If you had to predict the holiday hot spots for 2007 I bet the likes of Libya and Albania wouldnt be high on your list.
But travel insurer Europ Assistance believes these two countries, alongside Morocco, Dubai and India are the places where more of us will be holidaying next year. The insurer has seen changes in the insurance needs of customers and has been developing a medical network in these countries to help people if they fall ill or have an accident.
Rob Upton, marketing manager of Europ Assistance, said: A number of low-cost carriers are already beginning to open up services to Morocco, so we expect a significant increase in travel there at the latter part of 2006 and early in 2007.
In addition, Albania will open up in June, once British Airways starts its service to Tirana and on the long haul front, Dubai is increasingly popular and Libya looks set to follow in 2007.
Europ Assistance spend a great deal of time on researching parts of the world to make clinical assessments of facilities, checking the availability of ambulance flights and planning for big events, for example this years World Cup. In Albania medical treatment is very basic and repatriation costs will be high, as no scheduled airline operating out of there offers stretcher facilities, Rob Upton said. So we would need to charter an air taxi to fly home a stretcher patient.
We are also seeing a new type of customer, the adventurous elderly traveller, with even people in their 80s heading for remote long-haul locations.
We applaud their spirit but, of course, it sets us a whole new challenge, yet another reason why we must always stay one step ahead.
#1
Next step : Chechnya and the Gaza strip, though I heard Columbia was nice too (especially if you wish to unexpectedly prolonge your stay there and be hosted by nice, friendly people for long periods).
#4
Actully, Libya does look very interesting, i saw a travel article in the paper with really great photos of Roman Ruins at Lepis Magna, greek ruins, great markets, beaches on the mediterranean, the Atlas mountains and parts of the Sahara. It looked amazing!
ASMARA - The United Nations plans to halve its peacekeeping force on the tense border between Ethiopia and Eritrea after talks this week failed to break a deadlock between the arch-foes, diplomats said on Friday.
The move to reduce the number of troops in the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) from 3,000 to 1,500 comes after the two east African countries refused to back down at two days of discussions in London, they said. The London talks this week failed, one western diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity. So the UN has now decided to reduce UNMEEs military troops from 3,000 men to 1,500 men.
Talks fail, so run away. I guess that makes sense in an international diplomacy sort of way ...
I hear ya - but do you really want the UN to impose what it thinks is best all around the world? They're already trying to take away our handguns at the meeting this summer ....
A second Asmara-based diplomat confirmed that the reduction is what is most likely to happen and said a final decision by the UN Security Council could come as early as Monday.
The council has grown increasingly frustrated by the lack of progress in fully implementing the peace deal in the year 2000 that ended Ethiopia and Eritreas two-year border war after the loss of some 80,000 lives. It has threatened to downgrade UNMEE unless Addis Ababa and Asmara comply with demands to ease tensions that have sparked fears of a new conflict.
The notion of upgrading the force and knocking some sense into the two parties apparently wasn't voiced ...
On Monday, it postponed its decision by two weeks and expressed hope that the London meeting of an international boundary panel attended by representatives of the two nations would yield progress. But on Friday, Ethiopian and Eritrean officials traded blame for the failure of the talks, each accusing the other side of holding to long-standing inflexible positions.
Asmara blamed the stalemate on Addis Ababas refusal to accept the panels binding 2002 border demarcation that was part of the peace agreement, saying no progress was achieved. On the critical matter -- Ethiopias rejection of the boundary commissions decision -- there was no progress, said Yemane Gebremeskel, director of Eritrean President Isaias Afwerkis office.
Addis Ababa said it had met its obligations and that Asmara was responsible for the current situation as it is refusing to comply with UN Security Council demands to lift restrictions it has imposed on UNMEE. Ethiopia has repeatedly called for the review of the border ruling, which awarded the flashpoint town of Badme to Eritrea, arguing it unfairly splits families and homes between the two countries. Ethiopia fulfilled every obligation ... and attended the meeting with an open mind, but there is no flexibility on the Eritrean side, an Ethiopian foreign ministry official told AFP.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/20/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Look, the UN only agreed to be there until things went completely to hell.
Posted by: Captain America ||
05/20/2006 12:14 Comments ||
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#2
give them lots of guns, seal off the borders, even bomb them a bit.
give them lots of drugs,and let them fight it out like barbarians for several hundred years until whatever is left standing works out how to be civilised
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia Hundreds of Saudis turned a forum into a rare public debate of the role of the government, banks and royal court members in a bourse crash, which has hit hundreds of thousands of small investors.
The privately organised forum in the Red Sea port of Jeddah, widely seen as the most liberal city in the conservative kingdom, offered a rare opportunity for a public outpouring of grief and anger after the crash, which wiped off half of the value of the Arab world's largest bourse in 60 trading days.
"I'm getting a lot of (written) questions from the public asking 'where has our money gone?'" moderator Abdullah Dahlan told the meeting which ended late on Thursday.
More than 1,000 investors packed the auditorium hours before its start, a trickle compared to the estimated 4 million Saudis who trade in stocks and who suffered most from the crash.
The downturn which began in late February was sparked by a power struggle between the bourse regulator and cash-laden major speculators, with retail investors most of whom lack basic knowledge of market principles caught in the middle.
Analysts say the market had been ripe for a correction after it soared over 600 per cent in three years on the back of record oil receipts, abundant liquidity and lack of quality paper.
"Our market has been manipulated," Yassine Al Jafri, a prominent economist, said, triggering noisy applause and cheers.
"There are questions that beg to be asked: Why has state spending slowed? Why the weak supply of shares when you see demand growing, and 64 per cent of capitalisation is controlled by the government (through state-owned firms)," he said.
The slump has dealt a blow to the government's drive to ensure a fairer sharing of wealth through investment in stocks.
Participants asked why the state had not floated oil giant Aramco and why it kept stakes of 70 per cent in top listed firms.
"In other countries, the state and financial institutions join efforts in times of crises. Why didn't banks give small investors a six-month reprieve on their debts? They can afford to do it, they make billions of riyals in profits," said Dahlan.
The quizzing extended to members of the royal court. "I had a question on the role played by princes in the bourse, to which I reply by saying they are citizens like you, they invest in the bourse," said Dahlan.
There are an estimated 6,000 to 7,000 princes in Saudi Arabia. "Another question was 'where is Prince Alwaleed (bin Talal) amid all of this?'" he added.
The announcement by the billionaire prince, a well known international investor from Saudi Arabia, of plans to invest up to 10bn riyals ($2.7bn) in Saudi shares helped spark a sharp but short-lived rebound.
"I think he got into the market earlier (before the announcement)," said Rashed Al Fouzan, a well-known analyst.
The ramifications of the crash go even deeper in a society where an employed Saudi supports an average of 5.3 people, far above peers in emerging countries like Venezuela where the rate is 2.8, said businessman Mohammad Abu Dawood.
Officials of the bourse regulator, the Capital Markets Authority (CMA), declined invitations to attend the meeting, said Faisal Alsayrafi, the event's chief organiser.
The Saudi bourse has been trying to find its way to recovery since the dismissal last week of the CMA's chief.
Mohammed Al Hamed, a psychologist, said the impact of the crash on the morale of investors may take years to subside.
"Unfortunately the majority (of investors) have a poor investment culture. Access to information is not fair, it reaches some before others, our society is dominated by nepotism," Hamed said.
One veiled woman, who did not identify herself, said: "There are women here who are asking men not to invest in the bourse because it has spoiled the mood in the household and destroyed their homes. They also beg of men not to invest under their (wives') names."
Some bankrupt Saudis were reported to have forced their wives to borrow money from banks to buy stocks, hoping for a market improvement.
#5
Events like this are the antidote to the idea that foreigners would pull their money out of the US just because they don't like American foreign policy. The reality is that there is more cash out there than profitable opportunities. By keeping all the money in-country, Saudi Arabia helped inflate a bubble that will probably drag down its economy for years. People invest in American securities because they see profitable opportunities, not because they like Americans. In fact, there is nothing sweeter than making money off a nation you perceive to be your enemy.
#8
ZF - true, plus (except for ENRON, a few others, etc.) the US Stocks, investments are run honestly, honorably, and will not be nationalized. Expect some foreign South American investment sto run for the border this year.
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/20/2006 19:53 Comments ||
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#9
FG: ZF - true, plus (except for ENRON, a few others, etc.) the US Stocks, investments are run honestly, honorably, and will not be nationalized.
Things like Enron aren't illegal in most places, because their disclosure requirements aren't nearly as elaborate as American ones. No need to disclose, therefore no need to lie.
Nayek Badshah Alamgir (35), a member of the elite force Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), committed suicide by opening fire on his chest at a toilet of the Gausul Azam Mosque at Mahakhali Commercial Area under Gulshan thana in the city at around 4 pm yesterday.
Wonder if being the custodian of the shutter gun was too much for him?
Gulshan police said, Badshah went to a toilet inside the mosque with his auto-rifle but he did not return to his colleagues deployed at a checkpost in front of the mosque even after half an hour. The in-charge of the RAB checkpost Deputy Assistant Director (DAD) Abul Kashem and Sergeant Mizan went inside the mosque in search of Badshah at around 4.45pm. They found the dead body of the RAB man lying in the toilet with rifle.
The body was sent to the morgue of Dhaka Medical College Hospital for autopsy.
"Another autopsy for you, Dr. Quincy, and no jokes this time -- the boys outside won't take kindly to it."
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/20/2006 00:00 ||
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He went inside the Mosque to use the toilet, and they found him shot?
I don't believe this "Suicide" crap, I think he was shot and posed to look like a suicide.
And why didn't his buddies hear any gunfire?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
05/20/2006 8:42 Comments ||
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#2
Probably a distant cousin of Serpico...
Posted by: random styling ||
05/20/2006 8:53 Comments ||
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The deadly human form of mad cow disease, vCJD, may have infected far more people than previously thought, suggests a new study.
The assumption that most people are genetically shielded from the devastating disease could be wrong, said the research published on Friday. But it cautions that the evidence for this remains sketchy.
[..] Two out of three
But the new study, which appears in the British Medical Journal, places a cloud of doubt over this assumption.
Researchers led by James Ironside at the University of Edinburgh, UK, carried out a DNA analysis of three appendix tissue samples found to carry the mutant prion protein.
The tissues were part of a vast earlier study in which UK labs screened 12,600 appendices and tonsils for the protein in order to get an idea of the spread of vCJD.
Ironside's team say they were extremely surprised to find that two out of their three samples, which tested positive for vCJD, came from people with the VV variant. Neither individual, both aged in their twenties at time of surgery between 1996 and 1999, has the symptoms of vCJD.
Incubation time
But the paper warns against dramatism. It notes that only these two VV samples have so far been identified, and just because a VV individual has the protein does not mean that he or she will go on to develop vCJD.
On the other hand, no one knows how long it takes for vCJD to incubate, which raises the possibility that VV individuals may fall sick years from now. In classic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, which occurs in older people, this can take up to 30 years.
[..] I was in the UK far too much in the mid-80s and ate meat there.... I don't like this report.
#1
So perhaps 53% of the population are susceptible instead of 42%. We're still only talking about a 150 or so deaths. What the article didn't say was what percentage of the 12,600 samples tested positive.
A summer of television viewing, kiss and tell stories and state of television debates kicked into gear last night with the start of reality show Big Brother 7.
The series, first touted as a social experiment, certainly has some interesting guinea pigs this year, with a gay Muslim, a Tourettes sufferer, and a girl who cannot seem to pronounce her own name.
This years Big Brother house contains the usual hot tub, a waterbed, a gold diary chair and an inside outside theme and promises surprises throughout.
The series is again presented by Davina McCall who is expecting her third baby at the same time and will be complemented by Dermot OLeary on Big Brothers Little Brother and comedian Russell Brand hosting Big Brothers Big Mouth.
In June a viewer will also get the chance to join the show halfway through by finding a golden ticket in random KitKat chocolate bars, which went on sale last night.
The fourteen contestants entered last night amid an instant scandal when some of the housemates appeared to recognise each other.
The "human rights" of foreign ex-prisoners on the run from police are being put before public safety. Detectives across the country are refusing to issue "wanted" posters for the missing criminals because they do not want to breach human rights laws.
I think this might be known as "reductio ad absurdum."
Forces said that the offenders had a right to privacy and might sue for defamation if their names and photographs were released.
Ohfergawdsakes.
Critics condemned the decision as "ludicrous".
Wotta coincidence. That word popped right into my mind, too.
It comes as the Government faces mounting pressure to reform or scrap the Human Rights Act, which was blamed last week for a murder by a serial sex attacker and for a court ruling that nine asylum seekers who hijacked an aeroplane cannot be sent home to Afghanistan.
The 'Human Rights Act' sounds lofty, doesn't it? Only it doesn't include a right to be free from criminals and idiocy, it seems.
It's the socialist approach to "fairness". No matter how bad we make things, it's fine if we all suffer equally. Idiots.
"Human rights" is something distinct from "human liberty." It's one of those concepts that looks good on paper, but was invented by Beelzebub.
Yesterday, the Lord Chancellor acknowledged public fears that dangerous criminals were able to remain at large because of the legislation and said the Government was considering new laws.
The new law will order the public to stop their worrying; that belongs to the State.
The next step will be to address those public fears by a campaign of "education."
The Conservative leader, David Cameron, has already vowed to order a review of the law if he is elected and will consider rewriting the legislation or even abolishing it.
I'd go with abolition, myself. If you trade the Beelzebub version, you're likely to end up with something conceived by Baphomet or Mephistopheles.
Police forces pointed to human rights legislation as the reason why names and photographs cannot be issued.
"Nope. Nope. Can't do it. Don't want to violate their privacy, y'know."
The Metropolitan Police said: "Anyone who is wanted on any offence has the right to privacy." Greater Manchester Police said: "We could not be sure about putting out information now without possibly defaming somebody." The Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) says in its guidance to forces: "Article 8 of the Human Rights Act gives everyone the right to respect for their private and family life... and publication of photographs could be a breach of that."
"Calling all cars, calling all cars, be on the lookout for .. someone."
"Who?"
"We can't say, it would violate his rights. But be on the lookout!"
According to Acpo, photographs should be released only in "exceptional circumstances", where public safety needs override the case for privacy. Last night the Conservatives condemned the decision. David Davis, the shadow home secretary, said: "If true, this is a ludicrous interpretation of human rights. A criminal's right to privacy is as nothing by comparison to the public's right to safety."
Well, says you. Think how the poor criminal feels.
The world spends an inordinate amount of time nowadays concentrating on and codifying "human rights," but continues to studiously avoid addressing the idea of liberty. We do it in this country, too.
Once you've codified something, the list can be changed, expanded and contracted, depending on the preferences of the people making the list. In many countries it's been expanded to include all sorts of things that can mostly be honored in the breech, like a right to housing, a right to a job, and a right to a pony. That's all fodder for building bureaucracies; once you've got a "human right" to housing, then you build a Ministry of Housing. Once you've got a "human right" to a job, then you build a Ministry of Labor. It's been contracted to take away a citizen's right to self defense or to get his/her/its own medical care.
Liberty works the opposite of "human rights." It means government leaves you alone to do things your way. You can't build a ministry on that. There aren't any jobs for second cousins to be had in a Ministry of Leaving People Alone.
You'd think that a "right to privacy" would fall under the Ministry of Leaving People Alone, but it doesn't. It falls under the Ministry of Political Correctitude. You'd think that once a person violates the public's right to be left alone alone, in this case, alone from criminal depredations that his own right to privacy would dissipate. But political correctness doesn't work that way. It doesn't leave room for actual thought since it defines correct thought. That which isn't correct must be deviant. That's why, rather than changing a stupid policy, the "public fears" must be defined as deviant and a propaganda program "public education" must be undertaken to correct the "real" problem.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/20/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
....the offenders .... might sue for defamation if their names and photographs were released. That's OK, they'd have to show up in court to sue and you could nab them there.
#7
After all, the one-year anniversary of 7/7 is approaching. They don't want to offend anyone.
Posted by: Captain America ||
05/20/2006 12:17 Comments ||
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#8
For crying out loud, how can people worry about the rights of those wanted for crimes when the names of those who have been convicted of crimes are publicized by news accounts of trials, convictions, and in public records? I recommend that trials be closed to the public, juries be eliminated (lest they leak the names of alleged or convicted criminals), and prisons be made completely secret. Not even the families of those convicted have a right to breach the privacy of their loved ones.
#9
I could be wrong (I base this on testimonies I've read on forums, so salt apply), but on a related issue, french cops are not allowed anymore to take ethnicity of the perp into account when taking a complaint from a victim. Don't know how that works for looking out after suspects, though.
#12
For years now the newspapers have refused to state race in their "Wanted" or Police reports, it gets quite funny when they try desperately to Not-Say the perp is black, but instead use language such as "Aprehended wearing a huge tee shirt, Ball Cap sideways on his forehead, baggy pants, huge atheletic shoes, and driving a black Honda with custom paint job, lowered body and gold custom wire wheels, the SUSPECT attracted Police attention by slouching very low in the driver's position, and was playing music at an excessively loud volume when stopped by Officer Krumpky for a routine traffic check the Officer noticed an odd smell of burning vegetation coming from the vehicle, and THE SUSPECT was then aprehended following a search by a trained drug sniffing Canine Officer (Dog) revealing the vehicle was carrying two pounds of crack cocaine under the front seat. Also siezed were fifty thousand dollars in bills under $20, and seven stolen handguns, four " SKS Assault Rifles", and forty pounds of gold chains, gold bracelets, diamond studded rings and gold earrings."
Gee, reckon he's a Mormon?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
05/20/2006 20:07 Comments ||
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File this one under WTF?
I am sorry. I just can't make any more snarky comments than the actual text. Amazing! PAYING taxes contributes to the well-being of the country and can make people happy, an aide to Tony Blair has claimed.
David Halpern, who advises the Prime Minister on social issues, said the redistribution of wealth is the key to a nation's contentment. Really! Everybody give me your money and you will feel so much happier! Send your money to Robin Hood care of Sherwood Forrest. I will make sure its redistributed properly. wink wink wink.
His arguments, made on a BBC2 programme, prompted an outcry from anti-tax campaigners who accused Labour of becoming increasingly out of touch. In the interview for the Happiness Formula, Mr Halpern said: 'I know it is difficult for us to believe ... but it looks like, at least at a certain level, taxes are likely to increase the well-being of the population.'
Mr Halpern, who works in the Prime Minister's strategy unit, said that people are unhappy if they see others earning more than them. He argues if we want a happier society the Government should reduce the gap between rich and poor.
The academic and writer is encouraging ministers to compile a 'happiness index' to monitor whether Whitehall policies contribute to the public's sense of contentment. He has also suggested classes to teach people how to be happy and moves to encourage firms to introduce more leisure time to help workers achieve a work-life balance.
Supporters say he is at the forefront of thinking about whether the success of country should be measured solely by economic growth. But Mr Halpern's comments drew scorn from the TaxPayers' Alliance, which campaigns against unnecessary taxation. Its chairman, Andrew Allum, said: 'Higher taxes make everyday life more difficult for ordinary families.'
#2
David Halpern needs to be sent to a mental institution immediately, for a lifetime of intense treatment. Not only is he delusional, he's hallucinating. I hope it's NOT something in the water - wouldn't want any of that lunacy coming this way.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
05/20/2006 0:44 Comments ||
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#3
He needs to have an old fashioned session of having some sense beat into him.
Posted by: SPoD ||
05/20/2006 2:47 Comments ||
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#4
"He argues if we want a happier society the Government should reduce the gap between rich and poor."
For RFSP, it never occurs to strive to create a bigger pie. The entitled among them, such as this nitwit product of the elite, have "I got mine" disease" - skimming theirs off the top by suckling the public teat for life.
The UK, like the US, really is in trouble. A showdown is coming.
#5
Mr. Halpern, love your nice house, when can I move in? Can't wait to see what's in the garage. Come to think of it, me ole lady is lookin ragged and I'm sort of unhappy with her; especially, when I see your hot wife. Is she busy tonight?
#6
There ya go, Hammerhead. Right on the mark!!! These liberals are all for taking personal wealth for the common good, until someone applies that line of reasoning to them. Then it's no more interviews time.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/20/2006 11:25 Comments ||
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#7
All British are equal, but some are more equal than others ...
Cuban dictator President Fidel Castro, who turns 80 this year, enjoys vibrant health and will live to 140, his chief doctor said.
I consider that a good sign. They usually say things like that a couple weeks before the guy dies.
Doctor Eugenio Selman-Housein, who heads Castro's medical team, denied that the longtime leader has Parkinson's disease, as the CIA reportedly believes. "Every day they invent a new one," Selman-Housein said. "He will live 140 years."
"Nothing to see here. Move along..."
Castro's health, once a taboo subject in the communist-led island, has become a topic of rejoicing discussion since he fainted in public in 2001 and slipped and fell before television cameras in October 2004.
"Nurse! He's doing it again!"
Castro, who quit smoking his trademark cigars in 1986, has tormented led Cuba since 1959. He turns 80 on August 13. Let's hope he doesn't make it.
#1
Cuban genetic engineering is pretty good. Maybe they whipped up something special for him. After all he's one of the richest people in the world and can afford it.
#9
Look for the good doctor to suddenly either "Defect" or vanish, then Castro is truly in his last days.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
05/20/2006 20:11 Comments ||
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#10
IOW, Castro and Cuban Communism will outlive America - must those daily imported and expensive Spanish hams Castro can't live without. The Cuban People and Army can starve but Fidel's gotta have his pork.
May 18 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's most senior army officer issued a grim warning Thursday that the use of inter-continental ballistic missiles with conventional warheads could lead to devastating consequences.
Gen. Yury Baluyevsky, chief of the General Staff of Russia's Armed Forces, suggested the launch of the missiles carrying non-nuclear warheads could lead to members of the nuclear club launching a counterstrike.
"This [the use of non-nuclear ICBMs] may trigger an irreversible reaction in countries with nuclear arsenals because they will be unable to identify the type of warhead on a ballistic missile and its target," he said.
The general's comment came following the United States' declared intention to place non-nuclear warheads on its ICBMs.
"Our American colleagues say that they [missiles] can be used to kill bin Laden," he said, but suggested that this was not the best way to deal with the al-Qaeda leader and was "an expensive pleasure."
In this context, Baluyevsky called for an international legal framework for such missiles.
Posted by: DanNY ||
05/20/2006 00:11 ||
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Truth be told he does have a bit of a point - its wasteful of the assets. Better to put the money into developing low orbit "rods from God" than use these things as suborbital HE bombs.
But as far as them being a threat, the ballistics would give themselves away VERY quickly if there were anything launched that could come remotely close to fitting the geometry of an attack profile against Soviet Russia. Not to mention is way obvious if we are launching the damend things - its woudl be onthe internet within minutes, and one of their guys has a phone he can call the "emergency" sat phone I'm sure Osama
's guys keep as a contingency, and get the intended target the hell out of the taget zone in a hurry (HE kill radius only goes so far).
Better off with a Rod from God or a Pred/G-Hawk and a Hellfire.
#2
OldSpook, the problem is "Rods from God" just doesn't work at least physics wise. A sub-orb launched MRBM like the ones ATK is developing DOES work and can put 5-10 tons of hurt on a target in under 15 minutes for under 1/10th the cost of a traditional ICBM (no nuke warheads, specialized super accurate guidance systems or decoy systems are really necessary). Rods from God have a couple of problems, namely you need to have an infrastructure to put the suckers up there, even with a land based re-usable launcher you gotta put em high enough up that they wont come down accidently from de-orbitting (course FALCONUS aims to put up sub-orb capable aero vehicles as well but thats another thing). Then you got the bloody rods coming down.
These rods will have both a horizontal motion relative to the earth (due to their orbit) as well as a downward motion, think of a half ballistic path. This means they will require constant course correction all the way to target and extra fuel which in turn cuts into payload. Toss in at atmospheric re-entry speeds (potential mach 30ish) you melt everything to a plasma state including tungsten and DU and you end up with phase problems and aerodynamic destabilization not even counting how the heck the telemetry problems.
Finally theres the problem that no long rod penetrator will penetrate reinforced concrete to a depth more than 4 times its own length. For the similar KE release you're better off using a couple of JDAMs or better use a variant using the "deep digger" prototypes. I'd like to see deep digger attached to some MIRVd capable tac MRBMs.
#3
OS gives Russia way too much credit for its ability to detect and determine the couse of an ICBM launch and the intent of its launchers. If an ICBM came from an SLBM in the Indian Ocean to Tehran, I can easily imagine the Ruskies not knowing about it till halfway through its flight and then misinterpreting its flight path through errors every step of the way. Look at the KAL007 debacle. While Russia has spots of westernism that can be supported through great concentration of effort to accomplish technological feats, once on line they are operated by third worlders full of vodka.
Using ballistic missles for any purpose other than nukes bears a risk far in excess of the rewards given the other alternatives that would be available.
#4
Counterstrike won't happen. The Russian early warning system is so decrepit they probably won't detect the launch and problably won't detect it on radar at all or until the very end of the flight (assuming target is Iran and a sub launched missile flying a low ballistic trajectory).
Even if detected, crazy Vlad is not going to launch a strike against the US for one missile. Otherwise, every enemy would be trying to goad the Russians into launching a first strike aganst the US.
I'm against wasting a $60 million missile against a few terrorists. Spend the money on 100,000 bombs and waste their hometowns and their largest city.
Posted by: ed ||
05/20/2006 8:07 Comments ||
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#5
ed its not a $60 million missile, hell even an MX Peacekeeper didn't cost that much, you're looking at theoretical costs around $2-8 million however if you got by ATK's variant. Oh and as far as the early warning radar goes, yeah not only is the Russian system decrepit but there was an article awhile back that said they would be depending on the US to notify them of any space launches or missile testing because of the state of their radars. If so I'd think Russia has bigger problems than worrying about what kind of strike options we develop.
#6
Well, if deep penetration is not an issue, imagine using a ballistic missile that doesn't "land" as it were? That is, the missile 'itself' has an unthreatening trajectory into an ocean, but its contents, say 5,000 hardened ceramic "bowling balls", is "dumped" over a wide area land target.
In other words, it is much like a gigantic cluster munition, but one that throws 5,000 meteorites.
Perhaps a similar effect to about 100 B-52 bombers, each dropping 50 250lb iron bombs.
#7
Haven't run numbers, but it seems like a huge amount of boost energy would be required for that, 'Moose. Any reason it wouldn't be more effective to use UAVs / UCAVs?? Known technology for guidance and release, easier fuels to deal with etc.
#9
5,000 hardened ceramic "bowling balls", is "dumped" over a wide area land target.
12 lbs. a pop that's 60,000 lbs. Roughly what can be launched by 5 Titans. Of couse it would be useless, since the bowling ballz from Thor would be unguided. A 12 lb. Napoleon projectile would produce the same effect.
All bets are off tho, if we can produce tiny, guided bowling ballz, with subminiature guidance systems.
#11
It's only an expensive pleasure to those that can not afford it. If we could cap UBL with a 60 million dollar missle I would vote for it. It would only take one, game over. But in reality ICBM's could trigger over reactions in retaliations. Once we develope it so will other nations and then when a nuke is launced there will be confusion, if only for a few minutes that could give others an advantage.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
05/20/2006 11:22 Comments ||
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#12
All bets are off tho, if we can produce tiny, guided bowling ballz, with subminiature guidance systems.
That's fine for the first strike, but what about the other nine frames?
#13
What I find interesting is the fact that the russians are complaining in the first place. I get a strong whiff of the same panic that the soviets had about SDI. I wonder if that is because there is no good or truly effective conventional counter that the russians can produce, it can be used to take out those shiny, expensive new Topol-M's, and since it's conventional it puts the onus for first use of Nuclear Weapons squarely on the russians. It drives home in a truly undeniable way just how far behind the power&tech curve they've fallen.
All bets are off tho, if we can produce tiny, guided bowling ballz, with subminiature guidance systems
Did anyone else here have a mental image of the ACME Precision Guided Anvil(tm) from the Road Runner cartoons?
Posted by: N guard ||
05/20/2006 12:21 Comments ||
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#14
Oh, before I forget:
Consider the actual cost of flying an airstrike package before complaining about the cost of the C-ICBM. Once you see how much, oh, an ARC-LIGHT raid costs in terms of fuel, maintence, and flying time for tankers & escort jammers, etc., the C-ICBM isn't that expensive.
Even cruise missiles, at typicaly ~$1 million a shot add up. For example, back in 1990's, we shot off ~= $70 Million in cruise missiles just to take out a couple of buildings in Sudan and to kill some goats in afganistan.
Posted by: N guard ||
05/20/2006 12:32 Comments ||
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#15
C-ICBM is a nightmare. Let's say you have a Trident sub that's going to do a launch from somewhere. Now you gotta notify the French, Chicoms, Russkies, Brits, and maybe even the Israelis. Which means that now I have to send DoS to negotiate some sort of warning mechanism with each of those states. You know that the Chicoms, Russkies and French are going to hold out for the longest notification window possible and that's only after we bribe them enough to even consider sitting down at the table. So let's say that we can all agree to a two hour notification window. We prep to launch against OBL. As soon as they hang up with us, the French, Chicoms and Russkies are going to be on the hotline to ISI HQ, which will tell OBL to hightail it out of there. The end result is a bunch of dead puppies, ducklings, and fluffy bunnies, and every anti-American scumbag in the world crowing about how irresposible and evil we Yanquis are.
#16
Trident D5 acquisition cost (R&D not included) is listed at $29.1 million (fas.org) and $30.9 million (wikipedia). The CEP of the D5 is listed at 1250 ft, useless for a conventional warhead. Add to the cost numbers development/acquisition of a precision guided third stage.
Posted by: ed ||
05/20/2006 13:40 Comments ||
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#17
Hit Submit to soon. The D% has a CEP of 300 ft. 1250 ft was for C4. Anyway, both are too large for a conventional warhead and a new precision guided warhead will be needed.
Posted by: ed ||
05/20/2006 13:43 Comments ||
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#18
"As soon as they hang up with us, the French, Chicoms and Russkies are going to be on the hotline to ISI HQ, which will tell OBL to hightail it out of there."
Maybe we should test phone first and set up a NSA sting...get the caller and OBL!
#19
Trident D5 acquisition cost (R&D not included) is listed at $29.1 million (fas.org) and $30.9 million (wikipedia). The CEP of the D5 is listed at 1250 ft, useless for a conventional warhead. Add to the cost numbers development/acquisition of a precision guided third stage.
Again you're looking at the wrong type of missile entirely. ICBMs are not whats being developed and for a major reason, their accuracy stinks. MRBMs and SRBMs however don't have as high a ballistic flight profile nor as long a boost phase (or even as high a boost velocity usually). Because of this theres virtually no treaty out there that covers the MRBMs issues and the US will need to stretch the rules of the INF treaty to get around it, but it will be done simply because it has to be done. More importantly those are easier to make very accurate. Pershing IIs for instance had an accuracy listed at around 45m at its max range. ATACMS these days can get their accuracy to down under 10m, an MRBM is easier to get accurate, its also coming in a slower speed in atmosphere.
Again as far as the Russkies complaining, that tends to be more of their own tracking problem issues.
#20
If you're talking MRBM, then yes - throw weight and cost are a bit more sustainable. Still not as accutrate as a g-hawk with hellfires or similar.
Maybe container ships with the TEL gear and some Pershing equivalents, designed for HE with penetrators. Patrol the Indian ocean. Should reduce the exposure to accidental misidentification (i.e. it be lower speed, lower trajectory), more accurate, and even less possible response time. And only India would need to be warned that we were firing over top of them.
Could even be done covertly. I'm sure if we shared a few of the TEL sets and containers, the Israelis woudl be lglad to flag a few cargo ships for us to put "special" loads aboard. And unlike the US, Israel is pretty damn good with keeping a secret (they have direct realization of the cost of blowign secrets unlike our press).
#21
The Air Force and Space Command boyz are moving GMD towards having the ability to destroy enemy missles on their own launch pads or sites, to include the ability of destroying enemy missles while these are in deployment/transit stage to their launch areas. All of our armed services will possess some form of GMD capability, missle-base and laser-based. The Failed Left and America's enemies are aware of this, which is why they gave America Year 2015-2020 to adopt Socialism and OWG, or be destroyed by any means necessary. Russia-China don't have to wait for the year 2030, 2045, 2050, or beyond to allegedly par = surpass hyperpower America becuz hyperpower America is not meant to be around after 2020 to ccompete against - OOOOOOOOPPPPPPS, how does Britney, again, get herself into these things???
The Russian Armed Forces will get a large procurement of new weaponry by the end of this year, a deputy defense minister said Thursday.
Colonel General Alexander Belousov said the Armed Forces would receive about 30 main battle tanks, 40 infantry fighting vehicles, more than 100 armored personnel carriers, modernized surface-to-air missiles, more than 10 combat helicopters and a regiment of silo-based Topol-M ballistic missiles.
The acquisitions will be made under a major modernization program highlighted in President Vladimir Putin's state of the nation address May 10 and in statements by a number of senior military officials.
"The modernization program for 2006 envisions the procurement of about 30 new T-90 tanks and modernization of more than 180 T-72 and T-80 tanks," Belousov said, adding that this meant older tanks would stay in service longer.
He said the army would receive more than 40 new BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs), 100 BTR-80 and BTR-90 armored personnel carriers (APCs), new BMD-2 and BMD-3 airborne IFVs and about 4,500 Kamaz and Ural trucks. More than 350 IFVs, 170 APCs, and 90 airborne IFVs will be modernized, he said.
Belousov also said 50 frontline aircraft would be modernized, including Su-24 Fencer tactical bombers, Su-25 Frogfoot attack aircraft, Su-27 Flanker and MiG-29 Fulcrum fighters. He added that 20 surface-to-air missile systems would be modernized and equipped with new missiles.
"We have ordered more than 100 new missiles for these systems," Belousov said. The Army will also get more than 10 new Mi-28 Havoc and Ka-50 Hokum attack helicopters, he added.
"The Strategic Missile Forces will put a regiment of silo-based Topol-M ballistic missiles on combat duty by the end of this year," Belousov said.
Posted by: DanNY ||
05/20/2006 00:09 ||
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#2
That's all well and good, but it's still made by Russian industry, maintained by conscripts, most of whom barely speak Russian, and at best is based on 1990 technology - or earlier. It'll give the Ruskies the ability to confront the Chinese, the Iranians, or to battle some of the former "soviet" states, but is no match for a technologically superior, faster, more accurate US (or allied) military.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
05/20/2006 22:08 Comments ||
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#3
So, we have an armoured battalion, 2 Mech Infantry battalions and an attack helo company. Sounds like a single brigade to me. Sheesh, this is less than the Iraqi Army.
I just have to find a good pic for schadenfraude ...
The last of 16 million tonnes of concrete will be poured in today, making Chairman Mao's dream of a reality, and giving China's current generation of engineers-turned-leaders the chance to proclaim another colossal step forward in the country's "harmonious development".
But the completion of the Three Gorges dam has been anything but harmonious. It is now being cited as a textbook example of how not to build a dam. Before it even starts operating, the giant hydro-electric scheme is threatened by silt - the solution to which is to pour yet more concrete into the Yangtse river.
When -- not if -- that sucker blows, it's going to wipe a chunk of China clean.
Since construction began 15 years ago, more than 1 million people have been relocated from areas engulfed by the 370 mile-long reservoir that formed behind the wall of the dam. Another 80,000 will have to leave in the next few months. The state has gone into overdrive to proclaim the achievements of the 1.4 mile-long dam, completed nine months ahead of schedule: what it will do for flood control, navigation safety, energy generation and the economy. With an output equivalent to a dozen nuclear power plants or the burning of 50 million tonnes of coal, it will power Shanghai and other cities on the fast-growing eastern seaboard.
As the waters behind the dam rise, increased pressure will allow it to generate more power and recoup the $22bn (£11bn) investment more quickly. But the output is not as significant as had been originally imagined. At first, it was envisaged the dam would supply at least a 10th of the country's energy, but electricity supply has grown rapidly along with the economy, and by the end of this year, it will provide less than a 30th.
And the dam's environmental record is, at best, mixed. Several species of freshwater fish are no longer able to reach their spawning grounds. Scientists warn that the upstream water quality has deteriorated because the flow is too slow to allow the river to clean itself. More than half of the sewage from Chongqing is pumped into the river untreated. New water treatment plants have been built, but this has failed to stop a slow stagnation. To minimise the loss of fertile land, farmers have been encouraged to dig up soil under the flood line and re-lay it on the tops of hills, but much biodiversity has already been lost under the reservoir.
Green activists urged the government to learn the lessons of the Three Gorges by allowing greater public participation in future projects. Consultation was absent from the approval debate for the dam. Even the National People's Congress was so enraged by the plan that a third of delegates either voted against or abstained - the closest to a rebellion that China's rubber stamp parliament has ever seen.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/20/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
No mention made of the landslide that closed off a tributary river and killed hundreds with a massive wave. These steep gorges are being saturated with water as never before in history. They are now experiencing liquidification.
#6
Before it even starts operating, the giant hydro-electric scheme is threatened by silt
I don't see how silt would affect a Hydro project. What matters is flow and head. Silt wouldn't affect these things. BTW, I see how silt would be a problem for a dam whose purpose is water storage, but that's not the purpose of this dam.
#7
Silt can block turbines, rendering the dam inefficient or unable to generate electricity. It's a serious issue, especially if the silt deposition rates are higher than planned for in the dam's design.
Large amounts of silt are also a sign of heavy erosion upstream. As soils are washed away, the land is less able to absorb rainfall, increasing the possibility of massive flooding that can overwhelm the dam.
#8
lotp, I'm not trying to justify my position, but silt is relatively large grained stuff 0.05mm and silt by definition settles out of still water such as in a dam. I don't see how silt in a large dam would be a problem since the water drawn off for power is at the top and hence has the least amount of silt.
#9
It's not my area of expertise, but IIUC the heavier silts fall out when they enter the lake. It's the really fine stuff that accumulates by the dams - and floats into the turbines. But we have several mechanical/civil engineers on this list ... maybe they could comment ...
#10
If you build a dam with intakes at the top, you only get water through when full...Intakes have to be at variable height or permanently low for efficiency - the pressure head provides velocity and helps drive the turbines = higher power output. Alaska Paul has built an unhealthy obsession for this flyash-ridden POS and could tell more. The concrete used is like 4 times the amount of flyash limits we allow in California for regular concrete...cheaper but NOT stronger. I see big things in the dam's future...like a quake
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/20/2006 9:40 Comments ||
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#11
Redacted by moderator. Comments may be redacted for trolling, violation of standards of good manners, or plain stupidity. Please correct the condition that applies and try again. Contents may be viewed in the sinktrap. Further violations may result in
banning.
Posted by: bk ||
05/20/2006 9:52 Comments ||
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#13
Actually a recent 3Gorges article mentioned that an error in the computer program actually placed the dam in a higher earthquake probability area. Oops!
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/20/2006 10:06 Comments ||
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#16
I predict 100 yr flood will do the trick!
/and yes I'll still be alive to say i toldyaso!
Posted by: Fidel C ||
05/20/2006 10:59 Comments ||
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#17
Water is periodically released through passages at the base of the dam to clear silt. The river carries huge amounts of silt. When the water velocity slows entering the reservoir, the silt settles out, creating an alluvial fan. This can be a problem with navigation of ships at the upper end of the reservoir. Supposedly, this situation has been extensively modeled, but with the Chicoms, who knows? The impacts of this dam are tremendous. Hundreds if not thousands of archaeological sites are permanently lost without examination. A relatively few were examined before the water rose. Rising water saturates hillsides, causing landslides. Pollution and runoff generated is not cleansed by the river, but rather sits in still water, becoming a serious health hazard. Millios of people have been displaced from many generations-old towns and villages to get them away from the rising waters.
The Chicoms are planning more big dams. Their central planning feature minimizes examination of environmental impacts. And it all runs on big loans, which can be shaky for a multitude of reasons.
On the subject of taking out a dam of this scale? Well confined explosion of some sort, 100 meters+ below the water surface on the upstream face of the dam. See Operation Chastise for the general idea. Think Taiwan retaliation for Chicom invasion or attack from the mainland for a cause.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/20/2006 11:44 Comments ||
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#18
Thanks for bringing your expertise to the discussion, AP.
I'm more and more inclined to this point of view. I suspect this dam will work fine. They spent so much money ($30b) on it that if it fails, the people involved might be executed on live TV. They've also spent some money on foreign contractors to make sure it gets done right:
A group of experts from the Harza Company of the United States were invited today to inspect the Three Gorges Project at the middle reaches of the Yangtze River [Chang Jiang] for a second time. These experts may be hired to supervise the construction of the world's largest water control project, the Three Gorges Project, which combines hydroelectric power generation and navigation functions, will cost 203.9bn yuan and will take 17 years to complete.
#22
AP: On the subject of taking out a dam of this scale? Well confined explosion of some sort, 100 meters+ below the water surface on the upstream face of the dam. See Operation Chastise for the general idea. Think Taiwan retaliation for Chicom invasion or attack from the mainland for a cause.
I think any Taiwanese leadership would have to think long and hard about this. If the destruction of the dam kills a million people, China could flatten Taiwan with nukes. I don't think it makes any sense for Taiwan to intentionally inflict civilian casualties on China.
During WWII, the Allies collectively had many more people than the Germans or the Japanese. It was conceivable that we could kill enough of them to demoralize them. China has over a billion people. Taiwan has no nukes. Any mass casualty Taiwanese attack on Chinese civilians would kill just enough Chinese to get them very, very angry. Maybe angry enough to go nuclear.
Let me put it this way - in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, when people thought as many people had been killed as on Hiroshima or Nagasaki, the nuclear option was brought up but eventually dismissed. The Chinese are likely to be less restrained if a million of their civilians are drowned.
#24
Mao: a million? Ha! I killed that many before breakfast...
China has remained a large country despite large and perennially restive populations because its rulers and various contenders for power have never hesitated to kill as many people as they have to, in order to consolidate their rule. The Chinese have believed, in principle, that any number of deaths is permissible to preserve China's territorial integrity. In practice, they ceded Burma, Canton, Formosa, Hong Kong, Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Shanghai, the Ryukyus, Tsingtao and Vietnam. However, this was before China acquired modern weaponry and nukes.
#25
All of those areas are ones that China has had trouble conquering and keeping multiple times in their history. It remains to be seen whether modern technologies have changed the natural limits of China to any great degree, although Indian friends of mine are quite worried about the Maoist incursions and threat from China via Nepal.
#28
I don't see how silt would affect a Hydro project.
Unless the dam uses top-flow runoff to power its turbines, sedimentation makes a huge difference. Turbine spin rates are directly related to the water pressure impingeing upon their impellers. Low pressure, due to decreased water depth in silted up reservoirs, equals low-kilowatts. If the dam's reservoir is reduced in volume by excessive silt deposits on the reservoir bed, the turbines will see substantially less cumulative water pressure and deliver far less power, or at least maintain shorter periods of power generation before depeleting available water acreage. Yes, silt can affect hydro projects.
#29
Low pressure, due to decreased water depth in silted up reservoirs, equals low-kilowatts.
Sorry Zenster, but you are wrong. Hydroelectric generation depends on the vertical distance between the top of the water and the point where the electricity is generated. The actual depth of the water is immaterial.
Go visit the hydro plant at Niagra Falls if you don't believe me,
#30
Not quite right Zenster, the "Head" from turbine to surface would not change, so flow would be the same, thus output power would remain the same regardless of silt.
The problem with silt is that it reduces Pondage (capacity) Not a problem here where the reservoir is so vast, and silt will also erode the turbines , depending on how much flows through them, it may be only a few years before they erode and need replacement.
It's not a major, or even insurmountable problem.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
05/20/2006 20:27 Comments ||
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#31
On the other hand, the power generated by the dam represents a lot of oil that China will NOT need to buy. Oil being a fungible resource - reduced demand should translate into reduced prices.
#32
you assume storage - they don't store electricity...
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/20/2006 22:45 Comments ||
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#33
China long ago qualified the archaeo sites as "bourgeois", thus their destruction was of little to no importance to the CCP other than being a footnote. However, the dam is contributing to the intensifying desertification of large tracts of surrounding lands, which in turn is contributing to a massive outflow of Chinese citiznry and ethnic groups from these areas. CAN ANYONE SAY "ASIA-WIDE WAR(S) FOR WATER", or "MONGOL INVASION(S) PART DEUX", etc.
#34
Ummmm, OK I'll bite
Just exactly how do you figure that increased water in any region is contributing to the intensifying desertification of large tracts of surrounding lands.
Seems to me that at the absolute minimum the extra humidity caused by evaporation of the lake surface would INCREASE humdity, hence MORE rainfall in any region downwind from the lake.
Upwind would not be affected in any way, so the net effect in the area is more rainfall, not less, so NO "Desertification" effect.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
05/20/2006 23:59 Comments ||
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#35
stupid chinks, I once watched as a group of 5 grown men attempted to jack a truck out of a small muddy stream in western china, they tried over and over to jack the truck up in the mud and of course only succeeded in sinking the jack, not deterred though they kept repeating this process for hours, after many hours they finally realized they could use the winch in the stuck vehical to get it out of the tiny but muddy stream it was stuck in. Independent Logical thinking patterns just arent there in the Middle Kingdom, too many years towing the party line I suspect.
Posted by: bk ||
05/20/2006 9:52 Comments ||
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Posted on the off-chance that Europe still matters.
BERLIN - The Bundestag, the German lower house of parliament, voted on Friday in favour of the governments controversial plans to raise value-added tax (VAT) by three full percentage points in a move critics say will put the brakes on recovery in the eurozones biggest economy. In a full session of parliament on Friday, politicians of both the Social Democrat SPD and the conservative CDU/CSU parties approved the proposals by the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel to raise VAT from 16.0 percent to 19.0 percent from January 1, 2007. Part of the additional revenues will be used to finance a planned reduction in non-labour wage costs for employers.
So you tax people more so as to cut some of the government mandated costs. I'm not sure my Intro to Econ course in college covered that ...
And some of the revenues will be used to help plug the gaping holes in the German public purse. Berlin hopes to cut its public deficit to 22 billion euros (28 billion dollars) next year from an anticipated 38 billion euros this year, meaning the government will make a great deal of headway in bringing its deficit back within EU limits by 2007. But the VAT hike has come under fire from industry, as well as experts such as the Bundesbank and Germanys leading economic think-tanks. They argue it could put the brakes on the fledgling economic recovery in Germany. Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck has ackwowledged the risks, but insisted the government had no alternative for getting its public finances back in order.
I guess actually cutting the federal budget was out of the question.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/20/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
I guess actually cutting the federal budget was out of the question.
#3
Don't forget, there are those who want to institute the VAT (hidden) tax here, too.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
05/20/2006 13:57 Comments ||
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Looks like the Germans are pushing the limits of how oppressive taxation can be. Our new conservative government here in Canada is lowering our VAT (called GST here) from 7% to 6%, effective July 1st. Couple that with our recent purchases of Nyala mine-resistant trucks, new M777 artillery (thanks USMC!), and a 2 year extension of our Afghanistan deployment, I'm almost starting to feel proud to be Canadian.
The continuing saga of the seized rocket launcher pods that attach to the L-39 trainer. The gov't sez that they classified as a destructive device. Others say no, they got here legally. This whole incident came to light a while ago when an L-39 crashed during an ILS approach into Ketchikan, Alaska, killing the pilot. It seemed that the repo man was taking the jet back. Security Aviation bought the jets, and the pods, but *ahem* journalists up here have never seriously looked into what Security wanted the jets for, and why the pods. Anchorage, Alaska - Week one of the trial against security aviation and Robert Kane is over. Both Kane and the company face federal weapons charges stemming from two jet fighter rocket pods. The FBI raided Kanes home and the companys hangars and offices in early February. The trial began Monday and jurors already have a lot to take in. A week's worth of transcripts.
Do Soviet-made rocket pods look like destructive devices? According to federal prosecutors, a destructive device is any weapon by whatever name known which will, or which may be readily converted to, expel a projectile by the action of an explosive or other propellant, and for which the barrel or barrels of which have a bore of more than one-half inch in diameter. That definition could apply to a piece of schedule 40 steel pipe, if you p*ss off the govt.
These pods have nearly a two-and-a-quarter-inch bore, and prosecutors say as former war weapons of foreign governments, they require special handling.
When rocket launchers, implements of war, things which are designed as weapons for warfare are imported into the United States, the importer must register them, and in so doing, the importer must essentially destroy them, prosecutor James Barkeley said on May 16, 2006.
The task of jurors will determine if the pods meet that criteria, and whether Security Aviation or Robert Kane knew that or should have known.
First of all, theyre not a destructive device and when you conclude that these are not a destructive device under their statute, you have to find both defendants not guilty, said defense attorney Paul Stockler. Brilliant statement, Mr. Darrow.
But there are a lot of unanswered questions. Like, if theyre illegal, how did they get to the United States before someone got their hands on them to sell on the online auction site eBay? They probably came in through Mexico.
And back in 1991, he imported some planes, and with those planes, he cleared through customs these two rocket pods, Stockler said on May 16, 2006. Youre going to hear testimony that one of the governments witnesses attached these to the wings of an L-39 airplane, and the airplane talked to these things, said Barkeley. "Hello, Rocket Pod. This is the aircraft."
"Hello Aircraft, this is Rocket Pod. I hear you 5 x 5, over."
"Now what, Rocket Pod?"
"I dunno, Aircraft. I have this empty feeling."
Today the defense asked a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives expert called by the government if the pods, which were before jurors in the courtroom, looked any different than the pod attached to a privately owned jet in a photo. The expert said no.
But Minh Venator, an L-39 mechanic from California, turned the tables again. He testified that the pod in the photo was one he refurbished himself. It was fixed up to appear intact after arriving torn up and damaged. It was a requirement of the planes owner to get a legal permit to own it.
Next up to the stand was Bernd Rehn, the man who Venator says cut the pod apart. Hes also the same East German L-39 expert Security Aviation hired as a consultant, and the same man a former employee at the company claims inspected the Security Aviation pods and said they were good to go.
The trial resumes Monday. Prosecutors have two more witnesses to put on, then the defense takes its turn.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/20/2006 11:01 ||
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But Paul... are you going to tell me you never wanted an L-39 with rocket pods?
Posted by: Phil ||
05/20/2006 11:53 Comments ||
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That would be fine, if I had a fuel card to pay for the go juice.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/20/2006 18:37 Comments ||
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Notwithstanding the ban imposed by President Pervez Musharraf on his entry into Pakistan, filmmaker and actor Feroze Khan has said he stood by his remarks that the Muslims in India were better off than in the neighbouring country. Read: Feroze Khan banned from entering Pakistan
"I stand by every word that I said in Pakistan," Khan told India TV, when asked whether his utterances about the relative state of Muslims in the two countries need not have been made while in Pakistan, according to a press release issued by the news channel.
"What wrong I did by reminding Pakistani Muslims that India is the most secular country in the world? What wrong did I commit if I reminded them that only in India we have a Muslim as the President of the Republic and a Sikh as the Prime Minister of the country," Khan said.
Khan reiterated that the condition of Muslims in Pakistan was "very bad" compared to those living in India, the India TV release said.
Referring to the ban on his entry into Pakistan, the veteran actor said, "I do not agree with President Musharraf. I do not agree one bit with him. But I must hasten to add that he has acted within his powers and I respect him as a statesman".
Posted by: john ||
05/20/2006 12:27 ||
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clear, concise, correct
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/20/2006 20:08 Comments ||
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MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan, May 20 (Reuters) - Health officials in Pakistan's Kashmir said on Saturday authorities were testing for a suspected outbreak of the potentially deadly Congo virus among survivors of last October's devastating earthquake. The suspected cases were found in Nauseri village, 40 km (25 miles) northeast of Muzaffarabad.
"We suspect an outbreak of Congo virus in the area and we have dispatched a special team there to assess the situation," Sardar Mahmood Ahmed Khan, district health officer in Muzaffarabad, told Reuters. "We received three persons with symptoms suggesting they had contracted the viral haemorrhagic fever," Khan added.
Face it, Allan dosen't like you
Congo virus is found in many countries in Africa, Europe and Asia and belongs to the same family as the deadly Ebola virus found in Africa.
Just what you need in a crowded refugee camp with poor sanitation
Doctors say people contract the virus from direct contact with blood or other infected tissues from livestock, and they can also become infected from a tick bite.
Rashad Akhundov, an official with the International Committee of the Red Cross in the capital of Pakistani Kashmir, said eight patients suffering from high fever and altered consciousness had been referred to the aid agency's health centre in the city. "We cannot confirm Congo fever but they have been transferred from Muzaffarabad and are on their way to Islamabad," Akhundov said.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/20/2006 12:02 ||
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Behrampore, May 19: A masjid committee has ordered the boycott of seven families in a Murshidabad village 215 km from Calcutta because one of them had refused to pay Rs 6,000 as fine after a girl spoke to a male neighbour.
They are being denied work in the fields, provisions from shops and bathing rights in village ponds. We follow the Islamic law at Bildharipara, said Mohsin Ali, the mosque secretary. Behrampore circle inspector Debendranath Das went there yesterday and told the panel to withdraw the boycott. Or else well initiate a case.
A nine-year old girl, Nusrat of Sakhi Sarwar, Dera Ghazi Khan district, who was given in Vani, filed a petition in Dera Ghazi Khan family court on Thursday, requesting the court to book her husband, Shaukat Hussain, and father-in-law, Allah Diwaya, under Islamic law.
Nusrat was given in Vani as compensation to the aggrieved family for the alleged crime committed by her brother, Abdul Ghafoor, one month ago in Sakhi Sarwar. Ghafoor allegedly had an affair with a woman of Allah Diwayas family. Allah Diwaya called panchayat, saying Ghafoor had dishonoured him. The panchayat ordered Nusrats father to hand over his daughter as compensation to Shaukat Hussain, the son of Allah Diwaya, who, according to Nusrat, sexually abused her for a month.
Nusrat stated in the petition that she is underage and Allah Diwaya had accused her brother of having illicit relations with a woman of his family. She stated that was given in Vani and was forced to marry Shaukat Hussain, adding that Molvi Manzoor Hussain performed matrimonial rites and showed her 18 years old in marriage papers after receiving a bribe. She stated that she was forced to marry at the age of nine.
She said her in-laws did not treat her well. However, her parent brought her back after requesting the in-laws. She said she would rather die than go back to her in-laws. She demanded the court order the registration of case under Islamic law against her husband and father-in-law. Nusrats brother, Manzoor Hussain, has also submitted a petition in sessions court, requesting filing of fraud case against Shaukat, Diwaya and Molvi Manzoor Hussain. Court has summoned both parties on May 23.
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05/20/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
trodding in the steps of Mohammad. A religion of violence, abuse, predation, pedophilia and death. Such a a happy people.
Mehnaz Fatima, the victim in a seduction case for which the Supreme Court (SC) had previously ordered a DNA test, filed an application in the SC on Friday, to become party in the case after her sisters murder, Shehnaz Fatima, who was the main petitioner. In an application addressed to Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Mehnaz stated that her case regarding the paternity claim of her child against an influential figure of Punjab was pending in the Supreme Court. Mehnaz claimed that her sister, who was the main petitioner in the case, had been murdered by the accused and so she (Mehnaz) would be pleading the case from now, she said.
The case relates to an application filed by Shehnaz wherein she stated that Abbas Raza Rizvi, former naib nazim of Okara and brother of a Lahore High Court judge, seduced her younger sister, Mehnaz, when she was a class 9 student. Mehnaz gave birth to an illegitimate child and claimed that Rizvi was the childs father. Shehnaz alleged that a first information report (FIR) of seduction could not be registered against the accused because he was an influential figure. Consequently, she moved the SC to take action against the accused.
The SC had ordered a DNA test to ascertain the paternity of the child. However, while the case was still pending in the SC, Shehnaz was murdered in her house, reportedly in the presence of Mehnaz. A FIR has been lodged by Mehnaz wherein Rizvi and two of his relatives have been directly nominated as the murderers. Mehnaz has already recorded her statement in the SC with the submission that Rizvi married her under muttaa (short-term marital bond). He had also pledged to take her into permanent marriage. When she got pregnant, Rizvi forced her to abort the foetus, but she preferred to give birth to the baby. Later on, a panchayat was called in by the elders of their area in which she was asked to sign on a blank paper. Afterwards, Rizvi threatened her and arranged a fake nikkah nama (marriage contract), in which she was shown as the wife of Rizvis servant, Abdul Ghafoor. Rizvi then announced that Ghafoor was the father of Mehnazs child. The SC bench had ordered a DNA test, which had been delayed by the respondents.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/20/2006 00:00 ||
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Bird flu has killed 64 percent of those people known to be infected with the virus this year, according to World Health Organization statistics, with the number of fatalities since Jan. 1 surpassing 2005 levels.
At least 47 of 73 people known to be infected with the H5N1 strain of avian influenza are reported to have died in the first five months of this year, the WHO said on its Web site yesterday. In 2005, 41 of 95 -- or 43 percent -- died.
Health officials are worried the lethal H5N1 virus may mutate into a form that's easily spread among people, touching off a pandemic similar to the one that began in 1918 in which as many as 50 million people died.
In Indonesia, where the rate of fatalities among H5N1 patients is 78 percent, officials are investigating a suspected 33rd death in the country.
A 20-year-old man died in East Java's city of Surabaya today after he had been treated in the Budi Mulia Hospital since May 9, the Antara state news agency said. Samples from the man were sent to Jakarta for testing to confirm H5N1 infection, the report said.
Eleven other people are being tested, including three who are under quarantine in Surabaya with avian flu-like symptoms, Antara reported.
Since 2003, 123 of the 217 people known to be infected with bird flu have died, the WHO said on its Web site. Turkey, Iraq, Egypt, Azerbaijan and Djibouti this year joined Vietnam, Thailand, China, Indonesia and Cambodia in reporting human H5N1 cases.
Almost all human H5N1 cases have been linked to close contact with sick or dead birds, such as children playing with them or adults butchering them or taking off feathers, according to the WHO. Cooking meat and eggs properly kills the virus.
#1
In a region with three billion plus people, just over 200 caes of any illness is only significant to the people who had it.
Indonesia is driving up the death rate through poor existing health care and a general inablitiy to get their act together. It is currently the only place where cases are still happening.
The real "mystery" is why there have been no cases in the "bird flu gap", those nations between Irag and Southeast Asia. My guess, being a suspicious SOB, is that there are cases in Iran, Pakistan, India and Burma but the governments are unwilling or unable to do anything about them.
The news ignores the hundreds of thousands of people who died of influenza during the normal season. Avian flu pales in comparison to the normal death rate from influenza.
#4
Making the world safe for processed meat, Tyson Foods Corps, labor unions, and the Democratic Party based in Clintonian Arkansas and Clintonian SSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHH SOCIALIST America. Whom will do the same for Hillary and Naw Yawk BEEF, D*** You!?
#5
Chuck: The behavior of avian flu is extraordinarily dangerous. We can work from the assumption that it will enter the human population within the next two or three years, and depending on circumstances, it will behave like this:
First, some small town or village will be hit, and there will most likely be a quick and overwhelming response. Many of the people will die, despite getting serious attention. But then it will stop.
Second, the worldwide alert will result in some initial panic, but then a length of time will pass with no new infections, and there will be confidence that the epidemic has been averted.
Third, there will be a few isolated cases in the region within the extreme range of the incubation period, and they will be carefully managed. They will seemingly defy any rational order, though, and keep appearing.
Fourth, a major city will suddenly have an explosive outbreak. Thousands will become sick and thousands more will flee, taking the disease with them.
From this point on the disease has become "endemic", and even entire country quarantines will be useless. The pandemic will begin in earnest.
More densely populated countries, with least public health availability and the lowest levels of public knowledge of cleanliness and hygiene will suffer the greatest casualties.
One of the top epidemologists at the WHO estimated that as many as 300M people will die, based on the known mortality rate at the time, and the severe lung damage associated with those that survive, which will cause many secondary fatalities.
His estimation was officially withdrawn by the non-scientific management of the WHO, who declared without any data that the official worst case worldwide mortality estimate is only 3M.
However, assuming his scientific estimation was correct at the time, the estimated mortality total may be far higher today. This is because of several new factors:
1) The known mortality is "actual", not estimated. There are no known cases of "mild" avian flu, which is quite extraordinary. So if a given person gets the disease, there is at least a 50% chance that they will die.
2) Previous estimates of mortality were mostly based on estimates from the Spanish flu (H1N1) of 1918. That disease has been genetically re-created. There is no immunity to it in any living person, so it only takes a fraction of the amount of virus an ordinary flu would take to cause an infection. The H5N1 virus is also far more communicable, yet its lethality is perhaps 40% greater than H1N1.
3) Incubation period for avian flu is the optimal two weeks for maximum spread of the disease. It begins with ordinary flu symptoms, allowing the infected person many days to spread the disease before becoming incapacitated.
4) World demographics and transportation are such that speed of transmission between major population centers takes place over days, not many months. In many major Asian cities, infection rates could exceed 70% of the population.
5) The US is far more fortunate, with our major cities experiencing perhaps 30% infection rates. At this level, intensive emergency medical and government intervention can significantly curtail the spread of the disease. Public notification and education about hygiene, travel restrictions and general underpopulation will act as effective "fire breaks".
That being said, the US may experience as many as 30M fatalities, or 1/10th of our population. The disease will hit in two major waves, abating for a while then reoccuring. Of the 30M, about half will die from cytokine storm in the lungs, and the lesser half from a combination of lung damage and gradual organ necrosis due to oxygen deprivation.
It is also important to note that many domestic birds and mammals may also suffer horrific losses. Food animals and pets may be severely impacted, and act as counter-vectors with people to maintain the epidemic. Other animals may have to be massively culled because they carry the disease and can spread it without dying.
The US medical system operates on a "push" basis, with very little surplus in the case of emergencies. As a critical example, we have about 100,000 ventilators nationwide to assist in breathing problems. In a normal flu season, only 2,000 of these are surplus. Almost all other supplies have similar critical limitations.
Six months after we have obtained a sample of the H2H-transmitted avian flu, we will have been able to produce only 30M vaccine doses. That means that for the first major wave of influenza, the "old rules" for epidemics will be used.
That is, vaccination emphasis will be on school aged children, the #1 human vector, and to isolate any outbreaks and vaccinate everyone in the vicintity as quickly as possible.
#6
"We can work from the assumption that it will enter the human population within the next two or three years"
But why would we work from such an assumption? Are we finished with the ebola or anthrax or West Nile or SARS scares yet?
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - Indonesia's president said ex-dictator Suharto was in "serious condition" after visiting him in the hospital Friday. Suharto, who was ousted after 32 years in power in 1998 amid nationwide riots and student protests, underwent surgery two weeks ago to stem intestinal bleeding.
Doctors said Thursday's tests showed that Suharto's condition has sharply deteriorated in the last year. "His brain functions have declined," neurologist Dr. Yusuf Misbach was quoted as saying by the official news agency Antara. "After suffering from strokes, his brain tissues have shrunk, and now it gets more visibly obvious," he said. "The hollow space in his brain has become wider."
"We think some of the $600 million he stole is hiding in there, but we'll need to run more tests to be sure."
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/20/2006 00:00 ||
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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.
If you had to predict the holiday hot spots for 2007 I bet the likes of Libya and Albania wouldnt be high on your list.
ASMARA - The United Nations plans to halve its peacekeeping force on the tense border between Ethiopia and Eritrea after talks this week failed to break a deadlock between the arch-foes, diplomats said on Friday.
Nayek Badshah Alamgir (35), a member of the elite force Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), committed suicide by opening fire on his chest at a toilet of the Gausul Azam Mosque at Mahakhali Commercial Area under Gulshan thana in the city at around 4 pm yesterday.
The "human rights" of foreign ex-prisoners on the run from police are being put before public safety. Detectives across the country are refusing to issue "wanted" posters for the missing criminals because they do not want to breach human rights laws. 
PAYING taxes contributes to the well-being of the country and can make people happy, an aide to Tony Blair has claimed. 
Cuban 
The Russian Armed Forces will get a large procurement of new weaponry by the end of this year, a deputy defense minister said Thursday.
BERLIN - The Bundestag, the German lower house of parliament, voted on Friday in favour of the governments controversial plans to raise value-added tax (VAT) by three full percentage points in a move critics say will put the brakes on recovery in the eurozones biggest economy. In a full session of parliament on Friday, politicians of both the Social Democrat SPD and the conservative CDU/CSU parties approved the proposals by the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel to raise VAT from 16.0 percent to 19.0 percent from January 1, 2007. Part of the additional revenues will be used to finance a planned reduction in non-labour wage costs for employers. 
MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan, May 20 (Reuters) - Health officials in Pakistan's Kashmir said on Saturday authorities were testing for a suspected outbreak of the potentially deadly Congo virus among survivors of last October's devastating earthquake. The suspected cases were found in Nauseri village, 40 km (25 miles) northeast of Muzaffarabad.
A nine-year old girl, Nusrat of Sakhi Sarwar, Dera Ghazi Khan district, who was given in Vani, filed a petition in Dera Ghazi Khan family court on Thursday, requesting the court to book her husband, Shaukat Hussain, and father-in-law, Allah Diwaya, under Islamic law.
Mehnaz Fatima, the victim in a seduction case for which the Supreme Court (SC) had previously ordered a DNA test, filed an application in the SC on Friday, to become party in the case after her sisters murder, Shehnaz Fatima, who was the main petitioner. In an application addressed to Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Mehnaz stated that her case regarding the paternity claim of her child against an influential figure of Punjab was pending in the Supreme Court. Mehnaz claimed that her sister, who was the main petitioner in the case, had been murdered by the accused and so she (Mehnaz) would be pleading the case from now, she said.
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - Indonesia's president said ex-dictator Suharto was in "serious condition" after visiting him in the hospital Friday. Suharto, who was ousted after 32 years in power in 1998 amid nationwide riots and student protests, underwent surgery two weeks ago to stem intestinal bleeding.
