THE NIGHT WATCH

(Dutch: De Nachtwacht), or The Shooting Company of Franz Banning Cocq, is one of the most famous works by Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn.




This painting is renowned for three elements: its colossal size (11'10" X 14'4"), the effective use of light and shadow, and the perception of motion in what would traditionally have been a static military portrait.

Completed in 1642 at the peak of the Dutch Golden Age, it was customary during this time for military units to commission an artist to execute a group portrait. During this time military forces were commercial operations; true mercenaries. A man who hired himself to one of these private military companies was known as a "private soldier" - these are the origins of the military terms "company" and "private".

Commissioned by the Company's Commanding Officer and 17 members of his Kloveniers (civic militia guards), a total of 34 characters appear in the painting; Rembrandt was paid 1,600 guilders for the painting (each person paid one hundred), a large sum at the time.

The Night Watch depicts the eponymous company moving out, led by Captain Frans Banning Cocq (dressed in black, with a red sash) and his lieutenant, Willem van Ruytenburch (dressed in yellow, with a white sash). With effective use of sunlight and shade, Rembrandt leads the eye to the three most important characters among the crowd, the two gentlemen in the center (from whom the painting gets its original title), and the small girl in the center left background. Behind them the company's colors are carried by the ensign, Jan Visscher Cornelissen.

The militiamen were also called Arquebusiers, after the arquebus, a sixteenth-century long-barreled gun.

Rembrandt has displayed the traditional emblem of the Arquebusiers in the painting in a natural way: the girl in yellow dress in the background is carrying the main symbols. She is a kind of mascot herself: the claws of a dead chicken on her belt represent the clauweniers (arquebusiers); the pistol behind the chicken stands for 'clover'; and, she is holding the militia's goblet. The man in front of her is wearing a helmet with an oak leaf, a traditional motif of the Arquebusiers. The dead chicken is also meant to represent a defeated adversary. The color yellow was at that time often associated with victory.

The painting was commissioned to be hung in the banquet hall of the newly built Kloveniersdoelen (Musketeers' Meeting Hall) in Amsterdam, now known as the Doelen Hotel. In 1715 it was moved to the Amsterdam town hall. When Napoleon occupied the Netherlands, the town hall became the Palace on the Dam. The magistrates moved the painting to the Trippenhuis of the family Trip. Napoleon ordered it back, but after the occupation the painting was moved to the Trippenhuis again, which had now become the Rijksmuseum, and was moved to the new Rijksmuseum building when it was finished in 1885.

The painting was last moved in September 1939, just before the outbreak of the Second World War. The canvas was detached from its frame, rolled around a cylinder, and stored in a castle in Medemblik, north of Amsterdam.

The Night Watch, rolled.

After the end of the war, the canvas was unrolled, re-mounted and restored; and then the Night Watch returned to its rightful place in the Rijksmuseum where it is on prominent display; the most famous painting in their collection.


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OPENING DAY OF HIGH SCHOOL - A "MUST READ"

Not sure if this is true or not; couldn't find anything on Snopes . . . if it isn't true it should be . . . it would be great if all schools were like this . . .


OPENING DAY OF HIGH SCHOOL

This speech was given by a new HS principal in Florida.

To the students and faculty of our high school:

I am your new principal, and honored to be so. There is no greater calling than to teach young people.

I would like to apprise you of some important changes coming to our school. I am making these changes because I am convinced that most of the ideas that have dominated public education in America have worked against you, against your teachers and against our country.

First, this school will no longer honor race or ethnicity. I could not care less if your racial makeup is black, brown, red, yellow or white. I could not care less if your origins are African, Latin American, Asian or European, or if your ancestors arrived here on the Mayflower or on slave ships. The only identity I care about, the only one this school will recognize, is your individual identity -- your character, your scholarship, your humanity. And the only national identity this school will care about is American. This is an American public school, and American public schools were created to make better Americans.

If you wish to affirm an ethnic, racial or religious identity through school, you will have to go elsewhere. We will end all ethnicity-, race- and non-American nationality-based celebrations. They undermine the motto of America, one of its three central values - E Pluribus Unum, "from many, one." And this school will be guided by America's values.

This includes all after-school clubs. I will not authorize clubs that divide students based on any identities. This includes race, language, religion, sexual orientation or whatever else may become in vogue in a society divided by political correctness.

Your clubs will be based on interests and passions, not blood, ethnic, racial or other physically defined ties. Those clubs just cultivate narcissism - an unhealthy preoccupation with the self - while the purpose of education is to get you to think beyond yourself. So we will have clubs that transport you to the wonders and glories of art, music, astronomy, languages you do not already speak, carpentry and more. If the only extracurricular activities you can imagine being interesting in are those based on ethnic, racial or sexual identity, that means that little outside of yourself really interests you.

Second, I am uninterested in whether English is your native language. My only interest in terms of language is that you leave this school speaking and writing English as fluently as possible. The English language has united America 's citizens for over 200 years, and it will unite us at this school. It is one of the indispensable reasons this country of immigrants has always come to be one country. And if you leave this school without excellent English language skills, I would be remiss in my duty to ensure that you will be prepared to successfully compete in the American job market. We will learn other languages here - it is deplorable that most Americans only speak English - but if you want classes taught in your native language rather than in English, this is not your school.

Third, because I regard learning as a sacred endeavor, everything in this school will reflect learning's elevated status. This means, among other things, that you and your teachers will dress accordingly. Many people in our society dress more formally for Hollywood events than for church or school. These people have their priorities backward. Therefore, there will be a formal dress code at this school.

Fourth, no obscene language will be tolerated anywhere on this school's property - whether in class, in the hallways or at athletic events. If you can't speak without using the f-word, you can't speak. By obscene language I mean the words banned by the Federal Communications Commission, plus epithets such as "Nigger," even when used by one black student to address another black, or "bitch," even when addressed by a girl to a girlfriend. It is my intent that by the time you leave this school, you will be among the few your age to instinctively distinguish between the elevated and the degraded, the holy and the obscene.

Fifth, we will end all self-esteem programs. In this school, self-esteem will be attained in only one way - the way people attained it until decided otherwise a generation ago - by earning it. One immediate consequence is that there will be one valedictorian, not eight.

Sixth, and last, I am reorienting the school toward academics and away from politics and propaganda. No more time will be devoted to scaring you about smoking and caffeine, or terrifying you about sexual harassment or global warming. No more semesters will be devoted to condom wearing and teaching you to regard sexual relations as only or primarily a health issue. There will be no more attempts to convince you that you are a victim because you are not white, or not male, or not heterosexual or not Christian. We will have failed if any one of you graduates this school and does not consider him or herself inordinately lucky - to be alive and to be an American.

Now, please stand and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of our country. As many of you do not know the words, your teachers will hand them out to you.

MEXICO: THE ARREST OF LA BARBIE

From STRATFOR:


August 30, 2010 - The Mexican Federal Attorney General’s Office (PGR) confirmed that members of the Federal Police detained former Beltran Leyva Organization top enforcer, Edgar “La Barbie” Valdez Villarreal. Several Mexican media outlets have reported that the operation that netted Valdez Villarreal took place outside of Toluca, Mexico state, while others have reported that the operation actually took place near the Morelos and Guerrero state borders. Federal Police had reportedly launched an operation to capture Valdez Villarreal on Aug. 9 at a luxury condominium complex in the Bosque de Las Lomas neighborhood of Mexico City but missed him by a few hours, indicating that the Mexican government was close to capturing him for some time before his arrest. The arrest of such high-profile and public figure in the Mexican drug-trafficking scene is a huge success for the Mexican government on both a tactical and public relations level.




Valdez Villarreal has been locked in heated battle with his former colleague, Hector “El H” Beltran Leyva, for control over the territory once occupied by the Beltran Leyva Organization under now-deceased leader Arturo Beltran Leyva. Hector has since gone on to form Cartel Pacifico Sur (CPS) and has been waging war against the former BLO elements loyal to Valdez Villarreal. The arrest of Valdez Villarreal is a tremendous blow to the leadership of his faction of the BLO, and it is unclear at this point who if anyone will take the place of Valdez Villarreal. Additionally, the detention of Valdez Villarreal also will provide Mexican authorities with a treasure trove of timely, actionable tactical intelligence about his organization’s operations, which could lead to more arrests in the near future. Furthermore, should Valdez Villarreal choose to cooperate with Mexican authorities, he could provide an enormous amount of information about rival organizations as well.

The arrest of Valdez Villarreal also comes at a time when President Felipe Calderon’s war against the cartels has been drawing some negative attention due to the high levels of violence and a recent, ominous escalation in tactics over the past week with increased use of improvised explosive devices. Valdez Villarreal was well known for his ruthlessness and brutality in dealing with his rivals, and his arrest will be a public relations coup for the Mexican government even though it will do little to quell the violence in places like Juarez and Monterrey.



This is FREE intelligence for distribution. Forward this to your colleagues.





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"I WANT TO THANK THE HARD WORKING AMERICAN PEOPLE"

Hi All,

For only the second time in my adult life, I am not ashamed of my country.  I want to thank the hard working American people for paying $242,000 plus additional expenses for my vacation in Spain. My daughter Sasha, several long-time family friends, my personal staff and various guests had a wonderful time.

Honestly, you just haven't lived until you've stayed in a $2,500. per night suite at a 5-Star luxury hotel. We only booked 70 rooms for our friends, staff and family. Thank you also for the use of Air Force 2 and the 70 Secret Service personnel who tagged along to be sure we were safe and cared for at all times.

Air Force 2 only used 47,500 gallons of JP-4 jet fuel for this trip, and carbon emissions were a mere 1,231 tons of CO2.  It costs only $11,500 per hour to operate Air Force 2 and each additional plane for the other members of our group.  These are only rough estimates but they are close (who's counting)?

That's quite a carbon footprint as my good friend Al Gore would say, so we must ask the American citizens to drive smaller, more fuel efficient cars and drive less too, so we can lessen our combined carbon footprint.

I know times are hard and millions of you are struggling to put food on the table and trying to make ends meet.  I do appreciate your sacrifice and I do hope you will find a job soon. 

I was really exhausted after Barack took our family on a luxury vacation in Maine a few weeks ago. I just had to get away for a few days to Spain. Will write more from Martha's Vineyard where we will spend our sixth vacation this year with more of our family and friends.

Cordially,
Michelle Obama


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Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

BOOMERS & BULLSH*T: WE BID FAREWELL

The latest of a disturbing series of emails from the great Texas gunsmith and friend of this site, Tom of Boomers and Bullshit, announcing his departure from the blogosphere.

I say disturbing because I do not like to see anyone pack it in on any enterprise or undertaking. Tom has contributed much to STORMBRINGER - but the blog venue obviously isn't working for him, perhaps he will continue to contribute in another vein.

Best wishes to you Tom, in anything and everything you do, as you move forward . . . - S.L.



THE END OF AN EXPERIMENT THAT FAILED

Seems a good note to go out on.

I still will have things to contribute to my regular haunts, once in a while, ain't dead, but I'd rather work on this stuff I'm getting PAID FOR than moderate comments from people who think I don't know how some particular guns work when I have Browning's entire evolution of plan drawings for the firearm in question, as a friend of mine, he deals in blueprints and it's a firearm I own multiple copies of.

Thought about it all day and this is where it shall end. Shame in a way, but I don't like working to get insulted for free.

If I wanted to do that every day, I'd still moonlight playing guitar and doing sound. Everybody knows a "better" guitarist just like everybody knows a "better" internet historian...Nobody liked Churchill except when they needed him, either, aye? So Winston went back to doing things he liked to do and writing some REALLY GOOD BOOKS instead of trying to swim upstream.

No need for anybody to link me anymore unless it's for nostalgia.

I have BRENs and Martini-Henry rifles to fiddle with instead of moderating insults from people who tell me I don't own them when they are hanging on the wall ;-)

People who aren't idiots that have technical questions most likely know where to find me, OR, KNOW HOW TO READ A BOOK or THREE...


Excelsior,
tom
Former Proprietor of Boomers and BS
Still a Smithy Person

IRAN TESTS ENHANCED SHORT-RANGE MISSILE

Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi

On Wednesday, August 25th, Iran announced it had conducted a test launch of an enhanced version of its Fateh 110 short-range missile (Agence France-Presse reported. The domestically produced ground-to-ground weapon "works on solid fuel, so compared to previous generations it has an increased range and accuracy. Its preparation as well as launching systems are speedier," said Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi. "This missile, which is in the short-range class, has added new features to the country's missile system," he added.




The domestically produced ground-to-ground weapon "works on solid fuel, so compared to previous generations it has an increased range and accuracy. Its preparation as well as launching systems are speedier," said Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi.

"This missile, which is in the short-range class, has added new features to the country's missile system," he added.

The launch was shown on television, but it was not immediately known when the test occurred.

Vahidi also did not provide details on the third-generation missile's maximum flight distance, AFP reported. An earlier iteration of the Fateh 110 had a range of 90 to 125 miles (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, Aug. 25).

Vahidi said Iran's military would receive the new missile next month.

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SMALLPOX

WHO Prepares to Consider Smallpox Eradication . . . AGAIN



The World Health Organization is gearing up for a decision next year on the possible destruction of the remaining known smallpox stocks . . .


Read about it HERE.


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