Explosives cause harm, fire burns, water is wet…

In the spirit of stating the effin’ obvious, Dr. S. Andrew Josephson, having slept through all of his 20th century history classes, dreaming of how to get a liplock on the public teat (apparently) wants to inform the world that after a study, he has discovered that high explosives “…sends blast waves through the bodies of people even hundreds of yards from the detonation, leaving some nearby outwardly unharmed but disrupting their molecules and inner tissues. Years later, such changes could lead to adverse symptoms…”

Despite this being a family blog and all, there really is no better response than, “No shit, Sherlock!” Why he’s “discovering” this just now, though, leads me to suspect that he’s looking for more tax money to study the “problem.”

I particularly appreciate his fatuous and remark demonstrating an utter lack of education, that, ““This is a totally different type of injury than our troops were exposed to 50 years ago,” given that soldiers and civilians have been exposed to high explosives detonating hundreds of yards away for over a century now.

On the other hand, *I* certainly have been exposed to high explosives detonating within a hundred yards – or less – so maybe that explains my attitude toward ignoramuses like Dr. Josephson.

Canaries in the coal mine…

Apparently former U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy called Colorado and Washington “canaries in the coal mine” in regard to their legalization of recreational marijuana.

One can only wonder if Mr. Kennedy will have the courage of his convictions to admit that canaries continuing to live – or even thrive – indicates that it’s a direction the rest of the flock should consider in the interest of lowered crime rates.

They Really Said That? General Allen

Our Man In Afghanistan is supposedly insisting that for every Afghan soldier who defects or kills a NATO soldier there are a large number of Afghan soldiers who didn’t.

Yet, anyway.

But my, isn’t that reassuring and the best of grounds to keep American kids in that particular shooting gallery?

More here.

Proving a point – what’s a “good job?”

From a link on Naked Capitalism regarding austerity policy in Greece, the quote: “In a very competitive job market, Greek parents sought to
equip their children to secure a job as a civil servant.”

So. A job that produces nothing except rules, noted for stifling the private sector, in a country that’s beat out by Yemen for business formation, down there at 100, is something that’s sought after?

I don’t freakin’ care that Greeks “work more hours” than Germans do – when it comes to work, it’s not a question of “quantity,” it’s a question of “quality,” and it sure seems like Greece has missed the boat on just what KIND of work they should be turning out. Ruling others is not something that’s either productive, nor grounds to be a sought after job to be proud of.

And that’s speaking as someone who has exactly that kind of job (as one of several).

They really said that?

By some statistical measures, Iraq today is safer and more stable than it has been in nearly a decade. In 2011, fewer than 1,500 Iraqi civilians were killed by bombs, sniper ambushes, and other “enemy attacks…”

The population of Iraq is about 32 million people.

The population of the US is about 320 million people.

Can you imagine a blase’ comment like that – regardless of how true it may be “statistically” – if the US were having “fewer than 15,000 people killed annually due to bombs, snipers, and other “enemy attacks?” As though that were some sort of GOOD thing?

I suppose, compared to 2010. But let’s compare it to, say, 2001.

Of course, they’re only Those People, Over There, so it’s not like Americans are going to give a rat’s patoot about the carnage their government has wreaked on Other People.

But just remember – sooner or later that government is going to start classing local dissenters as Other People. Then what?

Got popcorn?