NOBODY EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION


Torture for tortures sake should never be used. The argument that we are living in an episode of "24" with Jack Bauer and we need the information now or millions will die is probably a little far fetched. But there are alot of ways to torture a person than using physical violence. Pyschological warfare is the term we use to interrogate suspects and to mislead and confuse the enemy on the battlefield. It was labeled abuse in Abu Garib prison because they humiliated the prisoners and took photos of them. The threat of physical violence, use of sleep deprivation, food deprivation, light and noise effects, the list goes on. The problem with torture is simple. If you torture someone long enough they will tell you whatever you want to hear. It may not be true, but they will do anything to stop the pain and suffering. The other side of the coin is that if you have a no abuse policy and the bad guys know it they will never tell you anything, all you can deny them is thier freedom.

Recently in Iraq there has been a section of the new Iraqi govenment that had already set up a torture facility. The people inside had been physically abused and tortured. Did the Iraqi government get any "hot" intel that saved lives? Was it intel they could have gotten from other sources? I dont know.

I do know that we as Americans are accustomed to taking the high road, we respect the Geneva Convention even if the other side does not. We feed, clothe, and protect prisoners captured in warfare. We do not behead prisoners on televison.

We do the right thing, even when no one else is.

WE WISH YOU A HAPPY MERRY NONBINDING NON CHRISTIAN HOLIDAY GREETING OF DUBIOUS ORIGIN

Well it looks like the Grinch has retained some high priced lawyers and is holding Merry Christmas hostage. I have seen alot of stupidity in my day, hell I even participated in some when I was in high school and college, but I would never have believed that there would come a day when people would be scared to say Merry Christmas for fear of a lawsuit infringing on thier rights to be secular, exclusionary non Christians.

What has the world come to?

Target stores, ironically, were the first to be branded with banning the Merry Christmas greeting from their stores, something the chain categorically denies now. Now regardless of your beliefs, is saying the phrase Merry Christmas an infringment on your beliefs?

Are you that thin skinned? And/Or are your beliefs so shallow that someone saying Merry Christmas to you shakes your beliefs to thier very core? Were they told at an unappropriate age that there is no Santa Claus? Were they the victims of an unfortunate mistletoe experiment?

Forsooth I say unto thee,

Chill out,

Oh and by the way, Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

GAMES ARE HELL?











Should I allow videogames to move me?

I mean really make me stop and think about the subject matter they are presenting and the messages that it all implies?

There are alot of games out there. Some purport to be more than your standard fare. Some say that they have deep messages and layers, like an onion. That thier game is merely the medium in which to project art, or a message, or whatever. But do they really? Lets talk about the Call of Duty series. A hell of a series. I loved the game and am still playing COD2 right now. But does it teach you anything about war? Does it teach a morality lesson that makes us better human beings? After its all said and done do you have a better understanding of human nature and the trials and tribulations that men go through in a time of war?

Now you may being saying to yourself, Field Marshal, we know its just a game, its not suppossed to have any other meaning. Its suppossed to be fun. If that statement is true then I counter with why not?

I can still remember the first opening scene of Saving Private Ryan, the heroism of taking one step on the beach exhibited by those men. Or seeing the effects of war in the epic miniseries Band of Brothers. I have seen these images on the small screen and I have lived them as well. Seeing the brutal nature of war and at the same time seeing the things that make those men stand together and develop the brotherhood and kinship that transcends normal relationships. Those things make me stand back and say a silent prayer, those things remind me of why war is hell. The "actors" portray the reality of the situation and when someone dies in the movie it affects you, yet when one of my squadmates in Call of Duty buy it I simply wait for his replacement. "Great to see you Private Bill Bob 101, now mount that .50 cal". When the end title sequence pops up I dont close my eyes and have a moment of silence for all the digital blood thats been spilled.


But maybe I should.

IM GOING TO NEED TO SEE YOUR DRIVERS LICENSE, PROOF OF INSURANCE, AND THAT COOL LOOKING GADGET THING-A-MABOB!

Well the X-Mas Season is quickly approaching and there are several gadgets and gizmos that are pulling my wallet in several directions this year. Some I have already, some I am getting soon and some I just want. Lets look at all the cools toys that are coming soon to a store near you.

1. X-BOX 360: The Holy Grail of console machines (at least until the new PS comes out) It officially launched last night in a special midnight extravaganza all across the country. Best buy and Walmart stores had huge lines with some folks saying they had camped for 3 days to get one. Now Im a techo geek with the best of them but I guess I have outgrown the need to "camp out" for technology. I can wait until its widely availible before I start shopping for one. Now I will say I played a demo machine and the graphics were jaw dropping. But Im still content with my PC and this console is aimed more for Kent, my son, than for me.

2. IPOD Video Edition: I bought my first IPOD overseas and its been one of the coolest MP3 players I have ever had. I resisted the temptation to upgrade when it went all color screen on me, then they added the ability to store pics on it, then they shrunk it, then they shrunk it again. All the while I was happy with my monocolor IPOD original. Now they went and upped the ante on me. Adding video playback features. In fact if you are too lazy to burn your own shows to the new IPOD you can buy one preloaded with every imaginable TV show or movie out there. I like the idea of being able to carry around the entire Band of Brothers on my IPOD. This one has the biggest pull on me I think.


3. TIVO: I realize some of you have already broken down and are Living La Loca but I have never had a Sat system before and so the wonders of this new service were beyond me. I had even went so far as to research MythTV a cool Tivo like program that runs off of Linux. But starting tommmorow, I will be a Tivo user as they install the new Sat system in the house. I will give my thoughts on this later on. but IM sure I will love it.


4. XM and Sirius Satellite Radio: As a subscriber to Sirius I can honestly say that it changed the way i listen to the radio. I never listen to commercial radio anymore. I dont even listen to my CDs as much anymore. There is always something on that intrests me. I would have been the first person in line to tell you that i would not pay for radio. That I am happy listening to free radio. But my new truck came with a years subscription and its so much a part of my day to day commute I wont be getting rid of it anytime soon. Never had XM but It is surely an upgrade from commercial radio.


5. Dual Core Processors: Definitly in the want category, since I can't justify buying a system like this when my current AMD 64 system is doing so well for me. The inner geek in me wants to get this just for the raw power, and who knows when you might have to hack into an alien computer system to save the world. Over all it falls in the would be nice to have but wont be getting one anytime soon.

BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN

Well its official. We have closed this morning on our new home in the City of Maumelle. After 6 months of apartment living we have bought the new Chamberlain homestead. It was a long process but its now paid off in a domicle. I appreciate all of the words of thanks and of course I am very thankful for all the help thats been offered this weekend to move us into Casa de la Chamberlain. As we near the coming holiday of thankfulness I want to re-echo the comments I posted here on this site a good 2 years ago. Thanks for God and his wonderful blessings, thanks to family and friends both of which I love and rely on everyday. Thanks for the health and safety of all of the above and thanks for letting me celebrate this Thanksgiving with friends and family in this country instead of one half a world away.

Raise your glasses


This toast is for you.


Cheers

THE MAN IN BLACK

Born in Kingsland Arkansas and attending High School in Blytheville Arkansas the Man in Black became a icon of America. It could be argued that he is one of the direct fathers of Rock and Roll, but whether you see him as a folk singer, country super star, gospel singer or rock and roll you cant deny his talent. Today I salute you Mr. Cash. I challenge you to take the Johnny Cash Lyrics quiz. Questions are first answers farther down the page.

1. Q: Soon your sugar-daddies will all be gone You'll wake up some cold day and find you're alone. :

Big River
Cry, Cry, Cry
All Over Again
In My Life

2. Q: Then he turned around and said to his black, greasy fireman, 'Shovel on a little more coal' :

Wreck of the Old '97
We'll Meet Again
There You Go
The Wanderer

3. Q: I fell for you like a child:

Old Account Was Settled Long Ago
Get Rhythm
Ring Of Fire
Guess Things Happen That Way

4. Q: Now I taught the weeping willow how to cry And I showed the clouds how to cover up a clear blue sky

Rowboat
Five Feet High And Rising
Big River
Wayfaring Stranger


5. Q: In a little cabaret in a South Texas border town Sat a boy and his guitar, and the people came from all around:

Tennessee Stud
Down There By The Train
It Ain't Me, Babe
Tennessee Flat-Top Box

6. Q: I said, 'Your old courthouse is kinda run down' He said, 'Naw, it'll do for our little town' :

Ragged Old Flag
Streets Of Laredo
The Ballad Of Ira Hayes
Flesh And Blood

7. Q: I keep a close watch on this heart of mine:

The One On The Right Is On The Left
Peace In The Valley
Man In Black
I Walk the Line

8. Q: A young cowboy named Billy Joe grew restless on the farm:

Folsom Prison Blues
Don't Take Your Guns To Town
Wanted Man
Daddy Sang Bass

9. Q: It seems I had to fight my whole life through Some gal would giggle and I'd get red:

Long Black Veil
Sunday Morning Coming Down
I've Been Everywhere
A Boy Named Sue




1. Cry Cry Cry
2. Wreck of the old 97'
3. Ring of Fire
4. Big River
5. Tennessee Flat Top Box
6. Ragged Old Flag
7. I Walk the Line
8. Folsom Prison Blues
9. A Boy Named Sue

MOVIES I LOVE TO HATE

The following list is but a small compilation of the movies I paid money to see but were so bad I sat and watched the whole thing because I thought "Surely it will get better" Man was I wrong.

5. Jaws 4 (The Revenge) : Ok so its just coincidence that the shark seems to be targeting one family at the beach, so where does the last woman move to? The Bahamas. or some other crappy small island. And not only does Jaws 3 find her down there, but he obviously has the capacity to swim faster than a commercial airplane. *Editors note Double Duece correctly corrected me on this being Jaws 4 instead of my initial post of Jaws 3

4. Smokey and the Bandit 3: This movie was a last dying gasp of a franchise to pull in some bucks. Lets bet the Sheriff that he cant break the law by racing from Florida to some godforsaken place in X amount of time or he has to give up his badge. Sigh. When I get home Im gonna punch yo Momma right in tha mouth.

3. Police Academy 6: Ok so most of these werent very good, but this one has as its best moment Hightower rapping. "We believe you guys, so we wont dispute you. But if you're lying to us, we'll come back and shoot you. Word! "

2. Captain America: One of the richest backgrounds, great rogues gallery, and icon of America. Cast in a crappy 2 hours of moviedom. Not only was the acting bad but they turned the Red Skull into a Greek mob boss. What tha? How ? Why? Bucky would roll over in his grave.

1. The Avengers: Like you didnt know this one was coming. A movie so bad it made me curse. Whoever put Sean Connery in a big bear suit must be killed. Violently and with extreme predjudice. Curse you Avengers.....CURSE YOU!!!!!

BACK AND RELOADED

I started this Blog originally as a way to post thoughts about my deployment to Iraq, it was one of the first things to fall beside the wayside as our OPTEMPO at the front end precluded any posting and afterwards I was already using things like the Guynight Website, phone calls and emails as well as a personal log to capture the events. Well that Blog is dead, Goodbye Blogistics we hardly knew thee, and now we welcome Armed and Dangerous, Long live the King. Huzzah!

Now I have been activated once again (3rd times the charm) this time in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. I am blessed again with this deployment only 20 minutes away from my new home, so every night I get to go home.

This new blog will try and capture whatevers on my mind at the moment, from thoughts of Games, National News worthy items, Bizarre happenings and the like. So hop aboard and join me for whats sure to be a strange ride.