Boy Toys (Part 3)

Admiral's Barge

I was not an admiral in the US Navy, but if I'd made the grade, they would have given me my own "barge". You don't have to be an admiral to own a barge these days -- simply have the means to pick up a barge on the secondary market. 

44' in length, with all the "bells and whistles" due rank, the Admiral's Barge is the ultimate boy toy for local cruising and hanging out. And when it comes to entertaining, the barge provides indulgent luxury.

King's X

As those of you who care may have read, the US Government has had a truthfulness problem with regard to the attacks on the US Consulate and CIA Base in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2012

Wednesday’s testimony on the Benghazi terror attacks by State Department whistleblowers before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform contradicted several statements by then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (who is running for the US Presidency in 2016) in testimony before House and Senate committees in January.

However, while Clinton may have lied to Congress in her testimony, she likely did not commit perjury because she never actually testified under oath. Apparently the good old boy's club didn't think that somebody with Clinton's stature would stoop to outright lies. (rewind to her husband, Bill, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman" -- until the blue dress with his genetic material on it surfaced)

So it would seem that she can't be charged and convicted of perjury no matter how damning the evidence is and her path is clear to run for President of the United States.

Boz Kashi, Marriage, and a Yurt

Are women merely chattel? Are they simply playthings for men--property to be stolen and kept? The answer in Kyrgystan would seem to be yes.

Nothing says fun like playing polo with a freshly killed goat. And nothing says love like kidnapping a girl on the street and making her your lawfully wedded wife.

In the Issyk-Kul region of Kyrgyzstan, the men still marry their women the old-fashioned way: by abducting them off the street and forcing them to be their wife. Bride kidnapping is an ancient custom that's made a major comeback since the fall of Communism and now accounts for nearly half of all marriages in some regions.

The Kyrgyz philosophy would seem to be that when a young lady says, "no", she really means, "yes"...

It's Cheaper than a Real Warship

The puns keep on coming with the ads for the new computer game, "Leviathan : Warships". I'm not a huge computer gamer, but there are times when I like to immerse myself in strategy games in the hope that the world around me will vanish for a while while I solve the problems of a make-believe universe. 

I enjoyed Harpoon because it felt as real as a computer simulation naval game can feel. Will I buy Leviathan Warship? I doubt it -- no matter how cheap it turns out to be. Even a small dose of reality in a game of strategic problem solving means more to me than the arcade does. Bring back the reality and I'll throw my money into the void (with the knowledge that no electrons will be hurt by my actions.

BUT I do think that the trailer is funny.

USS Leviathan (US Naval Institute Press)
archive photo

The Relative Value of Life

pro-life makes pro-choice possible.

There is something rotten about women lining up for abortions. Maybe if you feel that the unborn are not people/human/have a spark of spirit, etc., you can reconcile it. I can't. Once you start treating some life as if it has no value as a matter of law, the value of all life begins to diminish. 

The most dangerous place for a black man in New York City is in the womb since somewhere around 60% of black pregnancies are aborted in The Big Apple. More stats here.

The New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene revealed that in 2009 48,627 of the 87,273 abortions in New York City, or 56%, were repeat abortions. 33,401 or 38%, were paid for by Medicaid. Your tax dollars at work.

Whose fault are repeat abortions? The pro-choice/pro-abortion lobby blames the faulty education system for 1st timers. If so, isn't their own abortion and contraception industry at fault for repeat abortions?

It's a sick society.

Dubai - City of Dreams?

Modern Dubai

Does the city have a dark secret? Is there something beyond the glitter and decadence of Dubai that most people overlook?

The Burj al Arab - Dubai
One of the most visionary hotels on the planet.

The Burj al Arab in Dubai is one of the most hospitable hotels available anywhere and the service is considered to be superb with attention to detail. Every suite has two levels with every modern convenience. It's a fusion of finery and the fantastic! The dining experience is world class in all respects.

Dubai Skyline

Dubai is a modern city with a twist. There is no sewage system that anyone would recognize as such. Sometime when you're building a monument city you forget the tiny bits of infrastructure that hold the whole thing together.

A lot of honey wagons are required to keep the whole system in motion in Dubai. A lot of curry, indeed.

surreal...

Grand-parenting

Some of you know (or care) that I have three grandchildren living in my house. Sometimes the noise is deafening. Sometimes the hassle is daunting. And sometimes it all seems very cool.