June 17, 2017

At the Black Eye Café...

P1090570

... you can talk about whatever you want.

And think about spending some money on Amazon through The Althouse Amazon Portal.

The photo is by Meade from June 2015. I'm doing a bit of a 2-year retrospective. Hope you enjoy looking back on some of the great dog's-eye view photographs we loved so much in the short life of the blog called The Puparazzo.

92 comments:

tcrosse said...

Billy Connolly has been Knighted. Rise, Sir Billy.

madAsHell said...

The Soundgarden is an art exhibit on the NOAA campus at Magnuson park. There is an off-leash dog park adjacent to the NOAA campus. Last month, I began to notice a memorial to Chris on the fence between the dog park, and NOAA. I spent several days wondering who Chris was. Finally, someone connected the dots for me.

Duh!

h said...

Thanks for labelling the NYT links -- those of us without subscriptions don't want to use our limited clicks on stories of secondary interest to us.

Hagar said...

All the news sites report "Navy ship collides ..." though the pictures obviously show that the container ship T-boned the destroyer, so it was the other way around.

Which of course does not excuse the crew on the destroyer from failing to notice the approach of the container ship, and its captain and a number of officers will be cashiered as a result, but the affront to the English language is annnoying.

Michael K said...

"does not excuse the crew on the destroyer from failing to notice the approach of the container ship"

That is just bizarre. It is even giving rise to conspiracy theories but I suspect somebody was asleep. It was 2 AM.

Hagar said...

Even in the merchant marine there is no such thing as "being asleep" on the open sea. A third of the crew is always on watch.

rhhardin said...

We need more joint maneuvers with Philippine container ships.

Ken B said...

What was the split in the Cosby jury? I cannot find that. (perhaps CNN is deciding which numbers will be worst for trump)

Ralph L said...

My neighbors have a calico cat with big black eyes like that dog. Looks really weird. She also has 4 white go-go boots.

Hagar said...

Another peeve.
Doug McKelway of Fox News about the D.C. shooting: "... 7.62 mm; a cartridge so powerful it can bring down an elephant."
I am not even sure he said cartridge; it might have been "bullet" or even "round."

7.62 mm = .30 caliber which in common cartridges can be anything from .30 Carbine to .300 Magnum, but in this case seems to be for an AK-47; i.e. somewhat less powerful than a 30-30, which is the lowest power cartidge recommended for hunting deer.

Of course, every big game animal in North America, including grizzlys and bison, have been killed with .22 Long Rifle, and it might well be that some idiot has even killed an African elephant with a .22, but it still is a remarkably stupid statement to still make after all the criticism the media has got for this kind of ignorant statements in later years.

Ralph L said...

My dad gets the Navy Times, which I usually skim through. There has been a large number of COs relieved of (not always sea) command, even a female or two, and senior chiefs also. Too many lawyers.

Etienne said...

Man... that's an ugly dog.

Etienne said...

That ship has about 20 radar's on it. Obviously it was a kamikaze terrorist attack.

Hagar said...

Right. With a blimp.

Michael K said...

How does a ship get crossways with another ship in clear conditions (maybe not but no mention of fog) with an alert lookout? The container ship has an excuse because forward visibility can be an issue but the destroyer ? This is far worse than putting your ship on a sand bar.

My partner's son once rammed a ship with his 30 foot powerboat at 2 AM when they had the radar flipped on the wrong setting so the ship looked far away when it was right in front of them.

I assume destroyer crews are smarter than that.

tcrosse said...

Presumably the Destroyer is much faster and more maneuverable than the container ship, and should have passed around its stern. Something's fishy.

jaydub said...

Hagar and Michael K, I don't know how many navy sea commands each of you have had, but for myself, I had four, including command of Destroyer Squadron Fifteen, which is forward deployed to Yokosuka, Japan and of which Fitz is a part. Hagar, you may be annoyed by an assault on the English language, but I am annoyed by landlubbers offering simplistic opinions on complicated subjects of which they have no direct knowledge and little expertise. The ships were in one of the busiest sealanes in the world, and their collision could have been a direct result of a multitude of problems, not all of which involve human error. Seven sailors have apparently already been "cashiered" no matter who was at fault, and I'm certain the captain would gladly sacrifice his remaining career to get any one of them back. Michael K, what I find bizarre is that you think the captain was asleep and the freighter came unnoticed. The captain was airlifted to the hospital in Yokosuka, and I'm pretty sure he didn't get injured by being thrown out of his bunk. He was most likely standing on the bridge wing, probably trying to get out of extremis, and he was probably injured when the bridge wing was crushed.

Damn, I dislike armchair quarterbacks, particularly those who don't even understand the game, let alone appreciate the challenges the actual players face.

Bay Area Guy said...

It is 100 degrees in Napa this morning. Ever heard of the place? It's famous for wine.

Saint Croix said...

I got two black eyes one time! I used to say I looked like a damn raccoon. But now I think Ii'll say I was just visiting the Black Eye Cafe.

roesch/voltaire said...

Jaydub now nice to read comments from someone who has experience and understands the situation as opposed to many of us who like to make arm chair judgments about ships at sea. But for those who like to speculate Gail Colins has an excellent column on Your Pick for TrumpWorld"s Worst Cabinet Member-- read the thousand or so comments and get in on the action the choices are many.

Saint Croix said...

hey, what about Day 2 of the Monterey Pop Festival?

here is Otis.

David Baker said...

I have a complaint; TV commercials aren’t long enough. Because I need enough time to make a grilled cheese sandwich, from scratch. Only once during the past year did I get back to the TV with my grilled cheese sandwich in hand as my program resumed.

I’ve contacted the various TV stations about the problem, but thus far only one has responded; AMC; they say they’re “working on it.” So I’m back to peanut butter and jelly – which, btw, I’m rarely able to finish eating before the next commercial begins.

Gahrie said...

@Althouse:

Do you believe that 20% of the women who attend the University of Wisconsin at Madison will be raped?

Bay Area Guy said...

Cosby's spokesman - a lawyer for the Black Panthers - told Gloria Allred to "go back to law school".

I hope this dispute doesn't end soon.

Etienne said...

Do you believe that 20% of the women who attend the University of Wisconsin at Madison will be raped?

100% of the students will be raped.

Anyone who pays the tuition and fee's is being financially raped.

Etienne said...

jaydub said...I don't know how many navy sea commands each of you have had, but for myself, I had four...

Yea, yea, we believe you. People with anonymous blogger accounts are always believable :-)

Anyone who gets clobbered on the right side, is responsible for the collision. They have failed to yield the right of way.

Unknown said...

7.62 x .39 or 7.62 x .51 is the question.

Hagar said...

I do not buy it. A landlubber all right, but I grew up on the fjord.

A 29,000 ton container ship is not very maneuverable, but neither is it anything you can miss seeing. Even at night, I assume it would be well lit up plus all the radar on the destroyer.
And a destroyer, though no longer a WWI "tin can," still is a scout- and guard ship.

For that matter, not being a war zone, I assume the destroyer also carried lights, and of course, these days the large cargo ships also have radar.

It often happens that foolish sailboat skippers insist on right-of-way from engine-powered boats that obviously cannot react that fast, but that can hardly be the case here.

Paco Wové said...

Bret Stephens, in the NYT (courtesty of Steve Sailer):

"Because I’m the child of immigrants and grew up abroad, I have always thought of the United States as a country that belongs first to its newcomers..."

Funny, I thought the United States "belonged" – to the extent it belongs to anybody – to its citizens. He continues:

"We’re a country of immigrants — by and for them, too. Americans who don’t get it should get out."

Well then. One positive thing about the Age of Trump: all the masks are coming off. Speaking as somebody whose ancestors have been here a good long time, this sort of attitude – enthusiastically supported by the NYT readership, based on the comments – makes me even less supportive of our current immigration policies than I currently am (not very). This arrogant "nice country you made here; now get out and make room for me and my relatives, who are obviously more deserving than you" attitude fills me with the urge to tell Mr. Stephens and all his immigrant friends to GTFO.

David Baker said...

Echoes of the Caine Mutiny.

tcrosse said...

"We’re a country of immigrants — by and for them, too. Americans who don’t get it should get out."

Remember "America: Love it or Leave It" ?

Bad Lieutenant said...

fills me with the urge to tell Mr. Stephens and all his immigrant friends to GTFO.

Funny, it fills me with the urge to make them die, but no doubt you are a better person than I.

Known Unknown said...

"All the news sites report "Navy ship collides ..." though the pictures obviously show that the container ship T-boned the destroyer, so it was the other way around."

You want a doozy headline? BBC: Three Palestinians Killed After Deadly Stabbing in Jerusalem

The Palestinians were the stabbers. They killed an Israeli policewoman. They were shot after getting all stabby.

traditionalguy said...

It's time to read The Grapes of Wrath again.

Paco Wové said...

I was trying to be diplomatic, B.L.

Michael K said...

I am annoyed by landlubbers offering simplistic opinions on complicated subjects of which they have no direct knowledge and little expertise.

Mr fuckhead Navy man, how about you find Hawaii with a sextant?

I am tired of the anonymous experts who know very little to nothing. You could have posted a comment without insulting others but you had to blow up your chest and brag about your button pushing skills.

I'll bet you are better at Powerpoint presentations than I am. Really.

jaydub said...

Etienne, J.W. Parker, COMDESRON 15, 1989 - 91. Look it up, asshole, then see if you can figure out where I got the "Jaydub" avatar. The ship on another's starboard side is the burdened vessel, which is not the same as "right of way." If the burdened vessel fails to maintain course and speed, it violates the rules of the road. If it was overtaking, it is the giveway vessel. If they were meeting, both had an obligation to pass to the portside of the the other. It's not clear whether these two ships were crossing, meeting mostly head-on, or one overtaking the other. The apparent damage could have been caused by any of those situations. All you are doing is pulling conjecture out of a dark hole.

Hagar, this particular "scout and guard" ship displaces 9200 tons, is 510 feet long, has a beam of 66 feet and carries 90 Tomahawk or Standard AAW missiles. What makes you think the freighter didn't turn into the Fitz at the last minute, or have a steering caualty, or whatever. The freighter has a mate, a helmsman and maybe a lookout on watch. The destroyer has a two officer and 7 person bridge team, three lookouts, plus another two officers with a radar tracking and navigation team in the ship's command center. The freighter's forward visibility is obscured by stacked containers. Which do you think is more likely to have missed the other? Also, extremis is defined as being in a situation wherein the actions of one ship alone cannot prevent a collision - why do you think the destroyer was not put in extremis by the actions of the freighter? Personally, I don't know who was at fault, but I'm not so inexperienced so as to speculate on the subject without knowing a lot more. I do know what the statistics say, and in they say the freighter was probably at fault. By the way, I drove a fjord when I was growing up, too.

tcrosse said...

I am annoyed by landlubbers offering simplistic opinions on complicated subjects of which they have no direct knowledge and little expertise.

How complicated can it be ? Some extraordinary circumstance caused this collision to occur. We don't yet know what it was. They're investigating.

traditionalguy said...

The Coup by old DC lawyers busy spirit cooking up Fake Crimes against a popular President who was elected to end their pet corrupt thefts is ignoring a coming explosion of middle class workers who just elected him. And they all deserve long sentences in Federal Prison for Treason. One where Fake News CNN is the only channel.



Bob Ellison said...

I have a complaint: Verizon FIOS TV service cuts off after about, I dunno, maybe four hours of delivery. Verizon reverts to a blank screen-saver screen that says "if you want to watch, press Menu; otherwise, turn off your TV".

That's amazing. If I wanted to stop watching, I would've turned off my set-top box. If I wanted not to have 24/7/nonstop service, I would've reverted to cable.

You Verizon people don't seem to understand. Back in the day, we'd turn on our TV, our radio, heck, our web browser, and get instant service. Verizon FIOS even delivers instant, nonstop Internet. Why would they think it's OK to cut off the baseball game in the eighth inning?

Answer: they're throttling. Don't deliver a service that's not being watched. Save money thereby.

They're delivering better, and charging more, at businesses.

Bad Lieutenant said...

Don't mind Etienne, sailor, he's an AF puke and I think they might have shorted him on oxygen sometimes.

That said, I daresay that captain will never capt again. Sick for his men as he may be, he has no career to trade for them. Or have they moved off the zero defect mentality?

jaydub said...

Michael K, I didn't brag about anything, just stated facts. And I didn't go off on you, I simply pointed out that you don't have a clue as to what you are talking about. Which you don't. And, I certainly didn't call you a "fuckhead," but, then, I didn't have to since you are perfectly capable of self-identifying. BTW, I've found Hawaii with a sextant dozens of times. Could you find your ass with both hands?

Bad Lieutenant said...

You want a doozy headline? BBC: Three Palestinians Killed After Deadly Stabbing in Jerusalem

The Palestinians were the stabbers. They killed an Israeli policewoman. They were shot after getting all stabby.


Funny...

Tim Wright said...

Meade...miss the puparazzo. Do you still go to the dog park? And how is Zeus? Tim

steve uhr said...

lets see. Who to believe on the possible causes of the collision. Sailer boy or navy sea commander? Tough one. Maybe a charity game of water chicken to settle things.

Anonymous said...

Paco Wové: Bret Stephens, in the NYT...

Oh yeah, I'd forgotten that open borders nutjob Stephens has been playing the "conservative" over at the NYT.

Headline for this subtle "satirical" (haw haw haw) piece by open borders nujob Stephens:

"Only Mass Deportation Can Save America"

He's "satirically" (haw haw haw) proposing the mass deportation of worthless people (Trump voters and anybody not down with mass immigration). I know authors don't write headlines, but there's something definitely "wtf" about a Jewish guy writing (satirical haw haw haw haw haw) articles about mass deportations of untermenschen so they can be replaced by superior stock. (When you're an open borders nutjob you tend toward an autistic deficiency in irony and self-insight, I guess.)

The comments are full of the usual - the only demurrals are some atheists enthusiastically in agreement with his (satirical haw haw haw) views, but butthurt about his mentioning belief in God as relevant to being a real 'murican (i.e., an immigrant).

They're also awash with people suffering from virulent cases of Immigrant Narcissism Syndrome - we make this country, this country was nothing 'til we showed up, we're better than all of you, blah blah blah...They also exhibit the peculiar tendency of some immigrant groups to be very gullible and susceptible to the propaganda of "prestige" media and institutions. E.g, one commenter, after informing the reader of the unutterable superiority of himself and his group, how much he loves America and his fellow Americans, who nevertheless suck and are inferior in every way, drops this gem:

"I can see that rural and southern whites make a negative net contribution to the economy, and disproportionately believe in anti-science dogma, and have stood for everything that prevents progress (and are now embracing with vigor, Nazi tactics of torch burning and red confederate flag waving)."

Hey, we appreciate your being a net tax-payer (at least, you say you are), oh god-like salvific immigrant, but could you try being a little more critical - dare I say intellectually curious - in your consumption of the contents of fish-wrappers and msm circle-jerks? Naturally, this character whimpers about alleged "we all look alike to them" persecutions, and alleged "looks" from hatey-hating natives. "To see ourselves as others see us" is obviously not a well-cultivated virtue among the denizens of NYT comment sections.

One more, and feel the love, haters:

May I suggest that we let Mr. Trump's supporters (or at least those inside the beltway) remain in the country without status--that we put them to work cleaning our hotel rooms, picking our vegetables & doing our domestic work, for slave wages & no benefits? And maybe we can prosecute them for "voter fraud", for turning our politics into a less honest version of pro wrestling?

The masks are dropping, indeed.

J. Farmer said...

Angel-Dyne:

Oh yeah, I'd forgotten that open borders nutjob Stephens has been playing the "conservative" over at the NYT.

Sadly, Stephens is the poster boy for Conservatism Inc. Invite the world, invade the world.

Michael K said...

And I didn't go off on you, I simply pointed out that you don't have a clue as to what you are talking about. Which you don't.

Did you go to the Naval Academy to get this obnoxious ?

How many radars did you have with you. while finding Hawaii "with a sextant?"

By the way, I did not say the captain"Was asleep" but he is in big trouble.

I wonder how much trouble you got into to be this defensive?

Fernandinande said...

David Baker said...
I have a complaint; TV commercials aren’t long enough. Because I need enough time to make a grilled cheese sandwich, from scratch.


New Wearable Feedbags Let Americans Eat More, Move Less

Or.

Hammond X. Gritzkofe said...

The Navy destroyer and container ship collision.

Meanwhile, the United States has refused to speculate on the shocking accident despite not having an official ambassador to Japan after Caroline Kennedy returned home and the Trump administration not announcing a replacement.

Seen at the Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4612334/USS-Fitzgerald-involved-collision-merchant-vessel.html

What does that even mean? If there is no ambassador, then the Navy should speculate "on" the accident. Speculate as to what?

Daily Mail gets good pictures and fast, but the writing BAD!

Drago said...

Michael K (to Jaydub): "Did you go to the Naval Academy to get this obnoxious?"

Btw Michael, that would be Commodore Jaydub as DESRON 15 Actual, not Captain.

But I must admit I am appalled that a callsign was given to a "Black shoe".

Hammond X. Gritzkofe said...

The Daily Mail does have depictions of what is said to be the track of the container ship. A sharp left U turn just before the collision. Strange.

Drago said...

And it's perfectly possible that an officer can be a complete a**hole without having attended Boat School. I was quite content to be a jerk from a ROTC unit.

Fernandinande said...

Hammond X. Gritzkofe said...
Daily Mail gets good pictures and fast, but the writing BAD!


Indeed.

I'll speculate for ya: Everyone was busy reading Trump's twits on their portable tweeters.

I hope the upcoming war with the Philistines doesn't cost too much.

Bad Lieutenant said...

Mike, jdub, relax (he suggested non-bindingly). We don't know enough.

From the pics I've seen it appears a glancing blow. Not a T-bone, more like one or both almost successfully evaded. Freighter's left bow is marked, cosmetic. Destroyer's right forequarter is marred but not deeply, would say the ship was still battle ready let alone seaworthy.

Too haphazard to be some Flip-Chinese deviltry, I'd say.

From memories of Sunfish races at summer camp, I believe the vessel to starboard had the right of way.

We (I) don't know enough. But ceteris paribus, I'd say a call for either flank speed or full speed astern should have answered.

I'd like to see the case made, hypothetical or real, where the skipper keeps his job.

May the missing sailors be found, and the injured recover.

urbane legend said...

Daily Mail gets good pictures and fast, but the writing BAD!

They're British, right? How much could they know about the English language?

Christy said...

Hoping to regain my sanguine nature, I went cold-turkey this week on the news and current event blogs. The next day I awoke to the baseball field shooting. Now I am scarily sanguinary.

J said...

Jay dub thanks for your service.Since I was once on the bridge of an old Coontz class when we had to pull an emergency breakaway from the America in the Med thanks to a curiously acting German freighter.I know just how stupefying some of the nighttime conditions in busy sea lanes can be.I feel for all.No sailor goes to sea to wreck ships. Hagar the favorite weapon of elephant poachers is the ubiquitous AK of 7.62X39. Have a good day all caliber..

grackle said...

By the way, I did not say the captain"Was asleep" but he is in big trouble.

As a Navy veteran I can tell you this for sure: It doesn’t matter whether the Captain was asleep or wide awake. Unless there is an air-tight explanation for the collision the Captain’s career is over.

One way the Captain could keep his career: If the collision was willfully and obviously caused by the container ship.

tcrosse said...

Meanwhile, the United States has refused to speculate on the shocking accident despite not having an official ambassador to Japan after Caroline Kennedy returned home and the Trump administration not announcing a replacement.

Yeah, Caroline Kennedy would have straightened it all out.

khesanh0802 said...

Spanky and Our Gang visits the Althouse.

Clyde said...

Earlier today, Drudge linked to a story from Agence France-Presse (although this link goes to the Hindustan Times version of the story) about the "epidemic" of lynchings of thieves in Venezuela, including some burned alive. So far this year, there have been 60 lynchings. Last year, there were 126, up from 20 the year before. This looks like a symptom of a society in complete breakdown.

“In lynchings, citizens let out their anger in the face of a state that is not defending their right to justice,” says [Marco] Ponce [coordinator of the Venezuelan Social Conflict Observatory (OVCS)]. “They think they are dispensing justice, and they do so with anger, so they go as far as killing the person.”

“People feel that the state is not protecting them, so they opt to defend themselves,” says Freddy Crespo, a criminologist at the University of the Andes. “Their fear turns into anger.”

“The state is supposed to provide you with civil and judicial security, which we are totally lacking,” says one Caracas resident, Maria Hernandez. “But I don’t think it is just for me to come and kill or burn you just because you have robbed,” she adds. “That way I would turn into someone more barbaric than you.”

What does this have to do with anything? Well, given our recent spate of increasing political hatred in America, we may be starting down that path. More thoughts on that shortly.

khesanh0802 said...

@Pace Wove et al. Stephens lost his marbles during the election and has clearly not recovered. It's a shame because at one time he was a fairly sensible voice on the ME and other hot spots. Given his age I am writing it off as mid-life crisis material. I was happy that Bret left the Journal so I would not feel obliged to read him anymore.

Paco Wové said...

"refused to speculate on the shocking accident despite not having an official ambassador to Japan after Caroline Kennedy returned home"

Yeah, they really pulled a grammar muscle there getting in a dig at Trump. "Refused to speculate ... despite not having an official ambassador"? Because any normal ambassador-less country would be speculating up a storm right now?

Anyway, SOP at an embassy when between ambassadors is for the Deputy Chief of Mission to take on the ambassador's duties. Given that the DCM is usually a career diplomat (unlike the ambassadors, whose only qualifying attributes, frequently, are being rich friends of the President), I'd say we're definitely no worse off.

Michael K said...

"One way the Captain could keep his career: If the collision was willfully and obviously caused by the container ship."

Destroyers (Of course I don't know what I am talking about) should be more maneuverable than a container ship.

I hope they find those guys missing.

Michael K said...

"Destroyer's right forequarter is marred but not deeply, would say the ship was still battle ready let alone seaworthy."

The account I saw said there was underwater damage to the destroyer and it was in danger of sinking. The container ship may have one of those Elvstrom bulbs on the bow which speared the DD,.

I was a zoomie but can still throw around that Navy lingo like "DD."

Clyde said...

I've been thinking about the Democrat shooter, James T. Hodgkinson. The other day, I heard someone on television referring to him as a "madman" and a "lunatic." The problem is that the description is inaccurate. Hodgkinson was a cold-blooded attempted murderer, and the only thing that stopped him from carrying out his plan was that he unexpectedly came up against a couple of plainclothes Capitol police, who shot and killed him. His plan, while clearly evil, was internally consistent with his belief system.

I think the closest parallel is another political shooter, Anders Behring Breivik of Norway, who murdered 77 people on July 22, 2011. Although coming from different points on the political spectrum, both believed that their political enemies were so wicked and their plans so evil that any means was justifiable to stop them. And so Breivik blew up a van, killing eight people, and then shot up a Workers' Youth League (AUF) summer camp on the island of Utøya, killing 69 young socialists, and Hodgkinson took a rifle and shot five people while attempting to massacre a group of Republican Congressmen at a baseball practice.

In both cases, the shooter believed that his political enemies were committing treasonous acts against the nation, and felt that there was no longer any kind of normal political redress possible. When words no longer work, when the government gives no justice, then people turn to violence to "dispense justice" themselves. Such outbursts are foolish and pointless, of course. The government maintains a monopoly on the legal use of force, and has far more guns, bullets and other resources than any would-be Breivik or Hodgkinson can match. The ultimate outcome is always the same: Death by agents of the State, or incarceration (as Breivik has received).

Hodgkinson is a canary in the coal mine: When people start acting out in that way, it shows that there is a lot of underlying stress in the system. We have a century-and-a-half of the peaceful transfer of political power after every election, and we think that just because "it's always been that way" during our lifetimes that it is the natural order of things. It is not, as anyone who understands history knows. The people of Venezuela had been fairly prosperous for a long time, at least by Latin American standards. But they elected a socialist in Hugo Chavez who promised lots of free stuff to the poor in order to buy their votes. In short order, however, he started running out of other people's money, and Venezuela has been spiraling around the drain for the past few years.

Achieving things is hard. Fucking things up is easy. And we have a crew in Washington that has excelled at that latter. Don't think that just because you're living a comfortable life right now that it is the natural order of things. The Gods of the Copybook Headings laugh at that sort of ignorance.

Hagar said...

I do not know what the comment about "driving a fjord" is supposed to mean. I just mentioned growing up on the fjord to indicate that though not having skippered anything bigger than an "Oslo jolle" myself, I at least have some familiarity with life on the water.
And I do know that my father, a captain of the Norwegian navy, would have hated to explain how come he got rammed by a container ship, regardless of the circumstances.

Also, it is true that the AK-47 is the favorite weapons of the African poachers, but the most powerful cartridge available for the AK-47 is still less powerful than a 30-30.

Anonymous said...

J. Farmer:

Sadly, Stephens is the poster boy for Conservatism Inc. Invite the world, invade the world.

He's always been an "IWIW" asshole, but all those IWIW guys (and girls) seem to be devolving from "smug assholes" to "swivel-eyed loons who have lost all self-control" in front of our eyes.

Sporting of one's mortal enemies to identity themselves so straightforwardly, no? Clarifies things nicely.

jaydub said...

No, MK, I didn't go to the Naval Academy. Nor do I enjoy a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent; so,quit trying to provoke me. It's not going to work.

As for high tech gear, my first command was a 205 feet, 1647 ton, 55 man fleet tug that was commissioned in 1942 and had a single, unreliable commercial type 8 NM navigation radar that quit whenever the temperature got above 80 degrees. It did have a loran system, but coverage in the Western Pacific where I operated was unreliable-to-nonexistant in the early 70's. By necessity I got pretty good with a sextant, even on the midwatch with a 3/4 or more full moon so as to be able to see a horizon. My subsequent ships were higher tech. And, no, I was never in trouble, nor do I believe I am being defensive - only standing up for some good men who are serving for you and me at the tip of the spear, so to speak, and don't deserve cheap shots from someone who has never even been in the arena. Besides, if the track that the Daily Mail article that Hammond X. Gritzkofe linked is accurate, the CO of the Fitz is unlikely to be in trouble, either. The freighter looks like it did everything possible to put him in extremis and then run him down. The Japanese have a tracking system that records every ship's course and speed within a given area, which is probably where the Mail got the track it showed, so this isn't going to be hard to sort out.

Hagar said...

Anders Breivik is a nutcase living in a fantasy world. You would have to ask a psychiatrist about the terms for him.

Hodgkinson may have "gone around the bend," but here on earth.
I do not think he really is a "Bernie" supporter as such, but rather have latched on to Sen. Sanders for lack of a leader representing "the union vote." When this guy was a boy, the industrial unions, "Big Labor," composed 35% of the labor force; now it is 5% or less, and still fading. For Hodgkinson this is just "the world turned upside down," and he feels lost and abandoned.
If you are not from a union area it is hard to believe how strongly some people feel about this, but it is real enough.

Michael K said...

"quit trying to provoke me. It's not going to work. "

You tried to provoke everyone here who did not have his ticket punched by your Navy.

You may have lots of expertise but you are still a jerk.

Hagar said...

New Study Proves Tyrannosaurus Rex Had Scaly Lizard Skin, Not Feathers.

And an elephant does not have a hairy pelt, but it is still a fur-bearing mammal.

Hagar said...

“And if President Trump were to fire Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein, and then [get] special counsel Mueller fired, I believe Congress would begin impeachment proceedings.”

All that from an off-hand comment on Twitter about an oddity situation in Washington politics!

Fen said...

Clyde, agreed. I think it's a mistake to "dismiss" the shooter as a nutjob. I think he was fed a steady diet of agitation propaganda and acted accordingly.

In the Marines we are trained to respond to *legitimate* threats pre-emptively and with disproportionate force. If there was factual true information that congressional Dems were planning to herd conservatives into trains for the labor camps, it would be an easy thing to round up a dozen or so Marines to end them. And none of those guys are crazy.

Bad Lieutenant said...

Hagar,

Guessing he means, he's a squarehead too.


Jaydub,
The freighter looks like it did everything possible to put him in extremis and then run him down.

So you're plumping for Flip-Chinese skulduggery? OK, that is rather alarming if true.

David Baker said...

@Fernandinande

Actually, I came up with a better idea; I put the TV in the kitchen. Even the cat likes the new arrangement.

Humperdink said...

My fellow employee has a favorite saying: "90% accurate, 100% arrogant".

Not a virtue.

traditionalguy said...

Hodgkinson has the appearance of a John Burch Society cult member. He has to be the only one right about the dangerous enemy. And he finally proved how valuable he is by taking action.

But those mental captives are not free men They came from training by intense ideology courses
and are provisioned and directed by a handler.

Look for the source of the ideological courses and their providers for years leading up to the mission. That will be the rational actor motivated by money.

Gahrie said...

Hodgkinson has the appearance of a John Burch Society cult member.

What? He was a Bernie Bro!! Do you even know what the John Birch Society actually was?

CWJ said...

Clyde,

Thank you for your comment.

tcrosse said...

The freighter looks like it did everything possible to put him in extremis and then run him down.

Still, that a container ship could out-maneuver a destroyer must raise a few eyebrows.
Let the inquiry proceed.

grackle said...

Want to be inspired? Listen to this song. And consider that it was co-authored and is sung by a mere child.

Bob Ellison said...

Clyde, your comment is good.

I've been thinking more often lately that we were raised to think, hey, 66-year-old white guy with a good haircut and well-trimmed beard, maybe a few pounds heavy, he can't be a lunatic, right?

But this one was a lunatic. We don't know how long. Maybe he was just a fellow traveler for decades, and got on some meds that released his inner demon.

More and more, I think "Anyone can be a lunatic." It's a right and a bad disposition. Doesn't care about race, age, sex, or anything else. But society should keep those people down, with meds and police and straps as necessary.

Rusty said...

I hope they find those guys missing.

I think they found them in a flooded compartment. none of them alive.

Quaestor said...
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Quaestor said...
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Hammond X. Gritzkofe said...

Apropos James T. Hodgkinson and Belleville, IL (also maybe apropos IL state finances):

When we were stationed at nearby Scott AFB (mid 1970's) real estate agent was riding us around O'Fallon. We noticed some burned out partially built homes in a development under construction.

"Oh, those. The builder was using some non-union labor and somehow those caught fire one night."

Michael K said...

Here is a bit more on the destroyer-container ship collision.

In a period of seconds, a 29,000 ton cargo ship loaded with containers plowed into its right side, crushing a large section of the destroyer’s main structure, including the captain’s cabin and sleeping quarters for 116 sailors below the waterline. Seawater flooded in through a large gash.

As the crew scrambled to save themselves and the ship, seven sailors didn’t make it out of the berthing area. Their bodies were recovered by divers after the ship crawled to the port of Yokosuka.

“The water inflow was tremendous,” Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin, head of the U.S. Seventh Fleet, said in a press briefing on Sunday. “There wasn’t a lot of time” for sailors to react.

Badly injured, the captain, Bryce Benson, escaped from his cabin. He was airlifted to a nearby hospital where he was receiving emergency treatment on Sunday before being questioned.


The captain was asleep in his cabin. Of course only a career Navy man can understand any of this.

However, Nippon Yusen K.K . , the Japanese shipping company that operates the 728-foot-long ACX Crystal, has stated that the collision occurred around 1:30 a.m. That discrepancy hasn’t been resolved.

She did not reverse the course before the collision. She did after the collision,” a Nippon Yusen company spokesman said.


Probably not a Chinese sneak attack.

Hagar said...

But possibly a Filipino one?
The maneuvers of the ACX Crystal appear quite extraordinary. I kind of faintly remember seeing something on "Impossible Engineering"(?) about newer large ships being fitted with swivelling propellers, or something like that, for maneuvering in port to dockside. Is it possible to engage that at speed so as to execute completely unexpected sharp turns and deliberately ram the destroyer?
The Philippine government may be more or less our ally, but all its citizens certainly are not. Besides, freighter crews these days tend to be rather a motley international mixture.

Hagar said...

Pure speculation by "armchair admiral," of course.

Bad Lieutenant said...

Are the freighter and its crew in custody in Japan? Are the crew being sweated?