Photon Torpedo Tube's Blog

The Cycle of Crisis Management Euro Style

2012-05-22T07:48:00.000-04:00

This image courtesy of ZeroHedge.

Today's Game Determines SEC Championship

2012-05-19T10:24:00.000-04:00

Today's game at 1:00 p.m. at Carolina Stadium, between the Gamecocks and the LSU Tigers, will determine the SEC regular season champion. The game will be televised nationally on ESPNU.

The Gamecocks technically lead the SEC now by 1/2 game ahead of LSU and Kentucky. A Gamecock win means that the Gamecocks are SEC Champions. However, if LSU wins, then the Gamecocks will be 1/2 away from first and LSU will win at least a share of the SEC championship.

South Carolina will send junior RHP Colby Holmes (6-0, 3.29 ERA) to the mound on Saturday. LSU counters with sophomore RHP Ryan Eades (5-2, 3.75 ERA).

Mathematically, Kentucky, which has already dropped two games this weekend, can still share in the championship with LSU if they can beat Mississippi State today in Starkville.

Gamecock Baseball Season Championship to Be Decided on the Banks of Congaree

2012-05-13T22:05:00.003-04:00

Whether the Gamecocks win an SEC baseball championship will be decided by the winner of the South Carolina -- LSU series beginning Thursday night ... and the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Assuming a Gamecock series win, Kentucky would be the champion by just winning their series against the Bulldogs. Florida has been mathematically eliminated from contention.

Kentucky is traveling to play a very tough Mississippi State Bulldog team. Even though the Bulldogs have no shot at an SEC regular season championship, their team will not roll over for Kentucky next weekend. Kentucky has not had to face the pressure of SEC championship baseball. The Bulldogs win at least two of those games against Kentucky, and maybe all three.

That means if the Gamecocks sweep or win at least two games on the banks of the Congaree, they would win an SEC title. Here are the current standings:

Mulberry Tree Harvest

2012-05-07T07:20:00.000-04:00

Ripening Mulberries

Like other berries, nutritional studies prove that mulberries are rich in antioxidants. In part for that reason, some have called the mulberry another super-food.

Antioxidants are molecules that tame and neutralize the effects of other molecules in your body which seek to cause damage, also known as free radicals. The main purpose for getting more of them into your body is to fight free radical damage, which are known to cause all kinds of illnesses and diseases.

Mulberries have lots of Vitamin C, as well as other beneficial properties including Vitamin K. You don't find that vitamin in everything.

Mostly, we harvest our mulberries by walking around and eating the low hanging fruit. Sometimes, we shake the higher limbs and catch the mulberries on an old sheet.

Mulberries do not last long in your fridge. You must freeze them, dry them, or eat them.

LSU Paces the Gamecocks in SEC Baseball Race

2012-05-06T20:51:00.000-04:00

This weekend, the Gamecock baseball team continued its improbable run toward winning a Southeastern Conference baseball title. Improbable because of the 1 - 5 start in conference play.

On the road at Arkansas this weekend--a place with ravenous, enthusiastic fans that love their college baseball--the Gamecocks won two out of three in the series. In doing so, the Gamecock baseball team kept pace with LSU, which also won two of three on the road . . . at Ole Miss.

Kentucky, which started the weekend tied for first, managed to salvage one game against Florida.

There are four teams in this SEC baseball title race now. In all likelihood, only two of the four will receive a national seed from the NCAA. That is important because a national seed is guaranteed to host during the NCAA tournament as long as the seed survives by winning.

Here are the updated standings.

There are six conference games left in the 2012 season. The Gamecocks end the season at home against LSU.

In the meantime, LSU plays at home against a feisty young Vandy team. The Gamecocks go on the road to face off with Georgia.

Georgia just swept Auburn at home so it does not look like Athens is real friendly to visitors.

There ain't no cake-walkin' to an SEC baseball title. You gotta earn it.

Gamecocks Catch UK and LSU in SEC Baseball!

2012-04-30T07:28:00.000-04:00

The conference race started poorly for the Gamecocks. After two weekend series the team was in last place with a record of 1-5. Now the worm has turned and the Gamecocks are tied for first place with Kentucky and LSU. The standings are shown below.

This weekend the Gamecocks swept last place Alabama. The Tide has the worst record in the SEC. With only nine conference games left, they will have a tough time even qualifying for the SEC tournament.

Speaking of SEC tournament qualification, the orange area of the chart shows the loser section of the SEC standings. When it is all said and done, you don't want to be orange.

The Gamecock baseball team now enters one of the toughest sections of its schedule. The next two weeks they play Arkansas and Georgia on the road. Arkansas, which just won a series against Florida is going to be a very tough team to beat.

With Kentucky losing two of three to Vandy this past weekend, the race for the conference championship just got interesting.

Betrayal! House Republicans Sneak Through Passage of CISPA

2012-04-27T07:21:00.001-04:00

The House pulled an April's Fool surprise yesterday, inserting several onerous amendments before passing the so-called Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) bill. The law guts the Fourth Amendment and creates authority for social networking sites to engage in spying on Americans for the Federal government.

One section of CISPA says that notwithstanding any other portion the of law, companies (i.e., Facebook, YouTube, Amazon) can share what they want as long as it’s for what they call a ‘cyber security' purpose.

The entire tea party conglomeration of South Carolina Republicans voted in favor of the massive federal intrusion into Internet freedom. The tea party Republicans voted with Clyburn, a Democrat, giving even more power to the federal government in general, and the Obama executive branch in particular.

It was a vote against Internet freedom made in a totally bass-ackward direction. Americans are finally waking up to the increasing amount of federal intrusion in our lives. People are fed up with it. The TSA abuses are firing up conservative talk radio. The stories of the Department of Labor meddling in farm chores, makes people mad. The people are not going to be happy when they learn the Republican House has just passed this collosally stupid legislation.

It was also a really dumb move from a political standpoint. The idiot Republican leadership has just handed the Obama Administration a campaign issue. Obama has promised to veto the bill, and he is sure to demagogue Republicans for their willingness to infringe on our liberty. Hopefully, the Senate Republicans will figure out they have just cut their potential nominee's throat by voting in favor of more government and increased spying.

The Obama veto threat is hypocrisy, no question. Obama has overseen an incredibly large expansion in executive power. However, most Americans are sheeple and have no idea of the scope of his administration. He does not admit it. Therefore, there is a good chunk of our population who will fall for the misleading Obama Administration rhetoric. And that makes the Republican decision to intrude and stomp all over our Internet at the behest of Internet corporations like Facebook all the worse. Read more here, here, and here.

Gamecocks Climb SEC Beanstalk

2012-04-22T22:24:00.004-04:00

The Gamecocks moved into third place in the SEC baseball standings this weekend, just two games behind Kentucky.

The Gamecock baseball team--a team many counted out as a rebuilding team early in the year--completed its second straight SEC series sweep. This week the Gamecocks swept Auburn at Plainsman's Park. The Gamecocks are on a roll. They have won eight straight SEC games.

Improbable. Unlikely. Remote.

Those adjectives described the Gamecocks chances of winning a 2012 SEC baseball title earlier this year. But those adjectives do not apply now.

Now it's . . . possible, foreseeable, and doable.

First-place, and probable national number 1, Kentucky, is in the driver's seat. The Cats just completed a home series win over LSU (second place). But the UK schedule is pretty tough over the last four weekends: at Vandy, Florida, 'Bama, and at Mississippi State.

Meanwhile, after the Tide home-stand, the Gamecocks travel to Arky and UGA. They finish up at home against second-place LSU.

Kentucky might stumble. But if they do, the Gamecocks will still have to earn it. The bats are heating up. You have to like the Gamecock's chances.

Gamecock Baseball Moves into Tie for Fourth Place

2012-04-16T12:25:00.004-04:00

The sweep of Mississippi State enabled the Gamecock baseball team to slug its way upward in the SEC standings. The team now is in a tie for fourth place overall in the conference standings.

This year, ten SEC teams will qualify for the SEC baseball tournament. The NCAA usually invites all of the qualifiers. However, it is probably pretty unlikely the NCAA will invite ten SEC teams to the NCAA tournament . . . even if they are ten of the best 64 teams that qualify.

The Gamecocks have five more three-game, SEC series to play this year. If the Gamecocks can win three of those, especially if one of them is LSU, they should have a legitimate shot at hosting a regional and maybe a super-regional NCAA tournament. The host will enjoy a home-field advantage so that would be a strong accomplishment. A win against LSU in the final series of this season would give the team strong momentum leading to the NCAA playoffs.

The most encouraging fan-factor I take away from the series sweep over Mississippi State was in the improved infield defense. I really like the way Vergason is playing second. He looks fluid out there, and his range is outstanding. DB made several nice picks at third-base. Flapjack, at short, also made some nice plays, one of which was nearly a web-gem except for the low throw got away from Walker at first. If Walker had made that play on flapjack's bad throw, the place would have come unglued. The hitting uptick is a bonus, cherry-on-top.

The Gamecocks are technically still in the race for an SEC title. However, they are three games behind the leaders (Kentucky and LSU). Also, Florida is a game ahead of the Gamecocks as well. ~~Florida and Kentucky have a tie-breaker advantage so the Gamecocks will need to finish the season with a record one game better than both.~~ The SEC regular season title does not factor in a tie-breaker. That system only applies to the qualification and seeding of the SEC tournament. Therefore, the possibility of a co-SEC title is not totally bleak.

USC Rises in SEC Baseball Standings

2012-04-09T09:27:00.003-04:00

The Gamecock baseball team continues to slog its way out of the last-place hole created by the Kentucky's sweep (0-3) in its first SEC series. The situation deteriorated further in the second weekend when the Gamecocks lost a series to Florida (1-2). At that point, the Gamecock's SEC record was 1-5 and the team was at the bottom of the SEC standings, 1 ½ games away from qualifying for the SEC tournament. Qualification for the SEC tournament is probably a minimal requirement to make the NCAA playoffs.

Since then, the team has slogged its way forward in the standings, achieving a current tie for the final 10th spot with two other teams at 5-7 overall. The Gamecocks have won the last two series against Vandy and Tennessee. In the last six SEC games, the Gamecocks are 4-2. Currently, they ride a two game win streak.

Judging by the glut of teams with around .500 records, it is possible the complicated SEC baseball tie-breaker rules could come into play. Those are shown here at this link. The secondary tie-breaker for two intra-division opponents (following head-to-head match-ups) is the team's Eastern Division record.

Gamecock Baseball Team Hosts Streaking Tennessee This Weekend

2012-04-03T09:57:00.004-04:00

The 2012 Gamecock baseball team seemingly cannot catch a break. Batters blistered baseballs all over the field at Vandy, but most often as not they were snagged by Vandy fielders. A few inches left or right here and there and many of those seeds would have fallen for base hits.

The Gamecock defense is feeling the pressure of the limited offensive production and the seams are leaking a bit. It is obvious that the current infield defense lacks the defensive range and fundamentals that were exhibited by the national championship caliber 2011 Gamecock infield. History is applying pressure making for an anxious group of infielders. Ray Tanner, is a genius in the psychological game and he will have the team looser and looser as the season progresses. With the exception of an ongoing series of bad breaks, this trend is not that dissimilar to the progression of the 2011 season.

Meanwhile, the bad-luck streak has put the team in a 3-6 hole in SEC play. That means the 2012 team will scuffle to fight out of the back of the SEC pack aiming for qualification for the conference tournament.

UK (at 7-2 and in first place currently) apparently intends to qualify in 2012. That means somebody else will have to stay home. In a similar vein, Tennessee, off a sweep of Alabama, is back. The Vols (5-4) are riding a five game winning streak as they roll into Columbia.

The UT rotation is somewhat of a work in progress. However, we should expect Junior, right-handed, pitcher Zach Godfrey (4-1, 3.89), who is from Bamberg, as the Friday starter. The rest of the probable rotation are southpaw T.J. Thornton (0-0, 5.40) on Saturday, and righty, Nick Williams (2-2, 2.40) on Sunday.

UT has a valid closer in Nick Blount. He saved five games last week alone.

Offensively, the number nine hitter in the Vol lineup, shortstop, Zach Osborne, is on fire. He hit .571 last week while stealing two bases, and knocking in five runs.

Gamecock Baseball Gained 1/2 Game in Standings

2012-04-02T21:00:00.001-04:00

The Gamecock baseball team gained a 1/2 game in their quest to qualify for the SEC baseball tournament. Only ~~eight~~ ten of the twelve SEC teams will qualify. The depth and quality of SEC baseball make mere qualification a challenge. Virtually all teams that qualify for the SEC tournament will likely be invited to the NCAA Regionals.

Young People Energize Ron Paul Campaign, Liberty Movement

2012-03-30T16:07:00.000-04:00

silver circle trailer

2012-03-27T20:54:00.000-04:00

SEC Baseball Standings

2012-03-26T09:27:00.003-04:00

Here are the SEC baseball standings. The two divisions are merged because the SEC tournament is based upon overall record. The GB category shows how far away a team is from making the ~~eight~~ ten team tournament field. Most likely, any team not making the tournament will also not make the NCAA baseball playoffs.

Judge Napolitano's Last Word on Freedom Watch

2012-02-15T06:43:00.000-05:00

Fox News has cancelled Judge Napolitano's Freedom Watch show on the Fox Business Network. The show was at 8:00 p.m., and competed with the blow hard on the main Fox News channel. The Judge closed with a quote from Thomas Jefferson: When the people fear the government there is tyranny. But when the government fears the people . . . there is liberty.

The Battle for Delegates Determines Republican Nominee

2012-02-09T06:47:00.004-05:00

Not Meaningless Straw Polls

Santorum wins the straw polls and gets media coverage. However, the real battle is for delegates who will vote at the Republican National Convention. In South Carolina, GOP delegates are bound by the primary election on at least the first two ballots. However, in the caucus states like those conducting caucuses on Tuesday of this week, delegates are not bound.

The rules of becoming a delegate vary from state to state. In most, the person who is willing to be a delegate must pay a fee of upwards of $25 to $50. That money is used by the state and local GOP party. The person must also be willing to take the time to attend meetings and conventions for the election of delegates to the National Convention.

Did Santorum's voters stick around and pay their fee? Were they willing to participate in the time consuming process?

We will not know until later on how many Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota and Nevada delegates were actually won by Santorum. We do know that the Ron Paul campaign stated that it believes Ron Paul has won the majority of caucus delegates. See RON PAUL WINNING THE BATTLE FOR DELEGATES; Pie Chart. These are the people who will elect the delegates for the national convention at later conventions in each state.

The video below discusses this process and complains it is confusing to many people. Did Santorum's campaign school up his supporters adequately before they participated in the straw poll? We know Ron Paul people are passionate and will go all the way. Ron Paul voters are involved because of the principle of individual liberty. They are mostly committed.

We know the Romney campaign was trying to do so. We don't know if Santorum or Gingrich have the organizations to have done the education work needed. The final battle is still in play, and Ron Paul may have already won.

February 11, 2012: Update--MSM starting to cover the delegate issue. Here is Rachel Madow explaining with Doug Wead, Ron Paul 2012 Campaign Advisor.

Mike Tyson Quotes: The Song

2012-02-08T17:39:00.003-05:00

Modified Bug Out Van: Interesting Living Strategy

2012-02-06T07:43:00.002-05:00

Treasurer: Suggests SC Pension Cronyism, Points to High % of Risky, Unusual Investments

2012-02-02T06:29:00.001-05:00

Watch this testimony from Treasurer Curtis Loftis. We need transparency in the State Pension fund. We don't even know who is profiting off our retirees, nor if they are ripping off beneficiaries.

National Signing Day!

2012-02-01T07:08:00.001-05:00

USC Signing Day Central

Dr. Mercola Recommends a Film Exposing Monsanto

2012-02-01T06:30:00.002-05:00

The World According to Monsanto

Huntsman Campaign Implicated in False Flag Attack Video on Ron Paul

2012-01-29T00:01:00.000-05:00

The false flag video was heinous. John King took excerpts of the video and used them for gotcha journalism in an interview on CNN. Paul, who apparently had not seen or heard of the video, which was going viral, denounced it and denied he had anything to do with it.

The video played into the stereotypes demagogues use to attack Ron Paul's freedom message and his supporters. Thus, the MSM and many social media users repeated the video and shared links, often attributing it to Ron Paul and his supporters.

In fact, as is shown by the very persuasive evidence below, all facts point to the conclusion that it was Huntsman's daughters, perhaps Huntsman himself, who was behind the false flag video. The article introduced below has a detailed analysis.

The Ron Paul Campaign did not stand for it. It filed a lawsuit seeking the identity of the video creators, which as is demonstrated below, was undoubtedly the Jon Huntsman daughters. A California federal court has initially denied the Paul Campaign's request that YouTube and Twitter reveal the identity of the anonymous user who uploaded and distributed the links.

The China Jon Video Decontructed

To webmasters and bloggers: please do not re-publish this particular piece in its entirety on your sites. Instead, please excerpt a small section (preferably the intro) and link here (The End Run), so that the author may retain control and continue to perfect the text after initial publication. Thank you for your interest and support, and may the truth prevail.

TheEndRun.com
January 27, 2012

On January 4th, a video entitled “Jon Huntsman’s Values” was anonymously uploaded to YouTube. The following day, this video went “viral” on the internet. By the morning after that, it was being discussed in countless newspapers and television news studios nationwide. The anonymous creator(s) of this absurd video — which has been nicknamed the “China Jon” video based on one of the titles displayed about halfway through its 72-second runtime — presented it as though it was intended to be an “attack” against Huntsman and a promotion for Ron Paul. In reality, the intended purposes were exactly the opposite (as this website has now demonstrated, and as will be further demonstrated momentarily.)

On January 6th, the day this “story” broke in the Establishment media, The End Run published an article entitled, “Huntsman Complicit in “False Flag”-Style Dirty Trick Against Paul“. This article provided preliminary documentation of the suspicious way in which the Huntsman campaign and others had gone to work egregiously and cynically exploiting the “China Jon” video almost immediately after it appeared on YouTube, as well as early evidence that the video originated from within the Huntsman campaign itself. The article quickly went “viral”, and drew citations from the San Fransisco Chronicle, Reason, The New American, The Atlantic Wire, and others.

Since then, The End Run has investigated this matter in much greater detail, uncovering a mountain of additional evidence confirming the original article’s premise. A thorough follow-up article was in the works, but was temporarily shelved, with a plan to complete and release it ASAP, after more pressing and less time-consuming matters were dealt with. However, around January 18th, it was reported that the Paul campaign has filed a lawsuit against the video’s anonymous creator(s). At that point, The End Run dropped everything and worked around the clock to refine and expand the original draft into two extremely detailed and well-sourced reports on this matter in the shortest time frame possible, in the hopes that this critical information reaches the Paul campaign and helps with their lawsuit, and also helps in the “court of public opinion”. This is one of those two reports. The other is entitled “Twitter Trail Confirms ‘China Jon’ Video as ‘False Flag’, Points to Huntsman Campaign“, and you are urged to read it before or after this one.

As documented and demonstrated beyond any doubt in these two reports, the “Jon Huntsman’s Values” video (aka the “China Jon” video) was a “false flag”-style dirty trick designed to sabotage the Ron Paul campaign and defame the candidate and his supporters — a goal which was accomplished with considerable success. Furthermore, all roads lead to the Huntsman camp, and especially Huntsman’s “viral video”-producing, social-media-utilizing, Establishment-media-darling daughters, or the “Jon2012Girls”, as they are known on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.

Read on here: The China Jon Video Decontructed.

Illustration of Debt Limit Increase

2012-01-28T08:32:00.003-05:00

Ron Paul Political Animation Advertisement

2012-01-25T09:33:00.001-05:00