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Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Chernobyl Update



















***** WARNING!!! *****

This dangerously illegal and immoral subversive underground resistance message is being surreptitiously monitored by the Beaming Internet Government Broadband Radio Oscillation Telecommunications Hearing Electronic Reconnaissance (i.e., B.I.G. B.R.O.T.H.E.R.) as part of a coordinated official clandestine domestic surveillance investigation, in cooperation with the National Administration of Zealous Interrogation (i.e., N.A.Z.I.) and the Commission On Message Monitoring Investigative Electronics (i.e., C.O.M.M.I.E.).

Serious felony criminal charges are pending, with extreme penalties yet to be determined!

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Greetings and Salutations to All my Kith and Kin and All the Ships in Outer Space:

I'm sure you remember the uproar a few years back when a Russian girl claimed to ride her motorcycle through the contaminated countryside around Chernobyl.

Anyway, she was accused of perpetrating a hoax by numerous people, so I thought that was the end of the story.

However, her web site has been updated with more recent photographs, and more recent writings, which I figured would pique your interest.

In the updates, she has added a lot of new material, including references to Russian and German war casualties, plus stories from the Gulag.

Here is the URL for her web site:

http://www.kiddofspeed.com/

At that web site, you'll find links to other web sites, and I think you'll want to check each of them out, as all of them are interesting.

Here is a caveat from an indignant Ukranian who claims that whole story is nothing but a sham:

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Chornobyl "Ghost Town" story is a fabrication
e-POSHTA subscriber Mary Mycio writes:

I am based in Kyiv and writing a book about Chornobyl for the Joseph Henry Press.


Several sources have sent me links to the "Ghost Town" photo essay included in the last e-POSHTA mailing.

Though it was full of factual errors, I did find the notion of lone young woman riding her motorcycle through the evacuated Zone of Alienation to be intriguing and asked about it when I visited there two days ago.

I am sorry to report that much of Elena's story is not true.

She did not travel around the zone by herself on a motorcycle.

Motorcycles are banned in the zone, as is wandering around alone, without an escort from the zone administration.

She made one trip there with her husband and a friend.

They traveled in a Chornobyl car that picked them up in Kyiv.

She did, however, bring a motorcycle helmet.


They organized their trip through a Kyiv travel agency and the administration of the Chornobyl zone (and not her father).

They were given the same standard excursion that most Chernobyl tourists receive.

When the Web site appeared, Zone Administration personnel were in an uproar over who approved a motorcycle trip in the zone.

When it turned out that the motorcycle story was an invention, they were even less pleased about this fantasy Web site.

Because of those problems, Elena and her husband have changed the Web site and the story considerably in the last few days.


Earlier versions of the narrative lied more blatantly about Elena taking lone motorcycle trips in the zone.

That has been changed to merely suggest that she does so, which is still misleading.

I would not normally bother to correct someone's silly Chornobyl fantasy.


Indeed, correcting all the factual errors and falsehoods in "Ghost Town" would consume as much space as the Web site itself.

But the motorcycle story was such an outrageous fiction that I thought the readers of e-Poshta should know.

Mary Mycio, J.D. Legal Program Director
IREX U-Media
Shota Rustaveli St. 38b, No. 16
Kyiv 01023, Ukraine
Tel: (380-44) 220-6374, 228-6147

Fax: 227-7543
--
Lance Kim US Support Program Fellow l.kim@iaea.org
Department of Safeguards (SGTS/TNS)
International Atomic Energy Agency
Room A2182
+43-1-2600-26437


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Hoax or not, it does break my heart to learn she already has a husband.

What wild rides we would have had!

Thank you.

John Robert Mallernee, KB3KWS
Official Bard of Clan Henderson
Armed Forces Retirement Home
Washington, D.C. 20011-8400

"My unpopular and controversial personal opinions are independent of my Scottish clan."

Monday, April 24, 2006

"KILLER SOUND" - Guns Become Guitars











Greetings and Salutations to All my Kith and Kin and All the Ships in Outer Space:

Here is "KILLER SOUND", the news story from Colombia:

http://hotzone.yahoo.com/b/hotzone/blogs3860


Wow!

This is the COOLEST thing I've ever seen!!!

Ohhh, covet, covet, covet - - - I want one of those guitars!

Ain't that the neatest thing you ever saw?

Bodacious!

I'll post this at my personal blog and at my Internet discussion forums.

Thank you.

John Robert Mallernee, KB3KWS
Official Bard of Clan Henderson
Armed Forces Retirement Home
Washington, D.C. 20011-8400

"My unpopular and controversial personal opinions are independent of my Scottish clan."

Friday, April 21, 2006

My Song Published In SCOTLAND!!!

Greetings and Salutations to All my Kith and Kin and All the Ships in Outer Space:

I do not have a copy of the manuscript, but I have been notified that the lyrics to one of my original compositions, "A SON OF SCOTLAND IS GONE", has been published in the March 2006 issue of "THE SCOTTISH PATRIOT", which is the official newspaper of the Royal House of Stewart.

The URL for the Royal House of Stewart is:

http://www.royalhouseofstewart.org.uk/

The URL for "THE SCOTTISH PATRIOT" newspaper is:

http://www.thescottishpatriot.co.uk/index.htm

Although I haven't seen the article, I understand it also includes a brief description of me.

For those of you who don't already know, I wrote "A SON OF SCOTLAND IS GONE" to mark the death of the (then) Chief of Clan Henderson, Dr. John William Philp Henderson of Fordell.

His eldest son, Alistair, is now the chief of our clan.

No, I didn't receive any payment for my song.

The editor did say he would send me a copy of that issue, but he just got married, so he's been kept pretty busy.

So, for the time being, I remain an "undiscovered" amateur, living on a disability pension in the Old Soldiers' Home.

However, you can read the lyrics of "A SON OF SCOTLAND IS GONE" at the web site of the INTERNATIONAL WAR VETERANS' POETRY ARCHIVES, and the URL is:

http://club.iwvpa.net/mallerneejr/a_son_of.htm

But, what the heck - - - now, I'm a genuine Scottish bard being published in a genuine Scottish newspaper by another Scottish clan.

Shucks, I ain't never even been to Scotland, not no how!

(That last line was for the benefit of my three younger sisters, every one of them schoolmarms, and the oldest taught ENGLISH GRAMMAR!!! Heh! Heh! Heh! Ain't I a stinker?)

Ain't this neat stuff?

Why, it just fries my bacon and butters my grits!

Thank you.

John Robert Mallernee, KB3KWS
Official Bard of Clan Henderson
Armed Forces Retirement Home
Washington, D.C. 20011-8400

"My unpopular and controversial personal opinions are independent of my Scottish clan."

Personal Opinion On Gas Prices

Greetings and Salutations to All my Kith and Kin and All the Ships in Outer Space:

In watching the news on television, I notice the reporters tell only part of the story when speaking about the increase in gasoline prices.

Of course, for a long time now, getting the truth from watching television news or reading a newspaper has become an art form, where you have to guess at what is not being said, and why a particular news report is being presented in a particular manner (i.e., "spin control").

Everybody keeps stressing the increasing cost of crude oil.

But there's more to it than that, and folks, I'm not even an expert.

I'm just your ordinary everyday run-of-the-mill Joe Doakes, watching the boob tube and ranting about the rather blatantly obvious lies.

What kind of idiots do they think we are, that we can't easily see through all their smoke and mirrors?

The reason for the high cost of gasoline is due to two things, maybe more.

One, petroleum is used to manufacture plastic.

So, it isn't just gasoline and motor vehicles creating the high demand for petroleum, but virtually every product we use in contemporary society.

The other reason for the high price of gasoline is taxation and government interference.

Take away the taxes, and gasoline would be really cheap.

Now, we have another complication in this scenario.

China, whose economy will soon be the largest in the World, leaving America running a poor second.

China will have far more motor vehicles than America will, and they'll use most of the World's fuel supply.

It probably will lead to America preemptively launching an all-out global thermonuclear war, just for our survival.

Another factor in the increasing cost and scarcity of gasoline are the large pickup trucks and large sports utility vehicles.

Frankly, I'm very suspicious of our federal government.

Have you noticed how all the new vehicles are getting smaller?

This is fine for females, but it is painful for a big guy like me, because it hurts to try and squeeze into one of those tiny cramped vehicles.

Is it part of a government conspiracy?

Well, those little cars that women like will stay on the highway and go through police checkpoints.

But, guys like me, driving around in large comfortable all-wheel drive trucks, with two-way radios, semi-automatic weapons, and camping gear can drive OFF the highway and we can DODGE the police roadblocks.

With our guns and radios and off road capability, we have the ability to wage revolution and overthrow our government.

I think that may be the REAL reason why gasoline prices are increasing and new cars are getting smaller and smaller.

Before I sign off and go to chow, I want to throw something else at you, of an entirely different subject.

Yesterday, when that female Chinese reporter was arrested at the White House for heckling President Hu, she was charged with "intimidating a foreign official".

Huh?

That's not supposed to be a crime in this country!

We are supposed to have the freedom to harass, threaten, and intimidate anybody we want to, especially government officials, including foreign visitors.

That's how our system works.

This is the United States of America, and nobody should be immune from heckling and name calling.

Well, it's time for chow, so I'm out of here.

Thank you.

John Robert Mallernee, KB3KWS
Official Bard of Clan Henderson
Armed Forces Retirement Home
Washington, D.C. 20011-8400

"My unpopular and controversial personal opinions are independent of my Scottish clan."

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Australian Mormons Saving Penguins
















Greetings and Salutations to All my Kith and Kin and All the Ships in Outer Space:

This is a delightful news report about Mormon women in Australia which is just too cute to be legal!

Attached to this e-mail is a news photograph.

Here is the text which accompanies that photograph:

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Mormon women in New South Wales are knitting sweaters for penguins.

Doll size, tight-fitting wool sweaters keep this breed of "fairy" penguins warm as they recover from exposure to oil spills off coastal Australia, dramatically raising their survival rate.

(Photograph courtesy of the Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-day Saints)

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Here is the URL for that newspaper report:

http://www.sltrib.com/faith/ci_3713118

Here is the text of that newspaper report:

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LATTER-DAY SAINT WOMEN DOING THEIR DARNDEST TO SAVE PENGUINS

By Peggy Fletcher Stack
The Salt Lake Tribune


Move over Morgan Freeman.

Mormons are on the march to save penguins - - -one skein at a time.

Latter-day Saint women in New South Wales have undertaken an unusual service project, knitting sweaters for cousins to the loveable stars of the Academy Award-winning documentary narrated by Freeman.

The smallest breed of penguins, often known as "fairy" penguins, tend to get caught in oil spills off the coast of Australia, which can destroy their natural oils or even kill them.

Doll size, tight-fitting wool sweaters can keep the penguins warm during the rehabilitation process, and "stop them preening and ingesting the poisonous oil," according to The Sydney Morning Herald.

The sweaters improve penguin survival rate to about ninety-eight percent, the paper reported.

Hearing about the penguins' plight, Jenny Allen and Marion Braun, members of The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-day Saints from the coastal town of Coffs Harbour, organized a campaign to bring together Australian and New Zealand women aged fifty to eighty to knit sweaters for the foot-high penguins.

With the help of Pet Porpoise Pool, an oceanarium in New South Wales, the group was able to rally over three hundred knitters and produce one thousand eight hundred doll-size sweaters, said a press release from the Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-day Saints.

Tourists flock to see these tiny penguins as they "parade" nightly from sea to shore at the Phillip Island Nature Reserve in Victoria, Australia. The knitters have produced so many colorful sweaters that some are now being sold in the reserve's gift shop on toy penguins, the release said.

The money that has been raised has allowed the reserve to build a rehabilitation pool.

E-Mail: pstack@sltrib.com

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I'll post this on my personal blog and also share it with my Australian mates.

Thank you.

John Robert Mallernee, KB3KWS
Official Bard of Clan Henderson
Armed Forces Retirement Home
Washington, D.C. 20011-8400

"My unpopular and controversial personal opinions are independent of my Scottish clan."

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

TCM Movie Request: "BABY BLUE MARINE"

Greetings and Salutations to All my Kith and Kin and All the Ships in Outer Space:

Do you remember the movie, "BABY BLUE MARINE", starring Jan Michael Vincent?

Here is the web site URL where you can read details about that Hollywood production:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074173/

Unfortunately, this movie is NOT currently available on either DVD or VHS.

So, I've submitted a request that the TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES cable television channel air this movie.

Here is the web site URL for the TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES cable television channel:

http://turnerclassicmovies.com/index.jsp

As I am only one person, would you please assist me by ALSO going to the Turner Classic Movies web site and adding YOUR request that they air "BABY BLUE MARINE"?

I'm further hoping to persuade Turner Classic Movies to donate a copy of the film to our library here at the Armed Forces Retirement Home.

It's one of those rare Hollywood productions which are clean and suitable for Christian family viewing, as it espouses the old traditional American virtues no longer fashionable in our contemporary world.

The story is of a Marine who fails Boot Camp training, and is sent home in disgrace.

His identity is stolen by a decorated Marine hero, played by Richard Gere, who wants to avoid being returned to the South Pacific.

I like this movie because it reflects a similar episode in my own life.

I was classified "IV-F" by my draft board, and thus, my repeated attempts to enlist in the United States Marine Corps kept getting rebuffed.

But, like the movie's protagonist, I eventually entered the United States Army, serving honorably in Viet Nam, with some minor decorations.

I've told other guys here at the Old Soldiers' Home about the movie, "BABY BLUE MARINE", and I sure hope we get a chance to see it.

Please add your request to my own at the Turner Classic Movies web site.

Thank you.

John Robert Mallernee, KB3KWS
Official Bard of Clan Henderson
Armed Forces Retirement Home
Washington, D.C. 20011-8400

"My unpopular and controversial personal opinions are independent of my Scottish clan."

Sunday, April 09, 2006

Pix Of An Aussie Hero



























Greetings and Salutations to All my Kith and Kin and All the Ships in Outer Space:

Back in January, it was announced that my friend, ANTHONY WILLIAM PAHL, was awarded the ORDER OF AUSTRALIA, the highest award bestowed by that nation.

He is the creator and owner/operator of the INTERNATIONAL WAR VETERANS' POETRY ARCHIVES, has published much of my own work, and has even visited me here at the Armed Forces Retirement Home.

A few days ago, Anthony Pahl, with his wife, Maria, went to Govenment House in Adelaide, South Australia to be formerly inducted into the Order of Australia.

You can read about the Order of Australia medal at this URL:

http://www.medals.org.uk/australia/australia004.htm

You can read about Anthony William Pahl, OAM, at this web site:

http://iwvpa.net/pahlaw/index.htm

The URL for the International War Veterans' Poetry Archives is:

http://iwvpa.net/

Thank you.

John Robert Mallernee, KB3KWS
Official Bard of Clan Henderson
Armed Forces Retirement Home
Washington, D.C. 20011-8400

"My unpopular and controversial personal opinions are independent of my Scottish clan."

Thursday, April 06, 2006

Today's The Day!!!




















Greetings and Salutations to All my Kith and Kin and All the Ships in Outer Space:

Today, 06 April, is NATIONAL TARTAN DAY in Canada, the United States of America, and Scotland.

Here is the web site URL where you can read all about it:

http://www.tartanday.org/

It commemorates the signing of the "DECLARATION OF ARBROATH" on 06 April 1320, asserting Scottish independence from English domination, and which set the pattern for America's own "DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE".

Here's the Internet URL where you can read the English language translation of Scotland's historic "DECLARATION OF ARBROATH":

http://www.siol-nan-gaidheal-usa.com/beurla.htm

Here's the Internet URL where you can read America's own inspired "DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE":

http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/declaration.html

So, wear your clan's bit o' tartan today, and show the whole wide world you're proud of your warrior heritage!

Slainte mhath, y'all!

Is Mise Le Meas,

John Robert Mallernee, KB3KWS
Official Bard of Clan Henderson
Armed Forces Retirement Home
Washington, D.C. 20011-8400

"My unpopular and controversial personal opinions are independent of my Scottish clan."

Monday, April 03, 2006

Songs! Songs! And MORE Songs!!!

***** WARNING!!! *****
This dangerously illegal and immoral subversive underground resistance message is being surreptitiously monitored by the Beaming Internet Government Broadband Radio Oscillation Telecommunications Hearing Electronic Reconnaissance (i.e., B.I.G. B.R.O.T.H.E.R.) as part of a coordinated official clandestine domestic surveillance investigation, in cooperation with the National Administration of Zealous Interrogation (i.e., N.A.Z.I.) and the Commission On Message Monitoring Investigative Electronics (i.e., C.O.M.M.I.E.).
Serious felony criminal charges are pending, with extreme penalties yet to be determined!
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Greetings and Salutations to All my Kith and Kin and All the Ships in Outer Space:
I just found a really nifty web site, where I'm now learning some neat songs!
It's the SCOUT SONGS web site, and their URL is:
Some of the songs have MIDI-format music you can sing along with and some don't.
I was especially surprised to see "ONE TIN SOLDIER" (i.e., "THE LEGEND OF BILLY JACK") listed among the songs, which are for both Boy Scouts AND Girl Scouts.
Do you remember that movie, or rather that series of movies?
I think there was a total of three films.
Naturally, I quickly copied the lyrics onto a Word Pad document and added it to my list of songs to be learned.
I also added "ON TOP OF SPAGHETTI" to my list.
I was also very pleased at some of the automatic Internet links provided at the SCOUT SONGS web site, particularly the link to "FOLLOW ME, BOYS!", starring Fred MacMurray, a wonderful Walt Disney movie about the Boy Scouts of America which is now available for purchase on DVD.
Yes, the words to the movie's theme song, "FOLLOW ME, BOYS!" are also on the list at the SCOUT SONGS web site.
Have fun singing, y' all, 'cause I will!
Thank you.

Official Bard of Clan Henderson
Washington, D.C. 20011-8400
"My personal opinions are independent of my Scottish clan."