Say What You Like...

About the 'Royal' family, and I do.
I'm a Republican.
But young Harry Windsor has shown grit - and integrity - in putting his life on the line in Helmand.
Not just another chocolate soldier.

Tank Of The Day.

Two pictures of two different Sherman Tanks.
The one at the top, 'Michael', never saw action; it was the very first lend-lease M4 to reach Britain, and was put on public display.
Note the rounded hull design, due to the fact that it was cast.
The later version below has the boxy, welded hull.
I can't be sure because the gun goes out of frame, but it may well be the Sherman Firefly equipped with the 17-Pounder anti-tank gun, reputedly the best allied anti-tank gun of the war.

Resistance Is Useless.

The Vogon authorities caught up with this man.
As reported in the London Times.

Another Interesting Take.

Also from the New York Times.




Look closely at these two faces.
We are led to believe that they have something to celebrate by the fact that they are smiling.
But the one on the right is smiling like an idiot. He has sold his face to the purpose of pretending, the purpose of projecting an absolutely unbridled congratulation that seeks to persuade viewers to respond in kind by the sheer violence of expression it forms.

The face on the left is more honest, but less appealing.
The face on the left is discomforting, because it looks to be a hair's breadth away from a sneer, a sneer of superiority at having put something over on people.
It is the face of contempt, impossible to hide completely, and as such it betrays danger to the cause of Freedom, danger because the owner of the expression is betraying true feeling and thoughts concerning those he is attempting to convince.
That face shows no unbridled congratulation, only unbridled arrogance and derision; he is the sort of person who in an instant would fluidly attack any weakness by whatever scratching would penetrate our indifference.
I have seen that sort of face many times.
That the owner of this particular face is a (successful) presidential candidate is sobering.
Not exactly encouraging is it?

Interesting Take.

This from a Briton reported by the New York Times.

But I Don't Have One Of These. Yet.

I think the second one would have very few problems with traffic.

I Now Have One Of These.

Good News.

This from Djomama.
A reason to produce hope.

Tank Of The Day.

Two, different examples of the KonigsTiger, the King or Royal Tiger tank, the Tiger 2.
The one at the top has the so-called Porsche turret, which was actually a pre-production turret with a 'shot-trap' which was eliminated in the production model shown below.
A very potent tank, with sloped, heavy armour, and an 88 mm gun which was more powerful than the anti-aircraft version, a custom-made tank gun in fact.(Or so I believe-you can always look it up on wikipedia)

Pay Monkeys - Get Peanuts.

A rather good article from the Times Of London today.

Pay Monkeys - Get Peanuts.

A rather good article from the Times Of London today.

Pay Peanuts-Get Monkeys.

Tank Destroyers Of The Week.

The Russian approach- and SU100 with a 100 mm gun.

The German approach- a JagdTiger, with a 128 mm gun, the thickest and heaviest armour to see active service in any meaningful sense. 88 of these were built.

Again, a German approach; the Hetzer was built in captured Czechoslovakia by Skoda, and combined many useful qualities in the service of evil.

The American approach; an M10 tank destroyer in Winter camouflage.


A couple of sixties British hard-hitters; punching way out of their class due to guided missiles.

A HUGE British tank destroyer from world war 2, which never saw service because it kept demolishing roads and bridges. Even the side skirts are about three inches thick.

This is Quite Good.

The Times of London has an interesting collection of cartoons today.

Thanks To 'Chase Me Ladies..."

A Message To The Chancellor.

A Blokes Bloke.

I know, I know, he's French and that poof Castro likes him, but Gerard Depardieu is the sort of guy I'd have a drink with, and I'd like him on my side if things got sticky, even though he's Froggy.

Move Over Darling.

Darling, I didn't know you cared.
Now you're going to nationalise Northern Rock? So we all have to pay for those useless bastards' greed and incompetence?

Be Quiet Darling.

Darling, must you talk such utter rubbish about the City?
You don't know how it works; all you could ever do is stop it from working.
When bankers pay themselves huge bonuses, it is because they have been good enough at their jobs to make huge amounts of money.
Just because you don't know how Darling doesn't mean they shouldn't.
And I'll bet none of them dyes their eyebrows to look weird.
Still, gets in the weird vote doesn't it?
Now off you go Darling and cook lunch. The vicar is calling later after hearing Gordon's confession.

Perspective Check.

In 1999 the USA went to war in Kosovo to protect Muslims from Serbian Nationalist bigot persecution.
Then came 911.
What has to be remembered here is that the terrorists deliberately chose the USA, as the IRA chose the British Army fraternising at Catholic pubs, in order to drive a wedge in between friendly peoples.
By creating emnity where none actually exists, they hope to antagonise both sides in such a way as to produce generations of conflict, with false polarisation.

Listening to some of the racialist screed that pollutes the ether, they have had some success.

Face it!
When a Muslim talks of establishing a Caliphate, he is doing nothing more than preaching.
We won't be building a 'New Jerusalem in England's Green and Pleasant Land' anytime soon, either.
So pack it in.
The terrorists are just a pack of savage little maggots trying to create a conflict in their own demented image; any excuse will do.

Tank Of The Day.

This is where it all started.

Oh,Boy.

Uncharacteristically late night viewing for me; I've just seen a new series about nerds called 'Big Bang Theory'.
It revolves around two physics students and their two weird friends, who make the acquaintance of a beautiful but dim girl neighbour.
Watching the one with the blog trying to act smooth is agonisingly, screamingly funny.
I recommend this show.
Channel 4 of course. BBC2 never seems to bother any more.

Bovington Tank Museum

In case you were wondering, all these tanks were at Bovington, less than 30 miles away.
Great deal for a rainy Sunday; £10 buys you an annual pass.

God Bless America.

It was back in 1994, the Cold War had ended and the Western World was still suspicious and a little stunned.
The American Airforce was still a strong presence in England, with bases at Alconbury, Upper Heyford and points East.

I had a brand, spanking new Council Flat in the North, and was still struggling to swallow the apparent truth that I had come a cropper and lost it, lost out, nearly lost my life and my sanity.

I was a charity case.

I didn't have a proper radio, just a Walkman.
One night I felt particularly depressed and lonely, and scanned the airwaves for succour.

I found the American Forces Network, or AFN; they were upbeat. They were a million miles away.
After a basketball game, they played music.
They played someone I now know to be Beck, an album I now know to be 'Mellow Gold', and a song I will never forget:
Loser!
I'm a loser baby, so why don't you kill me?
I fell asleep laughing that night.
With the courage to look forward once again.

So next time you see some English person going all fake American with a pickup and a caravan or a flag, remember the days when it used to mean something.

Tank Of The Day.

Tis a pity that this tank was a disappointment in combat and never made it out of the desert.
It looks absolutely superb.
It's a Crusader tank, with the 6-pounder AT gun.
It had American 'Christie' supension like the T-34 and Panther (but not one actual American tank), and was quite quick.
It was supposed to be quick, like a Cruiser, which was why this class of tank was called 'Cruisers'.

A Brief Aside...

In the words of the much-imitated Woody Allen-:
"Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons."

Tank Of The Day.

And here it is.
In the middle, the definitive Matilda Tank, with the 6 pounder anti-tank gun(more powerful anti-tank than the 75 mm) and in desert camouflage, flanked by another couple of interesting designs, an armoured car (Humber?) and a Cruiser tank, the Crusader.

Aces High!

Counting down the weeks.
March my brave lads!

Drink Up And Be Merry!

What the ?

Tank Of The Day.

A Brrritish Lait Tarnk
Doesn't look too strong, but it is similar to the Panzer 1

This thing looks like it could be turned over by a determined Chav rebelling against his asbo.

An American entry; fragile? Shove a bar in the works and rip off the tracks. Or else run up behind and give it a good kick with an anti-tank boot.



Infantry tank, which later became the Matilda. Actually quite a solid piece of kit.

Disaster Averted.

All a misunderstanding.
Everything is cool.

Oh, Behave!

So, does anyone else here hate the Fairy Concentrated advert?
I mean, being lectured to by a three-year-old enviro-fascist is really, really irritating.
What a bloody shambles.

And Then, Disaster.

Tank Of The Day.

Mind you, the Krauts came up with a few stinkers too.
The one at the top voss Der Tanken vich voss first into service.
The one at the bottom (which usually had a whole machine-gun!) was standard issue in 1940.
Of course, the British only had the early 'Infantry' tank, which also had machine guns.
The two could sit and blast away at each other all day without doing either one harm.

Good, clean fun.
France fell. Oops.

Tank Of The Day.

This design from the 20's was for a heavy tank. All rivetted together and with no less than five (5) turrets, all grouped round the front of the vehicle, this truly was a stonk among tanks.
It just keeps on going doesn't it? Couldn't fit the barge in. What a loverly artillery target it would have made. A sort of 'Private Pike' attempt at invincibility.

The plaque tells the story of this Vickers Armstrong prototype. Retractable road wheels. Useful for taking on the natives in India, but not particularly brilliant in a real war. Note the narrow tracks.
Mud, anybody?
At least in town it could pick up it's skirts and run. A sort of self-transporting tank.
Oh dear oh dear oh dear.

Thunk A Blinksoe.

Have you heard about the government radio campaign called 'Dob in a dealer'?
Yes.
They invented this crap word, 'dob'.
It makes you sound a little less of a grass, a little less of a government informer.
Note the carefully formed shapelessness of the word.
It is to slang, what Ayn Rand's 'Project X' was to pill-boxes.

Tank Of The Day.

The two at the top are JagdPanthers or tank-hunting Panthers, without a turret and with the 88mm gun.
The one at the bottom is an actual Panther.
Sorry about the 'link' text.
Blogger is fucked today.

Tank Of The Day.

The mighty Tiger Tank.
But the Churchill had thicker armour.
And the Panther's 75mm gun had more power than the Tiger's 88.

Tank Of The Day

Now that's what I call a Churchill.
Just hope I'm right.

Tune In, Drop Out, and Turn Off.

Apparently the Red China government is cracking down on dissent ahead of the Peking olympics.
I urge everyone to erect a Great Firewall of protest against 'games' in hell, by not watching.

Tank Of The Day.

This is some sort of Churchill Tank from ww2.
I say 'some kind' (probably an experimental prototype) because if you look closely, it has a hull-mounted main gun.
The Churchill (built in Leeds) only had the turret gun and machine guns.
In 1943-44 it had the thickest armour of any Western ally tank, until the Americans brought in the Patton, in late 1944.
(Apart from the monstrous 80 ton TOG 11 that Britain produced in prototype form in 1941).

Macmillan Nurses

So the Macmillan advert comes on;
"Living with cancer is tough."
Too fucking right!
You bloody die!

First In A Series Of Definitions.

Graffiti- the definition of graffiti is-
the excretions of crushed minds.

Free? Men Have Killed For Less. And Died.

In the Sunday Telegraph tomorrow, the French production of Cyrano De Bergerac, starring Gerard Depardieu.
I loved the English translation of Rostand's superb verse play; I had my suspicions about the film, even though it was in French.
But these fears were allayed by the excellent entry in Wikipedia for the word 'panache', which was represented in the translation by 'white plume of Freedom'.
I thought the film makers had cut a corner and entered a cheap quality, 'panache' for the last word of De Bergerac.
I(happily) was wrong.
Panache is the exact word from the original French; the film is superb, and faithful. Depardieu represents the very best of Gallic Honour in a film of a play that represents the very best of the Human Spirit, including Gallic Honour.
The Sunday Telegraph is certainly supplying the goods.
I hope it is in the original French, however.
"A man does not fight only to win!"

Courtesy Of Djomama.

This is a particularly good posting from a blog I haven't seen before.
It may become a regular.
Thanks to Djo.

That Saturday Morning Feeling

Low Winter Sun, looking watery and shining on a calm Old Harbour. Still haven't quite got the hang of the camera.I mean, loverly wide angle to get everything in, but without manual lens control(you have to press a zoom button) matching composition to natural view is difficult. What was especially appealing about the shot below was the water-light interplay. Just barely captured with this range and detail level.

This picture definitely needed zoom; the buildings and details along the coast of the Northern bay area were clearly visible to the naked eye, but all I got was beach.
Still, not bad for a Saturday morning stroll, and the breakfast was excellent.