It's a sad story from New Jersey, where an errant shell fragment killed a little girl's cat. But Bettnet can't believe the verbal incompetence of the Associated Press in describing it. Their headline: "Misfired artillery crashes into girl’s bed."
A piece of artillery that was apparently misfired by the military crashed through the roof of a New Jersey home miles away Friday and injured a young girl's cat, which had to be euthanized, officials said.
Picatinny officials told The Star-Ledger of Newark they were investigating. The base had been conducting tests Friday, and it wasn't immediately clear what type of artillery hit the home.
In a post mockingly titled "Watch out for flying artillery," blogger Domenico Bettinelli mocked the reporter's complete lack of dictionary skills:
Here’s the problem. It wasn’t artillery that hit the home, unless you mean that the military fired the actual gun through the air, having it land on home. The word "artillery" does not refer to the ammunition. In fact, the reporter could have used "ammunition," "round," or several other types, one of which was undoubtedly used by the spokesman for the base.
Dictionary.com clearly states that "artillery" refers to guns or missile launchers, or the science of operating said weapons. Later AP reports were amended to the house being hit by an "artillery shell fragment."
















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I see.
April 14, 2008 - 07:39 ET by heldmywShould have been "misfired ordinance crashes...etc.".
The lack of skill with the basic tools of the craft are really telling.
Watch out for falling artillery
April 14, 2008 - 09:21 ET by CobraMan"A piece of artillery that was apparently misfired by the military
crashed through the roof of a New Jersey home miles away Friday and
injured a young girl's cat, which had to be euthanized, officials said."
That's what happens when you try launching howitzers (artillery) instead of rounds (ordinance). 'It done did got blowed up, reall good!'
"In fact, the reporter could have used "ammunition," "round," or several
other types, one of which was undoubtedly used by the spokesman for the
base."
Memo to the press: the proper term is ordinance, not "shells," not "rounds," and, most assuredly, not "artillery."
If the reporter is from NJ,
April 14, 2008 - 10:26 ET by JohnMIf the reporter is from NJ, I'm not surprised... Ignorance abounds here about things related to ballistics, large and small.
He's probably from the NYC crowd
April 14, 2008 - 12:50 ET by FastEdbut your point is well taken - Picatinny is, after all, a testing area. And the folks around there, the older ones anyway, know what is being don there - - making life miserable for our enemies!
There is no sense in being stupid, if you can't prove it! - my dad V
Uhh...
April 14, 2008 - 11:02 ET by PhocionXIVNot to be too technical, but the term referring to ammunition is "Ordnance"--there's no I. An Ordinance is a local law or regulation.
Well Joint Services definitions...
April 14, 2008 - 14:12 ET by airborne-soldierfield artillery - (DOD) Equipment, supplies, ammunition, and personnel involved in the use of cannon, rocket, or surface-to-surface missile launchers.
ordnance - (DOD) Explosives, chemicals, pyrotechnics, and similar stores, e.g., bombs, guns and ammunition, flares, smoke, or napalm.
Machine Gun fun... Good
April 14, 2008 - 16:23 ET by Clear thinkerMachine Gun fun...
Good thing her Cat was not here.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31vm3-BQRJU&feature=related
There would be nothing left of it.
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