Police are concluding that the semi-automatic rifle with 100-round drum attached used by the Aurora shooter jammed. He was then forced to use his Glock pistol and shotgun (a lot of the 60-some people wounded in the theater were hit by shot from the shotgun). If this report is true, it seems sure that the […]
Syrian Rebellion Enters new Stage with Aleppo, Border operations
On Saturday and Sunday, the Free Syrian Army launched attacks on government facilities and personnel in Aleppo, with fighting raging in several districts of the country’s largest city. Fighting raged near a large government intelligence facility. If the rebels can take Aleppo, they would benefit from Turkish aid and trade, and could hope to build […]
“On the Back of a Camel” (Renoir Painting)
Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) A dos de chameau signed ‘Renoir.’ (lower right) oil on canvas 28 3/8 x 29½ in. (72 x 75 cm.) Painted in Algeria in 1881 ( Just sold by Christies at auction for $2.7 million) The impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841–1919) began achieving some success after the turmoil attendant on the Franco-Prussian […]
Omar Khayyam (312) “let’s not fret about tomorrow’s grief”
Old friend, come on and let’s not fret about tomorrow’s grief today; let’s spend this instant’s cash in hand– because tomorrow when we pass away from this decrepit bar we’ll be laid out with those who left it seven thousand years ago. Translated by Juan Cole from Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat, [pdf] Whinfield 312
Al-Assad in Spandex(Political Cartoon)
On the superiority of organized masses over desperate men with guns (Martin Luther King Jr Poster)
58 Murders a year by Firearms in Britain, 8,775 in US
Updated Number of Murders, United States, 2010: 12,996 Number of Murders by Firearms, US, 2010: 8,775 Number of Murders, Britain, 2011*: 638 (Since Britain’s population is 1/5 that of US, this is equivalent to 3,095 US murders) Number of Murders by firearms, Britain, 2011*: 58 (equivalent to 290 US murders) Number of Murders by crossbow […]
How Long will We let the National Rifle Association and Corrupt Politicians Kill our Children?
Police in Aurora, Colorado say that they do not think that James Holmes had an accomplice. Of course he had an accomplice. He had lots of them. He had much of the gun lobby and much of the US Congress as accomplices. Police are said to be puzzled how Holmes got off so many rounds […]
Free Syrian Army Controls Border Areas
Free Syria exists along Syria’s borders with Turkey and Iraq. The Free Syrian Army, somewhat to my surprise, is beginning to take and hold territory, acting more like a conventional army than like a guerrilla movement. Admittedly, the territory is in the boondocks. But these boondocks are crucial because they control border areas and roads […]
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