The Bear Shows Its Teeth

Thursday morning we had a reverse E911 call up warning Town of Geddes residents that a bear was spotted rummaging around a residential section. The section was right across the Rt 695 arterial from my backyard.

The bear was treed later that day and tranquilized so it could be transported out of the area. On Friday the three year old, 200 pound bear was killed by the DEC because this is not the first time it has been removed from a residential area. Last fall the same animal was breaking into garages in the Waterloo area and eating bird seed stored in garbage cans.

At that point, the bear went to Class 1 - the highest level of threat, Wasilco said. He was a bear with no fear of humans and no future: If authorities ever caught up with him, he was going to be killed.

But this bear didn't show its teeth. It is another Bear that alsomade the news. On Friday, May 9th, Russian conducted it's first military parade through Moscow since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The parade followed Thursday's explusion of two US military attaches.

The old May Day parades and WWII celebrations were to showcase Russian military might to the West. The Russkies would goose step by the thousands past the walls of the Kremlin followed by tanks, armored personnel carriers, mobile missile launchers, anti-aircraft vehicles and whatever else they could paste caterpillar treads and a cannon on (such as the dreaded Stolichnaya Vodka Delivery Assault Vehicle). Russian leaders would review the farce from on top of Lenin's Tomb.


Because it was a charade. Many of these weapons were assigned to units whose primary duty was to train to march in these parades. Some *ahhh* weapons are more deadly than others. You can view the parade in its entirety - 65 minutes - if you want, but listen to how the announcers keep pounding your ears with the notion that this is an exhibit for the Russian people only for historical celebration and what a shame that there aren't many WWII vets still alive, especially after Stalin killed millions of them. Oh, and the Russkies might want to sell a few of these T-90's if they can.

On Manuvers

In an effort to reduce DWI-related traffic fatalities, the Russian government has issued armored vehicles to protect its soldiers while they are requisitioning adult beverages. This is an enormously successful program - no Russian soldiers have died in alcohol-related accidents within the past 20 minutes.

Moscow - An apparently drunk Russian tank driver rammed his 25-tonne fighting machine into a remote village cottage while on a vodka run, footage aired Friday on state television showed.

The soldier was filmed driving the tank, armed with an anti-aircraft gun, through a tiny street in Oktyabrskaya, in the Ural mountains' Sverdlovsk region.

He clambered unsteadily into his vehicle with two freshly purchased bottles, then rammed a fence and a house while attempting to leave.

"He was drunk," a villager said on Channel One television.

An assistant at the local shop said the soldier had purchased two bottles of vodka.

Army spokesperson Konstantin Lazutkin promised the military would pay for repairs.

Watch the video here.

The following two photos are of common Russian anti-aircraft amored vehicles. The first is a ZSU-23. The second is the 2S6M.