#1
The SEC has long worked off the theory that only the big players in the market matter, because they are "too big to fail".
But the policy goes far beyond that, to the point of the big players being "too big to not succeed".
That is, guaranteed above-market profits, justified that this will forestall any possibility of "natural" recession, ever.
The way to do this is to create wildly unbalanced and even illegal techniques available only to the big players, at the expense of both small cap corporations favored by smaller investors, and against the smaller investors themselves.
This only happened after the stock market was "opened up" to smaller investors after many years of being available to only the wealthy.
The action against small corporations which severely stifles innovation and growth capitalism is done with what is called "naked short selling" by "market makers". Essentially permitting the highly illegal practice of trading in stocks that you don't own.
This was enabled by an SEC policy change that stocks no longer had to be issued on paper, but could be retained solely on computer. No paper meant no proof.
While this is legal on a very limited basis, in that such trades must theoretically be justified with actual stock purchases in 14 days, in practice, brokers will trade many times the quantity of issued stock, shuffling it between themselves in 13 day intervals and destroying its value. Any rise in stock price is met by selling more fake stock, driving the price back down.
Eventually, when the stock price is driven down to a tiny fraction of a penny, with the issuing company bankrupt, then vast amounts of the fake stock are written off as worthless, even though destroying their issuer made several brokers millions of dollars.
It can be noted that even bankrupt small caps still have significant stock trades at 13 day intervals until they close all operations.
The SEC is adamant that such naked short selling does not exist, and officially investigates any small cap that complains that its float is two or three times greater than its issued stock. Even a suggestion of an SEC investigation quickly destroys any remaining value of that company's stock and bankrupts it.
However, in the long term, permitting profiteering and the destruction of hundreds of otherwise viable small cap corporations, and wiping out their investors investments, destroys innovation and technological advancement, leaving the US with a limited number of very large corporations acting as inefficient oligopolies.
#3
Naked short selling is illegal (except under certain conditions for market makers), but falls into the gap between electronic and paper systems and proving it is a problem. I don't know how much it occurs but the fact people aren't getting sued leads me to think its not a big problem.
#4
There are a lot of hidden problems in the Wiki, mostly the use of straw man arguments by regulators to show that NSS is not happening. For example, an investigation into IPOs, looking for NSS didn't find any.
However, IPO NSS was never at issue. Such manipulation would be too easy to prove.
NSS would generally not be done except to 1) small caps, that 2) were stable growth, and 3) had little insider stock ownership compared to float, and were 4) undervalued. Such stocks had to meet the minimum requirements for major exchange listing, before they would be open to market maker manipulation.
This meant that a lot of small investors would notice them as good investments, and purchase them based on share price growth, not dividends.
The market makers first efforts would be to push them off the listing into the "pink sheets" by lowering share price to below the minimum and keeping it there for 90 days. Once delisted, the exchange no longer scrutinizes trades.
And that's when the real killing would begin. The imaginary stock is batted back and forth between traders at 13 day intervals, selling to any sucker who wants it. When there are finally no new buyers, then they drive the price to zero.
Interesting Cold War tale from the NYT, no less. Hat tip Instapundit.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/19/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
The QUEENIE's homecoming reception in lore is sopposed/claimed by some to be the true basis behind the comedy flick THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING, THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING, although others claim twas an actual Russ sub incident.
#2
If you can find it and like Cold War true stories of subs doing sneaky stuff, see if you can find a book named "Blind Mans Bluff". Highly recommended.
Morning Edition, March 19, 2008 · Some 3,000 scientific robots that are plying the ocean have sent home a puzzling message. These diving instruments suggest that the oceans have not warmed up at all over the past four or five years. That could mean global warming has taken a breather. Or it could mean scientists aren't quite understanding what their robots are telling them.
This is puzzling in part because here on the surface of the Earth, the years since 2003 have been some of the hottest on record. But Josh Willis at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory says the oceans are what really matter when it comes to global warming.
In fact, 80 percent to 90 percent of global warming involves heating up ocean waters. They hold much more heat than the atmosphere can. So Willis has been studying the ocean with a fleet of robotic instruments called the Argo system. The buoys can dive 3,000 feet down and measure ocean temperature. Since the system was fully deployed in 2003, it has recorded no warming of the global oceans.
"There has been a very slight cooling, but not anything really significant," Willis says. So the buildup of heat on Earth may be on a brief hiatus. "Global warming doesn't mean every year will be warmer than the last. And it may be that we are in a period of less rapid warming."
In recent years, heat has actually been flowing out of the ocean and into the air. This is a feature of the weather phenomenon known as El Nino. So it is indeed possible the air has warmed but the ocean has not. But it's also possible that something more mysterious is going on.
That becomes clear when you consider what's happening to global sea level. Sea level rises when the oceans get warm because warmer water expands. This accounts for about half of global sea level rise. So with the oceans not warming, you would expect to see less sea level rise. Instead, sea level has risen about half an inch in the past four years. That's a lot.
Willis says some of this water is apparently coming from a recent increase in the melting rate of glaciers in Greenland and Antarctica. "But in fact there's a little bit of a mystery. We can't account for all of the sea level increase we've seen over the last three or four years," he says.
One possibility is that the sea has, in fact, warmed and expanded and scientists are somehow misinterpreting the data from the diving buoys. But if the aquatic robots are actually telling the right story, that raises a new question: Where is the extra heat all going?
Kevin Trenberth at the National Center for Atmospheric Research says it's probably going back out into space. The Earth has a number of natural thermostats, including clouds, which can either trap heat and turn up the temperature, or reflect sunlight and help cool the planet. That can't be directly measured at the moment, however.
"Unfortunately, we don't have adequate tracking of clouds to determine exactly what role they've been playing during this period," Trenberth says.
It's also possible that some of the heat has gone even deeper into the ocean, he says. Or it's possible that scientists need to correct for some other feature of the planet they don't know about. It's an exciting time, though, with all this new data about global sea temperature, sea level and other features of climate.
"I suspect that we'll able to put this together with a little bit more perspective and further analysis," Trenberth says. "But what this does is highlight some of the issues and send people back to the drawing board."
Trenberth and Willis agree that a few mild years have no effect on the long-term trend of global warming. But they say there are still things to learn about how our planet copes with the heat.
#1
I have noted that in the last two days, there has been a whole bunch of MSM news stories trying to re-start MMGW. I doubt this is a coincidence.
But when push comes to shove, hopefully cooler political heads will prevail and they will decide to debate the issue for a year or two instead of being stampeded into a terribly expensive mistake.
#2
They need to change the subject from BO to 'anything' else. I see it as damage control / changing the subject.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
03/19/2008 15:00 Comments ||
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#3
"...here on the surface of the Earth, the years since 2003 have been some of the hottest on record. "
Wait a minute. I've kept hearing that the temp hasn't really gone up for 10 years or so now. Is this a spin attempt (yeah, it hasn't gotten hotter but it's still hot) or am I missing something.
#5
In further evidence of Global Warming, MacArthur Park is melting in the dark.
Posted by: Richard Harris ||
03/19/2008 16:18 Comments ||
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#6
These diving instruments suggest that the oceans have not warmed up at all over the past four or five years. That could mean global warming has taken a breather. Or it could mean scientists aren't quite understanding what their robots are telling them.
Or it could mean the MMGW doesn't exist and the robots are telling us this.
Last I heard, the latest NASA reports on global temperatures had to be restated as the initial calculations, which pegged 2003 as the warmest year on record, were discovered to be flawed. The corrected calculations resulted in 1998 being the warmest year on record, not 2003, as this article states.
Thats double plus ungood for the use of Anthropogenic Global Warming to advance central governmental planning and management of all resources and humanity.
#12
The corrected calculations resulted in 1998 being the warmest year on record, not 2003, as this article states.
Actually that is wrong as well. With the corrected calculations, 1933 was the hottest year on record for the past 100 years. 1998 only ranked sixth. Also, with the corrected calculations, the hockey stick graph disappeared and the spikes became normal fluctuation of temperatures.
#13
OWG-NWO NOW, D *** NG IT, THERES TREASON AND SCHEMIN' AFOOT INSIDE THE EARTH'S CORE! Time for Supreme HeadQuarters, PLanetary Core Defense Force to dev a Core-destroying supermissle to defeat the Heat Energy imperialism of the Mole Men, allied Troglobytes, + Men from Mars! WE FORCED THE SUN TO SETTLE DOWN VV GLOBAL COOLING - WE'LL FORCE THE MOLE MEN TO HEAT THE EARTH UP, THIS TIME WE'LL BLOW UP THE EARTH TO SAVE HUMANITY!
Indonesia needs more help to rein in the bird flu virus, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation has said. The human death toll from bird flu in the country rose to 100 earlier this year - almost half of the total worldwide fatalities. The FAO's chief veterinary expressed concerns that failure to tackle the disease could lead the virus to mutate and cause a "human influenza pandemic".
Most of those infected are thought to have caught the disease from poultry.
However, according to a briefing I attended recently, we are tracking 5 cases of possible human-to-human transmission. If in fact the virus has mutated and spreads, things could get very very nasty. This stuff currently has >50% mortality rate among people who get it from birds and it hits those 18-45 years old hardest.
"The human mortality rate from bird flu in Indonesia is the highest in the world and there will be more human cases if we do not focus more on containing the disease at source in animals," said FAO Chief Veterinary Officer Joseph Domenech in a statement on Tuesday. "The avian influenza situation in Indonesia is grave - all international partners and national authorities need to step up their efforts for halting the spread of the disease in animals and making the fight against the virus a top priority."
Mr Domenech also expressed concerns about a possible mutation of the virus which could be easily passed from human to human. "Furthermore, I am deeply concerned that the high level of virus circulation in birds in the country could create conditions for the virus to mutate and to finally cause a human influenza pandemic," he said.
Surveillance and response teams are working in 193 out of 448 districts in Indonesia, yet birds in 31 out of 33 provinces are affected, Mr Domenech said.
The virus is endemic in Java, Sumatra, Bali and southern Sulawesi with sporadic outbreaks reported from other areas, the FAO said.
By June 2008, more than 2,000 surveillance and response teams will be active in more than 300 districts in areas of the country where the disease is endemic, Mr Domenech said.
But that may not be enough.
"Indonesia is facing an uphill battle against a virus that is difficult to contain. Major human and financial resources, stronger political commitment and strengthened co-ordination between the central, provincial and district authorities are required to improve surveillance and control measures," Mr Domenech said.
Since the first outbreaks in 2003, bird flu has spread rapidly across Java into Bali, Kalimantan and Sumatra. In 2006, the virus spread further east infecting Papua and much of Sulawesi. Since the H5N1 virus emerged in South East Asia in late 2003, it has claimed more than 220 lives around the world.
#1
The enormous question is why avian flu hasn't made the jump to humans yet. While the Indonesian strain is deadlier, the Bangladesh strain seemed to take out batches of most of the major animals--but not people.
#3
This plea follows on the public comments from Indonesian health officials about stopping cooperation with the West. It's about money changing hands, not medicine.
#4
It's both, I think. Some of the national pols are playing anti-American games. But the scientists and public health people close to the scene are terrified about this spreading.
#5
Not to belittle the gravity of the threat, this will be just like every other UN humanitarian effort: the only thing the money will go to is more corruption. Just another well intentioned money fleece. Send money, it is for the children.
#1
The woman driver will be permitted to drive Saturday through Wednesday between 7:00 AM and 8:00 PM.
Why this restriction?
Al
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
03/19/2008 12:38 Comments ||
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#2
No driving at night (might tempt them to immorality) and not on Friday, the day of worship. If they were refused Saturday they couldn't shop on their weekend so that leaves Thursday to also restrict.
#3
No doubt the women will prove to be as bad as their menfolk, who go beyond Inshallah! to, "If the foreigner were not on the road, the accident could not have happened. Therefore the foreigner is at fault." Saudi Arabia was one of the countries where Mr. Wife did not consider ever renting a car.
#6
...the Shura Council is required to impose a one-month prison sentence and a fine on anyone talking with a woman driver from another car, and an eight-month prison sentence and a fine on anyone who sexually harasses a woman driver.
I used to have an English version of the Saudi driver's manual. It was a hoot. Each paragraph would identify the offense, the probable excuses offered by the offender and the prescribed punishment. e.g.: a). Do not talk to a woman in another car b). But I was lost and she looked like she knew her way around. c). One month in the hoosegow wid yeez. OR Do not take a young boy across provincial lines claiming he is your nephew. Punishment--eight months in the hoosegow. Now tell me, what does any of these examples have to do with driving safely?
MOSCOW - The Russian army loses more soldiers to suicide than any other major armed force in the world, the Gazeta newspaper reported on Tuesday, citing an internal defence ministry document.
You mean it isn't the pitied American solider who joined to escape grinding poverty in rural America and now is remorseful over being suckered into an unwinnable war by Chimpy MacHitler and Halliburton? Say it ain't so!
Four hundred and forty two soldiers died in non-combat situations in 2007, said the newspaper. Two hundred and twenty four of the non-combat deaths were suicides among draftees.
By comparison, 155 committed suicide in the US army in 2006, the paper reported, one and half times less than the Russian army the following year. The Russian army has around 1.1 million soldiers compared to 1.4 million in the US army.
The Russian army has an atrocious reputation for hazing. One human rights group estimated that half of the suicides in the army were due to brutal bullying by older soldiers. Injuries are also common, the paper reported. In January alone, 1,500 soldiers were seriously wounded in non-combat accidents. Twenty four thousand soldiers suffered serious wounds in 2007, the paper reported.
Accidents listed in the document include road accidents, mishandling of firearms and arguments between soldiers.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/19/2008 00:00 ||
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It has been this way for generations. The Russian Army is big on harrassment and bullying. Second year draftees are the non-coms and beating the newbies is a favorite sport.
Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner of France said Tuesday that the European Union should consider punishing China's crackdown in Tibet with a boycott of the opening ceremony of this summer's Olympic Games in Beijing. His comments followed an appeal by the press advocacy group Reporters Without Borders to governments across the world to shun the highly symbolic ceremony during which the Olympic flame is lighted.
European leaders have been conspicuously quiet since protesters and the Chinese police first clashed in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, a week ago.
The usual invertebrate posturing ...
Whether How to exert pressure on Beijing touches a broader debate in the European Union about how the bloc should manage its relationships with important economic partners such as China and Russia, whose governments are accused of violating democratic standards.
Senior European officials, including Kouchner, have ruled out an outright boycott of the Olympics, arguing that not even the Dalai Lama had demanded one. But in the latest sign that the Games remain the most powerful lever Western powers have, the foreign minister called the idea of a more symbolic partial boycott "interesting."
Because the EU is all about symbolism ...
Cautioning that the proposal was not yet French government policy, he indicated that he would bring it up with fellow European foreign ministers at an informal meeting next week. "The initiative of Reporters Without Borders, which does not have the French government's support, was made this morning," Kouchner said. Let's consider it."
A day earlier, Mark Malloch Brown, the British minister for Africa, Asia and the United Nations, who is also opposed to a complete boycott, told the BBC that the Olympics were "China's coming-out party and they should take great care that nothing will wreck that."
They're not the ones who would wreck it -- we would be. Question is whether we should.
There was no official reaction to Kouchner's proposal from other major capitals on Tuesday, but a senior British official said that London was not considering any kind of boycott to do with the Olympics, even one of the opening ceremony.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/19/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
This is a good idea. It would be a big 'face' issue for the Chinese.
The national Olympic committees said others should stand up instead of athletes.
"Sports should not carry the burden," said Togay Bayatli, president of the Turkish Olympic Committee.
"Our countries are doing business there. Everybody is going there," Bayatli said, adding it was up to businessmen and politicians to take the initiative.
In the absense of a show of spine in the business or government arena, what if we organized a viewer boycott?
Posted by: Formerly Dan ||
03/19/2008 18:44 Comments ||
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#4
Seeing how I haven't really watched an Olympics since about 1992, that would be fine by me.
DHARAMSHALA, India - Tibets government-in-exile said 19 Tibetan protesters were shot dead in Chinas Gansu province on Tuesday, and said the confirmed death toll from a week of unrest had reached 99.
This took place outside of Lhasa. Nineteen people were killed in Machu (county) in Gansu province, said Thubten Samphel, a spokesman for the exiled administration. There was a protest in Machu this morning, and police fired on them.
In all, he said 80 people have been confirmed killed in Lhasa in the past several days and 19 killed today.
Contacted by AFP in Beijing, a staff official at the Machu county hospital said riots in the county seat had erupted Sunday, with shops of ethnic Han and Hui being ransacked and destroyed, similar to what happened in Lhasa on Friday. I heard they (the Tibetans) were still causing chaos in the townships, but no longer in the county seat, the hospital official said. The official said he was unaware of any fatalities stemming from the riot in Machu county seat on Sunday.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/19/2008 00:00 ||
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TOPIX > BEIJING FEARS MULTI-ETHNIC UNREST IN WAKE OF TIBET PROTESTS.
#4
Exactly Excal. For the MSM to cover this it would mean a public admission of a greater evil out there than America. Something they are incapable of doing.
Serbia has offered to govern ethnic Serb areas in Kosovo, senior diplomatic sources said on Tuesday, a plan that would effectively partition the newly independent state.
The proposal was made at the weekend by Serbia's Minister for Kosovo, Slobodan Samardzic, but was rejected by the United Nations administrators of Kosovo which has a 90 percent Albanian majority. "The proposal's goal seems to be the partition of Kosovo, literally for Serbia to govern in the enclaves," one source told Reuters. Another source in the U.N. mission UNMIK said this would be "a ratification of partition".
Deputy UNMIK chief Larry Rossin confirmed on Tuesday that Samardzic, whom he met at the weekend, had delivered a document meant to be "a framework for a comprehensive relationship between Serbia and UNMIK". He would not comment on the contents.
Backed by Russia, Serbia rejects the Feb. 17 secession of its former province and is instructing the 120,000 remaining Serbs to sever ties with the Albanian majority and ignore a European Union supervisory mission.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/19/2008 00:00 ||
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RIAN > IRAN SAYS US MISSLE SHIELD [+ Radars, etc] IN TURKEY THREATENS RUSSIA.
#2
KOMMERSANT > UKRAINIAN SPECIAL FORCES TO FIGHT SERBS, under UN Command and backed up by KFOR units, agz Serbian demonstrations; + NOT KOSOVO BUT CHECHNYA IS WHAT BROKE AWAY ACCORDING TO EACH TENTH IN USA [Survey]. HMMMMM, "Greater Kosovo" = "Greater Chechnya"???
He does call Obama 'trash' and says whites will vote for Obama to feel free of any guilt for the treatment of Blacks.
he also condemns Blacks for tolerating drugs, sexual promiscuity, having babies out of wedlock etc.
He also says in another sermon that Satan used an African man and a white trash woman to create this evil spirit Barrack Hussein Obama who is white trash.
#6
Zhang Fei, no. He supports Hillary if I read him correctly. In one sermon (the first one linked) he says that, while he talked about Bill Clinton's misdeeds when they became public, in his last days in office Wm. J. made sure some monies went into their Harlem neighborhood to build decent housing etc. So the trashing of Hillary angers him because he sees it as ingratitude and a sign that people aren't looking out for the real interests of Blacks when they support Obama.
#7
"I" the Voice of GOD, Listen to ME, "I" (God) will tell you who's to be president NOT YOUR CHOICE, GOD"S (MY) CHOICE.
"Nuff said, just another Pulpit Bigot with a sense HE"S IN CONTROL OF YOUR LIFE (in the name of GOD of course)For the "Better good".
Excuse me, I need to vomit now.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/19/2008 22:21 Comments ||
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Both campaigns are accusing the other of scuttling a solution of what to do about delegates from Michigan and Florida, and I can't help but wonder if secretly both sides would prefer to not have a settled agreement.
If a campaign agrees to a plan, and then loses the nomination, well, that's that. They agreed to the rules, played by them, and lost.
But if a campaign doesn't agree, and has rules forced upon them by the DNC, then they can, if they fall short, argue that it's unfair, that it's cheating, that it's a miscarriage of justice, etc. And they can try to take what influence they have - roughly half the delegates, roughly half the superdelegates, a bunch of sympathetic ears and voices in the media - and raise hell and try to get the rules changed to a scenario in which they do win.
As long as the rules aren't clear, and there's a couple hundred delegates that no one knows how will break down for each candidate, it's nearly impossible to day, "the race is over, this candidate cannot win."
If you keep seeing various proposals to resolve the issue shot down by one of the campaigns (or both), then keep this cynical ploy in the back of your mind...
Posted by: Mike ||
03/19/2008 14:02 ||
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#1
I want caramel corn instead of normal popcorn for this battle. Its going to be long and mean and I for one want something sweet to enjoy it with...
Democrat Barack Obama's big national lead over Hillary Clinton has all but evaporated in the US presidential race, and both Democrats trail Republican John McCain, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll released.
The poll showed Obama had only a statistically insignificant lead of 47 per cent to 44 per cent over Clinton, down sharply from a 14 point edge he held over her in February when he was riding the tide of 10 straight victories.
Illinois Senator Obama, who would be America's first black president, has been buffeted by attacks in recent weeks from New York Senator Clinton over his fitness to serve as commander-in-chief and by a tempest over racially charged sermons given by his Chicago preacher.
The poll showed Arizona Senator McCain, who has clinched the Republican presidential nomination, is benefiting from the lengthy campaign battle between Obama and Clinton, who are now battling to win Pennsylvania on April 22.
McCain leads 46 per cent to 40 per cent in a hypothetical match-up against Obama in the November presidential election, according to the poll.
That is a sharp turnaround from the Reuters/Zogby poll from last month, which showed in a head-to-head matchup that Obama would beat McCain 47 per cent to 40 per cent.
"The last couple of weeks have taken a toll on Obama and in a general election match-up, on both Democrats," said pollster John Zogby.
Matched up against Clinton, McCain leads 48 per cent to 40 per cent, narrower than his 50 to 38 per cent advantage over her in February.
"It's not surprising to me that McCain's on top because there is disarray and confusion on the Democratic side.
#2
When the liar Zogby admits Barry's slipping, it probably means he's dropped like a rock and Billary is 15-20 points ahead and pulling away. Zogby has been puffing up Barry's numbers from day one. Probably a paid campaign consultant.
Obama has tanked in the PA primary (in one month). Clinton even appears to be making in roads among black voters in the state. She trails just 63-27 with that group, which Obama has tended to get over 80% of the vote from in key primary states so far. She has a 40 point lead, 63-23, with white voters.
Posted by: ed ||
03/19/2008 9:44 Comments ||
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#4
I am listening to the "inevitable candidate", Hillary Clinton speak while typing this. She is talking about all the wonderful things she has done in this world and why she would make the best COC--she is after all the smartest woman in the world--except for the missus JohnQC. The donk candidates induce sleep and make one want to run naked in traffic so as to liven things up. Both candidates are trying to distance themselves from the "liberal" label because you don't win elections in this country as a liberal. However, they are still liberals no matter what lies they spread or what they run as.
#5
Plus, hill-da-beast is a war hero, didn't you hear how she braved sniper fire in Kosovo? It happened while protecting both Chelsea and Sinbad the Comedian with her body while calling in accurate close air support....lucky for them her past training of thinking of joining the Marine ROTC thingy back in college came in handy....of course you won't hear about any of this because the far right attack machine and the news talk shows (which, should be subjected to the fairness doctrine - especially those fascists Limbaugh, Boortz & Wilkow) have put a virtual media gag on this whole thing..don't be fooled into thinking that Mein Furher Rove is just a "news analyst" over at Faux News. (sarcasm/off)
#7
For Hillary to win without pulling superdelegates already committed to Obama she would have to win 94% of the remaining unselected primary delegates - since they don't have 'winner take all' primaries, that can't happen.
For Obama to win without pulling superdelegates already committed to Hillary he would have to win 70% of those not yet selected - highly unlikely.
That means this election will be decided by the superdelegates. If Obama does not win there, and if he enters with a plurality of other delegates, there will be serious problems with the internal cohesion of the party base. The 'solution' would be Obama for Pres & Clinton for VP; can her ego take that? If that does happen, I look for an easy Democratic victory. And we should take out life insurance policies on Obama.
#8
JQC - the VRWC covers the whole world and other places :)
How else can one explain that the great domestic phillo-so-phizer Cindy Sheehan (and sometime poet) only gets about a dozen hits a day on her blog? It's because (as you already well know) that BushCheneyMcchimpyhitler and company are using haliburton to compromise the signals thus reconfirming their high crimes and misdemeanors on the innocent patriotic anti-war movement....as Cindy once said so brilliantly we need to "m-peach-cheney" (except w/the fruit logo - makes a cool shirt)...it can't get any more pithy then that, who said only the right had cool slogans? I am sure Dick Cheney will never be able to recover from such an epithet.
She is an excellent writer and this is an especially devastating commentary on the Obamessiah, don't y'all agree? The Quality of Obama's Character
I grew up on the south side of Chicago in the 1970s and 1980s so I have a bit of local interest in Senator Barack Obamas race for the White House.
Obama and his family live in my old neighborhood, Hyde Park. My siblings and I all attended our local public high school Kenwood Academy. Obamas wife Michelle went to Whitney Young High School. The city swimming championship was always held there. My older brothers were members of Kenwoods swim team. Aside from its swimming pool, I never saw much of Whitney Young. It was a magnet school. But my parents always said that didnt mean much. All of Chicagos public schools were basically horrible.
Obamas denunciation of Wrights bigotry amounts to too little too late. The time to stand up to him wasnt now, when his association with Wright is sinking his hopes for the White House. The time to have stood up to Wright was when Obama was just another member of his church. If he truly believes in what he says he believes, he should have walked out of Wrights church or grabbed Wrights microphone and told his fellow churchgoers that Wright was wrong and that they mustnt hate. In twenty years of attending Wrights church, why didnt Obama once stand before his fellow church members and tell them that they mustnt hate their country and their fellow Americans?
The fact that he didnt, and the fact that he upheld this man until just a few months ago as his spiritual mentor and still refuses to condemn him and his deeply flawed character tells me everything I need to know about Barack Obama. I think that he is an opportunistic, weak man. I hope and pray that he doesnt become President.
#1
July 22, 2007, Obama's chruch reprinted an article in its bulletin authored by Hamas terrorist Mousa Abu Marzook.
The first thing that Obama wants to do as the US President is meet with America's enemies. No doubt because he is just as anti-American and has a bleeding heart for anti_American terrorists as his church of 20 years.
#2
Excellent. Although, she almost but not quite nails Obama's problem by saying,
It can be argued that there is a difference between how I reacted to black bigotry and how he reacted to black bigotry because I was an outsider and he was an insider. I wasnt trying to become a member of the black community.
But Obama wasn't an insider and going along with it was his way of fitting in - trying to become an insider.
Glick is right. It speaks volumes to his character that he went along with things he knew to be wrong, or worse agreed with.
#3
BHO did more than just prop this racist up...he sought him out. Specifically, to preside over his wedding, and to babtise his children. No, Rev. Wright was Obama's first and only choice, and therefore he is every bit the racist of Herr Wright.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
03/19/2008 1:00 Comments ||
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#4
also the obama kids have attended that Church, their whole lives
The kids may not be in the main service for Wirght's sermon but on the other hand there may be kiddie oriented 'hate-whitey' classes
Hillary Clinton has shored up her lead in Pennsylvania, the next battleground for the Democratic nomination, according to a new poll. The Quinnipiac University survey released this morning gives Clinton a 53 percent to 41 percent lead over Barack Obama about five weeks before the April 22 primary. A Quinnipiac poll in late February said Clinton's lead had shrunk to 49 percent to 43 percent.
As in other states, Clinton leads among women, white voters, and older voters, while Obama has an edge among African-American and younger voters and those with college degrees. Pennsylvania, with 158 delegates at stake, is a near must-win for Clinton. The telephone survey of 1,304 likely Democratic voters was conducted March 10-16 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/19/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Not a Clinton supporter, but I hope she beats the tar out of him in PA -- sending him a message that NO it's not okay to embrace and support a racist, hate-mongering church.
#4
I don't want Obama to self destruct. I've always thought he was easier to beat in the general election than Hillary. I like to see him lead in delegates and then have them tar, feather and drop nukes on each other in the Dem convention, with Obama ultimately prevailing.
Whoever the Dem nominee, he/she will vastly outspend McCain due to the large number of very rich backers. So deep pockets is another reason to recruit Romney for V.P.
Posted by: ed ||
03/19/2008 21:49 Comments ||
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Charts at site
One year ago, as President Bush decided to send more troops to Iraq, the conventional wisdom in Washington among opponents of the war was that the U.S. Army was on the verge of breaking. In December 2006 former Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell warned, "The active Army is about broken."
Ret. Gen. Barry McCaffrey, in a much-cited memo to West Point colleagues, wrote: "My bottom line is that the Army is unraveling, and if we dont expend significant national energy to reverse that trend, sometime in the next two years we will break the Army just like we did during Vietnam."
Army Maj. Gen. Bob Scales, the former head of the Army War College, agreed. He wrote in an editorial in the Washington Times on March 30: "If you haven't heard the news, I'm afraid your Army is broken, a victim of too many missions for too few soldiers for too long. ... Today, anecdotal evidence of collapse is all around."
But now, one year later, Scales has done an about-face. He says that he was wrong. Despite all the predictions of imminent collapse, the U.S. Army and the combat brigades have proven to be surprisingly resilient.
According to Army statistics obtained exclusively by FOX News, 70 percent of soldiers eligible to re-enlist in 2006 did so a re-enlistment rate higher than before Sept. 11, 2001. For the past 10 years, the enlisted retention rates of the Army have exceeded 100 percent. As of last Nov. 13, Army re-enlistment was 137 percent of its stated goal.
Scales, a FOX News contributor, said he based his assessment last year "on the statistics that showed a high attrition among enlisted soldiers, officers who were leaving the service early, and a decline in the quality of enlistments," a reference to the rising number of waivers given for "moral defects" such as drug use and lowered educational requirements.
"In fact, what we've seen over the last year is that the Army retention rates are pretty high, that re-enlistments, for instance, particularly re-enlistments in Iraq and Afghanistan, remain very high," Scales said. He noted that re-enlistments were high even among troops who have served multiple tours.
A year ago, some military experts were comparing the Army of 2007 with the army of a generation ago, at the end of the Vietnam War, when it was considered "broken" due to morale problems and an exodus of the "best and the brightest" soldiers from service.
Scales said he didnt take into account that, unlike Vietnam, this Army is sending soldiers to fight as a unit not as individuals. He also neglected the "Band of Brothers" phenomenon the feeling of responsibility to fellow soldiers that prompts members of service to re-enlist. "The soldiers go back to the theater of war as units," Scales said. "They are bonded together, they know each other, they don't have to fight as an army of strangers.
"I was wrong a year ago when I forecast the imminent collapse of the Army. I relied a little bit too much on the data and not enough on the intangibles."
Not all the military analysts who made similar predictions last year agree. Lawrence Korb, who worked on personnel issues during the Reagan administration, testified to Congress last July: "As Gen. Barry McCaffrey pointed out when we testified together before the Senate Armed Services Committee in April, the ground combat capability of the U.S. armed forces is shot.'"
Korb, a resident scholar at the left-leaning Center for American Progress, told FOX News the Army is worse off than it was a year ago. He suggested that the Army is not being honest with its re-enlistment and retention numbers, an accusation echoed by House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton, D-Mo.
Well call the New York Times then, I'm sure they'll print it.
The Armys use of stop-loss the automatic re-enlistment of soldiers whose units are being redeployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, even if their service time is up has distorted the figures, Korb said.
He also said that while the numbers of captains leaving the military may not be alarming, the number of captains educated at West Point is. According to Korb, half of the eligible captains from West Points class of 2002 have left the service.
And then there are the re-enlistment bonuses, which rose from $50 million in 1998 to $562 million per year in 2007. The amount of re-enlistment bonuses paid is now five times what it was at the start of the Iraq war, according to U.S. Army figures.
But Scales says the desertion by mid-grade officers captains and majors just hasnt occurred as predicted. "The Army's collapse after Vietnam was presaged by a desertion of mid-grade officers (captains) and non-commissioned officers," Scales wrote a year ago. "Many were killed or wounded. Most left because they and their families were tired and didn't want to serve in units unprepared for war....
"If we lose our sergeants and captains, the Army breaks again. It's just that simple. That's why these soldiers are still the canaries in the readiness coal-mine. And, again, if you look closely, you will see that these canaries are fleeing their cages in frightening numbers."
But an internal Army document prepared at the request of Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey and obtained by FOX News suggests that the comparison to the "hollow Army" of 1972 near the end of the Vietnam War is inappropriate. The main reason: Today's Army is an all-volunteer force, and the Army in Vietnam largely was composed of draftees.
Captain losses have remained steady at about 11 percent since 1990, and the loss of majors has been unchanged at about 6 percent. "To date, the data do not show heightened levels of junior officer departures that can be tied directly to multiple rotations in Afghanistan or Iraq," the internal Army memo concludes.
The key difference between now and Vietnam, Scales explains, is: "this idea that soldiers fight as part of a team. Its the Band of Brothers approach to combat that makes armies effective in wartime, and the Army has been wise enough over the past five years to work very hard to keep soldiers together in units and not to treat soldiers as sort of replacement parts, but to keep them together as cohesive units. ... I believe, is the glue that has really served to hold this army together.
#1
At least he is willing to admit when he is wrong. Thank you Scales for your integrity to adjust to the true facts. Too few people do that in this day and age.
#2
The high attrition rate amoung captains and majors after Viet Nam was a self inflicted wound by the Army. They were over strength in captains and majors at the time and decided to take all of the excesses out of two year groups instead of army wide. The net result was that some very good officers were RIFed in 1975 because they were in the 1968 year group and a lot of marginaly officers in the 1970 year group were retained. This disenchanted a lot of captains and majors about careers in the military and a number of them resigned. The net result was the army lost a lot of experienced combat veterans due to the RIF and disgust and there was a shortage of captains and majors for a number of years.
#4
That RIF didn't help the attitudes of those retained either. I was Active Army 1976-1979. The force definitely NOT the same as the present volunteer forces (drugs anyone?). In addition I had a FDC section sergeant that was reduced in rank but retained. Prior enlisted that went through OCS. He was a decent leader but just marking time until his twenty was done. Morale, equipment, funding were in the pits before Reagan.
#7
tipover is correct. Drug, race riots [in Germany], lesser confrontations elsewhere, alcohol abuse, high levels of AWOL and Article 15s [and courts martial], most married enlisted qualified for food stamps trying to make in the largest government operated ghetto housing conglomerate known as base housing, very limited funding for real training, spare parts, and general maintenance of facilities. It's been far worse than anything the self appointed critics will understand or admit.
#8
Yeah, I was in that Army. Got to see the start of the changeover after Reagan was elected. Carter's Army had a thin green perma-press uniform that would wear through instantly if the knee touched pavement of any sort. The Reagan Army got a uniform (BDU) that actually looked like it was designed to fight in.
#9
At Mr.Wife's company, there is a steady loss of employees at year 1, year 5, year 10, and year 20 (or thereabouts). This is planned for, because it's been pretty constant over the decades. Likewise, based on the internal Army memo quoted at the bottom of the article, the retirement of captains and majors is unchanged from historical rates, not even accelerated by the move from peace to war footing. Those ambitious ones who are not, in their opinion, being promoted quickly enough, will leave. Those who do not, in themselves or in their families, have the endurance for an at least decade-long war with long stints on the battlefield, will leave. Those who have been injured too badly to remain, will leave. Those who, to their surprise and dismay, turn out not to be cut out for a soldier's life (or sailor's, or airman's, or marine's, yes, yes. I'm a civilian -- I can't keep track of interservice rivalries!), will leave.
Let's thank them all for their service, wish them well, and be grateful A) that recruitment numbers, though increasing, continue to be met, and B) that the leavening of civil society with an increasing number of military veterans who have willingly put all on the line to protect us can only benefit the country in ways too numerous to count... but the first of which will be demonstrated in November. ;-)
Thank you for your service, however brief or long it was. That which you have learnt has not been lost, only moved a bit.
#12
1) Retention bonuses are way up. If you want something worthwhile, you have to pay for it; I don't see this as a problem.
2) Historically, when the economy sinks, military jobs become more attractive - no, not the Kerry line about soldiers only join because they can't do anything else, but it is true that when the competition for the soldier's services goes up he is more likely to leave and when it goes down he is more likely to stay.
3) I think our servicemen understand the importance of what they are doing, and that a great many Americans appreciate it, which makes the hardships more endurable.
4) I know a lot of guys enlist because they actually 'like' to fight - not murder, or even kill, but psychologically they enjoy the competition, teamwork, etc. And they like the neat 'toys' and getting to blow stuff up. Glad they're on our side.
From my perspective, as a non-military guy. Sure hope the next administration doesn't re-Clintonize things and screw us all.
#13
Glemore, there's more of that than you might think.
I was a crappy peacetime soldier. A troublemaker. A "boat rocker". Some of us are made for trouble and if we cannot find it, we make it
War changes everything.
A wartime/professional army where you cut through the BS is where we thrive or else completely fall apart. For those that survive it, the hard part is when you get too old to "march toward the sound of the guns". Still have the "wanna do", short on the "can do".
#14
And the changeover under Reagan was a Godsend.
We actually got serious about training like we wanted to fight. Airland Battle was a breath of fresh air from the "hold in place and die" of Carter's Army. Our job was not to serve as a tripwire for nukes anymore, but to see how many of them we could make die - and stay alive. Fight to win! Seek the enemy out, find his weak spots, exploit those gaps, kill them in large numbers, then dodge back and do it again. Stealth, Mobility, Lethality. Cavalry Scout!
Thats when I first felt like a soldier: when we went out and got AGGRESSIVE - and got the tools to do it with - dirt bikes, Bradley CFVs, modern laser homing ATGM, laser designators, hunter-killer teams on the ground (Scouts + CFV) and in the air (OH58D + Cobra/Apache). We were finally focused on the right thing - in the words of Patton, "making the other poor dumb bastard die for HIS country".
I HATE Jimmy Carter for what he did to the military and the nation, the country he continues to loathe. When they bury him I hope someone sneaks the casket at the last minute and turns that SOB face down. If there was any justice, they'd just plant him head down like a lawn dart.
#16
This is asking the same question as was asked when Dubya first officially announced the WOT after 9-11 > CAN THE USA WID ITS VOLUNTEER ARMY FIGHT AND WIN A GLOBAL WAR AGZ [DECENTRALIZED/
COVERT]TERROR, AND DO SO DESPITE ANY RISK OF "GREAT POWERS" REGIONAL-GLOBAL MIL CONFRONTATION AND INTERVENTION AGZ THE US = US AGENDA, INCLUDING ALLIED!?
Despite meritorious advantages, a VOLAR still contains inherent weaknesses over a NATIONAL DRAFT army, espec when and iff SMALL LOCAL WARS/CONFLICTS BECOME BIG GLOBAL ONES, e.g. RUSSO-CHINA ANTI-US "WAR NOT ONLY POSSIBLE BUT DESIRED" circa 2018, now as early as 2012.
*POTUS HILLARY, OBAMA, andor MCCAIN > their post-Dubya strategies is broadly based on OSAMA = RADICAL ISLAM STAYING IN THE ME AND NOT BEING ABLE TO EFFECTIVELY EXTEND AND SPREAD THEIR ORGZ + REGIONAL-GLOBAL VIOLENT JIHAD OVER TO THE AMERICAS OR EUROPE, i.e. NOT OUTSIDE THE ME = MUSLIM-DOMIN WORLD REGIONS. The Dems = Hillary-Barack are clearly anticipating that Dubya will not cease US entrenchment, etc. efforts in 2008, so they risk nothing by redux US milfor levels or bringing troops home starting in 2009.
*MARA LIASSON > argued that neither a DEM POTUS BARACK NOR POTUS HILLARY IS GOING TO WILFULLY, UNILATER DOWNSIZE US TROOPS IN 2009 TO SUCH PRECIPITIOUS LEVELS AS TO ENDANGER THE IGA + DEMOCRATIC IRAQ where Islamists will fill the voids + US/US-Allies ends up having to militarily go back in [Mort/Fred]. LEST WE FERGIT, ISRAEL > BELIEVES IRAN [by extens Radical Islamist Terror] WILL HAVE WORKING NUKE BOMB(S) IN ONE YEAR [EOY 2008 or after].
Presuming that a POTUS OBama or POTUS Hillary does indeed go thru wid post-elex US milfor redux, wid parallel downsized but still-effective US entrenchment efforts, the question for Osama = Radical Islam after Jan 2009 then becomes whether they can still mil defeat large or major US or US-Iraqi forces in tactical battle??? IFF OSAMA AND RADICLA ISLAM CANNOT WIN ANY BATTLEFIELD VICTORY DESPITE ANY REDUCED US PRESENCE, THEN IMO TO CONTINUE WID GLOBAL JIHAD INFERS PUTTING THE JIHADIST-ISLAMIST AGENDA INTO THE DE FACTO CONTROL OF ANTI-US BUT ALSO ANTI-/NON-ISLAMIST WORLD POWERS. To continue wid jihad, Radical Islam will have to give up control of thier men and materiel, etc.
#17
For Radical Islam to place their Jihadist-Islamist agenda in the hands of so-called "Infidels" will be interpreted by both many Islamists and non-Islamists,Muslims and non-Muslims, etc. that ISLAMISM = ISLAM? HAD LOST OR IS DE FACTO DEFEATED. BY HIS REPORTED NEW THREAT AGZ THE POPE = VATICAN TODAY, IMO OSAMA etc. REALIZES THIS POINT.
Iff Radical Islam has any so-called "Amer Hiroshima" plans, SAID PLANS ARE PROB BEING DUSTED OFF RIGHT NOW. A VERY DANGEROUS TIME LIES JUST AHEAD OF US, SO KEEP YOUR FINGERS CROSSED AND YOUR GUNS-AMMO OILED AND WELL-STOCKED.
This sucker should have been cancelled a decade ago.
The V-22 has made another bid for a Cleopatra award - presented by Ares to programs that are terminally snake-bitten - by the revelation, almost casually tossed out in mid-press conference at the Navy League show by program manager Col. Matt Mulhern, that the AE 1107C engines are not lasting long enough in service and that the Navy "could go as far as re-engining the airframe".
Swapping engines is not trivial. It involves redesigning the engine nacelle and all its associated systems and repeating much of the flight test program. Mulhern wasn't giving any cost estimates, but we're talking several hundred million dollars at the minimum. The fact that the Navy is even talking about such a move says that the existing engine is not performing acceptably and that nobody's quite sure how much it will cost to fix.
The problem has to do with lifetime. All engines lose performance with age, as heat, stress and contaminants take their toll on blades and seals. The result is that the engine gets less efficient and has to run hotter to produce rated power, and eventually temperatures reach a limit. Mulhern won't say how long the current engine is lasting, but it's somewhere between a few hundred hours - which the Navy feared was going to be the engine's lifetime in Iraq - and several thousand, which Rolls-Royce predicted and used as the basis for its power-by-the-hour contract.
Mulhern says that he's not sure that the government ever believed Rolls-Royce's estimates, which does raise the question of why program officials signed that contract in the first place. However, it's not hard to realize what would have happened if the need for a new engine had been disclosed a few years ago, when the V-22 program was reeling from a series of accidents and the need for an extensive redesign.
Fortunately, there is an alternative engine available - the General Electric GE38-1B, under development for the CH-53K. Which is ironic, because - as the few of us who were in this business when the V-22 got started will recall - the GE38's design roots are in a project called the Modern Technology Demonstrator Engine, which was originally intended to be the definitive V-22 engine. But the AE 1107C was sold, back then, as a lower-risk alternative.
Meanwhile, the Marines are saying very little about operational experience in Iraq - and won't until the first operational squadron crews return in about a month. Which, coincidentally, will be after the Pentagon signs a multi-year contract for 167 more aircraft.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/19/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Fear not, AMERICA = AMERIKA, "the Boy" will super-improve upon what Daddy began. GOOD FOR GEORGE JETSON, "DA ARHNUUULD" SKYNET MACHINES, SPACE-WARP TRAVEL, AS WELL AS HEAVY LR AIR MECH.
#4
Sounds like the F14 TF30/F110 situation of 30 years ago. The more things change...
"Which is ironic, because - as the few of us who were in this business when the V-22 got started will recall - the GE38's design roots are in a project called the Modern Technology Demonstrator Engine, which was originally intended to be the definitive V-22 engine. But the AE 1107C was sold, back then, as a lower-risk alternative."
And no, I don't think that the variable geometry aircraft with the weak engine is "snake bit" except in the sense that Washington bean counters are snakes.
Posted by: F14 fan ||
03/19/2008 1:02 Comments ||
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#5
Off topic: The P-51 wasn't crap but there was a definite improvement to the aircraft and a change in mission once the RR Merlin engine was installed. It was a quickly developed low level and CAS aircraft that was not an outstanding performer.
It sounds like RR based their service life estimate on peacetime British, EU, US East Coast conditions (cool, humid, no sand. Instead they got combat conditions in the "sandbox". Pessimists probably knew what might happen but RR was living in a dream world.
#6
Only seen them the once - two of them on night time maneuvers over the Thames a couple of years back. The river is the only flightpath allowed over the capital for aircraft that are liable to fall out of the any given reason - usually helicopters.
Got the neck hairs going though, I can tell you. I can understand why folks would be reluctant to bin them.
"Technical Glitches" aside, wasnt there an article on the Burg singing their praises in service in Iraq some time ago? Although their downtime is appalling, none lost in service so far?
#7
They have a lot of potential and the troops that use them like them. However, US designers seem to have a tradition of under powering both the engines and the weapons they develop.
However, the cost and development time of the V-22 is getting ridiculous.
#9
Just reminder of the history of the Chinook, still in service from wiki -
The original Model 107/YHC-1A was rejected by the Army as being too small for its needs. The YHC-1A was then evaluated by the US Marine Corps, and ordered as the HRB-1 (CH-46A after 1962).
The Army then ordered the larger Model 114/HC-1B. The pre-production Boeing Vertol YCH-1B made its initial hovering flight on September 21, 1961. In 1962 the HC-1B was redesignated the CH-47A under the 1962 United States Tri-Service aircraft designation system.
There's been a long record of complaints, failures, and upgrades. It certainly isn't flying with the original engine design installed in 1962.
#10
"US designers seem to have a tradition of under powering both the engines and the weapons they develop."
Per a friend that's still in the business, that's intentional. They count on installing more powerfull engines once the project is underway.
Al
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
03/19/2008 10:02 Comments ||
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#11
Even the Chinooks that are allegedly old that are in service today are kinda like George Washington's axe... they have more new parts in them than old, or so I've heard.
#12
Nope the Allison engined P51s were not crap. She was much faster (I think it was 100 km/h, 60mph or at least 50km/h 30mph) than the P40 who used the same engine. The British also noticed that in a diving she accelerated faster than the Spit, (I think the it was the Mk V in those time) and, after returning to horizontal fly she kept her speed for longer.
Problem was the Allison engine, who had no supercharger lost power much faster than the Merlin with altitude. The P51 with Allison engine
would still have made a decent fighter (eg for countering the low altitude hit and run attacks
by FW190s) were it not that it had been named A36 and assigned to ground support despite the inherent vulnerability of her liquid cooled engine.
Also the Merlin Mustangs were not merely Allison Mustangs refitted for another engine. There were a number of aerodynamic improvements. It is probable that it was not only the engine but also
better aerodynamics who contributed to make the
Merlin Mustangs much faster than the Allison ones.
Original Mustangs had zero rearward visibility (a
no/no in a fighter) and it was the Mustang models
who benefited from the Malcom and later the bubble canopies. This was another important factor in improving the Merlin Mustang for the fighter role respective to the Allison Mustang.
#13
Just a comment, and for those in industry they'll probably echo it. But if you thought dealing with Boeing and their arrogance (re the tankers, et al) was rough, then dealing with RR would put your head in a spin.
#14
I doubt the problem is with the original design. Is it possible that this aircraft has been "gold plated" by the Pentagon, with the result that it's now under-powered? It wouldn't be the first, or the last, unfortunately.
#15
Further to JFM in #13, per the Dogfights feature on the P-521, which I have watched several times now.
Laminar wing produced less drag, and more efficiency. Seems like that might have contributed to its turning radius and stall speeds. But the Merlin engine was 1600-1700 HP, another five or six hundred more than the original. That hadda count for something!
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/19/2008 13:28 Comments ||
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#16
I still don't trust rotary wings even though I rode in them for a living at one point (EH60B).
I could never trust an aircraft whose wings are moving faster than the fuselage.
#19
The engines have enough power. The issue is they are not lasting to TBO. The reduction in power experienced is largely due to the dust and dirt sucked into the engine during takeoff, landings, and hovering. This wears the compressor blades, forcing the engine to work harder to produce the same power thus wearing the rest of the enginge out in a downward performance trend. It does not matter what engine they stick on that aircraft, they will run into the same problem. They need to design a filtration system for the inlet, something other than that large scoop under the blades. Until they do this will continue to be an engine money pit.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
03/19/2008 16:45 Comments ||
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#20
Bobby. Jeffrey Quill -(Spîtfire's main test pilot) dissents about the laminar wing. According to him they tried it Supermarine and found
the thinge was very delicate as the slightest
asperity, or even wear and tear detractyed dramatically detracted from the laminar flow so he alleges that in practice Spitfiré's wing was better. Also in a diving contest in 1945 it was found that the Spitfire (1945 model) had a higher speed limit (ie in a dive) than the Mustang and much higher than Thunderbolts.
I would tend to think that it was more about the
fact that the Mustang design conformed to the
area law (discovered well after WWII) and also because she had a wholly enclosed landing gear
#21
They tested the existing planes to death nearly wearing them out before they could be field deployed. And needing a higher performing engine after initial deployment is pretty much par for the course for US aircraft. You get an underpowered version to keep costs down and get the airframe deployed and then you go back and get the engine you need for it once there are several in service.
ISLAMABAD - The party of slain former prime minister Benazir Bhutto on Tuesday nominated a key loyalist to be the first woman speaker of Pakistans parliament, officials said. Fahmida Mirza, 52, is now all but certain to win the top post in the 342-seat lower house of parliament, or national assembly, which will hold the election for the post on Wednesday.
Mirza, a veteran politician from Bhuttos home province of Sindh, would be the first female speaker in the 60-year history of this deeply conservative Islamic nation of 160 million people.
She is the best choice and a genuine party loyalist. She has a big role to perform, PPP spokeswoman Farzana Raja told AFP. She will be the first woman speaker in Pakistans history. It will encourage women in Pakistan, Raja said.
Through her appointment the PPP wants to give a message to the people of Pakistan and the international community that the party genuinely believes in empowerment of women.
The speaker conducts the business of the house, deciding which debates or motions are allowed and will play a key role in a parliament that looks set for a major showdown with Musharraf.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/19/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Hope her will's made out....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
03/19/2008 19:05 Comments ||
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INTERNET addiction is a "common" mental disorder that should be recognized by health officials, an editorial in one of the world's leading psychiatry journals says. The American Journal of Psychiatry published an editorial claiming that internet addiction met the criterion for a mental disorder and called on the American Psychiatric Association to officially list it as such.
The editorials author, Jerald Block, said internet addiction consists of three particular subtypes: excessive gambling, sexual preoccupations and email or text messaging. Internet addiction appears to be a common disorder that merits inclusion in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Dr Block said in the journal.
Dr Block said all internet addictions had four common components: excessive use, withdrawal, tolerance and negative repercussions. He said internet addicts developed a tolerance to a certain level of technology, making them want to upgrade software and hardware. Social isolation and fatigue were listed as examples of negative repercussions to internet addiction.
Dr Block said the number of people that could be deemed as having addictions was large.
After a series of ten cardiopulmonary-related deaths in internet cafés and a game-related murder, South Korea considers internet addiction one of its most serious public health issues, he said. Using data from 2006, the South Korean government estimates that approximately 210,000 South Korean children are afflicted and require treatment.
About 80 per cent of those needing treatment may need psychotropic medications, and perhaps 20 per cent to 24 per cent require hospitalization.
He said it was very hard to gauge the extent of the problem in the US and some other countries due to the popularity of home internet connections. Unlike in Asia, where internet cafes are frequently used, in the United States games and virtual sex are accessed from the home.
Attempts to measure the phenomenon are clouded by shame, denial, and minimization.
Dr Block said he believed about 86 per cent of internet addicts also had at least one other mental disorder.
But he said classifying the addiction as a mental problem did not mean people would be easily cured. Unfortunately, internet addiction is resistant to treatment, entails significant risks and has high relapse rates.
#1
Dr Block said he believed about 86 per cent of internet addicts also had at least one other mental disorder.
Unfortunately, internet addiction is resistant to treatment, entails significant risks and has high relapse rates.
Significant risks? You mean like when my homicidal mania flares up when someone looks at my cable box outside my house in a threatening manner? What's so odd about that? Everybody thinks that way, it's just that nobody talks about it.
#2
I moved on Feb. 18th, and it was just yesterday that I finally got my internet connection at home working. And it was no problem! Really! Oh, sure, I tried hooking my keyboard up to my TV, but I was just being silly. It isn't true, though, that I tried to log on by stripping the phone cord and touching the copper wires together -- that was an accident. But they gave me tranquilizers after that, and they really helped.
(Seriously, I found myself thinking, "Why isn't there BlogTV? A Rantburg channel -- hey, that would be great! Naw, if there were such a thing as BlogTV, it would be all Daily Kos, all the time -- except for late night, which would be The Wonkette Files.)
#3
From what I can gather, there is a genetic susceptibility to addiction; it's almost a matter of chance what the person actually becomes addicted to.
Congratulations on your new home, Angie! Good lord -- can you imagine the state of our chew toys were Rantburg to be available on cable tv... or even radio? Even the Kos Kiddies would tune in to see how it's done.
#4
So back in the 50s and 60s we were addicted to the boob tube by the same logic. Before then to radio and still are through 'elevator' music that hums in the stores and offices. I smell grant money too.
#5
In my limited experience, a majority of psychologists and psychiatrists have mental disorders. I suspect those that don't seem to be affected are merely closet cases. Give them the grant money to keep them out of mischief and politics.
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - Arthur C. Clarke, a visionary science fiction writer who won worldwide acclaim with more than 100 books on space, science and the future, died Wednesday in his adopted home of Sri Lanka, an aide said. He was 90.
Clarke, who had battled debilitating post-polio syndrome since the 1960s and sometimes used a wheelchair, died at 1:30 a.m. local time after suffering breathing problems, aide Rohan De Silva told The Associated Press.
Clarke was regarded as a technological seer as well as a science-fiction writer, and was known as "the godfather of the telecommunications satellite."
His most famous novel, "2001: A Space Odyssey," was the basis of the 1968 film of the same name, co-written and directed by Stanley Kubrick. The film and the book elevated the plot's mentally unbalanced computer, HAL 9000, into the pantheon of great fictional characters.
During World War II, the Royal Air Force put him in charge of a new radar blind-landing system. Then, after the war, he proposed the idea of using geostationary satellites as relays for wireless communication. It took decades for the idea to bear fruit, but it eventually earned him a claim to fame almost as great as his science-fiction stories. Geosynchronous orbits, which keep satellites in a fixed position relative to the ground, are today called Clarke orbits.
Also during the 1940s, Clarke predicted that man would reach the moon by the year 2000 an idea that some experts dismissed as nonsense. In the late 1960s, Clarke served as a commentator along with CBS broadcaster Walter Cronkite for the Apollo missions that turned his prediction into reality. Later, NASA Administrator Tom Paine wrote in an inscription to Clarke that the science-fiction author "provided the essential intellectual drive that led us to the moon."
One of my all-time favorite Sci-Fi writers. I like "hard-sci" SciFi, and Clarke was arguably one of the top, along with Azimov, in terms of putting science to proper use. In addition to geosync satellites, he also came up with the basics for a "Space Elevator" that is even now being worked on as a way to get things into orbit cheaply. A brilliant man whose writings were an important part of the lives of a lot of people my age
#1
Arthur C. Clarke formulated the following three "laws" of prediction:
1. When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.
2. The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.
3. Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
#4
His book 2001: A Space Odyssey was one of the greats of the 20th century, up there with the best of Tolkien. Very few authors seemed to have the imagination to place humanity into the position he did in that book - or the optimism, for that matter - until he did so.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
03/19/2008 6:24 Comments ||
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#5
...For all of his space-based novels, for my money his best was The Ghost Of The Grand Banks - about an attempt to raise the Titanic
And don't forge Clarke's Law - "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" - gets proven every day as 12th century jihadis meet the US military.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
03/19/2008 7:40 Comments ||
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Posted by: Steve ||
03/19/2008 16:38 Comments ||
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#11
Clarke, Heinlein, and Asimov are the reason I'm an engineer. All engineers should read Science Fiction, it broadens your scope. All three will be missed.
If you like hard Sci-Fi check out James P Hogan.
Posted by: Formerly Dan ||
03/19/2008 18:20 Comments ||
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#12
Speaking generaly I've noticed hat the "Wizards Magic Wand" seems greatly like a modern day "Universal" remote control.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/19/2008 22:34 Comments ||
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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.
The Mystery of Global Warming's Missing Heat
Indonesia needs more help to rein in the bird flu virus, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation has said. The human death toll from bird flu in the country rose to 100 earlier this year - almost half of the total worldwide fatalities. The FAO's chief veterinary expressed concerns that failure to tackle the disease could lead the virus to mutate and cause a "human influenza pandemic". 
Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner of France said Tuesday that the European Union should consider punishing China's crackdown in Tibet with a boycott of the opening ceremony of this summer's Olympic Games in Beijing. His comments followed an appeal by the press advocacy group Reporters Without Borders to governments across the world to shun the highly symbolic ceremony during which the Olympic flame is lighted.
DHARAMSHALA, India - Tibets government-in-exile said 19 Tibetan protesters were shot dead in Chinas Gansu province on Tuesday, and said the confirmed death toll from a week of unrest had reached 99.
"He pimps white women and black women!" Note: The pastor seems unaware that the "Obama Girl" video was not a production of the Obama campaign.
Democrat Barack Obama's big national lead over Hillary Clinton has all but evaporated in the US presidential race, and both Democrats trail Republican John McCain, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll released.
Hillary Clinton has shored up her lead in Pennsylvania, the next battleground for the Democratic nomination, according to a new poll. The Quinnipiac University survey released this morning gives Clinton a 53 percent to 41 percent lead over Barack Obama about five weeks before the April 22 primary. A Quinnipiac poll in late February said Clinton's lead had shrunk to 49 percent to 43 percent. 
Mulhern says that he's not sure that the government ever believed Rolls-Royce's estimates, which does raise the question of why program officials signed that contract in the first place. However, it's not hard to realize what would have happened if the need for a new engine had been disclosed a few years ago, when the V-22 program was reeling from a series of accidents and the need for an extensive redesign.
