Twitter is a handy and constant reminder that socialists are disgusting people.
— Jeremy Clarkson (@JeremyClarkson) September 9, 2022
Bonus:
One of the things I’ve noticed in these last few hours is that so very many people on Twitter are truly awful human beings.
— Jeremy Clarkson (@JeremyClarkson) September 9, 2022
Stolen by me from my beloved and indulgent aunt:
Edited to add: I went through this list of Cleveland Browns starting quarterbacks and tried to come up with a count. I may be off, but I didn’t come up with 59.
I came up with 64.
A quick update, which I just found on the “Task and Purpose” website.
Remember “Fat Leonard”? Of the Navy contracting scandal? That guy?
Leonard Glenn Francis is now on the run.
Francis, who had been under house arrest in San Diego went missing on Sunday after cutting off his monitoring ankle bracelet, the San Diego Tribune first revealed. Francis’ neighbors had noticed moving trucks going in and out of his home recently.
“He was planning this out, that’s for sure,” Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal Omar Castillo told the newspaper.
And for those of you who haven’t been keeping track at home:
Former Navy Capt. Daniel Dusek was sentenced in March 2016 to 46 months in prison after admitting to prosecutors that he had redirected the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and other ships to a port terminal owned by Francis, according to the Justice Department.
Francis and his company Glenn Defense Marine Asia agreed to repay $35 million that they had overcharged the Navy for fuel, tugboat services, sewage disposal, and other services.
In June, a federal jury convicted four former Navy officers of receiving bribes from Francis, and jurors could not reach a verdict on a fifth former leader, retired Rear Adm. Bruce Loveless. Additionally, 29 other people, including Francis, have pleaded guilty in connection with the scandal.
Lawrence posted a review of “The Beast” (aka “The Beast of War”) which we watched Saturday night.
I have very little to add to what he said: I liked the movie, and I encourage folks to seek it out. My only two notes are:
1. It was interesting to see George Dzundza in a non-LawnOrder role. (In a curious coincidence, one of the low-rent broadcast channels was re-running those first season episodes that Saturday morning as well, so I got a double shot of George.)
2. I also wanted to link to the Internet Movie Firearms Database entry, which I found quite fascinating. Especially the parts about the AK-47s and the Israeli Blank Firing Adapters and the fake Hind. The tank stuff is interesting, too.
(I remember, back when I was reading Soldier of Fortune, they made a big deal about getting 5.45 rounds and (I think) an AK-74 out of Afghanistan. I wonder, with the benefit of historical perspective, how much of that was true. “The head of the Afghan bureau of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the official intelligence agency of Pakistan, claimed that America’s Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) paid $5,000 for the first AK-74 captured by the Afghan mujahideen during the Afghan-Soviet War.”)
(Speaking of SOF, it looks like they’ve been sold to a new publisher. Dare my inner 13-year-old hope for a resurgence?)
It isn’t exactly defeat. This makes falling off the end of a ski jump look tame.
By way of a comment on Reddit’s “Hobby Drama” sub, I learned that there is such a thing as the International Tank Biathlon World Championship. The 9th one of those is either wrapped up or just wrapping up. Yes, it did go on: it was not called on account of WAR, though the page linked above seems to be confused about whether this is the 2022 or 2021 edition.
But wait, there’s more! We have a Twitter thread! With video! And commentary!
All of the group races at the tank biathlon at the army games have now finished, so here’s a thread of all the best videos from this years races. Starting with the Venezuelan commanders reaction to his crew missing all their targets with the main gun. pic.twitter.com/z335R3y6lG
— CNW (@ConflictsW) August 23, 2022
Two highlights. Number one is a clip from “Fast 12: Tank Drift”:
The Armenian tank crew almost flipping over their tank after losing control whilst taking a corner at high speed pic.twitter.com/LFjsDk2CIC
— CNW (@ConflictsW) August 23, 2022
Number two: everything is better with music.
Here you go buddy! pic.twitter.com/Eeq79PfbcD
— Robert Krom 💻🛩🔭 (@maskedfly) August 23, 2022
And this goes out to the Saturday Night Movie Group:
Favorite recent thing I learned about global markets in everything: if you are a Hollywood/etc company and need a lot of suits of medieval armor in a hurry there are a variety of businesses in India which very much want to make your acquaintance.
— Patrick McKenzie (@patio11) July 20, 2022
Yeah. I hadn’t thought about it, but it absolutely makes sense that if you need a bunch of movie armor, there are places you can go for that. It sort of surprises me that the places are in India, and it apparently involves “Blacksmiths followed by cargo containers” rather than local rental houses, but that’s the global economy, I guess.
Bonus:
What series of fascinating events in the world caused an entrepreneur in Sri Lanka to say "Space orks yes, vampires yes, Millenium Falcon yes, imperial Japanese navy destroyer no problem, Duke of Wellington, no, #%I# that guy and #*%(#% his 28mm scale horse."
— Patrick McKenzie (@patio11) July 20, 2022
Leg Lamp Mug, from the Christmas Story House. A gift from my beloved and indulgent aunt and uncle.
The director of Elvis Presley’s 1968 comeback special (Steve Binder) also directed…”The Star Wars Holiday Special”.
There’s a high bar that has to be cleared for me to link to something on ESPN.
Bonus: the Canadian Football Act (which isn’t really an act, as it has never been signed into law).
“A few things to know before stealing my 914“.
Especially this line:
(Sometimes I think about a 914 as one of those fun cars to knock around in. Even though I have no mechanical talent, the 914 seems like a simple enough car to learn on. Then I come to my senses. A man will think a lot of stupid things when he can’t sleep at night. Also, there aren’t any on Craigslist locally right now.)
Eligible for parole in California: Frederick Woods. Mr. Woods was one of three men involved in the Chowchilla school bus kidnapping.
Richard and James Schoenfeld (brothers) were paroled in 2012 and 2015 respectively.
Mr. Woods, who was 24 at the time of the kidnapping, was given a sentence of seven years to life in prison. He began serving his sentence in 1978 and has been held at the California Men’s Colony, a state prison in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
The panel’s decision is subject to review by Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, who has 30 days to let it stand or refer the application to the full parole board. Mr. Newsom, a Democrat, cannot override the decision because Mr. Woods was not convicted of murder.
Not eligible for parole: Leslie Van Houten.
(Hattip: Mike the Musicologist.)
Trigger warning for dog people, but: nature red in tooth and claw.
.380 is not a sufficient caliber for moose.
Also:
I’m sorry, but if your guns are going off because of the sled jostling, you’re doing it wrong, and should go find a qualified gunsmith.