2011 going out with a bang!

courtesy of Castle Arrrgh and the CanadianArmyNews

(I miss making things go bang!)

Thou shall sweep away all that oppose you!!

Only in the ME could you find 3 groups of priests from basically the same religion get into a broom fight over cleaning a church! Seems 100 Greek Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic priests had a turf war on who gets to clean which part of the Church of Nativity they get to clean. Although it seems their religious zeal is a double edge sword as the state of repair of the church is quite bad, as seen in this wiki quote:


The present state of the church is worrying. Many roof timbers are rotting, and have not been replaced since the 19th century. The rainwater that seeps into the building not only accelerates the rotting of the wood and damages the structural integrity of the building, but also damages the 12th-century wall mosaics and paintings. The influx of water also means that there is an ever-present chance of an electrical fire. If another earthquake were to occur on the scale of the one of 1834, the result would most likely be catastrophic. ... It is hoped that the listing will encourage its preservation, including getting the three custodians of the church - the Greek Orthodox Church, the Armenian Orthodox Church, and the Franciscan order - to work together, which has not happened for hundreds of years. The Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority would also have to work together to protect it.[2][3]


In 2010, the Palestinian Authority announced that a multi-million dollar restoration program was imminent.[4][5]


It's pretty sad when the Israelis and Palestinians have to tell you to get along......

Top Gear - The North Pole Expedition

Two middle aged men, deeply unfit, mostly drunk. Show off an inconvenient truth.

Courtesy of SDA

Santa Baby By Eartha Kitt

A very Merry Christmas to you and all of your family. Now I understand why my parents where so tired Christmas morning....

I await the massed protests

So the Muslim world protests loudly about cartoons allegedly showing the Prophet (the fact that no one knows what the Prophet looks like is not important), they protest at the slightest hint of insult by the West. So I await their massed protest where the Taliban kill people by bombing a mosque, seems a holy place is not so holy when you need to kill someone.

 A suicide bomber killed six Afghans, including a district police chief, in an attack at a mosque in the eastern province of Kunar, a known haven for the Taliban and al Qaeda.

The suicide bomber detonated his explosive-packed vest as worshippers were leaving the mosque in the district of Ghaziabad.

"The attacker detonated his explosives in the mosque, killing the district police chief, an intelligence officer, two police and two civilians," Kunar's governor told AFP.

The attack is the second suicide bombing at a mosque in Afghanistan this week. On Dec. 6, a suicide bomber killed 54 Afghans at a mosque in Kabul. The Afghans were Shia who were celebrating Ashura. The Lashkar-e-Jhangvi al Almi, a Pakistan-based terror group allied with the Taliban and al Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Taliban have carried out numerous attacks at mosques in the past, including the assassination of Kunduz's governor in the province of Takhar on Oct. 8, 2010, and more recently, a suicide bombing that killed seven people, including a local police commander, in an attack at a mosque in the northern Afghan province of Baghlan on Nov. 6.

Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2011/12/suicide_bomber_kills_62.php#ixzz1hIDjDWwg

Signs and foreign body language (Philippines example)

I fully agree with this fellow, body language is far more important than many realize. A few examples I picked up in Malaysia is pointing, which is done by pointing a loose fist toward the object with the thumb on top in the direction of the object, but not protruding past the knuckle. If towards a person, it's more of a general direction rather than right at the person. When passing between people, you bend forward slightly when walking with  your right arm extended out and your left arm behind your back. Hands should flat with forward hand's thumb on top.
Another example is greetings, you gently touch the hand of the person you are greeting (if of the same sex) and then place that hand on your chest over your heart. Normally done to the elders first, the people clearly younger than you will show their deference/respect by bringing their head to your hand and then touching their chest.
If you are a fairly tall person, just remember your height may create a tension and might be felt like intimidation if you are to close.

All I Want For Christmas - HMS OCEAN

This is what happens when you leave sailors with to much time on their hands!

Merry Xmas to the crew of HMS Ocean and a hope that you are home for Christmas.

"Dream Lines - Part II" Wingsuit Proximity Flying by Jokke Sommer

Pretty cool, but one unplanned updraft or a unexpected encounter with an eagle could lead to making quite the mark on the cliff wall. Under no circumstances show yourself doing this to your insurance agent!

Nando's: Last dictator standing

Hah! I guess Assad won't be able to make it either.

Swanson Bay, the town that vanished

While reviewing a project I came across the story of Swanson bay, a ghost town on the west coast of British Columbia. In 1901 the BC government passed an Act that allowed companies a interest in the land if the set up a mill. The Canadian Pacific Sulphite Pulp Co. Ltd. took up the challenge in 1906 and 1909 began to produce lumber. The town was serviced by the CPR and Union Steamship vessels. By 1919 the town had a population of 500 people producing 100,000 board feet a day , sulphite pulp and shingles.

In 1923 an earthquake hit Japan, their biggest customer (history repeats itself!) Sometime after 1925 the mill was closed and the town began to lose it's population. Soon the only persons there was a watchman. At some point around the 40's the town was completely abandoned. this is not an uncommon story on the coast, many towns were completely dependent on one company and mill/mine, when it would shut down the town would die. the mortal remain of the town exists but shrouded in the dense bush. If you have taken a cruise ship up the inside passage than you have passed the bones of this ghost town.

I have gleamed this information and pictures from 2 websites, please visits them, for more of the story and some excellent pictures.