Thursday - June 16, 2011

Blimp Crash Update

An explosion on a blimp that killed its Australian pilot in Germany was caused by leaking fuel, crash investigators say.
...
Wreckage from the blimp, called The Spirit of Safety, had been sent to the offices of the German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation, daily newspaper Wetterauer Zeitung reported.

A spokesman for the investigator, Klaus Himmler, said the final report into the crash would be completed in four to eight weeks.
...
Joachim Storch, a photographer and one of the journalists who jumped from the blimp, said it had missed its designated landing spot and its engine smashed into the ground.

He told the DAPD news agency that Mr Nerandzic yelled “We had an accident!” and “I crashed the airship!” as fire spread through the blimp.

I have no idea what kind of safety systems are built into blimps. They are all certified by the FAA or whatever flying boards the countries they operate in have. Given the rather limited lifting ability of a blimp, any firefighting system would have to be quite lightweight, which might imply minimal effectiveness. But given that the fuel tank resides in the bottom of the envelope, above the gondola, if I had to design such a system I’d put in a servo valve on the fuel lines at the tank and another one at each engine. Even with a 1/2” fuel line, such servos only weigh a few ounces. I’d put a fireproof wrapper around a flexible fuel line going into the engines, so that the lines could flex several feet on impact without shearing, plus resist burn-through for several minutes. I’d add some kind of flame resistant coating to the underside of the envelope within 10-15 feet of the gondola, and more of that on the fuel tank itself. If possible I’d put in some kind of fire extinguisher system big enough to give the engines a 10 second blast. Hook the whole system up to impact switches on the engine struts and a panic button on the pilot’s instrument panel.

If I’m wrong about the gas tank location, and it resides under the gondola instead, then build it like one of those jet fighter pods with a quick release feature. Got a fire? Drop the tank. Put it on 100’ of rope so you don’t accidentally bomb people on the ground? Just get it far enough away to not add to the conflagration, then use whatever fire suppression systems you’ve got. Granted, this wouldn’t do much if the fire broke out when you were already at ground level.

Perhaps such systems are already in place. I don’t know. But if they are, they weren’t enough to do the job for this blimp.

Posted by Drew458     on 06/16/2011 at 10:00 AM   
Filed Under: • planes, trains, tanks, ships, machines, automobiles •  
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Murder At Government House

Police on Thursday were preparing to charge the son of Papua New Guinea’s acting prime minister with murder after the body of a 29-year-old waitress was found at the family home.

Theo Abal, 21, will likely make his first court appearance Friday once he is charged in the killing of the woman, police spokesman Dominic Kakas said. He could face the death penalty if convicted.

A guard at the house told police he saw Abal and the woman arrive home in the early hours of Monday and head for a garden on the premises. Police said that the guard later heard the woman scream and that Abal confessed to killing her.

Kakas said her throat had been cut. A kitchen knife found near her body was the suspected weapon, he said.

Acting Prime Minister Sam Abal said he personally reported the “alleged murder” to Police Commissioner Tony Wagambie on Monday after the woman’s body was found at his home in the capital, Port Moresby.

He made no comment on his son’s alleged confession but pledged to cooperate fully. He said in a statement Tuesday that if any of his relatives are involved, “they will face the full brunt of the law and will not be treated differently from anyone else.”

… the island nation has had the death penalty for only a few years and has yet to carry out an execution, though a handful of defendants have been sentenced to death.

Theo Abal, the younger of Sam Abal’s two children, is unemployed and lives at his father’s house.

Kakas said the dead woman worked as a waitress at a Port Moresby hotel. Her name has not been made public.

Wagambie said Tuesday that the acting prime minister was away from the house and was alerted to the death by the security guard, who found the woman’s body in a banana garden.

Sam Abal - who is acting Prime Minister while Sir Michael Somare recovers from heart surgery - said on Tuesday that an ‘’unfortunate and regrettable incident’’ had taken place at the family’s Port Moresby home at the weekend. ABC radio reported yesterday that Teo Abal had been arrested. He had been missing since the body was found.

Mr Abal told the PNG Parliament on Tuesday that his family would co-operate with police to ensure justice was done.

‘’The alleged murder took place within the perimeters of my private home,’’ Mr Abal said in the Post Courier on Tuesday. Mr Abal had recently moved to a hotel and was not living at the Konedobu address, the newspaper said.
...
‘’We will not interfere in this case. If any of my family members are involved, they will face the full brunt of the law and will not be treated differently as anyone else in similar situations,’’ Mr Abal said.
‘’Anyone found to be involved will face the full consequences of the law. They will be charged with murder in the same way as any other person in society that has no regard for value of human life and dignity of a person,’’ he added.

Boy is it easy to draw inferences from this one. But let’s not be hasty. Papua New Guinea has been the target of Christian missionaries for a very long time, to the point where only a third of the population still follows the indigenous beliefs (former headhunters). Islam barely even has a toehold, making up less than 1% of the population. I think what we have here may be a case of a spoiled rich kid who wasn’t going to take a NO from a commoner.

[ from May 12 ] Papua New Guinea’s absent prime minister, Sir Michael Somare, has had heart-valve replacement surgery in Singapore, the PNG parliament has been told.

Three weeks after Sir Michael stepped down and handed the reins to deputy Sam Abal, it is still not known when he will return to work. Sir Michael is recovering in Singapore following corrective surgery after an earlier, operation on his heart, the Port Moresby-based Post Courier newspaper reported on Thursday.

The acting prime minister, Mr Abal, briefed parliament on Sir Michael’s condition.

“The people of Papua New Guinea have been praying for our prime minister since he was admitted into hospital for surgery last month,” Mr Abal was quoted as saying. “The surgery was successful but Sir Michael developed some complications in the post-operative period that required corrective surgery. Consequently, corrective surgery has taken place and Sir Michael is in recovery.”

Sir Michael was expected to return to the office on April 18 following a two-week suspension after he was found guilty of financial misconduct dating back 20 years.

I don’t know what the financial misconduct was, but I think it’s cool that the country gave their leader a big old Time Out for being a bad boy.

Posted by Drew458     on 06/16/2011 at 09:33 AM   
Filed Under: • Crime • International •  
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   Wednesday - June 15, 2011

Our Brave Republicans In The Senate

Nor do I really give a rat’s ass whether the (R) votes to kill this amendment were from “farm states”. Phooey. ALL STATES ARE FARM STATES; it’s just that some states have more farms than others do. And the time for special interest pork is over. Vote for the good of the nation and to get us out of the financial depression we’re in, or earn my enmity.

Republicans voting to kill this amendment, along with the majority of Democrats:
Blunt (R-MO)
Coats (R-IN)
Cochran (R-MS)
Grassley (R-IA)
Hoeven (R-ND)
Johanns (R-NE)
Kirk (R-IL)
Moran (R-KS)
Portman (R-OH)
Roberts (R-KS)
Thune (R-SD)
Wicker (R-MS)

Looks like a pretty solid chunk of “flyover country” doesn’t it? The red meat of the Red States. Proving once again that the Republican party is just as much in the bag to the special interest groups and the pork barrel BS as the Democrats are.

Democrats and Independents who might have America’s best interests at heart, along with the majority of the Republicans:
Cantwell (D-WA)
Lieberman (ID-CT)
Manchin (D-WV)
Pryor (D-AR)
Tester (D-MT)
Webb (D-VA)

The ethanol industry yesterday praised the U.S. Senate for voting down an amendment by Senator Coburn (R-OK) to repeal ethanol tax incentives, including the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC) or the “blenders’ credit” by a vote of 59 to 40.

American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) Executive Director Brian Jennings said the vote sends the “right message” to the American public.

“This vote is a major victory for the biofuels industry and American consumers and a setback for those clinging to our status-quo dependence on oil. It proves political stunts aimed at ethanol won’t be tolerated in the U.S. Senate. Now we can focus on continuing our work with the White House and both chambers of Congress to support meaningful and responsible legislation to reform ethanol policy, such as S. 1185, the Ethanol Reform and Deficit Reduction Act, introduced by Senators Thune, Klobuchar, and many others this week,” Jennings said.

Jennings added that ethanol supporters should also be praised for the work that they did in defeating Senator Coburn’s amendment.

“ACE grassroots members from around the nation took the initiative to make phone calls and send emails to Senate offices, making a persuasive case that this vote was important and could make a difference at the pump and in the pocketbook. We thank our members for their efforts and we urge them to stay involved as these discussions continue to develop in the months to come,” Jennings said.

Jeff Broin, Chairman and CEO of the world’s largest ethanol producer, POET, said the ethanol tax credit had been responsible for building America’s “most successful renewable fuel into 10 percent of our gasoline supply”.

The Senate refused Tuesday to end $6 billion in ethanol subsidies, defeating an amendment by Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Tom Coburn, R-Okla., that crystallized a larger ideological split within the GOP over whether removing tax subsidies is a tax increase or is a legitimate way to trim the $1.5 trillion federal deficit.

The amendment became a test vote in this summer’s struggle to raise the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling. Republicans insist a debt-limit increase be accompanied by trillions of dollars in spending cuts and no tax increases. Democrats say tax increases must be part of the equation.
...
More than 40 percent of the U.S. corn crop now goes to ethanol, an alcohol fuel made from corn and added by law to gasoline. The fuel puts upward pressure on corn prices, harming dairy, livestock and chicken farmers who feed corn to their animals and face record $8-a-bushel corn because of flooding in the Mississippi Basin.

Ethanol gets three levels of government support: a 45-cent-a-gallon tax credit paid to refiners set to expire this year; a 54-cent-a-gallon tariff that blocks cheaper and more energy-efficient, sugar-based ethanol imports; and a federal regulation that in effect required a 10 percent blend of ethanol into gasoline.

Seems to me I recall that even Al Gore said that this thing was a flop. And if Mr. Blinders can see that, and admits his support was mostly for political reasons, what excuse does anyone else have?

It is not a good policy to have these massive subsidies for first-generation ethanol. One of the reasons I made that mistake is that I paid particular attention to the farmers in my home state of Tennessee and I had a certain fondness for the farmers in the state of Iowa because I was about to run for president.

Glad to know that our elitist Betters in DC won’t listen to him either, and that they remain beholden to big bucks special interest groups. So we won’t be saving that piddling $6 billion in handouts any time soon.

Only in America do we pay farmers to grow food to burn to run our cars. If they can’t make ethanol from grass clippings and scrap plant waste, it’s worthless. And if they can’t make a distillation process that uses less energy than the ethanol that comes out, it’s asinine. And that’s where we are today. Worthless and asinine, just like our Senate.

PS - I didn’t have $15,000 in cash sitting around a year or so ago, so I wasn’t able to trade in my older economy car for a newer flexi-fuel economy car in that Cash For Clunkers program. My car gets about 10% less mpg on this 10% gasohol, or cornoline, or whatever they call the damn mix. I hate it.

Posted by Drew458     on 06/15/2011 at 04:36 PM   
Filed Under: • Oil, Alternative Energy, and Gas Prices • Republicans •  
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Wisconsin Joins The Wave

The Wisconsin Senate passed a bill Tuesday that would allow concealed weapons in the state Capitol and other public places, but not in police stations, courthouse and other specifically exempted locations.

The final vote was 25-8, with all 19 Republicans and six Democrats supporting it, and the other eight Democrats opposed.

Wisconsin would become the 49th state to legalize carrying hidden guns. Those who want to carry the weapons would have to obtain a permit.

Before the bill goes to Republican Gov. Scott Walker, who backs the measure, it must also pass the Assembly. That could happen later in the week.

Republicans said the measure will help people take control over their own safety, particularly since there are felons who obtain guns even though they’re not supposed to have them.

“This is about allowing law-abiding citizens to protect themselves,” said Rich Zipperer, R-Pewaukee.

Naturally the Dems are saying it won’t work, blah blah blah. But it seems they have gone silent on the “Wild West” angle, especially out there in the wild west.

Good for Wisconsin, which already allows permit free open carry.

The article is a little bit wrong on the practical end of things. While only 1 remaining state - Illinois - and Washington DC specifically outlaw concealed carry, several other states are “may issue” states, which in practice means that only special people - very rich, politically connected, or buddies with the local sheriff - get carry permits. The rest of the citizens can go scratch. Hawaii and New Jersey are two states that do this, California does it to some extent, and Maryland, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island have “may issue” on the books but don’t use it as much. New York is it’s own world, where even a permit to own a firearm is not valid in New York City, and carrying a concealed handgun is only legal when involved in certain activities specified by the permit applicant. Like hiking or jogging, which in theory can be done anywhere while wearing any kind of footwear other than pumps and dress shoes.

The bottom line is that “shall issue” or “unrestricted” CCW is the law of the land in at least 41 of the 50 states, and soon it will be 42. Many of these states have reciprocity agreements with other states, based on U.S. Constitution’s “full faith and credit” provision. Unfortunately, the federal government came up with their weasel worded (and not yet declared unconstitutional) Gun Free School Zone Act of 1995, which makes legal reciprocal carry in suburban and urban areas almost impossible. Not to be completely stymied by the feds, a good number of states are willing to issue in-state CCW permits to out of state residents that already hold CCW permits for the state they reside in. It’s a dirty game, but the Forces of Darkness are slowly losing.

A number of states have legalized open carry, which means a gun on your hip in a holster, just like the cops. And the police in some of those states are finally learning that such a thing is legal, although this is taking some time.

So the Second Amendment is doing pretty well in the USA. Everywhere except New Jersey and Illinois.

Posted by Drew458     on 06/15/2011 at 02:38 PM   
Filed Under: • Guns and Gun Control •  
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You Are Welcome To It

Debbie Wasserman Schultz: ‘We own the economy’

Democrats are ready to take responsibility for the state of the economy and they deserve credit for putting it on the right track, the party’s chairwoman, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, said on Wednesday.

“We own the economy. We own the beginning of the turnaround and we want to make sure that we continue that pace of recovery, not go back to the policies of the past under the Bush administration that put us in the ditch in the first place,” Wasserman Schultz told Mike Allen at POLITICO’s ‘Playbook Breakfast.’

The economy, she said, “has turned around” since President Obama took office, with steady job growth evident even if the pace leaves something to be desired.

Republicans have ridiculed Democrats’ claims of economic success in the wake of disappointing jobs numbers and an uptick in the unemployment rate.

At least she’s one Democrat taking a bit of responsibility for once. And she’s their party chair. That means she sets the talking points. So if they all own it now, then they can’t blame Bush for any of it any more.

And that means that all of these “winning"s are her parties fault:

• Homebuilder Confidence in U.S. Slides to Nine-Month Low on Sales Outlook

  Confidence among U.S. homebuilders slumped in June to the lowest level in nine months as executives turned more pessimistic on the outlook for sales, a sign that any pickup will take time to develop.

  The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo sentiment index unexpectedly fell to 13 from 16 in May, the biggest drop in a year, data from the Washington-based group showed today. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News projected it would hold at 16.

  Further declines in real-estate values and more foreclosures in the pipeline mean builders will be hesitant to break ground on projects. Unemployment at 9.1 percent suggests demand for new homes may take years to rebound.

• Inflation rises to highest level in 3 years, key manufacturing index goes negative

  Yesterday’s economic news was at best a mixed bag, with indicators all dropping, but not as much as analysts expected.  Stocks rallied a bit on the news, picking up about 1% — but don’t expect that to last.  Today’s news was all bad, starting with news that consumer inflation has reached a three-year high without any evidence of economic strength

• More small businesses plan to reduce jobs: report

  Small business owners have a grim outlook on the economy, with a gathering number planning to reduce jobs over the next three months, according to survey results from an industry group.

  The percentage of independent businesses planning to increase employment in the next three months fell to 13% in May, compared to 16% in April and 18% in March, according to the National Federation of Independent Business.

  At the same time, the percentage of small businesses planning to reduce their work force has increased to 8% in May, compared to 6% in the month before, the group said.

• Study: Housing Collapse Steeper Than During Great Depression

  The author of a study claiming the U.S. housing collapse is now worse than during the Great Depression warned Wednesday that the market likely will continue to fall for the rest of the year before going stagnant.

  Paul Dales, senior U.S. economist for Capital Economics, predicted home prices would fall another 3 percent over the rest of 2011 before potentially hitting bottom.

  “Even when that happens, I don’t think we’re going to see any significant or sustained rises,” he told FoxNews.com Wednesday, predicting “a couple years of pretty much no recovery whatsoever.”

  The bleak prediction comes after he released a report estimating that since the collapse began from the pricing peak of 2006, prices have fallen 33 percent—more than the 31 percent dive recorded between the 1920s and 1930s.
  

But we shouldn’t try to make her and her party feel too badly. After all, some see the truth that the economy is already dead. And if already dead, it can’t get much deader can it? Or can it? Can it become ... undead???

Zombinomics

We aren’t going to have another financial crash. In fact, nothing at all is going to happen. Forecasting the United States economy is about as exciting as predicting next quarter’s gross domestic product in 1957 Poland. You want to know what’s going to happen, comrade? Read the Five Year Plan. With 40% of US personal income coming from transfer payments, it’s almost nostalgic to call it capitalism.

The so-called American economic recovery won’t die, because it’s undead. It was a zombie to begin with. Equity investors during the past six weeks came to the collective conclusion that the US is not in the early phase of an economic recovery, but in the endless middle of a structural slump, in the term of Nobel Prize winner Edmund Phelps.

Posted by Drew458     on 06/15/2011 at 02:07 PM   
Filed Under: • Democrats-Liberals-Moonbat Leftists • Economics •  
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an inventive way to remove a wart … oh boy … take a look at this.

To be or not to be. Funny tis the question cos to some this is rotflyao event. 

I confess I’m trying to think of something, anything, that looks witty or clever or really funny.  But I’m blank so maybe you guys can fill in the blanks.

Take a look at some of the comments left by folks at the link.  Some funny one liners.

Security guard blasts off his own finger with a shotgun while trying to remove a WART!
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 3:20 PM on 15th June 2011

A security guard came up with a bizarre remedy to remove a wart - he shot off his finger with a shotgun.
Sean Murphy, 38, from Doncaster, had seen his GP repeatedly about the problem and also tried a variety of traditional ointments and creams.
But when the persistent wart refused to disappear, he opted for the firepower of a 12-bore Beretta he claimed he had found under a hedge a few months earlier.

His technique successfully removed the wart - along with most of the middle finger of his left hand.
And the solution also landed Murphy in court this week for illegal possession of a firearm.

After leaving Doncaster Magistrates’ Court with a suspended 16-week prison sentence, Murphy said: ‘I’m happy with that.
‘I know I could have gone to jail for up to 15 years for a firearms offence. My solicitor did a very good job. The best thing is that the wart has gone. It was giving me lot of trouble.’

Murphy was employed as a security officer at Markham Grange Nurseries in Doncaster at the time of the incident in March, but has since lost his job.
He had suffered with the irritating wart on the joint closest to the tip of his middle finger for more than five years.

He said he drank several pints of beer to build up his courage before carrying out the operation outside the caravan where he was living at the time.
He stretched out his left hand, pointing the end of the barrel at an angle to the offending wart, and used his other hand to hold the stock steady and pull the trigger.

But he was unable to hold the weapon firmly when it recoiled and pellets took off most of his finger.  ‘I didn’t expect to lose my finger as well when I shot it but the gun recoiled and that was it,’ Murphy said.

‘The wart was gone and so was most of my finger. There was nothing left of it, so no chance of re-attaching it.’

Mr Murphy pleaded guilty to theft of the shotgun by finding, and possessing it without a valid firearms certificate.

The shotgun had been stolen in a 2009 burglary but Murphy told police he had found it under a hedge near his workplace earlier this year.

His lawyer, Richard Haigh, said Murphy ‘has been a victim of his own stupidity when domestic pressures got to him’.

Murphy was also ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid community work and pay costs of £100.

Visit Alfred for lots more comments at the site.

Good job it wasn’t a genital wart.
- Alfred, UK,

Posted by peiper     on 06/15/2011 at 10:07 AM   
Filed Under: • Guns and Gun Control • Stoopid-People •  
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being led by conservative lite

MILLIONS for Bribes and Tribute but not one cent for Defense

Hey … has a ring to it.  I wonder if history will soon note. Whatever.

The prime minister, call me Dave (Cameron) said the following two days ago.

The generous foreign aid policy will help to stop British troops becoming embroiled in future foreign wars.  Jeesh. So why didn’t they simply buy off the Germans in 1939.
Oh right. Different generation with a different set of b***s.  Makes a difference ya know.

Anyway, Dave says that if the govt. had taken a more ambitious approach to offering development assistance to Afghanistan in the 1990s, troops may never have been sent to that country.  Oh, you think that’s loony tune time?  Here’s what else this conservative lite pm had to say.  He’s real proud of this and in fact he deserves the much unheralded BMEWS Moonbat award for the year. Or at the least, a runner up.

Mister call me Dave says that by the year 2015, British funds would be used to educate more people abroad then in his own country.  He claimed that Brits would have done better if they’d put more money into countries like Afghanistan before they came so badly broken that “we had to send troops there.”

He went on to say that the Brit sense of duty “makes me proud of our country.”

The man is delusional I tell ya.  Most Brits I hear say otherwise.  He’s spending other people’s money whether they like it or no. Duty doesn’t come into it.  If he thinks it does, then let him make a call for voluntary financial support for his action in Libya and every other turd world medieval country that’s always deprived of something.  Lets see where he’d get with that. 

His version of the British sense of duty doesn’t exactly match what many here see as that.  There’s a sense of duty to protect and nurture your own. First. That’s human nature.  Squandering millions is also human nature, sadly, and so far he shows every sign of being up to that task.

Stay Tuned

cartoon is from the Telegraph ....  rant is from frustration ....

Posted by peiper     on 06/15/2011 at 09:01 AM   
Filed Under: • Daily Life • Politics • UK •  
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American derring do. RIP Major Gen. John Alison. USAF

His war time deeds read like an action movie.

MAJOR GENERAL JOHN ALISON (RIP)

Major General John Alison, who has died aged 98, was an American fighter “ace” and one of his country’s most decorated pilots; he later fought behind enemy lines with the Chindits and is recognised as the father of US Air Force special operations.

A combat veteran with seven enemy aircraft to his credit, Alison was appointed at the end of 1943 to join his friend, Lt Col Philip Cochran, to form the 1st Air Commando Group, a secret and highly innovative flying unit.

Alison’s composite wing of fighters, bombers, transports, gliders, and helicopters was assembled to support Major General Orde Wingate, the unorthodox British commander of the Chindits long-range penetration force, who planned to land a force of 9,000 men almost 200 miles behind Japanese lines in Burma.

Alison trained his air transport and glider-towing force in preparation for this mission, codenamed Operation Thursday, and the assault took place on the night of March 5 1944. Men and mules were carried in Waco gliders towed in pairs behind C-47 transport aircraft. Alison had only flown a glider on two previous occasions, and never at night, but was determined to participate in the landing of Wingate’s force.

He piloted one of the gliders in the first wave, taking 15 men of the assault team. After casting off from the tug aircraft, he brought his glider down safely on the rough “Broadway” landing ground before grabbing his rifle and a sack of grenades and leaping out to join battle with the enemy.

After three weeks in the jungle he was recalled. To get back he flew a damaged C-47 transport aircraft from a jungle airstrip, despite never having flown the type before. On arriving over his destination airfield he had to ask for instructions on how to lower the undercarriage and landing flaps. For his services in support of Operation Thursday, King George VI awarded Alison the DSO.

Alison was immediately summoned to Washington to report to General “Hap” Arnold, Chief of the USAAF, and General Eisenhower, to debrief them on the success of the air commandos; he was then instructed to form four more groups. In the event, only two were formed, and Alison was sent to command the 3rd Air Commando Group in the Pacific, where he participated in the landing on the Philippines and in the air operations at Okinawa.

John Richardson Alison was born in Micanopy, Florida, on November 21 1912. He graduated from the University of Florida with an Engineering degree and joined the US Army Air Corps in 1936.

Before the United States entered the Second World War he served as assistant military attaché in England and helped RAF pilots convert to the P-40 Kittyhawk fighter provided under the Lend-Lease scheme. Not content with a training role, he soon became involved in operational tasks when he recognised that the RAF had much to teach him and his colleagues. In October 1941 he travelled to Moscow to train Russian pilots to fly the aircraft provided under the sensitive US-Soviet Lend-Lease programme. After ten months his repeated requests for a transfer to a fighting unit bore fruit.

In June 1942 he reported to the China-Burma-India (CBI) theatre to join Major General Claire Chennault’s 14th Air Force as the deputy commander of the newly formed 75th Fighter Squadron. On July 30 1942, operating from Hengyang in China, he was credited with the first night kills in the theatre. For his experimental night interception work, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. In early 1943 he demonstrated his aggressiveness when he took off during an attack on his own airfield.

He engaged three Zero fighters and probably shot one down. He then vectored arriving reinforcements to the battle, after which he made a stern attack on another enemy fighter at close range, shooting it down. His aircraft was damaged and he was forced to make an emergency landing in a river bed. His gallantry and fighting spirit earned him the Silver Star. Ending his tour as commander of the 75th Fighter Squadron, Alison left as an ace with seven confirmed victories and several further probable kills.

After a brief spell in the USA, Alison travelled to Burma in late 1943 to take up his post with No 1 Air Commando.

read it all here

Posted by peiper     on 06/15/2011 at 08:34 AM   
Filed Under: • OBITITUARIES •  
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   Tuesday - June 14, 2011

Another Air Crash

During 64 perilous World War II combat missions over Europe, the Liberty Belle survived the hellfire of German flak and a calamitous night in which six of the nine bombers in its squadron were destroyed.

But in sunny, clear and peaceful skies above Chicago’s western suburbs Monday morning, a working replica of the B-17 bomber caught fire shortly after take off from Aurora Municipal Airport.

Only the apparent quick thinking and skills of the pilot, John Hess, who emergency-landed the vintage plane in a muddy Oswego cornfield, saved the lives of all seven people aboard without serious injury.

“He did all of the right things,” the plane’s owner Don Brooks said of Hess as National Transportation Safety Board investigators inspected the charred wreck of the restored bomber, which has been touring the U.S. offering rides to paying passengers with the Liberty Foundation since 2004. “I’m proud of our guys.”

Black smoke billowed from the plane just five miles from the airport near Route 71 and Minkler Road. But extremely wet and muddy fields made it impossible for firefighters to get to the scene in time to save the plane, Sugar Grove Fire Chief Marty Kunkel said.

One person suffered a minor head injury when exiting the plane, but no one was seriously injured, Kendall County deputy Craig French said.

Brooks described the plane as a “national treasure” as he reeled from the news of its loss at his Georgia auto body shop Monday afternoon. One of only a dozen World War II-era B-17s still flying, it was grounded over the weekend with a fuel leak and was on a test flight when it went down in flames Monday, according to Pat Tessin, an aviation enthusiast who spoke with engineers working on it Sunday.

Let me clarify: this was a real B-17, built at the end of WWII. While this particular airplane never saw combat, and was used as an engine test bed after the war, when it was restored to original condition it was named in honor of the other B-17 that the owner’s father had flown in the 8th Air Force in WWII. FAA investigation will determine if the cause was indeed the fuel leak from the other day, but that’s beside the point. The point is that the pilot put this old bird down in a cornfield and saved all those aboard, and that the fire destroyed most of the airplane. Now there are only 11 of these planes still flying in all the world.

From the Liberty Belle web site, a somewhat different story emerges:

Here is what we do know… Flying in the left seat of the B-17 was Capt. John Hess. John has been flying our Liberty Belle since 2005 and one of our most experienced B-17 pilots. He is an active Delta Air Lines Captain with over 14,000 hours of flying experience and flys a variety of vintage WWII aircraft. In the right seat was Bud Sittic. While Bud is new to the Liberty Foundation this year, he is also incredibly experienced with over 14,000 hours of flying time in vintage and hi-performance aircraft. He is a retired Captain with Delta Air Lines.
...
The takeoff ... was uneventful and proceeded on-course southeast. Prior to exiting Aurora’s airport traffic area, the B-17 crew and passengers began investigating an acrid smell and started a turn back to the airport. Almost immediately thereafter, Cullen spotted flames coming from the left wing and reported over the radio that they were on fire.
...
Directly below the B-17 was a farmer’s field and the decision was made to land immediately. Approximately 1 minute and 40 seconds from the radio report of the fire, the B-17 was down safely on the field. Within that 1:40 time frame, the crew shutdown and feathered the number 2 engine, activated the engine’s fire suppression system, lowered the landing gear and performed an on-speed landing. Bringing the B-17 to a quick stop, the crew and passengers quickly and safely exited the aircraft. Overhead in the T-6, Cullen professionally coordinated and directed the firefighting equipment which was dispatched by Aurora Tower to the landing location.

Unlike the sensational photos that you have all seen of the completely burned B-17 on the news, you will see from photos taken by our crew that our Liberty Belle was undamaged by the forced landing and at the time of landing, the wing fire damage was relatively small. The crew actually unloaded bags, then had the horrible task of watching the aircraft slowly burn while waiting for the fire trucks to arrive. There were high hopes that the fire would be extinguished quickly and the damage would be repairable. Those hopes were diminished as the fire trucks deemed the field too soft to cross due to the area’s recent rainfall. So while standing by our burning B-17 and watching the fire trucks parked at the field’s edge, they sadly watched the wing fire spread to the aircraft’s fuel cells and of course, you all have seen the end result.

.
So a more accurate news title would have been “Fire crews unable to cross field to save vintage airplane” Darn shame, but my take is that the crew acted as professionally as possible.

h/t to Dave C

Posted by Drew458     on 06/14/2011 at 04:49 PM   
Filed Under: • Miscellaneous •  
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Pay No Attention to the DB behind the curtain

Posted by Drew458     on 06/14/2011 at 04:37 PM   
Filed Under: • Humor • Media-Bias •  
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japanese si-fi?  nope.  it’s right here

The scariest tree in Britain?

With nothing to say, just sharing this oddity.

read about it here

Posted by peiper     on 06/14/2011 at 10:22 AM   
Filed Under: • Scary Stuff • UK •  
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as I recall, hitler said he could change the world if given the youth

Didn’t he ask for the youth because it was too late to train (or should that be brainwash in modern terms) the adults?  Although for awhile he managed that okay.

So in another way, this reminds me of that.  There will be a generation growing up making the new laws and rules society will live by.

Not everyone is happy about this however, and they’re making their voices heard.  But I can tell you from the things I have seen myself, not read in the morning papers, that the kiddies are being well schooled and indoctrinated in this subject in my particular corner of the world.

Here’s what the kiddies are being groomed to believe.  And they damn sure do.

One national curriculum module for seven-year-olds, called Solar, says they must:

Understand in simple terms how climate change will affect wildlife, using the example of polar bears.

Think about positive ways we can act now to slow down climate change.

Understand that there are forms of energy production that don’t produce carbon dioxide, such as solar.

A list of vocabulary that the youngsters must know includes: global warming, climate change, carbon dioxide and solar power.

Suggested activities include preparing a written or verbal news flash explaining the terms ‘climate change’ and ‘global warming’ with specific reference to the lives of polar bears and the Arctic.

Questions the class must ask: 

Will climate change affect us?

If the ice melts what will happen to the seas?

Will this change where we live?

read the full version here

Posted by peiper     on 06/14/2011 at 09:45 AM   
Filed Under: • Climate-Weather • Education •  
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Suspects ‘would have died’ at hands of lynch-mob, say police.

Well BRAVO to the mob who tried their best to do the correct thing.  People who were just plain fed up to the teeth of being at the mercy of thugs.
This is the result of what happens when “justice” goes missing from the term criminal justice system. Pity it can’t happen more often.  If it did, the courts would soon get their act together and nullify all the left wing hand wringers and bleeding hearts.
I’m sorry the crowd here didn’t get to finish the job.  Maybe they’ll get smart and find ways to get their own tear gas before extra police arrive to use theirs, and see justice done.  For once.

Lynch-mob justice Mexican-style: Hundreds of furious villagers ambush suspected thieves as they cower in police car

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 11:02 AM on 14th June 2011

Residents in crime-ridden suburb fight back against gangs.

Suspects ‘would have died’ at hands of lynch-mob, say police.

The three men and one woman had been arrested just moments earlier as they allegedly tried to rob an off-licence in an Lorenzo Acopilco, Mexico City.

Fed-up residents say their village is plague by crime and that businesses are constantly extorted by gangs.

The mob took out their frustrations on the suspected thieves and ambushed the police car as they were being taken away on Monday afternoon.

Baying crowds surrounded the patrol car and smashed the windows by hurling stones and bricks at it.

The terrified suspects were reported to be Hugo Manuel Vera, 25 years old, Virginia Luna, 19, Angel Ibarra, 24, and Ivan Sotelo, 41.

They cowered inside the battered shell as just inches away the villagers tried desperately to attack them.

The vehicle was held up for a number of hours as irate locals flooded the roads to prevent the alleged crooks from escaping.

One man climbed onto the bonnet of the car and slammed a brick through the windscreen. Dozens of the others desperately tried to get to the suspected criminals.

Officers wearing helmets and using large shields had to fight back the residents.

Ironically, police said that the suspects would have been killed had reinforcements not arrived to disperse the crowds.

Riot police filed in and used tear gas to force away the mob and allow the police car to leave safely.

Villagers told Mexican news stations that the area is plagued with robbery, rape and extortion of businesses.

see lots more here

Posted by peiper     on 06/14/2011 at 08:04 AM   
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Blimp Crash In Germany

It is with great sadness that we report the death of Captain Mike Nerandzic, one of the world’s most experienced Airship Pilots. With a total of 26 years airship piloting experience covering more than 18,000 flight hours in 24 countries, Mike has been a leading Chief Pilot on Lightships for 20 years. Our thoughts at this time go to his wife and family, his colleagues past and present and his many friends worldwide.

- Lightships.com

AN AUSTRALIAN blimp pilot has been hailed a hero after he saved three passengers by ordering them to jump from the burning airship only to then die himself.

Michael Nerandzic, from Balgownie in Wollongong, was attempting to land the A60 Goodyear airship at an airfield at Reichelsheim in Germany, when the blimp caught fire during descent. The 53-year-old and three journalists with him were returning from a local music festival.

It is understood the passengers smelt fuel and heard a loud whirring noise before the blimp caught fire. Realising the airship was only moments away from disaster, Mr Nerandzic then made the heroic decision to put his own life on the line to save those of his passengers.  Hovering 2m above the ground he yelled for the three passengers to jump from the gondola to safety below.

That decision reduced the ballast weight of the airship which is believed to have caused it to shoot 50m into the air where it exploded with the burning wreckage falling to the ground. Mr Nerandzic was unable to escape and died in the wreckage.

Witnesses said they heard loud noises coming from the air before spotting a “fireball” moments before it crashed into a meadow near the airfield.

“We could hear the cries of the pilot as the fire surrounded him. It was terrible,” one said.

Amateur video of part of the crash here; news report video at links above and below.

Witnesses - the passengers and ground crew I’d guess - reported smell fuel and hearing a loud whirring noise from one of the engines.

The wife of a Wollongong blimp pilot, who died saving three airship passengers in Germany, has said her husband was “larger than life” and “a character”.

Speaking to the Illawarra Mercury today, Lyndy Nerandzic said she was not surprised to hear of husband Michael’s heroic actions in the last minutes of his life.

“When they told me what he had done for the passengers, it didn’t surprise me one little bit,” she said.

Blimps are filled with helium, which is a gas that does not burn. Blimps do not have any internal support structures like the framework in the old Zeppelins. Once mostly filled with helium, the bag (ie the “envelope") is kept firm by the assistance of an inner bag called a ballonet, which contains regular air. As the blimp rises and the helium expands, the ballonet deflates. When the helium contracts, the ballonet inflates and takes up the volume.

I could not find detailed information on blimp design, but from the way this crash happened I do not believe that they are built with a big dump valve on top like hot air balloons are. Such a valve might have saved this pilot. Or maybe not; we’ll never know.

While helium by itself is fairly rare in nature, large amounts of it are freed as part of the natural gas purification process.

Posted by Drew458     on 06/14/2011 at 08:00 AM   
Filed Under: • Heroes • News-Briefs • planes, trains, tanks, ships, machines, automobiles •  
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