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BRUSSELS (AP) — A Belgian official says a convicted rapist and murderer who has been imprisoned for almost three decades has been granted the right to die after doctors agreed his psychological condition was incurable.

I'm sharing this here because there isn't a single grunt who doesn't appreciate these loyal, faithful friends and guardians. I also know there are some reasonably high ranked grunts here, and a heck of a lot still hooked into the system who can spread the word. This is truly a vile act. They are not disposable sensor packages with teeth. They are friends. Colleagues. I don't even like dogs much, but having 90 lbs of warm fur and teeth watching over you is immensely reassuring.

Medals mean jack. I got a tobacco tin full of them going back a bunch of generations. They made no one's life better. Didn't put food on the table. A lot of them are of the "I was there" variety. Nothing exotic. No life or death charges, just people wanting not to die and usually succeeding. Yesterday I was privileged to watch the awarding of a DSO. It's a rare thing, a bit like the Medal of Honor, except you bleed for it but keep on breathing. Our only higher award is the Victoria Cross. That tends to be given...

Waste not, want not. We've heard it a billion times. It's one of the contributions to literature of my native county, which also coined the phrase "Where there's muck, there's brass" - brass being slang for money. A common insult in the UK is to say someone has Yorkshire pockets. Pockets too deep to easily get money out of. Yet frugal is not miserly, a common mistake among the newer to the prepper community. It's an unwillingness to spend money on what you don't need. If you do need it, you buy the best. I have pots and pans that...

We all have them. Stuff we want, but are unlikely to ever have. For some it’s enough to eat and a safe place to stay. For others its a 70 foot yacht. Or to go to an exotic locale. Or to break the chains of gravity and grab orbit, if not further. So what stops people? Its the same three classic things the cops look at when they are at a crime scene. Means, Motive, and Opportunity. Much like the holy trinity for soup base (onion, carrots, and celery) they define if you hit your dream. Means is obvious. Can...

<p>The White House allowed the parents of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl to take part in a series of secure video conferences with State Department and intelligence officials and senior military commanders, according to a published report.</p>