Solyndra is just the tip of the iceberg

As the entire Solyndra Energy Scandal is beginning to unravel, it seems that Energy Secretary Steven Chu is admitting that he allowed government money to flow to a financially shaky solar panel firm after it had defaulted on it's loans...

"Energy Secretary Steven Chu acknowledged Thursday making the final decision to allow a struggling solar company to continue receiving taxpayer money after it had technically defaulted on a $535 million federal loan guaranteed by his agency.

Chu spokesman Damien La­Vera said in a statement that the secretary approved the restructuring agreement for Solyndra because it gave the company “the best possible chance to succeed in a very competitive marketplace and put the company in a better position to repay the loan.”

Also Thursday, a law enforcement official confirmed that the criminal probe of Solyndra is focused on whether the company and its officers misrepresented the firm’s finances to the government in seeking the loan or engaged in accounting fraud. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the probe."

I wish I could say that this is where it ends, but apparently it that isn't the case here. The more one examines the current regime, the more corrupt it appears. Now the Daily Caller is showcasing just how corrupt this regime actually is...

"A Daily Caller investigation has found that in addition to the failed company Solyndra, at least four other solar panel manufacturing companies receiving in excess of $500 million in loan guarantees from the Obama administration employ executives or board members who have donated large sums of money to Democratic campaigns.

And as questions swirl around possible connections between political donations and these preferential financing arrangements, the Obama White House suddenly began deflecting The Daily Caller’s questions on Wednesday to the Democratic National Committee.

Asked Wednesday to comment on the connection between large Democratic donors and Obama administration loan guarantees to the companies they represent, the White House responded to TheDC with a single sentence: “We refer your question to the Democratic National Committee.”

These clowns make Watergate look like peanuts in comparison. Where are Woodward and Bernstein when you need them?

""The Energy Department announced Wednesday that is has finalized more than $1 billion in loan guarantees for two separate solar energy projects." That's the news we had about 50 minutes left in the show. "DOE announced a $737 million loan guarantee to help finance construction of the Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project, a 110-megawatt solar-power-generating facility in Nye County, Nev. The project is sponsored by Tonopah Solar, a subsidiary of California-based SolarReserve. The Energy Department said the project will result in 600 construction jobs and 45 permanent jobs."

That works out to $16.3 million per permanent job. If you roll in the ancillary jobs, like the construction jobs, that's how you get each job costing $200,000. But the actual permanent jobs in the solar industry will cost between 16 and 23 million dollars each. And I'll tell you what's happening out there. Who was the first person that you can recall characterizing the stimulus bill and all of these things as Obama's slush fund? That's right. It was I, your host, El Rushbo. And now, depending on where you go in the blogosphere, in the media, you will see other people now concluding that all this is is a giant Obama slush fund. This is federal taxpayer dollars being sent to Obama campaign bundlers, donors, and contributors. And then the money comes back, a portion of it comes back to Obama as campaign donations again." Rush Limbaugh September 29th, 2011 Link

Why I Find it Difficult to Take Atheists Seriously

Two recent examples that have made the news this week have reaffirmed my belief that many, if not most, atheists are intellectual Lilliputians who have a hard time trying to convince people that they aren't bitter, nihilistic, socially autistic, mental midgets. First, in yesterday's Christian Post we read...

"The "jail or church" program in Bay Minette, Ala., that gives first-time, nonviolent offenders a choice between doing time and paying a fine or attending church once a week for a year has been delayed as the town's lawyers face pressure to ensure that it does not violate any church and state separation laws.

The Restore Our Community (ROC) program caught national media attention for what many believe to be a veiled attempt to coerce criminal offenders into going to church. Despite Bay Minette Police Chief Mike Rowland’s insistence that the program does not "coerce" church attendance because the offender is given the option of participating, groups like the ACLU, Freedom from Religion, and Americans United for the Separation of Church and State (AUSCS) have complained that ROC is a "flagrant" violation of the Constitution."

How are they trying to establish a state religion? The convict can opt not to go to church and thus they aren't being forced to do so. This objection flies in the face of empirical evidence for those who supposedly champion empirical evidence when one considers that those who attend church regularly are less likely to commit crime. Perhaps, just perhaps, being held accountable by a body of believers just might be beneficial for certain ne'er-do-wells and they just might want to reprioritize their selfishness and weigh it against the consequences of their actions.

I doubt that the ACLU would object if they were being schooled on the benefits of the religion of Secular Humanism though.

The second example is from earlier in the week when I read that a group of California atheists paid to have the following billboard put up...

"One of the billboards located in the city of Orange states, "Make this a better world. Reject all religious superstitions." Listed underneath the proclamation are 36 different references to Christianity, other religions, and cults. Included in the list are: "Talking Snakes," "Burning Bushes," "Resurrection," "Salvation," and "Sin."

Lumped in with the Christian references are "Voodoo," "Magic Underwear," "Astrology," and "Hand of Fatima."

Such lumping in together of all of these items implies that all religious beliefs are of equal weight when nothing could be further from the truth. They should be judged on their own merits and decisions made according to their veracity accordingly.

Is the Mormon Church a Cult?

While significant differences still remain that seperate Mormonism from being defined as anything close to mainstream orthodox Christianity, Jana Reiss explores the distinct possibility that Mormons might be moving to become more mainstream....

"In their 2010 book American Grace, sociologists Robert Putnam and David Campbell revealed that Mormons rank as the third-most-hated religious group in America, after Muslims (no surprise) and Buddhists (a major surprise). The study's findings also showed, however, that suspicion of minority religions decreases significantly when people have personal interactions or friendships with members of those religions. A conservative evangelical soccer mom may claim to despise Mormonism, but her qualms tend to lessen when she becomes friendly with a Mormon co-worker or neighbor.

Therein lies a problem: unfamiliarity. A 2009 LDS-sponsored study indicated that nearly half of Americans understand next to nothing about Mormons, and many have never known a Mormon personally...

Many of Mormonism's critics fail to appreciate the ways that Mormon theology has changed through the years, often by way of the guidance that the LDS president claims to receive from God through "continuing revelation." (The teachings of a previous era are almost never explicitly repudiated, however.) For example, the doctrine that African Americans bear the "curse of Cain" is certainly not LDS doctrine today, though it was in the days of Brigham Young.

Some theological teachings are more opaque. For example, Mormon theology has traditionally dictated that human beings will become gods and that God himself was once human. An apparent disclaimer of this early Mormon teaching came when LDS prophet Gordon B. Hinckley appeared on Larry King Live in 1998 and, when asked whether Mormons believe that God was once a man, answered, "I wouldn't say that." He had given similarly vague denials the previous year to reporters from Time and the San Francisco Chronicle.

But what one LDS leader says to the media is not as reliable a gauge of the changing winds of LDS theology as the wording used in the LDS Church's twice-annual General Conference, when many worldwide Mormon leaders address the faithful by satellite or streaming Internet. In that forum, it's been rare to hear leaders talk about godhood recently unless they are quoting earlier leaders on the subject—and even that happens less frequently than it used to.

An investigation of the official LDS website confirms this trend. From 2006 to 2011, the word godhood appeared only ten times in official General Conference talks, church magazines and manuals. Of those cases, two quoted former LDS prophet Spencer W. Kimball about human beings becoming gods; one quoted former prophet David O. McKay on the subject; one cited midcentury leader Hugh B. Brown; and two drew from former apostle Marion G. Romney (a cousin of George Romney, Mitt's father). Two others referred to the "godhood" of Jesus Christ. Only one magazine piece—written anonymously—asserted that human beings "have within us the seeds of godhood," while an article about recovering from romantic breakups mentioned godhood twice as a goal for righteous human beings. Interestingly, that article was not written by a high-ranking international leader.

By comparison, church talks and materials from the 1970s and 1980s employed the concept freely in relation to the eternal destiny of men and women. As then-prophet Spencer W. Kimball said in 1976, "Our Heavenly Father has a plan for man's growth from infancy to godhood."

Does that mean that Mormons no longer believe that they can become gods? It is difficult to say. Many Mormons no longer think about the topic at all; it has become an insignificant aspect of contemporary theological expression. The idea may someday fade away, just as the church's encouragement of plural marriage—once a cornerstone not just of Mormon practice but of its belief system—has faded away."


The entire article is a good read and if you have the chance, click on the above link to check out the author's thoughts on how Mormons are helping to shape the political and cultural debates of our time.

I personally applaud such changes within their church and I think that mainline churches would do well if they could achieve what Mormons have insofar as attendance and tithing. But I don't know if Mormonism will ever be accepted as a member of the orthodox community as long as they adhere to the idea that such works as The Book of Mormon and The Pearl of Great Price are viewed as being 'inspired'. It's a bitter pill for a religion to swallow to accept that that their foundational documents aren't God-breathed and I doubt if these obstacles could be overcome anytime soon, if ever.

Thanks for the memories

I recall in an interview about 1992 or so that Michael Stipe said that he could see the whole thing going another album or two and then everyone amicably parting ways. 20 years later, it has come to pass.

"They have been performing together for more than three decades but today R.E.M announced they have slit up.

The group, made up of Mike Mills, Peter Buck and Michael Stipe, posted a statement on their website earlier today.

It read: ‘To our Fans and Friends: As R.E.M., and as lifelong friends and co-conspirators, we have decided to call it a day as a band. We walk away with a great sense of gratitude, of finality, and of astonishment at all we have accomplished."

I cannot exaggerate how much I liked this band and how their music affected me over the last 3 decades.

My first encounter with REM was when the album Fables of the Reconstruction was released in 1985. I recall hearing their hit songs Can't get there from here and Radio Free Europe as a teenager as part of my first exposure to a still relatively young, cable channel called MTV.

When I was graduating high scholl, their next album, Life's Rich Pageant was released. Who from that era could ever forget the songs Fall on Me, and Superman that were released at that time? About 18 years later, I became a big fan of another song on that particular album, the touching rendition concerning Native Americans titled Cuyahoga.

While I was in college, R.E.M. released two albums. The first was Document on which one of their biggest hits was released, The One I Love. No frat party at that time was a REAL party without the obligatory playing of It's the End of the World as We Know It complete with goofy underclassman engaging in one upmanship as to who could best belt out the rapid-fire, sometimes hard to understand lyrics. About a year later Green was released with the party anthem Pop Song 89 and the song Orange crush which was about Agent Orange.

Upon my leaving college and entering the so-called Real World, the opus Out of Time was released with it's eclectic mix of super-hits like the memorable Losing My Religion, the hauntingly beautiful Texarkana (which features bassist Mike Mills on lead vocals instead of Stipe) and the cross-over hit Radio Song featuring rapper KRS-One. I won't link up Shiny Happy People featuring the B-52's Kate Pierson, (a song written so that two people singing it and facing one another would just HAVE to smile while singing it just because of the way the mouth forms the words when belting out the lyrics) because FM Top 40 Format radio stations did such a great job of running that song into the ground.

I recall their 1995 hit Bittersweet Me which always reminds me of that particular time of my life.

Heck, just last weekend I just HAD to go online to search for the lyrics for their later hit, The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight because I couldn't figure out for the life of me what they are saying in the chorus. (NOTE: It's "call me when you wake her up", not "calling Jamaica" as one survey revealed that 4 in 10 listeners thought were the correct lyrics).

I wish all the band members good health and blessings in their future endeavors. Feel free to leave any of your R.E.M. memories (a band name that Michael Stipe apparently chose at random from a dictionary) in the comment box below.

Science: Athiests demonstrably more autistic

I distinctly recalled how the screechy monkeys did howl when author Vox Day wrote about this five years ago, quote.....

"It's not just a figment of my imagination, it seems atheists truly are socially autistic by their own report. Asperger's Syndrome is a disorder described as "autistic psychopathy" by its discoverer, Dr. Hans Asperger. Those with the disorder tend to be intelligent, socially awkward and difficult to converse with. They are also likely to be male.

Based on Wired Magazine's observation that atheists tend to be quarrelsome, socially challenged men, to say nothing of the unpleasant personalities of leading public atheists such as Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and Michel Onfray, one could reasonably hypothesize that there is likely to be a strong correlation between Asperger's and atheism. It's by no means a scientific test, but it is interesting to note the coincidence that 59 of the virulent atheists over at Dr. PZ Myers place report an average score on the Asperger's Quotient test of 27.8. And this does not include the two individuals who actually have Asperger's but did not report any test results.

The test notes that "Scores over 32 are generally taken to indicate Asperger's Syndrome or high-functioning autism". The average male score is 18, the average female score is 15. By way of comparison, I scored 14."

Now, in the Daily Mail, we read that there might be confirmation for this after all...

"People with 'mild' forms of autism are more likely to be atheists, according to a controversial new study - and more likely to shun organised religion in general.

The study, which looked at posts on autism forums, focused on people with high-functioning autism such as Asperger's.

The study, from University of Boston, speculates that common autistic spectrum behaviours such as 'a preference for logical beliefs' and a distrust of metaphor and figures of speech, could be responsible.

The study authors, Catherine Caldwell-Harris and Patrick MacNamara studied discussions by 192 different posters on an autism website. They also looked at a survey of 61 people with high-functioning autism, and graphed against results from the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) test.
The results appeared to show that those with high AQ scores were 'more likely' to be atheists.

In the group of high-functionining autistic individuals, 26 per cent were atheists, compared to 16 per cent of 'neurotypical' individuals."

Will the science fetishists now rush out and embrace this new study? Of course, this dosn't translate to all atheists as being autistic, but it gives one paue to consider why a lot of them are. In the test utilized by Day, one of the statements they were asked to evaluate was "Other people frequently tell me that what I've said is impolite, even though I think it is polite." If you are an evagelical atheist and you simply cannot understand why people are so put off by the suggestion (or insistence) that their profoundly held religious beliefs are little more than a 'fairytale', this might be a good time to see if you qualify for the Asperger's test.

More Palestinian Myths

Having blogged before concerning The Myth of the Palestinian People, Dennis Prager flays some other misconseptions concerning Palestinians in light of the recent push for full membership at the U.N. One of the more mind-blowingly stupid tactics proposed by the enemies of Israel is to compare Israel to South Africa during the latter's time of apartheid...

"First, what is an apartheid state? And does Israel fit that definition?

From 1948 to 1994, South Africa, the country that came up with this term, had an official policy that declared blacks second-class citizens in every aspect of that nation's life. Among many other prohibitions on the country's blacks, they could not vote; could not hold political office; were forced to reside in certain locations; could not marry whites; and couldn't even use the same public restrooms as whites.

Not one of those restrictions applies to Arabs living in Israel.

One and a half million Arabs live in Israel, constituting about 20 percent of that country's population. They have the same rights as all other Israeli citizens. They can vote, and they do. They can serve in the Israeli parliament, and they do. They can own property and businesses and work in professions alongside other Israelis, and they do. They can be judges, and they are. Here's one telling example: it was an Arab judge on Israel's Supreme Court who sentenced the former president of Israel – a Jew – to jail on a rape charge.

Some other examples of Arabs in Israeli life: Reda Mansour was the youngest ambassador in Israel's history, and is now consul general at Israel's Atlanta consulate; Walid Badir is an international soccer star on Israel's national team and captain of one of Tel Aviv's major teams; Rana Raslan is a former Miss Israel; Ishmael Khaldi was until recently the deputy consul of Israel in San Francisco; Khaled Abu Toameh is a major journalist with the Jerusalem Post; Ghaleb Majadele was until recently a minister in the Israeli Government. They are all Israeli Arabs. Not one is a Jew.

Arabs in Israel live freer lives than Arabs living anywhere in the Arab world. No Arab in any Arab country has the civil rights and personal liberty that Arabs in Israel enjoy."

Gee, I wonder why we never hear this espoused by the liberal lions of the mainstream media. Must not fit the template of the month. Such organizations that buy into the Israel/apartheid canard truly give credence to what Joseph Goebbels said about repeating a Big Lie often enough.

Special thanks to Israel News for providing such a great picture of Palestinian soldiers showing their true colors.

Colebatch: Evolution Needs to Evolve

Hal G.P. Colebatch makes it known that he doesn't necessarily believe in a young earth or even that we came from Adam and Eve. But he raises matters that even the most evangelical of materialists would have difficulty and struggle to provide an explanation...

"If a monkey was born capable not only of gathering nuts and bananas but also of building cathedrals, writing Hamlet or flying to the moon, we would see it as a major objection to the pure theory of evolution. We might even be tempted to believe that a God had intervened somewhere along the line.

But Man is born capable of doing these things and has done them. The fact speaks for itself. Further, as far as paleontology can tell us, Cro-Magnon Man, the earliest form of Homo sapiens, had brains as good as modern men -- Cro-Magnon Man simply knew less. We know from cave paintings that 16,000 years ago at least Man had highly developed art.

Why? Art is useless for survival. There is no reason why evolution should have produced it. It is possible to be reminded of Gandalf's cryptic comment in The Lord of the Rings: "Something else is at work." (About Neanderthal Man we can only make guesses from a few ambiguous hints -- in at least one Neanderthal burial, for example, a dead body was found to have been buried bedecked with flowers. Why did the dead Neanderthal's fellow-tribesmen take time off from hunting and gathering food to do that? Further, there were different types of Neanderthal Man and the more we discover about them the more complex the picture becomes.)

The unique quality of the human brain is one of the things which evolution, and Professor Dawkins, fails to explain. Humanity is special, and evolution can give no reason for it. Shall we perhaps be so unkind as to paraphrase Professor Dawkins, and call anyone who believes these things to be fully explained -- with that explanation being perhaps that they are the result of blind chance -- "ignorant, stupid or insane"?"

Are Fellow Democrats Throwing Obama 'under the bus' for 2012?

That the Lizard Queen should replace Chairman Zero at the top of the democratic ticket for 2012 is an idea that has been out there for awhile. Are we now seeing the first, substantive steps by democrat operatives in throwing Barry under the bus by allowing the Trotskyite in Chief an outlet, reason or excuse in which he can gracefully bow out?

"We hear the New York Times is looking into whether it's all starting to get to him—like, clinically.

We're told by a source inside the Times that the paper is preparing a story arguing that Obama no longer finds joy in the political back-and-forth, has seemed increasingly listless to associates, and is generally exhibiting the litany of signs that late-night cable commercials will tell you add up to depression. Or maybe Low T.

Either way, the investigation was described to us as taking seriously the notion that Obama may be suffering from a depressive episode. Of course, absent a telltale Wellbutrin prescription or testimony from the man himself, it's really impossible to achieve a reliable diagnosis. And a story like "Obama Appears to Suffer From Depression" can be easily downgraded to "Political Travails Begin to Take Personal Toll on Obama." So the story in question, if it ever comes out, may not end up supporting the depression thesis. But rest assured: There are people at the Times who, based on the paper's reporting, believe Obama is depressed—the kind of depression where, if he weren't the president of the United States, he wouldn't be getting out of bed in the morning."

One blogger going by the moniker 'Ulsterman' (Yes, I thought you'd get a kick out of that B.O.O.) claims to have a source who has first-hand knowledge of the inner workings of the Obama White House and relates the following...

"...it’s been a while since I was last at the White House, but I don’t have a problem saying that the president is losing it. I don’t mean he is like losing his mind. I mean to say that he is losing whatever spark he had during the campaign. When you take away the crowds, Obama gets noticeably smaller. He shrinks up inside of himself. He just doesn’t seem to have the confidence to do the job of President, and it’s getting worse and worse.

Case in point – just a few days before I left, I saw first hand the President of the United States yelling at a member of his staff. He was yelling like a spoiled child. And then he pouted for several moments after. I wish I was kidding, or exaggerating, but I am not. The President of the United States threw a temper tantrum. The jobs reports are always setting him off, and he is getting increasingly conspiratorial over the unemployment numbers. I never heard it myself, but was told that Obama thinks the banking system is out to get him now. That they and the big industries are making him pay for trying to regulate them more. That is the frame of mind the President is in these days. And you know what? Maybe he is right, who knows?"

I have read that Vox Day has stated that Obama being replaced is a distinct possibility. Yesterday while on the air, Rush Limbaugh predicted that at the end of the day after all the talking is done, Obama will remain at the top of the ticket. But if he steps aside anytime soon, tell'em where you heard it first.

Rick Perry is decidedly NOT 'anti-science'

After reading some articles on the subject, I'm coming to the conclusion that Texas governor and GOP presidential canditate Rick Perry has been unfairly catagorized as being 'anti-science' and also 'anti-intellectual'. . In fact, Yahoonews.com is reporting...

"While Perry's private beliefs in creationism have not affected the way science is taught in Texas public schools, they are widely shared by Americans. According to a recent Fox News Poll, roughly 45 percent of respondents accept the Biblical account of creation as the explanation of life on Earth, while 21 percent hold to evolution as the explanation, and 27 percent believe both explanations have validity.


This result is illustrative of the fact that America is a deeply religious country. Furthermore the dichotomy between religious faith and scientific reality has not been entirely reconciled in the minds of most people. In any event the Fox News Poll suggests Perry's beliefs are more in line with what most Americans believe. But, if what is taught in Texas public schools is any indication, a President Perry is not likely to impose the teaching of creationism in America.

On the subject of NASA and space exploration, Perry is on far more solid ground than President Obama. On the occasion of the final mission of the space shuttle, Perry issued a statement criticizing Obama's space policy and what he regards as the administration's abrogation of America's leadership in space.


Perry's view that the Obama administration has gutted NASA's plans for space exploration is widely held by Americans. The abandonment of the moon, which has a wealth of natural resources and is relatively accessible, has been criticized by a number of scientists and other space experts. Here again Perry seems to have science, as well as common sense, on his side, while it is the Obama administration that is pursuing ideology."

In addition to space exploration, Perry is also, according to lifesitenews.com, Perry has been active in setting up stem-cell research initiatives in Texas as well..

" Perry wrote the Texas Medical Board that he wanted Texas to “become the world’s leader in the research and use of adult stem cells” and that the board should consider when they write their new rules on stem cell treatments “the revolutionary potential that adult stem cell research and therapies have on our nation’s health, quality of life and economy.”

According to the Tribune, Perry called on state leaders to invest in adult stem cell companies in his 2009 State of the State address, and that same year he awarded grants totaling $7.5 million to adult stem cell pioneers Texas A&M Health Science Center Institute of Regenerative Medicine and America Stem Cell through Texas’s Emerging Technology Fund.

The governor has also advocated banning human cloning, and has pledged to veto any measure that would provide state funds for embryonic stem cell research."

So if somebody pipes up about Rick Perry being 'anti-science', be sure and hit them up with the FACTS being that a little balance is in order here on this particular topic.

Berlinski on the Scientific Pretensions of Atheism

I just thought I'd throw this out there for anyone who might be interested in evolution. Human Events has posted a 5 part, videotaped interview with Dr. David Berlinski. The bulk of the interview is concerning questions about his book The Devil's Delusion, Atheism and it's Scientific Pretensions. To begin viewing the interview put out by the Hoover Institution, just click here.

EDIT: Youtube has a large part of the DVD The Incorrigible Dr. Berlinski here.

Largest Study Ever: Abortion increases Mental Health Disorders by 81%

A special thanks to Fr. Longenecker for sharing this article via his blog.

"A new study published today in the British Journal of Psychiatry found that women who underwent an abortion experienced an 81% increased risk of mental health problems. The study also found that almost 10% of all women’s mental health problems are directly linked to abortion.

Conducted by Priscilla K. Coleman, Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Bowling Green State University, Ohio, USA, the study was based on an analysis of 22 separate studies and 36 measures of effect, that involved a total of 877,181 participants of whom 163,831 had experienced an abortion. The study took into account pre-existing mental health problems prior to the abortion.

“In order to avoid any allegations of bias,” Dr. Coleman explained, “very stringent inclusion criteria were employed. This means every strong study was included and weaker studies were excluded.

The research revealed that abortion was associated with a 34% increased risk for anxiety disorders; 37% greater risk of depression; 110% greater risk of alcohol abuse and 220% greater risk of marijuana use/abuse.

Abortion was also linked with a 155% greater risk of attempting to commit suicide."

Exactly where are all of the Femi-Nazis to decry such effects on women? Where was the expected Lead Story on any of the MSM outlets? You'll never find any because one should realize by now theat the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement is fueled by a yearning for tacit approval by society for a self-indulgent, sloppy lifestyle and has nothing to do with 'women's rights' as the foolhardy are lead to believe.

Above photo from priestsforlife.org, Baby Samuel at 21 weeks grasping the finger of the surgeon operating on his mom's uterus

Still in NI

The vacation continues, pardon any lack of posting. I've learned the following so far though.

• The fish and chips here ROCK!








• Belfast > Dublin IMO. This is based upon the metrics of broken glass in the streets, crushed beer cans lying around and overall amount of graffiti. To be fair though, a similar comparison of a like-sized city in Ireland would probably be better for comparison.








• You need at least 2 or 3 days to check out London instead of the mere day trip we devoted to it.







• Smithwick's is pretty darn good and I'm imbibing that in leiu of Guiness.





• The chicken wings here are GREAT! These people aren't exactly afraid of the deep-fryer and they generally leave them in it longer than in the states where they often come out limp and a bit under-cooked.

Hope to post more when I'm back next week. Cheers until then matey!

But, Why Northern Ireland?

It's a legitimate question I suppose. You see, this has been the reponse from more than one person when I informed them of my vacation plans for this year. A certain notoriety seems to still follow that region of the world following the so called "Troubles" there that lasted from 1969 through 1998. Recent spats would indicate that perhaps they aren't entirely over. But I guess I'll have the oppoortunity to see for myself firsthand as I'm now waiting (and quite bored) in the airport for my departing flight.

But to as to why I chose this part of the world, I would first direct you toward the wonderful sell-job currently being accomplished at the website DiscoverNorthernIreland.com. You could spend a couple of hours on that site planning things to do. Also, a more esoteric reason would be to see Dunluce castle which was pictured on the inner sleeve of the Led Zeppelin album Houses of the Holy and take a few pictures there. Add to it a daytrip to Dublin and it adds up to be the makings of a very good time.

EDIT: Having spent a day here, I must remark as to how calm the city is. The tour bus guide mentioned that according to UN statistics, Belfast is the 2nd safest city in the world behind Tokyo.Don't believe the prejudices of others folks. Go out and see for yourself!