Wednesday, July 26, 2006
A FIERCE BATTLE
Yesterday, I helped out my brother-in-law by pitching in and doing some painting in his house. (Their house expansion and refurbishment is an ongoing saga.) It was a good time, as the sister-in-law had taken their children away for the week. My father-in-law did his bit, too. My mother-in-law, evidently knowing what was good for her, was playing golf.
That left my wife, who kept an eye on the brother's-in-law's three dogs here in our house . . . so they wouldn't be in the way. Two are largeish -- one is a black lab; the other a lab/"Lassie" mix -- and are always good as gold. In fact, they are better behaved than most young children. The third is a Jack Russell terrier, less than 2 years old, which they "rescued" nearly a year ago.
Need I say more? My sister-in-law suspects the Jack Russell had been abused by its former owner, and that naturally only makes matters worse. He behaves fairly well at their home out in rural Essex; but at ours yesterday in London (where he has been only a couple of times before) . . . well, let's just say he has no chance of ever being "a city dog".
The neighbor kids on one side of us screaming, going up and down their slide, playing in their garden; our other neighbor offering a friendly "hello" over the fence to my wife as she sat outside with the three hounds; the neighbor directly behind us weeding, so you could hear (but not see) her rustling behind our fence; every bus that went by on a nearby mainish road; every person who walked by chatting; every bit of noise made by workers building an apartment complex down another nearby road; every bird that moved its wings in the trees . . . all created Jack Russell insanity all day long. Barking, yelping, carrying on, standing on his hind legs, running around the backyard, growling and jumping -- he could not be stopped. Even my infinitely patient wife, who loves dogs and can cope with most anything "doggish", found herself near her wits' end by the time I got home: she could not get him to calm down and shut his trap.
The Hindu, July 26:
Yep, one heckuva "asymmetric war" going on there.
Incidentally, everyone's asking how Israel can defeat Hezbollah while minimizing civilian casualties and keeping to a "proportionate response"? Easy. The Israelis should simply send in a few thousand untrained, troubled, nervous, barking Jack Russells. Hezbollah will be begging for mercy in no time. ¶ by Robert, Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Yesterday, I helped out my brother-in-law by pitching in and doing some painting in his house. (Their house expansion and refurbishment is an ongoing saga.) It was a good time, as the sister-in-law had taken their children away for the week. My father-in-law did his bit, too. My mother-in-law, evidently knowing what was good for her, was playing golf.
That left my wife, who kept an eye on the brother's-in-law's three dogs here in our house . . . so they wouldn't be in the way. Two are largeish -- one is a black lab; the other a lab/"Lassie" mix -- and are always good as gold. In fact, they are better behaved than most young children. The third is a Jack Russell terrier, less than 2 years old, which they "rescued" nearly a year ago.
Need I say more? My sister-in-law suspects the Jack Russell had been abused by its former owner, and that naturally only makes matters worse. He behaves fairly well at their home out in rural Essex; but at ours yesterday in London (where he has been only a couple of times before) . . . well, let's just say he has no chance of ever being "a city dog".
The neighbor kids on one side of us screaming, going up and down their slide, playing in their garden; our other neighbor offering a friendly "hello" over the fence to my wife as she sat outside with the three hounds; the neighbor directly behind us weeding, so you could hear (but not see) her rustling behind our fence; every bus that went by on a nearby mainish road; every person who walked by chatting; every bit of noise made by workers building an apartment complex down another nearby road; every bird that moved its wings in the trees . . . all created Jack Russell insanity all day long. Barking, yelping, carrying on, standing on his hind legs, running around the backyard, growling and jumping -- he could not be stopped. Even my infinitely patient wife, who loves dogs and can cope with most anything "doggish", found herself near her wits' end by the time I got home: she could not get him to calm down and shut his trap.
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The Hindu, July 26:
Israeli troops and the Lebanese militant group, Hizbollah, were locked in a fierce battle over control of a strategic Lebanese town, with both sides making contradictory statements about its status.
Israel claimed that it had captured Bint Jbeil, a major border town and Hizbollah stronghold in southern Lebanon. Hizbollah, however, denied the claim. "The Islamic resistance denies this claim and emphasised that the town is still outside the control of the occupation forces and that battles are still raging around it," it said.
A U.N. spokesman in Lebanon confirmed that the two sides were locked in pitched battles on the outskirts of Bint Jbeil...
Israel claimed that it had captured Bint Jbeil, a major border town and Hizbollah stronghold in southern Lebanon. Hizbollah, however, denied the claim. "The Islamic resistance denies this claim and emphasised that the town is still outside the control of the occupation forces and that battles are still raging around it," it said.
A U.N. spokesman in Lebanon confirmed that the two sides were locked in pitched battles on the outskirts of Bint Jbeil...
Yep, one heckuva "asymmetric war" going on there.
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Incidentally, everyone's asking how Israel can defeat Hezbollah while minimizing civilian casualties and keeping to a "proportionate response"? Easy. The Israelis should simply send in a few thousand untrained, troubled, nervous, barking Jack Russells. Hezbollah will be begging for mercy in no time. ¶ by Robert, Wednesday, July 26, 2006
