Alan Boyle’s Cosmic Log on MSNBC.com has a quick article on Pirates. Not the Pirates of the Carribean movie, but is covering mostly the Queen Anne’s Revenge.

Strangely enough, even today it’s hard to separate fact from fiction in the story of Blackbeard, a.k.a. Edward Teach … or is that Thatch, or Tache, or Tatch? Researchers still aren’t completely sure whether they’ve found his sunken flagship, the Queen Anne’s Revenge. But seven years after Shipwreck 31CR314 was found in North Carolina’s Beaufort Inlet, they’re finding out more facts about the age when Blackbeard and other swashbucklers were in their heyday.
So far, there’s no smoking gun in the search for a firm link to Blackbeard. But the location of the wreck, the size and variety of weapons found aboard (including the telltale presence of 24-pounder cannonballs) strengthen the researchers’ view that they have indeed found the Queen Anne’s Revenge, which was lost in 1718.

Best part is they have a link on the page that I had lost to the Weekly Piracy Report which is a log of present day piracy activities.

This may be the worst of the possible outcomes.
The Iranian students and others, who have been campaigning for liberty in that repressive government, lost the momentum of their cause today. In order to avoid violence, they called off the general strike for today. However, this has led to several of them being “taken away.” Unorganized resistance has lead to sporadic fighting throughout Tehran between police and protesters..
We’ll never know for sure what might have happened had they stood their ground. It may have been another Tiananmen Square. This may have been only a fitful start. Over 4000 people have been arrested in the past 10 days.
I admit that I’m conflicted. On the one hand, I realize just how hard it can be to do what needs to be done. I also know that what they want has costs. Real costs. I’m sure many lives would be lost. I’m also sure that it would have been worth it. Even if in the end they may have lost this battle, it still would be one step closer.
I’m not writing them off yet or anything like that. I’m just concerned that by letting things happen the way it did, the stage is set for more repression.

I wish the Iranian people the best.

Just watching Fox News and a reporter asked Camden County Prosecutor Vincent Sarubbi if he agreed with an uncle of one of the teens that this was a “cry for help”. Sarubbi was smart enough to decline comment because his job at this point is to put together a case against these kids. He also didn’t know that at the time he was being asked this question, on one side of the screen Fox News was panning a camera across the weaponry these kids had on them when they were stopped by police after an attempted car-jacking. It was quite impressive by dint of size, although obviously scrabbled together by petty theft. Some long rifles, shotguns, revolvers, hunting knives, boxes of ammo, and a sword (cutlass?) - but nothing semi-automatic as far as I could tell. And it sure as hell wasn’t a “cry for help”.

OD’ing on mom’s valium? A cry for help. Ramming one’s car into a tree? A cry for help. Holding a gun to one’s own head? A cry for help.

Having more ammo than the defenders of the Alamo? NOT a cry for help.

For those of you who missed the American punk scene in the late 1970s and early ’80s - the pre-MTV era - there was a punk band known as Oingo Boingo fronted by Danny Elfman. Elfman has gone on to a lucrative career writing music for movies: Beetlejuice and the Batman series leaps to mind. One of their songs was “Only a Lad” that showed the stupidity of liberals who attempted to blame everyone BUT the criminal. Here’s some of the song taken via this link.

His parents gave up they couldn`t influence his attitude
Nobody could help
The little man had no gratitude

And when he stole the care
Nobody dreamed that he would
Try to take it so far
He didn`t mean to hit the poor man
Who had to go and die
It made the judge cry

Only a lad
He really couldn`t help it
Only a lad
He didn`t want to do it
Only a lad
He`s underprivileged and abused
Perhaps a little bit confused

It`s not his fault that he can`t believe
It`s not his fault that he can`t behave
Society made him go astray
Perhaps if we`re nice he`ll go away
Perhaps he`ll go away
He`ll go away link

Its been a while since there was a post office shooting, but is this a good idea?

I suppose that its a good idea, just like hunter training. Its better to kill your prey with one shot that leave them wounded, isn’t it?
I know its not the best scan in the world but the paper was crumpled when I got there!

Happy first anniversary to Jim and Rachel!

Wish you many more!

The Democrat message.. I’m still not too sure what it is, but I went to one of those quiz sites to find out who matches what I’m looking for.
Bush, 100%. I went back and changed a few answers, and again, Bush, 100%. Conspiracy? I think not. I generally answered the “Government, leave me the hell alone” options. Less taxes, less gun control, even against the security laws like the PATRIOT act. Next choices were (Insert Libertarian Candidate Here), McCain and other Republicans.
First in line for the Democrats was Evan Bayh, who I’ve never even heard of. Its a shame then, because he may have a chance.
And then Howard Dean at 47%. So I look to see what I agree/disagree on. He likes spending less money, but the supports universal healthcare, so he must increase taxes. Not good… Religious based charity, but not if they discriminate. Well, that completely shoots down any idea of that ever working. I’m sure your local Catholic charity won’t have a problem hiring a few Satanists to distribute food. Yeah, right. He then rants about the rich, even though I really love the money I’ve been keeping from the tax cuts. Against the Iraq war. BZZZZT, wrong answer, spin it again Vanna… Calls school vouchers “harebrained”. Against Social Security being privatized. Has a logical reason for that one at least. Got an A rating from the NRA. Finally, something I agree with. Everything else is off base. How the hell did that thing rate me agreeing at 47%?
After that was Biden, my very own Senator from Delaware. No way. I’ve seen him eat lunch at the Wilmington Riverfront Market. He ate a salad, but the entire time there was a photographer walking around snapping pictures from all angles. And absolutely no one went anywhere near him. No one said hi, chatted, nothing. And Biden just kept his head down and didn’t smile or act nice to anyone. Not mean, just ignored everybody. He also walked through my workplace before, meeting people. I just left Right Wing News on my monitor, and a copy of National Review on my desk. He didn’t stop by but kept walking…
But Dean is the best chance of the Democrats? Wow, they are throwing in the towel until 2008.

My hat is off to Russ Goble. Posted on Samizdata ::

It kind of saddens me to think just how enligtened were that the group of men who founded our nation and threw their intellects and support behind the 3 founding documents (the Dec. of Indepence, the Constitution & Bill of Rights). What I mean by that long run-on sentence is that it seems like it was a fluke, it was pure luck that those men were able to get on the same page and create a nation whose principles I think are universal, but unfortunately are not universally shared.
They created a government not only “of the people, by the people & for the people” (yes, I know we are republic as opposed to a pure democracy), but created one that for most of it’s history was meant to be limited in power.
Everything that they put on paper between 1776 and 1787 was motivated by the idea of preventing tyranny. Some wanted a King. They said NO! Some wanted a National Bank. THey said NO! They wanted the president to be directly elected. They wanted one house of Congress to represent the people. They wanted another house to represent the states equally. They gave separate powers to each knowing that they’d have to comprimise to get anything done. No one could run roughshod over the place.
Then they made the Supreme Court the arbiter of the whole thing. But, then they gave the States their own powers SEPARATE from the federal government. And then they came up with the bill of rights that put forth the idea that we are BORN with rights that simply can not be trampled on. They gave the president a veto, but one that could be overwritten. And finally, they basically said don’t hurt your neighbor but feel free to take up arms against your government if we get to big of a head.
And it’s been a resounding success despite some damn rough patches. Yet, no one copies us. That may seem like a self-absorbed gripe, but hear me out. Even Germany & Japan went with a parliamentary system that really keeps the power in the hands of political parties on choosing the leader of the country. I know Germany has some of the federalists tendencies that we do, but their governments which we had heavy influence over decided to copy other European models instead of ours.
Even the Eastern Europeans who seem as if they thought highly of the U.S. copied systems of governments from Europe rather than the U.S.
Look at the European Union’s proposed constitution. It’s what? 400 pages long? They believe they have to answer every question from the get go.
The genuis (and some would say it’s downfall) of the U.S. Constitution is it’s ability to evolve with the society governed by it. Despite the Civil War, slavery was also done away with via laws, without having to tear up the Constitution. Our nation has changed dramatically these last 227 years. We’ve had one of the bloodiest Civil War’s in history, we’ve had the great Depression, we had the incredible social upheavel of the 60s, 2 world wars and many small ones and the great idealogical battle of the Cold War. Yet, we still have the same document to look back to as a guide for our laws. It never needed to be re-written, just occasionally amended (which BTW, is damn difficult thing to do).
Yet, over the last century the very idea that the government shouldn’t be all powerful is foreign to a great many people, even those who grew up in or admire the U.S. This is sad. I guess that’s kind of what Samizdata is all about really. We need constant reminding that we should be in control of our own destinies.
I’m not a religious person, but I do sometime’s wonder what brought those group of men together in that place at that time and created something whose genius those men probably didn’t even realize. I genuinely thank whatever God there may or may not be that I live here. I love America with all it’s wrinkles.

That was a very long quote, however, I think that most of it needed to be copied. He points at the pure elegance of the Constitution, and how the Founding Fathers devised that perfect balance of powers. But I always did wonder how other governments functioned under the constant threat of having parliament disolved.
Why haven’t more governments chosen the more stable route of president/congress/supreme court? I know that a few have. When I look at the constitution, I don’t see anything inherently “US American” about it. It is generic enough to be copied verbatim into any other country and used as is. The rights recognized in it are generally universal and not just applied to Citizens.
If anyone is up on it, can you tell me the benefits to the parliamentary system? It seems to me to grant too much power to the Prime Minister for most systems. And why do some countries have both a PM and a President? What powers could the President hold? I know in almost all cases none, but I still wonder the reasoning. Scott, can you shed some light?

Just a quick post. The neighbors shot off some fireworks tonight. The guy is a retired fireman whose son followed in his dad’s footsteps. The local cops know him and besides, it was just sparklers and screamers.

Man I miss the smell of black powder. There is simply nothing as American as a hot humid evening with fireflies in the air along with the smell of barbecue and cheap Chinese fireworks. I came of age just after the M-80 had been banned - making it a legend of sorts among my crew. While fireworks were illegal in the burbs where I lived, it was kind of the “illegal” that meant that cops really only bothered if the neighbors complained. And then they only confiscated what you had on you at the time and didn’t care about the stash that you would reload with as soon as they were gone. Dad would always pick some up on the way home from fishing, so we were always well stocked. Cherry bombs, Black Cats, smoke bombs, snakes, bricks upon bricks of firecrackers, grosses of bottle rockets. I remember being a kid and buying my first gross of bottle rockets. It took months for me to shoot all of them off because I used them so sparingly.

Are fireworks dangerous? Of course. I’ve had them blow up in my hands and burn my arms. I’ve had ear drums that sang for hours after one had blown up in mid-throw. Would I want my kid to do all the stuff I did? Probably not. But still, he’s missing something special. It’s hard to quantify in these “safety conscious” times. There’s something to be said about doing dangerous stuff. Well, dangerous to the point where you might get a nasty burn for a day or two, but nothing fatal. How many kids lost fingers to fireworks or eyes for that matter? Was it all that many? Can I see the data?

Being a “rascal” is part of growing up, and I want my kid to take risks. Do I want him doing everything that his dad did? Of course not. I damn near got myself killed on a dare involving a train trestle and a freight train, and enjoyed rafting down rain swollen creeks. But watching a roman candle shoot sparks high into the air, or seeing a bottle-rocket sail into the sky on a hot Summer night is a wonderful experience for a boy, and a brilliant memory that the smell of black powder awakens in a man’s mind.

Happy 4th of July.

Never trust anyone with a bumper sticker mentality.
I think the only bumper sticker I own is “My Border Collie is Smarter than your Honor Student” and thats only because its true.
Thats one of the problems I have with most protesters. The only thing on their signs and coming out of the mouths are worthless platitudes. Sorry, I’m a bit too logical and realistic for that. Give me substance of how the suggestion would actually work in the real world, and I’ll listen.
“No blood for oil!” - Well, why not? People have fought, killed, and died over thousands of years for gold. Oil is just the next best thing. What isn’t understood by these people is that our soldiers fight for our way of life. That includes bad movies, NASCAR, bacon-flavored dog treats, enlightened self-interest, charcoal grills, suburbs, high-rises, shopping malls, protesters, and oil.
Tomorrow is Independence Day in the United States. Thats because a coupla hundred years ago a bunch of rich white men had a better way(tm) to live. They decided that we as a people should make our own rules. So we have. A lot has changed since then, but please take the time to think honestly how much difference there would be had things turned out differently. And
like it or not, ‘The Plan’ has worked. Sure its got bugs in it, but nothing that isn’t fixable. And we can try out one solution, and if it doesn’t work, something else will. Lets give it our best, we deserve nothing less.

We all hope that July 9th is the next day of change in the world. That is the day set for the next Iranian revolution. Bloggers around the world are picking up the theme and giving encouragement. Hopefully in this era of instant communications the world will pay attention.
Even though interneteers will want to take credit should July 9th come off as hoped, the only ones deserving are the Iranians themselves who finally break free of the tyranny. The folks at Pirate-King wish them all the freedom that we enjoy. A bloodless revolution is probably not in the cards, although it would be a shame to have much violence and no good end result come of it. Here’s to success!

I was in the local gun store a few months ago and had the most wonderful experience.
Looking around at what they had, I noted a typical suburban family enter the shop. Mother and father, son and daughter. Son looked around 15, dark hair, and completely typical. The daughter, maybe 13 and blond, dressed in her soccer uniform. Looked like she would be a cheerleader. Mom and dad looked like your normal shop at the Gap types.
So I’m checking out a nice HK USP and I hear the daughter complaining about something. I don’t catch it at first, and I figured she wanted to leave and go do something fun. But then I hear mom admonish her:
“Now, you got a shotgun last time we were here, it’s your brother’s turn to get a gun!”

A call for online vandals to take part in a Web site defacement contest has some companies warning clients to beware over the holiday weekend.
The contest awards points to vandal groups for defacing Web sites, with higher points awarded for sites that are run on less common servers. The winner of the contest will be the group that defaces 6,000 servers in the shortest amount of time.

This is from CNet.
I’m sorry, I used to hack around a bit, but this is getting annoying.
I already had to spend my dinner sitting on a conference call during a CERT alert due to suspicious activity. Please, let us all have a fun weekend, damnit. Its one thing to pull of something great, like defacing SCO and posting UNIX source on the site for all to see. But just going in and doing this:

“To deface in a short time, defacers are using special mass-defacement tools that can deface in three minutes a Web-hosting server that contains several thousand Web sites,”

Sheesh.. So its nothing but lamerz script kiddies doing this. Where’s my spanking stick?

For political junkies, the imagination gets fired up when Ann Coulter’s book “Treason” has just passed Hillary’s book on Amazon.com - and will be Number 2 just behind HRC on the New York Times this weekend. While I haven’t read Treason yet, I have read “Slander”.

Ann Coulter is an “intellectual pin-up girl” for Right Wing males. She is sexy, intelligent, and honestly an easy read. Hillary is Cruella de Ville, and the stuff of nightmares for free-thinkers everywhere.

Sean Hannity is predicting that Coulter will soon surpass HRC. Since HRC probably didn’t even write her book, it wouldn’t surprise me. Pit bulls outsell poodles.

Men financed and sailed privateers because although there was enormous risk involved, the potential for reward was also enormous. The average value of a ship and cargo taken during the War of 1812 was $30,000 or $427,500 in 2002 dollars. Even split between numerous parties (sometimes as many as 100), these were excellent rewards in that day - if you were successful.

“Legal” pirates of the day, privateers were commisioned by governments to loot with abandon. Essentially outlawed in the mid-19th century, it was a fine line between true piracy and the military. Depending on the day, you could have been a pirate if you didn’t keep up with the latest developments in international treaties.
It was almost like you were getting away with something. I’m sure that the privateers treated their prisoners a *little* better than true pirates, but thats a small consolation.