November 2009

Good morning. I was totally mean to Pixley.

It's 8° Centigrade and rainy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 50° Fahrenheit with sunshine.

A barrel of oil is trading at $79.43. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 10,437.42. The exchange rate is $1.68 for £1, or £0.60 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is tolerable. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Genesis 11. The Fly is currently reading The Royal Marines: From Sea Soldiers to a Special Force by Julian Thompson and Confessions by Augustine.

Get down off your holy cloud, always.

Unrelated: Germans Love David Hasselhoff

And now, the news!

Gaddafi preaches to Rome beauties (BBC, Times) - You know what? I can usually figure out where Crazy Uncle Moammar is going with his outlandish stunts, but this is... Yeah. I have nothing.

Belle de Jour revealed as research scientist Dr Brooke Magnanti (BBC, Guardian, Times) - What's not to like? Whores, science, and college. Feel-good story of the week.

[Obama] Warning over Copenhagen deal (Guardian, Times) - The One cares about climate change, really, he totally does. Keep voting for him, hippies!

Iran ‘running out of time’ over uranium deal - President Medvedev offers support for US with warning that Russia might consider sanctions if UN-brokered plan is ignored (Times, AFP)

AskMen.com: 7 Pick-Up Rules Women Want Men to Know

CNN: Can justice halt Taliban?

CNN: Al Qaeda accuses Blackwater

BBC: Greenpeace 'to put humans first' - It's about time, hippies!

BBC: Algeria secures Egyptian embassy - Soccer hooliganism, in North Africa? Perish the thought.

BBC: Just what is [British] officer material?

Guardian: Are we too selfish to survive? - A very, very interesting concept. Worth reading.

Guardian: Rowan Williams: politicians should question focus on economic growth - Rowan Williams is a jackass, and I'm saying that as a devout Anglican. He's an embarrassment to Anglicanism.

Times: Obama still searching for foreign success - Maybe he'd find it if he didn't spend all of his time bowing to Saudi kings and Japanese emperors.

Times: Bombed and shot yet still the Taliban come

Times: Italy calls for a single European Army - "Franco Frattini, Italy's Foreign Minister, said that without a common foreign policy and army Europe would be irrelevant" - Yeah, because a unified army, would, you know, totally fix Europe being a disunited basket case. Earth to Europe: you're tons of little countries, not one big one! Stop pretending!

Times: Royal Mail: Britain’s worst company

AFP: All eyes on Murdoch as newspapers ponder digital future

AFP: Obama eyes compromise strategy on Afghanistan

UPI: Outside View: The Soviets' Afghan Lessons

Denver Post (via Michael Totten): Photographer Collection: David Guttenfelder in Afghanistan Photos

Commentary (Michael Totten): The Show Needn't Go On

Angel's Gate Art: Welcome to Fake Iraq

Eli Carling: Mojave Desert

Okay, so remember this? Well, it happened again. Same company, same gig, same everything. It looked like I was going to get hired, and then it fell through, again. Brutal.

That's it for today, folks. Have a great Tuesday!

Fly Report: 17th November 2009

Good morning. In some countries, listening to Sara Bareilles' "Love Song" is considered torture. America is one of those countries.

It's 9° Centigrade and rainy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 55° Fahrenheit with sunshine.

A barrel of oil is trading at $78.21. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 10,406.96. The exchange rate is $1.68 for £1, or £0.60 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is a little bizarre. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Genesis 11. The Fly is currently reading The Royal Marines: From Sea Soldiers to a Special Force by Julian Thompson and Confessions by Augustine.

I know a boy, a boy called Trampoline, you know what I mean?

A Painful Monday Morning

I get the distinct impression that today is going to be painful.

Army Dog Found After 14 Months Lost in Afghanistan (AP, BBC, Times) - This is why black labs are the best dogs in the world. Seriously. Amazing.

US envoy opposed to Afghan surge (BBC, Guardian, Times) - You've gotta hand it to Secretary Clinton for doing a bangup job of keeping her folks in line over at the State Department. The US ambassador to Afghanistan doesn't support increased troop levels, and was allowed to admit that? Shameful.

Fox: Cuba Mandates 'Extreme' Cuts to Solve Energy Crisis

CNN: Germany to send troops for Afghanistan reconstruction

CNN: Top al Qaeda leader blames Blackwater for Peshawar blasts

BBC: Photos 'show Iran arms-ship link'

BBC: Syria urges French Mid-East role

BBC: Algerian 'terror gang' broken up

BBC: Angolan 'mafia targets Chinese'

Guardian: New history battle rages in Europe

Guardian: DNA database: Acid test

Guardian: Protecting Kensington, from Kandahar?

Times: Taleban winning ground in propaganda war

Times: Iran warns Saudi Arabia over attacks

Times: China and India in 'scramble for Africa', China and India compete in new cold war

Times: It's not about health, it's about who runs the US

Times: Battle of the Baghdad Bulge - This article is really disconcerting, and demonstrates an overall decline in discipline in the Army - not the Marine Corps, not the Navy, just the Army (the Air Force has always been a little goofy) - in the last couple of decades.

Financial Times: Obama to press China on Afghanistan - Good luck on that, The One!

AFP: Medvedev promises new missiles for Russian army - Maybe these ones will actually work!

AFP: Pentagon to focus on IED threat in Afghanistan: Gates

UPI: China tightens its grip on Africa

Instructables: How to Grow Flowers on a Military Base in Iraq

Great hooglie mooglie, am I tired.

Fly Report: 16th November 2009

Good morning. My mule don't like people laughin'... Gets the crazy idea you're laughin' at him.

It's 11° Centigrade and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 46° Fahrenheit with sunshine.

A barrel of oil is trading at $76.79. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 10,270.47. The exchange rate is $1.67 for £1, or £0.60 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is lame. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Genesis 11. The Fly is currently reading The Royal Marines: From Sea Soldiers to a Special Force by Julian Thompson and Confessions by Augustine.

See the oil fields at first light.

AMF: Rainy Day Recess

Some of you may know that my area of Virginia - well, basically, like half of the Atlantic coast - got hit by a pretty big storm last night. The language of "like a Category 1 Hurricane" is being thrown around, as the high tides, flooding, and strong winds were in some ways equivalent to those in a hurricane. They sent us home from work yesterday morning, so I spent most of yesterday at Van Diemen's Station. You'd think that would result in a fantastic blog post.

You would be wrong.

Here's a list of what I did yesterday, instead of writing up a blog post for yesterday's news:

ate leftover Tuna Helper

drank beer from the Pacific Northwest, and tea

watched A Fistful of Dollars from start to finish, without my limping laptop to distract me

chatted on Facebook with friends (my power didn't even start blinking until I'd gone to bed)

read a chapter from Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré

went to bed to the sound of unusually clear reception from the Voice of Justice (Iran), without actually perceiving much of it

So, that's it for today. Check in Monday for more, and have a great weekend.

Fly Report: 13th November 2009

Good morning. It's gonn' rain!

It's 9° Centigrade and partly cloudy in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 38° Fahrenheit with sunshine.

A barrel of oil is trading at $77.05. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 10,197.47. The exchange rate is $1.65 for £1, or £0.60 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is beautiful. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Genesis 11. The Fly is currently reading The Royal Marines: From Sea Soldiers to a Special Force by Julian Thompson and Confessions by Augustine.

After the flood, all the colors came out.

Jeremy Clarkson Rules

Afghanistan:

Sources: Obama mulls 4 Afghan options (CNN, AFP) - President Obama's only option should be to do exactly what the generals tell him. He has no experience, at anything, so this nonsensical "mulling" from someone who knows about a fraction of what *I* know about foreign policy is just ridiculous.

Times: US wants more Nato troops for new surge; BBC: Obama in Afghan troop level talks - Send the amount of troops that General McChrystal asks for. Do it. Man up.

BBC: Can Taliban fighters be persuaded to switch sides?

Everything Else:

Father of Kalashnikov celebrates 90th birthday (CNN, Times) - Apparently, Mikhail Kalashnikov still spends most of his days at work, developing new lines of weapons. I have no clue whether those designs actually get produced; and the AK-47, AKM, AK-74, AK-101, AK-103, and AK-107 certainly have bittersweet histories. That having been said, Mikhail Kalashnikov was a total badass in the 1940's, and he's a total badass now.

AP: U.S. Accuses Iran of Sending Weapons to Syria

AP: Israel Shows Documents It Says Link Iran to Arms

CNN: Iran urges Yemen's neighbors to stay out of rebellion

CNN: Jihad and juice inside Libya's terror jail

Guardian: The pornography of grief - and the devalued poignancy of the poppy - It's about British politics, but it's worth reading, because it makes some biting points of British culture that certainly spill over into all areas of Western culture.

Times: Which will come out on top: paper or gold? - An article about the real value of gold, versus the subjective value of paper currency. I'm not a gold standard advocate like the Ron Paul fanatics, but I think that America and other Western countries really need to get a handle on the unlimited printing of cash without any real value to back it up.

Times: Fuel duty could be bad for the planet

Jeremy Clarkson: I've got a solution for the rainforest: napalm the lot, Get me a rope before Mandelson wipes us all out - I'm quickly growing to love Jeremy Clarkson. Both of these editorials are poignant and hilarious. Go. Read. Enjoy.

Fly Report: 12th November 2009

Good morning. I will be your safety.

It's 10° Centigrade and wind and light rain in Kirkwall. In Cody, the forecast calls for a high of 38° Fahrenheit with rain and snow.

A barrel of oil is trading at $78.60. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 10,291.26. The exchange rate is $1.67 for £1, or £0.60 for $1.

Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is lame. The picture at the Orkneyjar Photoblog is not new.

Today's scripture reading is Genesis 10. The Fly is currently reading The Royal Marines: From Sea Soldiers to a Special Force by Julian Thompson and Confessions by Augustine.

Come on, love - here she come now.