Wednesday, March 31, 2010
INSPIRED WORDS - IRAQ, MARCH 2003
Not sure if you've seen this before . . . Col Tim Collins' inspirational speech -
Kenneth Branagh recreates Col. Tim Collins' speech to 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment, on 19 March 2003, immediately prior to the invasion of Iraq. From the BBC production 10 Days to War.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
HEROIC DAYS OF YORE
633 SQUADRON
Best scene:
NAZI SS SHE-BITCH: "I'm going to ask you some questions. You are going to have to answer me sooner or later."
HEROIC RESISTANCE FIGHTER: "I have nothing to say."
NAZI SS SHE-BITCH (VISIBLY DISTURBED): "Take . . . off . . . his . . . clothes . . ."
Nowadays you'd pay good money to be tortured by a HOT sadistic babe like that.
Best scene:
NAZI SS SHE-BITCH: "I'm going to ask you some questions. You are going to have to answer me sooner or later."
HEROIC RESISTANCE FIGHTER: "I have nothing to say."
NAZI SS SHE-BITCH (VISIBLY DISTURBED): "Take . . . off . . . his . . . clothes . . ."
Nowadays you'd pay good money to be tortured by a HOT sadistic babe like that.
Monday, March 29, 2010
SITREP PARROTHEAD JEFF
Friend of STORMBRINGER and loyal Team Member Parrothead Jeff was at the Tea Party Rally in Searchlight, Nevada. His incredible report, with photo imagery at his site Parrothead Jeff & Friends (or click on his "license plate" over in the rack to the right there)
It's like a remake of The Road Warrior, only this time they're all properly groomed, well-dressed and gainfully employed - we've all heard the stereotypes they throw out there about Republicans.
SEARCHLIGHT TEA PARTY
This is aerial footage of the big Tea Party rally held this weekend in Searchlight, Nevada - Harry Reid's home town - forwarded to me from the American Border Patrol - (not to be confused with the U.S. Border Patrol).
The video (scroll down) shows traffic flowing south on Nevada State Route 95 leading from Las Vegas to Searchlight. Some of the backup is due to the traffic trying to enter the rally site, but a lot of it consists of people trying to get to the site.
Sarah Palin on stage.
Another shot of the stage.
The crane over the stage.
Panning out now.
Panning WAY out.
This thing was probably visible from outer space!
There was one report that a group from Bullhead City, Arizona had to walk 4.5 miles from where their bus had to park. Many probably chose to pass on by realizing there was no place to park.
Bear in mind - this political rally took place in the middle of nowhere - makes me wonder; was Barack Obama's movement pulling these kind of crowds two and a half years out from the '08 elections?
- S.L.
The video (scroll down) shows traffic flowing south on Nevada State Route 95 leading from Las Vegas to Searchlight. Some of the backup is due to the traffic trying to enter the rally site, but a lot of it consists of people trying to get to the site.
Sarah Palin on stage.
Another shot of the stage.
The crane over the stage.
Panning out now.
Panning WAY out.
This thing was probably visible from outer space!
There was one report that a group from Bullhead City, Arizona had to walk 4.5 miles from where their bus had to park. Many probably chose to pass on by realizing there was no place to park.
Bear in mind - this political rally took place in the middle of nowhere - makes me wonder; was Barack Obama's movement pulling these kind of crowds two and a half years out from the '08 elections?
- S.L.
TOP 10 LOW PASS FLYBY's OF ALL TIME
This is cool . . .
Watching these I was thinking:'Oh yeah, low pass fly by in a fighter jet . . . yawn . . . no big deal'- right?
The day I graduated Jump School the C-141 we'd just jumped out of made a low pass over our formation on Fryar Drop Zone; imagine a four-engined jet aircraft the size of a 707 going over your head at under 200' - NOW THAT's IMPRESSIVE . . . then the vid clip gets to #2 low pass fly by - OK it's good to see the spirit of the Red Baron lives on. . . S.L.
.
Watching these I was thinking:'Oh yeah, low pass fly by in a fighter jet . . . yawn . . . no big deal'- right?
The day I graduated Jump School the C-141 we'd just jumped out of made a low pass over our formation on Fryar Drop Zone; imagine a four-engined jet aircraft the size of a 707 going over your head at under 200' - NOW THAT's IMPRESSIVE . . . then the vid clip gets to #2 low pass fly by - OK it's good to see the spirit of the Red Baron lives on. . . S.L.
.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
FALSE ACCUSATIONS ON THE TEA PARTY
Last week on the eve of the historic coup in the House, I posted DO NOT BREAK THE WINDOWS in response to some radical thought patterns being expressed out there on the right-wing blogosphere. I followed up urging calm & restraint.
True to form, all this past week the Mainstream Media has been repeating the story of racist and anti-homosexual catcalls & slurs yelled at Democrat Congressmen last Sunday, as they walked past crowds of Tea Partiers:
“Tea Party” protesters allegedly hurled racial slurs at Congressional Black Caucus member Rep. John Lewis, a Georgia Democrat. Mr. Carson said that "hundreds of people" were chanting, "Kill the bill," and he heard "at least 15 times" the "n – word" being thrown around.
I have a problem with this misconduct - particularly since nobody can produce any proof that any of this ever took place. I’m not from Missouri but I say it anyhow: "SHOW ME."
The videos above and below were taken as Mr. Lewis and Mr. Carson walked toward a crowd of protesters, and racial epithets from the crowd appear to be absent from the different scenes captured.
A U.S. Capitol Police spokeswoman said she was unaware of any law enforcement inquiry into the incidents.
Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II, Missouri Democrat, who is black, claimed he was spat on by a protester. Mr. Cleaver's office reportedly said Capitol Police arrested the protester, but his office did not press charges. However, Sgt. Kimberly Schneider of the U.S. Capitol Police said in an e-mail to the L.A. Times, "We did not make any arrests today."
This is a classic case of Goebbell’s Primary Law of Propaganda:
“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it."
SOMEBODY has been throwing bricks through windows this past week. I’m willing to bet when the dust settles we’ll find some kind of Liberal Dirty Tricks Squad has something to do with this. When Rahm Emanuel saw those idiotic blog postings calling for bricks to be thrown through windows, you know he thought right away: “WOAH – this one is right out of Saul Alinsky's playbook."
I can just see Ol' Dead Fish Emanuel sliding over to Bill Ayers and saying, "Hey Bill, how about getting some of Bernadine’s anarchist trolls to toss a few bricks?”
I often wonder what readers of my blog think of the relationship between conservative-Tea-Partier-pro-Sarah-Pahlin STORMBRINGER and moderate FrumForum? It’s about engagement; I don't always agree with David Frum but he represents votes - and the way to win elections by including people, not shutting them out.
American elections are won not by the solid block of registered party members on either side of the spectrum, but rather by the great big sector in the middle; Joe Six Pack is middle class, working class, often a union member or black who votes Republican but would never admit it in the light of day for fear of reprisal from their own kind.
In 1980 Ronald Reagan won a landslide on the Democratic vote. These were the same “Reagan Democrats” who gave us Republican victories throughout the eighties, nineties and up until 2006, when the endless stream of left wing propaganda that constantly spews out of the so-called ‘Mainstream Media’ finally turned the electorate.
The Democrats didn’t win in ’06 and ’08 because of any new ideas; they won because they successfully masked their identities and their agenda. The masks are off at last and the American people do not like what they see.
There WAS bipartisanship in the healthcare debacle, by the way; it was on the side of the people who were against it. 34 House Democrats who voted WITH the Republicans; AGAINST the healthcare monstrosity which passed by the squeakiest of margins and only AFTER a LOT of bribery and Chicago thug strongarm tactics.
Right now common wisdom is that a lot of Reagan Democrats are going to vote Republican in the Federal Elections this November and again in 2012, and the Democrats are going to experience their greatest upset since the Republicans took Congress in ’94. We’ve already seen the Chicago Way conducted right before our very eyes in Congress; you can bet your bottom dollar “Dead Fish” Emmanuel is going to be pulling some stunts that make the nude shower confrontation look like a visit from the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
This is THEIR idea of a class act:
This is ours:
Images from the HUGE Tea Party Rally at Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's hometown in Nevada, yesterday - 27 March 2010.
This IS class - The WORKING CLASS:
True to form, all this past week the Mainstream Media has been repeating the story of racist and anti-homosexual catcalls & slurs yelled at Democrat Congressmen last Sunday, as they walked past crowds of Tea Partiers:
“Tea Party” protesters allegedly hurled racial slurs at Congressional Black Caucus member Rep. John Lewis, a Georgia Democrat. Mr. Carson said that "hundreds of people" were chanting, "Kill the bill," and he heard "at least 15 times" the "n – word" being thrown around.
I have a problem with this misconduct - particularly since nobody can produce any proof that any of this ever took place. I’m not from Missouri but I say it anyhow: "SHOW ME."
The videos above and below were taken as Mr. Lewis and Mr. Carson walked toward a crowd of protesters, and racial epithets from the crowd appear to be absent from the different scenes captured.
A U.S. Capitol Police spokeswoman said she was unaware of any law enforcement inquiry into the incidents.
Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II, Missouri Democrat, who is black, claimed he was spat on by a protester. Mr. Cleaver's office reportedly said Capitol Police arrested the protester, but his office did not press charges. However, Sgt. Kimberly Schneider of the U.S. Capitol Police said in an e-mail to the L.A. Times, "We did not make any arrests today."
This is a classic case of Goebbell’s Primary Law of Propaganda:
“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it."
SOMEBODY has been throwing bricks through windows this past week. I’m willing to bet when the dust settles we’ll find some kind of Liberal Dirty Tricks Squad has something to do with this. When Rahm Emanuel saw those idiotic blog postings calling for bricks to be thrown through windows, you know he thought right away: “WOAH – this one is right out of Saul Alinsky's playbook."
I can just see Ol' Dead Fish Emanuel sliding over to Bill Ayers and saying, "Hey Bill, how about getting some of Bernadine’s anarchist trolls to toss a few bricks?”
I often wonder what readers of my blog think of the relationship between conservative-Tea-Partier-pro-Sarah-Pahlin STORMBRINGER and moderate FrumForum? It’s about engagement; I don't always agree with David Frum but he represents votes - and the way to win elections by including people, not shutting them out.
American elections are won not by the solid block of registered party members on either side of the spectrum, but rather by the great big sector in the middle; Joe Six Pack is middle class, working class, often a union member or black who votes Republican but would never admit it in the light of day for fear of reprisal from their own kind.
In 1980 Ronald Reagan won a landslide on the Democratic vote. These were the same “Reagan Democrats” who gave us Republican victories throughout the eighties, nineties and up until 2006, when the endless stream of left wing propaganda that constantly spews out of the so-called ‘Mainstream Media’ finally turned the electorate.
The Democrats didn’t win in ’06 and ’08 because of any new ideas; they won because they successfully masked their identities and their agenda. The masks are off at last and the American people do not like what they see.
There WAS bipartisanship in the healthcare debacle, by the way; it was on the side of the people who were against it. 34 House Democrats who voted WITH the Republicans; AGAINST the healthcare monstrosity which passed by the squeakiest of margins and only AFTER a LOT of bribery and Chicago thug strongarm tactics.
Right now common wisdom is that a lot of Reagan Democrats are going to vote Republican in the Federal Elections this November and again in 2012, and the Democrats are going to experience their greatest upset since the Republicans took Congress in ’94. We’ve already seen the Chicago Way conducted right before our very eyes in Congress; you can bet your bottom dollar “Dead Fish” Emmanuel is going to be pulling some stunts that make the nude shower confrontation look like a visit from the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
This is THEIR idea of a class act:
This is ours:
Images from the HUGE Tea Party Rally at Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's hometown in Nevada, yesterday - 27 March 2010.
This IS class - The WORKING CLASS:
ADMIN NOTES
I've been tooling around the Blogger service, trying to jazz up the STORMBRINGER Experience . . .
Are YOU "Experienced"?
OK so I've cracked the code of the links (to the right on your screen) . . . IF YOU ASKED TO BE LINKED AND I DIDN'T DO IT - I DIDN'T BLOW YOU OFF I was still learning and I know at least one guy fell off my radar . . .
I'm struggling with ad sense on getting some better ads, stuff that's military related . . . if you see an ad for something TOTALLY WEIRD be advised I have no control over some of that stuff that's coming across the screen . . .
The products and services I personally endorse are to the right there - my buddy Mike's Screamin' Eagle Softail Custom Harley:
I have seen this bike and featured it on Theo's LAST of the FEW and STORMBRINGER last summer - THIS BIKE HAS TO BE SEEN TO BE BELIEVED . . . like the ad says: "meticulously detailed, garage kept beauty" and I can attest it DOES have less than 1000 miles.
. . . and a new Friend of STORMBRINGER: Caspi Silver by Amnon Caspi:
He makes the Sterling Silver Joysticks from famous IDF combat airplanes including the Mirage, the F-4 Phantom and the F-16:
Amnon makes other cool things as well, like miniature Jerusalem Walled City Business Card holders - as soon as I rate a permanent office and a desk I'm getting one of those - and other Holy Land related items.
STORMBRINGER GOT SUCKED INTO POLITICS this past couple of weeks . . . I told you it generates Dark Energy within me . . .
Dark Energy
What can I say? There's been some big dealings going down in Dog City - all you suckers who think the Federal Government is going to take care of you - did you forget already all that hullabaloo last year over the deplorable state of affairs at the VA and Walter Reed? Well guess what? Walter Reed is the SHINING JEWEL of Government Healthcare - you ought to pay it a visit, see what you're in for. Bring some kind of kerchief for your nose, maybe some Vicks VapoRub to put under your nose there like they did in Silence of the Lambs - the place smells of urine.
This post signals a return to the original vision of Blog STORMBRINGER . . . to fight Evil wherever and whenever it manifests itself . . . to promote military themes . . . cool facts and anecdotes from history . . . international security . . . the Holy Land . . . guns . . . leadership . . . survival . . . honor . . .
. . . the Paratrooper Mystique . . .
. . . and the general kaleidoscope of WAR WEIRDNESS . . .
. . . that followers of Blog STORMBRINGER have come to love and expect . . .
"Read responsibly, my friends . . ."
.
Are YOU "Experienced"?
OK so I've cracked the code of the links (to the right on your screen) . . . IF YOU ASKED TO BE LINKED AND I DIDN'T DO IT - I DIDN'T BLOW YOU OFF I was still learning and I know at least one guy fell off my radar . . .
I'm struggling with ad sense on getting some better ads, stuff that's military related . . . if you see an ad for something TOTALLY WEIRD be advised I have no control over some of that stuff that's coming across the screen . . .
The products and services I personally endorse are to the right there - my buddy Mike's Screamin' Eagle Softail Custom Harley:
I have seen this bike and featured it on Theo's LAST of the FEW and STORMBRINGER last summer - THIS BIKE HAS TO BE SEEN TO BE BELIEVED . . . like the ad says: "meticulously detailed, garage kept beauty" and I can attest it DOES have less than 1000 miles.
. . . and a new Friend of STORMBRINGER: Caspi Silver by Amnon Caspi:
He makes the Sterling Silver Joysticks from famous IDF combat airplanes including the Mirage, the F-4 Phantom and the F-16:
Amnon makes other cool things as well, like miniature Jerusalem Walled City Business Card holders - as soon as I rate a permanent office and a desk I'm getting one of those - and other Holy Land related items.
STORMBRINGER GOT SUCKED INTO POLITICS this past couple of weeks . . . I told you it generates Dark Energy within me . . .
Dark Energy
What can I say? There's been some big dealings going down in Dog City - all you suckers who think the Federal Government is going to take care of you - did you forget already all that hullabaloo last year over the deplorable state of affairs at the VA and Walter Reed? Well guess what? Walter Reed is the SHINING JEWEL of Government Healthcare - you ought to pay it a visit, see what you're in for. Bring some kind of kerchief for your nose, maybe some Vicks VapoRub to put under your nose there like they did in Silence of the Lambs - the place smells of urine.
This post signals a return to the original vision of Blog STORMBRINGER . . . to fight Evil wherever and whenever it manifests itself . . . to promote military themes . . . cool facts and anecdotes from history . . . international security . . . the Holy Land . . . guns . . . leadership . . . survival . . . honor . . .
. . . the Paratrooper Mystique . . .
. . . and the general kaleidoscope of WAR WEIRDNESS . . .
. . . that followers of Blog STORMBRINGER have come to love and expect . . .
"Read responsibly, my friends . . ."
.
SEVEN SCREAMIN DIZZBUSTERS - B.O.C.
By Special Request -
From Blue Oyster Cult's 1973 album TYRANNY AND MUTATION. This was their second album.
Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser - Lead Guitar, Vocals; Eric Bloom - Lead Vocals, Stun Guitar; Allen Lanier - Rhythm Guitar, Vocals; Albert Bouchard - Drums, Vocals; Joe Bouchard - Bass, Vocals
From Blue Oyster Cult's 1973 album TYRANNY AND MUTATION. This was their second album.
Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser - Lead Guitar, Vocals; Eric Bloom - Lead Vocals, Stun Guitar; Allen Lanier - Rhythm Guitar, Vocals; Albert Bouchard - Drums, Vocals; Joe Bouchard - Bass, Vocals
EARTH HOUR
Along with Earth Day, one of the High Holy Days of the Godless Religion of Environmentalism.
On the issue of the Environment, Global Warming, Pollution, etcetera; Al Gore's Global-Warming-Fern-Feeling-Tree-Loving-BunnyHugger Brigade will tell you:
o The United States consumes 75% of the world's energy resources.
o The United States is responsible for producing 25% of the world's "greenhouse gases", ozone-depleting pollutants, etcetera . . .
And they will tell you that this is bad, and that America needs to be held accountable for it's wasteful energy consumption.
I tell you that THIS IS GOOD!
Consider: If we're using 75% of the world's energy resources, but only producing 25% of the world's industrial effluents; this means that the rest of the world is using 25% of the world's energy resources, and yet they're kicking out 75% of the pollution and bad stuff.
In other words; the rest of the world needs to come to us and ask WHAT IS IT THAT WE'RE DOING RIGHT?
Anyone who's visited Mexico City, or Bangkok, or Japan, or Cairo, or the industrial zones of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, knows what what shitholes those places have become.
Oddly, whenever the Eco-Awareness crowd is bashing the United States - like that Copenhagen disaster last year - they never seem to talk about those places. Oh no, it's always the U.S. and the "developed countries" (i.e. Western Europe) who are the bad guys.
Here's a suggestion for all you Greenies: if you want to cut down on pollution, if you think coal-fired power plants and fossil-fuel powered automobiles are so bad; just go ahead and unplug your TVs and computers, turn off the heat in your homes and use candles instead of electric lightbulbs, ride around on bicycles or on horses just like the Amish and whatever you do - DON'T BE CAUGHT LISTENING TO NO POLITICALLY CORRECT PROTEST SONGS PLAYED OUT OVER AMPLIFIERS AND SPEAKERS ! ! !
The rest of you: TURN UP YOUR SPEAKERS AND HONK OUT THIS ROCK ANTHEM:
Blue Oyster Cult, "Cities on Flame With Rock and Roll"
Environmentalism, just one more way for the enemies of Capitalism.
STORMBRINGER SENDS
.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
"ALL I WANTED WAS A MISSION . . . "
CYBER WAR ALARMS GO OFF
Chinese Academics’ Paper on Cyber War Sets Off Alarms in U.S.
An interesting article appears in the New York Times regarding the vulnerability of the US power grid and a paper written by a Chinese engineering student.
A Chinese student, Wang Jianwei, above, and his professor, wrote an academic paper on the vulnerability of the American power grid to a computer attack. Scientists said the paper was merely a technical exercise.
It came as a surprise this month to Wang Jianwei, a graduate engineering student in Liaoning, China , that he had been described as a potential 'cyber-warrior' before the United States Congress.
The New York Times reports that Larry M. Wortzel, a military strategist and China specialist, told the House Foreign Affairs Committee on March 10 that it should be concerned because “Chinese researchers at the Institute of Systems Engineering of Dalian University of Technology published a paper on how to attack a small U.S. power grid sub-network in a way that would cause a cascading failure of the entire U.S.”
Larry M. Wortzel, a military strategist, recently drew attention to the paper.
When reached by telephone, Mr. Wang said he and his professor had indeed published “Cascade-Based Attack Vulnerability on the U.S. Power Grid” in an international journal called Safety Science last spring. But Mr. Wang said he had simply been trying to find ways to enhance the stability of power grids by exploring potential vulnerabilities.
“We usually say ‘attack’ so you can see what would happen,” he said. “My emphasis is on how you can protect this. My goal is to find a solution to make the network safer and better protected.”
Independent American scientists who read his paper said it was true: Mr. Wang’s work was a conventional technical exercise that in no way could be used to take down a power grid.
An interesting article appears in the New York Times regarding the vulnerability of the US power grid and a paper written by a Chinese engineering student.
A Chinese student, Wang Jianwei, above, and his professor, wrote an academic paper on the vulnerability of the American power grid to a computer attack. Scientists said the paper was merely a technical exercise.
It came as a surprise this month to Wang Jianwei, a graduate engineering student in Liaoning, China , that he had been described as a potential 'cyber-warrior' before the United States Congress.
The New York Times reports that Larry M. Wortzel, a military strategist and China specialist, told the House Foreign Affairs Committee on March 10 that it should be concerned because “Chinese researchers at the Institute of Systems Engineering of Dalian University of Technology published a paper on how to attack a small U.S. power grid sub-network in a way that would cause a cascading failure of the entire U.S.”
Larry M. Wortzel, a military strategist, recently drew attention to the paper.
When reached by telephone, Mr. Wang said he and his professor had indeed published “Cascade-Based Attack Vulnerability on the U.S. Power Grid” in an international journal called Safety Science last spring. But Mr. Wang said he had simply been trying to find ways to enhance the stability of power grids by exploring potential vulnerabilities.
“We usually say ‘attack’ so you can see what would happen,” he said. “My emphasis is on how you can protect this. My goal is to find a solution to make the network safer and better protected.”
Independent American scientists who read his paper said it was true: Mr. Wang’s work was a conventional technical exercise that in no way could be used to take down a power grid.
TIME FOR A BREAK
FROM BROTHER CHAS . . .
A musical interlude, if you will. Cartoon between features. I think we need a break. Maybe a Capra film or three.
So much negative energy floating around just now . . . bad juju . . . pushing me back toward the dark side.
I'm vibin' bad, boys, and I don't think I'm the only one. Too much coffee, not enough sleep-perchance-to-dream. Sometimes I smell that faint whiff of smoke, that low rumblin' noise just over the horizon. What's that? . . . is it gonna rain? . . . do y'hear Bodhráns? . . . or maybe it's the sound of a thousand horsemen ridin' hard.
I usually keep them dawgs locked up but lately they getting restless, they can smell something moving in for the kill. In the hours before dawn when most men die and hope turns cold. Nothing wrong with an early sunrise.
A musical interlude, if you will. Cartoon between features. I think we need a break. Maybe a Capra film or three.
So much negative energy floating around just now . . . bad juju . . . pushing me back toward the dark side.
I'm vibin' bad, boys, and I don't think I'm the only one. Too much coffee, not enough sleep-perchance-to-dream. Sometimes I smell that faint whiff of smoke, that low rumblin' noise just over the horizon. What's that? . . . is it gonna rain? . . . do y'hear Bodhráns? . . . or maybe it's the sound of a thousand horsemen ridin' hard.
I usually keep them dawgs locked up but lately they getting restless, they can smell something moving in for the kill. In the hours before dawn when most men die and hope turns cold. Nothing wrong with an early sunrise.
Friday, March 26, 2010
PHENOMENAL FRENCH MISSILE
. . . WITH PIN-POINT ACCURACY ! ! !
We've made fun of the French military for too long. The accuracy of their missiles are second to none. You won't believe how proficient their soldiers are! Remarkable . . . and brave, too.
We've made fun of the French military for too long. The accuracy of their missiles are second to none. You won't believe how proficient their soldiers are! Remarkable . . . and brave, too.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
IN THE OLD DAYS
This is a story from the old sailing ship days.
In the old days, if a ship sailed across the ocean and made it back with a hull full of spices and other cargo, the profit earned was ten times the price of the ship itself. It was a very lucrative trade.
But sailing wooden ships across the ocean was very hazardous, and of all the ships that set sail, only about half of them made it back.
Therefore, what they would do was this: in the taverns down by the docks, ship owners would write the names of their ships on a big chalkboard, and people would place bets on which ships they thought would make it back.
The ship owners would take these bets until the cost of the ship was reached - betting against themselves; these bets would be written beneath the name of each ship on the big board.
That way, if a ship didn't make it back, the replacement cost of the ship was covered. If the ship made it back, the owner would pay out the equivalent of ten percent of his profits, and he'd still have nine times the cost of his initial investment.
Because of the way they kept track of these bets on the boards, they called this system UNDERWRITING.
*************************************************************
Benjamin Franklin was a very resourceful and energetic guy. Amongst his many activities, which included printing, writing philosophy, kite flying and electricity - he was a very active member of his community.
Amongst Franklin's civic contributions in his adopted city of Philadelphia, he helped launch projects to pave, clean and light the city streets. One of the chief accomplishments of Franklin in this era was helping to launch the Library Company in 1731. During this time books were scarce and expensive. Franklin recognized that by pooling together resources, members could afford to buy books from England. Thus was born the nation's first subscription library. In 1743, he helped to launch the American Philosophical Society, the first learned society in America. Recognizing that the city needed better help in treating the sick, Franklin brought together a group who formed the Pennsylvania Hospital in 1751. The Library Company, Philosophical Society, and Pennsylvania Hospital are all in existence today.
Fires were very dangerous threat to Philadelphians, so Franklin in 1736, he organized Philadelphia's Union Fire Company, the first in the city. His famous saying, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," was actually fire-fighting advice.
Those who suffered fire damage to their homes often suffered irreversible economic loss. Benjamin Franklin recognized that if many home owners banded together and each contributed a small amount of money, then the small percentage of home owners whose houses burned down would be covered for their financial loss.
So, in 1752, Franklin helped to found the Philadelphia Contribution for Insurance Against Loss by Fire. Those with insurance policies were not wiped out financially.
Benjamin Franklin had inadvertently discovered the primary principle of insurance -
"INSURANCE ONLY WORKS WHEN IT COVERS THAT WHICH IS RANDOM, UNPREDICTABLE, AND CATASTROPHIC IN NATURE"
- and his Contributionship is still in business today.
*************************************************************
Now think about your car insurance. What is it for? What do you expect for it to cover?
It's for the unexpected, right? To pay for replacing your wheels after The Big Crunch:
Nowadays even a minor fender bender can end up costing thousands of dollars. We don't plan it happening, and only a small percentage of drivers will have an accident. But we are willing to pay a little bit of money now, against the possibility that when and if such expensive repairs - or even replacement - become necessary, we will be covered.
Remember Franklin's primary principle of insurance - it works if it covers that which is random, unpredictable, and catastrophic in nature.
Now think about your auto insurance policy again. Do you expect it to cover oil changes, wiper blades and a new set of tires every couple of years?
No, of course not. What would happen to the price of your premium if it DID cover these expenses? It would go up, right? WAY UP. Why?
That's right - because it is no longer insurance - it is now a maintenance plan.
Does it make sense to give your money to somebody else to hold, handle, manage, and pay out when you need these predictable expenses? Or is it better to hang on to your money and invest it, then when you need some cash for tires, you've got it?
INSURANCE ONLY WORKS WHEN IT COVERS THAT WHICH IS RANDOM, UNPREDICTABLE, AND CATASTROPHIC IN NATURE.
*************************************************************
You knew where I was going with all this, didn't you? Now Obama is forcing health insurance companies to accept people with pre-existing conditions.
What will happen to the price of health insurance over the next two years?
That's right: premiums will rise. They have to, because now they have to cover people who are already sick. This is not insurance; this is a maintenance plan.
Insurance companies will increase the price of premiums up to 200% and more.
Under Obamacare, new health insurance exchanges will be created, to serve the millions of new customers now eligible under the new law.
But when the insurance companies inevitably raise their rates on health coverage, Nancy Pelosi has already said that they will not be “automatically included” in the new health exchanges the bill creates.
“Unless they do the right thing, they’re not going in,” she said. “They will be relinquishing the possibility of having taxpayer-subsidized consumers in the exchange,” she said.
Health Insurance, as we now know it, will become unaffordable. Inevitably, the Government will have to step in to fully absorb healthcare costs. When they do so, they will have achieved a long sought-after goal of the American Left: Single-Payer Public Option, i.e. SOCIALISM.
This was Monday on WJR radio Detroit; John Dingell, the senior Democrat in the House of Representatives:
Did you catch that? "TO CONTROL THE PEOPLE."
". . . we're not ready to be doing it, but let me remind you, this has been going on for years. We are bringing it to a halt. The harsh fact of the matter is when you're going to pass legislation that will cover 300 American people in different ways it takes a long time to do the necessary administrative steps that have to be taken to put the legislation together to control the people."
It's not about Healthcare at all. It's certainly not about insurance. It's about government control of the most precious commodity you own: YOUR LIFE.
". . . it takes a long time to do the necessary administrative steps that have to be taken to put the legislation together TO CONTROL THE PEOPLE."
You just heard it coming from the mouth of U.S. Congressman John Dingell, the senior Democrat in the House of Representatives.
STORMBRINGER SENDS
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Wednesday, March 24, 2010
AUSTRALIAN FOLK HERO . . .
WORLD WAR II NOSE ART
I've always loved the "Nose Art" they printed on the old World War II bombers . . .
This is actually an extension of the bowsprits they used to put on the old sailing ships - topless women, mermaids, etc. . .
B-25 "Briefing Time"
B-24 "Playmate"
Warriors seek talismans to bring them luck . . .
B-25 "Pacific Princess"
B-29 "Bockscar"
They seek Divine favor in battle, safe return home and a reminder of what awaits them there . . .
B-29 "Lucky Lady"
RCAF Bomber "Lady Orchid"
This tradition is as eternal as the Dawn of Time . . .
B-24 "American Beauty"
B-17 "Pistol Packin' Mama"
Enjoy . . .
- Sean Linnane
.
This is actually an extension of the bowsprits they used to put on the old sailing ships - topless women, mermaids, etc. . .
B-25 "Briefing Time"
B-24 "Playmate"
Warriors seek talismans to bring them luck . . .
B-25 "Pacific Princess"
B-29 "Bockscar"
They seek Divine favor in battle, safe return home and a reminder of what awaits them there . . .
B-29 "Lucky Lady"
RCAF Bomber "Lady Orchid"
This tradition is as eternal as the Dawn of Time . . .
B-24 "American Beauty"
B-17 "Pistol Packin' Mama"
Enjoy . . .
- Sean Linnane
.