I've been to this church in the Normandy countryside. It's remote, removed from the beaches, and from all outward appearances unremarkable. It's not until you walk in and realize how small it is inside, unlike the grandiosity of Notre Dame in Paris or Cathédrale Notre Dame in Reims: it's narrow and confined. How so many wounded soldiers fit in the little space is beyond me. I can't imagine the stone floor slicked with blood, the moans of pain, the smells of wounds. Even the pews seem too narrow to accommodate a human body laid lengthwise.

Even with all that said, if you stand inside that little church it's impossible not to feel the touch of history. Of everything I saw in Normandy, nothing made a bigger impression on my than the little church in Angoville-au-Plain.

A better title might be 'cops bend over and lube up for Harris feed lot owners'. They didn't come out for the drone, they came out in force because the feed lot owners/managers asked them to....over nothing....at least twice.
Fresno police better not EVER claim they are overworked or that there are too few police. If they can come out in such numbers twice for possible trespass in the countryside on public land, they either have way too many officers there with nothing to do, or they are so incompetent that they ignored actual crimes to cow tow to a major local employer. Either case should lead to firings.

What is meant with "Heartland"? The countryside?

Here's one on a similar theme:

http://videosift.com/video/Guy-catches-mouse-releases-in-countryside-aaaaand

Maybe it's funnier when mice buy it.

Neils thoughts on the viral video

*** August 3, 2014 -- Anatomy of a GMO Commentary ****
Ten days ago, this brief clip of me was posted by somebody.

It contains my brief [2min 20sec] response to a question posed by a French journalist, after a talk I gave on the Universe. He found me at the post-talk book signing table. (Notice the half-dozen ready & willing pens.) The clip went mildly viral (rising through a half million right now) with people weighing in on whether they agree with me or not.

Some comments...

1) The journalist posted the question in French. I don't speak French, so I have no memory of how I figured out that was asking me about GMOs. Actually I do know some French words like Bordeaux, and Bourgogne, and Champagne, etc.

2) Everything I said is factual. So there's nothing to disagree with other than whether you should actually "chill out" as I requested of the viewer in my last two words of the clip.

3) Had I given a full talk on this subject, or if GMOs were the subject of a sit-down interview, then I would have raised many nuanced points, regarding labeling, patenting, agribusiness, monopolies, etc. I've noticed that almost all objections to my comments center on these other issues.

4) I offer my views on these nuanced issues here, if anybody is interested:
a- Patented Food Strains: In a free market capitalist society, which we have all "bought" into here in America, if somebody invents something that has market value, they ought to be able to make as much money as they can selling it, provided they do not infringe the rights of others. I see no reason why food should not be included in this concept.
b- Labeling: Since practically all food has been genetically altered from nature, if you wanted labeling I suppose you could demand it, but then it should be for all such foods. Perhaps there could be two different designations: GMO-Agriculture GMO-Laboratory.
c- Non-perennial Seed Strains: It's surely legal to sell someone seeds that cannot reproduce themselves, requiring that the farmer buy seed stocks every year from the supplier. But when sold to developing country -- one struggling to become self-sufficient -- the practice is surely immoral. Corporations, even when they work within the law, should not be held immune from moral judgement on these matters.
d- Monopolies are generally bad things in a free market. To the extent that the production of GMOs are a monopoly, the government should do all it can to spread the baseline of this industry. (My favorite monopoly joke ever, told by Stephen Wright: "I think it's wrong that the game Monopoly is sold by only one company")
e- Safety: Of course new foods should be tested for health risks, regardless of their origin. That's the job of the Food and Drug Administration (in the USA). Actually, humans have been testing food, even without the FDA ,since the dawn of agriculture. Whenever a berry or other ingested plant killed you, you knew not to serve it to you family.
f- Silk Worms: I partly mangled my comments on this. Put simply, commercial Silk Worms have been genetically modified by centuries of silk trade, such that they cannot survive in the wild. Silk Worms currently exist only to serve the textile industry. Just as Milk Cows are bred with the sole purpose of providing milk to humans. There are no herds of wild Milk Cows terrorizing the countryside.

5) If your objection to GMOs is the morality of selling non-prerennial seed stocks, then focus on that. If your objection to GMOs is the monopolistic conduct of agribusiness, then focus on that. But to paint the entire concept of GMO with these particular issues is to blind yourself to the underlying truth of what humans have been doing -- and will continue to do -- to nature so that it best serves our survival. That's what all organisms do when they can, or would do, if they could. Those that didn't, have gone extinct extinct.

In life, be cautious of how broad is the brush with which you paint the views of those you don't agree with.

Respectfully Submitted
-NDTyson

The father-in-law of a fellow Toastmaster actually participated in the Great Escape. He was a penguin... responsible for distributing the dirt dug from the tunnels throughout the prison yard via pockets built into their pants. Fortunately, he was NOT one of the ones chosen to escape. Aside from the fact there were no Americans at the POW camp, he said the movie was reasonably accurate, i.e. three tunnels, the one used came up short of the treeline...
The camp commander was imprisoned after the war. Some of his POWs went to visit him to let him know that they bore him no ill will. They were all soldiers and they considered the base commander to be a fair man who treated them well under the circumstances.
He refused to see them. Via an intermediary he relayed to them that he simply couldn't face them. He said that he never felt more ashamed to be a Nazi as when he heard that the SS had executed the 50 escapees from his camp.
The most fascinating part of Jim Lang's story though was the story BEFORE he arrived at the POW camp. Too long to relay here but he was shot out of the sky when returning from an air raid. Spent a few weeks on the run in the Belgium countryside.
He has since died but I fortunately recorded his presentation... just a great slice of history.

Citation needed. You're going to have to prove that amoral corporations are inherent to gov't. I'm sure there were bands of amoral people that roamed the countryside that predate gov't

Define "more than human" please

It's far more evident that problems we have as a society are because everyone has a different idea of how society should be governed. That's not amoral, that's different morals. Democracy is still relatively new historically-speaking so chaos is obviously going to be a byproduct of people disagreeing on how to govern. It wasn't that long ago we didn't have that problem. You either agreed with the person in charge or you got the hell out of there. It wasn't very fair or moral but it was far simpler. Guess what... Progress isn't smooth and easy

It's my humble and unworthy opinion that the only derelict transient scum that need to be culled form the English countrysides and cities, are the monarchy, complicit and dutiful parliamentary members, and anyone who hates the gypos

Oh, and that poor, white Euro-trash bitching about his gypsy neighbors-

I was telling a coworker today that here in Canada we can own A .50 Cal BMG for about $10,000. We don't need to register it at all with anyone, only need a basic non restricted lic. to own. and can shoot it wherever legal shooting is allowed in the countryside.

Same time, a gun that shoots .22 long rifle, one of the (if not the) smallest cal. used, usually for target shooting or squirls, small bullet. If the .22 LOOKS like...yes LOOKS like an AK47 it's Prohibeted to own. If it LOOKS like an AR15 .223 (smallish bullet still) it's treated like a handgun, special lic. register it only the range not in country, no hunting with it etc.

so ya I can own a gun that'd shoot through an engine block and not have anyone know about it but can't have a .22lr tin can plinker if it LOOKS like a scary AK.....serious logic fail.

I have never seen a gun as big as this one, wow.

Liked the clip, thought I'd help out with the translation, as some expression Google translate totally misses Tried to keep it as literal as possible, here you go


[Flynt]
My friend is my buddy even though he has no money
He’s my appearance, my face but doesn’t look like me
He’s my brother, but we weren’t carried by the same arms
He’s my s’rab (= friend), he surely won’t be the one to denounce me
My friend is my big but he’s not Pierre Menes
He doesn’t break sugar on my back (literal translation of French expression, it means he doesn’t talk about him behind his back)
He can support OM (French soccer team Olympique Marseille) and if it helps him I’d lie to his wife without a problem
And If my friend comes from far away, he or his parents
Black, white, yellow or brown, it makes me one ignorant less
I do not expect you to wax my shoes (again French expression, it means he doesn’t expect him to kiss his ass)
It will not be because of you being straightforward if I burn the bridges
I wouldn’t put you in my mess if I did something stupid
I wouldn’t ask you to come down with a shovel at night without asking any questions
But if it is needed, bring me back home
If I go crazy bring me back to reason
We can disagree, we can take our heads (French expression, it means We can argue, fight)
But there will always be a piece for you on my plate
My buddy does not scream with wolves
We do not wash our dirty laundry in public (to take care of your personal business) but between us
It is not always the good wind that brings my buddy (It means it is not always a happy reason why his friend is coming to him)
I’m not always OK with how he behaves
I wouldn’t like to learn that he has betrayed me or that he’s plotting
It would bury our relationship even if it’s strong
I have not sealed my fate to his, for me things are clear
My friend is my friend but he’s not my father
I want to keep him a long time so I avoid interfering
Between him and me, money, women and all that could divide us

[Orelsan]
My friend has always been there
Too long, my best friend was me
My buddy stays at my home, we spend sleepless nights
We remake the world, we hear each other even in the silences
My friend always answers my phone calls
That we every hour or every twelve years
I can make him understand everything with a blink
At the edge of the explosion buddy is the pin (goupille is the metal pin of a grenade)
Where I am many people mix friends and groupies
But I’ve understood treason since Fox and the Hound
My buddy isn’t trying to please me at all costs
Doesn’t pretend to look away when my verses are bad
Late evening, always a corner of a sofa
My car is not in the ditch because he keeps the key
Nothing separates us even large sums (of money)
We don’t raise pigs but have raised some sluts
My buddy lowers no one to bring himself in the spotlight
He’s my reflection, breaking us apart is risking seven years of bad luck
My buddy is not a beast in heat
And I can sleep peacefully at night when I introduce him to my sister
Loyal in friendship
If I am not down to earth anymore my dude reminds me of the laws of gravity
Always ready, always the first to come down
in case of a dip or for a game of Play(station)

He’s my antidepressant, my lexo(mil), my friends aren’t all heroes

In practice we all have our faults
If one day in my life I forget to be legit

I’ll listen to this piece again as a kind of memo

[Flynt & Orelsan]
This is for my friend of 20 years
For my buddy of now
He’s my disgusting friend and my dapper dude
For my ugliest friend
For my dumbest pal
For m most down to earth friendy friend
For my friend on Pluto

This is for my easy-talking friend and my dyslexic friend

My buddy that my friend (girl) said no to but persists
For my unemployed buddy, my buddy who works

For my kickeur buddy, my buddy who raps poorly
(kickeur apparently means good rapper: it does)

Boxer buddy, my pianist friend
Performing buddy, buddy artist
Buddy hook, buddy Roger
My friend who crashes at a mate’s house and has no projects

Dude in a suit, buddy in Coste-la (Coste-la is actually ‘verlan’ for Lacoste, the brand)
My friend who lives in the countryside

and so here is a google translation...

[Flynt]
My friend is my Swiss although not sorrel
This is my ganache, my mouth but not me
This is my brother, but it was not brought by the same arm
This is my SRAB is surely not the one who denounced me
My friend is my big but it is not Pierre Menes
It does not break my back on sugar
It can support the OM and if it helps I lie to his wife without problem
If my friend has far him or her darons
Black, white, yellow or brown, it makes me a less ignorant
I do not expect from me that thou waxes pumps
It will not be because of your deductible if I cut the bridges
J'te would not put in my shenanigans and if I did the con
J'te not ask to reapply with a shovel at night without asking any question
But if we take me home
If I go into a spin please take me to the reason
We can disagree, we can take the lead
But y 'will always firstly for you on my plate
My buddy does not scream with Wolves
We do not wash dirty linen in public but us
This is not always the good wind brings buddy
J'cautionne not always how it behaves
I would not learn that he has betrayed me or plotting
It bury our relationship even if they are strong
I have not sealed my fate to his, for me things are clear
My friend is my friend but it is not my father
I want to keep it that long so I avoid interfering
Between him and me money, women and all c'qui could divide us

[Orelsan]
My friend has always been there
Too long, my best friend was me
Buddy squats at home, we spend sleepless nights
We remade the world, means even in the silences
My friend always answers my shots thread
That is called every hour or every twelve rods
J'peux all understand him with an eyebrow
At the edge of the explosion buddy is the pin
I'm where many people mix friends and groupies
But I understood the treason since Fox and the Hound
My buddy is trying not please at all costs
Not pretend to move the head when j'fais couplets rotten
Late evening, always a corner sofa
My car is not in the ditch because it holds the key
Nothing separates us even large sums
No pigs are raised but raised some sluts
Buddy lowers one to highlight
This is my reflection, we break it's risky seven years of misfortune
My buddy is not a beast in heat
And I can sleep peacefully at night when my sister has J'lui
Loyal friend
If I have more down to earth dude reminds me of the laws of gravity
Always ready, always the first to reapply
If that blow for a party Play

This is my antidepressant, my lexo, my friends n'sont not all heroes
(n'sont = are not) so my friends are not all heroes.

In practice we all have our faults
If one day in my life I forgot to be legit

J'réécouterais this piece as a kind of memo
(J'réécouterais = I'm saying)

[Flynt & Orelsan]
This is for my friend 20 years
For my buddy now
This is my friend and my disgusting dapper dude
My ugliest friend
To my greatest con pal
My friend down to earth
To my friend on Pluto

This is for my friend and my Chatter dyslexic friend
( I think chatter here means mumbling)

My buddy that my friend said no but still
Unemployed for my buddy, my buddy who works

Kickeur my buddy, my buddy who raps poorly
(kickeur apparently means good rapper)

Boxer buddy, my pianist friend
Handler buddy, buddy artist
Buddy hook, buddy Roger
My friend who squats at a mate and no project

Dude in a suit, buddy-Coste in the (coste-la seems to mean united states or the coast) so buddy in the states

My friend who lives in the countryside

Can't have 'em denuding the countryside now, can they?

(thought 1st they were gonna massacre those poor old turtles)

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I have met many people from the US South with a thick accent that are extraordinarily intelligent.

Here is a hint, get out of the countryside, into the city, and talk to people walking out of buildings with signs like "...SCIENTIFIC", "CISCO SYSTEMS", "....ENGINEERING" on them.

Not saying the countryside isn't packed with intelligent people also.. just saying the college educated masses are attracted to the cities.

It's hard to make this point without sounding somewhat condescending of some party and i really want to avoid that here.