E5 Mmm

Finally managed to get some photos of the E5. About time I’d say.

I am knackered after this week with not much to report riding-wise. My desk at home is covered in ash from the fires up on the moors in the Peak District. Looks like rain is imminent, which should help, but they’re going to need a lot of it to quench it out properly, because otherwise the peat will just burn underground. If we get it up here, all that rain is going to mean some muddy trails.

Not that that will matter much to me because the Royal Mail have still not managed to return my shock yet which was off at Tim Flooks for some fettling and the FSR isn’t much use without it.

Word is that Conradski has been frequenting the hospitals of France again. Something about a 15 metre cliff drop and two and a bit weeks being kept in with internal bleeding. He’s not been skiing long enough to be trying crazy stuff like that. I reckon he should have stuck to biking – his potential was really apparent there.

This is the latest on Iraq from someone out there in the thick of it:

From: Big Dave
Subject: occupation forces

This place here is more crowded than ever. Tons of people coming in from the camps to get stuff before they head to the land of change. We have sent hundreds of contractors north to take care of our troops with the stuff that is too high tech for troops to figure out. They are living by the water bottle up there. Lots of people keep coming back with Sadaam bucks. Stacks of it. I don’t understand how anybody figures out what they are worth. Some people are straight up selling the Iraqi bills for american cash. Total chaos.

The former baath members and anybody who had any type of influence in the past regime are now your local pawn dealers and corner marketeers. They are all selling the stuff they looted. If they don’t have what you need, they’ll have it for you the next day. Where the hell they get it all from is a mystery. It doesn’t even phase the military as they are paying cash money to the iraqis for stuff they need. Now that they are working side by side with former baath policemen, there’s not much they need up there.

My intel friends are appalled. They can’t believe we allowed their police force to go back out on the streets with firearms. They say it’s like the US hiring the SS to police the streets of Germany after WWII. Scary stuff.

Now they are all protesting our “occupation.” They really do not like that Jay Garner guy. He’s a big hero in my unit. He defended the patriot missile after the first round. Got a bunch of press for it and ended up lining the pockets of many defense contractors with hefty contracts related to missile defense. The stuff works for sure. Almost too well. Even lost a couple of friendly planes to it this time around. Whoops…collateral damage.

It will be suprising if the Iraqis allow the american contractors to come in and fix up the country. I would not be suprised if they chose to live in squallor before they allowed an american company to come in and to “charity” work for them. I see these people as being fiercly independent, yet stupid and stuborn enough to drive out a helping hand. We’ll see what happens in a few short weeks.

Hope all is well in the yellow zone back there in the good ole USA. Can’t wait to get back there to participate in the real fight….that damn Patriot Act. ACLU membership is way up. Too bad I can’t get to their web page here….BLOCKED!!!

Big Dave