Black powder - I know that guns are regulated, but what about purchases of ammunition

and/or black powder?

Syria: not our war

I am angry about the seeming assumptions among some Syrians that the US needs to step in and resolve their civil war. As near as I can tell, this is one case where our hands are clean; that the Assad regime was held up by the Soviets and then the Russians.

So - point 1: we didn't cause it.

As near as I can tell, there are numerous factions fighting Assad and possibly each other. Some of those factions follow an ideology that is counter to most American ideals: freedom of religion, women's rights, freedom of speech, etc.

So - point 2 - who are we supposed to support, and how do we keep weapons out of the hands of potential future enemies?

The Syrian civil war is causing terrible human suffering. But for real human carnage, look at the war in Congo:

"Congo has become a never-ending nightmare, one of the bloodiest conflicts since World War II, with more than five million dead. It seems incomprehensible that the biggest country in sub-Saharan Africa and on paper one of the richest, teeming with copper, diamonds and gold, vast farmlands of spectacular fertility and enough hydropower to light up the continent, is now one of the poorest, most hopeless nations on earth. Unfortunately, there are no promising solutions within grasp, or even within sight. "

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/16/sunday-review/congos-never-ending-war.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

I suspect that many American, European and Asian corporations are doing just fine, thank-you, taking minerals out of Congo, so there is little pressure to stop the war.

http://www.raisehopeforcongo.org/content/initiatives/conflict-minerals

So - point 3 - if the trip point for sending in American troops and/or arms is the level of suffering, why aren't we in Congo?

Media people find it much, much easier to cover the war in Syria than in Congo. But that's not a reason to commit America to another war.

BTW - it wasn't just Boston -

In Oswego, NY, the US Border Patrol was all over the harbor last Friday, lest the fugitives make a run for Canada over Lake Ontario.

In Niagara Falls, NY, police officers stopped and searched at least one car and the local Buffalo TV station carried it live.

There was an entire apparatus on red alert lest the Boston bombing be the first of a wave of bombings.

Can I make one more comment about the Lock-down in Boston on Friday?

It occurs to me that several times each winter, local police departments and/or the county sheriff issue advisories telling people to stay off the roads. The purpose of these "lock-downs" is to ensure that no one crashes and ends up possibly freezing to death. I imagine that similar warnings go out when a hurricane threatens. Somehow, the issue of civil liberties does not get raised for these "lock-downs". I would think the known presence of an armed person suspected of setting off a bomb and shooting two police officers presents as much a public hazard as a severe snow storm!

Anyone hear of any problems at airports today due to the sequester?

Bird feeders - I have a row of them outside my window,

hung on an old swing set frame. I have this


this


this



and this



but the absolute favorite for all the birds, big birds



little birds



and furry birds



is this

Criminals or "enemy combatants?

I think labeling these or any other terrorists as "enemy combatants" gives them too much prestige. Others have been down this same road.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirty_protest

edited to add: The British Government has a lot to answer for regarding its actions in Northern Ireland. Still, Americans shouldn't be so quick to romanticize the Provisional IRA. It's a matter of trying to decide which one was less evil.

Does anyone know why they shot Sean Collier, the MIT police officer?

If the details have been published, I missed them.

Also - how did MBTA officer Richard Donohue end up getting shot? I guess the real question is, how did the shot-out start? Did the brothers start it by shooting a random officer in uniform?

Is there anyone in America today who has cable tv who cannot recite

the Miranda warning in full from memory? I think it's recited in every single episode of Law and Order!

"People are now glued to their little screens because they are terrified"

This from the guest commentator on NPR at 12:50, EDT.


He's nattering on about people hunkered down in their homes in Boston because they are scared to death.



I suspect the people in Boston are hunkered down to clear the way for the police to arrest the bomber, not because they are afraid!