StoneSoup

Give it a couple of minutes, for a surprising finish:

 

http://www.fark.com/vidplayer/8398544

 

Cheers!

SS

Workman nearly falls to his death after child cuts rope because drilling ‘disturbed his cartoon TV show’

 

 

 

 

A workman nearly plummeted to his death after a child cut the ropes on his harness because the noisy work was interrupting his TV show.

 

Liu Mai was using a drill on the side of the apartment building earlier this week in Guizhou, China 80ft off the ground when 10-year-old Tang Chu took a knife to his ropes, almost causing his death.

 

Mr Liu said: ‘I was using an electric drill to fit security lights to the outside of the building when I felt my safety rope shaking. I looked up to see what was wrong.

 

‘Then I saw the boy cutting the rope with a knife. I shouted at him to stop but he didn’t listen and soon after, the rope was broken. I was petrified.’

 

A spokesman from the local fire service said the boy acted on impulse when the drilling made it difficult for him to hear his cartoons.

 

http://metro.co.uk/2...v-show-4850320/

Cav -

 

I think that you misunderstood the announcement. Petrol prices went DOWN.

 

See: http://www.bangkokpo...gy-price-pledge

 

Cheers!

SS

The Only American Fighting for Ukraine Dies in Battle

 

Mark Gregory Paslawsky, the sole American fighting on the Ukrainian side of the war in the east of the country, died from injuries sustained in battle in the town of Ilovaysk on Tuesday.

 

Known by the codename "Franko," the 55-year-old investment banker was a Manhattan native, and had a slight limp and a pronounced New York accent, making him seem an unlikely candidate for a soldier in an eastern European war that has already claimed more than 2,000 lives.

 

Mark Paslawsky (second from right) with the men of his unit on guard duty at the television tower in Artyomovsk, Donetsk Region, in July.

 

 

This guy graduated from West Point in 1981 - three years after I did. 'Died fighting as a private in a Ukranian volunteer battalion.

 

I read recently about an American Volunteer Group that some vets are trying to form, to fight agaisnt ISIS in Iraqi Kurdistan.

 

Bottom line: The US has become so weak and disengaged on the world stage that individual American citizens are stepping up to try to fill the void.

 

Can't say that they are making rational choices, or wise decisions. But - I will say this: they aren't just "talking the talk" - they are indeed "walking the walk".

 

Cheers!

SS

http://www.bangkokpo...ucket-challenge

 

US envoys banned from 'ice bucket'

WASHINGTON - It is the charity stunt that has got everyone from billionaires to pop stars and even former US presidents drenched by buckets of freezing water.

 

But don't expect American diplomats to get involved in the fast-growing Ice Bucket Challenge -- in support of Lou Gehrig's disease research -- any time soon.

 

The State Department has issued an internal telegram forbidding US ambassadors and other high-profile foreign service officers from participating in the forfeit, in which people either pledge $100 to ALS research or record themselves getting soaked by frigid water, then post it online and challenge others to do the same.

 

"It's not just about ambassadors. Federal government ethics rules prevent us from using our public offices, such as -- high public offices such as ambassadors -- for private gain, no matter how worthy the cause is," State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said Thursday.

 

"For that reason, high-ranking State Department officials are unfortunately unable to participate in the ice bucket challenge."

 

 

 

Guess who didn't get the message?????

 

http://bangkok.cocon...re-watery-rites

 

 

Queen of the lemmings ........

 

Cheers!

SS

any chance it it could be a look alike with a entourage?

 

Decide for yourself:

 

High costs of Congressional food and drink on taxpayer dough raising questions

 

U.S. House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy dropped $2,500 for 1 day of food at Tex-Mex joint Qdoba, a review of Congressional spending reports showed.

 

http://www.nydailyne...ticle-1.1300662

 

Is that maybe a local franchise name for a "Hooters" bordello restaurant ?

 

Cheers!

SS

Samphran Elephant Park - http://www.elephantshow.com/eng/home.htm

 

I went back in 2000 - It had orchid garden, butterfly enclosure, crocodiles, elephant polo - "the works".

 

Cheers!

SS

Cell phone thief becomes famous - due to his name : http://en.khaosod.co...wsid=1407476351

 

Meet: Mr. "Haeng Jobs Happy Life Make Life Better"

 

Image of Thai ID card:

 

Crazy 99 - - Look at this video, and tell me - it is REALLY your position that Israel should simply "suck it up," and suffer thousands of rockets falling on its citizens, with no effort to fight back, and suppress the launch sites, simply because Hamas insists on firing exclusively from densely poulated civilian areas?

 

Here is a good expose of the typical Hamas fakery going on to produce staged propaganda: http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2014/08/breaking-sundays-gaza-unwra-school-bombing-was-completely-staged/

25 Year Ago - Wendy James

 

Here is an interesting list of questions for foreign media representatives reporting from Gaza - actually addressed to them by name:

 

Eyeless in Gaza: 40 questions for the media

Professor David Bernstein posts the “40 questions for the international media in Gaza†posed by Saul O. at Harry’s Place. Professor Bernstein writes for the Volokh Conspiracy, now hosted by the Washington Post. The questions posted by Bernstein are properly addressed to the Washington Post itself, as well as to the Wall Street Journal, FOX News and CNN and the rest of the American media.

In the case of the Washington Post, the questions would be addressed to Sudarsan Raghavan et al. In the case of the Journal, the questions would be addressed to Nick Casey and Tamer El-Ghobashy. At FOX News they would be addressed to Conor Powell. At CNN they would be addressed to Karl Penhaul. Each of these gentlemen reports from Gaza. But the questions apply equally to the Post’s and the Journal’s editors and the anchors/producers/management of CNN and FOX. They are all aware of the facts and the issues and, so far as I am aware, have said nothing, as though there is no issue.

Some of the questions are predicated on assumptions that may be arguable, but most of the questions are based on solidly sourced reports and deserving of answers. Here are the questions posed in their entirety verbatim:

1. Have you or any of your colleagues been intimidated by Hamas?

2. Do you feel restricted in your ability to ‘say what you see’ in Gaza?

3. How do you feel about the Spanish journalist who said Hamas would kill any journalist if they filmed rocket fire?

4. Has Hamas pressured you to delete anything you have published?

5. Has Hamas ever threatened to take your phone, laptop or camera?

6. Has Hamas ever taken the phone, laptop or camera of a colleague in Gaza?

7. Have you seen Hamas fighters in Gaza?

8. If yes, why have you not directly reported Hamas fighting activity when you are eye-witnesses in Gaza, but rather indirectly reported about what the IDF says they Hamas has done?

9. Are you scared to publish photos of Hamas operatives on your Twitter page, or broadcast images of Hamas fighting and aggression on your news channel?

10. Have you published any photos of terrorists launching rockets in Gaza? If so, are these images being turned down by your newspaper or broadcaster?

11. Have you thought of interviewing the traumatised residents of southern Israel?

12. When Israeli authorities say that most of the dead in Gaza are terrorists, and Hamas says most of the dead in Gaza are civilians, how do you differentiate?

13. When Hamas Health Ministry statistics contradict Hamas’ own propaganda and reveal that mostly men of fighting age have died so far in Gaza, does it give you pause for thought?

14. Is an underage armed terrorist still counted as a terrorist or a child when killed? Or both? Do you explain to your readers how this is possible?

15. Have you put to Hamas spokespersons that firing rockets from civilian areas in a war situation will draw return fire and lead to the death of civilians?

16. Nick Casey of the Wall Street Journal tweeted: “you have to wonder with the shelling, how patients at Shifa hospital feel as Hamas uses it as a safe place to see media.†Never mind wondering; did you ask any patients how they feel?

17. And how do you feel about the fact that Casey subsequently deleted his tweet?

18. Russia Today journalist Harry Fear mentioned rocket-launching sites near his hotel. Have you noticed any terrorists or terror bases near your hotel?

19. How do you feel about Fear’s expulsion from Gaza, for tweeting about the rocket launches from civilian areas? Are you worried that you might also be expelled from Gaza?

20. Did you see any Hamas terror personnel inside Al-Shifa hospital?

21. Have you interviewed a Hamas spokesperson inside Al-Shifa?

22. Have you seen any rocket-launching sites in or around the vicinity of a hospital?

23. Have you interviewed hospital staff or patients as to how they feel about their buildings being used for terror activity?

24. Hamas’ command and control bunker is underneath Al Shifa hospital. Is this worth reporting? Have you asked to gain access to it, so you can interview Hamas commanders?

25. French newspaper Liberation reported that Hamas’ Al Qassam offices are next to the emergency room at Shifa hospital, before deleting the article. Was the reporter right to delete the article, and will the information appear in the media at some point still?

26. When the missile hit Al-Shati hospital where children were killed, did you see Hamas operatives collecting the debris of the fallen Palestinian rocket, as Gabriel Barbati reported? Did Barbati pick up on something you missed?

27. Barbati prefaced his tweet by writing “Out of Gaza, far from Hamas retaliation.†Will you also report differently about Gaza when you are out of Gaza, far from Hamas retaliation?

28. Can live journalism by reporters who are scared of retaliation from the authorities they are reporting about really count as pure journalism, or is journalism in that context fundamentally compromised?

29. Have you seen or heard evidence of Hamas using civilians as human shields, by forcing or “encouraging†them to stay inside or enter into a building that has received a knock on the roof?

30. Have you seen or heard evidence of Hamas storing weapons inside schools, houses, flats, mosques or hospitals?

31. Have you interviewed Gazan residents to find out if they have – or know someone who has – a tunnel dug underneath their house? How do they feel about this?

32. Have you tried to interview any of the parents of the 160 Palestinian children who died building the terror tunnels?

33. Have you asked Hamas spokespersons why they are setting out to murder children by firing rockets towards civilian populations?

34. Have you interviewed any UNRWA officials about why Hamas are storing weapons in their schools, and how the weapons got there?

35. Are you currently investigating how Hamas rockets ended up in UNRWA schools?

36. Are you currently investigating why UNRWA returned rockets to Hamas and their police force?

37. When Hamas breaks a ceasefire with Israel – as it has done 6 times – how easy is it to report on this from Gaza?

38. Is there any anti-Hamas sentiment in Gaza, and how is it expressed?

39. Were you aware that Hamas chose to execute dozens of anti-war protesters in Gaza, and did you not consider this to be worth reporting?

40. Is international media reporting from Gaza free from pressure and intimidation, or is there a real problem – and if so, how will you address it?

Interested observers await the answers to these questions.

 

Source: http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2014/08/eyeless-in-gaza-40-questions-for-the-media.php

 

I encourage Palestinian apologists to post answers to the questions, by the nmaed journalists to whom they were addressed.

 

Cheers!

SS

Saw this photo series: http://www.oknation....8/05/14/entry-1

 

'Not sure why Thai military feels that brutality makes good solidiers.

 

One big problem is, that once you have complerted such training, your thought proccess tends to be: "Well, I know what I and my mates went through during routine peacetime training - by "the good guys". So - there can be nothing wrong with treating suspected insurgents SLIGHTLY BETTER than I was treated during routine training. If it was OK for traniners to do to me, it must be OK for me to dial it back 10%, and then treat captured enemy the same way."

 

Bad idea.

 

SS

Well, the Gaza civilians know what is really going on, and they are pointing out to the Israalli troops where the rockets and tunnel entrances are hidden, and where the Hamas terrorists are hiding. With a bit of luck, the Hamas criminals will be wiped out, and the Gazans might have a chance at experiencinmg at least a bit of peace.

Jai Rai posted long portions of the original article - but the actual article is even longer - and it is the best, and most balanced summary of the situation that I have ever read - anywhere.

 

Jai Rai did not post the full article, and the final two paragraphs of the full article are profound, and worth reviewing:

 

What do groups like ISIS and al-Qaeda and even Hamas want? They want to impose their religious views on the rest of humanity. They want stifle every freedom that decent, educated, secular people care about. This is not a trivial difference. And yet judging from the level of condemnation that Israel now receives, you would think the difference ran the other way.

 

This kind of confusion puts all of us in danger. This is the great story of our time. For the rest of our lives, and the lives of our children, we are going to be confronted by people who don’t want to live peacefully in a secular, pluralistic world, because they are desperate to get to Paradise, and they are willing to destroy the very possibility of human happiness along the way. The truth is, we are all living in Israel. It’s just that some of us haven’t realized it yet.

 

If you have 38 minutes to spare, and you want to see the "manifesto" of what the emergaing Caliphate have in store for every place they conquer, take a look at this video (the first 16 minutes are boring - the following 22 minutes are chilling):

 

http://www.livingsco...ch.php?v=MzU2Mw

 

Keep in mind - the brutality that you are seeing in the video is being inflicted by Muslims, upon other Muslims who are just a different "flavor" of Muslim. Think about that, and ponder how they would treat YOU.

 

Israel and Gaza are a flashpoint - and everyone sees what they prefer to see. After trying to look at both sides of the argument, here is what I see and believe:

 

1. Isreal would like nothing better than a peaceful, prosperous Gaza - which Israel could help turn into a showplace success for the Islamic world. This would be a disaster for the Islamic fundamentalists, so they will NEVER let this happen.

 

2. To Hamas, Gaza is nothing more than a large firing position. The inhabitants of Gaza are useful ONLY as human shields, and as sacriificial corpses to be used to vilify Israel. Not some, not most, but ALL (that is each and every) Hamas rocket launching position is located near, in, or adjancent to a school, mosque, hospital or children's playground. This is by doctine.

 

3. Hamas has created an immense tunnel system under Gaza - with much early-stage work done by Palestinian children who died in the process. Despite this, there are none - ZERO -shelters available for Gaza's civilians, during Israeli shelling of Gaza. This is by Hamas design - they want to absolutely maximize civilian casualties at every turn. When Isreal drops leaflets urging Gazans to leave a weapons-infested area, in advance of an Israeli attack, any Gazans who attempt to relocate arre brutally beaten back, and forced to remain in their Human shield positions.

 

4. There have been some attempts by groups of Gaza civilialns to hold protests against the Hamas rocket-launching activities. Protesters have been immediately rounded up and summarily executed by Hamas operatives.

 

5. Any calls for "cease fire" are meaningless as long as ANY Hamas BARBARIANS remain. Hamas does not want an end to fighting in any way. All they want is for Israel to be blocked from fighting back.

 

I support Israel as the only civilized society in the Middle East. Here is another good article, from the perspective of a friont-line Israeli officer (Captain): http://www.americant..._of_heroes.html

 

Israel is imperfect - but much preferable to any alternative in that part of the world. Since 1946, they have accomplished more, starting with less, than any other country. Japan, Germany, and South Korea were all rebuilt by America after their wars (and much of the UK, as well). Israel turned barren land into a highly productive area.

 

Cheers!

SS

Russians fight like demons possesed to defend land that they believe belongs to them. But - they have pathetic ability to project power beyond their own turf.

 

I have no idea how the two sides view the "turf" in the Ukraine. My guess is - the Ukrainans will defend like demons possesed, and the Russians will go throuigh the motions, and then retire from the field. But - if the Russians REALLY feel that all or part of the Ukraine belongs to them, there will be a bitter struugle - with "victory" going to the last man standing.

 

The west needs to stay the hell away from this one, and let the slavic wolves sort themselves out.

 

Cheers!

SS

Students making profane mockery of a teacher? Yawn ......

In my experience, if a Thai is given the following offer:

 

"You have a choice: I will give you 20,000 baht tomorrow, or, you can instead choose to receuve 10,000 baht on the 15th day each month, every month for the rest of your life" - 98% of Thais will take the 20,000 baht.

I get frustrated with the malarky spread by "global cooling deniers". A few years ago, I saw some article about Bangkok being underwater in a few years, and I wanted to just do an "idiot test" to see if there was to really something to worry about. I knew that the Maldive Islands was the "lowest country in the world" (maximum natural elevation 2.4 meters), so I decided that if anybody would know about a real problem with sea level rise - that it would be in the Maldives.

 

So - here is what I found, as of 2011: http://myweb.wwu.edu/dbunny/pdfs/Ch7Elsevier.pdf No net sea level rise over at least 50 years, a noticeable (and measureable - albeit small) drop in sea level since the 1970's.

 

Cheers!

SS

Thai

BA

KLM

Finnair

Singapore Airlines

Lufthansa

Alitalia

Swissair

 

...apparently.

 

http://www.wired.com...raine-airspace/

Here's an interesting observation: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-07-17/was-flight-mh-17-diverted-over-restricted-airspace

MSNBC "takes the cake": 'Great job of vetting their choice of experts - and of TV journalists:

 

http://www.progressivestoday.com/msnbc-expert-malaysian-plane-shot-down-by-blast-of-wind-from-howard-sterns-ass/

 

It's a wonder that MSNBC can even figure out how to turn the lights on in their studio.

Not so. Aircraft fly over war zones all the time, usually at high enough altitudes and out of range of most surface-to-air missiles.

If you banned aircraft from flying over danger zones you wouldn't have much airspace left!

 

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/aviation/crashes/why-wasnt-civilian-air-traffic-banned-from-ukraines-airspace-16996305?click=pm_latest

 

The money quote: "What person with a sane mind would fly over a combat zone where there is chance of hostile action?", says Ron Ruggeri, a former air traffic controller for the FAA who now teaches ATC management at Vaughn College. But, he says, because diverting planes around zones can add to flying time, and consume more fuel, such decisions aren’t taken lightly."