Today's Train of Thought- Happy Australia Day! Jan 25th, 2015

Today's Train of Thought takes us (where else?) Down Under to Australia.

While railways elsewhere in Australia were something of an amalgamation of different gauges and engineering techniques [that apparently weren't brought to a single national standard until the 1980s- NANESB!] the iron-ore railroads of Western Australia's Pilbarra region operate some of the biggest trains in the world in some of the most inhospitable terrain on earth.

One of the first iron-ore lines in northwestern Australia was the Hammersley Iron line between the port of Dampier and the then newly-opened Tom Price mine more than 300km inland back in 1966. Japanese manufacturers sought massive quantities of iron-ore from the Pilbarra region and in no time, 230+ car trains of iron ore began winding their way from mines in the unforgiving interior to waiting vessels in Dampier. To the east, a competing iron-ore railway called the Mount Newman Railway was under construction and by August 1969 saw the first iron-ore trains on its rails.

Much more recently, Fortescue Metals Group sought rail service their Cloud Break mine and Port Hedland some 250 miles away. Before spending more than A$2 billion on a mew line, Fortescue sought access to Cloud Break by way of obtaining trackage rights on BHP Billiton's Mt Newman line. However, that faced legal challenges and Fortescue ended up building their own iron-ore line to Port Hedland, with work completed by 2008.

Meanwhile, like railroads in the US, the other western Australia iron-ore rail lines were subject to mergers and consolidations [although unlike the boom and bust cycles in the USA, the Aussie lines have seen steady growth since opening up- NANESB!] and the original Hammersely iron line came under the control of multinational Rio Tino.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Sean McGarraghy caught Rio Tinto ES44AC #8185 on the point of a northbound ore train as it makes its way through Millstream-Chichester National Park on its way to Dampier on May 14th, 2014. These massive trains routinely exceed 230 cars and often require additional power in the middle of the train.

While on the subject of Australia, the Miss Universe pageant was on Sunday. While Miss Australia, Tegan Martin, made the final cut of 10, the grand prize was awarded to Miss Colombia.

Venezuela Rocked by Escalating Anti-Government Protests As Maduro Orders Crackdown on Opposition

Amid several days of clashes between police and antigovernment demonstrators in the capital city of Caracas, Venezuela's embattled president has ordered paratroopers to crack down on protests that have been spreading to other cities.

President Nicolas Maduro's opponent from last year's presidential election- Miranda governor Henrique Capriles- hasn't taken as active a role in the demonstrations, opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez turned himself over to authorities who were seeking his arrest on charges of fomenting unrest against the state earlier this week. Capriles and others have condemned the Maduro regime's detention of opposition figures, but have cautioned supporters to avoid violence.

Early reports indicate that the death toll is at least eight after antigovernment demonstrators clashed with riot police and masked Tupamaros- masked urban guerillas operating in support of the regime- opened fire on a crowd of protestors last week.

Skyrocketing inflation, rampant crime, government expropriation of businesses and shortages of basic consumer goods such as flour and toilet paper led to a massive antigovernment demonstration in Caracas calling for Maduro's resignation from office on Feb 12th, and angry college students have not let up. Nicolas Maduro, the successor to strongman Hugo Chavez, narrowly won a special presidential election in 2013 after the death of Chavez and has carried on nearly all of Chavez's economic policies. As a result, the country is currently experiencing an inflation rate of more than 56%, one of the highest murder rates in the world and near-constant shortages of basic consumer goods, food and fuel.

According to publications in both Venezuela and the USA, the demonstrations got their start in the Andean border town of San Cristobal, which is home to three universities. After the attempted rape of a female student on one of the university's campus, students demonstrated in public, protesting the lack of adequate security on campus. The police reacted swiftly and harshly, reportedly arresting five demonstrators and sending some of them to a detention facility hundreds of miles away. The police reaction led to an even larger demonstration with students from all three universities in San Cristobal as Venezuelans in other cities joined in, using the demonstrations to protest over unemployment, crime, inflation and curbs on the freedom of the press. Maduro has blamed the demonstrations on 'right wing extremists' and 'foreign agitators' while sending paratroopers to the border city of San Cristobal to crack down on demonstrations there, implying that Colombia has sent agent provocateurs across the border to foment further unrest in western Venezuela.

One of the most widely known casualties in this month's demonstration was former beauty queen Genesis Carmona, who was shot in the head during an antigovernment rally in the city of Valencia- to the west of Caracas. Carmona was a student at the university in Valencia and relatives said that she was a semester away from graduating. In 2013, Carmona served as Miss Turismo Caribobo. Eyewitnesses said that about 50 men brandishing handguns and riding on motorcycles drove up to the assembled students and began firing indiscriminately. Carmona was shot in the head and later died from her wounds at a nearby hospital- cameras recorded her limp body being carried off on a motorcycle to a nearby hospital. Government officials claim the fatal shot was fired by opposition demonstrators.

Relatives described Genesis as apolitical but was likely drawn to the rally by worsening economic conditions in the world's 4th largest oil producing nation. Beauty pageants are to Venezuela what baseball is to the Dominican Republic or College Football to Texas- the country has produced seven Miss Universes, more than any other nation.

Meanwhile, Venezuela's oil minister has announced they are suspending fuel shipments to areas under opposition control [How this is any different from the routine shortages under Chavez and Maduro, I'm not sure- NANESB!] oil minister Rafael Ramirez announced via Twitter on Friday. And speaking of twitter, it was becoming rapidly apparent that the social networking site was at least partially blocked by the Maduro government when users attempted to tweet pictures of the demonstrations and attacks by masked Tupamaro gunmen on motorcycle.

Reports have also been circulating that Cuban president Raul Castro has sent Cuban troops to bolster Maduro's regime- although thousands of Cuban troops were reportedly stationed in Venezuela under Chavez, long before the most recent demonstrations. Even after Chavez's death, Venezuela remains a source of cheap oil for the communist island nation- a supply that could be cut off should Maduro's regime collapse.

Borderline Psychosis Update- Popular Ex Mayor Abducted, Killed in Michoacan; More Mass Graves Unearthed in Chihuahua; Sinaloa Beauty Queen Bites the Bullet

MICHOACAN- Dr Maria Santos Gorrostetia, a former mayor of a small town in Michoacan was found dead by laborers in a field after she was abducted at gunpoint in front of her daughter while taking her to school in Morelia earlier this month.

Gorrostieta served as mayor of the Michoacan town of Tiquicheo from 2008 to 2011 and survived at least two assassination attempts during that time- including a 2009 shooting that killed her then-husband, Jose Sanchez. After the shootings, she displayed her scars to the Mexican press as a symbol of defiance against the cartels that had attempted to silence her.

While serving as mayor, Gorrostetia said she didn't know exactly what she had done to earn the narcos' wrath, but struck a defiant tone after the first attempt on her life.

Earlier this month, Gorrostetia was abducted by gunmen who cut her vehicle off while on her way to drop her daughter off to school in Michoacan's capital of Morelia on November 12. Witnesses say that she got into a vehicle belonging to her assailants after pleading with them to spare her 12 year old daughter. Her body was found on Tuesday and reportedly showed signs of torture. Unnamed media and police sources state the the likely cause of Gorrostetia's death was bludgeoning.

Slightly smaller in total area than West Virginia, Michoacan is a mountainous state along Mexico's central Pacific coast and in recent years has been used to cultivate marijuana and poppies as well as offload chemicals shipped in from Asia for use in the manufacture of methamphetamine. The state was also home to the powerful and cult-like La Familia Michoacana cartel until it began to collapse under the weight of a military assault that saw much of its leadership captured or killed by early 2011. Since then, other organizaitons such as the Knights Templar or New Generation cartels have either reconstituted themselves from the remnants of La Familia or taken over areas previously under the control of La Familia.

Photo- Ricardo Ruiz

CHIHUAHUA-  At least 19 bodies have been discovered over the weekend throughout northern Mexico.

Forensic experts say that 11 of the bodies at a ranch about 30 miles southeast of Ciudad Juarez were apprently killed anywhere from four to ten years ago and buried two years ago. The bodies range in age from 18 to 40 years old at the time of death.

Meanwhile eight more bodies were dumped along the side of the road at Rosales, about 130 miles south of the remote Texas border town of Presidio.

According to reports, the bodies in Rosales showed signs of torture and the apparent cause of death ranged from gunshot wound to asphyxiation. Some media reports stated that the eyes on some of the bodies had also been gouged out.

SINALOA- State prosecutors say that a 20 year old beauty queen was among those killed in an hour long running gun battle between cartel gunmen and Mexican soldiers on Monday.

Maria Susana Flores Gamez was reportedly travelling on one of the vehicles whose occupants opened fire on Mexican troops, and after a lengthy pursuit Gamez and two others travelling in the narco convoy were killed in a hail of gunfire in a mountainous region of Sinaloa. An AK-style rifle was found near her body shortly after the shootout and an unkonw number of narcos managed to escape.

An official from the state's Attorney General's office said that Gamez was the first to emerge from the vehicle, brandishing a weapon while the narcos reportedly used her as a human shield. Investigators are conducting a ballistics test to determine if the weapon Gamez was seen brandishing had been fired during the shootout.

Observers have already drawn comparisons to the 2011 Mexican drama Miss Bala in which a Baja California beauty queen gets involved with narcos who use her as a diversion from their criminal dealings. The film highlights how the country's pageants and narco culture can be closely interwoven and the film itself was reportedly inspired by the 2008 arrest of beauty queen Laura Zúñiga and her narco boyfriend in Jalisco with two AR-15 style rifles and three handguns.

Maria Susana Flores Gamez has been incorrectly identified as Miss Sinaloa by a number of international media outlets. Although she reportedly competed for the title, the current Miss Sinaloa is in fact 23 year old Karime Macias.

Vietnamese Airline Fined by Officials for Unorthodox In-Flight Entertainment

Vietnam's only privately-run airline was fined by aviation officials in that country after video surfaced of bikini-clad beauty pageant contestants dancing in the aisles as music blared and appreciative male passengers snapped photos as their flight was underway.

In a letter to Vietnamese aviation authorities, Hanoi-based VietJet said that the local beauty queens were part of the in flight ceremonies celebrating the low-cost carrier's innagural flight from Ho Chi Minh City [aka Saigon] to the southern coastal city of Nha Trang earlier this month. A VietJet employee who declined to be identified said that the performance in no way violated safety guidelines.

In a letter to Vietnamese authorities Tuesday, the company said the event inaugurated its first flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Nha Trang on the southern coast. It said all safety regulations were followed. A company spokeswoman refused to comment on the fine Friday, but confirmed the local beauty queens were paid for their performance. She would not give her name because she was not authorized to speak to the media.

Photos and video also show the bikini-clad women handing out stuffed animals to passengers as prizes or souveniers.

Like the viral video of Australian hurdler Michelle Jenneke, I opted to go with the non-musical video since the music dubbed in after the fact is pretty loud and grating.

Established in 2007, VietJet didn't begin regularly scheduled passenger flights until December 2011. The airline operates exclusively with a small fleet of leased Airbus A320s.

Boston Globe: Former Miss Iceland Was Tipster That Led FBI To Whitey Bulger's Santa Moncia, CA Condo

Anna Bjornsdottir after winning Miss Iceland in 1974- Pageantlover.com Photo

If Whitey Bulger was a cat person before his arrest, he probably isn't now.

A 57 year old yoga instructor and former Miss Iceland is reportedly the tipster who notified the FBI of fugitive Boston mobster Whitey Bulger's whereabouts, according to an article in the Boston Globe. The FBI captured the 81 year old former Winter Hill Gang leader with his 60 year old girlfriend Catherine Greig at their Santa Monica, CA condo in June of this year after 16 years on the run.

Bulger is facing prosecution on multiple counts of drug trafficking, extortion and his role in at least 19 homicides in Massachusetts, Florida and Oklahoma. Bulger operated the south Boston Winter Hill Gang throughout the 1970s and 80s while enjoying protection from the FBI thanks in large part to Agent John Connolly who was a childhood friend of Bulger's. Bulger also used his status as a confidential informant for the FBI to undercut operations of the rival Patriarcha crime family, only to step into the vacuum left behind when their leaders were incarcerated, under surveillance or in hiding.

Recent photos of Bulger (R) and Bjornsdottir (L)- AP

Greig and Bjornsdottir reportedly met while caring for the same stray cat on the grounds of their Santa Monica condo. The former model and Miss Iceland did not recognize the couple until a recent trip back to Iceland when she saw a televised bulletin put out by the FBI regarding the couple.

For 15 years, the FBI investigation into Bulger's whereabouts went almost nowhere. There were miscellaneous reports circulating that Bulger was hiding out in British Columbia or Costa Rica, but the last reputable sighting of him was at a London, England hotel in 2002. However, by shifting the focus to Bulger's travelling companion Greig and broadcasting bulletins during daytime TV shows, an arrest was made in less than a month.

Now, however, there's some concern over both Mrs. Bjornsdottir's safety and the integrity of the FBI's tipline for those who wish to remain anonymous. The former Icelandic beauty queen did not come forward on her how volition- details about her identity and personal life were leaked and then published in the Boston Globe.

While there are those in the media and law-enforcement who feel that Bjornsdottir is in no imminent danger owing to the fact that Bulger's few remaining friends and allies are dead or incarcerated, law enforcement can no longer guarantee her safety now that the Globe has published her personal information.

“They can’t guarantee her 100 percent safety going forward,” said former U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan. “It’s unnecessary publicity and unnecessary harassment.

“There is a huge risk to the (tipster) program, generally, to be able to cultivate informants if their identification is at risk,” added Sullivan, a partner in the Ashcroft Law Firm. “It has a chilling effect.”

When I first heard this story earlier today, I initially thought that Anna revealed herself as the tipster that broke the case on her own volition.

Now that it's becoming apparent this information was leaked by somebody other than Bjornsdottir, aside from the obvious questionable judgement the Globe had demonstrated in publishing her photo, most recent whereabouts and amount received from the reward money, there's also some serious questions regarding the FBI's ability to protect the identity of anonymous tipsters. Think about it- how many witnesses would be willing to come forward with information that could break a particularly difficult case wide open will have second thoughts now?

Sour Grapes: Much to Miss France's Chagrin, Miss Angola Wins 2011 Miss Universe Pageant

25 year old Leila Lopes, an Angolan presently living in the UK, won the Miss Universe title at the 2011 pageant in Sao Paulo Brazil this week. The business student, originally from rhe seaside city of Begeula, is the first Angolan to win the pagent's title.


Miss Ukraine- 22 year old law student Olesya Stefanko from Odessa (above), was named the pageant's runner-up.

Ms Lopes replaces last year's Miss Universe winner Jimena Navarette (Miss Mexico- above) .

The decision to crown Lopes Miss Universe didn't sit too well with some of the other contestants pageant. Miss France (above)- 20 year old Laury Thilleman- was particularly critical in comments to French magazine Premiere.

“She was the only girl I didn’t know very well. We didn’t see her much; she was very discreet. She was often in jeans and not wearing makeup. We were all surprised by her win. Many girls made efforts that were not rewarded. I don’t know, something is missing in her temperament. The fact that the competition was held in Brazil surely played a role.”

Miss Brazil- 25 year old Priscilla Machado (above)- was actually named second-runner up in the 2011 Miss Universe tournament.

Home Invader Dispatched by Florida Beauty Queen With Pink .38

Meet Meghan Brown of Tierra Verde, FL. By her own admission, the 2009 Miss Tierra Verde is a terrible shot.
However, her lackluster marksmanship would be put to the test in a late night encounter with a home intruder ealier this month.

[42 year old ex-convict Albert Hill] barged into the home at around 3 a.m. after Brown responded to a knock at the front door, according to a police report. He allegedly grabbed the 110-pound Brown around her nose and mouth and dragged her to an upstairs bedroom.

The woman’s fiance, Robert Planthaber, said in an interview that he was quickly awakened by the altercation and ran to Brown’s side.

"I attacked him and took a severe beating to the head," Planthaber told FoxNews.com. "But I got him off of her long enough for her to scramble to the room where she keeps her pink .38 special.”

Brown snatched her gun from a nearby bedroom and shot the suspect several times – hitting him in the chest, groin, thigh and back, her fiance said. Hill was pronounced dead at the scene.

Hill had been in and out of prison on burglary, grand theft and battery charges since 1986. His most recent run-in with the law was a drunk and disorderly charge back in September 2010.

Not actual pink gun used

The gun in Ms. Brown used to shoot the intruder was a pink .38 Special she recieved as a Christmas present from her fiance.

It's probably for the best that Mr. Hill was pronounced dead at the scene. I mean, aside from taking one to the groinal reigon- if you're some badass convict, could you imagine anything more awkward than explaining upon your return to the big house that you got capped by a chick with a pink gun?

'Combat Barbie' Redux- 2009 Miss England Returns to Active Duty With Royal Army

*sigh* All good things must come to an end. Some of you who were around towards the beginning of Not Another New England Sports Blog!might remember the name Katrina Hodge- Lance Corporal Katrina Hodge of the Royal Army, to be specific.

A decorated Iraq war vet, she competed in the 2009 Miss England pageant and was awarded 1st runner up when the then-reigning Miss England was stripped of her crown for getting into an altercation with another contestant at a nightclub [No word on whether or not it was a prolonged Dynasty-esque face-slapping, dress-ripping, hair-pulling, falling-into-a-pond catfight- NANESB!]. So in a rather ironic twist, the military woman is awarded the Miss England crown for not fighting.

And now that a new Miss England was crowned last year, Corporal Hodge is back with the Royal Army and awaiting deployment to Afghanistan.

the move from soldier to beauty queen was a lot easier that the move in the other direction.

‘I’m not going to lie, it was hard to come back,' said Hodge.

‘It’s definitely a change of lifestyle from having your hair and make-up done every day to being in your combats and having your hair scraped back.'
But after 12 months of fancy hotels, false eyelashes and beauty assistants at her beck and call, Combat Barbie is back in combat training

Aside from her Miss England duties, Corporal Hodge had a pretty eventful 2010 in that she married some lucky bastard a fellow British soldier at a private ceremony in Sri Lanka last June.

Miss Universe, Jimena Navarette, Has Her Work Cut Out For Her

There she iiiiiiissss.....

One thing I overlooked in the whole slew of grim news that besieged Mexico last week was that 22 year old Guadalajara native Jimena Navarette won the Miss Universe pageant in Las Vegas.

Giggity!

The Latina beauty queen rather deftly handled some questions from Spanish-speaking reporters about Arizona's SB 1070 by stating "Every country has the right to impose and enact their laws, But I tell you that all the Mexicans and the Latins that are living here in the United States are hardworking people — people who want to improve on their quality of life."

Navarette said she would like to work promoting Mexico to the rest of the world....[hence the title of this thread- NANESB!] and said "I want the whole world to know about my country and my people,"

Unfortunately for her, many people do currently know about Mexico thanks in large part to the murderous excesses of the drug traffickers and increasingly sophisticated and brazen criminals south of the border.

Wardrobe by Satanico Pandemonium

The unfortunate part is that Mexico does have much to offer in the way of exports, natural resources and tourist attractions. The country is the world's second largest producer of silver and has abundant copper, oil, gold, zinc and natural gas deposits as well as home of the world's largest bakery [BMV: BIMBOA] and producer of building materials [NYSE: CX].

But even the legitimate sector of Mexico's economy is under attack either from criminal gangs who don't want to run afoul of the cartels or cartel operatives themselves diversifying their operations- such as the increasing number of truck hijackings and train robberies.

Tourism isn't helped much by the fact that mass graves are being unearthed outside of popular tourist destinations like Cancun or the colonial city of Taxco.

I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if Miss Navarette promotes Mexico from the relative safety of her New York City townhouse that was included in the prizes. Not that I begrudge her for that, as the grand prize also includes a scholarship to the New York Film Academy as well (which is difficult to attend all the way from Guadalajara).

With that in mind, I would like to wish Ms. Navarette 'buena suerte!'. Hopefully conditions on the ground in Mexico will make her job a little bit easier, and let's face it- do we really want a 100% lawless narco-state with daily massacres abutting our southern border?


On a side note, I'm sad to report that the USA's very own saucy little Muslimah, Rima Fakih, didn't even break into the Top 15 of the Miss Universe pageant....although to be fair, her national costume (representing Michigan) consisting of a pastiche of minature shuttered auto plants and foreclosed homes was a tough sell.

Ground Zero Mosque Update: Pelsoi Wants Mosque Opponents Investigated (Dibs on Being Miss USA's Cellmate!); NY-NJ Hardhats Pledge Park 51 Work Boycott

Well, it didn't take long for Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to weigh in on the Ground Zero Mosque controversy, and in true Pelosi fashion she had effortlessly managed to come down on the wrong side of the issue. And I'm not talking Obama's tepid but condescending support for the Park51 project by pointing out the backers have a Constitutionally protected right to set up shop adjacent to Ground Zero. Get a load of what she had to say in a KCBS interview earlier this week:

There is no question there is a concerted effort to make this a political issue by some. And I join those who have called for looking into how is this opposition to the mosque being funded,”

Wait a sec.....we're supposed to be getting paid for opposing the mosque? And here I was opposing it pro-bono like a complete and utter chump!

I wonder if Speaker Pelosi is going to start with notorious right wing shill and hatemonger Howard Dean who spoke out against the proposed Park 51 mosque and cultural center on Wednesday:

“This is something that we ought to be able to work out with people of good faith," Dean said in an interview with WABC radio.

"We have to understand that it is a real affront to people who’ve lost their lives, including Muslims.

"That site doesn’t belong to any particular religion … So I think a good reasonable compromise could be worked out without violating the principle that people ought to be able to worship as they see fit.”

Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D-NV) also came out against the mosque earlier this week, although the cynic in me naturally wonders if he would've been as vocal in his opposition if he wasn't up for re-election in a closely contested race in the Silver State.


The reigning Miss USA, 24 year old Rima Fakih of Dearborn, MI, also weighed in on the controversy last week.
Ms. Fakih said in an interview with Inside Edition that she objected to the mosque being so close to Ground Zero. "We should be more concerned with the tragedy than the religion" she told the interviewer.Nine times out of ten, I don't really hold the opinions of beauty pageant contestants in high regard (unless it's the bodacious and kick-ass Katrina Hodge), but Rima and her family are practicing Muslims who emigrated to the USA from Lebanon when she was a child, so that gives her opinion a little more weight than the run-of-the-mill 'I'd wish for World Peace' boilerplate response from many contestants.

I'm actually a little surprised she spoke out on the matter, since nude pictures, loaded questions by Perez Hilton and bouts of kleptomania notwithstanding, contestants typically try and avoid controversy. Also, the default argument for Mosque supporters seems to be "If you don't support the Park 51 mosque, then you're just a semi-literate bigot!", ironically failing to realize that the 1st Amendment is a two-way street.

This argument is not lost on the wife of Park 51 Imam Rauf, Daisy Khan was awfully quick to pull out the "WAH! We're victims of bigotry anti-semitism" card when being interviewed by terrorist-apologist hack Christiane Amanpour for ABC News' This Week on Sunday morning.

I think we are deeply concerned, because this is like a metastasized anti-Semitism. That's what we feel right now. It's not even Islamophobia, it's beyond Islamophobia. It's hate of Muslims. And we are deeply concerned. You know, I have had, yesterday had a council with all religious -- Muslim religious leaders from around the country, and everybody is deeply concerned about what's going on around the nation.

Imam Rauf himself has been on a US State Department-sponsored trip to the Persian Gulf and Middle East for the last few weeks.

My God! Nobody's sold you for $1 yet!?

But fear not! Not only has a snide and increasingly irrelevant mainstream media has come out in full support of the mosque, but has also taken to telling Americans that we need to just 'get over' 9/11 and that we don't appreciate the wisdom and genius of our current Commander in Chief.

The president also bought "Freedom," a new novel by Jonathan Franzen about a dysfunctional family in America. This is apt, since Mr. Obama is the head of the dysfunctional family of America -- a rational man running a most irrational nation, a high-minded man in a low-minded age.

The country is having some weird mass nervous breakdown, with the right spreading fear and disinformation that is amplified by the poisonous echo chamber that is the modern media environment.

The dispute over the Islamic center has tripped some deep national lunacy. The unbottled anger and suspicion concerning ground zero show that many Americans haven't flushed the trauma of 9/11 out of their systems -- making them easy prey for fearmongers.

Oh no! If only our intellectual betters like Maureen Dowd could rescue us from the 'fearmongers' and we could go back to our sedative spiked sippy-cups of Kool-Aid, plop ourselves down in front of the boob tube and listen to Amanpour remind us of what a horrible, racist nation the United States is with every syllable.

Again, the notion that the controversy surrounding the proposed mosque and imam was ginned up solely for the benefit of the GOP seems to overlook the fact that the Republicans would be better off running against incumbent Democrats on issues like the economy, unemployment, increased government spending or Afghanistan.

People are pissed, and the more this current Administration, the Democrats, the media or select grievance groups tries browbeating them into silence, the more pissed they get.

Supporters and opponents of the mosque gathered in two separate rallies on Sunday in lower Manhattan- the opponents apparently outnumbering the supporters.

Elsewhere, the New York Daily News is reporting that a growing number of Union construction workers will avoid the former Burlington Coat Factory building that is the focal point of the Park 51 mosque. Brooklyn construction worker Andy Sullivan created a 'Hard Hat Pledge' on his blog where suppliers, construction and trade workers and others vow not to work on the project should it remain in its current location.

[Hat tip Weasel Zippers; Jammie Wearing Fool; Lonely Conservative; Woman Honor Thyself]

UK Equalities Minister: Christina Hendricks is "Role Model"

UK Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone apparently is a fan of Mad Men- specifically Christina Hendricks.

Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone has declared the curvaceous redhead, who plays Joan Holloway in the hit American drama, an "absolutely fabulous" role model for girls, the UK's Daily Telegraph newspaper reports.

The Liberal Democrat minister criticised the overexposure of skinny models, which she said was causing a crisis in body confidence among the young.
She said women shouldn't be constantly comparing themselves with the "unattainable" figures of most celebrities and models.

"Christina Hendricks is absolutely fabulous," Mrs Featherstone said.

"We need more of these role models.

"There is such a sensation when there is a curvy role model. It shouldn't be so unusual."

Hendricks was voted the sexiest woman alive by Esquire magazine readers earlier this year...

As much as I'm in agreement with Featherstone regarding heroin chic and more curvy models or actresses being under-appreciated in the fashion and entrainment industry, it's one of those things that I don't think is the governments business.


This isn't the first plus-sized hullaballoo across the pond over the last few years. Amid criticism from some quarters, 17 year old Chloe Marshall of Surrey won runner-up in the 2008 Miss England pageant, with some tabloids calling the teenage Marshal a 'Poster Child for Ill Health'.

Lazy, Inept Blogger Scoops Mainstream Press AGAIN: Miss England/'Combat Barbie' Revisited

(The Sun)

Actually, I noticed this courtesey of the British tabloids, but for some reason this story that I reported on nearly 6 months ago just now is getting noticed here in the USA. Granted it's nowhere near as deadly serious as the developments in Pakistan that I beat the Washington Post by several weeks, but I pride myself on being ahead of the curve [moreso when it actually happens- NANESB!]

And speaking of curves....

Lance Corporal Katrina Hodge isn't just a decorated veteran of Iraq- she also happens to be the reigning Miss England. She actually was runner-up in the Miss England pageant when then-winner Rachel Christie was stripped of her crown for fighting with another contestant at a Manchester nightclub (not Hodge tho', otherwise Christie would probably still be in traction).

Hodge travelled to the 2009 Miss World pageant in South Africa where she didn't even place in the top 12. Personally, I thought that was unfortunate....but apparently field-stripping and reassembling the L85A2 service rifle blindfolded for the talent competition wasn't enough to impress the judges.

Hodge will retain the Miss England crown until at least June....and at the risk of repeating myself, does anyone else find it ironic that the professional soldier was awarded the title for not fighting?

G.I. Jill- From Combat Medic to Miss Utah

(army.mil)

When I was in the Army, a good rule of thumb regarding some of the female soldiers was 'if she looks good in BDUs, she can look good in anything'. Sounds sexist, but think about it- the uniform wasn't designed to be particularly alluring or flattering to the female form; it was designed to be....well, uniform.

(utvet.com)

My earlier entry about Lance Corporal Katrina Hodge being awarded the Miss England crown got me to wondering whether or not there were any beauty pageant winners in the USA who had served in the Armed Forces. As it turns out, the answer is 'yes' and I don't have to go that far back to find one.

Meet Sgt. Jill Stevens of the Utah National Guard's 1st Battalion, 211th Aviation Regiment. Sgt. Stevens is a decorated veteran of Afghanistan, a combat medic and....oh yes, Miss Utah 2007. Most likely the only Miss Utah able to field-strip an M4 Carbine for the talent competition and do push-ups in an evening gown.

Sgt Stevens graduated Summa Cum Laude from the Southern Utah University's Nursing Program and finished 16th overall in the 2008 Miss America pageant and named the "America's Choice" semi-finalist.

Granted I'm nearly 2 years behind on this, but congrats to Sgt. Stevens-a credit to the Utah National Guard (and the Army in general) as well as being pretty damn easy on the eyes. I'd take one Jill Stevens over a hundred bipolar kleptomaniac pathological liar pageant winners any day.

Barroom Brawl Leaves Royal Army Squaddie With Miss England Crown

(Graham Stone/ The Telegraph)
OK- I should probably keep the posts about dysfuntional beauty pageants and their problem-child contestants to a minimum, but I thought this was too cool to pass up.

(Adrian Harlen/Ministry of Defense)

Meet 22 year old Lance Corpral Katrina Hodge of the Royal Army's Royal Anglian Regiment and decorated Iraq war veteran.

Ms Hodge was given a bravery commendation in 2005 after members of her regiment were threatened at gunpoint by a suspected Iraqi insurgent after the vehicle they were travelling in overturned.

She said: "I was in complete shock at first. The force of the accident caused our vehicle to roll over three times and threw us off guard.
"As I came round, the Iraqi suspect was standing over us with the rifles. I knew if I didn't act fast then our lives would be in danger. I punched him and the force startled him enough for me to retrieve the rifles from him."

And...oh yes- she's the current Miss England. Now keep in mind that she was a runner up and the winner of the 2009 Miss England crown, Rachel Christie, was recently arrested after allegedly getting into a barrom brawl with another contestant, Sara Jones. Presumably the beatdown of another contestant and subsequent arrest means she had to relinquish her crown. Ironically, the soldier is being rewarded for not fighting

So LCL Hodge will now represent England at the upcoming Miss World pageant in Johannesburg later on this month- the same pageant Singapore is having such a hard time finding a suitable contestant for.

I'm wholeheartedly looking forward to the talent competiton where she's going to field-strip an Enfield L85A1 rifle and reassemble it blindfolded. Congratulations and best of luck to Ms. Hodge.

A Low Down Dirty Shame

Citynews.sg/Daniel Poh

What if they had a beauty pageant and none of the contestants wanted to participate?

Since bi-polar kleptomaniac Ris Low was stripped of her crown, the Miss World Singapore organizers have had a hard time finding a replacement. It's not that there aren't any runners-up, it's just that some of them don't want to go to the Miss World Finals in South Africa in Novmber. Runner up Claire Lee was quoted as saying "I don't intend to represent Singapore unless ERM [the pageant's parent comany] threatens to sue me.". The second runner-up is 19-year old Pilar Arlando.

Also, Ms. Low's claims of bi-polar disorder could be an attempt at further reducing her sentence for identity theft and misappropriation charges by pleading insanity.

Miss World Singapore STRIPPED.....

Of her crown....jeez....calm down people! It's not like that was a misleading headline or anything.

19 year old Ris Low was found guilty by a Subordinate Court in May this year of mutliple counts of identity theft, misappropriation and using illegaly-obtained credit cards, apparently using credit cards lost or forgotten by clients of the medical clinic she worked at. Court documents show that Ms Low purchased gold jewely, a cell phone, lingerie and food and drinks at upscale resautrants. The court sentenced her to 24 months of supervised probation.