#1
As a kid back in the Cretaceous Era, I read a book on spies and spying that claimed someone had replaced some screws in Power's altimeter with magnetic ones and he was flying at a lower altitude than he thought and was in range of Soviet SAMs. Good story even if it is not true. Sorry I don't have a reference.
#2
Owing to the resolution of cameras at that time, he could have simply altered his flight plan and descended to a lower altitude in order to provide better photo imagery. An act which some might consider heroic. Seldom keen on the military however, painting Powers with the brush of a potential traitor is more in line with CIA and NSA "behind the green door" conspiratorial logic.
#3
The story I heard was that the U2 is essentially a powered glider. When Powers tried to light up the engines after a glide, they wouldn't start. As a result, he ended up in range of the missiles.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
05/02/2010 14:50 Comments ||
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#4
Besoeker: If I remember correctly, the U2 flights at the time were owned by CIA, though the personnel were military.
FBI's investigation into the U2 was and is one of the FBI's most closely guarded secrets. Hoover kept the file in his secret stash. The Soviets certainly would have made efforts to penetrate the program and it's quite possible that the penetration took the form of Powers. The only person in the West who really knew the answer to that question was killed in a helicopter accident in the '70's.
I learned quite a bit about the case reading Wedge by Mark Riebling, which I highly recommend to all Rantburgers, or anyone interested in the topic of intelligence and counterintelligence.
#5
Occam's razor would suggest that it was a mechanical failure. According to the specs on the U2, at maximum altitude, it had to fly at maximum speed, and its stall speed was only 10 knots less than maximum speed. It was a very unforgiving aircraft.
#7
Anonymoose---that part of the flight performance envelope is known as "Coffin Corner." Too fast above maximum speed you get mach buffet. Too slow you get a stall. It is a NARROW band.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/02/2010 23:39 Comments ||
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Britain could be battered by speculators on the international money markets within hours of the election result as the futures market in bonds and sterling has agreed to open for the first time at 1am on Friday.
The City is concerned that a hung parliament could mean Britain is unable to take rapid action to cut its budget deficit and force a similar battle with bond dealers that the one that forced Greece to resort to 110bn (£95bn) a bailout package put together by the eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund.
Usually bond dealers would have to wait until the markets opened on the morning after an election to begin trading but the futures market in gilts UK government bonds is opening only three hours after the polls close and seven hours earlier than usual. The futures markets play a key role in determining how much interest the government pays on its debts and traders will be able to buy and sell futures contracts as constituency results are announced and the balance of power shifts between the three main parties.
Euronext Liffe, which runs the gilts futures exchange, said it was the first time technology had allowed the market to open early. A spokesman for Liffe said traders would also be allowed to bet on a collapse in sterling, which the shadow chancellor, George Osborne, has warned is likely if the outcome of the election is a hung parliament.
Hundreds of millions of pounds could be won or lost during Friday morning as bond traders and foreign exchange dealers attempt to second guess the election.
A pensioner who put up a red, white and blue election poster telling voters to kick out MPs was accused of racism by police.
After being inundated by canvassing politcians, Roy Newman, 74, decided to tell other voters: 'GET THE LOT OUT.
But 90 minutes after he put up the homemade sign up in an upstairs room at his house, two police officers arrived and threatened with arrest. They said the Union Jack-coloured lettering on a white background could be considered 'racist'.
He was told there had been a single complaint and he was ordered to remove it or change it otherwise he would end up in court.
But the former Tory councillor, from North Anston, near Rotherham, South Yorkshire, said police had misunderstood his message. He said: 'My sign is up there because the MPs and council leadership we have in place at the moment are a load of rubbish and I want them out, nothing more.
'The police told me that due to the fact that the words were written in red and blue and the background was white, my sign had racist connotations.
'What a load or rubbish - it certainly wasn't my intention to come across as racist. I'm not racist.
And the furious pensioner, chairman of his local history society and a former Samaritan, slammed police for wasting their time. He said: 'Three years ago vandals put a brick through my window and when I called the police all they offered me was a crime reference number.
'Put up a poster and a police car with two uniformed officers arrives quick as a flash - it's unbelievable.
In the end, under protest Roy altered the colour of some letters to yellow, but refused to change the words.
A spokeswoman for South Yorkshire Police said: 'Officers responded to a call from a complainant who had seen the sign and interpreted it as being racist. Given this sign was displayed publicly and seemed to be causing offence we did see fit to attend the address.
'Officers spoke to Mr Newman and were told that his words referred to councillors and MPs. WE advised him that the wording could be changed to make that fact more clear.
'Following the officers' visit the complainant was contacted by us and the meaning of the sign was explained . They said that they were no longer offended and were happy to let the matter rest. It is unlikely that any further action will be taken.
Posted by: ed ||
05/02/2010 16:12 Comments ||
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#5
Ed,
That is a Penitant Sinner, what will they say about my Rhodie flag, apart from admitting they know nothing of History? The UK is in thrall to money, the corruption on a Grecian scale.
Of course the government should document the intimate details of our lives. What could go wrong?
Experts fear that HM Revenue & Customs has been hit by another security breach, less than three years after it lost the details of 25 million taxpayers.
Demands for an investigation come after a woman from Bedfordshire received direct mail using an incorrect surname that only appeared on an HMRC database.
One owner of a database firm, who did not want to be named, told The Sunday Telegraph: "It looks like someone has sold on the database belonging to the Government agency ."
Susan Jones, who lives in Bedford with her husband, Derek, began to receive letters from HMRC addressed to "Susan Margaret Margaret".
Within weeks, Direct Line insurance, Churchill Home Insurance, Sun Life Direct funeral care and Sky television had all written to her using the same incorrect details. So too had Macmillan cancer support, the Salvation Army, and the Dogs Trust.
There is no suggestion that any of these organisations acted improperly: they bought the details through apparently reputable companies.
Inquiries by The Sunday Telegraph have established that HMRC installed a new computer system a month before Mrs Jones, 59, began to receive the junk mail.
Enquiries by this newspaper established that the databases containing information on "Mrs S. Margaret" were supplied to at least three of the seven companies and charities by a company based in London. Since it is not known how it obtained the information, this newspaper has chosen not to identify the firm.
An HMRC spokesman said: "HMRC takes data security extremely seriously, and has comprehensive procedures and checks in place to protect customer data. We are bound by strict rules of confidentiality which prohibit the department from selling on customer details.
"While we cannot comment on individual taxpayers, we'll be happy to consider further correspondence on this matter, and will respond in due course."
"That is to say, we will think about corresponding. About actually doing something we will not even so much as think."
A spokesman for the Information Commissioner said yesterday: "In the light of this information, we will be seeking to clarify what has happened with HMRC next week."
James Killen was in his school uniform when he raced to confront his mothers attacker -- a neighbour -- after she was stabbed and left covered in blood.
The 18 year-old tried to wrest a kitchen knife from the assailant before the man died in the struggle.
His mother, Sandra Crawford, 53, an air stewardess, then staggered outside her red-brick, detached house in St Albans, Herts, before collapsing in her nightclothes. She is now fighting for her life after being flown to hospital.
Detectives initially arrested Mr Killen, an A-level student, on suspicion of murder but they released him on Friday on police bail until next month. Senior investigative sources say they now believe that Jonathan London, 46, died after Mr Killen tried to protect his mother.
Here's a hopeful sign:
A school friend of Mr Killen described him as a hero and said he had grabbed the knife from his mothers alleged attacker before confronting Mr London.
#2
kitchen knives to be banned next, followed by dull sporks
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/02/2010 11:52 Comments ||
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#3
A candidate for the George Cross if there ever was one. Clearly fits the definition of awe-inspiring and humbling courage."
The George Cross was originally intended to be the civilian equivalent of the Victoria Cross. The George Cross was instituted on Sept. 24, 1940 by King George V in recognition of the many acts of civilian bravery.
King George VI Institutes the George Cross
The King said, 'in order that they should be worthy and promptly recognised I have decided to create, at once, a new mark of honour for men and women in all walks of civilian life. I propose to give my name to this new distinction which will consist of the George Cross, which will rank next to the Victoria Cross and the George Medal for wider distribution.'
While the George Cross was originally intended as the equivalent to the Victoria Cross, the medal was later awarded to military personnel who carried out acts of bravery where direct enemy force was not involved.
The George Cross ranks second to the Victoria Cross in the wearing of medals and replaced the Empire Gallantry medal. All holders of the Empire Gallantry medal were instructed to exchange their medals for the George Cross. This was the first time that one award had been substituted with another. However, in 1971 holders of the Albert Medal and the Edward medal were invited to exchange their awards for the George Cross.
The Design of the George Cross
The medal was designed by Percy Metcalfe. The ribbon is dark blue and 1.5 inches (4cm) in width. The ribbon bar is distinguished by a small replica cross at the centre. In addition, bars are awarded to the holder of the George Cross in recognition to further acts of bravery, but to date no additional bars have been awarded.
Bolivian President Evo Morales has ordered the nationalisation of four private electricity companies.
Just following in the steps of his mentor ...
Police moved into the offices of Corani, Valle Hermoso and Guaracachi firms, following Mr Morales' decree.
Corani is half owned by a subsidiary of France's GDF Suez.
First they lost that cute little canal in Egypt, now they're being kicked out of Bolivia. Perhaps they ought to consider staying domestic.
Guaracachi's main partner is Britain's Rurelec, while ELFEC and Valle Hermoso are local.
President Morales said that the government now controlled 80% of electricity generation in the country.
Last year, Mr Morales announced the takeover of a subsidiary of British oil company BP, which supplied jet fuel across the Andean nation. He has recently nationalised oil and gas reserves to redistribute wealth to Bolivia's indigenous majority.
The four companies seized on Saturday account for more than half of Bolivia's electricity market. They emerged following the privatisation of the state National Electricity Company in the 1990s.
Think anyone will make the mistake of buying anything in Bolivia ever again? At least for a generation? No more private investment, Evo, so enjoy developing your country without any help.
#2
We've got a much better plan for destroying our power system, competition. Break it up into generation, transmission, and distribution.
Then let there be competition for generation. But don't allow any new entrants to generation for environmental reasons. This will allow existing operators to start acting like OPEC and doing lots of wild and crazy things on Wall Street for the benefit of donk contributions.
In transmission, don't allow any new transmission lines to be built so that the network designed 50 years ago fits less and less well with the locations of supply and demand every year. And let environmentalists stop any project that can get off the drawing board.
In distribution, well that's the monopoly of wires to your house. Can't really have competition here, so we'll regulate it so severely no one can make a profit and then they won't maintain it.
Watch Caliphornia this summer. They're furthest down the trail. Make sure you can hook the generator up to supply power your house.
It's not all Obumble's fault. We've been implementing this policy for the last 40 years. Since the first earth day.
#3
First they lost that cute little canal in Egypt, now they're being kicked out of Bolivia. Perhaps they ought to consider staying domestic.
Who would kill the piratez? Who would beat the Poms off the Capes? Who else would have sold us such damn high quality gun powder --- from the labs of Lavoiser himself the inventor of the Sac du Gasse!
#5
Bolivia does have some strategic metals, so I am sure China will be happy to help them maintain their facilities - for a 'price'. And Evo wouldn't dare say a word against them.
#6
Just hope Obama doesn't read about this.
Too late. Remember that little car company, GM? Check out the sales figure, post-Bambi, relative to FOMOCO.
#10
RJ, I get that. Same logic applies (can THEY make them?). Plus, power plants need smaller stuff too - like sensors & such, right? And they have to break a lot more often than giant shafts?
UN HEALTH agency chief Margaret Chan said on Friday after a visit to North Korea that the country's health system would be the envy for most developing countries although it faced 'challenges'.
'Based on what I have seen, I can tell you they have something that most other developing countries would envy,' she told journalists, despite reports of renewed famine in parts of the country.
Juche and tree bark?
'To give you a couple of examples, DPRK has no lack of doctors and nurses, as we see in other developing countries, most of their doctors and nurse have migrated,' the director general of the World Health Organisation said.
She also highlighted its 'very elaborate health infrastructure' extending to a district network of household doctors, she added.
Dr Chan visited the closed communist nation Monday through Wednesday at the regime's invitation. She met senior ministers and visited health facilities in the capital Pyongyang, as well as a rural hospital about an hour's drive away. Her visit to Pyongyang came amid reports of a severe food crisis in North Korea.
She could go anywhere she chose and nothing was staged managed, of course ...
#5
Huh. Wonder if it's just one hell of a bribe, or whether some NKor agent really earned his counterfeit Franklins last month & found a particularly nasty skeleton in Dr. Chan's closet.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
05/02/2010 9:58 Comments ||
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#6
It's far from the first stupid thing she's ever said. Check out her wikipedia bio entry for more of her choice gems. I especially like the first half of the last line: Chan's moral integrity has been publicly challenged
#7
Look at it from her viewpoint. As a health professional, she sees no one in the hospital, so she thinks the population is healthy. All of the equipment is old, so they must not need any new, high-tech replacements. No one is fat, except Kim Il Daddy-o, so there are no obesity-related diseases. Everyone walks, so they are well-exercised. There are no sprawling cemeteries, so it means they all live long time (sorry, I couldn't resist). No one gets hurt in car crashes and there is no drunk driving.
So, as a clueless bureaucrat with an undergraduate in Home Economics and an equally bureaucratic degree in "public health" she is just reacting to sensory input, not logic.
And yes, I'm sure she go to go anywhere she wanted to go. Riiiiiiiight.
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou on Sunday said his government had reached a long-awaited deal with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund for a massive rescue package aimed at combating a debt crisis that is threatening to engulf other nations in Europe.
Officials were racing to cement the deal, and European finance ministers were set to meet in Brussels on Sunday to approve the bailout. With investors now too skittish to lend to Greece, Papandreou needs the rescue to fill bare coffers and prevent a sovereign debt default that could roil bond, currency and stock markets in Europe and beyond.
The rescue, expected to reach as high as $160 billion over three years, amounts to the first time the nations that use the euro will have come to the aid of one of their own since the creation of Europe's principal currency 11 years ago. To seal a deal, Papandreou had to promise massive new cuts to rein in runaway spending, which were unleashing a violent public backlash this weekend as tens of thousands of genius protesters took to the streets of Athens. Unionists and left-wing protesters took to the streets of Athens this weekend, throwing gas bombs, clashing with police, and calling for the Greek government to default on its debt obligations to investors. As they marched, they were shouting slogans against the EU and the IMF, according to reports from Athens.
The cuts are set to include fresh reductions in salaries for state workers, more flexibility to fire them, as well as increases in taxes and potentially even a hike in the retirement age for Greek workers. Pay attention, kiddies, dopes, and other accolytes of the One. This is your future. Nothing of those things are actually going to happen. The Greeks will pee the money away and then come back for more ...
Papandreou bluntly warned Greeks to prepare for the fiscal pain, particularly as the government will now seek to restructure a broke tax system plagued by rampant evasion. Gee, I wonder if their cabinet ministers pay taxes?
The package was being rolled out in an attempt to prevent spiraling fears of a broader debt crisis in Europe, with the bonds of Portugal and Spain and even Italy and Ireland coming under pressure from investors last week. It remained uncertain, though, whether the Greek deal will ultimately prove enough to restore confidence in the finances of developed nations, which are now at the worst levels since World War II amid hikes in spending and drops in tax collection in the wake of the global economic crisis.
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/02/2010 07:14 ||
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The IMF is supposed to be lender of last resort. Europeans want it to be among the lenders of first resort in this crisis. Greece can, after all, borrow from the markets, but it will have to pay 7% interest. Instead of relying on market discipline, the Europeans seek to use IMF to organize a rescue package with an interest rate averaging maybe 5%. This implicit interest subsidy is justified by saying Greece will default if it has to pay 7 % interest. Maybe, but many analyses suggest that Greece is fundamentally insolvent and will likely default anyway.
Posted by: john frum ||
05/02/2010 7:55 Comments ||
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That depends on what the intentions were. If the intentions were:
to send the message to the Greek populace that its Government can't go too far in attempts at major reforms because it has a safety net and money in the bank, or
to send the message to other eurozone states in the same danger that they can relax a bit and make less effort to avoid risking the same fate as Greece, or
to send the sobering message to hardworking Europeans that they are the soaked tax rubes/cash cows in this socialistic utopia,
#4
Take the money doods, make a show, get some more money... maybe 2 more cycles, then invent the Drachma. LOL and leave 'em holding the bag. Pay attention Roma, disn is how to do it, but don't try Drachma, invent the FerrariSchilling.
A Jewish French citizen was seriously hurt Friday after being assaulted with an iron rod and a knife in the center of Strasbourg. The DPA news agency reported that the man, 42, was attacked by two men wearing djellabas, robes traditionally worn in North Africa.
Eyewitnesses reported that the Jew, who was wearing a traditional skullcap, was hit in the back with the iron rod by one of the men, while the other stabbed him in the chest. The two assailants were arrested, and one of them was said to be mentally ill.
A representative of the umbrella association for Jewish organizations in the French Alsace region, Pierre Levy, called the incident a "serious anti-Semitic act."
The leader of the Muslim community in Strasbourg referred to the incident as a "barbaric act". He said it was an intolerable incident aimed at creating tension between Jews and Muslims.
Seems more likely to be the result of that tension, but what do I know?
So who was aiming at creating tension: the middle-aged Jewish man acting like uncovered meat, or the two Muslim youths who refused to resist temptation?
About two weeks ago, the central synagogue in the French town of Mulhouse was burnt down, and the local Jewish community suspected it was an act of arson ahead of the Holocaust Remembrance Day. The building caught fire during Shabbat prayers and sustained heavy damages. Fortunately, there were no injuries.
Local Jewish sources said they fear the fire was deliberate, after the synagogue was already defaced earlier this year with anti-Semitic graffiti slogans.
The year 2009 saw a sharp rise in the number of anti-Semitic incidents in France, and particularly in threats and incitement against Jews. Figures compiled by the French Interior Ministry show a sharp rise in the number of threats against Jews in 2009, with 360 anti-Semitic graffiti sprayed across the country, 69 threatening leaflets and letters published against Jews, and 229 cases of verbal violence against Jews.
In total, there were 658 incidents of expressions of anti-Semitism which did not involve physical violence. In 2008 there were 324 incidents, while 2007 recorded 115 such incidents.
Last year also saw a rise in the number of cases of anti-Semitic physical violence, although this increase was smaller. The year 2009 saw 89 cases of assault, but no murders. In addition, there were 15 cases of arson due to anti-Semitism and 78 cases of damaged property -- a total of 174 cases. In 2008 there were 150 such cases, and in 2007 -- 146.
A summation of the figures reveals a worrisome picture, with 832 anti-Semitic incidents which took place over the past year, according to the French Interior Ministry. In 2008 there were 474 incidents, and 261 were recorded in 2007.
The key bit of information unmentioned is that these are the numbers recorded. There have been stories for years of police refusing to record incidents across the range from threats to severe beatings.
MAY DAY protests in Greece turned violent yesterday as youths in gas masks and hoods set fire to vehicles, smashed shop fronts and threw molotov cocktails and rocks at police in an explosion of fury over austerity measures they claim will hurt only the poor.
public sector workers are virtually unsackable, can retire as early as 45 and get bonuses for using a computer, speaking a foreign language and arriving at work on time.
Tourists were cut off from their hotels as thousands of communists, civil servants and private-sector workers converged on a main square in Athens to vent their rage at the European Union and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
"No to the IMF's junta," they chanted as a youth in a black hood produced a hammer to try to smash windows of the luxury Grande Bretagne hotel.
Another painted anti-capitalist slogans on the facade, and demonstrators intervened to prevent him from spraying an Australian woman with paint as she tried to get back into the hotel. Japanese tourists stood taking photographs of the mayhem with mobile phones before being forced to retreat, coughing and sneezing, under a cloud of tear gas.
The violence came as negotiations were concluding between the socialist government of George Papandreou, the IMF and the EU over a multi-billion-euro rescue package for Greece.
Anger has grown against the EU for insisting on tough austerity measures in return for a bailout worth an estimated 45 billion this year alone, and up to 120 billion over three years.
I have a suggestion: let them fail. Boot them from the Euro and the EU. Let Greece go back to being Greece. They can cheat the tax man, enjoy their wine, riot in the streets, and retire at 45. Let them figure out how to pay for it, and if they can't, let them handle the consequences. But don't give them another euro, pound or dollar. Let them fail and work instead to insulate those countries in the EU that will maintain some sense of fiscal responsibility. The Euro isn't big enough for both Germany and Greece, so one of them has to go. Since the Germans are the ones who make the Euro work, it has to be the Greeks that go. Let them.
#1
"[T]housands of communists, civil servants and private-sector workers converged on a main square in Athens to vent their rage at the European Union and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
"No to the IMF's junta," they chanted as a youth in a black hood produced a hammer to try to smash windows of the luxury Grande Bretagne hotel.
...
The violence came as negotiations were concluding between the socialist government of George Papandreou, the IMF and the EU over a multi-billion-euro rescue package for Greece.
...
Some young Greeks prefer to blame their elders for the mountain of debt that has resulted in Greece, like a wayward child, being placed under the tutelage of the men from the IMF."
Decades of socialism produces a populace infantilised, lazy, irrational and stupid. Who'd have guessed? For the sake of humanity, we should indeed let them fail, as an example to all others.
#2
Merkel doesn't realize that once she gets out the checkbook, she won't be able to put it away for a long time. Better start writing the next one - make it out to the government in Lisbon.
#7
public sector workers are virtually unsackable, can retire as early as 45 and get bonuses for using a computer, speaking a foreign language and arriving at work on time.
#10
They've got a tax system that would bankrupt anyone who followed it to the letter, and they can't tax people a rational rate, that would be capitalist and fair and right-wing fascist or whatever, so they make an exhorbiant tax rate and then everyone ignores it. But they can't ignore it any more, and they won't cut back government services either...
#11
They've got a "let's pretend" high-level tax rate coupled with a "let's pretend" low-level compliance rate and a "let's pretend" government spending level... and they don't even want to know what the real figures are, and any outsiders who try to figure things out, they'll get a good hate going on towards them.
#12
Who says the Greeks can't change their ways? Why, they've gone from blaming the US for all their troubles to blaming the Germans. Isn't that progress?
#13
Any 'swift result' has an extremely high likelihood of being a change for the worse. Hope for a quick change for a better Greece is just wishful thinking.
#15
I played chess with a German professor yesterday. He was apoplectic with the idea of bailing out Greece. Remember, West Germany is still making transfer payments of about 25% to the East region.
His father is in banking, and thinks the Euro will survive, but Greece will eventually get kicked out of the Euro.
In contrast, Estonia voted last week to raise its retirement age to 65.
#16
In contrast, Estonia voted last week to raise its retirement age to 65.
Apparently raising the retirement age is being discussed in the more responsible countries of Europe, Mizzou Mafia. The French citizenry are not happy about this, according to the article I read.
#18
The anger involved here is huge, whilst the perps walk away with bonuses. Where the f*ck is my gun and country? Nothing to fight for, only $hit to fight against.
I tell people the reason newspapers are hurting is because their costs structure has forever changed with the internet. Not so much with electronic media.
But now the internet is changing cost structures for even electronic journalism and large corporate media outlets like ABC/Disney are going to take advantage.
#5
It is the Message that has been rejected, not the medium. If you have viewer (or reader) levels of the 80's and 90's the models work.
As for Fox, didn't over 80% of their employees donate to the Donks in the last two Presidential years? I remember reading that iin more hatn one place.
NEW DELHI: India's top experts on Chinese affairs have accused New Delhi of lacking the spine to check Chinese influence in the region.
Deliberating during a two-day seminar organised by the think-tank Observer Research Foundation (RRF), strategists blamed poor implementation and delivery of policies to contain Beijing's growing influence in the region and even cautioned the Indian government against taking China's claim of a peaceful rise on face value.
Going through China's track record, Dr Brahma Chellaney noted that the people's republic began its international debut through wars, even when it was weak and poor in the 1940s and 1950s.
Inaugurating the seminar Dr Chellaney said, What did they (China) do even when they were poor and weak? They annexed Xinjiang in 1949, occupied Tibet in 1950-51, invaded South Korea in 1950, attacked India in 1962 and took on the Soviet Union in border conflict in 1969 and invaded Vietnam in 1979.'
I don't want to comment on whether the rising China will be benign or whether it will pose a security threats. There is lots of debate going on over this. But the policy-makers should look at its track record,' he said.
Dr Chellaney said he was not proposing containing China, but creating the necessary checks and balances so that the might of China is forced to balance itself. And China remains on the positive side of the ledger, and not on the debit side,' he said.
He noted that military muscle was a must before amassing wealth, and not even a single country in the world had done it the other way round.
Dr Chellaney said while China steadily pursued its military policy in the 1950s and developed thermo-nuclear capacity and ICBMs in 1978, India does not have an ICBM even on paper.
He added India was the only large country in the world that was dependent on imports for its defence needs whether it is rifles, tanks, aircraft or any other ammunition.
He was also apprehensive of New Delhi celebrating India-China relations. Reality is always two sided. To me, this means 60 years of China becoming our neighbour by annexing Tibet. Why should we celebrate this? But for the government of India it is time for celebration,' he said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/02/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
He noted that military muscle was a must before amassing wealth, and not even a single country in the world had done it the other way round.
He better go back to his history books.
This is shaping up like a replay of WWI. Except that this time we should really sit it out. The Chinese are bad, no question. But the Indians, like the Brits, while apparently a democracy, are no beauty either.
They need to reach a resolution themselves and it's not at all clear to me how we help. Or if we do, how we avoid getting sucked into a bigger briar patch than WWII and then NATO.
We need to avoid the mistake of Korea and spell out the trip lines very clearly. What goes on on the other side is up to them.
#2
"What did they [China] do even when they were poor and weak" > How many incidents or events in US-World History weren't supposed to occur, but did, according many of the Rationalists or Pragmatists?
* "RAMBO WEEK" ON TV > To paraph RAMBO - "THE MIND-HEART" [Soul, Spirit, etc.] IS THE BEST/ULTIMATE WEAPON", LEADERSHIP + GUMPTION + WILL TO DO, NOT THE GUN + NUKE + .......+ DEATH STAR.
#3
See also PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > A CHINESE SUBCONTINENT [South Asia > no longer the proverbial "INDIAN SUBCONTINENT" OF HISTORY]
* GUAM PDN FORUMS > JAPAN WILL NOT SHOOT DOWN US-GUAM BOUND LR MISSLES. Nippon argues that JAPAN'S POST-WW2 CONSTITUTION, while allowing Japan to overtly defend or criticize the rights of its International Allies + World nations, + also mil defend JAPAN PROPER IN "SUFFICIENT" SELF-DEFENSE, DOES NOT ALLOW JAPAN TO DEV, DEPLOY SUPERIOR EFFEC MIL SYS BEYOND THE RESTRICTED/LIMITED SCOPE OF JAPAN-ONLY SELF-DEFENSE.
IOW, CONSTITUTIONALLY OR "LEGALLY" > JAPAN belivs it currently cannot interfere andor shootdown DRPK + PLA LR ICBMS FLYING OER ITS OWN AIRSPACE UNLESS JAPAN IS SPECIFICALLY TARGETED FOR MIL = NUKE ATTACK.
and
* WMF > NORTH KOREA'S NEW "FAST ATTACK SOUTH" WAR STRATEGY AGZ SOUTH KOREA CALLS FOR RAPID LIMITED OR PARTIAL CONQUEST OF THE SOUTH, ESPEC SEOUL AND SELECT URBAN, ECON TARGETS. PREEMPTIVE AIR, MISSLE "FIRST STRIKES" AGZ US, ROK, + JAPANESE AIRPOWER + KEY DEFENSES. FATAL WEAKNESS IS LACK OF FUEL FOR DPRK OFFENSIVE FORCES.
and
SAME > NEW DPRK WAR STRATEGY + FAILURE OF THE UN, US, + CHINA TO PUNISH NORTH KOREA OVER THE "CHEONAN" INCIDENT MAY LEAD SOUTH KOREA TO PRODUCE NUCLEAR WEAPONS.
versus
SAME > NORTH KOREA OPENS THE DOOR TO CHINESE TOURISM, ECONOMIC INVESTMENT.
** ION SAME > CHINA ANGRY AT ARMED NAVAL EXPULSION OF "FISHERY 311" VESSEL FROM NANSHA ISLANDS. MALAYSIA WARNED THAT PLAN WILL MIL PROTECT CHIN FISHING VESSELS/FLEETS, CLAIM OF SOVEREIGNTY OVER THE NANSHAS.
WASSIT / Aswat al-Iraq: A Chinese firm has started work in Wassit province to execute a power station north of Kut city at a total cost of $924 million.
The station will consist of four units, each with a 330 Mwatt capacity,' a provincial media source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
He said that the station will include two additional units for future expansion in electricity consumption. Kut, the capital city of Wassit province, lies 180 km southeast of Baghdad.
Iraq is building electrical stations. They're hiring Chinese to do it. This is the news in Iraq. Anybody other than Dave Petraeus and George Bush think we'd get to this point?
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/02/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
The Chinese get the contracts because they make the better bids - and probably because they better understand the nuances of baksheesh.
In a move likely to raise tensions between the two Churches, a group of Church of England bishops met last week with advisers of Pope Benedict XVI to set in motion steps that would allow priests to convert to Catholicism en masse.
They are set to resign their orders in opposition to the introduction of women bishops and to lead an exodus of Anglican clerics to the Catholic Church despite Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, urging them not to leave.
It would be the first time for nearly 20 years that large numbers of priests have crossed from the Church of England to Rome, and comes only weeks ahead of a crucial General Synod debate on making women bishops.
The Sunday Telegraph has learnt that bishops travelled to the Holy See last week to hold face to face discussions with senior members of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the most powerful of the Vatican's departments.
The Rt Rev John Broadhurst, the Rt Rev Keith Newton and the Rt Rev Andrew Burnham, the bishops of Fulham, Richborough and Ebbsfleet respectively, are understood to have informed senior Catholic officials that Church of England clergy are keen to defect to Rome.
Defect? From what, the Gulag?
It is the first significant response to the Papal offer made last year, which opened the doors for Anglicans to convert while retaining key elements of their tradition.
The Most Rev Vincent Nichols, the Archbishop of Westminster, was unaware of the summit, which is likely to prove embarrassing to the Catholic Church ahead of the Pope's visit to Britain later this year as it will rekindle fears that it is trying to poach Anglican clergy.
Poach?
One source close to last week's discussions said that the Anglican bishops raised concerns with the Vatican officials that there is opposition to them defecting from Catholic bishops in England.
Defecting?
Nevertheless, they made clear they have become so disillusioned with the Church's liberal direction that they are keen to accept the Pope's offer if they can finalise plans to implement it.
#3
the summit, which is likely to prove embarrassing to the Catholic Church
I would think it would be more embarrassing to the Anglicans that a bunch of bishops want to return to the Church.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
05/02/2010 14:53 Comments ||
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#4
If Anglicans believed that apostates from their denomination must be killed, they wouldn't face problems like this.
#5
There is no "there" there at the core anymore of the Anglican Church; that's why it is dissolving as the US church goes round the bend and continues to shrink (except in conservative parishes), the African Bishops and church stay orthodox, and in England its tearing itself apart trying to please all factions instead of standing on scripture and principles.
The Pope last year approved basically the entire normal Anglican liturgy, with a few tweaks, as an extra-ordinary (out of the ordinary) but accepted form of Mass, with the local Bishop's guidance. Same thing goes for conversion of Anglican priests -- this has been allowed for years (its where the Roman Catholic Church gets most of its married priests; and yes the Roman Catholic Church in the US does have married priests with families and children). So the path is easy for individuals, and now it looks like it has become easier for entire congregations.
FYI: The only Catholic Bishops not wanting this are the lefty ones -- because as the Anglicans come home to the Roman Church after several centuries, it is the conservative and orthodox priests & congregations that are coming, increasing the orthodox majority.
As for the liberal heterodox Catholic Bishops who oppose this? They are more than welcome to go over to the Anglicans and the ArchDruid, and start ignoring scripture and many traditions that date back to the original apostles, they way the Anglicans do.
[N.B. Othodox here is used as an opposite to heterodox; its a very specific religious term, not referring to the Eastern Orthodox or Greek Orthodox Churches at all].
#6
So, if the Anglican church goes back into the Roman fold, does that mean that the Windsors will give up that gigantic portion of their fortune that was originally grabbed from the Catholic Church's holdings in the UK by old 'enry VIII?
#7
I can see why the Catholic bishops in England might object to Anglican bishops coming over as equals -- how are the bishoprics to be divided? Or will the Catholics be required to give way and be transferred elsewhere?
#8
What the role of the Anglican bishops will be is probably what is under discussion. Current policy is that they do not come over as Bishops.
The Catholic Bishops must retain responsibility and authority for all the people in their diocese - and the new Anglicans bishops come over as nothing more, in terms of title, than a regular priest. However - and this is where the rules change comes in -- the former Bishops do have additional and delegated authorities and responsibilities for the Anglican parishes (and may be given an honorific of 'Monsignor' per rumors ). Part of the Papal instructions last year is that consideration be given to Anglican Bishops that are coming over with congregations are to be given what amounts to sub-adjudicator status (basically subordinate to the local Bishop, but delegated with his authority when it comes to Anglican parishes) but with a direct line to the metropolitan (the senior Archbishop or Cardinal for the region) for theological matters.
In simple terms, they are probably negotiating who gets what position in the new hierarchy for the Anglicans, and which dioceses their congregations will go to.
As for the return of the confiscated property? Nice joke. It seems people sue the Catholic Church, and confiscate property, but the reverse isn't permitted. But that does raise the issue of who actually owns these big cathedrals, etc. There may be some HUGE fights where the the Archbishop of Canterbury (Rowan Williams) would rather fight to keep the church buildings and let them stand empty (and probably eventually be turned into nightclubs or mosques), rather than cede them to the congregation and priests who actually use them for worship.
#9
So, if the Anglican church goes back into the Roman fold, does that mean that the Windsors will give up that gigantic portion of their fortune that was originally grabbed from the Catholic Church's holdings in the UK by old 'enry VIII?
Hmmm...the Tudors died out with Elizabeth who transferred the franchise to the Stuarts. When the last Stuart of the line died in 1714, the Hanoverian line took over with the 'consent' of Parliament granting them what ever lands or income was derived from the proceedings, which implies that the representative body is the agent to bring that issue up with. [The German 'Hanoverian' became the rechristened 'Windsor' during that little European fratricide that started in 1914.] The British will probably take up the issue when the French who confiscated church lands during the Revolution recognizing the Concordat of 1801, which acknowledged the 'acquisition', was executed under duress.
By growing arrays of silicon wires in a polymer substrate, researchers have demonstrated what they say are flexible solar cells that absorb up to 96 percent of incident light.
California Institute of Technology (Caltech) researchers said the wires are made up of 98 percent plastic, potentially lowering the cost of photovoltaics by using just 1/50th the amount of semiconductor material used today. In tests, the experimental solar cells demonstrated over 90 percent quantum efficiency.
"By developing light-trapping techniques for relatively sparse wire arrays, not only did we achieve suitable absorption, but we also demonstrated effective optical concentration," claimed Harry Atwater, director of Caltech's Resnick Institute.
The silicon wires measure just 1 micron in diameter, but can be as long as 100 microns and can be embedded in a transparent polymer. Light is converted into electricity only inside the wires, but light not immediately absorbed bounces around inside the matrix until it enters another wire. The result, researchers said, is both high concentration and high efficiency in the material.
Solar cells based on the technique could potentially be very inexpensive to manufacture since only 2 percent of the materials are expensive semiconductors while the remainder is made from inexpensive plastic.
The new material is about the same overall thickness as a conventional solar cells--about 100 microns--but contain as much silicon as a solar cell measuring just 2 microns in thickness.
Atwater said he is now working to increase the operating voltage and size of the solar cells so that they can eventually be manufactured in flexible sheets using inexpensive roll-to-roll fabrication equipment.
BANGKOK Thai officials Saturday called an emergency cabinet meeting as a top think-tank warned the stand-off between the government and "Red Shirt" protestors could deteriorate into an "undeclared civil war".
Deputy premier Suthep Thaugsuban, in charge of national security, told reporters the meeting would be held at a Bangkok military base on Sunday to analyse how to cope with the protest rallies that began in mid-March.
While tensions increased in the capital, the International Crisis Group (ICG) said Thailand must consider mediation help from other countries to avoid a slide into further violence.
The ICG consists of the usual suspects. Of course they want help from other countries, it gives them more of a role. Better to let the Thais work it out.
"The Thai political system has broken down and seems incapable of pulling the country back from the brink of widespread conflict," the ICG report, which was released late Friday, said. "The stand-off in the streets of Bangkok between the government and Red Shirt protesters is worsening and could deteriorate into an undeclared civil war," it added.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/02/2010 00:00 ||
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A national physicians organization has quietly decided to revoke the certification of any member who participates in executing a prisoner by lethal injection. Consulting, witnessing, or injecting, apparently.
The mandate from the American Board of Anesthesiologists reflects its leaders' belief that "we are healers, not executioners," board secretary Mark A. Rockoff said. Although the American Medical Association has long opposed doctor involvement, the anesthesiologists' group is the first to say it will harshly penalize a health-care worker for abetting lethal injections. The loss of certification would prevent an anesthesiologist from working in most hospitals.
About half of the 35 states performing executions, including Virginia and North Carolina, require a doctor to be present. Do they get banned for being there?
Other states have also recruited doctors, including anesthesiologists, to play a role in executions involving lethal injections. In some jurisdictions, anesthesiologists consult prison officials on dosages. In others, they insert catheters and infuse the three-drug cocktails.
While death penalty opponents welcome the move because it raises yet more obstacles questions about lethal injections, capital punishment supporters contend that doctors are not needed during the procedures, which can be administered by prison employees. But as questions mount about the types and combinations of drugs used and whether they cause undue suffering, states have been turning to doctors for advice and assistance. With 3,200 prisoners now on death rows across the country, most of the 50 executions performed each year since 2008 have used lethal injections.
"If I were lying there on the gurney and someone was administering a paralyzing drug ... I would want someone there who knew what they were doing," said Ty Alper, associate director of the Death Penalty Clinic at the University of California at Berkeley's School of Law. "Just like if I was getting surgery - I wouldn't want a prison guard administering the anesthesia."
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/02/2010 07:07 ||
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#1
"hang by the neck until dead" still works
Posted by: john frum ||
05/02/2010 7:47 Comments ||
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#2
Put 'em in a concrete pit strapped atop a decent sized artillery shell - no doctor required if you can't find a corpse.
#4
I think this is a good idea. While doctors can determine that an executed prisoner is dead, for the sake of the death certificate, actually having them kill, including euthanasia, is a damn foolish idea.
The entire reason lethal injection is used is not because it is a better form of execution, but because it is more aesthetically pleasing for the witnesses. But there should be no pretense that execution is easy.
Perhaps the best form of execution is electrocution, because it fries the brain faster than it can feel pain. Other than mechanical error, the only time it might have ever failed was with cannibal Albert Fish, because he had spent a lifetime inserting and leaving needles inside his body.
In the absence of electrocution, a noose or firing squad is still quite acceptable. The gas chamber can be problematic, however, because if the prisoner just breathes normally instead of holds their breath, it can take a long, painful time for them to suffocate.
#5
Yes, yes, of course. Pull their cert if they do the people and state's bidding. However, if they make an 'ooops' in normal practice that results in death of their patients, the same board will hem and haw and wash their hands of issues of malpractice resulting in society turning to tort lawyers to get some form of justice. /sarc off
#7
I can feel your character gaining strength from halfway across the country, Shipman. At this rate, that six-pack is going to be a 12-pack, and you'll be beating off pretty girls with a stick. ;-)
#8
Shipman: Just think of him as being ahead of his time. An innovator. Had he been a strong Labourite, Tony Blair probably would have put him in charge of the NHS.
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.
UN HEALTH agency chief Margaret Chan said on Friday after a visit to North Korea that the country's health system would be the envy for most developing countries although it faced 'challenges'.
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou on Sunday said his government had reached a long-awaited deal with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund for a massive rescue package aimed at combating a debt crisis that is threatening to engulf other nations in Europe. 
MAY DAY protests in Greece turned violent yesterday as youths in gas masks and hoods set fire to vehicles, smashed shop fronts and threw molotov cocktails and rocks at police in an explosion of fury over austerity measures they claim will hurt only the poor. 
A national physicians organization has quietly decided to revoke the certification of any member who participates in executing a prisoner by lethal injection. 
