Latest news with #Chieftain
Irish Times
22-05-2025
- General
- Irish Times
I'm a late convert to the charms of the self-important little dog
I was never much of a small-dog person. Maybe because my great uncle had a Jack Russell will razor-sharp teeth. My granny had something similar, living up to the name of Nipper. We were a 'big-dog' family. There was a Labrador in the house for much of my childhood. Chieftain was born in the kitchen when I was three and died when I was 17. He'd gone doddery at that point, and we brought him to the vet to be placed into the humane long sleep. At school the next day his golden hairs were still on my uniform. He was a great dog. Small dogs, to me, were yippy and argumentative. They could turn on you for looking at them wrong. I held a particular disdain for little curly white dogs. It's unfair, I know, to paint them all with the same brush, but when I picture a little white dog all I see is a river of eye snot, one snaggle tooth hanging from the roof of its mouth and the aura of an animal that died six months ago but is holding on out of spite. I will say, however, that I have always respected the way small dogs move through the world. Seeing a terrier trot along like it's on its way to a very important cabinet meeting followed by some urgent stick-chasing and butt-sniffing can really turn my day around. Last year a good friend adopted a tiny dog. When she picked him up from the rescue he was undernourished and preposterously small – a mix between a chihuahua and something else with big pointy ears. I fell for him immediately and so began my love affair with arsey little dogs. He vibrates with excitement. He runs like he's gunning for Olympic gold, and he leaps with all four paws in the air in a manner that makes me want to weep. He has devised every way possible to make his way on to the kitchen counter, despite his miniature stature. He rips through toys like he's making a wage doing it. He steals shoes. He piddles on the curtains. He's perfect. There are so many internet videos to cry over at the moment. At least Tiki's story comes with a modicum of hope Since I met him my internet offerings have become quickly curated so that I'm consistently served a diet of self-important little dogs. All classes and crosses of Pomeranians, chihuahuas, miniature dachshunds have been flooding my Instagram and TikTok feed. I've followed so many dog accounts that the algorithm has finally taken a break from insisting my only interests must be blinds and breast pumps and has started serving me ads for organic dog food. READ MORE Every few months a new animal takes over the internet. Last year we had Moo Deng, the tiny hippo. Before that it was Noodle the pug and his 'bones or no bones' TikTok phenomenon. Mr Winkle, a small dog of indeterminate origin, is generally considered to be the web's first animal celebrity with his huge eyes and ever-present tongue. Grumpy Cat, Lil Bub and the original DOGE all had their days in the sun. The current animal king of the internet is probably the most unassuming yet, a little foster dog called Tiki, living in an apartment in Brooklyn. [ Grumpy Cat, Lil Bub and Maru: How cats took over the internet Opens in new window ] I would kill for Tiki. I would die for him. Every day his carer introduces us to a day in the life of her 'extremely fearful, shut-down foster dog'. She's something of an expert at rehabilitating traumatised dogs, and Tiki may be her most difficult case yet. But over the course of a few weeks this little hero has gone from quivering in a cage to playing, tail wagging and even crawling into her lap for a cuddle. I've cried over Tiki multiple times. There are so many internet videos to cry over at the moment. At least Tiki's story comes with a modicum of hope. At least one of my cries has been at the prospect, no matter how distant, of Tiki dying some day. He'll have put all this energy into learning to love and then, like all good dogs, he'll leave this earth some time in his early or mid-teens. I worry about all the dogs I know some day passing away, and how their owners will cope. I have a cat (whose main character syndrome is the reason I can't get a dog) who's 12, and I worry about losing her less than I do about some of the dogs I know. Cats are just that bit less codependent. When my time for a dog comes, maybe I'll even consider a little, curly, white friend. I probably just haven't met the right one yet. [ Squirrels don't hibernate? This information shook me to my core Opens in new window ]
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Putin's Victory Day display is a charade, not a parade
President Putin's Victory day parade tomorrow will give a completely false idea of what's actually going on in the Russian armed forces. It's an attempt by the dictator to deceive the Russian population into believing that a great patriotic victory is being delivered, as Stalin genuinely did in 1945. The reality is that Russia's few remaining modern(ish) tanks, elite soldiers and powerful missiles will be mostly in the parade: on the front line these things are in very short supply. They will play their part in Putin's political theatre, not the theatre of war. The real Russian Army is culminating in Ukraine – a technical term for the point at which an army's efforts start to collapse. Russia is suffering 1000 casualties a day and 1 million in total thus far. Even Stalin would have baulked at these rates of loss. He at least had battle-hardened generals to advise him, but Putin is losing his most senior military experts at an alarming rate, right on his own doorstep. The Russian tanks now being delivered to the front date from the 1950s and are little more than mobile coffins. These T-62s are even older than the Chieftain tank I first commanded in the late 1980s. We were positioned on the inner German border to oppose the then Soviet hordes, who back then had T-72s and T-80s. Those tanks are now all smouldering hulks in the Donbas. I'm not sure I'd go to war in a Chieftain today even if a Russian commissar ordered me to at gunpoint! Meanwhile most of the Russian air defences are positioned in and near Moscow protecting the elite, not the Russian troops on the frontline. Even so, Ukrainian drones are already causing chaos in Muscovite airspace. And Russian senior officers are now being assassinated almost within a stone's throw of the Kremlin. It looks rather as though the FSB and National Guards are on the back foot in the covert warfare being waged on Russian soil. I believe – as I am told, by some western intelligence agencies – that Putin is rapidly running out of military road. He says he will go nuclear, but this is bluster, and each time it is repeated it gets more threadbare. The fact is that he's killed off a million men and bankrupted the country. He seems to think that President Trump is an idiot and will cut the US off from Ukraine and allow it to fall into Russia, but with the minerals deal with Zelensky signed, this would damage US interests. So, as we look at the shiny tanks and missiles rumbling through Red Square, we should not be fooled as to the state of the Russian Army and Putin's position. Hard military power these days is shown in drones, cyber, space and highly trained and motivated soldiers. It's a charade, not a parade. Let us hope the Russian people get this before it's too late. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
SDUSD voting on plan to replace Native American school mascots
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — The San Diego Unified School District's Board of Trustees will be voting on new guidelines Tuesday for renaming schools and mascots to comply with a new California law banning certain insignia based on Native American communities. The law, which was passed last year, prohibits the use of Native American mascots for K-12 schools starting in 2026. This law affects a handful of SDUSD schools, including Clairemont High School, whose mascot is the 'Chieftain.' Community meeting discussing San Diego Unified employee housing draws big crowd The potential change of this mascot has drawn mixed reactions from members of the campus community. 'It was about time, just because of the context and the history with the name 'Chieftain',' said one student at Clairemont High School, adding that she believes it would help make the indigenous members of the student body feel more welcome on campus. 'The Chieftains represent courage, they represent survival — everything about it is something positive that we would love for our kids to take into the community, to their career, to wherever they go,' said Lori Schmersal, a teacher at the school. The policy SDUSD's Board of Trustees will be voting on Tuesday will serve as a road map to align the district with the new law. District officials say this renaming process will include holding at least two district-level public hearings to receive community input. FOX 5/KUSI's Elizabeth Alvarez contributed to this report. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Chieftain readers name Café Murillo Pueblo's top food truck in 2025
Café Murillo is the winner of the Chieftain's 2025 Best Food Truck Poll — an honor that has been generations in the making. The poll drew 781 votes, with Café Murillo garnering 41%; Smith Grubs came in second with 25%, Smash Bros Burgers came in third place with 9%, and Mother Smothers came in fourth with 5%. "There is a lot of good food in Pueblo so winning this is exciting, surprising and makes me happy," said Renee Murillo, who operates the truck with the help of her husband James and children Miranda, Marina, Montana and Vicente. The Pueblo green chile-smothered slopper, the iconic cheeseburger specialty of the Home of Heroes, is among the spicy fare Café Murillo offers. Its slopper won fifth place in this year's Greater Pueblo Chamber of Commerce slopper poll and has placed in the top 10 three years in a row, Renee Murillo said. The green chile is made with locally grown chiles from Crites Produce, pork, stewed tomatoes and garlic. The Murillos live in Avondale where they source as many fresh locally grown ingredients as possible. "We use grandma's green chile recipe, but we made it gluten-free," Renee Murillo said. The Murillo family started working to develop gluten-free recipes when Marina developed celiac disease, an immune reaction to gluten, in 2012. "There was no safe place to eat so we decided to adapt our recipes so they taste homemade. It was a lot of trial and error," she explained. Once they perfected gluten-free recipes for green chile, carrot cake, tamales and many other beloved family dishes, they decided to start sharing them by opening the food truck in 2021. The Murillos knew a gluten-free dining option was needed in Pueblo to help others facing celiac disease. Another Pueblo favorite — the grinder — features a Gagliano's sausage patty, provolone, Pueblo chile, jack cheese, lettuce, and mustard. The Pueblo Patty Melt is another favorite featuring a beef patty, provolone cheese, grilled onion and chopped Pueblo chile. The food truck also offers a vegan "Impossible Burger" and a variety of daily desserts. Sometimes, the family runs a special featuring the breakfast slopper, which is a bacon and egg embellished slopper dish. All the sandwich buns are made at a gluten-free bakery in Colorado Springs. At Thanksgiving and Christmas time, the family tamales are sold individually on the food truck or can be ordered by the dozen. It is also a time when the Murillos make a lot of pies for the holidays — again using grandma's recipe, adapted without flour. Renee Murillo said she is "really proud" of her children. Miranda changed her career path to culinary arts to help guide the dietary direction of the food truck, Marina does most of the cooking, Montana does the baking and Vicente is the numbers guy who helps run the cash register, guides the food truck's direction toward profitability, and helps his dad with the maintenance work. "It's a lot of work," Renee Murillo admitted. "There is all the prep work, time spent out selling, and the clean-up work afterwards." Café Murillo is set to be at the Community Block Party at Civic Center Park, 61 E. Civic Center Plaza, in Pueblo West from 4-7 pm. April 29. This weekend, the truck will be at three different Cinco de Mayo celebrations starting with the 1-5 p.m. May 2 gathering at El Centro del Quinto Sol, 609 E. Sixth St.; the 4-9 p.m. May 3 Celebration at Civic Center Park, 61 E. Civic Center Plaza in Pueblo West; and the noon to 7 p.m. May 5 celebration at Ray Aguilera Park, 843 W. Northern Ave. You can usually catch the food truck from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. (or sell out, whichever comes first) most Fridays during the Food Truck Union gathering at Mineral Palace Park, 1600 N. Santa Fe Ave. To see the food truck's schedule each week, check out the Café Murillo Facebook page. More: Sloppers for breakfast?: What Pueblo eateries offer them and how to vote for your favorite Chieftain reporter Tracy Harmon covers business news. She can be reached by email at tharmon@ or via X at Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain at This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Café Murillo named Pueblo's favorite food truck in 2025
Telegraph
14-04-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
German tanks are failing in Ukraine for the same reasons they lost World War II
The leaked report from the German Defence Ministry about the shortcomings of the Leopard 2 tank in the Ukraine should come as no surprise to anybody who even has a cursory understanding of German tank history, or even western tank history in general. It is certainly no surprise to me. I spent thousands of hours in the ancient British Chieftain tank as well as the current Challenger 2 (CR2). The uninitiated may think that we're seeing the end of the rule of tanks after 110 years as the kings of the battlefield, but this would be a failed assumption. Nonetheless, with the new British tank – imaginatively called Challenger 3 – about to arrive, its designers must take on board the identified shortcomings of Leopard 2 or it too will fail. The Leopard 2 is a technical marvel, with echoes of the German Tiger tank in WW2: perhaps the most dangerous tank of the war. Leopard 2 has a very complex fire control system, an outstandingly powerful MTU power pack (the engine to the 'non tankies'), and an excellent 120mm smoothbore gun. However it is very susceptible to drone and 'top' attack and very difficult to fix if damaged or broken down. Worse still, like the Tiger of WW2, it is very few in numbers. The Russians have lost thousands of T-72s, T-80s and T-90 tanks. Just 18 Leopard 2s have been supplied to Ukraine! The first issue identified is how difficult it is for Ukraine soldiers to mend these tanks and keep them battle worthy. If the engine breaks down it must be taken hundreds of miles for repair in a specialist facility, whereas the old, simple engines of the Russian tanks can be easily fixed by any automotive mechanic, in situ if necessary. The first tank I commanded was a Chieftain, designed in the 1950s, which had a 'London bus' engine to power it. The engine frequently stopped when the fuel injection solenoid got stuck shut. This was simply remedied using a clothes peg to keep it open! A similar problem with a Leopard 2 or CR2 would require a new engine. Secondly, these multi-million-pound tanks have become very susceptible to the ubiquitous $500 drones, which destroy them at an alarming rate. The Leopard 2 and CR2 were designed when there was no drone threat. Even at the battle of Cambrai in 1917 the crews were very concerned that Germans were throwing hand grenades onto the roof of the earliest tanks where the armour was thinnest and destroying them. They quickly put chicken wire cages on the top which effectively countered this threat. To a certain extent the metal cages now being welded onto the Leopard 2s and CR2s do counter the drones, but it is not until these tanks are fitted with the developing defensive aid suites, which will include multiple anti-drone lasers and other weapons, that this threat will be reduced to manageable proportions. The third shortfall is 'mass' or numbers, simply put. The Germans lost WW2 because they could not match the mass the Allies could generate. For instance, in the later stages of the war the Allies produced around 60,000 Sherman tanks, which eventually overwhelmed the more sophisticated and capable Tiger and Panther tanks because the Germans only had a few thousand of these. Likewise the 18 Leopard 2s and the 14 CR2s we have sent barely scratch the surface in Ukraine today. The report does state that the much more numerous, older and simpler Leopard 1s are highly effective. There are many important lessons that western armies and tank people must learn from these issues. As the UK MoD is currently rebuilding and upgrading CR2s into Challenger 3s with the assistance of German tank manufacturer Rheinmetall, we British must learn these lessons now in order to produce an effective fighting platform for the next few decades. We must avoid the same old German tank story from WW2. We must avoid the temptation to make our tanks too complex, too easy to hit, too difficult to maintain and too few.
