Forget Class Warfare, Classless Warfare

The comment boards on the Knoxville News Sentinel are... interesting.

A lot of the more frequent posters can't spell. It's hard to take their rhetoric seriously.

I've often thought it would be cool to have a system that keeps track of the nonsense.

Commenters, while still anonymous, could earn a reputation over time for the value of their contribution to the "public forum" that KNS provides.

I took special note of this item: http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2013/mar/09/trayvon-martins-parents-advocate-non-violence/

And here is my comment, after reviewing 60 posts for content.


And the nominees are….

For most vile post:

1. NEVERBECONSERVATIVEWITHKNS
Nominated for "your kind" comment (2x)
2. cpasteve
Nominated for suggesting parents of ethnic minority children are are "gang-bangers"and cannot teach children to reject violence
4. Shockwavey
Nominated for "'trail of tears' tour" comment.

Nominees for most comedic posts:

1. NEVERBECONSERVATIVEWITHKNS
Nominated for: a) referring to POTUS as "obozo" b) "The rest of us would rather have a trained monkey to follow instead" c) "stats PROVE minorities murder more than whites"
2. Joeynailz
Nominated for a) characterizing a child walking on the street with skittles and iced tea as "a violent thug."b) referring to Black civil rights leaders Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson as "racists."
3. mikeford66
Nominated for "Libs, like him and CJ think it's OK for thugs to go around beating people up" comment.


Most juvenile posts:
1. mikeford66
Nominated for a) "Your mouth is NOTHING more than trash!" post b) "By you mouth i can call you a THUG?" c) "you libs" comment
2. Rifleman
Nominated for "selling your integrity for the liberal cause"
3. Joeynailz
Nominated for "More liberal LIES" comment b) " BS and liberal propaganda" comment
4. papwrick
Nominated for: "Not that it makes any sense to respond to the garbage you spew" comment.

Stay Classy, Knoxville

Take Down from Standing Position

Setup:
Facing opponent, both with control of lapel and elbow.
Opponent has stiff arms and will not allow you to approach

Actions:

1. Maintain a tight grip and open your own elbows outwardly as if doing a lateral Shoulder raise while also pulling the opponent towards you to unbalance the opponent.
2. Drive with the leading foot forward, as if stepping through the opponent, and going for a double leg hold with your own arms, ensuring your own head is tight on against the chest on the inside, and not on the outside of the chest.
3. Maintaining the double leg grip, slightly squat with the right leg and straighten up the left leg, while pushing right with your head  to topple the opponent. 

Arm Bar of Standing Opponent from Ground

Setup:
Assume full guard.
Opponent is in upright position.
Opponent stands.

Actions:

1. Retain hold with legs.  
2. Immediately hook your own arms around opponent's leg
3. Bridge, knocking opponent to the ground.
4. Mount opponent
5. Opponent will attempt to get up.
6. Place your own left foot slightly back
7. Capture opponent's supporting arm and pull across chest.
8. Swing foot in front of opponent's head to enable Arm Bar; bridge.

Knoxville Zoo Volunteering - Madagascar Tree Boa and Ploughshare Tortoises

8:50 am - 12:17 p.m

Today was my first day back at the Knoxville Zoo herpetology department since May 2012, when I left for the Caribbean to work with Leatherback Sea Turtles at Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. 

Along with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, my involvement with the herpetology department had fallen by the wayside as I "adjusted" to full-time graduate school work and curriculum.

In the 7 months since I stopped volunteering at the Zoo, there are quite a few changes evident.  The first is that Khalise, the Komodo Dragon, is now on public display.  Last winter, I had helped acclimate Khalise to her new enclosure, formerly occupied by Buttercup, a large reticulated python on loan to the Knoxville Zoo.

A smaller monitor lizard is part of the collection, bred in captivity by another facility.  In addition, there is a new stock tank with a theft proof welded wire enclosure top. Warranting this specially constructed enclosure, the zoo has acquired wild-caught, critically endangered ploughshare tortoise (Astrochelys yniphora) from Madagascar confiscated from the illegal pet trade market in Hong Kong by the Turtle Survival Alliance.  Along with new fencing and a security camera on the outdoor enclosure for these animals, the extra security isn't overkill; it's because these animals are the rarest tortoises in the world, so they are highly sought after for the pet trade. In fact, these animals can sell for as much as $60,000 on the black market.

Along with Zoo Atlanta, the Knoxville zoo was selected to house the rare species due to a high success rate with captive breeding of tortoises including the Indian Star Tortoise   Flat Tailed Tortoise, and lead keeper Michael Ogle frequently travels to Madagascar for conservation conferences.  In their native land, tortoises are heavily persecuted as bush meat for a growing population that places survival over a conservation ethic.  Also, mining interests and the need for cooking charcoal has driven wide-spread deforestation and habitat loss.  As a result, it is within reason to expect that there are more tortoises in captivity than in the wild.     

Speaking of Madagascar, I got to handle a Madagascar tree boa (Sanzinia madagascariensis) today.  That's was pretty cool.  I cleaned the snake's enclosure and supplied a new substrate of 2/3 cypress mulch to 1/3 spaghnum moss.  I was impressed by how muscular the animal was - this is the first time I've handled a good sized constrictor.  Every part of the animal's body is a powerful muscle - to the tip of its tail, which was quite prehensile.  The snake I handled was greyish-green in color, similar in my estimation to the color of a grey treefrog here in the U.S., or perhaps more like the spring peeper.  Here is a picture: http://www.arkive.org/madagascar-tree-boa/sanzinia-madagascariensis/image-G126160.html

According to Arkive.org, the greyish green color means the animal the Knoxville Zoo has is of a heritage from the eastern part of Madagascar.  I know there are some objections to keeping animals of low conservation concern in captivity, however it is a good educational tool for someone from East Tennessee to see an animal from an island nation in the Indian Ocean.

2012-12-27 Butterfly Sweep, No Gi

Assume close guard position with training partner.  Practitioner will be on bottom.

1. Reach forward to gain control of opponent's neck.  Establish a firm hook at the base of the opponent's head, and pull down.
2. with free left hand, control the opponent's bicep, pushing forward.
3. Hip escape outwards, straightening left leg flush against the mat and pulling right leg around from behind and flush against the opponent's chest.  Maintain a nearly vertical position with this leg.
4. If necessary, hip escape further, with an objective of placing your right foot inside the opponent's thigh, hooking your right foot into the space behind your training partner's knee.
5. place the left foot on the outside of the opponent's knee, forming the "butterfly" and controlling the movement of that knee.
6. Sit up towards the left, bracing with your left arm.
7. Kick with your right leg and push forward to flip the opponent.  Continue the kick with your left leg on the ground as if intending to do a cartwheel, of course maintaining weight on opponent.

Sweep complete.

2012-12-27 Take Down, No Gi

Set up is two opponents facing each other while standing.

Training partner has hand on your left shoulder, arm fully extended, as if blocking your advance.

1. Use your left shoulder to sweep your training partner's hand off of your shoulder area.  Accomplish this with a sweep as if you were trying to swat a fly with your shoulder: round your shoulder back to break the opponent's hold, then suddenly sweep forward and downward, trapping the opponent's hand with your upper torso.

2.  Concurrently, focusing on the same arm you have swept down with your torso, control the opponent's hand by grabbing with your right hand in an underhand grip. 

3. With your free left hand, reach through the space between the opponent's controlled arm and torso toward your own wrist, and grasp it with an overhand grip.

4. Force the opponent's arm in toward their own body, bending it naturally at the elbow, while simultaneously pulling down to break the opponent's posture; concurrently

5. Be sure that your head is placed against the opponent's body, aligned inside, not outside (do not place head between opponent's arm and torso; rather, place it against the opponent's rib cage).

6. Release the grip and grap the opponent's leg, as far down as possible, below the calf muscle and above the ankle.

7. With a firm grip on the opponent's leg, pull it upwards between your legs, and secure the leg with your own legs, while driving forward to cause the opponent to fall.

Pass, Half Guard, 2012-12-15

1. Begin in half guard (assuming right knee bent, left leg holding right foot in crook of left leg).
2. Break posture of opponent with deep collar grip on right of opponent's kneck, with right hand,
4. Pull opponent down towards yourself and gain control of opponent with left hand, reaching across

3. Place left foot inside the opponent's stance and force the foot outwards.

 the back of the opponent towards the opposite shoulder and securing a grip on the material
5.releast collar grip from right hand and use free right arm to post with elbow on the mat.
6. Maintaining secure grip with legs, twist your own torso up and control the opponent's back.