The French Are So Fed Up With Jihadis...

...that they want to send them to their very own version of Guantanamo: Devil's Island, the infamous penal colony of Dreyfus and Papillon. Got any Papillon fans out there? Not just the Steve McQueen movie, but the wonderful (and largely fictional) book written by Henri Charriere? How many of you know that the English translation of Charriere's book was done by Patrick O'Brien of Aubrey-Maturin fame?

10H

John Derbyshire's Rules, #10H: "Do not act the Good Samaritan to blacks in apparent distress, e.g., on the highway."

Unfortunately for Andres Alberto Martinez Trouch, he either didn't know the rule, or chose not to follow it, with tragic consequences.

Rest in peace. Your intent was noble, but its subject was unworthy.

Meanwhile, In New Jersey...

and I'm not talking the NY-suburb "You talkin' to me?" New Jersey, but backwoods Pine Barrens New Jersey, an Indian (not Hiawatha) out with his friends met a bear, and proved the slowest of his group in the chase that ensued.

Thus once again proving the adage Stay fit and carry a .44 Magnum.

When the MSM Collaborates In Conspiracy To Murder

No other way to explain this, is there?

New York Times Publishes Darren Wilson’s Address Info As Ferguson Simmers.

The public's right to know? Really?

Apparently, just to make things easier, Slate has even published a photograph of Wilson's house.

Treasure Blog: Ivan the Terrible's Sword?

Maybe.

A medieval sword found buried under a birch tree in Siberia may have belonged to Ivan the Terrible, archaeologists have claimed.

The rare 12th century blade, discovered in 1975 and nicknamed Siberia's Excalibur, was found three kilometres from where the lieutenant of a Cossack leader favoured by the tsar is thought to have died.

Until now the sword had been considered a spoil of war, but a new theory suggests it could have may have been a gift from the leader to Ermak Timofeyevich, and passed along to Ivan Koltso.

Pic:

The article later describes it as a "a massive sword, about a metre long with a typical iron hilt of medieval knight's swords with a clearly expressed crossbar guard and tripartite pommel."

It's a Viking-style sword. The Russians were part Viking in their ancestry.

Herp a Derp

If you're an armed robber you probably don't want to lay your gun down on the counter while you rake in the cash.

Arrival

Retired my old watch after 20+ years, purchased a very similar watch from the same company, L.L. Bean:

Field watch. I have definite prejudices about watches. I want high contrast between the hands and the face for easy reading, I want a date window, and I want a 50's-style expansion band for comfort and easy on/off. Band on this new one is aftermarket, the watch came from Bean's with a leather band. This one is upsized a bit at 42mm, which makes it easier to read with my aging eyes. Let's hope it gives the sort of exemplary service its predecessor did.

I've Heard This Song Before

Tin soldiers and Nixon's coming...

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon signed an executive order activating the Missouri National Guard on Monday afternoon.

According to a news release, the role of the National Guard is to “…support law enforcement during any period of unrest that might occur following the grand jury’s decision concerning the investigation into the death of Michael Brown.”

“As part of our ongoing efforts to plan and be prepared for any contingency, it is necessary to have these resources in place in advance of any announcement of the grand jury’s decision,” Nixon said in the release.

Another "Lost Colony" In Georgia?

Melilot.

A long-forgotten letter, discovered in early November of 2014 by regional planner and historian, Michael Jacobs, has provided very significant collaborating evidence that an English colony thrived in what is now northeast Metro Atlanta throughout the 17th century. Jacobs is Senior Regional Planner at the South Georgia Regional Commission in Waycross, GA.

The seven page letter was written on January 6, 1660 in perfect Renaissance French by Edward Graves (Graeves) a member of the board of directors of the colony, to the Rev. Charles de Rochefort, a French Protestant minister living in exile in Rotterdam, Holland. De Rochefort’s commentary on the letter said that Graves held a Doctor of Law and lived in Melilot within the Apalache Kingdom. The ruins of Melilot are probably located at Little Mulberry River Park in Gwinnett County, GA.

Apparently some survivors of Sir Walter Raleigh's Roanoke Colony made their way to Melilot. Also interesting is that the dominant Indian tribes of the region during that time period - - the Apalache - - were related to the Maya of Central America.

Read the whole thing for a lesson in forgotten history. H/T Free North Carolina.

Creche Festival at Mepkin Abbey

If you happen to be down in the Charleston, SC area.

Gallery here.

Sample pic:

Don'tcha Just Hate It When That Happens

José Canseco, who shot his finger off while playing with a handgun, had it reattached surgically, but apparently with little success, as it has fallen off.

Read the whole sorry story at the link.

John Muir? Just Another Old White Guy

SJW's in the environmentalist movement are calling for John Muir to be chucked under the bus.

Environmentalists say they’ve moved past their 19th century patron saint John Muir because he represents the monied, white privilege that continues to haunt the environmental movement to this day, the Los Angeles Times reports.

In an effort to connect more with Latinos and African Americans, some environmentalists are considering ditching Muir as their intellectual godfather. Environmentalists say that while they respect his ideas, they represent rich, Anglo-Saxon values that likely alienate minority communities.

“Muir’s legacy has to go,” Jon Christensen, a historian at the University of California in Los Angeles’s Institute of Environment and Sustainability, told the Times. “It’s just not useful anymore.”

“The conservation movement reflects the legacy of John Muir, and its influence on a certain demographic — older and white — and that’s a problem,” Christensen said.

Hey, John Muir: check your privilege!

Meanwhile, Here In Charlotte...

...they be tryin to figure out if baby got back.

A Charlotte mother is expressing concern after a class assignment she considers offensive was given to high school students. Some say it has racial undertones.

“I was completely stunned,” the mother said. “This is not appropriate language at all for the children in the school.”

The question was from a test on genetics.

"LaShamanda has a heterozygous big bootie, the dominant trait. Her man Fontavius has a small bootie which is recessive. They get married and have a baby named LaPrincess" the biology assignment prompts students.

The assignment then continues to ask, "What is the probability that LaPrincess will inherit her mama's big bootie?"

Ardrey Kell High is what is euphemistically known as an inner city school. There's no indication of the race of the teacher who originally came up with the worksheet, or even the teacher who used it in this case.

Meanwhile, Here In Indian Trail, NC....

...we have some indoctrination going on at the high school:

Is the faith of most Muslims “stronger” than that of the typical Christian? That’s what one public high school in North Carolina apparently is teaching students.

Outraged over the “correct” answers to her son’s ninth-grade assignment about Islam, a mother in Union County, N.C., turned to local news reporters to shed light on his school’s fill-in-the-blank worksheet.

Upsetting the mom most? A statement that read, “Most Muslims’ faith is stronger than the average Christian.”

I also note with amusement that in line 2C of the worksheet, the teacher uses the word "remerge" incorrectly; (s)he meant re-emerge.

Arrival

Condor parang:

This brush chopper, made in El Salvador, is much higher quality than I was expecting. The blade is expertly forged and is intended for heavy work. The sheath is high quality leather, expertly sewn. Got it for around $61 at Amazon. Condor makes a number of different knife styles, their website can be found here.

So He's a Member of SPECTRE?

First you had Dr. No:

Now you have Dr. O:

That's Dr. O's flunky behind him, goes by "Rimjob."

A Blessed Veteran's Day To My Fellow Vets

Thanks for your comradeship and your service.

Truth In Naming

Up in Ballston Spa, New York, a Saratoga County sheriff's deputy slapped and cursed a motorist who refused to consent to a search of his vehicle, as is his right according to the Constitution:



The sheriff's deputy's surname is Glans. A glans is, of course, a dickhead.

h/t Free North Carolina.

Tigger, Why Are You...

...bouncing my mommy?

Worried About Alzheimer's? Take the Peanut Butter Test!

And it's no more difficult than simply smelling the peanut butter; no tasting or other uses of it.

With Apologies To Mr. Heinlein

A hotel guest should be able to use the TV remote, connect to the wi-fi network, turn the air conditioning or heating on, cook food in the microwave, not explode sodas in the refrigerator, change the time on the clock radio, make the shower work, figure out how to use the guest phone, find the nearest soda and snack machines, return the luggage cart to the lobby and fetch any additional towels or linens personally. The desk clerk is for emergencies.

(a parody of Heinlein's "Competent Man.")

From the President's Press Conference

At one point, when asked about his relations with Mitch McConnell, President Obama indicated that he'd like some Kentucky bourbon, and that he didn't know what McConnell's favorite drink was. Well, remember Ronald Reagan and Tip O'Neill? Does anyone not believe that Reagan knew what Tip's favorite drink was? If the President hasn't had McConnell and John Boehner on speed-dial on his phone and doesn't know their favorite foods and drinks, it's his own fault for being aloof and unwilling to work with political opponents. He can't do that, and yesterday's election was a sharp rebuke to that approach.

Oh, About That Election?

Not To Put Too Fine a Point On It, But...

...if all the liberal tears on Twitter last night could be collected, they'd be enough to end the drought in California.

If 2010 was a "shellacking," last night was an old-fashioned ass-whipping.

Sharyl Attkisson Interview With the Hollywood Reporter

The former CBS reporter in a remarkable interview tied in with the release of her book on the scandals she covered during the Obama administration, including Fast & Furious and Benghazi.

I wasn't expecting much from an outlet such as The Hollywood Reporter, but the journalist conducting the interview, Paul Bond, does an incredibly good job at trying to get Attkisson to dish on the Obama administration and CBS. Attkisson plays it very close to the vest, being careful not to say anything legally actionable (libel, slander) save in a couple of cases where she names names. One new reveal is that she's the subject of a whispering campaign at CBS to characterize her as paranoid or a liar, and she identifies CBS bureau chief Chris Isham as responsible for this. A good, good interview, well worth reading in full.

It's Election Day

And in Chicago, the Voting Dead rush off to the polling places:

If You're a Fan of Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael Novels...

...you should know that today is the feast day of St. Winifred, an important character in the novels, although she never actually appears in the flesh.

Pic:

St. Winifred is one of the Catholic Church's Cephalophores, or beheaded saints.

Boy Clerks

You want to change the focus? Fine, then change the name.

"Baden-Powell undone as today's Scouts are told: Forget the knot-tying and earn badges in IT and public relations."

If you work really hard you can even become an Eagle Clerk.

Treasure Blog: Time Capsule, Baltimore Washington Monument

A copper box, found behind a plaque while doing restoration work.

Pic:

Meanwhile, Here In North Carolina...

...at least six county magistrates have resigned rather than be forced to officiate at same-sex weddings.

That includes Union County, where I currently live, and Gaston County, to the west of Charlotte.

Meanwhile, In U.K....

...schoolchildren were threatened with a black mark on their permanent records if they failed to attend a "mandatory" field trip on Islam.

Dear Parent/Carer,

As part of the National Religious Education Curriculum together with the multicultural community in which we live, it is a statutory requirement for Primary School aged children to experience and learn about different cultures.

The workshop is at Staffordshire University and will give your child the opportunity to explore other religions.

Children will be looking at religious artefacts similar to those that would be on display in a museum. they will not be partaking in any religious practices.

Refusal to allow your child to attend this trip will result in a Racial Discrimination note being attached to your child’s education record, which will remain on this file throughout their school career.

As such our expectations are that all children in years 4 and 6 attend school on Wednesday 27th November to take part in this trip. All absences on this day will be investigated for their credibility and will only be sanctioned with a GP sick note.

If you would like to discuss this further please contact our RE Coordinator, Mrs Edmonds.

After "discussing it further" with the local Member of Parliament and the town council, the school walked it back.