Military Fail!!!

This one's a quickie.

More plane themed Video's

In keeping with the last post of aircraft and dangerous behaviour, check out the following 2 video's of aircraft doing what they do best.. Woo hoo...

Hercules - gone burger.

What do you do when you are stuck in Iraq with a broken Herky bird and a shitload of explosives? Blow that shit up of course. Heres the official explanation :

The aircraft, which was carrying six crew and 58 passengers, veered off the runway after being hit by two improvised explosive devices, catching fire on its badly damaged port wing. Three people suffered minor injuries on evacuating the stricken transport, which was subsequently "deemed unrecoverable due to operational constraints", according to a Board of Inquiry investigation into the mishap.

Whatever - its probably more along the lines of "Im bored - lets blow that up."

Beijing Olympics - Whats it all about?

As a kid I was always fascinated by the Olympics and remember watching bits and pieces from the 84 event in LA. Since then I have not really been to bothered by it all, I catch some tidbits here and there and keep tabs on how well Great Britain and New Zealand are doing in the medals but other than that the interest in not like it used to be. Besides the fact that the Olympics seems to be more about how spectacular the event will be as opposed to mankind playing well together. But two things have stood out for me in this Olympics so far.

Yes that's right only two things and I'm not talking about Michael Phelps record medal tally, or the Jamaican runner Usain Bolt taking the piss out of the hundred metre world record, I'm not even going to mention Janos Baranyai, the poor bastard from Hungary who seemed to snap his arm off while opening a packet of crisps (Not actually what happened).
I am talking about the two athletes from the warring countries of Georgia and Russia who, ironically took out medals in the 10 metre air pistol event. Despite the fact that the Russians have steamrollered their way into Georgia the two women showed what the spirit of the Olympics is all about by hugging and generally getting along. Nino Salukvadze who won the bronze for Georgia had this to say.

"If the world were to draw any lessons from what I did there would never be any wars," she said. "We live in the 21st century, after all. We shouldn't really stoop so low to wage wars against each other."

A great attitude that the leaders of the World should learn from. By the way Russia's Natalia Paderina won the silver. On top of the shooters display of friendship the women's volleyball team showed the World that they are not to happy with the situation at home. Andrezza Chagas and Cristine Santanna of Georgia crossed under the net to hug their Russian competitors, Alexandra Shiryaeva and Natalia Uryadova.

"I am very unsatisfied with the results, but the Georgian team really played well. Their levels are rising very fast recently," said Shiryaeva. "Definitely I hope for peace. We do not want other things to influence the match."

A Russian spectator had this to say.

"The charm of the Games is that before the match you never know who will win. Players of both sides competed in a friendly atmosphere. It was really unforgettable."

The second Olympic moment was truly emotional and came from the German super heavyweight lifter Matthias Steiner. He lost his wife to a car accident last year and promised her memory that he would make it to the Olympics, which he did. Not only did he make the Olympics but he won the gold medal and he was so happy that he jumped around the lifting stage after falling to his knees and thumping the ground. Then as he was receiving his medal he held aloft a picture of his wife. What a dude. Check it (great commentary).

To me this is more amazing than all the world records that fall and the opening ceremony and all the other guff that goes with it. Its the small things that individuals do that make a moment and these two moments are truly memorable.

Death Star, Star Destroyer ready to demolish San Fran.

I came across a pretty cool video on Giz tonight. It's an apparent invasion by the Empire. Footage looks real to me so if I were you I would lock my doors and not go outside. Check out the vid after the jump for more details.

"Dubya" - Action, Drama, Comedy?

Oliver Stone is not new to controversy, several of his films have fallen into that particular category. Salvador with James (freaking cool) Woods, Platoon with Charlie (I like my characters to be called Charlie) Sheen and JFK with Kevin (Waterworld) Costner would all be considered politically challenging subjects. Well he’s only gone and done it again. The trailer for his new socio-political George W. Bush drama, aptly named “W” has just come out and boy, this looks a doosey.

Actually it looks pretty good. I like a lot of what Oliver Stone has done in the past, excluding Alexander which was a bore fest and look forward to the approach he takes. Stone has assembled a great looking cast too, Josh Brolin as Dubya himself, James Cromwell as Daddy Bush, Thandie Newton looks particularly good as Condolezza Rice as does Jeffery Wright as Colin Powell. Stone has said that he didn’t want to make an “anti-Bush” film, but to be honest when you make a movie about someone like GWB its going to be hard not to be objective. Some people have read part of the script and New York Post writer Cindy Adams said, “Pro-Bushies will hate it, antis will love it.”

Stone deserves a good film soon as his last few have been decidedly average\crap. Check out the trailer.

Clint Eastwood V's Spike Lee (I know who my money's on)

One of the greatest actors of all time and the one man that should be ruler of the universe has told Spike Lee to ‘Shut his face’. Clint Eastwood made the comment in regards to what Lee said about there being no African Americans in the veteran filmmakers war films Letters to Iwo Jima and Flags of Our Fathers. If I was Spike Lee I’d be shitting myself about now as Clint is probably not someone I would want knocking on my front door with a .44 Magnum in hand.

The Dirty Harry star, turned director said that the film Flags of Our Fathers was about the chaps that raised the flag in the iconic photo taken at Iwo Jima by Joe Rosenthal, and it just so happened that there was no African Americans in the story he was telling. He went on to say about the black troops that were actually there:

“they didn't raise the flag. The story is 'Flags of Our
Fathers,' the famous flag-raising picture, and they didn't do that. If I go
ahead and put an African-American actor in there, people'd go, 'This guy's lost
his mind.' I mean, it's not accurate."

Mr Harry responded to Lee’s jibe with the simple line “A guy like him should shut his face."

A lot of films are made about historical events and most of them take a lot of liberties with the actual facts and the fact that there are few depictions of African Americans is a testament to Eastwood’s film making and Spike Lee’s lack of knowledge about the subject. The moral to this story really is don’t piss off the man with no name or he’ll eat you for breakfast.

Go Pale Rider.

Their day in the sun - Tribute 08

New Zealand had a modest involvement in the Vietnam war, which was in contrast to the major wars in the previous 40 years. We sent 3900 personnel between June 1964 and December 1972, and 37 of those young men did not come home. This Queens Birthday weekend was spent remembering those young men, and honouring the men who served in a war that many saw as wrong and has had massive repercussions on both the Vietnamese and Western forces for generations.

You may ask why we spent the last 5 days marching, speaking and remembering when this was all so long ago, and ANZAC day is our national day of remembrance for all our past armed servicemen and women. To answer that, go back to that time as the troops returned from fighting in a foreign country for what the government at the time deemed an important enough cause to lay down Kiwi lives. See here for an overview of the political and historical overview.
In 1972, if you were a returning serviceman there were no parades. There were no effusive speeches from the elected officials. There were no welcoming communities ready to buy you a pint at the pub as a small thank you for your part in a confusing and controversial conflict. There were plenty of protesters, plenty of officials who refused to recognise your involvement in serving for your country, and for many Vietnam War veterans all this contributed to serious mental health problems associated with fighting in an unpopular war. Add to this the physical and genetic effects of Agent Orange, widely thought to have been used in hand sprayers and dropped from aircraft to negate the cover of bush to the Vietnamese.
I was honoured this weekend to have been asked to take part in the Honour March through Wellington and be present for Whakanoa & Parliamentary Welcome. I walked with my Father in law who served two tours in Vietnam in Victor 5, and elsewhere in the crowd was my great Uncle who served in the SAS. It was a different atmosphere to how it must have been for the returning servicemen back in the 70's. There were people applauding, the officials spoke and apologised for previous wrongs, and promises were made.
So what did it all mean in the big scheme of things? To the millions of Vietnamese dead and the Kiwi's who died also, probably not a lot. But to the men and women who returned, it meant that there was acceptance that even though many did not agree with why they went, we applaud their efforts and they have our respect and pride for the job they did. Not just 12 month tour.

See here for more info on the NZ involvement in the Vietnam war.

And Here.

And here

We will remember them

Its ANZAC day here in New Zealand, and for those of you out there who don't know what its about, its the day we remember all the Australian and New Zealand armed forces who have fought for our countries. The ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) troops fought in Gallipoli, Turkey during World War 1, and is remembered for being one of the worst planned attacks by British and Commonwealth forces in history. Both sides lost over 140,000 men over during the period 25 April 1915 to 9 January 1916. The picture to the left is ANZAC Cove in Turkey where we gather every year to honour those on both sides who made the supreme sacrifice.

Personally, I don't condone war as an answer to anything. But I also don't judge those in our history who chose to fight for what they deemed was right. There were thousands of men and women who, in our small nations history, have at some time or another taken up arms in defense of the British Commonwealth, to serve the United Nations in peace keeping duties, or serve as peacekeepers in the South Pacific. These men and women deserve our respect and gratitude for having the guts to stand up when it counted.

The ANZAC website says it best I think :

Although Anzac Day, the anniversary of the first day of conflict, does not mark a military triumph, it does remind us of a very important episode in New Zealand's history. Great suffering was caused to a small country by the loss of so many of its young men. But the Gallipoli campaign showcased attitudes and attributes - bravery, tenacity, practicality, ingenuity, loyalty to King and comrades - that helped New Zealand define itself as a nation, even as it fought unquestioningly on the other side of the world in the name of the British Empire.

After Gallipoli, New Zealand had a greater confidence in its distinct identity, and a greater pride in the international contribution it could make. And the mutual respect earned during the fighting formed the basis of the close ties with Australia that continue today.

My Great Grandfather served in the New Zealand army at Paschendale in WWI, my Grandfather served in the Merchant Marines in WWII, my great uncle was in the SAS in Malaysia, and my father-in-law was did two tours in Vietnam. They all deserve to be honoured for the sacrifices they made for their country and we use this day to do that.