Stuff Fly Wants: October 2009

Hey, folks! Happy Wednesday Thursday! Today I'll catch up on most of the leftover stories from last week, and then do Father Time's favorite post of the month, the Stuff Fly Wants list.

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BBC: Vatican's Anglican decision is dramatic and historic; Times: 400,000 former Anglicans flock to Rome - More straggling articles about the Anglican/Roman Catholic news from last week.

Police Arrest 11 Iranian Revolutionary Guards (AP, BBC, Times) - Fascinating! The game is afoot.

French court convicts Church of Scientology of fraud (CNN, BBC, Guardian)

Report: Palestinians denied water by Israel [according to Amnesty International] (BBC, Times) - There's another rant about this below. Basically, I'd be willing to consider believing this if it was someone reputable; insteade, it's Amnesty International, which is a total joke, and blatantly anti-Semitic. It's not Israel's fault that the leaders of Amnesty International haven't seen the Pallywood video.

AP: NASA Sees Huge Fires Across Parts of N. Korea - The article claims that the Norks are burning in preparation for planting or something. If you ask me, they're probably trying to obscure something from the view of satellite imagery.

Fox: U.N. Report Demands Repeal of Counterterrorism Laws to Promote 'Gender Equality' - Following up on their epic win of giving a seat to the IOC, the UN is trying to use CT laws to promote gender equality. Would someone remind me why we fund this feckless, corrupt organization and allow it to take up perfectly good American land?

Fox: French Minister: Muslim Burqa 'Contrary' to French Values - As much as I respect religious toleration, there is a fundamental conflict if a group - ethnic, religious, ideological, whatever - refuses to accept and assimilate into the culture into which it injects itself. If a person wants to retain their own culture to the Nth degree, they probably shouldn't be trying to find a better life in a country that's so fundamentally different than their own. Allowing immigration is great, but the burden then falls on the immigrant to assimilate. All of my ancestors did it, and if I were moving to a different country with a fundamentally different culture, I'd expect to do it as well.

CNN: Afghanistan drug trail spanning the world

CNN: Ignored by society, Afghan dancing boys suffer centuries-old tradition

BBC: Why 'adolescent America' has to grow up - As annoying as this article is, it makes an interesting and, at the very least, thought-provoking point. If we as a culture continue to lend value to the garbage that comes out of Hollywood, or other elements of juvenile American culture that are exported, it's very difficult to claim any sort of cultural superiority.

BBC: UK navy forces to return to Iraq

BBC: US boosts Seychelles piracy fight

BBC: Australia coastal homes at risk [from climate change] - You know, a while ago, I downloaded and listened to a podcast from the Heritage Foundation entitled Policy Peril: Why Global Warming Policies Are More Dangerous Than Global Warming Itself. I remain a skeptic of so-called "global warming" and "climate change" - I think that humanity should be responsible stewards of the planet, but I also think that the "science" of "global warming"/"climate change" is anything but settled, and I don't think we should enact sweeping policy changes based on disputed information. Thus, ridiculous headlines such as this one really annoy me.

BBC: Audio slideshow: Soldier artist [in Afghanistan]

BBC: What defines your religion? - This was actually a really interesting piece. It's inspired by a case in the United Kingdom that discusses the basis for admission to a Jewish school, but it delves a bit deeper to discuss what actually defines a person's faith (but not much deeper - it's the BBC, after all).

Guardian: The 'good' Taliban - Islamists and army fight insurgents - I'm getting pretty sore with the Pakistani government, which seems to be perfectly willing to jeopardize their security and my security by continually making deals with terrorists who break their promises.

Guardian: Who are Syria's real friends?

Guardian: Runoff splits Afghanistan in three

Times: Human Rights Watch accused of anti-Israel bias - Part of the reason why I ignore just about any negative press that Israel gets anymore isn't that I offer unconditional support to Israel - in fact, I'm perfectly willing to call Israel out if it does something wrong. The problem is that anti-Israeli sentiment, some of it based on ignorance, some of it based on anti-Semitism, is so endemic in the media and in various international bodies, that the claims of groups like Human Rights Watch, or even the UN, have lost any trace of credibility. When they'll call Israel out for one or two alleged deaths of people who were probably militants to begin with, but they won't call out "Palestinians" for their verifiable and unapologetic rocket attacks against Israeli schools, there's not much credibility to grant.

Times: Missing Link? No Way - Apparently that "missing link" from a few months ago isn't a missing link at all - or, at the very least, it's being hotly disputed. See? Darwinians can jump to their own faith-based conclusions, too!

Times: Vatican gives Marx the thumbs up - And they were doing so well...

Times: First US official resigns over Afghanistan war

Times: Climate chief - give up meat to save the planet - See above. This is just silly. Comparing meat consumption to drinking and driving, in the name of "climate change"? If these are the kind of people who are pushing this global warming agenda, no wonder people are starting to question it.

Times: Gaddafi apologises for WPC Fletcher murder

Times: India Knight: The obese want to have their equality cake and eat it too - This is one of the best op-eds I've read in a long time, and I'm guessing that one reader of this blog in particular will agree with every word of it.

Wired: US largesse keeps African militaries rolling

Wired: Helicopters: Achilles' Heel of the Afghanistan War

Wired: Pak Taliban spooked by drones, insider account shows

ThreatPost: Report: Cyberterror Not a Credible Threat - I've thought this for years. The concept of "cyber-terrorism" is intriguing, and was really terrifying back in the late 1990's when nobody knew any better. The truth is that, while there's a moderate amount of damage that might be done by criminal or state-sponsored hackers, America's nuclear arsenal, nuclear power stations, electrical grids, and hospitals housing grandma aren't just accessible at the click of a mouse, if they're plugged into the Internet at all. Not that they're reputable as journalists, but the kids over at Cracked.com pointed this out a while ago in conjunction with Hollywood movies, which portray computers as a simple means of blowing stuff up and erasing people from the face of the planet. The truth is that terrorism requires bloodshed, and it requires people to be terrified when that bloodshed occurs. The hacking that China has been publicly accused of/proved to be doing over the last few years? Not terrorism. North Korea running DDoS attacks on South Korean networks? Not terrorism. Georgian and Estonian networks being attacked by (probably) Russian state-sponsored or criminal-sponsored hacking teams? Not terrorism. Obnoxious? Yes. Vandalism? Yes. Violent and terrifying? Not really.

UPI: Libya eyes new Russian jet fighters

AFP: Pentagon conducts secret war game on Afghan options: report

AFP: Boatload of Iranian arms seized off Yemen: reports

AFP: Medvedev unhappy with quality of Russian weapons

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Field Gear

British special forces style rucksack - £75.00

British SAS smock - £95.00

British Desert DPM trousers and shirt

MARPAT Desert Utilities - $67.98

Tiger Stripe Utilities - $39.98

Khaki Tru-Spec Tactical Response Uniform trousers (2) - $89.80

Sand Crye Precision Field Pants AC - $115.00

UDT/SEAL Team Swimmer Trunks (2) - $71.90

U.S. Army ACU tan sweat-wicking uniform T-shirts (3)

Under Armour Cold Gear

5.11 Tactical Polos (3) - $89.97

Rubbermaid 48 Gallon ActionPackers (2) - $69.99

TAD Gear Pathfinder Zip Hoodie - $117.70

Sony 8GB Walkman Video MP3 Player (black) - $119.95 (Amazon price $99.77)

Mini Cargo Pocket Organizer - $27.95 NEW

M9 Mag Pouch - $29.95 NEW

Bushmaster Deluxe Armorer's Kit - $180.95

FN FAL

Household Items

Union Jack - $8.09

Amazing Pasta Maker [click me] - $39.95

Fouled Anchor lapel pin

Walther PPK

Roman Mainz Gladius - $144

The Maxim Coffin Coffee Table - $3995.00

Pawleys Island Tri-Beam Hammock Stand - $140.00

Pawleys Island Beach Quilted Hammock - $199.99 (Amazon price $184.36)

Discipline poster - $19.95

book case

Clothing

Royal Marines T-Shirt - £10.96

More Cowbell T-Shirt - $20.00

Position Wanted: Pope T-Shirt - $12.99

Clan Cleland tartan kilt and kilt pin - $400.00 - $700.00

deer skin sporran

Books

Bravo Two Zero by Andy McNab - $7.99

Contact Zero by David Wolstencroft - $7.99

Entertainment

Battlestar Galactica: Season 4.5 - $49.98 (Amazon price $31.49

Best of Chris Isaak (CD & DVD) - $24.98 (Amazon price $22.99)

Kids in the Hall - Seasons 1, 2, 3, and 4 - $179.90 (Amazon price $155.98)

Gladiator Extended Edition - $35.98 (Amazon price $22.99)

Apocalypse Now - The Complete Dossier - $19.99 (Amazon price $13.99

Switchfoot - The Legend of Chin - $11.98

Stephanie Schneiderman - Live at Kung Fu Bakery - $15.98

Hootie & the Blowfish - The Best of 1993 Through 2003 - $11.98 (Amazon price $8.97)

Mystical Chants of Carmel by the Carmelite Monks - $18.95

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That's it for today. Check in tomorrow for what should be the last of the articles carried over from last week. Have a great Wednesday Thursday!