Wednesday - December 11, 2019

I think it was the way to DC

$3 Million In Cash Found In Pork Barrels Headed To Mexico

Deputies found $3 million in cash hidden in barrels of raw pork meat on Saturday when they pulled over a tractor-trailer driving south on Interstate 85, according to the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina.

“The Sheriff’s Office has reason to believe that the money was headed to the U.S./Mexico border and also believe that the money was a result of drug sales throughout the region,” according to a news release.

The driver, whom deputies described as a Hispanic man, was stopped for “failure to maintain lane control and impeding the flow of traffic,” the release states.

Illegal pork barrel money? Oh the irony.

Posted by Drew458     on 12/11/2019 at 03:26 PM   
Filed Under: • Crime • Politics • Porkbusters •  
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winter wonders

Another terrible snow storm here. We must have had at least 1/4” inch of the white stuff. It was mostly gone by noon, but it’s one of those cold and damp days that makes you want to curl up in front of the fireplace and take a nap for a month.

Posted by Drew458     on 12/11/2019 at 03:20 PM   
Filed Under: • Miscellaneous •  
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Santa’s Little Helper

Posted by Drew458     on 12/11/2019 at 02:19 PM   
Filed Under: • Humor •  
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Local Defense Contractor Guilty

Defense Contractor Made Below Spec Machine Gun Bipods, Falsified The Data

  NEWARK, N.J. – The former chief operating officer of a New Jersey custom manufacturing firm admitted today that he made false statements and submitted false documents to the Department of Defense in fulfillment of a machine gun bipod assembly contract, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Police say Mark Colello, 54, of Hackettstown, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William Martini in Newark federal court to an information charging him with two counts of making false statements and representations.

Colello falsified test results for the hardness of steel used to construct the bipod assemblies and for the magnetic particle inspection of the head and collar joints for the bipods.

The weaker grade steel and the faulty head and collar joints caused the legs of the bipods to fail when soldiers attempted to use them to support their machine guns.

I gather that the bipod on this weapon has been an issue for some time, and that other kinds of fixes have been attempted. These things see pretty severe use, and have to be strong and durable.

Until such a new design becomes official, the current design needs to be made from the best quality materials. This is what “mil spec” is all about: tough and dependable. Yeah, expensive too

Colello runs the Applied Resources Corporation in Wharton NJ, about 3 miles southwest of the famous Picatinny Arsenal near Lake Hopatcong.

This is inexcusable. How many of our soldiers died because of his crappy parts?

PS - the bipod in the picture has the “field fix” on it: the collar has been welded to the base. While this will keep the thing from snapping in two, it does not allow the gun to traverse side to side. The current FN factory bipod does not traverse either. This is not a good thing.

Posted by Drew458     on 12/11/2019 at 01:35 PM   
Filed Under: • Crime • Military •  
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Chile Aircraft Vanishes

C-130 Missing, Not Much Hope

President Sebastián Piñera of Chile confirmed reports early Tuesday of the disappearance of a Hercules C-130 military aircraft en route to Antarctica, describing the incident as an “accident.”

The Chilean military, with aid from neighboring Uruguay, Argentina, and the United States, has begun a search of what officials consider the likely crash site of the plane. There is not at press time any evidence that the plane crashed, but its sudden disappearance off of military radar and complete lack of communication with the air traffic regulators monitoring it suggests the plane fell somewhere along its path to Chile’s Antarctic scientific research site.

Authorities in Santiago confirmed 38 people, about half members of the crew and half soldiers, were onboard the flight, which departed Punto Arenas, Chile, at 2 p.m. local time on Monday. Three passengers were identified as civilians. It was expected to land at Chile’s Eduardo Frei military base in Antarctica at about 7:30 p.m. local time, the armed forces confirmed in a press release, but disappeared about an hour before. By midnight on Tuesday, military officials declared that the airplane had likely crashed and launched a search and rescue operation in the Drake Passage, the waters in between the southernmost continent and South America.

The Argentina outlet Infobae described the aircraft’s mission as one of “supply and logistics support,” ensuring that the military base was both fueled and properly furbished in light of the difficult conditions on the continent.

The flight was from Punto Arenas to the airstrip on King Georges Island in the Southern Shetlands. This is only about 750 miles, in an airplane that usually flies about 300mph. But way down at the bottom of the world the weather is extremely unpredictable and can change drastically in an instant. The Southern Shetlands are a group of smallish islands at the north end of the great Antarctic Archipelago, that spit of ice covered land that juts northward towards South America. King George Island is home to the research bases of many nations, because one small area on the west end of the island is ice free for most of the year. The landing strip is gravel, which makes it a lot nicer than the typical ice strips on the rest of the continent. It’s late Spring there right now, and at this time the wind and wave conditions in the Drake Passage are relatively pretty mild, with waves only 10 feet high. The water is deadly cold though, as always. The C-130 aircraft is a sturdy and reliable design, a tough old workhorse from 1956 that is still in production.

Sad update 12/12/19: all 38 aboard are lost. The plane crashed into the ocean. Hard. 

Posted by Drew458     on 12/11/2019 at 10:42 AM   
Filed Under: • Military • planes, trains, tanks, ships, machines, automobiles •  
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   Tuesday - December 10, 2019

No More Saudi Military Flight Training Here

Well duh. Should have outlawed this on 9/12/01.

Pentagon suspends flight training for hundreds of Saudi students

Hope they sent them home too.

The Pentagon on Tuesday suspended more than 850 Saudi students from flight training in response to the deadly shooting by a Saudi student last Friday at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida, senior defense officials told Fox News.

The suspension was part of a broader Defense Department review of all international training on U.S. military bases after Friday’s massacre.

The officials said all 852 Saudi military students will be immediately confined to classroom training, while all operational training in the air, land, and sea “will pause.”

Navy Commander Clay Doss said classroom and flight training will resume for other students this week. He did not say how long the flight stand-down for Saudi students will continue.

Officials told Fox News the Saudi government has agreed to the Pentagon’s decision.

I hope like hell somebody with half a brain has changed the rules and let the base guards be armed ... with gun that have ammo in them. Same goes for base personnel. You wear the uniform? Then carry a gun. At least on duty.

Posted by Drew458     on 12/10/2019 at 11:20 PM   
Filed Under: • Military •  
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same news, two views

Compare And Contrast

There was a gigantic shoot out in Jersey City today. One policeman killed, another severely wounded. Two perps shot dead, 3 bystanders killed, one perp possibly on the loose. The gunfight went on for several hours, with hundreds of rounds fired.

Here’s the story at Fox News, out of their New York office just a few mile away.

Here’s the story at the Daily Mail, in London England, thousands of miles away.

The American site makes no mention that the shootout happened on Martin Luther King Blvd (hint hint) or that the perps had rifles. And about 20 other facts, along with background on the killed officer.

I was quite surprised and impressed that Jersey City had a tracked skid loader modified with armor and a ram/shooting shield on the front. Rather like a modern, bullet proof version of a medieval archer’s pavise shield . Pretty inventive ... and relatively inexpensive. I would have thought they’d just get a milsurp MRAP like everybody else.

But I digress. Just look at the depth of information that the Brit coverage gives you, along with a ton of pictures.

I’ve said many times before, if you want the full story on something that happens here, you have to go over there. Then you have to remove the heavy Socialist slant, but gosh. Our reporters suck. Bandwidth is nearly unlimited and digital storage is infinite and nearly free. There’s no excuse, except “TL; DR”.

Even the local coverage here wasn’t much better than Fox’s. Our news media sucks for actual reporting.

Ok, this local one is a little better, and has a few more details.

Day After Update: Antisemitism To Blame?

The shooting was reportedly motivated by anti-Semitic sentiments. The suspects have been identified as David Anderson and Francine Graham, who were both members of the Black Hebrew Israelite movement. The pair were killed in the standoff with police after they fatally shot three civilians inside the grocery store.

Officials stated they discovered religious writings in the stolen U-Haul used in the shooting as well as anti-Jewish and anti-police remarks posted online by one of the suspects.

According to reports, 22-year old Moshe Deutsch, 33-year-old Leah Mindel Ferencz, and an unidentified delivery worker were among the civilians killed. An extensive investigation is now underway with authorities inspecting the stolen U-haul, cemetery, and grocery store for any evidence about what led to such a violent day on the streets of Jersey City.

More about the Black Hebrew Israelite ideology here.

CCTV and on the scene videos emerge. There’s an awful of gunfire going on. Oh, BTW, there is a Jewish school upstairs over the deli. Full of children.

Wednesday Afternoon Update: Can We Call It Terrorism YET??

Multiple weapons and a pipe bomb were recovered from the scene of Tuesday’s deadly shooting in Jersey City, N.J., officials revealed at a news conference Wednesday.

FBI Newark Special Agent In Charge Gregory Ehrie said state police professionals conducted a forensic search on the vehicle that the two suspects used to get to the Jewish supermarket

Posted by Drew458     on 12/10/2019 at 11:03 PM   
Filed Under: • Miscellaneous •  
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   Monday - December 09, 2019

Remembering My Moby

It sure was a nice little car

I parked next to an early 70s Thunderbird yesterday. It was in pretty nice condition. I was amazed at the massive size of the thing. It’s a whale. A true Moby.

Weighing in at 4825lb, with a 120.4 inch wheelbase, nearly 80 inches wide, and a hair under 226 inches long, this had to be the biggest 2 door car ever made. It managed a mediocre 10mpg highway with the smog choked 460 engine.

Then I looked up the whale I used to own, that I’d bought used on a lark after driving several microscopic Chevy Vegas into the ground: a 1975 Chrysler Imperial leBaron.

And I realized that that old T-bird was a bit small in comparison. The Imperial was 5200lb on a 124 inch wheelbase, 232.7 inches long, and also nearly 80 inches wide. With a gas sucking pig 440 and a Quadrajet carburetor big enough to take a bath in, it could only manage 10mpg on the highway if it was downhill with a heavy tailwind. But man oh man, what a velvet whale that car was. When it wasn’t in the shop.

And yet both of these road pigs come in “undersized” compared to the 1976 Lincoln Continental Town Car. That rectangular behemoth was 5400lb, 127 inch wheelbase, 232.9 inches long, and 80.3 inches wide. Wow. Beyond huge.

Naturally, the 1974 Cadillac Fleetwood 75 Brougham was even larger, 252 inches long, 133 inch wheelbase, and touching 6000lb. I never really like the style though; too old guy even for a giant luxury car.

I remember that there used to be enormous mom-mobiles out there called station wagons that were nearly as big as these mobys but cost a whole lot less. Got just as poor gas mileage though.

I think my current Mazda 3 could just about fit in the trunk of any one of these aircraft carriers on wheels. 

Posted by Drew458     on 12/09/2019 at 08:58 AM   
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Tourists On Volcano When It Explodes

5 Dead, 2 Dozen Missing As New Zealand Volcano Erupts While Cruise Ship Visitors Ashore

A volcanic island in New Zealand erupted Monday in a tower of ash and steam while dozens of tourists were exploring the moon-like surface, killing five people and leaving many more missing.

Police said after aerial reconnaissance flights of the island that they saw no signs of life and the missing are presumed dead.

Police Deputy Commissioner John Tims said the number of missing was in the double digits but he couldn’t confirm an exact number. He said there were fewer than 50 people on the island when it erupted and 23 had been taken off, including the five dead.

Tims said experts had told them the island remained unsafe for rescuers.

“The island is unstable, there are possibilities of further eruptions. But actually the physical island is unsafe for us to return to the island,” Tims said.

He said both New Zealanders and overseas tourists were among those who were dead, missing or injured. He said most of the 18 who survived were injured and some had suffered severe burns.

Some of those involved were tourists from the Royal Caribbean International cruise ship Ovation of the Seas.

My god, White Island volcano erupted today for the first time since 2001.” wrote Michael Schade on Twitter as he posted video of the eruption. “My family and I had gotten off it 20 minutes before, were waiting at our boat about to leave when we saw it. Boat ride home tending to people our boat rescued was indescribable.”
...
This is so hard to believe. Our whole tour group were literally standing at the edge of the main crater not 30 minutes before. My thoughts with the families of those currently unaccounted for, the people recovering now, and especially the rescue workers

The cruise ship staff got off as many people as they could as the eruption continued. 

Posted by Drew458     on 12/09/2019 at 08:03 AM   
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before the dawn’s early light

I was up at Oh God Early this morning to the sound of rain. Fed the cats, made the coffee, tuned up the computer in half a dozen ways, did some online Xmas shopping.

The Land’s End promo code EARLY50 works, and gets you 50% off of everything. In case you missed their 50% off sale last week, like I did. It takes their prices down to reasonable.

Ok, it’s 6:38am, it’s still raining. Time to shop Duluth and Cabela’s. I bet they have promo codes too. 

Posted by Drew458     on 12/09/2019 at 06:35 AM   
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   Sunday - December 08, 2019

Who Needs A Hotline Anyway?

A desperate woman stood poised on the edge of a high cliff, about to jump.

A filthy deadbeat wandering by stopped and yelled at her, “Look, since you’ll be dead in a few minutes and it won’t matter to you, how about a little sex before you go?”

She screamed back, “NO! Bugger off, you filthy old bastard!”

He shrugged and turned away saying, “Suit yerself, lady. I’ll just wait down at the bottom.”

She didn’t jump.

Posted by Drew458     on 12/08/2019 at 09:33 PM   
Filed Under: • Humor •  
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OMG I’ve Become a Foodie

Yes, we actually took pictures of the sushi appetizer we had tonight. It’s tuna flower; a large square of tuna with a dollop of yellowtail and other tasty fishy bits and sauce in the middle, all folded up into the center like one of those old school coin purses. Served on some greens with magic sauce and some diced mango. It was pretty good. Naturally, keeping with the law of all Asian restaurants, they spelled it wrong, labeling it “tuna flour”.

The rest of the dinner was Ok. We eat at the local sushi shop every couple weeks, and lately I’ve been exploring the far corners of the menu. I tried their “Thai Coconut Chicken Curry”, marked with a little red flame on the menu for HOT. So I asked for it super super super hot. And got back a bowl of chopped onion, red pepper, tomato, and minced chicken cutlet in some kind of light sauce, covered in a shiny cornstarch glaze. And it had zero heat, and not much meat. So it was 5 lies in 1: It wasn’t Thai, there was no coconut, no curry, hardly any chicken and it wasn’t at all spicy. But it tasted good. I told this to the waitress and suggested that they rename it, and also serve it with a fork or spoon. It was a helluva challenge eating it with chopsticks. I then had to order a big roll and some eel sushi so I could have something filling.

Next time I go to the Thai place in town, I’ll ask them if they have sashimi. Why not, it’s only fair. They’ll probably served me a fried fish head on a chopstick, crusted with garlic, ginger, and hot pepper sauce.

Posted by Drew458     on 12/08/2019 at 08:57 PM   
Filed Under: • Fine-Dining •  
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Ok, but is he making his own army?

Virginia Sheriff Plans To Deputize Whole County To Loophole New Gun Laws

Sheriff Scott Jenkins of Culpeper County, Va. proposed a way to exempt citizens from newly proposed Virginia gun laws that might otherwise bar them from owning certain firearms.

In a Wednesday Facebook post, Jenkins warned that some of the gun laws proposed in the Virginia General Assembly would “disarm or handicap our law-abiding in their defense,” and in turn suggested he would confer the label of deputy on thousands of law-abiding citizens to include them in law enforcement carve-outs included in new gun legislation.

“I remain very optimistic that our General Assembly will not pass the proposed bills. Obviously, if passed, there are many of us willing to challenge these laws through the courts,” Jenkins said. “In addition, if necessary, I plan to properly screen and deputize thousands of our law-abiding citizens to protect their constitutional right to own firearms.”

Kind of sounds like he’s making a militia. And if he does deputize all these people, what then? By rights, he should be able to call them up as necessary ... and wouldn’t that mean they get paid for such service? Other than that, this sounds like a great idea.

Posted by Drew458     on 12/08/2019 at 12:09 PM   
Filed Under: • Guns and Gun Control •  
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The Green Grinches Are At It Again

Holiday Sweaters Are A Threat To The World
“How Dare You!!”

Most fun Christmas sweaters are made of plastic and are “bad for the environment,” U.K.-based charities warned Friday, adding the time has come to ditch the festive staple in favor of “ethical” wear that is not a “threat to the natural world.”

A study by the Hubbub group found many Christmas sweaters are worn only once – and there are already 65 million stashed away in our wardrobes from previous years.

The research looked at 108 jumpers from 11 online and high street retailers and found 95 percent were made wholly or partly of plastic and to continue to buy and wear them shows scant regard for the planet.

Sarah Divall, creative partner at Hubbub, said consumers are often “unaware” of the damage their shopping may be causing to the environment, SKY News reports.

“We don’t want to stop people dressing up and having a great time, but there are so many ways to do this without buying new’, said Sarah Divall from Hubbub.

“Fast fashion is a major threat to the natural world and Christmas jumpers are particularly problematic as so many contain plastic. A lot of people are concerned about plastics in the oceans but they don’t realise that the stuff they are wearing also has plastic in it as well.”

Posted by Drew458     on 12/08/2019 at 12:06 PM   
Filed Under: • Environment •  
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