The News Thread

[Lee]

Well since we have a thread for almost everything else, this thread will be about US and world wide news. Anything that you think is news and interesting post here.

Such as this, looks like OJ Simpson finally got his just desert.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27022386/?GT1=43001

[HaruWolf]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27372438/?GT1=43001

[Lee]

'We don't let strangers fight'
Re-enactors' attention to detail was on display again this month at Cedar Creek Battlefield in northern Virginia, when thousands participated without any serious injuries, according to Jake Jennette, who commanded the Confederate forces that weekend.

With the cadence of a retired Marine Corps infantry officer, Jennette ran through a laundry list of inspections his troops must undergo, from weapons inspections to repeated drills.

"When we go on the field we are satisfied that the weapon is cleared," Jennette said. "We've trained these guys. We start them out as a private in the ranks."

This is how most reenactments are done. Drilling to make sure everyone can keep in line and perform it flawlessly.....well some of us anyway. Before each battle, all units form about an hour to two before. We call this time "Hurry up and wait." During this time we form up in two rows, tallest to shortest. So that no one to short will be in the back row, since we don't want someone who can't see over the back of someone's shoulder firing over them, that would cause too much problems. How to fire over the front man's shoulder so that no one in the row gets peppered by black powder discharge, to elevate rifles when in close combat, and most importantly a rifle inspection. That is just where the officers check everyone's rifle out in line thoroughly, and then lastly they have us all load one round to discharge anything that may be lodged in it before the battle.

Cleaning gear before and during the event, especially the gun. Plenty of canteen water during those long hot battles and marches.....and some common sense. A death or an injury in reenactments is pretty rare if you and your company look out for each other.

Though even with all these precautions nothing is guaranteed, injuries can happen. This man as the article said pretty much sneaked in, he probably had a loaded pistol. Since the only other injury I can remember is from a French man who sneaked in one of the Battle of Gettysburg a long time ago. He had a loaded pistol and fired it, a Union private was hit in the neck. Everyone knew someone was hit, cause you can tell the difference from a fired blank and one that has a bullet in it. It gives more of a push to the gun and it is louder.

Though when you see thousands of reenactors drop at the same time it's hard to find that one real injured person. He did not die though, he lived, luckily. As for the French man he got his butt chewed out. Reenactments from when they were first organized are more safe due to rules and way more authentic as well.

The only ones that aren't safe, are those held by independent shady groups, don't go to those. If it says sponsored by Cedar Creek Foundation, Civil War Preservation Foundation CWPF, or something similar to that. And those that look like complete Farb Fests.

Farb is the term giving for unauthentic. It used to be the name of an old reenactor Thomas Farb, I think, who brought the name unauthentic and Farb to the Reenactment dictionary. Such a way to have your name remembered.

[HaruWolf]

From Wikipedia:

Categories of Reenactors

Reenactors are commonly divided (or self-divided) into three categories, based on the level of concern for authenticity.

Farbs

Some, called "Farbs," are re-enactors who spend relatively little of their time or money maintaining authenticity with regard to uniforms, accessories, or even period behavior. The 'Good Enough' attitude is pervasive among farbs, although perhaps few casual observers would be able to point out flaws in their impressions. Blue jeans, tennis shoes, polyester (and other man-made fabrics), zippers, velcro, snoods, and other modern things are prevalent.

The origin of the word "farb" (and the derivative adjective "farby") is unknown. Some think that the origin of the word is a truncated version of "Far be it from authentic." An alternative definition is "Far Be it for me to question/criticise", or "Fast And Research-less Buyer". Some early reenactors assert the word derives from German farbe, color, because inauthentic re-enactors were over-colorful compared with the dull blues, greys or browns of the real Civil War uniforms that were the principal concern of American reenactors at the time the word was coined.

Mainstream

Another group of reenactors often is called "Mainstream". These reenactors are somewhere between farb and authentic. They are more common than either farbs or authentics.

Most mainstream reenactors make an effort at appearing authentic, but may come out of character in the absence of an audience. Visible stitches are likely to be sewn in a period-correct manner, but hidden stitches and undergarments may not be period-appropriate. Food consumed before an audience is likely to be generally appropriate to the early 1860s, but it may not be seasonally and locally appropriate. Modern items are sometimes used "after hours" or in a hidden fashion. The common attitude is to put on a good show, but that accuracy need only go as far as others can see.

Hard-Cores/Super-Authentic

On the opposite side from farbs, you have "Hard-Core" or "Super-Authentic" reenactors, sometimes derisively called "stitch counters". Many people have misconceptions about hard-core reenactors, which spawn from a published book about hard-core reenactors, Confederates in the Attic. Hard-cores generally seek an "immersive" reenacting experience, trying to live, as much as possible, as someone of the 1860s might have. This includes eating seasonally and regionally appropriate food, sewing inside seams and undergarments in a period-appropriate manner, and staying in character throughout an event.

Hard-core reenactors generally value thorough research, and sometimes deride mainstream reenactors for perpetuating inaccurate "reenactorisms", such as buttoning only the top button of a uniform jacket/coat, or insisting that a vest, jacket, or coat must be worn over a shirt at all times.

[Lee]

Mainstream events these days are more close to hardcore then that of farbs. Anyone seen at a reenactment that's mainstream with anything after the 1860's usually gets some stirred up arguments and the such.

It's more like jokingly picking on people.

Like once we were cooking crabs that we caught with makeshift string and wooden boxes. We had a lot of time to kill at one reenactment. Couldn't wait to eat those crabs!

Some lady came up who was a spectator and looked in the pot, she wanted to see what we were cooking. She looked up at us and said

Lady: "They didn't have those back then!"

Us: "Huh? What are you talking about?"

Lady: "Keep to history! Crabs weren't around during the Civil War!'

Us: "Oh that's right, after the war was over, the good lord said "Whoops I forgot to add crabs!" and poof there they were."

Needless to say she was pretty pissed at us and stormed off.

[HaruWolf]

Obama elected president | 11:01 p.m.

Obama wins California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington, giving him 324 electoral votes to McCain's 124 (AP). He will be the 44th president of the United States. After a tight battle against Republican Sen. John McCain, Obama has become the first African American president in the history of the United States.

Obama is set to address his supporters from Chicago's Grant Park.

Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware will be accompanying Obama to the White House as his vice president. Biden made his first unsuccessful bid for president in 1988, and again this year before dropping out. A six-term senator, Biden is the chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee. One of his adult sons from his first marriage is currently serving in Iraq.

On June 4, Obama won the Democratic presidential nomination, beating Sen. Hillary Clinton in a tight primary race. The 47-year-old Democratic senator from Illinois stepped into the national spotlight in 2004, delivering the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention.

By now, Obama's personal history is well-known: He was born in Hawaii, the son of a white mother and Kenyan father. Obama's father returned to Kenya when Obama was two years old, leaving him to be raised by his mother and her family, including his beloved grandmother, "Toot," who died one day before her grandson was elected one of the most powerful leaders in the world.

After graduating from Columbia University, he went to Harvard Law School, becoming the first African American president of the prestigious Harvard Law Review. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2004, where he sits on several committees, including Foreign Relations, Homeland Security and Veterans' Affairs.

Obama and his wife, Michelle, have two young daughters, Malia and Sasha.

[zfish9]

hmmm...
i was hoping McCain would win, or anyone but obama.
i'm not being racist, i'm not against his views, i just don't think he's ready. in four years, yeah, i'd vote for him. i just think at this time he'd just be a figurehead.

[Lee]

I think it's time to give the democrats a swing at trying to bring the economy back where it should be.

I have faith in Obama so far. I don't favor either democrats or republicans, since both had some outstanding presidents who pulled us through some difficult times.

Such as Regan or Lincoln

or

Roosevelt

I highly doubt he will be a figure head, though what one of my teachers from way back once said. Remember what their first big decision as a president is, this will most likely tell whether they will be a good or bad president.

[Loyal Subject]

^ you cant even compare Lincoln Republican to 2008 Republican. the parties have changed so much even their top figureheads aren't even agreeable to their present views. i choose to be neither republican nor democratic and choose not to favor either one because im in the middle usually with their views. this election i wasn't, which was good for me because it was my first time voting so it wasn't like i had to ponder over anything. plus, i just dislike it when people vote for one person simply because they are the same party. it shouldn't matter. you should vote for who you believe will be the best candidate. that's what some of my relatives do and it drives me insane. because then when you ask them something like "well is it because you agree with his views?" they won't know the answer.


but anyway.......that's besides the point.

i personally was happy with the results and i think McCain would have been more successful had he not chose Palin as a running mate and if he wasn't so fixated with relieving the upper class and businesses.

[HaruWolf]

I am very happy that Obama is the next President. I can't wait until I'm able to vote.

[Lee]

^ As am I, my gut feelings just tells me that if McCain would be in office we would have something similar to Bush's term. It was high time to give the other party a chance.

i personally was happy with the results and i think McCain would have been more successful had he not chose Palin as a running mate and if he wasn't so fixated with relieving the upper class and businesses.

And that is what a Republican party has been for the past decades, more about the business man.

Don't judge yet until we see how well Obama fares, even JFK was young when he became president and he did a pretty good job.

He even stopped the Cuban Missile crisis, that was a heck of a fiasco there, and a good thing he put an end to it before it got ugly.

I know the parties differ completely from generations I was just using them as examples.

[Uruviel]

Well, at least the US election had some significant results, whether it was McCain or Obama who won. Did you guys know that Canada also just had an election last month?

It cost us about $300M and left us pretty much in the same place we were at before the election. With a minority Conservative government, Stephen Harper still in the seat of power, and the Liberals looking even more foolish than they've ever been since they started their campaigns. And what's does our beloved Prime Minister do a month after the beginning of the huge economic crisis and the end of the election? He shuffles cabinet and 6 new ministers. We know have 38 cabinet members. You know how expensive that is??????

Watch this vid - it's the best rant ever, and it explains it all perfectly! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZbhOe6xS4U

[Loyal Subject]

And that is what a Republican party has been for the past decades, more about the business man.

i know but Palin had socialist views....at least that's how she runs things in Alaska...so McCain could have taken that aspect too.

[HaruWolf]

Wal-Mart Worker Dies When Shoppers Break Down Doors

Black Friday took a grim turn when a New York Wal-Mart employee died after bargain hunters broke down the doors to the store, pushing him to the ground.

The 34-year-old male employee was pronounced dead an hour after shoppers breached the doors to the shopping center in Valley Stream, Long Island, about 5 a.m. Friday and knocked him down, police said.

"He was bum-rushed by 200 people," Jimmy Overby, the man's 43-year-old co-worker, told the New York Daily News. "They took the doors off the hinges. He was trampled and killed in front of me. They took me down too ... I literally had to fight people off my back."

A 28-year-old pregnant woman was also taken in for observation and three other shoppers suffered minor injuries during the incident, police said. The pregnant woman and the unborn baby were reported to be OK, said Sgt. Anthony Repalone, a Nassau County police spokesman.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in Bentonville, Ark., closed the store in Valley Stream for several hours after the stampede. It reopened shortly after 1 p.m.

Wal-Mart representative Dan Fogleman called the incident a "tragic situation" and said the victim came from a temporary agency and was doing maintenance work at the store.

"The safety and security of our customers and associates is our top priority," Fogleman said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with them and their families at this difficult time. At this point, facts are still being assembled and we are working closely with the Nassau County Police as they investigate what occurred."

Police said about 2,000 people had gathered outside the doors before the Wal-Mart opened at the suburban location about 20 miles east of Manhattan. A crowd pushed the man to the ground at 5:03 a.m., three minutes after the store opened, leaving a metal portion of the door crumpled like an accordion.

Nassau County police spokesman Lt. Michael Fleming described the scene as "utter chaos." "This crowd was out of control," he said.

Criminal charges were possible in the case, but Fleming said it would be difficult to identify individual shoppers. Authorities were reviewing surveillance video.

The industry's largest retail group said the incident was rare.

"We are not aware of any other circumstances where a retail employee has died working on the day after Thanksgiving," said Ellen Davis, a spokeswoman for the National Retail Federation.

Shoppers around the country line up early outside stores on the day after Thanksgiving in the annual bargain-hunting ritual known as Black Friday -- which got its name because it has historically been the day when stores break into profitability for the full year.

Many stores open early and close late. The Valley Stream Wal-Mart usually opens at 9 a.m.

Items on sale at the Wal-Mart store included a $798 Samsung 50-inch Plasma HDTV, a Bissel Compact Upright Vacuum for $28, a Samsung 10.2 megapixel digital camera for $69 and DVDs such as "The Incredible Hulk" for $9.

[Lee]

This is why Black Friday needs serious security in every well known store.

They need to do what they did when the PS3 was released and keep a decent group of Police and SWAT around the perimeter.

I don't blame that one employee I'd be knocking heads to.

[zfish9]

which is why i will never work in wal-mart!

[Loyal Subject]

i heard about that. my mom had to work on Black Friday as her first day of work and she quit that day.

[Lee]

lol yeah not the best day to start off on any kind of retail job. Where exactly did your mom work for her one day?

[Loyal Subject]

Macys

[Lee]

lol oh boy, I would think that a place that would organize their own Thanksgiving Parade, would be a dead giveaway that they wouldn't be the best place to work during that holiday.

[Lee]

I know this is a bit late, but who here was able to see Obama's inauguration through TV, Radio, internet, or being there in person?

I saw during a break from work. We all stopped for the time being to see the speech, and so I figured since it would get me out of work and it was a bad time for the economy I would see what he had to say. It was nice, though I think his speech dragged out a little bit. I would say the speech would be placed in the list of top ten. My most favorite speech of all time though would have to be Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.

I heard from different sources that he was using Lincoln and Washington as references. Though I didn't hear him take anything from Lincoln. I only heard a sentence about Washington about the brave men of the Revolutionary War.

I'm glad he said what some other Presidents couldn't say, that brave Americans, not just the higher authorities are the ones who shaped America to what it is.

[HaruWolf]

^ I watched Obama's inauguration at school on the internet through a live feed from CNN. I thought that he did a pretty good speech, and I think I heard that he wrote it himself too, which is pretty cool. I also read somewhere that he used the same Bible that Lincoln used.

[Loyal Subject]

i was taking a midterm when he made his speech T_T

i had to wait until after school to watch it online.

[Lee]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/4688453/Giant-rat-caught-in-China.html

A giant rat is found! It must be Master Splinter!

[HaruWolf]

Wow! I wonder if that is the world record for the largest rat? It's huge! It really is as big as a cat! I wonder if they're gonna eat it, lol.

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