I don't have a lot of time to blog right now, but I was online taking care of some things believe it or not, and I came across a thread, which lead me to a post that I felt the need to address. I really didn't want to waste the time, but I felt the need.

What I am going to re-post is pretty well what I posted on my forum.

Ok so I was out on one of my strolls around the Internet. I usually stay away from certain specific people for so many reasons. Anyways I came across a thread that links to these two postings which I will address here and then on my blog.

Here are the links. For those of you who don't know. The author is "suppose to be" a top leader for the Gang Stalking Community.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vertacs/message/231

In addressing the first link I wrote.

Since the above post refers to my website, then I think it's important to address the attacks or issues posted there.

Apparently my site is a poison pill site. The author would know more about poison pills than I would, but I digress. Let me address the comments and meat of the article.

The top two gang stalking techniques are air stalking and brighting because the author of the Gang Stalking World website, fancies a little thing called alphabetical ordering. For those of you who do not know what this means, it means to place items in a list from A-Z.

This means that items that we experience that begin with A will be listed first, then items that begin with B will be listed second and so forth.

Hopefully the none targets will have enough common sense to understand the concept of alphabetical listings. If they do not, I am not responsible for human stupidity, contrary to popular beliefs.

Let's go to the young mother with the cellphone. Since we now know that children as young as 8 are being recruited to be Covert Human Intelligence Sources, and the site goes on to back this up with appropriate details, then it should be no problem for the common person to understand the concept of how the stalking takes place.

This way the average person can conceptualise what we mean about the stalking being subtle. I also had this concept from another magazine from several years ago, that showed a picture of a mom with a stroller and her shadow was that of a cop. The picture was done to illustrate what the civilian spies would be like. The concept was a good one then, and in my personal opinion is a good one now.

Remember I am not just sitting here daily. I am trying on a continuous bases to bridge the gap between what we experience and what the normal realm has not. I have studied what does and does not work. I have done a great deal to make sure that this does get normalised, and that the actual truth comes out, which is more than I can say for others.

I also wrote and have been meaning to address this issues for some time now, in relationship to the term Gang Stalking.

The term Gang Stalking and why I think it works. When I first came online, there were a lot of terms for what were happening, Gang Stalking, Multi Stalking, Vengeance Stalking, etc, etc.

Over time while I was doing research to try to find out what Gang Stalking was, part of what I tried to do was get the term normalised in society as another website had suggested that we do. This was part of my early activism.

I was able by working the search engines to ensure that the term was well placed and became adapted and more accepted in more normal society.

I think the only people that the term truly confuses, that I have come across in the last 2 years, are people that are citizen informants who have a specific effort to try to discredit the term. You might get the odd person who is truly confused, but overall, this is a term that many normal people have come to understand.

If you change the name, we will and would have had to start all over again. In the middle of trying to get the term normalised, a so called community leader had tried to get the term dropped, and I disagreed with this person and for that reason fought to keep the term alive.

Eg. Imagine if we stopped calling ourselves Targeted Individuals tomorrow and tried for a new term? The same process of normalizing this will begin all over again and that is not good for any movement.

I think if anyone that I have come across in the last two years reads the information they understand what this is.

Also when People go looking for help outside of the community and go searching in their normal places, they use the term gang stalking, mostly. I find that after two years of a lot of garbage, people in normal circles recognise this term and are able to tell people what to do to get help.

I constantly check to see if this is working. I think any attempt to get rid of the term is counter productive for these reason, and I also think this was part of the reason for the attempt by certain parties.

That's my feedback on the term Gang Stalking. As for the other matters with the young mother and the terms for what happens to us, I am going to be addressing that.

In addressing the second link I wrote.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vertacs/messages/245?xm=1&m=e&l=1

Now apparently my site is run by Don Russell? Who the hell is that suppose to be? This is like the time starfish perp said that I was imitating some other guy that I did not know at the time. I really appreciate the methods used. Also I appreciate that they went behind my back.

It's all good, what is done in darkness will be revealed in light, sooner or later. The day will come. Sooner than later I hope.

[quote]
For example, this site is titled "gangstalking", a term which may sound great at first hearing,
but when used in conversations with non-targets, has shown that non-targets consistently think
in terms of youth/race/biker/Mafia gangs. [/quote]

Since I actually do know what I am talking about. I get this from time to time believe me. Some will go oh yeah those gang's out there. In my personal experience, this is only from the multitude of civilian informants. The same way they operate offline, they operate online the exact same way. People who actually want to listen, none targets, in my two years of posting on forums, do understand the concept and respond well to the subject matter. (Well now they do.)

Also considering that the website on the very front lists this

[quote]Gang Stalking is a systemic form of control, which seeks to destroy every aspect of a Targeted Individuals life. The target is followed around and placed under surveillance by Civilian Spies/Snitches 24/7.

The Civilian Spies can be parts of these community oriented policing programs, but most often they are just average citizens. Just like with Cointelpro investigations, everyone in the targets life is contacted and asked to be a part of the ongoing, never ending, monitoring (systemic harassment), which is designed to destroy the target over years and leave them with no form of support.

A short and simple definition of gang stalking.
What is Gang Stalking?

Gang Stalking is experienced by Targeted Individuals as psychological attack, that is capable of immobilizing and destroying a target over time. The covert methods used often leave no evidence to incriminate the Civilian Spies.

It's similar to workplace mobbing, but takes place outside in the community. It called Gang Stalking, because groups of community Spies organise to stalk and monitor targets 24/7. [/quote]

Again I take no responsibility for human stupidity, or organised citizen informants, or government agents. I think a logical thinking human who is not a perp will understand the concept of what is being said. This site over the last two years for anyone who has been following, has been worked and reworked just so that it can help the average person to understand what we are talking about. When new information comes it's continually worked into the site. Also on the main FAQ page exhibit B

[quote]
What are some techniques used against targets?

A few of the most common techniques are listed below.

a) Classical conditioning.

Getting a Targeted Individual sensitized to an everyday stimuli. The targeted individual over a period of months, or even years is negatively sensitised to an everyday stimuli, which is then used to harass them. It’s used out in public to let them know they are constantly being harassed and monitored. Some examples of everyday stimulus that might be used include: sounds, colors, patterns, actions. Eg. Red, white, yellow, strips, pens clicking, key jangling, loud coughing, loud whistling, loud smacking of clapping of hands together, cell phones, laptops, etc.

b) 24/7 Surveillance This will involve following the target everywhere they go. Learning about the target. Where they shop, work, play, who their friends and family are. Getting close to the target, moving into the community or apartment where they live, across the street. Monitoring the targets phone, house, and computer activity. Surveillance Policy.

c) Isolation of said target.

This is done via slander campaigns, and lies. Eg. People in the targets community are told that the target is a thief, into drugs, a prostitute, pedophile, crazy, in trouble for something, needs to be watched. Files will even be produced on the target, shown to neighbours, family, store keepers.

d) Noise and mimicking campaigns.

Disrupting the targets life, sleep with loud power tools, construction, stereos, doors slamming, etc. Talking in public about private things in the targets life. Mimicking actions of the target. Basically letting the target know that they are in the targets life. Daily interferences, nothing that would be too overt to the untrained eye, but psychologically degrading and damaging to the target over time.

e) Everyday life breaks and street theatre.

Flat tires, sleep deprivation, drugging food, putting dirt on targets property. Mass strangers doing things in public to annoy targets. These strangers might get text messaged to be at a specific time and place, and perform a specific action.

It might seem harmless to these Citizen Informants, but it could be causing great psychological trauma for the target. Eg. Blocking targets path, getting ahead of them in line, cutting or boxing them in on the road, saying or doing things to elicit a response from targets. Etc. It's like the death of a thousand paper cuts. One or two minor incidents will not cause any harm to the target, but over time the target is slowly worn down. [/quote]

It lists these as the main symptoms of Gang Stalking. On to the next bit.

[quote]
While many of us believe, with good cause, that government is heavily involved, without courtroom quality evidence, a statement like that above is discrediting. [/quote]

Suddenly courtroom evidence is needed? Really? When the same author was sprouting off information about vigilante gangs, where was the court room information then? Right.

Also we don't need court room information. We have historical facts, we also have current news articles about how the anti-terror laws are being abused. We have dozens of items about covert government actions. We have Gloria Naylor, and other significant targets who can directly link this with government involvement, yet suddenly we need a courtroom document, really?

Again I have already addressed the mother and the child issue. Not only is this what they really do in real life, but it's a concept image. For anyone who this works. It's a useful tool for bringing the understanding gap, between the targeted and the none targeted.

[quote]
"Civilian spies are recruited from every level and sector of society."

"Spies" is a term I would NEVER use to label our perps. Non targets, at this stage in current affairs,
are not prepared to think their neighbourhood is full of "spies." To use the term "spies", I suggest,
is very likely to draw the you-are-paranoid response from unaware non-targets. [/quote]

Well many people would never call them Stasi either, or Snitches or Citizen Informants, etc. Many people have different labels for the same things. My site uses various labels to help different people understand the concepts better. Over the last two years. I have talked to people. I have researched, and there are lot's of different people who will visit the site, there are lot's of other people who are going to be targeted.

The word spies will appeal to one sort of audience because they understand, oh community spies. Another person will understand, Snitches, cause they come from a community where the stop snitching movement is in full affect and they are familiar with that term. Others will understand the term Stasi because they dealt with this before. Over the last two years I have made every effort to reach a wide variety of audience members, and to ensure than whoever comes to the site, from whichever demographic to get help, they will see terms and read language that is familiar to them.

I have done the same thing with the media that I use. I am trying to do this with the flags that were recently added, since I realised that others in others languages do want access to the information. It's not a perfect translation, but it will give more people access to help.

Also in doing research for what is behind Gang Stalking, I encountered a wide variety of articles, some used the term spies, actually quite a few used that term. So again, just like some prefer the term organised stalking, while others prefer community mobbing, and others Gang Stalking, it's all the same term for the same thing, and using a wider variety of terms, reaches a wider audience.

To each their own, but my site has helped many people over the years. The site and the blog, because people see images and concepts that they are familiar with, remember my site is about helping targets first and foremost.

Also my site does have a fair bit of history and also current events on how these programs have been used, and who has used them. It's always been the same source, be it Cointelpro, Red Squads, Stasi, etc.

I don't know who Don is, and don't care. My site in it's current incarnation will continue to do what it has always done, and that's help people.

Two years ago when I came online looking into what I thought was harassment, then mobbing then gang stalking, there was help, but not truth. I was chasing phantom vigilante groups, and that was one of the popular terms at the time. A term that was being brandied about. I have no doubt that the term gang stalking was originally chosen to spread confusion, but in the last two years. I and some others have worked really hard to bring the truth of this darkness into the light, and I will not let it be overshadowed.

So I will leave this posting by saying to each his or her own. Your instincts have brought you this far, you know that offline there are many that can not be trusted. You know how programs like Cointelpro worked, and if you don't, go read up on them.

I have spent two years learning, you have been there with me for most of that time. I hope you will not let anyone or anything deceive you from the truth of what is really happening to us, and what is really behind this.

Great morale boosting message to the troops: "go out and get shot for us, and by the way, your on your own if you get injured (or worse). This is in addition to the substandard housing issued to their families back hom - cockroaches, that sort of thing - and of course the insulting fact that parking wardens are paid more. Lives are being lost because they don't have the right equipment, not enough helicopters, or medical staff. Can it get any worse? Watch Ross Kemp's programme if you want to see what it's like - it's harrowing.

This government is even more morally bankrupt than Watervole previously thought it was. Why, oh why, can't we sent the cabinet to the front line...

There is a wailing of sirens. The helicopter circles endlessly, it has been doing so for twenty minutes. The megaphone comes through loud and clear, the house is at most two streets over I think. This is when I hate Los Angeles. Some poor fool holed up in some shit building, and if he’s not smart he’s going to be shot tonight. Or she, I suppose he could be a she, but he almost never is.

It’s sweltering. Hot like Arizona hot during the monsoons, not the white and blinding oven heat that I rather enjoy, but a slightly sticky heat. Nothing as bad as the East Coast though. I’ve worked right through it, got so much editing work done today I’m quite a happy woman though this weekend I have a lot to pull off and I’m not quite sure how well it will go.

Siguen los pinches helicopteros.

So I’m working on a map of radical thought, it lies in different coloured post-its spread across my wall. It is the foundation for my upcoming literary tangle with combining theory and practice. For money, my first paid article. I’ve been mostly a practice girl myself, but I think it really is time to take a good look at where we’ve been, and where it has brought us, and why we are still so fucked. And when people label themselves or others as this ist or that, I’d really like to have a firm handle on what the hell that means…apart from the fact that such labels have been rendered ludicrous over the passing years, and also that maybe they’re not actually working in the trenches. Still, in the trenches you forget to look up, you have no time to think, you’re not always aware of where you’re headed and how exactly you believe you might get there. And so organizing organizations seem to have a tendency to devolve into service because the emergency is always there, and it's just easier. It's such a huge weakness. So I’m doing my map and thinking through all this stuff again and it’s been good so far.
More sirens.

So I knew, but never quite…hm, how do I say what I want to say? I knew, but it never ever struck me before that Gandhi was only 1 year older than Lenin. That their struggles were contemporary, along with their philosophies. And I don’t know if they ever commented on each other. Why do I not know that? In my head these movements are entirely compartmentalized…Europe and to a certain extent America together (as so many Europeans fled here until we deported them back), Asia, India, Africa, South and Central America…separate, isolate. They seem like different eras almost, though the separation is philosophical and geographical only. There must have been connections, I shall have to find them. Or perhaps the arrogance of the Western World simply continued supreme…

The helicopter is still circling. They haven’t made demands in a while.

So you look at Europe up through the Russian Revolution, the Spartacist League, the Spanish Civil War, and all the theorists and philosophers have some connection to struggle. There are a number of people who are self-educated and brilliant and came out of the working class. And then it all gets more and more abstract, Marxism moves into the Universities and sits there writing to itself. The people doing stuff are elsewhere, in other countries around the globe. Or perhaps still in Europe, I just haven’t sifted down to them yet. But they aren't like their forerunners, the heady times after 1848, actually perhaps since always when theorists tended to actually trundle themselves down to the barricades, rouse the masses, spend quality time in prison...is it just that they've all been bought out now?

The helicopter is still circling. It’s funny, but after hearing so many refugees unburdening their pain and fear when I worked at Carecen, I’m rather deeply afraid of helicopters, they are the perfect and ultimate killers. You can’t really hide from them. It’s not a surface fear because it’s not rational – in that I am almost certain a helicopter shall never come for me though I never say never; but in that it’s not my own memory. It’s like a nightmare fear that’s more powerful for belonging to a mass of other people and passed on to me slowly slowly through stories and tears and memories of the dead. It hides in my stomach and I don’t even quite realize how much it’s affecting me until my stomach starts hurting, and I can feel my shoulders around my ears. And I wonder that in this country we cannot understand that no one who has been in it truly escapes from war.

The helicopter is still circling.

At any rate, the other thing that seems clear is that a lot of these guys were just assholes. And they all hate each other. And Spanish communists somehow figured that anarchists were a greater threat than fascists, and did Trotsky really tell Martov he belonged in the dustbin of history with the other pitiful isolated individuals? What a dick. Better than shooting him, though he shot his fair share of people as head of the red army didn’t he? Did he have to destroy Makhno? Mao, Stalin, Hoxha (he was shooting his comrades in the resistance to eliminate competition even before the war was over)…all assholes. Some may argue that the revolution needs blood and ruthlessness to succeed. I think that perhaps it’s just that being assholes, these guys had to rise to the top quickly or be forever shut out and outcast because people just didn’t want to have them hanging around. You know they were the kind who went on that same old rant over beers that everyone was so tired of hearing, or perhaps they didn’t even drink, just ranted and were all self-righteous and lacked any ability to listen to others or laugh at themselves. It’s my (rather bitterly flippant) proposal for the asshole theory of…

The helicopter has left! After an hour. No shots. No death. Relief.

So, the asshole theory of failed revolution. Or why we are still fucked. I rather like it, after all, assholes want power, it’s the only way they can keep friends and sleep with attractive people. I saw Kissinger on the Daily Show, and he’s the rightwing version of this, the man has not a humorous bone in his body, he speaks in a monotone, he’s not at all attractive. Not only is he an asshole, but he’s a boring asshole. And yet he kicked it with the rich and famous all because he rose to the top, and power was enough to overcome every other natural deficiency.

Another helicopter, the same helicopter? And it’s fucking circling again. I guess the life and death confrontation continues and the helicopter just had to…refuel? Moonlight for the filming of some new Hollywood smash? Catch a quickie car chase?

Anyways, I’ve written enough now I think…I’ll come back to the delightful eccentricities of some of the older generation of thinkers and doers in another blog. I got the Maltese Falcon in the mail from netflix today, I suppose it will go well with the damn helicopter.

And it's still circling. I can never fall asleep to helicopters, even after all of this time in L.A., it could be a long night.

Find the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) MH-53 Pave Low special operations helicopter on posters, art prints, and a 12-month calendar at The PatriArt Gallery.

Aircrews flew the remaining six MH-53 Pave Low helicopters on their last combat missions in support of special operations forces Sept. 27 in Southwest Asia.

The last mission, a SOF logistical resupply and passenger movement throughout central and southern Iraq, marks their last combat mission before the airframe retires after nearly 40 years in the Air Force inventory.

"We really feel like we are standing on the shoulders of giants," said Lt. Col. Gene Becker, the 20th Expeditionary Special Operations Squadron commander and a MH-53 pilot of 13 years. "(We owe it to) the folks, who over the past 40 years, have built the capability of this aircraft and the mission. We were just the lucky ones to be here at the end."

"We felt a great responsibility to close the MH-53's remaining months in the Air Force in a professional, disciplined and safe manner," he said. "At the end of the last mission, we felt like we achieved that goal. A goal, that we believe, was the best way to honor those (who contributed to) the last 40 years of this magnificent helicopter."

HH-53s, with their unique special operations mission and capabilities, have played a vital role in several operations during a career spanning four decades. The MH-53 was the lead command and control helicopter during a raid of Son Tay prison camp in 1970, a mission linked to improving conditions for prisoners of war in North Vietnam.

Again, in 1990, MH-53s led the way for Army AH-64 Apaches during an airstrike, which opened the air war in Operation Desert Storm. And since March 2003, the MH-53 has played a crucial part in special operations missions supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The 20th ESOS MH-53 helicopters and their crews have provided much of the vertical lift, direct action and logistical resupply to the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force in Iraq.

According to Air Force Special Operations Command officials, the MH-53 costs too much to maintain, fly and keep in the fight because of its age. Although its flying safety record is good, it has reached the end of its service life.

"It is a bittersweet ending," said Tech Sgt. Corey Fossbender, a 20th ESOS MH-53 aerial gunner and a crewmember on the lead helicopter during the final mission. "These birds have been around for so long. Our maintenance (teams) have basically been magicians keeping them in the air."

Sergeant Fossbender, who has spent 13 of his 16-year career in the MH-53 community, said he will miss the camaraderie the helicopter crews shared the most.

"It wasn't just a job, it was a brotherhood," he said. "A legacy is going away. With all the history they have been apart of, it's sad to see them go."

The six-man MH-53 crew consists of two pilots, two flight engineers and two aerial gunners.

"Most of the MH-53 crewmembers will head to AFSOC's new weapons systems like the CV-22 (Osprey), AC-130 (Gunship) ... and (MQ-1) Predators," Colonel Becker said. "Some will head over to Air Combat Command and fly the HH-60G (Pave Hawk), and a few will retire."

Senior Master Sgt. Mark Pryor, the 20th ESOS superintendent, will retire after more than 28 years; half of which he served as a flight engineer on the PMH-53.

"I don't think it has had an opportunity to sink in," Sergeant Pryor said. "When I grabbed those throttles and pulled them off for the last time and realized this is the last time I will fly on the Pave Low and work with this group of guys, it was bittersweet. The MH-53s are retiring, and then I retire. It's a perfect ending to a wonderful career."

From Iraq, some of the MH-53s will become relics of the past when they become displays in Air Force museums. Others will go to the Aircraft Maintenance and Regeneration Center at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz.

"As the Pave Low goes on to retire from combat today. She goes out, as she came in -- the very best," Colonel Becker said.

Andrea Thacker (AFNS)

The helicopter taking off drew the attention of the tour groups away from the black swans which were posing for the cameras. There are actually signs all over the place saying "Don't feed the black swans. They may attack" however nobody paid attention to them!

My son watched eagerly too, the many ducks couldn't have cared less though!

Finally...Lift off!

Relax! As close as it looks the photo below dosn't really capture a helicopter attempting to fly between the sign posts of this 2 story paddle ferry! This is an illusion created by the angle of the helicopter and me.

The boat just happened to arrive with a boatload of passengers while we were there. Talk about good timing!

Rotorua's lakes are a huge asset to the area. Not only do they provide revenue for the district they provide a  home to many sea birds and fish. People can picnic on the shores and children can play in the large playground, it's all at my favorite price too! FREE!! Fresh air, family time and plenty of photo opportunities. What more can a girl want?

Read more about the lakes here.

The Story Behind Biden's Emergency Helicopter Landing in Afghanistan

September 22, 2008 6:19 PM

<!--

Natalie Gewargis

-->"Ladies and gentlemen, where are we now? Where are we now?" Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., said to the National Guard Association today, talking about the war in Afghanistan.

"If you want to know where Al Qaeda lives, you want to know where Bin Laden is, come back to Afghanistan with me," Biden said. "Come back to the area where my helicopter was forced down, with a three-star general and three senators at 10,500 feet in the middle of those mountains. I can tell you where they are."

Biden said that Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., "says he’ll follow them to the gates of hell. You don’t have to go to hell. Just go to Pakistan. Just go to that area. That superhighway of terror that exists between Afghanistan and Pakistan."

We hadn't heard before about Biden's helicopter being forced down, so we did some Googling.

 "The superhighway of terror between Pakistan and Afghanistan where my helicopter was forced down...John McCain wants to know where Bin Laden and the gates of Hell are? I can tell him where. That's where Al Qaeda is. That's where Bin Laden is. It's not in the country of Iraq."

In February 2008, Biden -- along with Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Chuck Hagel, R-Neb. -- was on a chopper that made an emergency landing in the mountains of Afghanistan.

A snowstorm had forced them down.

No one was injured, and the Associated Press reported at the time that "the senators and their delegation returned to Bagram Air Base in a motor convoy, and left for Turkey.

"The weather closed in on us," Kerry told the AP at the time in a phone interview from Turkey. "It went pretty blind, pretty fast and we were around some pretty dangerous ridges. So the pilot exercised his judgment that we were better off putting down there, and we all agreed...We sat up there and traded stories."

Kerry joked, "We were going to send Biden out to fight the Taliban with snowballs, but we didn't have to do it…Other than getting a little cold, it was fine." 

-- Jake Tapper and Matthew Jaffe

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/09/the-story-behin.html

Driving down Tantlus on the east side, i noticed a helicopter parked silently in a secluded area. This is weird, maybe someone had gotten lost, or they where searching for someone? Then i saw a green man walking down the road in my drivers side mirror? No matter how close i zoom in I can't read the words, but i'm assuming it says SHERIFF.

The following morning was the last one before our arrival at Uni (what everyone calls college here). The trip went really fast, but the days felt like weeks--probably because of jet lag and having to lug around huge suitcases and crap despite accomplishing a lot. Nothing had been planned for this day, so we just started walking. We spent between and hour and two hours walking through Hyde Park, which is unbelievably pretty. The park has a playground with a real pirate ship, but it's for kids only (Princess Diana's Memorial Playground). There are also several incredible gardens, and the famous Kensington Palace. Afterwords we went to Regent's park, really just a short walk from Hyde park, and also pretty splendid. The parks are perfectly attended to and the landscaped bushes are so well cut that its quite surreal. We also had the chance to see the parks on an espceically bright, warm, sunny day--which made it that much more relaxing. Queen Mary's Garden at Regent's park was definitely my favorite section. It's filled with hundreds of varieties of roses, each of which has it's own specific name and associative smell. Some of my favorites included: ice cream, thinking of you, and nostalgia (actually these are the only ones I can remember).

After a long walk we found ourselves at a breakfast place for lunch. The English breakfast is super savory. I had the vegetarian option, which was almost exactly like the non-vegetarian option. It featured: a poached egg, tons of toast, hash browns, fresh cut tomato, baked beans, and a veggie sausage. It's delicious, but super heavy if actually eatin for breakfast, but great for lunch or dinner. The English also have a special brown sauce which they serve at a lot of restraunts. This sauce is sweet and gingery in flavor, and I would say almost taste's like something you might find at an Americanized Asian restraunt. I still have no idea what it's specifically for, but I imagine its for sausage. Accross the street was the Sherlock Holmes museum, as well as the Beatles and the Elvis stores, respectively. We finished our English tea and watched other tourists wear a floppy flannel hat and suck on a pipe (how many people have mouthed that thing?) while getting their picture taken. At the restraunt they also played lot's of American music. It's true that America rules the world. American media is consumed by everyone in the modern (marketed) world, or with the internet (hence you see Swedish, Spanish, Chinese, Russian, and even Croatian subtitles when you download a cam of an American movie still in theaters). It's not just the U.K., Kent University has a 25% international student population and I have yet to talk to one of them who hasn't seen a wealth of American TV shows or movies at some point; wheras, I imagine most American students have to take a class to see more than one or two movies with foreign subtitles. But I digress, it was time for a trip to the British Library.

You can get guest passes at the British library to see a wealth of rare books, though I didn't have time. Instead I visited the special (tourist) room full of some of the coolest historical documents behind temperature controlled and wired cases. I only had about 30 minutes to look around the room, but I saw letters to and from important scientists like Darwin and Newton, notes by Leonardo Da Vinci, original works in handwriting from Sylvia Plath, Virginia Wolfe, and Shakespeare, and of course the Magna Carta--though this makes up only am incredibly small fraction of what all is there. I really would have liked to spend more time looking around, but we only had about an hour and a half to get our luggage and make our way to the Victoria Bus Station to catch ours--and we weren't paying for a taxi (I.E. we took it all on the Underground...again).

At Canterbury we made it to our final couch surfing host's flat. Tom was his name, and he was in some sort of social science, though I can't remember just which one. He made us a delicious meal of potatoes and lentils and we talked for at least two hours about politics and government from a subversive disposition. He'd been to some sort of squatters convention to do research for a paper he was writing. At these conventions the police try really hard to break it up by flying helicopters really low and banging on tents (despite it, apparently, being legal to squat in this country under certain circumstances). It sounded really interesting, learning to live off the grid and such, and writing critical papers about the community you are participating and belive in. Regardless, the next morning I did the dishes and I headed into the University of Kent to pick up my key and get settled.

Three suspicious packages covered with duct tape and left unattended just outside the stadium near Pattison Avenue piqued enough interest from some diligent citizen to alert the authorities. Upon further review of the situation on the ground, ballpark authorities called in the bomb squad and the ballpark went into lockdown mode.

Early arriving fans in the left-field seats and on Ashburn Alley were ushered out of the stadium, while team employees and media types were forced to evacuate the portion of the ballpark closest to the first-base side.

The field, we were told, was the safest place to be. Fortunately, we were told this while we were standing on the field.

Meanwhile, as chaos raged outside the stadium, the Phillies were oblivious that a potential threat loomed. Instead, the ballplayers calmed took batting practice and prepared for the game against the Atlanta Braves. At one point, slugger Ryan Howard strolled over by a group of scribes and was told about the bomb scare occurring nearby.

“Oh yeah?” Howard said as he walked toward the batting cage to take his hacks.

With the ballpark sealed off and filled with just security, baseball players, team officials and sportswriters, the bomb squad detonated the curious package at approximately 5:08 p.m., emitting a muffled explosion that sounded like a man sitting on top of a pillow placed over top of a helium balloon.

Pffffffffffffffffft!

After assessing the scene and the remains of the mysterious box, the bomb squad gave the all-safe sign to allow folks to go about their normal, pre-game rituals.

So what caused the trouble that forced the bomb squad to show up and blow up stuff?

Why it was a package full of hot dogs, of course.

You know, delicious, heart-healthy hot dogs that were earmarked for the Phillie Phanatic to launch into the crowd during some between-innings capering on the field. Instead, those hot dogs were sent back to the ether from which they came.

Crisis averted.

Or was it?

Though many people enjoy a tasty hot dog from time-to-time (make mine a tofu pup, please), it is no secret that those plump tube steaks are silent killers. Laden with cholesterol, saturated fats and non-organic hormones, steroids and chemicals, a diet rich with hot dogs is a sure path to heart disease.

Oh sure, they look good now, but you will pay later.

Still, a meat hot dog remains a staple of the picnic scene and also a fun prop for many a comedian. In fact, I can’t resist thinking of Will Ferrell impersonating longtime Cubs’ announcer, Harry Caray, whenever I hear the word, "hot dog."

So comically delicious!

So before you go slathering yourself up in spicy, brown mustard, take a look.

Truly, among women in the know and especially among those who fought so hard to bring Hillary Clinton to the brink of history, nausea and a general recoiling appear to be the universal reactions to Palin's sudden presence on the national stage, stemming straight from the idea that there's even a slight chance in hell such an antagonistic, anti-female politico could be within a 72-year-old heartbeat of becoming the most powerful and iconic woman of all time.

They say: You've got to be kidding me. They say: This is what we get? This could be our historic role model? Two hundred years (OK, more like 2000) of struggle, only to have this nasty caricature of femininity try to hijack and mock and undermine it all? 

It cannot be true, they say. The universe must be joking; it would not dare dump such a homophobic, Creationist evangelical nutball on us, this anti-choice, God-pandering woman who's the inverse of Hillary, this woman of deep inexperience who abhors birth control and supports abstinence education and shoots exhausted wolves from helicopters and hates polar bears and actually stands for everything progressive women have resented since the first pope Swift-Boated Eve.

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Il battesimo dell'aria del primo prototipo del Bell XH-40 (s/n 55-4459) ebbe luogo il 22 Ottobre 1956 negli stabilimenti Bell di Hurst, Texas ai comandi del pilota collaudatore Floyd Carlson (in basso). Il fondatore della Bell, Lawrence "Larry" Bell, mori' solo due giorni prima dello storico avvenimento. (Photo: Bell)

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Altre immagini del primo prototipo dell'XH-40 (s/n 55-4459)

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Il terzo e ultimo prototipo del Bell XH-40 (s/n 55-4461) in volo nei pressi del quartiergenerale della Bell Aircraft Co. a Hurst, Texas. Nel giugno del 1957 il 55-4461 verra' assegnato all'US Army Aviation School di Fort Rucker, Alabama per abilitare i primi piloti a volare su questo modello. (Photo: Bell)

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:: YH-40

I militari rimasero talmente impressionati dalle prestazioni del prototipo dell'Iroquois, che ordinarono immediatamente 6 esemplari di pre-serie a scopo di valutazione. Questi ebbero la designazione YH-40 (foto sopra e sotto) ed erano piu' lunghi di 305mm rispetto al predecessore. Notare il differente disegno della presa d'aria della turbina Lycoming T53-L1-A. (Photo: Bell)

Tecnici ispezionano il prototipo dell'YH-40 al termine del primo volo. (Photo: Bell)

Una delle principali ragioni del successo dello Huey era dato dalla turbina T53, progettata e costruita dalla Avco Lycoming. La societa' americana, all'epoca molto impegnata nel campo delle turbine a gas, ebbe il compito di costituire e sovraintendere il team di progettazione, guidato dall'austriaco Anselm Franz, il padre dei turbogetti Junkers Jumo 004.

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:: HU-1

Verso la leggenda. HU-1 fu la prima designazione ufficiale destinata agli Iroquois operativi presso l'US Army. L'esemplare qui ritratto, matricola 59-1607, stabili' ben 6 record mondiali. Foto scattata nel 1960 ad Avondale, Texas. (Photo: Bell)

The Old and the New. 1963: un HU-1 sorvola un OH-13 Sioux a Fort Rucker. A quell'epoca tutti gli Huey erano stati ridesignati UH-1 (Photo: US Army)

Antiguerriglia. HU-1 (s/n 59-1673) dell'Utility Tactical Transport Helicopter Company (UTTHC) armato con sedici razzi da 70mm e due mitragliatrici M37 calibro 30 (foto sotto). Questa fu la prima unita' di Huey armati ad arrivare in Vietnam il 25 Luglio 1962. Il battesimo del fuoco risale invece al 2 Agosto. (Photo: US Army)

Armieri caricano razzi da 70mm a bordo di un HU-1A. Notare sulla destra una delle due calibro .30 (Photo: US Army)

Distruttore di carri. L'HU-1 fu il primo elicottero americano a lanciare con successo missili controcarro guidati. I missili erano francesi del tipo SS.11, negli USA noti come AGM-22 (Naval Aviation News)

I sei missili AGM-22 bene in mostra in questa aggressiva foto frontale.

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Air Crane. Questo HU-1A (s/n 58-2085), il settimo esemplare di serie, venne assegnato al 101st Aviation Battalion della 101st Airborne Division di Fort Campbell, Kentucky, la prima unita' a livello di battaglione a schierare elicotteri Huey. Appeso al gancio baricentrico vi e' un razzo Emerson Electric M51 "Little John" su lanciatore M34. Quest'arma poteva montare indifferentemente testate nucleari o convenzionali e nacque per dare alle unita' aviotrasportate capacita' nucleari (Photo: US Army)

L'HU-1 era in grado di sollevare piccoli veicoli leggeri come Jeep (in alto, M38A1) o elicotteri da osservazione (in basso, OH-23).

Aeroambulanza. Uno dei primissimi compiti assegnati allo Huey fu quello di evacuare i feriti sul campo di battaglia. Questo HU-1 apparteneva al leggendario 57th MDHA, o Medical Detachment (Helicopter Ambulance), la prima unita' di questo tipo a giungere in Vietnam. Uomini ed elicotteri del 57th sbarcarono a Nha Trang nell'Aprile 1962 come parte dell'8th Field Hospital. Suddetto reparto conio' fra l'altro il termine "Dust Off", ancora oggi usato per identificare le eliambulanze militari da evacuazione medica.

Il biglietto ricordo che la 57th donava ai feriti evacuati. (lato in inglese)

(lato in vietnamita)

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:: THE CIVVIE

Il prototipo della versione civile dello Huey, il Model 204-B (s/n N73977), ripreso a Fort Worth, Texas. Questo esemplare sembra montare un rotore quadriplala, che e' molto strano considerando che esso venne introdotto solo a partire dal Model 412 del 1981. (Photo: Bell)

Il confortevole interno del Bell 204 (Photo: Bell)

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XH-40

HU-1A

In totale vennero costruiti 3 XH-40 (55-4459 / 55-4461), 6 YH-40 (56-6723 / 56-6728) e 182 HU-1A di serie, a cui seguirono oltre 12 mila macchine appartenenti alle versioni successive.

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:: THE FATHA

More Barn! Il padre dello Huey, Arthur Young (1905-1995), ripreso all'interno del suo granaio, da lui battezzato "Shop and Test Area". Il suo Bell Model 47 e' in mostra permanente al Museum of Modern Art di New York sin dal 1984. Oltre ad essere stato un progettista di elicotteri, Young era anche uno stimato filosofo, cosmologo e autore. Non ne fanno piu' di progettisti cosi' oggi! (Photo: Bell)

Find the military Aviation Calendar 2009 for only $ 19.99 exclusively at The PatriArt Gallery.

Pakistani military forces flew repeated helicopter missions into Afghanistan to resupply the Taliban during a fierce battle in June 2007, according to a Marine lieutenant colonel, who says his information is based on multiple U.S. and Afghan intelligence reports.

The revelation by Lt. Col. Chris Nash, who commanded an embedded training team in eastern Afghanistan from June 2007 to March 2008, adds a new twist to the controversy over a U.S. special operations raid into Pakistan Sept. 3.

Pakistani officials strongly protested that raid, with a statement issued by the foreign ministry calling it a “gross violation of Pakistan’s territory.”

But fewer than 15 months earlier, Pakistani forces were flying cross-border missions in the other direction to resupply a “base camp” in Nangarhar Province occupied by fighters from the Taliban, al-Qaida and the Hezb-i-Islami faction led by Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, Nash told Army Times in a Sept. 17 telephone interview.

Read more at Army Times

The helicopters flew into the tribal North Waziristan region from Afghanistan's Khost province at around midnight, the reports say.

Tensions have risen after an increase in US attacks targeting militants.

The incident comes amid mounting security fears after a militant bomb attack on the Islamabad Marriott hotel.

Pakistan's army has said it will defend the country's sovereignty and reserves the right to retaliate to any border violations.

The government has said it will take targeted action against the militants, promising raids in some "hotspots" near the border with Afghanistan.

Meanwhile in the city of Peshawar, Afghan consul Abdul Khaliq Farahi was kidnapped after six unidentified men ambushed his car, officials say. His driver died in the attack.

'Firing in the air'

Last week Pakistani troops fired into the air to prevent US ground troops crossing the border into South Waziristan.

BORDER TENSIONS 3 Sept: First reported ground assault by US troops in Pakistan - Islamabad responds furiously 15 Sept: Pakistani troops reportedly fire in air to stop US troops crossing in S Waziristan 17 Sept: Top US military chief Adm Mike Mullen visits Pakistan to calm tensions 16 Sept: Pakistan says it was not told of fresh US missile strike 22 Sept: Pakistani troops in fresh firing to deter US incursion into N Waziristan, officials say Confusion over Marriott 'escape' 'We are all in pain and agony'

The latest confrontation between US and Pakistani forces took place in North Waziristan's sparsely populated Ghulam Khan district, west of the main town in the region, Miranshah, local officials say.

They told the BBC that troops at border posts in the mountainous region fired at two US helicopters which crossed into Pakistani territory.

The helicopters returned to Afghanistan without retaliating.

A senior security official based in Islamabad told the AFP news agency that the helicopters had been repelled by both army troops and soldiers from the paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC).

"The helicopters were heading towards our border. We were alert and when they were right on the boundary line we started aerial firing. They hovered for a few minutes and went back," the official said.

"About 30 minutes later they made another attempt. We retaliated again, firing in the air and not in their direction, from both the army position and the FC position, and they went back."

A Pakistani military spokesman, Maj Murad Khan, said he had no information "on border violation by the American helicopters".

The US military in Afghanistan also said it had no information on the incident.

The BBC's Barbara Plett in Islamabad says after increased American incursions this month, the army stressed that it reserved the right to retaliate.

Our correspondent says standard procedure would be to first fire warning shots.

'Crisis in relations'

The two countries held talks last week on anti-militant co-ordination.

Anti-US feelings are on the rise in Pakistan

America's top military officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, flew to Islamabad to try to calm the crisis in relations but tensions remain high, our correspondent says.

As well as reported incursions, there have been a number of US missile attacks aimed at militants in Pakistan territory in recent weeks.

The Americans stepped up their strikes after criticism that Pakistani troops were unable or unwilling to eliminate Taleban sanctuaries along the border.

Waziristan is one of the main areas from which Islamist militants launch attacks into Afghanistan.

It emerged earlier this month that US President George W Bush has in recent months authorised military raids against militants inside Pakistan without prior approval from Islamabad.

Pakistan reacted with diplomatic fury when US helicopters landed troops in South Waziristan on 3 September. It was the first ground assault by US troops in Pakistan.

Pakistan's army has warned that the aggressive US policy will widen the insurgency by uniting tribesmen with the Taleban.

wel ennyway it turns owt that the bunnies on the hillside hav ben eeting the leeves and tender shoots off the socalled froot treez and sumhow they hav manajd to eet leeves that are much too hi off the grownd for them to reech yoozing normal meenz like stretching and yet it is well nown that bunneez cannot climb treez so theirfore with my keen observayshuns and uncanny deduktiv abiliteez i hav compiled this skolarly treetis on how they mite be eeting dadas froot trees and by ekstenshun yore own froot treez shud yoo be delooded enuf to hav them

first up we hav the bunny in the cherry picker this injenyus devise allows the bunny to denood an entire hilside in wun afternoon simply by driving it arownd to varius treez and raising and lowering the arm yoo wil note that the cherry picker has all terrayn weelz allowing the bunny to navigate the trecherus slope owtside the fense wot offen cawses too legged kreechers like dada to fall down yoo wil also note that the bunny is waring a construkshun helmet in accordanse with california safety standards for vermin operating hevvy ekwipment

nekst we hav the bunneez on there rolling skaffolding this has an advantadj over the cherry picker in that it costs less to rent skaffolding from yore local hevy ekwipment rental store and bunneez are notoryusly short of cash beeing as how they yoozually eet it under the mistayken impreshun that it is lettus this advantadj is offset howevr by the fakt that the skaffolding duz not hav a moter and so must be pushd arownd manyooally wich is verry diffikult on the steep hilside howevr bunneez offen hav the warewithal to rent more than wun skaffolding at a time wich mayks the job go faster oh and wunse agin the bunneez ar waring there helmets way to be sayf bunneez!!!!

in this pikcher we can see that the bunny has enlisted the help of a frendly nayborhud jiraff to assist it in its leef eeting aktiviteez this jiraff has no dowt eskaypd frum the wild animal park perhaps wile the enklozhur wich it shayrs with the famus shiny krome pole was beeing renovated the jiraff of korse has no intrest in eeting the leevs becuz wot with all the munny it mayks as a spokesanimal for toys r us it is abel to dine in fine restawrants like sooplantayshun and the olive garden yoo wil note that this bunny is not waring a helmet and neether ar the subsekwent bunneez and that is becuz they are no longer wurking with construkshun ekwipment and hense are not coverd by protektiv geer statchoots

in this pikcher we can see that a desperat groop of bunneez has resorted to using proton paks to dislodj leevs from the tree ever sinse the gostbusters franchise system closed down the blak market has of korse been awash in surplus proton paks wich can be yoozd for nocking down yummy foliadj as well as treeting yore gost to a proton pak tost the only problem is that bunneez ar kareless and tend to cross the streems wich offen results in the creayshun of smoldering black kraters on the hillside

nekst we hav a bunny suspended from a helicopter as it enjoys a leezhurly meel of tender shoots this is a conveenyent way for the bunny to get at the fresh growth at the verry top of the tree however wot with the hi price of helicopter fyool theez days this praktis is no longer ekonomikal and so has larjly been abandond

and finally we have the bunnypult this contrapshun hurls the bunny into the air allowing it to grab a mowthful of leevs as it fliez past the tree howevr the bunnypult has a number of drawbaks first it rekwires a skilld operaytor becuz otherwize the bunny may miss its target compleetly as in this kayse ware the bunny has flown hi abuv the target and cannot reech the leevs second the bunny is likely to be seveerly injured upon landing unless it manajes angle its eerz just rite so that it glides sayfly to the grownd like the famus flying elefant dumbo hoo by the way has also been nown to swoop down and steel peanuts

wel their yoo hav it an eksawstiv list of the varyus ways that animals mite be eeting bark and leevs off yore froot treez as yoo can see razing froot is an ekstreemly compleks and difficult bizness and is best left to the profeshunals at the soopermarkt ok bye

Warrant Officers fill a niche between non-commissioned officers and regular, commissioned officers. They are technical specialists, imbued with the authority of an officer, but more keenly focused on a particular technical area than a regular officer. For instance, most of the Army's watercraft have a Warrant Officer as the ships Master. Warrant officers hold a warrant from the Secretary of their service, rather than a commission from the President.

All branches of service are authorized Warrant Officers, in grades W-1 through W-5. Currently, the Air Force doesn't have any warrant officers, and the Coast Guard has no W-5s.

Warrant officers are higher in rank than all enlisted personnel, as well as cadets and officer candidates, but below regular commisioned officers, such as a Second Lieutenant.

Now, here's where it gets weird. In actuality, on warrant officers in the first grade, W-1, have warrants. When they are selected for promotion to Chief Warrant Officer (CWO-2) they receive a commission from the President and take the same oath of office as any other officer. This came about in the early 90's as a means of allowing warrant officers to fulfill some duties that they previously couldn't. For instance, without the commission, they could not assume command of a unit. In spite of holding a commission, they are still called warrant officers.

So what do warrant officers do and where to they come from? As I mentioned, they are technical specialists. For instance, each mechanized infantry battalion has a warrant officer assigned to its motor pool. He is the subject matter expert on the Army's maintenance system. He knows which repairs should be performed at the battalion level, and which should be sent to a higher echelon for repair. He understands how the parts supply system is supposed to work (and how it really works!) and advises and assists the officers in making the battalion maintenance system work. He also leads, trains and advises the NCOs that work in the motor pool. While the NCOs know pretty much everything there is to know about how to perform the repairs done at their level, he can guide them on how to prioritze work, ensure they have the parts they need, and make arrangements to send vehicles and parts to other units for repair.

What makes this guy and expert? Well, he started out as an NCO. After years of service, he applied for and was accepted into the Warrant Officer program. He attended a school much like Officer Candidate School, was granted his warrant, went to the Warrant Officer Basic Course for his specialty, and put to work.

When you talk about warrant officers to the general public, however, the program that usually springs to  mind is Warrant Officer Flight Training. The Army has a heck of a lot of aircraft. The other services use commissioned officers to fly their aircraft. But the Army has a limit on how many regular officers it can have at one time. If all the aviators were regular officers, there wouldn't be enough officers for the rest of the Army. Instead, the Army trains warrant officers to be aviators. And while many Warrant Officer Flight Training Candidates come from the ranks of the Army, it is in fact possible to enlist specifically for this program. It is sometimes called "High School to Flight School."

I absolutely love these things. I will be posting more on these soon, but I wanted to take this oppotunity to post a video I made of my latest heli.

Meet the TRex 600 Nitro, my newest helicopter. This thing is awesome! I just finished building it a few weeks ago and have been really working hard on my skills. This is where I am right now. Just basic hovering and some pirouettes (spinning). I have been practicing rolls and flips on the simulator lately and hopefully will get courage to do them on the real deal soon on another video.

Till Next Time... Andy

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971 Total Time Since New

Avionics:
KX 155A Nav/Com with Glideslope
KAP 140 Two Axis Autopilot with Altitude Preselect
KT 76C Mode C Transponder
KMA 28 Audio Panel/Marker Beacon/4 Position Stereo/Split Com Voice-Activated Intercom
Avionics Cooling Fan
Emergency Locator Transmitter
KX 155A 2nd Nav/Com with Glide Slope
KI 209A VOR/LOC/GS Indicator with GPS Interface
KLN 94 Color Moving Map GPS-IFR
KMD 550 Multifunction Display
KCS 55A Bendix/King HSI
WX 500 Weather Mapping Sensor
MD41-233 GPS-NAV/HSI Selector/Annunciator
Hot Prop
Factory Oxygen

Exterior:
Matterhorn White Base, Sapphire Blue, Slate Gray, Alpine Green; Slate Gray Logo

Interior:
Leather Seat Surfaces with perforated inserts, Dark Gray

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