Military
Friday - February 04, 2011
This is just so wrong
Are you nuckin futz? Hey, I know, let’s outsource our missile defense technology to Russia! Geez Louis, just how dumb do they think we are? Oh wait. Nevermind, I forgot for a millisecond who is in the White House. Um, keep your fingers crossed then.
The maker of China’s new stealth fighter jet [ plans stolen from US by spies within the company ] has teamed up with a tiny, unprofitable California company to try to launch bids for U.S. defense contracts, possibly including one to supply Chinese helicopters to replace the aging Marine One fleet used by the president, according to people involved in the partnership.
Any Chinese bids for this or another contract under discussion would be certain to meet intense political resistance and would appear to have very little chance of success given mounting U.S. concern about China’s military power and long-term strategic goals, and the often-prohibitive opposition in the past to Chinese attempts to enter other strategic U.S. sectors, such as energy and telecommunications.
However, the fact that state-run China Aviation Industry Corp., known as AVIC, is even considering bids for these contracts, which industry insiders expect to be awarded in the next two to three years, reflects the rapid development and lofty ambitions of China’s aerospace industry.
AVIC has been in talks for more than a year with California-based U.S. Aerospace Inc. about offering the AC-313—China’s largest domestically produced helicopter—as the next generation of Marine One, the people involved in the partnership say.
I don’t even want to use Chinese drywall screws. They’re crap. Everything that comes from China is crap. Oh, it starts out as quality stuff at an amazing price. But as soon as they get a serious toehold in whatever niche they’re invading ... as soon as they have a reliable customer base and the old line companies start moving out of that product line ... then the sneaky bastards start cutting corners, sneaking in garbage ingredients, and all semblance of quality control goes right down the toilet. This happens every time, with every product they make.
And now they want a piece of our defense contracts? When they’re right at the top of the list of potential enemies? How’s that for the audacity of hope? Horry clap!
Hey China: FOAD. Not. One. Dollar. Not. Ever.
Posted by Drew458
on 02/04/2011 at 07:56 AM
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Permalink • Thursday - January 20, 2011
It this isn’t BS then it’s a miracle
This should make Frank J. very happy. He’s been all about Death Ray Lasers for years now, although his are orbital instead of floating or flying.
The Navy has passed a major milestone in its quest to build an incredibly powerful new anti-air raygun.
Scientists with the Navy’s Office of Naval Research have demonstrated a prototype system capable of producing from thin air the electrons needed to generate ultrapowerful, “megawatt-class" laser beams for the agency’s next-generation system.
“The injector performed as we predicted all along,” said Dinh Nguyen, senior project leader for the Free Electron Laser (FEL) program at the Los Alamos National Lab, N.M. “But until now, we didn’t have the evidence to support our models. We were so happy to see our design, fabrication and testing efforts finally come to fruition.”
He said the group is hoping to set a world record with the futuristic new weapon—which could be the Holy Grail of military lasers.
...
Quentin Saulter, FEL program manager for the Navy’s research arm, said the implications of the FEL’s progress are monumental. “This is a major leap forward for the program and for FEL technology throughout the Navy,” Saulter said. “The fact that the team is nine months ahead of schedule provides us plenty of time to reach our goals by the end of 2011.”The research team hopes to have a full-power prototype by 2018, which would have the ability to instantly blast targets in the sky.
Navy ships have become vulnerable in modern times to supersonic missiles because of their slower defense systems, the agency worries. “The FEL is expected to provide future U.S. Naval forces with a near-instantaneous laser ship defense in any maritime environment throughout the world,” Saulter said.
Moreover, because future ships may very well use a form of electronic propulsion, there would be a readily available supply of electrons to power the raygun.
The Navy has been seeking its “Holy Grail” free electron laser (FEL) weapon for a while now, but it would rather you think of it more as a multipurpose laser platform than a death ray. While the Navy’s ship-borne FEL, currently under development at Boeing, will certainly be used to knock incoming threats out of the sky, naval officers really want a platform that can also be used for tracking, communications, target designation, disruption, time-of-flight location, and a variety of other tasks.
...
The ability to shift wavelengths means that unlike other lasers--including the solid-state bad boy Raytheon used to knock a UAV out of the air from the deck of a ship earlier this year--an FEL system can adjust that wavelength for a variety of tasks. Further, it could run off a vessel’s power source rather than requiring its own, so it wouldn’t need to stop and reload.
...
Of course, the Navy still wants its laser to target and destroy incoming threats, and therein lies the challenge. The lower power threshold for a weaponized laser of this nature is more or less 100 kilowatts ...
Just pointing out that a megawatt class unit is 10 times more powerful than the 100 kilowatts necessary to do the job. Hey, maybe this thing will be able to kill satellites too!
This revolutionary technology allows for multiple payoffs to the warfighter. The ability to control the strength of the beam provides for graduated lethality, and the use of light versus an explosive munition, provides for low per engagement and life cycle costs. In fact, it provides an effective alternative to using expensive missiles against low value targets. Not worrying about propulsion and working at the speed of light allows for precise engagement and the resulting low collateral damage. Speed-of-light engagement also allows for a rapid reaction to moving and/or swarming time critical and swarming targets.
The Navy’s Megawatt Laser Weapon Takes a Big Leap Forward with Powerful New Electron Injector
It’s unclear which is the bigger news coming out of the Office of Naval Research; the fact that the Navy’s Free Electron Laser (FEL) program has demonstrated an injector capable of producing the necessary electrons to fuel a megawatt-class laser beam, or the fact that a next-generation future weapon under development by the military is months ahead of schedule. Both are good news for the Navy, which might begin lasing threats out of the sky sooner than it anticipated.
I wonder if the power source can be made small enough and light enough to fit in, and bring back to life, that successful airplane based laser system Obama canceled. Or, if, now that this navy system has shown enormous progress, he’ll cancel it out of hand as well. Just like he promised to do during his election campaign.
Posted by Drew458
on 01/20/2011 at 04:32 PM
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Permalink • Wednesday - December 29, 2010
A life, in passing
I just learned that my friend Doc F’s dad passed away just after Christmas. He was 84. I’d only met the old fellow a couple times, but he was sharp, smart, and had an opinion about everything. I didn’t see him at Doc’s Christmas party, and learned that he was in the hospital for some routine surgery. Complications from that, I’m guessing. That’s how it goes sometimes.
I remember how we were out on the back deck broiling up some steaks after a summer shower put an end to our scientific reloading experiments playing with guns that day. A few beers and a scotch or two while the meat cooked, while we talked about sports, those idiots in DC, and ways to smooth his grandson’s friend’s efforts to join the Corps. The boy had some issues, I don’t remember what, something stupid, like one tattoo more than the number allowed. Or maybe he’d just moved, and found himself shuffled from one recruiter to another and falling in the cracks. That doesn’t matter. (that young man is now in uniform somewhere over in Sandland) It was just a bunch of guys, 18 to 83, hanging out, shooting guns and the breeze, having drinks, bitching about the military and politics and our nation’s foreign policy and the the rancid ROE laid on our troops these days. That got old Tom talking about his hitch in the Marines. As a young kid, maybe not even actually 18, he’d slogged across a bunch of islands in the Pacific in WWII, fighting the Japanese. 65 years after the fact, the horror, intensity, and burning hatred of the enemy; those times were still as fresh in his mind as if they’d happened a week ago. And so was his pride in their victory, and his anger and angst that time and politicians seemed to have frittered so much of it away.
He never talked about his career or all the community service things he’d been involved in for decades. Or how he’d set high standards for himself and met them, and then passed them on to the 5 kids he raised so that they were all successful in life. Like I wrote, I only met the guy once or twice. What impressed the heck out of me was that, generations after the fact, with just the flip of a conversational switch, he was still part of the Big Green Machine. Once in, never out.
Semper Fi, old Marine.
Posted by Drew458
on 12/29/2010 at 10:33 AM
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Permalink • Sunday - December 05, 2010
The First Mongrel in Afghanistan
Former President Bush surprised the troops and served turkey on Thanksgiving Day in Iraq. Remember?
The First Mongrel tried the same in Afghanistan. What was the holiday? December 7th comes to mind.
Yeah, GWB serves turkey to the troops. BHO is the turkey haranging the troops.
I’ve an eyewitness account:
We had a direct order to leave our work areas and march to the large hangar to attend. It was packed. I took a lot of vids and pics.
Note that they were ordered. Ordered to attend! My friend is a Colonel! Almost thirty years of service. Ordered to listen to this Kenyan!
Did any orders go out for GWB? I don’t recall such an order regarding GWB. I think he just showed up serving in the chow line. GWB was a servant of those he led.
My friend has promised vids and more photos.
Here’s one he sent:
.jpg)
Note: I did crop this photo. Otherwise we’d have a great look at the ceiling of this hanger. My friend is not a photographer.
Posted by Christopher
on 12/05/2010 at 02:13 PM
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Permalink • Tuesday - November 30, 2010
new american super gun will be in use this month …
OK Drew .... this is your subject matter.
Pretty darn cool huh?
New U.S. Army rifles that use radio-controlled smart bullets
By Daily Mail Reporter
* Weapon hailed as a game-changer that can fire up and over barriers and down into trenches
* Soldiers will start using them in Afghanistan later this monthThe U.S. army is to begin using a futuristic rifle that fires radio-controlled ‘smart’ bullets in Afghanistan for the first time, it has emerged.
The XM25 rifle uses bullets that be programmed to explode when they have travelled a set distance, allowing enemies to be targeted no matter where they are hiding.
The rifle also has a range of 2,300 feet making it possible to hit target which are well out of the reach of conventional rifles.
The XM25 is being developed specially for the U.S. army and will be deployed with troops from later this month, it was revealed today.
The rifle’s gunsight uses a laser rangefinder to determine the exact distance to the obstruction, after which the soldier can add or subtract up to 3 metres from that distance to enable the bullets to clear the barrier and explode above or beside the target.
Soldiers will be able to use them to target snipers hidden in trenches rather than calling in air strikes.
The 25-millimetre round contains a chip that receives a radio signal from the gunsight as to the precise distance to the target.
Lt. Col. Christopher Lehner, project manager for the system, described the weapon as a ‘game-changer’ that other nations will try and copy.
He expects the Army to buy 12,500 of the XM25 rifles this year, enough for every member of the infantry and special forces.
Lehner told FoxNews: ‘With this weapon system, we take away cover from [enemy targets] forever.
‘Tactics are going to have to be rewritten. The only thing we can see [enemies] being able to do is run away.’
The XM25 appears perfect weapon for street-to-street fighting that troops in Afghanistan have to engage in, with enemy fighters hiding behind walls and only breaking cover to fire ocasionally.
The weapon’s laser finder would work out how far away the enemy was and then the U.S. soldier would add one metre using a button near the trigger. When fired, the explosive round would carry exactly one metre past the wall and explode with the force of a hand grenade above the Taliban fighter.
The army’s project manager for new weapons, Douglas Tamilio, said: ‘’This is the first leap-ahead technology for troops that we’ve been able to develop and deploy.’
A patent granted to the bullet’s maker, Alliant Techsystems, reveals that the chip can calculate how far it has travelled.
Mr Tamilio said: ‘You could shoot a Javelin missile, and it would cost £43,000. These rounds will end up costing £15.50 apiece. They’re relatively cheap.
Lehner added: ‘This is a game-changer. The enemy has learned to get cover, for hundreds if not thousands of years.
‘Well, they can’t do that anymore. We’re taking that cover from them and there’s only two outcomes: We’re going to get you behind that cover or force you to flee.’
The rifle will initially use high-explosive rounds, but its makers say that it might later use versions with smaller explosive charges that aim to stun rather than kill.
Hang on there ... a bullet that only stuns? What kind of stupidity is that? You KILL the enemy, you don’t stun them. Dead enemies are the goal. Aren’t they?
Posted by peiper
on 11/30/2010 at 10:13 AM
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Permalink • Monday - November 29, 2010
queer american traitor and classified material ….
Well I guess by now you are all inundated with the news regarding the WikiLeaks thing. It’s everywhere here as you would expect.
Some folks now have reasons to dislike us but it shouldn’t matter too much cos they didn’t like us before either. But it has caused one hell of a problem and of that there isn’t any doubt.
Some of what’s being leaked is interesting okay, but I still think the ppl responsible need to be dead and I might even include their families. I say that only because that might be the only way to discourage others. Frankly, I feel as though America has been attacked again, but in a different way.
I suppose also you’ve already read about the fag responsible for the initial leaks.
Something awfully wrong with our security for so much to be taken. But then, that’s how spies and saboteurs get away (for awhile) with so much. Like good con men, I guess they’re believable and trustworthy. If they weren’t, they wouldn’t be allowed so close to classified material.
Bradley Manning: The prime suspect of giving files to WikiLeaks
The prime suspect in the leaking of top secret documents to the WikiLeaks website is currently confined to a cell at a military base in Quantico, Virginia.
By Nick Allen in Los Angeles
Bradley Manning, 23, enlisted in the US Army in 2007 and became an intelligence analyst in Iraq, sifting through classified information at Forward Operating Base Hammer, 40 miles east of Baghdad.
Born in a small town in Oklahoma he went on to spend part of his childhood in Wales, attending a secondary school in his mother’s home town of Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire.
He was there from the age of 13, returning to the US during his sixth form years, and fellow pupils described him as a “computer geek”. After arriving in Iraq the young soldier, who is
gayqueer, complained of feeling socially “isolated” in the military.As he spent his time looking through classified information for up to 14 hours a day, he is believed to have become increasingly disillusioned by US foreign policy, once describing “military intelligence” as an “oxymoron”. Manning is said to have tracked down and communicated with Adrian Lamo, a well known former computer hacker in the US, who he thought would help him get information out.
But Lamo later alerted the US authorities and provided them with a series of online exchanges between the two men.
Manning was alleged to have told Lamo that he had found “incredible, awful things that belonged in the public domain and not on some server stored in a dark room in Washington, DC”. He was also said to have boasted that he had used blank CDs to download classified information while pretending to be listening to Lady Gaga.
Manning’s clearance would have given him access to the Secret internet Protocol Router Network used by US military personnel, civilian employees and private contractors. However, investigators are trying to establish whether he had help, both from inside the military, and from civilians.
I don’t know about you, but there really is something about that face that screams smash, break, rip off.
Posted by peiper
on 11/29/2010 at 06:26 PM
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Permalink • Wednesday - November 10, 2010
Such A Rescue, Oy Vey
In a scenario likely none of its more than 3,000 passengers pictured when they were planning their seven-day jaunt on the Mexican Riviera, the disabled cruise liner was being towed to San Diego by tugboats, and instead of a lavish seafood buffet they were subsisting on Spam.
After two days adrift, the ship began moving again Tuesday night when the first of several Mexican tugboats arrived. The 952-foot vessel was expected to arrive in San Diego on Thursday night, Miami-based Carnival ( CCL - news - people ) Cruise Lines said in a statement.
The ship was 200 miles south of San Diego and about 44 miles off shore when an engine room fire Monday morning killed its power and set it adrift.
No one was hurt, but the nearly 4,500 passengers and crew were left without air conditioning, hot water, cell phone or Internet service. The ship’s auxiliary power allowed for working toilets and cold water.
U.S. Navy Seahawk helicopters were ferrying supplies including Spam, crab meat, croissants and Pop Tarts to the ship from the USS Ronald Reagan, an aircraft carrier that reached the Splendor after it was diverted from training maneuvers to help.
The Splendor only had enough food to last through midday Tuesday because refrigerators on the ship stopped working after the power was knocked out, Navy Commander Greg Hicks said. But thousands of pounds of food had been delivered by Tuesday night.
The U.S. Coast Guard and Mexican Navy also sent resources to the ship.
The tugboats were originally set to take the Splendor to Ensenada, Mexico, but the cruise line changed its plans and will attempt to have it towed to San Diego, where hotel and flight arrangements would await the passengers, Carnival said.
So much for glistening filet mignon and mouth-watering lobster. The new menu on the disabled Carnival Splendor this week appears to be Spam, with a side of croissants.
With provisions on the fire-damaged ship running low due to a lack of refrigeration, the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Navy have mounted an airborne relief effort to bring food to the vessel’s 3,299 passengers that includes the delivery of cases full of Spam, boxes of croissants and other easy-to-transport goods.
The supplies are being airlifted onto the Splendor by a Navy Seahawk helicopter from the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, which arrived on the scene on Tuesday
Posted by Drew458
on 11/10/2010 at 08:48 PM
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Permalink • Tuesday - November 09, 2010
Homeland Insecurity
A full size missile was fired off last night, west of LA and north of Catalina Island. A traffic helicopter caught the launch on videotape. This is clearly a guided flight: notice how the contrail goes up, then arcs over and continues to climb at angle. It is far too big to be from a model rocket, even the large scale kind. No launches were scheduled from nearby Vandenburg Air Force base, a site that launches satellites on a semi-regular basis. No FAA clearances were requested by anyone, so that rules out private space flight companies and law abiding model rocketeers.
And yet it happened. Just as bad, nobody seems to know where or if the thing came down. They aren’t even asking that question yet. Is anyone missing a small city?
Found: a massive ballistic missile streaking across the sky off the coast of California last night.
Anyone want to claim it? Because the U.S. military says it’s not theirs.
A news helicopter for CBS station KCBS captured stunning video of what appeared to be a missile launch 35 miles off the California coast, just north of Catalina Island. The video shows a giant streak across the sunset sky, leaving a column of white smoke in its wake.
For now, though, the missile’s origins and purpose are a mystery.
A Navy spokesman told CBS affiliate KFMB in San Diego that the missile did not belong to them and that there had been no Navy activity reported in the area.
Officials at The Pentagon also did not know any details about the launch and said that it could not have been a planned military action, NBC San Diego reported.
Former Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Ellsworth told the San Diego station that the missile was “not a Tomahawk” but could possibly have been a test firing from a submarine to serve as a demonstration of American military might to Asia.
The U.S. Military is scrambling to find out what was seen in skies over Los Angeles last night after a local CBS news helicopter captured video that appears to show a major missile or rocket launch from the Pacific Ocean just north of Santa Catalina Island.
The video shows an enormous contrail following a brightly lit object, similar to images seen during a space launch.
Col. Dave Lapan, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters the video is so far “unexplained” by anyone in the U.S. Military.
The Missile Defense Agency told Fox News it did not launch any test missile last night that could explain the dramatic images. The Navy and the Air Force were also unable to offer an explanation.
“It does not appear that this was a regularly scheduled missile test”, Lapan said. Before a missile test the military sends notifications to mariners, airmen, and air traffic controllers to stay clear of the area, and according to Lapan it doesn’t appear those warnings were sent.
At this point the military is working only with video taken from the KCBS news camera, and there is no indication that military agencies responsible for monitoring outside threats to the homeland, such NORAD or Northern command, were able to detect the apparent rocket on their own.
Spokesmen for the Navy, Air Force, Defense Department and North American Aerospace Defense Command say they are looking into a video posted on the website of Southern California television station KFMB.
The video taken by the helicopter can be seen at all the above links.
So, either someone in government s really, really lying to us, or we just went through a trial run for the end of the world. Had that been a submarine launched ICBM MIRV fired by our enemies, we would be missing Dallas, Houston, Chicago, New York, Atlanta, Raleigh, St. Louis, Buffalo, Washington DC, and Boston by now. From just one missile. And the DoD never even saw it coming. Had it been a real launch by real enemies, they wouldn’t have stopped at just one. Why not fire off the other 17 as well? In which case the entire nation would be crispy fried right now. And they got away clean too. At this point NORAD isn’t even saying that they were aware of the launch, or if they were even able to track it. Nor has the Navy, with its trans-oceanic undersea sonar listening net, made a statement that there was or was not a submarine or surface ship in the area.
So glad we spent trillions on this crap during the Cold War.
In the video linked to, some “expert” says it could have been a visual aide type of flight to impress the Chinese that we can do that kind of thing. I think he’s got the story on backwards. I think someone laid down a visual aide on us and caught everyone asleep at their posts.
Posted by Drew458
on 11/09/2010 at 12:35 PM
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Permalink • Wednesday - October 13, 2010
Why We Win, Part 1
I don’t know why I’ve never done one of these WWW posts before. Probably because I get hung up on what to title them ...
How’s this for a morale raiser? Jessica Simpson entertained the sailors aboard the USS Harry Truman out in the Arabian Sea the other day, signing autographs, posing for snapshots, performing in the ships hanger bay, and eating with the crew. The crew had earlier run a singing contest, with the winners getting a chance to share a duet with her.
Morale was further raised when Ms. Simpson was given a chance to blast away on a pair of deck mounted .50 BMGs. Awesome. Best slow motion gun porn video never filmed. Even though the temperature was in the upper 90s, Jessica wore a helmet, ear muffs, an extra shirt, a heavy flack jacket, and big leather boots for protection. But I’m certain that under all that and her trademark Daisy Dukes was a very small bikini.
Aviation Boatswain’s Mate 3rd Class John Britt, USS Harry S. Truman Air department, V-2 division, emerged as the contest winner. Britt’s wife and child will be accompanying him to New York to watch his performance and share the experience.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I’m honored to be part of it,” said Britt. “I’m excited to be able to represent Truman, as well as the entire Navy. My family and shipmates are proud of me, and I couldn’t ask for anything better.”
Britt’s duet with Jessica will also be featured in her upcoming Christmas album.
“She knows the sacrifices the military men and women are making on behalf of their country, and she wants to do what she can in return,” said Joe Simpson, Jessica’s father and manager. “She’s proud to be able to sing with someone fighting for our freedom.”
Capt. Craig Clapperton, USS Harry S. Truman executive officer, said he was honored to have Jessica on board as a guest, and felt she boosted the crew’s morale with her heartfelt appreciation of their professionalism and service.
“I got to get my picture taken with her,” said Operations Specialist Seaman Jeroy Williams. “It was really amazing to meet a celebrity. She’s a lot prettier in real life, but she’s shorter than I thought she’d be. She was really nice to everybody, and I’m really glad I was able to meet her.”
During a performance in the ship’s hangar bay, Jessica thanked the hundreds of Sailors and Marines for their service and shared love of country and sang “God Bless America.”
“I’ve never meet anybody famous before,” said Operation Specialist Seaman Alison Wagner. “It’s really great that she took the time to come out here to visit us while we were deployed. It definitely lifted my spirits and made me feel a lot better being on deployment.”
During a tour of the ship, Jessica also participated in a 50 cal. gun shoot, served as a helmsman on the bridge, and spoke to the crew on the 1-MC. Although she enjoyed everything during her visit, her favorite part, she said, was meeting the crew members.
“I’ve been on many USO trips,” she said, “and I always enjoy sitting and talking with service members. To be on board Truman has been a blessing. I’ve met so many amazing people, and everybody has been so welcoming and made me feel like I’m at home. I can’t express enough how much I appreciate the sacrifices you make for our country.”
The full article is here, given an awful title in true Navy style: Simpson Embarks Truman. Oy vey.
But I would like to thank the US Navy and photographer Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Tyler Caswell for the photograph of her and Chief Gunner’s Mate Keith McGinley playing with guns, and their appreciation of true hi-res photography.
Posted by Drew458
on 10/13/2010 at 07:11 PM
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Permalink • Thursday - September 30, 2010
double mulligan?
“According to opinion polls at the time taken directly after Tet and a few weeks after Tet, the American people wanted to escalate the war,” Robbins says. “They understand that the enemy had suffered a terrible defeat, so there was an opportunity if we had taken concerted action to actually win this thing.”
In fact, a majority of those polled after Tet considered themselves “hawks,” Robbins found. He adds that in the summer of 1967, hawks outnumbered doves on college campuses. “The notion that young people were long-haired dope smoking draft resisters in 1967-68 is not true. The ‘Forrest Gump’ view of history is wrong.”
One of Tet’s flaws, Robbins says, was that the North Vietnamese believed that if they attacked countrywide in the south with their tripwire forces, the south would rise up in revolt against Saigon and join the communists.
“And the reason they believed that was because they were reading the New York Times,” Robbins says.
...
To Robbins, the Vietnam narrative must be reclaimed from the “ruling class of hippies and leftists, who went from protests to the U.S. Senate in some cases” and those who “went from dope-smoking teach-ins to teaching from tenured positions on college campuses.”
Yes, there’s a whole book about it too.
h/t to Roger
Posted by Drew458
on 09/30/2010 at 10:04 AM
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Permalink • Wednesday - August 25, 2010
Guess The Party, Round 28,112
Ten states, Washington, D.C., and the Virgin Islands are all seeking waivers exempting them from complying with the new law—the Move Act—that requires all states to mail absentee ballots to overseas military voters 45 days before Election Day.
The federal government felt the need for a national Act to nudge the states along so that their men and women in uniform serving overseas would have a chance to vote, and to have those votes counted.
“It’s been very clear that some of these states were not going to be in compliance with the Move Act a long time ago,” said Eric Eversole, executive director of the Military Voter Protection Project. “And the Department of Justice, each step of the way, has simply not taken the actions to ensure that the Move Act would be implemented in each of the 50 states.”
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who co-authored the Move Act, wrote Attorney General Eric Holder last month to complain that a top Justice Department official had called the law “fairly general” with some provisions “an open question.”
“If a state is not in compliance with the statute,” Cornyn wrote Holder, “there is little room for ‘dialogue’ or negotiation, and (the department’s) Voting (Rights) Section should take immediate steps to enforce the law.”
Fox has been following this story for some time now, but the best they can tell us about those states and areas is
The states are: Hawaii; New York; Delaware; Virgin Islands; Alaska; Washington; Maryland; Washington, D.C., Massachusetts; Wisconsin; Rhode Island and New Hampshire.
Because, you know, Washington DC is a state, and so is the territory of the Virgin Islands. But leaving such nuanced journalism aside, what Fox has not told us is this:
[UPDATE: I fixed the Massachusetts data. html tables are a pain]
|
State Name | Party
of Governor | House
Majority | Senate
Majority |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska | Republican | Republican | Democrat | Senate coalition |
| Delaware | Democrat | Democrat | Democrat | |
| Hawaii | Republican | Democrat | Democrat | |
| Maryland | Democrat | Democrat | Democrat | |
| Massachusetts | Democrat | Democrat | Democrat | |
| New Hampshire | Democrat | Democrat | Democrat | |
| New York | Democrat | Democrat | Democrat | |
| Rhode Island | Democrat | Democrat | Democrat | |
| Virgin Islands | Democrat | Democrat | unicameral legislature | |
| Washinton | Democrat | Democrat | Democrat | |
| Washington DC | Democrat | Democrat | Mayor, and unicameral legislature | |
| Wisconsin | Democrat | Democrat | Democrat |
5 3 out of 34. Or 3 out or 33, because this Alaska coalition thing is hard for an outsider to understand. Even so ... sure seems like a whole lot of blue in there. And that’s not newsworthy.
(data source: Wikipedia)
Posted by Drew458
on 08/25/2010 at 07:16 PM
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Permalink • Sunday - August 22, 2010
Sunday Night Laughs
Stop laughing! That’s just the title. It gets better!
TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Sunday inaugurated the country’s first domestically built long-range unmanned bomber aircraft, calling it an “ambassador of death” to Iran’s enemies.
Speaking to a group of officials, Ahmadinejad said, “The jet, as well as being an ambassador of death for the enemies of humanity, has a main message of peace and friendship.”
The goal of the aircraft is to “keep the enemy paralyzed in its bases,” he said, adding that the jet is for deterrence and defensive purposes.
The 4-meter-long unmanned plane, dubbed the Karrar, or striker, in Farsi, was inaugurated on the national day for the country’s defense industry in a ceremony aired live on state TV.
No details were provided on the craft’s capabilities.
In a speech at the unveiling ceremony, Ahmadinejad said Iran should seek the ability to make pre-emptive strikes against a perceived threat, although he said it would never strike first.
“If there is an ignorant person or an egoist or a tyrant who just wanted to make an aggression, then our Defense Ministry should reach a point where it could cut off the hand of the aggressor before it decided to make an aggression,” he said.
“We should reach a point when Iran would serve as a defense umbrella for all freedom-loving nations in the face of world aggressors. We don’t want to attack anywhere — Iran will never decide to attack anywhere — but our revolution cannot sit idle in the face of tyranny. We can’t remain indifferent.”
Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad today unveiled a long-range bomber drone he described as an ‘ambassador of death’ to Tehran’s enemies.
State television footage showed the president applauding as a blue cloth covering the drone - known as Karar or ‘assailant’ in Persian - was removed to reveal the aircraft marked ‘bomber jet’.
Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad today unveiled a long-range bomber drone he described as an ‘ambassador of death’ to Tehran’s enemies.
State television footage showed the president applauding as a blue cloth covering the drone - known as Karar or ‘assailant’ in Persian - was removed to reveal the aircraft marked ‘bomber jet’
...
The drone was built to ‘carry and fire four stealth cruise missiles… and, depending on the mission, it can carry two bombs of 250lbs each or a precision missile of 500lbs,’ state television reported.The broadcast also showed the aircraft in flight and Iranian Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi said the drone has a range of 620 miles.
State TV later showed video footage of the plane taking off from a launching pad and reported that the craft traveled at speeds of 560 miles per hour.
Oh lordy. Where to begin? First off, they’re lying their little camel dented asses off. This thing is 4 meters - 13 feet - long. The only 4 stealth cruise missiles it could carry would each be smaller than an 81mm mortar shell. Nothing more potent than a Hellfire. With luck, and a big rocket booster, it could carry a 250lb bomb, and lumber along for a couple hundred miles. Maybe. 500lb missile? No chance, unless you consider 40 miles “long range”. Second, you’d better give it an extra big booster and no payload at all to get it 620 miles downrange. 560mph is possible, but that’s pretty much no faster than an airliner travels. In other words, it’s a sitting duck.
But what really makes this announcement funny ... is the Northrop Grumman BQM-74F.
Northrop Grumman has been building this little gem for several years now, since 2002. They don’t call it a “bomber jet”, or any kind of ambassador at all. And yet ... the BQM-74F is pretty much the same size, merely half a meter longer. And it has pretty much the same range, 920 km proven vs Iran’s claim of 1000km for theirs. And ours is about 20% faster too. Turn the ambassador over, and it even looks similar. And you know what the BQM-74F is built for? It’s built as a training aid, used to teach our guys to shoot things down. It’s a target drone. This is the device that our pilots and our missile defense teams practice on to learn their skills.
Granted, the BQM-74F is probably much more sophisticated than this pisslamic knockoff. What the hell, our tax money at work. This target drone can cruise along at 40,000ft, or confidently fly along below ceiling height - and I don’t mean cloud ceiling, I mean your living room ceiling. It can fly 7 feet off the ground. At 700mph. And 8 Gs.
A new airframe with swept wings and tails coupled with an upgrade to the thrust of the BQM-74 engine from 240 to 300 pounds pushes the speed to 0.92M at sea level and increases maneuverability to eight-g instantaneous (five-g sustained). Aggressive all-axis weave maneuvers down to 7 feet provide threat representative ingress maneuvers.
And this is the easy target we use for training and confidence building. A “toy” that outperforms their latest weapon by a huge margin.
So watch the media wet it’s little panties over this big bad super killer attack bomber jet missile gun assault weapon. It’s a pretty good joke.
PS - a Hellfire missile is 5 1/2 feet long and weighs just over 100 pounds. It has about a 5 mile range, and can take out a tank. It would also mess up your wood framed house pretty good too, but as heavy ordinance goes, it’s a popgun. It wasn’t designed as a stealth weapon, but such a short thing doesn’t make much of a radar signature. Thermal signature but good, but not much on radar. Mount 2 under each wing, and launch your ‘ambassador’ with a tremendous rocket booster that can carry it 20 miles or more. Much bigger than the little thing shown in the photo. So the idea isn’t impossible, but the performance claims are highly doubtful, and the payload accurately delivered is pretty minimal. More BS from the greasy little tyrant.
Posted by Drew458
on 08/22/2010 at 09:11 PM
Filed Under: • Iran • Military •
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Permalink • Saturday - August 07, 2010
Vietnam Homecoming
This one’s a tear-jerker.
H/T The Jawa Report
Posted by Christopher
on 08/07/2010 at 08:52 PM
Filed Under: • Heroes • Military •
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Permalink • Saving Money at the MoD
The RAF will shrink to its smallest size since the First World War, under unprecedented cuts being proposed at the Ministry of Defence.
In the most significant changes to Britain’s defences since the post-Suez review of 1957, ministers and officials plan to scrap large parts of the Armed Forces.
The Services will lose up to 16,000 personnel, hundreds of tanks, scores of fighter jets and half a dozen ships, under detailed proposals passed to The Daily Telegraph.
But the RAF will bear the brunt of the planned cuts. The Air Force will lose 7,000 airmen – almost one sixth of its total staff – and 295 aircraft. The cuts will leave the Force with fewer than 200 fighter planes for the first time since 1914.
The Telegraph has also learnt that the “black hole” in MoD finances, caused by orders which have been made but cannot be paid for, is approaching £72 billion over the next decade – double the amount previously suggested.
The entire force of 120 GR4 Tornado fighter-bombers looks destined for the scrap heap to save £7.5 billion over the next five years. The Tornado was supposed to be in service until 2025, but with a major overhaul due in the next five years costing £10 million for each aircraft, it is now under threat.
The cut will mean job losses as RAF Lossiemouth and RAF Marham totalling almost 5,000 personnel.
Under the plans, the number of Eurofighter Typhoons is likely to be reduced further from 160 to 107 planes based at a single RAF airfield to save £1 billion. The entire fleet of 36 Hercules transport aircraft, the workhorse in Iraq and Afghanistan, is to be phased out and replaced by an order of 22 new A400M planes.
The £3.6 billion project for nine Nimrod MR4 reconnaissance aircraft is also vulnerable, along with a number of other surveillance planes.
I’m certain all these defense cuts will be more than matched by an increase in free housing and benefits for more muzzie terrorists, Somali layabouts, and the next wave of gypos from Romania. Who needs a military when you invite the entire world over to stay for free?
Posted by Drew458
on 08/07/2010 at 12:33 PM
Filed Under: • Military • UK •
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Oh, and here's some kind of visitor flag counter thingy. Hey, all the cool blogs have one, so I should too. The Visitors Online thingy up at the top doesn't count anything, but it looks neat. It had better, since I paid actual money for it.
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