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Today: 56 articles and 187 comments as of 19:21.
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Al-Qaeda assassinates prominent Free Syrian Army commander in Idlib
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 3: Non-WoT
4 18:44 phil_b [] 
8 22:23 Fred [4] 
1 11:43 rjschwarz [3] 
1 07:45 AlanC [1] 
7 21:39 Zenobia Floger6220 [4] 
2 21:24 Zenobia Floger6220 [5] 
1 09:12 Dave D. [2] 
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5 11:34 ptah [2] 
21 20:42 Victor Emmanuel Johnson5588 [2] 
4 12:47 Abu Uluque [] 
1 14:44 Raj [1] 
2 16:04 Pappy [1] 
5 22:46 USN, Ret. [4] 
20 22:26 SteveS [3] 
6 20:55 rjschwarz [2] 
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Page 2: WoT Background
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Page 4: Opinion
9 19:39 Frank G [1]
11 21:36 Sock Puppet of Doom [2]
11 12:18 Pliny Hapsburg2312 [1]
Page 6: Politix
2 17:24 Mike Kozlowski []
2 15:23 JohnQC [1]
8 22:18 charger [4]
3 10:42 JohnQC [3]
8 16:46 rjschwarz []
6 14:50 Raj []
-Lurid Crime Tales-
N.J. woman enraged by 'fancy white people' attacks man, Porsche with hammer
[NJ] A Newark woman enraged by "fancy white people" is being sought for allegedly attacking a man with a hammer and smashing his Porsche and boat at a gas station in what Virginia police described as a racially-motivated attack Saturday.

Angela M. Jones, 26, faces potential hate crime charges after allegedly beating the man at an Exxon Station off Interstate 95 in Caroline County, Va., according to WTVR.com.

Jones has not been located or locked away
Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please!
as of 10:45 a.m. Tuesday, according to a front man for the New Jersey State Police.

The incident began when Jones approached the Massachusetts man as he fueled his Porsche and began yelling at him, authorities told the television station.

When the man tried to ignore her, she began bashing his boat and Porsche with a hammer, the report said. He was then struck in the face with the hammer several times when he approached her, authorities told the television station.

Some of her comments referred to him being rich and white, the report said. Jones, who is black, also said she was "sick of fancy white people," the man told the television station in an interview.
Posted by: Fred || 04/06/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  If Obama had another daughter....
Posted by: CrazyFool || 04/06/2017 1:10 Comments || Top||

#2  the man told the television station in an interview

If he can talk to TV people, he isn't too badly hurt.

Massachusetts. Porsche. Boat Liberal?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 04/06/2017 2:51 Comments || Top||

#3  Nice hammer. Reminds me of my hammerless model 638. Here, let me show it to you as I speed dial 911.
Posted by: Besoeker || 04/06/2017 7:48 Comments || Top||

#4  re: #2.

g(r)om if it's MA it's probably liberal but Uxbridge does lean very slightly GOP.
Posted by: AlanC || 04/06/2017 7:57 Comments || Top||

#5  AC, a conservative would never, ever, in a million years use a Porsche to drag a bout. This is like, like mixing humus with soy sauce, or mixing Chianti with beer.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 04/06/2017 8:28 Comments || Top||

#6  bout ---> boat. You see how disturbed I was?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 04/06/2017 8:29 Comments || Top||

#7  I thought you were typing in scottish
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 04/06/2017 9:13 Comments || Top||

#8  G(r)omgoru, the Porsche in this case may be a Cayenne which is kinda a Porsche SUV with a 7700lbs towing capacity.
Posted by: Seeking cure for ignorance || 04/06/2017 9:21 Comments || Top||

#9  For a' that, an' a' that.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 04/06/2017 9:22 Comments || Top||

#10  A Porsche SUV? Excuse me, I've to have a smoke to relax!
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 04/06/2017 9:24 Comments || Top||

#11 
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 04/06/2017 9:26 Comments || Top||

#12  How many times I've wished for a hammer.
Posted by: Skidmark || 04/06/2017 10:04 Comments || Top||

#13  potential hate crime? Please do away with this concept. There are sufficient laws on the books to punish this woman. Besides, the added category of "hate crimes" is only used to punish boneheaded white people.
Posted by: JohnQC || 04/06/2017 11:16 Comments || Top||

#14  Skid I have a nice selection of hammers you could borrow ranging from tack sized on up to sledges.

I would suggest the 22 oz Estwing framing hammer for general hand to hand combat and car smashing.
Posted by: AlanC || 04/06/2017 11:16 Comments || Top||

#15  a conservative would never, ever, in a million years use a Porsche to drag a bout

Yeah, they would.
Posted by: Pappy || 04/06/2017 12:37 Comments || Top||

#16  #15 Look up #10
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 04/06/2017 13:03 Comments || Top||

#17  Old Joke:

Q:Difference between a Porsche and a Porcupine?

A: A Porcupine has the pricks on the outside
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 04/06/2017 14:29 Comments || Top||

#18  I would suggest the 22 oz Estwing framing hammer for general hand to hand combat and car smashing.

Is it smooth or does that model have the dimpled strike face?
Posted by: Skidmark || 04/06/2017 15:28 Comments || Top||

#19  I prefer my 28oz. framing hammer.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 04/06/2017 15:59 Comments || Top||

#20  Skid, mine has the smooth face but I'll go with either, I got it cheap when I was banging nails for a living.

Deacon, If you can swing a 28 oz all day over head hanging strapping your a better man than I am (or was).
The contest was how many strikes to sink a 16d nail while building frames on the deck......one to tap to start and one to sink it. ;^)
Posted by: AlanC || 04/06/2017 17:40 Comments || Top||

#21  Somebody had to... no?

Posted by: Victor Emmanuel Johnson5588 || 04/06/2017 20:42 Comments || Top||


-Short Attention Span Theater-
Angry rhino charges at conservationists seconds after release into wild
[RT] A rambunctious rhino was filmed charging at conservationists riding on elephants, moments after they had released it back into the wild.

The rare one-horned rhinoceros, also known as the Indian rhino, was one of five being released into Nepal’s Chitwan National Park to help boost the population of the dying breed.

Forest workers climbed onto the roof of the van that transported the rhino as the huge mammal rammed into the vehicle and charged at conservationists.

This particular rhino is the only male being relocated to the area, while four females will be released later this week, in an attempt to continue the conservation push that increased the number of one-horned rhinos from 100 in the later part of last century to the 645 believed to be living in Chitwan National Park now.

Although rhinos once freely roamed across Eurasia and Africa, very few now survive outside of national parks and reserves. Two species in Asia – Javan and Sumatran rhinos – are considered critically endangered.
Posted by: Fred || 04/06/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Let me guess, his name is McCain?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 04/06/2017 2:42 Comments || Top||

#2  ...if it wasn't, it is now.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 04/06/2017 7:52 Comments || Top||

#3  "Poachers! Don't you idiots letting me loose know there's poachers out there!"
Posted by: Cheaderhead || 04/06/2017 9:11 Comments || Top||

#4  A one-horned rhinoceros? The only male? No females? Easy answer = HE WAS HORNY.
Posted by: Canuckistan sniper || 04/06/2017 12:44 Comments || Top||

#5  Why only one horn?

Evidently not a lot of traffic in the area.....
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 04/06/2017 14:31 Comments || Top||

#6  'Explosive Personality Disorder'
Posted by: Skidmark || 04/06/2017 15:21 Comments || Top||

#7  I wonder what triggered him?
Posted by: Crusader || 04/06/2017 17:24 Comments || Top||

#8  Probably a microaggression.
Posted by: Fred || 04/06/2017 22:23 Comments || Top||


Principal Resigns After Students Investigate Her Credentials
[HOSTED.AP.ORG] An incoming high school principal has resigned in Kansas after student news hounds investigated and raised questions about her credentials.

The Pittsburg School Board accepted Amy Robertson's resignation on Tuesday, saying she felt the decision was "in the best interest of the district ... in light of the issues that arose."

The main concern stemmed from her receiving her master's and doctoral degrees from Corllins University, an unaccredited, online school. Robertson said she received her degrees before the university lost accreditation.

"She was going to be the head of our school, and we wanted (to) be assured that she was qualified and had the proper credentials," Trina Paul, a student editor at Pittsburg High School's newspaper, The Booster Redux, told The Kansas City Star. "We stumbled on some things that most might not consider legitimate credentials."

Superintendent Destry Brown praised the student news hounds, saying: "I appreciate that our kids ask questions and don't just accept something because somebody told them." He told the Pittsburg Morning Sun they "did a great job with the research they did."
They did the job you should have done...
Robertson, who currently works with an education consulting firm in Dubai, said in an email to The Kansas City Star there was "no issue" when she received the degrees from Corllins in 1994 and 2010. She declined to comment on questions posed by the students about her credentials because, she said, "their concerns are not based on facts."
Posted by: Fred || 04/06/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  A former buddy of mine did something like this. he claimed a bachelor's degree from Boston State College before it went under and was replaced by UMass-Boston (late 70's / early '80's). Somehow the BSC records got lost / disappeared during the transition, so there's no way to verify anything that went on at the old BSC.
Posted by: Raj || 04/06/2017 14:44 Comments || Top||


Caribbean-Latin America
Julian Assange warned to keep out of Ecuador's politics by new president
[THEGUARDIAN] Lenín Moreno has agreed to honour WikiLeaks founder’s asylum but Assange’s ‘cordial invitation’ for election loser to leave the country tests relationship
Posted by: Fred || 04/06/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


China-Japan-Koreas
Military nightmare scenario brewing in the East China Sea
[CNBC] A dispute over islands in the East China Sea could be a trigger point for something bigger A dispute over islands in the East China Sea could be a trigger point for something bigger

OKINAWA-While the world watches mounting military tensions in the South China Sea, another, more ominous situation is brewing in the East China Sea that could be the trigger point for a major war between the superpowers. At the heart of tensions are eight uninhabited islands controlled by Japan that are close to important shipping lanes, rich fishing grounds and potential oil and gas reserves. China contests Japan's claims and is escalating its military activity in Japan airspace. In response, Japan has been doubling its F-15 jet intercepts.

The situation increases the risk of an accidental confrontation -- and could draw other countries, like the United States, into a conflict. It's a topic President Trump will likely bring up with Chinese President Xi Jinping at his Mar-a-Lago estate this week.

From the departure lounge at Naha International Airport on the Japanese island of Okinawa, passengers can easily see what's going on. Between the regular comings and goings of commercial airliners, first one, then two, then two more F-15 fighter jets streak down the runway that Japanese Air Self Defense Forces (JASDF) share with Naha's regular airline traffic. Rising rapidly from the tarmac, the quartet of combat aircraft heads out to sea to intercept yet another Chinese military aircraft -- usually other fighter jets, sometimes a bomber or reconnaissance plane -- flying into or close to Japanese airspace.
Posted by: Besoeker || 04/06/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  If I understand correctly the value of the South China sea is the oil that lies beneath it (that China, Vietnam, and the Philippines all lay claim to). What I don't understand is how anyone could drill that oil at this point and make a profit.

The oil economy is faltering because of fracking prices and if it comes to conflict between China and anybody any oilfields in the South China Seas are going to be big juicy targets.

We should get them into a meeting and arrange to give Vietnam and Philippines a cut to make everyone happy and then let themselves handicap themselves. I must be missing something but it seems a no brainer.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 04/06/2017 11:43 Comments || Top||


Europe
Germany to crack down on immigrant child brides, underage marriages
[RT] Germany’s government has moved to stamp out child marriages by drafting a law that will raise the age of consent to 18 and give authorities the ability to break up unions involving minors. The law is an effort to tackle underage marriages prevalent in some immigrant communities, according to local reports, after the Federal Ministry of the Interior released statistics showing 1,475 foreign children had been documented as married last year.
Posted by: Fred || 04/06/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Moslem Colonists

#1  some immigrant communities

Let me guess that they are defining communities by nationality not religion.
Posted by: AlanC || 04/06/2017 7:45 Comments || Top||


Macron Slips Post Debate Making Him Tied With Le Pen
[BLOOMBERG] Emmanuel Macron slipped in the first poll taken exclusively after the second television debate in La Belle France’s presidential election, leaving him tied with the National Front’s Marine Le Pen in first-round voting intention.

Both Macron and Le Pen now have the support of 23.5 percent of voters, with Macron down two points in a week and Le Pen down 0.5 points, according to an Elabe poll of 995 voters conducted April 5.

With less than three weeks to go until the first round of voting, the two leading candidates are maintaining their position ahead of the rest of the pack. Even so, public opinion remains fluid and third-placed Francois Fillon had his best showing in a month with 19 percent support. That leaves him a smaller gap with the two front-runners than at any time since February.

Le Pen would lose to both Macron and Fillon in the runoff vote scheduled for the two finalists on May 7, the Elabe poll showed.

Posted by: Fred || 04/06/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I like Le Pen.
Posted by: newc || 04/06/2017 1:40 Comments || Top||

#2  Opinion polls about anti-narrative candidates are not trustworthy
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 04/06/2017 9:11 Comments || Top||

#3  "Come on Marine!"
Love the name.
Posted by: Skidmark || 04/06/2017 10:05 Comments || Top||

#4  Momentum.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 04/06/2017 12:47 Comments || Top||


Sweden just banned the usage of masking at sports events to be able to identify the criminal ultras. The ultras of Swedish team AIK then decided to disguise themselves in Niqābs which is legal because of religious freedom.
Monty Python in reverse. In The Life of Brian the women buy beards and adopt deep voices so they can participate in a stoning.
Posted by: Herb McCoy7309 || 04/06/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Moslem Colonists

#1  The article is in Swedish, but the title tells us what we need to know. Nicely done, Herb McCoy7309.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/06/2017 5:51 Comments || Top||

#2  In The Life of Brian the women buy beards and adopt deep voices so they can participate in a stoning.

Actually, it was men (actors) in drag, who wore beards and adopted deep voices so they could participate in a stoning. So was it a double-reverse?
Posted by: Pappy || 04/06/2017 16:04 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Rape victim in Muzaffarabad threatens to self-immolate if not served justice
[DAWN] The rape victim in Muzaffarabad, who had attempted to commit suicide after being physically abused by an influential person late last week, threatened to commit self-immolation along with her spouse and son if her tormentors are not brought to justice.

"We need nothing but justice... They [the main and co-accused] should be given exemplary punishment," said S* while talking to media persons on Wednesday.

The 25-year old victim, who is four months pregnant with her second child, was accompanied by her husband, H*, and mother.

"If we do not get justice, we will douse ourselves with [kerosene] oil and set ourselves on fire in front of the prime minister’s office," she added, as her spouses nodded in agreement.

S* was reportedly subjected to the crime by a man named Raja on the outskirts of Chikar, a famous hill resort in the constituency of AJK Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider last Friday.

The provisional medical report confirmed that she had been sexually assaulted.

The victim was on her way home from a nearby village, where she had gone to see her sister, when the alleged accused, accompanied by two other persons, forced her to sit in his jeep.

After the co-conspirators got out of the jeep, the primary accused took the victim to a deserted shelter in the jungle and subjected her to sexual assault.

Later, the suspect dropped the victim near her home and threatened her with a terrible outcome if she approached the police.

The victim initially refrained from sharing the harrowing incident with her husband, H*, until the next morning. However,
a woman is only as old as she admits...
after being informed of the incident he advised her to forget about it, since they could do nothing to the tormentor due to his financial strength and tribal clout.

S* subsequently ingested poison in a bid to commit suicide and was eventually brought to Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan (SKZN) Hospital in Muzaffarabad for further treatment.

The Chikar cop shoppe received information about the incident from hospital staffers on Monday, following which an assistant sub-inspector reached medical facility and recorded her statement regarding her ravishment.

Following her statement, the police registered an FIR and have since apprehended the main accused Raja.

On Wednesday, the suspect was produced before a judicial magistrate in Hattian Bala, and was remanded to police custody for one week for further investigation.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Jhelum Valley Riaz Haider Bukhari told Dawn that the Deputy Superintendent Police and the concerned Station House Officer would conduct the interrogations jointly.

It should be noted that Raja Nayyar Naeem belongs to the clan of AJK Prime Minister Haider.

However,
a woman is only as old as she admits...
Raja Wasim, front man for the AJK premier, said in a brief statement that the accused "would be brought to justice."

Posted by: Fred || 04/06/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  threatened to commit self-immolation along with her spouse and son if her tormentors are not brought to justice

Don't be such a drone. If you're going to die anyway go after the bad guys.
Posted by: Skidmark || 04/06/2017 15:23 Comments || Top||

#2  Kids' Saturday! "Dudley Abdullah,"
Endorsed by your neighborhood mullah,
Now televised widely!
See Chaudhury Snidely
Kill infidel Nell and her fella!
Posted by: Zenobia Floger6220 || 04/06/2017 21:24 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Israel appoints its first female Muslim diplomat
[IsraelTimes] Rasha Atamny, 31, from Baqa al-Gharbiya, will be heading to Turkey.
A photo of this perfect symbol of Israeli apartheid can be seen at the link. Note her hair, dear Reader, and ponder the probability that some of her ancestors were brought north across the Sahara in chains.
The Foreign Ministry on Wednesday appointed Rasha Atamny, 31, to represent the Jewish state in Ankara, The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
, making her Israel’s first female Moslem diplomat.

Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/06/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1 
"A photo of this perfect symbol of Israeli apartheid can be seen at the link. Note her hair, dear Reader, and ponder the probability that some of her ancestors were brought north across the Sahara in chains."

...almost certainly by Muslim slave traders.
Posted by: Dave D. || 04/06/2017 9:12 Comments || Top||


Olde Tyme Religion
9yo girls 'physically & spiritually' ready to marry -- Malaysian MP
[RT] Girls as young as nine are "physically and spiritually" ready for marriage, a Malaysian MP says, also claiming there’s "nothing wrong" with females marrying their rapists. It comes after Malaysia failed to criminalize child marriage in a recent law.

"They reach puberty at the age of nine or 12. And at that time, their body is already akin to them being 18 years old. So physically and spiritually, it is not a barrier for the girl to marry," Shabudin Yahaya, a member of the Barisan Nasional Coalition, told Parliament on Tuesday, as quoted by Rooters.

He went on to say there is "nothing wrong" with a rape victim marrying the man who raped her, as doing so would allow her to avoid a "bleak future."

"Perhaps through marriage they can lead a healthier, better life. And the person who was raped does not necessarily have a bleak future. She will have a husband, at least, and this could serve as a remedy to growing social problems," he said, as quoted by Malaysian newspaper the Star.

Shabudin's comments have prompted outrage online, including from fellow government minister Abdul Rahman Dahlan, who said he received the comments with "utter shock and disappointment."

Posted by: Fred || 04/06/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Moslem values
Posted by: Otto Sloque3911 || 04/06/2017 8:18 Comments || Top||

#2  Malaysian paedophile MPs Physically and spiritually deserve to die in prison.
Posted by: Vortigern Sporong7845 || 04/06/2017 9:06 Comments || Top||

#3  This vile culture needs to be snuffed out. Period.
Posted by: Dave D. || 04/06/2017 9:14 Comments || Top||

#4  What a lovely religion. Let's import more of it!!! /sarc
Posted by: DarthVader || 04/06/2017 9:31 Comments || Top||

#5  9YO Girls are as emotionally mature as your typical Muslim Man
Posted by: Frank G || 04/06/2017 10:22 Comments || Top||

#6  Malaysian paedophile MPs Physically and spiritually deserve to die in prison.

Actually, I'd prefer they die in the public square as an example to others.
Posted by: Crusader || 04/06/2017 17:21 Comments || Top||

#7  "O girl-child, tell why you were buried."
"The reasons are many and varied..."
A beat. "Only kidding.
It's just Allah's bidding.
Go ask that fat bastard I 'married!'"
Posted by: Zenobia Floger6220 || 04/06/2017 21:39 Comments || Top||


Science & Technology
Ubuntu Unity is dead: Desktop will switch back to GNOME next year
[ARSTECHNICA] Six years after making Unity the default user interface on Ubuntu desktops, Canonical is giving up on the project and will switch the default Ubuntu desktop back to GNOME next year. Canonical is also ending development of Ubuntu software for phones and tablets, spelling doom for the goal of creating a converged experience with phones acting as desktops when docked with the right equipment.
After producing what was probably the most comfortable desktop interface ever to date in Ubuntu 10.04 with Gnome 2.x, Canonical invented Unity, which made the desktop more like using a phone in anticipation of edging into the phone business. This was about the same time Android was shoving Blackberry out of its preeminent position. Opinion was unanimous: Unity sucked. It'll be eight years -- during which other Ubuntu developed operating systems have grown specifically because Unity was so bad. I still use Ubuntu on all my personal machines, but with xfce desktop. Since Gnome 3.x slurps just about as bad as Unity, if Canonical was paying me large dollars I'd suggest they go with that as the default desktop.
Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth explained the move in a blog post today. "I’m writing to let you know that we will end our investment in Unity8, the phone and convergence shell," he wrote. "We will shift our default Ubuntu desktop back to GNOME for Ubuntu 18.04 LTS," which will ship in April 2018.

This is a return to the early years of Ubuntu, when the desktop shipped with GNOME instead of a Canonical-developed user interface. Shuttleworth's blog post didn't specifically say that phone and tablet development is ending. But Canonical Community Manager Michael Hall confirmed to Ars that the Ubuntu phone and tablet project is over.
Posted by: Fred || 04/06/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Debian myself. Ubuntu is based off of it.
One machine uses gnome the rest KDE.
My main desktop is KDE.
Posted by: 3dc || 04/06/2017 0:25 Comments || Top||

#2  Yeah, I've been using KDE for years. Don't see the need for Gnome... Or any attempt to make the desktop look and act like a phone.
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 04/06/2017 0:34 Comments || Top||

#3  "After producing what was probably the most comfortable desktop interface ever to date in Ubuntu "

What are Our 3rd world users to do now on x-86 , 32 systems now?

Posted by: newc || 04/06/2017 1:44 Comments || Top||

#4  Cinnamon on Linux Mint (not this box - other box). Kept having problems with Ubuntu.
Posted by: Iblis || 04/06/2017 11:08 Comments || Top||

#5  I run two Ubuntu servers on a spare windows machine using VirtualBox and both use xfce: I agree to its sweetness.
Posted by: ptah || 04/06/2017 11:34 Comments || Top||


The US Air Force Is Reorganizing to Fight in Space
Posted by: Skidmark || 04/06/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Still doesn't want to do CAS, so let's change the subject.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 04/06/2017 7:46 Comments || Top||

#2  Performing task sub-contracting for the Army really doesn't expand the organization or funding lines. If you're not the 'Prime' you never really control the budget.
Posted by: Besoeker || 04/06/2017 8:17 Comments || Top||

#3  Nice P2k.
Danger close extraction and CAS from orbit.
I like it!

Call it COS?
Posted by: Skidmark || 04/06/2017 10:18 Comments || Top||

#4  The new mission will spell the end of the A-10; "it can't escape the atmosphere so we will have to kill it."
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 04/06/2017 14:36 Comments || Top||

#5  "it can't escape the atmosphere so we will have to kill it."

I dunno. I can see them being tossed into low earth orbit from a gigantuous, big-ass trebuchet. One advantage is this would get the Society for Creative Anachronism on board, a constituency which has been previously under-served by the USAF.
Posted by: SteveS || 04/06/2017 16:32 Comments || Top||

#6  NASA should do the math on how big a trebuchet would have to be to launch a Mercury Capsule into low Earth orbit. Release the data on April 1st and see if any journalists figure it out.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 04/06/2017 20:55 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Culture Wars
It all began going dreadfully wrong 365 years ago today.
Founders Day or Van Riebeeck's Day was a formal public holiday of the Union of South Africa and the Republic of South Africa until 1994. The holiday was established on 6 April 1952 during the Van Riebeeck Festival in honour of the 300th anniversary of the arrival of the Dutch in South Africa. Jan van Riebeeck arrived at Table Bay on 6 April 1652 as a result Cape Town was founded. From 1980, the day became known as Founders Day (Stigtingsdag).

The holiday was abolished after the first universal franchise election in 1994 and the subsequent new constitution.

Yes, abolished by the communist African National Congress (ANC). Take note when your holidays and national monuments are taken away or replaced.
Posted by: Besoeker || 04/06/2017 08:32 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  ...almost like New Orleans. Who's Jefferson, who's Jackson......?
Posted by: Procopius2k || 04/06/2017 9:12 Comments || Top||

#2  What would have happened if South Africa didn't encourage the Bantu's to come into South Africa and work for cheap. What if they encouraged Immigration from Europe the way the US and Argentina did. Africa would be a way different place.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 04/06/2017 11:45 Comments || Top||

#3  Columbus Day?
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 04/06/2017 11:46 Comments || Top||

#4  It was the Boers bad luck they moved onto land that had gold and diamonds. Without that the British would probably have left them alone.
Posted by: phil_b || 04/06/2017 18:44 Comments || Top||


Science
US Navy grounds T-45 training jet fleet
Posted by: Skidmark || 04/06/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Unremarkable for 30yo aircraft other than the pilot strike so similar to Monday's Saudi pilot performance anxiety and following salary increase.

Wonder if they use common OxGen systems?
Posted by: Skidmark || 04/06/2017 10:14 Comments || Top||

#2  T-45 uses the OBOGs (On Board Oxygen Generating System), as does the Super Hornet and Growler; as opposed to the old style 10 litre green LOX bottles, so any contamination is likely from within the system itself. OBOGs separates oxygen molecules from the atmosphere for use, the system is completely on-board the a/c; no external servicing needed.

The waste product of this separation is high in nitrogen. the opposite of this OBOGs is OBIGGS ( On board Inert Gas Generating System) and his product is used to full the void in fuel cells with non flammable gas.

The fittings for both ports are supposed to be different size to prevent cross pollution, but perhaps there has been some maintenance issues or deliberate acts to introduce the N2 into the O2.
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 04/06/2017 14:47 Comments || Top||

#3  An article dated March 29 in the Aviationist blog indicates the Super Hornet and Growler are also experiencing this same issue. THe USAF also had episodes with the F-22; common thread is OBOGS.
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 04/06/2017 17:32 Comments || Top||

#4  So what is the advantage of the OBOGS?
Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom || 04/06/2017 21:39 Comments || Top||

#5  OBOGS eliminates the ground-based servicing of the breathing oxygen. old style 10 liter bottles had about a 3 hour life (one person) plus there needed to be a LOX generation plant (or 2) on all the CVs. huge explosion hazard. With OBOGS the oxygen molecules are screened from the air and sent to the crew; remainder is dumped overboard.no longer is the sortie limited by LOX (for Dr. Steve: please note 3, count 'em, 3 submissions and not once did I refer to my favorite airplane by the street slang)
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 04/06/2017 22:46 Comments || Top||


Government
New immigration guidelines crack down on computer programmer jobs
Posted by: Skidmark || 04/06/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  20 years + late. Better late than never.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 04/06/2017 7:49 Comments || Top||

#2  Ditto #1. This was a factor in my early retirement. The situation at some of the clients at which I worked was pretty gruesome with the H1-Bs getting trained in the new stuff when the regular employees weren't.
Posted by: AlanC || 04/06/2017 8:05 Comments || Top||

#3  The key here is quietly ushering the old AlanC's out the door and ensuring new AlanC's are not hired.

*Checking the race and gender box on your employment application is entirely voluntary.
Posted by: Besoeker || 04/06/2017 8:12 Comments || Top||

#4 
"The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency issued a memorandum that makes it harder for companies to bring foreign technology workers to the U.S. using the H-1B visa process."

Once "harder" is changed to "almost impossible," I'll call it progress. Baby steps first, though, I suppose...
Posted by: Dave D. || 04/06/2017 8:55 Comments || Top||

#5  in theory programming jobs should be easy to export/outsource.

In practise...
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 04/06/2017 9:14 Comments || Top||

#6  BP I watched part of the early outsourcing efforts in the early '80s when DEC set up an Indian subsidiary and tried to use them for programming over the new network. It failed for many reasons but the technology has improved a bit in the last 35 years. /sarc

Anyone else ever carry a TI Silent 700 with the acoustic coupler and therm printer?
Posted by: AlanC || 04/06/2017 11:22 Comments || Top||

#7  ^^^^ therm = thermo like in thermo-fax

Posted by: AlanC || 04/06/2017 11:23 Comments || Top||

#8  Thermal printers attached to keyboards served as consoles where I worked. Computers with 32K memory and 16 bit chips...Hell, I remember card punchers. Good times.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 04/06/2017 12:56 Comments || Top||

#9  I studied FORTRAN on punched cards.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 04/06/2017 13:02 Comments || Top||

#10  I studied FORTRAN on punched cards. and Cobol and BAL and RPG (80 and 96).

Got my first taste of computers when I wired plug boards for a card sorter.


Gosh I'm old.
Posted by: AlanC || 04/06/2017 13:31 Comments || Top||

#11  Me, too, Alan C. Me, Too. I vividly recall when hand-held calculators came out.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 04/06/2017 15:57 Comments || Top||

#12  If all you have is a hammer, every white guy looks like a nail
Posted by: Frank G || 04/06/2017 16:34 Comments || Top||

#13  #12 - wrong thread, my bad
Posted by: Frank G || 04/06/2017 16:37 Comments || Top||

#14  Deacon, ain't that the truth. My, then girlfriend now wife, got a TI something split with her roommate for about $120 for their statistics course, I'd already graduated and my first "calculator" was aluminum and had a leather case that hung on my belt.....the center section slid back and forth.
Posted by: AlanC || 04/06/2017 17:46 Comments || Top||

#15  high school writing out BASIC, Fortran, and PL/C programs (derivitive of PL/1) on coding forms for someone to punch into cards and send to the University to run on their 360/40 Later using a tty hardcopy terminal where when carrage returned it would SLAM into the side of the printer. Also used those sorters.
Now its all IDE's,and GUIs, and debuggers (what's wrong with 1000 page core-dumps for a SOC7 abend code?)
Posted by: CrazyFool || 04/06/2017 17:51 Comments || Top||

#16  And don't forget to put a line on your box of cards so you can sort of get them back in order when the cart gets tipped over. Only happened to me once.....that was enough.


Oh, don't forget the burster and decollator they were fun too.
Posted by: AlanC || 04/06/2017 19:13 Comments || Top||

#17  i worked on dumb terminals in the 70s. mini computer room, DEC Eclipse and Nova. two part wide in the printers, taking the batch tapes to the mainframe. just don't hit cntrl b!
Posted by: Menhadden Johnson6615 || 04/06/2017 19:21 Comments || Top||

#18  Thanks everyone for making me feel young.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 04/06/2017 20:52 Comments || Top||

#19  I did Fortran punchcards. Ugh
Posted by: Frank G || 04/06/2017 21:43 Comments || Top||

#20  Y'all are giving me flashbacks. Acoustic couplers, card decks with a stripe, Oh the humanity!
Posted by: SteveS || 04/06/2017 22:26 Comments || Top||



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Two weeks of WOT
Thu 2017-04-06
  Al-Qaeda assassinates prominent Free Syrian Army commander in Idlib
Wed 2017-04-05
  Global outcry over suspected Syria chemical attack
Tue 2017-04-04
  ISIS raid in Yemen leaves scores of Houthi troops dead on the battlefield
Mon 2017-04-03
  Reports of an explosion(3) in a metro station in central #StPetersburg, #Russia
Sun 2017-04-02
  IS second-in-command killed in airstrike: Iraqi State TV
Sat 2017-04-01
  South Carolina man charged with trying to join Islamic State
Fri 2017-03-31
  Mortars hit near Somali Presidential Palace, 2 hurt
Thu 2017-03-30
  503 militants surrender in Homs
Wed 2017-03-29
  Taliban commanders among 21 killed in Helmand airstrikes: MoD
Tue 2017-03-28
  33 ISIS troops die in Nangarhar airstrike
Mon 2017-03-27
  Leading member of Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis killed in North Sinai raid: Egyptian army
Sun 2017-03-26
  Police clash with anti-Christian mob in southern Egypt
Sat 2017-03-25
  ISIL withdrawing fighters from southern Syria to concentrate on Raqqa
Fri 2017-03-24
  Helmand’s Sangin district has reportedly fallen to Taliban
Thu 2017-03-23
  It's worse: Jewish Israeli-American, 19, arrested in Ashkelon for phoning in dozens of JCC bomb threats


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