A US Air Force F-16 fighter jet has crashed at the Bagram Air Base outside Kabul, Afghanistan, says the Pentagon, Press TV reported.
According to Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook, the incident took place on Tuesday while the plane was taking off. He added that the pilot was able to eject before the crash and is currently under medical evaluation.
The jet was part of the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing of the US Air Force.
F-16 fighter jets have been deployed in Afghanistan since the beginning of the US-led military in 2001. The US Air Force has maintained one squadron of F-16s at Bagram since the 2014 Washington’s partial military drawdown.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/02/2016 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
[DAWN] A Pak man was handed a two year jail sentence Friday after becoming the first in England to be convicted of keeping his wife "in domestic servitude".
In what the Crown Prosecution Service said was the first case of its kind in England, London's Woolwich Crown Court heard that Safraz Ahmed, 34, imprisoned and beat his wife after an arranged marriage in Pakistain.
The mechanic from Charlton in southeast London forced his wife, Sumara Iram, to cook, clean and look after his mother from 5am to midnight every day after she moved to Britannia in 2012.
He also slapped her in the face when she asked him to consummate their marriage, throwing tins of cat food at her head and covering her face with a cushion in other attacks.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/02/2016 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Watch you back, Judge.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
04/02/2016 13:07 Comments ||
Top||
Russia is doubling the number of its strategic nuclear warheads on new missiles by deploying multiple reentry vehicles that have put Moscow over the limit set by the New START arms treaty, according to Pentagon officials.
A recent intelligence assessment of the Russian strategic warhead buildup shows that the increase is the result of the addition of multiple, independently targetable reentry vehicles, or MIRVs, on recently deployed road-mobile SS-27 and submarine-launched SS-N-32 missiles, said officials familiar with reports of the buildup.
"The Russians are doubling their warhead output," said one official. "They will be exceeding the New START [arms treaty] levels because of MIRVing these new systems." Meanwhile, from DC, we are told how important it is to reduce ours.
[REUTERS] North Korea will pursue its nuclear and ballistic missile program in defiance of the United States and its allies, a top Pyongyang envoy said on Friday, adding that a state of "semi-war" now existed on the divided Korean peninsula.
So Se Pyong, North Korea's ambassador to the United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... in Geneva, denounced the huge joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises taking place which he said were aimed at "decapitation of the supreme leadership of the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea)" and conquering Pyongyang.
North Korea conducted a fourth nuclear test in January and launched a long-range rocket in February. The South Korean military said on Friday that North Korea had fired a missile into the sea off its east coast.
"If the United States continues, then we have to make the counter-measures also. So we have to develop, and we have to make more deterrence, nuclear deterrence," So, who is also North Korea's envoy to the U.N.-sponsored Conference on Disarmament, said in an interview with Rooters conducted in English.
"Simultaneous policy is the policy of my country, and my party also, meaning nuclear production and economic development," he said, referring to the twin aims of the policy course of North Korean leader Kim Pudge Jong-un ...the overweight, pouty-looking hereditary potentate of North Korea. Pudge appears to believe in his own divinity, but has yet to produce any loaves and fishes, so his subjects remain malnourished... which is expected to be endorsed at a congress of the ruling Workers' Party in May, the first in 36 years.
So had no information about the latest missile firing or about South Korean allegations that his country was disrupting GPS signal reception which Seoul says has forced some boats to return to port amid heightened tensions.
"They (Seoul) are making too many manipulations, too many false reports," he said.
U.S. President Barack Obama Pot had helped, and booze; maybe a little blow when you could afford it. Not smack, though.... joined South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday in vowing to ramp up pressure on North Korea in response to its nuclear and missile tests. The three leaders recommitted their countries to each others' defense and warned they could take further steps to counter threats from Pyongyang.
"Actually that summit, we call it ... a kind of propaganda," So said, dismissing the talks on securing vulnerable atomic materials to prevent nuclear terrorism.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/02/2016 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under: Commies
#1
How many tons of rice will the US be sending this year?
Today, Friday, April 01 2016, the Baltic Dry Index climbed by 21 points, reaching 450 points.
Baltic Dry Index is compiled by the London-based Baltic Exchange and covers prices for transported cargo such as coal, grain and iron ore.
The index is based on a daily survey of agents all over the world. Baltic Dry hit a temporary peak on May 20, 2008, when the index hit 11,793. The lowest level ever reached was on Wednesdayy the 10th of February 2016, when the index dropped to 290 points.
#1
These new super ships are mostly upgraded and much less costly to operate. No longer are they required to use canals as in the past. Big money in these upgrades.
[DAWN] KARACHI: A jirga of notables in Ghulam Nabi Shah area of Umerkot district allegedly settled a gang rape case for a compensation of 30 maunds of wheat, the victim’s father claimed. One maund is zackly 37.3242 kilograms x 30 = 2463.3312, or a little over a ton of wheat. That's a lot, but it's the price of a girl's honor. Paperwork was started but nothing else was done with the local police a few days ago on complaint of the 14-year-old victim's brother, Sajan Sheikh.
The victim’s father said following the registration of the case and the subsequent arrest of the main suspect, he was forced to settle the dispute through the jirga and was promised a compensation of 30 maunds of wheat.
The jirga was held under the supervision of a local influential landlord Mohammad Hassan Mangrio, he added.
The victim’s father deplored that after he refused to accept the compensation he was forced to leave the area with his family.
He alleged that since local media highlighted the issue, local elites have been threatening him to keep mum and withdraw the case.
DIG Mirpurkhas division Javed Alam Odho took notice of the incident and directed SSP Umerkot to investigate the case and provide protection to the victim’s family.
The SHO of Ghulam Nabi Shah, Arif Bhatti, said local police had registered the case on March 21 under Sections 376 (2) and 34 of the Pakistain Penal Code, and has already tossed in the clink Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! the prime suspect.
The official, however, said he was not aware of any jirga being held in the jurisdiction of his cop shoppe.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/02/2016 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
[KIT UP] The U.S. Army has chosen Heckler & Koch to make its new Compact Semi-Automatic Sniper System.
The March 31 contract award to Heckler & Koch Defense Inc. -- worth up to $44,500,000.00 -- allows the Army to purchase a maximum total of 3,643 Compact Semi-Automatic Sniper System (CSASS) units, according to an announcement on FedBizOpps.gov.
In June 2014, the Army released a request for proposal to invite gun companies to build compact versions of the service’s 7.62mm M110 Semi-Automatic Sniper System.
Part of the goal of the effort was to arm snipers with a rifle that doesn’t stick out to the enemy as a sniper weapon. The M110, made by Knight’s Armament Company, is easy to recognize since its 46.5-inches with suppressor, more than 13 inches longer than the M4.
The CSASS is also intended to provide improved reliability, accuracy and ergonomics, according to the request for proposal. The CSASS is also designed to have reduced felt recoil and better suppressor performance.
The minimum ordering obligation for this contract is 30 CSASS units to be used for production qualification testing and operational testing which is scheduled to take 24 months, according the award announcement.
#4
It's $3,000 for the rifle and $9,000 for all the oversight and accounting that goes into it.
Only $9,000 for all the oversight and accounting that goes into each rifle? I would say more like $10k+ for the admin overhead. The taxpayer did get a good deal on these rifles.
Have to agree with mike, well done, but still lots of room for improvement on the procurement contracting.
#5
Get the same procurement group to work on the pistol problem...
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/02/2016 13:48 Comments ||
Top||
#6
It's $3,000 for the rifle and $9,000 for all the oversight and accounting that goes into it.
Probably an additional 2k in there for all the administrative paper and work to file the compliance and reviews with the LGBT directives issued by the Obama administration.
#7
I've heard that reducing the length of the barrel doesn't reduce the long range accuracy of a rifle, but that seems counter-intuitive. Does anyone in the 'Burg know the facts?
#10
Ranging, drop compensating electronic sights and a good match of twist rate with bullet weight allow short barrels equal or better accuracy with a less capable shooter. Multiple intermediate reflectivity samples from the ranging laser can also be used in building compensation for a target windage profile. I expect separate pricing.
[GLOBALPOST] A deadly wave of arrows fell from the sky, opening the battle. Men screamed and fell, as the flint and bronze arrowheads struck deep into their bones. Some slipped from the bridge and sank beneath the river.
Out of the mist, a wave of armored warriors -- some on horseback -- charged at their enemies, defending the ancient wood and stone causeway across the boggy valley.
Warrior bands had come from all over Europe, some of them from hundreds of miles away, and the campaign had brought them here, on this day, to fight to the death, for possession of this causeway. Now, thousands clashed. Hundreds would die.
The two sides rained blows on each with wooden clubs and bronze swords, or stabbed with spears, tipped with flint or brass.
One spearman thrust his weapon into the horse carrying a nobleman, sending horse and rider crashing off the bridge into the cold gray water.
Finally, one side broke, and the losing warriors were chased down and cut down from behind.
When the fighting was done, some men lay where they fell, only to be stripped of their clothes, weapons and valuables. Their mangled, naked bodies were tossed into the river. Others sank, untouched, into the river, or into the mud along the riverbanks.
This is the story pieced together by archaeologists, working on what might be the oldest known battlefield in the world, and their findings are shaking up everything that is known about society and warfare in Bronze Age Europe. The story is told in depth in the latest edition of Science Magazine.
The battlefield is located on the Tollense River, near the coast of the Baltic Sea in Germany, due north of Berlin. The fight took place in approximately 1250 BC, about 3265 years ago. That’s a time of legends -- roughly a half-century before Achilles is said to have fought in the siege of Troy.
The ancient texts of India, China and the Middle East contain stories of battles in this period. Some are almost mythical, with gods and godlike men taking part. But no physical evidence has been discovered to provide archaeologists with anything to substantiate these stories. That’s largely because of climate and time.
But the bogs of north Germany appear to have been perfect for preserving the bones of men and horses, and their arms, armor and personal possessions.
Only one small portion of the site has been excavated, between 2009 and 2015, and already 130 individual corpses have been identified. Mostly they are young men, and all show signs of violent trauma. Given the extent of the area, archaeologists estimate a possible body count of 750. In turn that suggests maybe 4,000 warriors took part in the action.
The scale of the conflict has surprised historians and archaeologists. Previously it had been widely accepted that warfare at this time in northern Europe was confined to small scale raids for necessities like food. But this discovery indicates a much larger scale of organization.
Writing did not arrive in this part of Europe for another 2,000 years, so it’s a mystery as to who was fighting whom. A full DNA analysis has yet to be completed, but evidence from teeth indicates that this was no local struggle. Instead, the chemical composition of the teeth show that the men came from many different parts of Europe, some from hundreds of miles away.
One hypothesis suggests that bands of warriors were brought together for a common purpose, in the same way warbands came together in the story of siege of Troy.
But what’s really startling historians is that nobody knew North European society was this organized, stratified and warlike so early in history. One researcher told Science magazine "if you fight with body armor and helmet and corselet, you need daily training or you can’t move. ... This kind of training is the beginning of a specialized group of warriors."
An elite warrior class can only exist if someone else is growing the warriors' food and making their weapons and tools. That suggests a degree of hitherto unsuspected stratification of Bronze Age society. Shouldn't surprise anyone. The Iliad was only a couple hundred years after this northern European fandango. If they could come from all over Greece, they could likely come from all over Prussia. There wasn't al that much difference among Aryan groups way back then. I think it was the Mittani who worshipped the same Pantheon as the group who invaded India.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/02/2016 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
It shouldn't be a surprise, and yet it is.
Poor stupid credentialed elitist cocoon dwellers.
They truly have no clue about human nature.
These credentialed ignoramuses need to go back and really read the classics. Not "interpret". Not "Deconstruct". Read.
Somewhere down in hell J. Rousseau, K. Marx, E. Goldman, et al. are is laughing their asses off.
Just one more example of the arrogance of modern academia. Nothing really worth noting happened before they were born and the "ancients" were incapable of doing anything noteworthy or instructive for us today.
#4
Jericho's walls date to 8000 B.C. They were a different set from the one that came tumblin' down. The Wiki on it sez the era was pre-pottery Neolithic. You don't go to the effort of building a high, thick wall (17 feet in places) with a ditch and a tower to defend against floods or swarms of locusts. The town itself held 2000-3000 people.
I have this vision of some way pre-Homeric hero, battered and bloody, picking flint arrowheads out of his hairy hide, being told that his deeds will never be forgotten.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/02/2016 18:23 Comments ||
Top||
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
A US Air Force F-16 fighter jet has crashed at the Bagram Air Base outside Kabul, Afghanistan, says the Pentagon, Press TV reported.
Russia is doubling the number of its strategic nuclear warheads on new missiles by deploying multiple reentry vehicles that have put Moscow over the limit set by the New START arms treaty, according to Pentagon officials.
North Korea
