This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Category: “Truth or fiction?”

  • Who Says Lightning Never Strikes Twice?

    Remember Tracy Dart? The “lady” out in Seattle who claimed to have cancer to raise money, but who in reality never had cancer?

    Well, who says lightning never strikes twice? Looks like some guy on the East Coast decided to do the same.

    Like Dart, he also got caught. But unlike Dart, he’s facing trial for larceny by fraud – apparently to the tune of $22,000+.  Predictably he’s pleaded “not guilty”.

    As I’ve said before: whenever someone can get free stuff simply by asking, sooner or later someone who doesn’t qualify will lie their ass off to get it. And it’s been my experience that generally happens sooner rather than later.

    Fox News has a short article with the particularrs.

    All I’ve got to say to this “fine fellow” is this:  be careful what you wish for. You might get it.

     

  • A Quick WWP Update

    It appears that questions regarding Wounded Warrior Project’s spending have begun to have an effect.  Charity Navigator has now apparently placed the WWP on their “watch list”.

    This article from CBS News has more details.  It’s short, but it’s IMO definitely worth reading.  It also includes links to their previous 3 articles regarding their investigation of WWP.

  • There Are Charities – and Then There Are Charities

    Many vets like to help others in need.  Donating to charities that provide services to vets in need is one way to do that.

    But as is always the case, there are veterans’ charities . . . and then there are veterans’ charities.  They’re not all equally good regarding “bang for the buck” – if you define “bang for the buck” as the proportion of donated funds that actually get spent on helping veterans.

    Some veterans’ charities are quite good in that respect.  According to CBS News, the DAV Charitable Service Trust spends 96% of its funds on veterans. Fisher House is also good (91%).

    Wounded Warrior Project?  Um, not so much.  CBS News says the actual figure for WWP is around 60%.  (WWP claims 80% – but per CBS, they do so by including shipping/postage costs, the cost of selected promotional items, and the cost of direct response advertising.  Remove those overhead items and the fraction falls to around 60%.)

    They apparently like to party, though.  In 2014, WWP spent over $26 million on “conferences, conventions, and meetings”. That’s up from a bit over $1.74M in 2010 for “meetings and events”.

    One 2014 annual meeting alone – for about 500 WWP staffers, held at what appears to be a very nice resort in Colorado Springs – cost roughly $3M.  Sounds to me like the people at the VA who plan conferences must have given them a few pointers.

    WWP also seems to pay their top employees well, too.  As in nearly $500k in 2014 salary for their CEO.

    And did I already mention that WWP gave an organization that defends higher spending by charities for fundraising, overhead, and executive salaries a grant of $150,000 last year?  I didn’t mention that yet?  Well, according to CBS – they did.

    Current WWP CEO Steven Nardizzi took over in 2009.  Per CBS News, “Former employees say spending has skyrocketed since Steven Nardizzi took over as CEO in 2009.  Many point to the 2014 annual meeting at a luxury resort in Colorado Springs as typical of his style.”

    CBS News is doing a multi-part report on WWP this week.  Part 1 may be found here; part 2 may be found here; part 3, here.  (I have no idea if CBS plans more parts to the series, so monitoring their web site might be worth your time for the next few days.)  The articles are eye-opening – and to me, rather disturbing.

    I can say with certainty that until WWP cleans up their act, they won’t see a penny from me.   But that’s just me.  I can’t speak for others on this issue.

     

    Edited to add:  a belated footnote – a comment on an earlier article by longtime readernbcguy54ACTUAL  tipped me to the the first CBS story in the series.  My apologies for not giving him that credit earlier.

  • Sounds About 30 Years Late to Me

    Looks like Google had a bit of an issue with their “Translate” site recently. It appears that for a period of time, their Ukrainian-to-Russian translation software was not exactly operating properly.

    Well, either that or Russia has renamed itself “Mordor”. (smile)  This article gives more details.

    The issue is reportedly fixed now. I’d guess a few Ukrainian hackers were having fun.

    My only comment on the matter is the title above.  (smile)

  • ND:tBF Makes Boom-Boom . . . .

    . . . but not with Ms. Kim.  (smile)

    Apparently the Dork of NorK’s minions detonated another nuclear device yesterday.  Yield was apparently smaller than their previous test about 2 years ago, which was estimated at between 1 and 30 kilotons (with approx 7.9 kilotons being the most probable value).

    However, Emmentaler-Boi has claimed that this was a thermonuclear device.  While it’s possible the NORKs managed to put a bit of tritium and deuterium in a fission warhead this time, the observed yield argues strongly against this being a true (Ulam-Teller) thermonuclear device.  The primary (e.g., the fission device used to cause thermonuclear reactions) used in a true thermonuclear device is typically on the order of the magnitude seen here; the fusion reactions typically add greatly to the yield.  Even a thermonuclear “fizzle” (a device that falls far short of expected yield) typically has a much larger explosive yield than observed in this case (very likely substantially less than 8 kT).

    And if this was a test of a boosted device (a device with introduced deuterium and tritium in order to increase explosive yield), well . . . apparently it sucked.  Pretty badly.

    Assessment.  Fatboy Kim here appears to be lying through his teeth about the “thermonuclear” part.

    Anyone surprised?

  • “Contained”, Eh? Intel Community Says, “Um, no.”

    Remember when the       current Occupant, 1600 Penn Ave, Wash DC       POTUS proclaimed that Da’esh (AKA “ISIS”) had been “contained”?  You know, that proclamation that occurred shortly before the Paris terrorist attacks that killed 130 and wounded hundreds more?

    Remember when the CJCS flatly contradicted the POTUS’s assessment about Da’esh being “contained”?

    Well, among those in a position to know apparently it isn’t just the CJCS that disagrees with the POTUS.  Apparently, the US Intelligence Community also disagrees.  An IC report recently ordered by the White House “says that the ISIS terror group will grow in numbers and territory unless it suffers significant losses in Iraq and Syria.”

    Contained?  Yeah right.  Sounds to me like the report says they’re getting stronger.  Maybe “contained” is simply this Administration’s Doublespeak for “an enemy getting stronger”.

    For some reason, the acronym “SCoaMF” comes to mind.  And  not when I think of Da’esh.

  • “We have not contained ISIS.”

    At least a few people in charge DC are still in touch with reality.

    Remember about a month ago, when the POTUS flatly stated that Da’esh, AKA ISIS, had been contained? You know, when he said, “I don’t think they’re gaining strength. What is true is that from the start, our goal has been first to contain, and we have contained them”?

    You probably also remember what happened a couple of days later. That would be the Da’esh terrorist attacks in Paris, which killed 130 and injured literally hundreds more.

    Great “containment”, eh?

    Anyone with a clue knew the POTUS was “out to lunch” when he made that statement about Da’esh (AKA “ISIS”). Well, yesterday someone in a position to know flatly contradicted the POTUS. That someone would be the CJCS, Gen Joseph Dunford. This article’s title is a direct quote from his answers to questions posed by members of the House Armes Services Committee yesterday.

    Gen Dunford further indicated that while Da’esh may have been tactically contained in selected areas in Syria and Iraq, “strategically they have spread since 2010.” He further indicated that the group now poses a threat well outside of Syria and Iraq – specifically, in Egypt, Nigeria, Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Lebanon and Jordan.

    It’s kinda obvious that Gen Dunford omitted at least one other area where Da’esh poses a threat, too – Europe.  Paris rather demonstrated that.

    “Contained”? Yeah, right. I’m pretty sure that wasn’t rain wetting the leg of my trousers this time, either. Tell us another one, Mr. President.

    Geez. It would be damn nice to see Administration officials – including the POTUS – simply tell us the truth vice trying to peddle blatantly obvious BS. But with this current      gang of naive and incompetent fools and tools calling the shots in DC      Administration, I won’t hold my breath waiting.

  • PhotoShop? Pfft. Try This Civil War Equivalent.

    Here’s a photo from the Civil War.  It’s entitled “General Grant at City Point”.

    There’s only one problem:  it’s fake.  It’s the Civil War era equivalent of a modern-day Photoshopped image. The event “recorded” in the photo never happened.

    Fox has an interesting story concerning the fake photo.  It’s a short article, and IMO is well worth a few minutes of your time.

    FWIW:  it’s also IMO a better job of combining photos than that done by someone we all “know and love”.  And based on its copyright date (1902), it was done over a century earlier.