Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
(((solid snake) X 10) / 7.62x54mm used) - cept' snakes = commando champion
Image: Photographer unknown
Ensconced in the snow, his white camouflage suit rendering him invisible to the invading Soviet soldiers he stalked, Simo Häyhä steadied himself to fire. During the 1939–1940 Winter War, in temperatures as low as –40 °C, the Finnish sniper undertook a killing spree that saw him single-handedly take the lives of at least 700 men in less than 100 days. Over 500 of these he shot using a standard, bolt-action rifle with non-telescopic sights. Is it any wonder he earned the nickname The White Death among his enemies? Meet the man who would take Rambo to the cleaners.
Image: Photographer unknown
The sharpshooter who would later be credited with the highest number of confirmed kills in any war in history came from humble rural beginnings. Born near the present day Finnish-Russian border, Häyhä was a farmer and hunter before entering combat, though it’s no shock to learn he already had his share of marksman’s trophies. His skills sharpened by the sort of training only life can offer, this tough little outdoorsman was always going to be a handful, and when the Red Army invaded Finland three months after the outbreak of WWII, Häyhä heard the call of duty.
Image: Finnish Military Archives
Little was the operative word. Häyhä stood just 5 ft 3 in (1.6 m) tall, which was one basis for his choice of weapon, an M/28 or M28/30 Soviet Mosin-Nagant rifle that suited his small frame. He also rejected a scoped rifle in favour of basic iron sights for other reasons: it meant he presented less of target as he could keep his head lower; it negated the risk of his position being exposed by sun glare in a telescopic lens; and lastly open sights were not prone to fogging up or breaking which was a concern in the snow and ice of the Winter War. Häyhä was a professional.
Image: Photographer unknown
Of course an iron-sighted rifle also made aiming more difficult, but with 505 confirmed kills as a sniper – the other 200 he shot using a sub-machine gun – Häyhä clearly had a keen eye. Another tactic this greatest of gunmen used to conceal his own position from the enemy was to compact the snow before him so that his shot would not disturb the snow, and in true commando fashion he also kept his mouth was full of snow so that his breath did not give him away.
Image: Photographer unknown
Despite such measures, Häyhä’s fearful reputation preceded him, and the advancing Soviets tried several strategies specifically designed to dispose of this deadly lone menace. Teams of counter-snipers and artillery units were deployed with the sole purpose of eliminating The White Death, but the snow-covered forests of Finland were his hunting grounds, not theirs.
Image: Finnish Military Archives
Eventually, however, the Finnish sharpshooter’s exploits caught up with him. On March 6 1940, he was shot in the face while on the frontline by a Russian soldier. The exploding bullet went through his jaw and blew off his left cheek, with the soldiers who picked him up and brought him back to base reporting that “half his head was missing”. Yet Häyhä – said to be a quiet, affable man – was still able to survive, awakening from his coma on March 13, the day peace was declared.
Image: Photographer unknown
The heroic stand taken by Simo Häyhä and his fellow Fins against Soviet forces that outnumbered them by as much as 100:1 is often referred to as The Miracle of Kollaa. When the war had ended, Häyhä was promoted straight from corporal to second lieutenant. He went on to become a successful moose hunter and lived to the age of 96. When he was asked about his service, he stated, “I only did what was ordered, and did it as well as I could.” Asked what the key to his success was, his short answer was, “Practice… and clear days.”
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
frum da muncey star press
WINCHESTER -- William E. "Billy" Clay Jr. apparently has an unquenchable appetite for carburetor cleaner.The 30-year-old Randolph County man -- listed in court documents as living in recent years under a Winchester bridge and at a campsite in the Lynn Municipal Dump -- was most recently arrested this week after an acquaintance complained that Clay was "huffing" in his apartment's bathroom.
Winchester police reported finding Clay inhaling fumes from one of his socks, which he had filled with carburetor cleaner. A probable cause affidavit described the defendant as making one final, desperate bid to breathe in the vapors before an officer yanked the wet sock from his hand.
It marks at least the fifth time Clay has been arrested in Randolph County since 2000 for inhaling carburetor cleaner. The resulting criminal charge -- until recently defined under state law as "glue sniffing," regardless of the substance involved -- is now known as inhaling toxic vapors, a Class B misdemeanor carrying a maximum 180-day jail term.
Carburetor cleaner contains toluene, the inhalation of which can have intoxicating effects. It has also been reported to cause neurological and other health-related problems and, in extreme cases, death.
A sixth arrest, last November, also stemmed from Clay's alleged "huffing." In that still pending case, he is charged with battery, accused of knocking down a female friend who was trying to keep a can of carburetor cleaner away from him.
A trial in that case is set for June 18 in Randolph Superior Court.
An initial hearing in Clay's latest criminal case is set for 1 p.m. Monday, also in Randolph Superior Court. He was being held Thursday in the Randolph County jail under a $1,000 bond.
BONUS BITCHES: Time line of William E. "Billy" Clay Jr.'s carb cleaner history
September 2000 -- William E. "Billy" Clay Jr. is arrested after his girlfriend's mother reports he is "huffing" carburetor cleaner in a Winchester apartment. In February 2001, he pleads guilty to a charge then known as glue sniffing, and draws a 60-day suspended sentence. He later is returned to jail for probation violations.
November 2000 -- A woman reports two men living under a bridge in the 700 block of East Short Street in Winchester have started a bonfire. Police report finding Clay and another man "huffing" carburetor cleaner. Clay escapes on foot. In February 2001, he pleads guilty to resisting law enforcement, while a glue-sniffing count is dismissed. Clay receives a one-year suspended prison term.
March 2001 -- Winchester police investigate a hit-and-run accident and determine Clay, a passenger in the car, was "huffing" carburetor cleaner at the time of the crash. He pleads guilty to glue sniffing in April 2001 and receives a 180-day jail term.
July 2001 -- Children report Clay, then living at a campsite at the Lynn Municipal Dump, has been seen "huffing" paint and carburetor cleaner. Witnesses say he poured the substances into a sock that he then placed over his nose and mouth. He pleads guilty to glue sniffing in September 2001 and receives a 180-day jail term.
November 2009 -- A Winchester woman reports that Clay, her new boyfriend, pushed her down, causing facial injuries, during an argument over his "huffing" that saw her try to keep a can of carburetor cleaner away from him. He is set to stand trial June 18 on a charge of battery resulting in bodily injury.
March 2010 -- Clay is arrested in a Winchester apartment after one of its occupants tells police Clay is "huffing" carburetor cleaner in a bathroom.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Friday, March 12, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
this pretty much sums up everything awesome in the universe.
yes. that's dwight kurt shrute as red skull.
Whisker Watch Alert!...CORRECTION: Major Whisker Watch Alert!!!!
way too many one liners in this one for me to handle.
