Tuesday - March 20, 2012

Chess Problem #299

Another Knight fork. This time it’s White to move and win.

1.?

UPDATE 3/21/12

CenTexTim got this one right.

1. Qg7+ Qxg7.
2. fxg7+ Kg8
3. Ne7+ winning a Rook and the game.

Posted by Christopher     on 03/20/2012 at 09:01 AM   
Filed Under: • CHESS •  
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   Monday - March 19, 2012

Dancing around the real truth

The case of a 16-year-old girl who killed herself after she was forced to marry her rapist has spurred outrage among Morocco’s internet activists and calls for changes to the country’s laws.

An online petition, a Facebook page and countless tweets expressed horror over the suicide of Amina Filali, who swallowed rat poison on Saturday to protest her marriage to the man who raped her a year earlier.

Article 475 of the Moroccan penal code allows for the “kidnapper” of a minor to marry his victim to escape prosecution, and it has been used to justify a traditional practice of making a rapist marry his victim to preserve the honor of the woman’s family.

The victim’s father said in an interview with an online Moroccan newspaper that it was the court officials who suggested from the beginning the marriage option when they reported the rape.

“The prosecutor advised my daughter to marry, he said ‘go and make the marriage contract,’” said Lahcen Filali in an interview that appeared on goud.ma Tuesday night.

...

“It is not something that happens a great deal — it is very rare,” he said, but admitted that the family of the victim sometimes agrees out of fear that she won’t be able to find a husband if it is known she was raped.

The marriage is then pushed on the victim by the families to avoid scandal, said Fouzia Assouli, president of Democratic League for Women’s Rights.

“It is unfortunately a recurring phenomenon,” she said."We have been asking for years for the cancellation of Article 475 of the penal code which allows the rapist to escape justice.”

In many parts of the Middle East, there is a tradition whereby a rapist can escape prosecution if he marries his victim, thereby restoring her honor. There is a similar injunction in the Old Testament’s Book of Deuteronomy.

Morocco updated its family code in 2004 in a landmark improvement of the situation of women, but activists say there’s still room for improvement.

In cases of rape, the burden of proof is often on the victim and if she can’t prove she was attacked, a woman risks being prosecuted for debauchery.

“In Morocco, the law protects public morality but not the individual,” said Assouli, adding that legislation outlawing all forms of violence against women, including rape within marriage, has been stuck in the government since 2006.

According to the father’s interview, the girl was accosted on the street and raped when she was 15, but it was two months before she told her parents.

He said the court pushed the marriage, even though the perpetrator initially refused. He only consented when faced with prosecution. The penalty for rape is between five and 10 years in prison, but rises to 10 to 20 in the case of a minor.

Filali said Amina complained to her mother that her husband was beating her repeatedly during the five months of marriage but that her mother counseled patience.

The “S word” is not ever mentioned in this article, nor even referred to obliquely. At least one islamopologist site, based in Chicago, confusingly says that this “marry him” judgment is in line with Sharia law, and also against it ...

This outrage against the horrific and outrageous law that allows the rapist to marry his victim in order to avoid prosecution is following Sharia. Rape is a horrific crime that I would not wish upon my worst enemy. This inhuman law in Morocco has no basis in Islam or the Qur’an. And to shield the criminal by marrying his victim is even more inhuman: the Sharia is against it.

But we know better. We won’t accept the spoonfed meme. And we know that Political Correctness is one gigantic lie after another. NRO’s Andrew McCarthy points out the truth you’re not supposed to be aware of:

Morocco is not just a “Muslim country” in the cultural sense. It is a country proudly adherent to sharia law. Since 1969, Morocco has been a member of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, whose Islamic member states proclaimed, in 1990, the “Declaration of Human Rights in Islam.” The rationale for this proclamation — which is also known as the “Cairo Declaration” — is that the signatory nations do not accept the concept of “human rights” as it is understood in the West and outlined in such instruments as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to which the Cairo Declaration is a rebuttal.
...
“Human rights” are the rights that humans have under sharia law — and no others. “Equality for women” consists of the rights women are granted by sharia, which we in the West see (quite rightly, I think) as being grossly subordinate to the rights of men (in particular, Muslim men). In stark contrast, Islam considers them merely different from the rights of men — more suitable, sharia scholars will tell you, to life as Allah intended women to live it, in light of the comparative strengths and weaknesses of their natural condition.

But you sure won’t find the media even questioning the depravities of jizzlamic jurisprudence. Not even here in the USA ISA.

Red Ken would be proud.

Posted by Drew458     on 03/19/2012 at 02:23 PM   
Filed Under: • Politically Correct B.S. • RoPMA •  
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Gas Prices Spike Again

I thought we were going to catch a little break when local gasoline prices dropped 3¢ last week to $3.51.9, but they’re right back up again today to $3.57.9. And that’s at the no-brand station down the road. Gas costs more at the big name stations. And yes, I know, you’ve got it worse; New Jersey doesn’t put much state tax on gas, so it’s worse in almost all the other states, which do.

But we’ve got it easy. Gas is going up in the UK too, and yet another tax hit this coming summer will make it even worse.

Record fuel hike ‘will force drivers off road’

Fears are growing that an increasing number of motorists will be priced off the road if fuel prices continue their relentless rise.

Petrol and diesel now cost more in the UK than ever before — with a further 3p VAT rise planned in August prompting panic among drivers.

New figures from March’s AA Fuel Price Report reveal that Northern Ireland consumers are forking out an average 139.2p a litre for unleaded and 145.9p for diesel.

That’s more expensive than anywhere else in the UK, where around 68% of the pump price is actually attributable to duty and VAT.

Before tax, the UK has one of the cheapest fuels in Europe but, once it is added, local diesel prices are the highest in the EU, while local petrol is among the dearest.

Let’s see, there are 3.785 liters in a US gallon, so with the upcoming VAT added in, this amounts to 526.87p per gallon. But with 100 pence per pound, that’s £5.2687. A pound is currently worth $1.58.376, so that works out to $8.34.5 per gallon. Which means it costs about $125 over there to fill up the tank on a mid-size car or small pickup. That’s about 2 1/2 day’s wages over here after taxes if you have a minimum wage job. On the other hand, if you take away all the taxes on UK gas, it’s only $2.67 a gallon. Add back in the 18.4¢/gal federal gas tax we pay and your state’s taxes and fees and you’ll see that the actual cost of the gasoline itself is quite a bit less expensive over there. $2.67 + NJ’s $0.32.9 combined tax adds up to $2.98.9, a price I will gladly pay right now if I could find it.

Funny thing, that. Remember the whole economies of scale lecture in Economics 101? Strange how the UK, which uses not a tenth of the gas that the USA does, manages to get it to the pumps for such a lesser price. Perhaps they have more refinery capacity available per unit gallon, imported & domestic, and thus have a bit of competition regulating the free market. Perhaps they have just one or two blends nationwide. Perhaps they don’t do the silly E10 gasohol sleight of hand with the ethanol, a price relationship that I can’t understand.  And I’m pretty sure that the stupid ethanol subsidy is finally over, although I don’t remember hearing anything about that on the news.

Just now I learned that cellulosic ethanol is a total flop, coming in at 100 million gallons shy of its 2010 federally mandated production goal of 100 million gallons, 250 million gallons shy of its 2011 mandated goal of 250 millions gallons, and almost certainly 500 million gallons shy of its 2012 mandated goal of 500 million gallons. In other words, not one damn drop. And it’s the heart and soul of the Renewable Fuel Standard that demands the blending and sourcing of ethanol. Hey, imagine that. A government program put into law based on a circle jerk dream of technological advancements that don’t even exist. Government: We Know Better Than You.  Go on, look it up. And the oil companies are forced to purchase waivers from the government for not using this alcohol, because it doesn’t exist. Guess who pays for the waivers, eventually? And I’m not seeing Congress toss this nonsense legislation, or even hit the Pause button on it.  We’re totally screwed.

All I know is that gas is costing me more than it EVER has before, and I’m getting 2-3mpg less with this 10% mix crap that is the only stuff for sale, compared to real gasoline. And I’m NOT blaming Bush for it either. I’m blaming the guy in charge and his 535 moronic minions down the street.

Posted by Drew458     on 03/19/2012 at 12:10 PM   
Filed Under: • Oil, Alternative Energy, and Gas Prices •  
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Colorblind and Brain Dead

Sneaker giant Nike is backtracking after a St. Patrick’s Day-themed shoe dubbed the “Black and Tan” by retailers drew criticism for paying unwitting homage to the British paramilitary forces of Northern Ireland.

The black leather sneaker with brown trim earned an unofficial name apparently meant as a nod to the drink made by mixing stout and lager in a pint glass, according to the Belfast Telegraph. But the drink itself takes its name from the Royal Irish Constabulary Reserve Force, which became notorious in the 1920s for its attacks on Irish civilians during the War of Independence.

… Nike officials said the sneakers, officially called the Nike SB Dunk Low, have been “unofficially named by some using a phrase that can be viewed as inappropriate and insensitive.”

“We apologize,” the statement continued. “No offense was intended.”

How about a more appropriate response, like “Sod off you pathetic bunch of crotch weasels, we named the shoes after the beer and that’s all. Get your head out of your ass and get a life.”?

The row over Nike’s new sneakers follows a similar incident in 2006 when ice-cream giants Ben & Jerry’s released a ‘Black and Tan’ flavour. The company apologised and the ice-cream was only made available in the US.

    What else would you expect from a bunch of spineless hippies? What, you think you’ve got a frickin’ patent on two colors used together with an ampersand? Get stuffed. Give them an inch and they’ll take a mile. We had a black and tan dog when I was a kid. A Welsh Terrier. So now I suppose you’re going to try and tell me that the dog’s coat was offensive to the Irish, and the breed was raaaacist against the Welsh? Arseheads, the lot of them.

Posted by Drew458     on 03/19/2012 at 10:07 AM   
Filed Under: • Politically Correct B.S. •  
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SSDD in Syria

Rebels fought security forces in Damascus on Monday, in the most violent gunbattles the Syrian capital has seen since the start of the year-long uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, opposition activists said.
...
Witnesses said the sound of heavy machinegun fire and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) had echoed through al-Mezze for two or three hours.

“There is fighting near Hamada supermarket and the sound of explosions there and elsewhere in the neighborhood. Security police have blocked several side streets and the street lighting has been cut off,” a housewife who lives in the area said.
...
The United Nations says more than 8,000 people have been killed and some 230,000 forced to flee their home, including at least 30,000 who have escaped abroad. The government says about 2,000 members of security forces have been killed.

Syria, a country which sits on the fault lines of several regional and ethnic conflicts, denies accusations of brutality and says it is grappling with a foreign-backed insurgency.

Posted by Drew458     on 03/19/2012 at 09:44 AM   
Filed Under: • Middle-East •  
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i will make london a beacon of islam. red ken speaks.

Back for a short spell after a nightmare couple of weeks. Things settling down but going slowly.

My wife has been quite ill and I’ve been putting an anti-biotic ointment in her right eye every three hours.
So my time hasn’t been entirely my own.  That’s not a gripe btw.  She’s the very best friend I’ve ever had.
It’s very frustrating seeing a loved one in pain or any kind of discomfort, and helpless to do anything to take the pain away.  It all started 2 weeks ago when she complained about severe pain in her right eye, and a violent headache.  She’s never been subject to headaches, and our first unspoken thought was the history of her late brother who passed away age 65 of a brain tumor.
Well most fortunately that isn’t the problem, but Shingles is and there’s more to tell but will save it for another time.  It isn’t pretty and it is very, very painful. And the older you are, the worse it is.  We are informed that the pain can last for a month or more after the virus itself has gone.
At the moment to be honest, I feel a bit burned out but my wife feels more then that and so I can’t ignore the responsibility of sharing the following.

A couple of items caught my eye and so I booted this thing to share the insanity I read about.

Some of you already know that the former mayor of London is a Communist ( he says he is ) referred to as Red Ken Livingston.  He lost the last election to a brainy, shambolic and often brilliantly funny Conservative named Boris Johnson.  Well, Red Ken wants his old job back and so is once again running for the office he lost to Boris.  The Johnson’s are btw, a family of writers and the father, Stanley Johnson, has had a most adventurous life. 

So here is Red Ken for your reading pleasure. The hopeful future once again London mayor.
Who says;

“I WILL MAKE LONDON A BEACON OF ISLAM”
By Andrew Gilligan

Ken Livingstone has promised to turn London into a “beacon” for the words of the Prophet Mohammed in a sermon at one of the capital’s most controversial mosques.
Mr Livingstone, Labour’s candidate for mayor of London, pledged to “educate the mass of Londoners” in Islam, saying:  “That will help to cement our city as a beacon that demonstrates the meaning of the words of the Prophet.” Mr Livingstone described Mohammed’s words in his last sermon as “an agenda for all humanity.”

He praised the Prophet’s last sermon, telling his audience: “I want to spend the next four years making sure that every non-Muslim in London knows and understands [its] words and message.” He also promised to “make your life a bit easier financially.”
Mr Livingstone was speaking at last Friday’s Jummah prayer at the North London Central Mosque, also known as Finsbury Park Mosque, formerly controlled by the terrorist recruiter Abu Hamza.

Hamza was removed in 2003 but the mosque is now controlled by an Islamist organisation, the Muslim Association of Britain, which has been linked to the banned terror group, Hamas. A man who has acted as spokesman for the current leadership, Azzam Tamimi, is on record as supporting suicide bombings. One of the mosque’s current directors, Mohammed Sawalha, is described by the BBC as a former senior figure in Hamas who “is said to have masterminded much of Hamas’s political and military strategy” from his post in London.

In 2009 Mr Sawalha also signed the Istanbul Declaration which calls for attacks against the allies of Israel, which include the UK. The British Government interpreted it as calling for attacks on British troops.

In 2010, the Labour MP Khalid Mahmood, a Muslim moderate, resigned from the mosque’s board of trustees and reported it to the Charity Commission, accusing the mosque of forging his signature on key legal documents.

Mr Livingstone has been dogged by allegations of links to Islamic fundamentalism. In 2010, in the London borough of Tower Hamlets, he campaigned against his own party’s candidate to back a controversial independent politician, Lutfur Rahman, sacked by Labour for his links to a Muslim extremist group, the Islamic Forum of Europe (IFE).

During his mayoralty, Mr Livingstone’s London Development Agency channelled hundreds of thousands of pounds to the East London Mosque in Tower Hamlets, controlled by the IFE, even though senior LDA managers strongly opposed the grant. In return, IFE activists campaigned strongly for him at the 2008 mayoral elections, boasting that they “got out the vote” for Mr Livingstone and achieving dramatic swingsto him in their east London heartland.

Mr Livingstone also gave thousands of pounds of public money to the Muslim Welfare House, a charity closely associated with the Finsbury Park Mosque, which signed an open letter backing his re-election campaign in 2008.

red ken source

Seems to us islamophobic , raaaaaacist right wingers that not just London, but a section of the country has already become that without Mr. Livingston’s help.
Take a look at this.

One in five young Asians think honour violence can be justified

One in five young Asians believe women deserve “physical punishment” if they dishonour their families, a survey has revealed.
By Tom Whitehead

Some three per cent even think murder, or so-called “honour killings”, can be justified in some circumstances
And two thirds of young British Asians, including young women, say families should live according to the concept of “honour”, according to the poll for BBC Panorama.

The findings come despite attempts by politicians, the police and prosecutors to send out a strong message that honour-based violence is unacceptable.
Police fear as many as 12 people a year are victims of honour killings in the UK and a recent survey suggested there are more than 2,800 honour crimes committed annually – the equivalent of eight a day.

Last week, the mother of a teenager stabbed to death by her Asian boyfriend claimed her daughter was the first white victim of an honour killing.
Laura Wilson, 17, was repeatedly knifed in the head on a secluded tow path by Ashtiaq Ashgar in 2010 after their relationship turned sour. He was subsequently jailed for at least17-and-a-half years.

In the most high profile case, five men were eventually jailed over the 2006 murder of Banaz Mahmod, including her own father.
The lead prosecutor for honour crimes warned the latest survey reveals campaigners now face a new generation of supports of honour violence.
Nazir Afzal, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “I thought this was a generational thing, it was something that would die out with my generation.
“Unfortunately, I’ve come across many young people who think the same way.”

The survey of 500 Asian men aged 16 to 34 was conducted for a Panorama investigation in to honour crimes.
It found 18 per cent thought punishments on women could be justified in some circumstances if they had dishonoured their family.
That could include disobeying a father’s wishes, wanting to marry someone the family or community considered unacceptable, going out in the evening unaccompanied or dressing in an unacceptable manner.
Three per cent said honour killing could be justified while a similar proportion were undecided.
Some 69 per cent said families should live according to the concept of honour of “izzat”.
Mr Afzal told Panorama: “We don’t know the true figure of honour killings. It’s anything between 10 and 12 a year in this country.
“I don’t know how many other unmarked graves there are in our green and pleasant land, I don’t know. And that suggests to me that we’re underestimating this issue.

“My view is there’s no place for multicultural sensitivity in this situation ... This is something that we cannot tolerate.”
Jasvinder Sanghera, of Karma Nirvana, set up a helpline for women at risk of honour based violence. At 14, she was imprisoned in her bedroom after refusing to marry a man she had never met.

“I was conditioned to learn that from a very young age, it is dishonourable to make eye contact with men, sit with men,” she said.
“And the rules shift and change as you get older, you’re not allowed to have boyfriends, be seen talking to the opposite sex, to cut your hair, wear make-up. You are taught these are all dishonourable acts of behaviour.”

In 2010, Mohammed Ali and Omar Hussain were jailed for life for the murder of Banaz Mahmod in January 2006, after being extradited from Iraq.
The men carried out the murder with a third man, Mohammad Hama, on behalf of Miss Mahmod’s father, Mahmod Mahmod, and his brother, Ari.
Hama and Miss Mahmod’s father and uncle, members of the Kurdish community, were jailed at the Old Bailey in 2007.

source

Posted by peiper     on 03/19/2012 at 09:03 AM   
Filed Under: • Commies • Democrats-Liberals-Moonbat Leftists • muslims • UK •  
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   Sunday - March 18, 2012

Chess Problem #298

Today’s problem features the Knight fork:

The late Dr. Robert R. McCready, a strong expert and beloved chessplayer in Dallas for many years used to jokingly say ‘Were it not for those darned Knights, I would have been a Grandmaster.’ Indeed, of all of the chess pieces the Knight is the most fascinating and mysterious.

1…?

Black to move and win.

Taken from Combination Challenge by Lou Hayes and USCF Senior Master John Hall (2520)
Graphics courtesy of Exachess.

UPDATE 3/19/12

Well Drew, I’ve got to find and post one of my tournament games. I was White, on the ropes, so bad that the tournament director had already recorded my game as a loss. I was gratified to correct him; I won. It did feature a classic Knight fork–I forked both of Black’s Rooks and his Queen. If I find that game score I will post it. A classic example of what Drew says: Never give up.

Here’s the ‘book’ solution to this problem:

1. … Bxg2+
2. Qxg2 Rxd1
3. Rxd1 if 3. Qxc6 Rxe1+ and wins
3. … Nf2+
4. Kg1 Qxg2+
5. Kxg2 Nxd1 And Black wins.

Yes Drew, sorry. It’s one of those ‘magical wins’. Black is up substantial material. The win shouldn’t be a problem.

Posted by Christopher     on 03/18/2012 at 08:53 AM   
Filed Under: • CHESS •  
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   Saturday - March 17, 2012

Oh Hella Yeah

Not exactly military issue, which is a shame ...

Coping with Sharia law got you down? The old kaffir feeling a bit too dhimmi today? Feel like celebrating your haram status as one of the unclean? Tired of your President bowing and scraping and apologizing to our enemies who have declared continuous holy war on us for more than 1400 years now?

Or would you just like to show the world that you’re part of the global Other White Meat effort?

Take your pick ... here’s the patch you want. And in case the reader can’t read English, the text is also conveniently also there in Arabic. Almost guaranteed to get you arrested and flogged in Saudi Arabia. If you submit. I shall not submit.

The 3” patches have velcro on the back. 2 for $12 plus $2 s&h at Mil-Spec Monkey. Comes in the boldly colored SWAT version, a desert camo ARID version, and a classic camo FOREST version. For those who want to be a bit subtle. Barbecue sauce not included.

Posted by Drew458     on 03/17/2012 at 11:06 PM   
Filed Under: • RoPMA • War On Terror •  
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On-the-job Sexual Harassment

This is a true story.

1979. I was home from my freshman year at college. Working again at the Pizza Hut in ******** I’d helped open the year before. The manager then was Steve. Now it was Rose.

Showed up for work: knocked on the back door:

“You got eight inches?” I heard Rose, my current boss ask.

Not sure I’d heard her correctly, I asked her to repeat: Sure enough!

“You got eight inches?”

My reply: “Rose, I’m damned if I’m gonna cut off two inches just to satisfy you.”

She let me in!

Posted by Christopher     on 03/17/2012 at 09:50 PM   
Filed Under: • Humor • Personal •  
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A Lovely Toy

With more than just a gentle nod to Atalanta’s heritage, it is the objective of this venture to bring this most innovative pre-war sports car concept up-to-date, by acknowledging 72 years of automotive evolution, yet remaining true in spirit and sympathetic to the style and function of the original Atalanta sports car designs.

A traditionally coach-built pre-production prototype is currently being developed that remains true to original Atalanta design principles of ‘Innovation, Style and Performance’ and it is scheduled to be unveiled Spring 2012, 75 years after the first Atalanta car was announced.

75 years after its demise, the Atlanta car company is back up and running, and bringing their modern incarnation of their 1937 Sports Tourer to market. Completely bespoke as the English say, it will have a hand crafted aluminum body over an ash wood frame. Modern upgrades like a reliable high output small engine, a 5 speed overdrive manual transmission, high performance disc brakes and a few safety features lacking on the original - like brake lights - sum up the modernization. Just about everything else is as close to the original as possible.

Just revived from a 75-year slumber last fall, Britain’s Atalanta sports car brand has now launched its first new car—except it’s a 75-year-old design.

Called the Atalanta Sports Tourer, the car was first shown to the public on March 5, 1937. But despite its aged design, the modern Sports Tourer has been modernized--a bit.

While the car keeps its tall, narrow tires for ride comfort and driver feel, says Atalanta, the majority of the components that make up the car are new, with 85 percent being unique to the Atalanta. It’s not clear which components are shared, or what they’re shared with.

The body itself is still hand-formed aluminum over an ash (wood) coach-built frame.

Underneath, the steering, suspension, and critical castings are modern evolutions of the original bits. The chassis is aluminum, and, according to Atalanta Motors, the whole car weighs around 1600 pounds. It rides on a fully independent suspension supported by driver-adjustable dampers at all four corners. Interestingly, the first Sports Tourer also had an all-independent suspension and was available with adjustable dampers dubbed “Telecontrol”; the name carries over to the modern car’s system. Four-wheel disc brakes with four-pot calipers front and rear are fitted to the new Sports Tourer, replacing the original’s drum brakes.

While the originals came with your choice of a normally aspirated or a supercharged engine in either 1.5L or 2L size, topping out at about 100hp, the new one will most likely be powered by Ford’s 2.5L 4 banger, making 185hp. Which means this little buggy will have plenty of zip.

In its two-year run, Atalanta managed to produce some truly cutting-edge cars, equipped with such modern advances as fully independent coil spring suspensions, adjustable dampers, hydraulic brakes, a semi-automatic gearbox and a twin-spark cylinder head.

A 1939 review of the Atalanta proclaimed the car was “beyond criticism,” and that “the Atalanta has the tenacious quality of a racing car when cornering.” It was good enough for the factory to take home the team prize in the 1939 Welsh Rally, which would prove to be the brand’s most significant racing achievement before the war halted production.

The original Atalanta Motors company launched in 1935, but the dawn of World War II scuttled production nearly four years later. When the company shuttered its doors in 1939, it had only built 21 cars in total. Today, fewer than half survive, and fewer yet are actually functional.
...
“Our aim is to reproduce the positive, enjoyable characteristics of vintage motoring in a reliable and usable manner that is relevant to today’s driving environment,” says company co-founder Martyn Corfield. “Atlanta is about style, innovation, and performance.”

Posted by Drew458     on 03/17/2012 at 03:30 PM   
Filed Under: • planes, trains, tanks, ships, big machinery, and automobiles •  
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Circular Linkage and Brittania Rules

If I link to him, and he links to me, does that set up an infinite loop that fractures the time/space continuumuumumm and flushes the intertubes? I’ll just have to risk it.

Yay Me, I got linked from Summer Patriot, Winter Soldier. When I spoke the other day about playing guns online, this is what I was talking about. John Jay over there is bringing the .280/30 back to life, or a close approximation of it, and it looks like he’s actually going to build the thing. And it’s awesome that I was able to help by running a bunch of calculations for him to help prove his idea had merit.

The .280 British, and it’s slightly later and larger variant the .280/30, were both early assault rifle cartridges that predated the 7.62x51 NATO (aka the .308 Winchester). In the post-WWII world the Brits were miles ahead of the Americans in prophesying the battlefield of the future, and developed a great mid-powered cartridge and an amazing little “bullpup” rifle to use it. Unfortunately they were under the thumb of the Americans at that point, who were - as usual - behind the times and wouldn’t budge for any cartridge less potent than the .30-06. So the .280 British never got off the ground, and the 7.62 NATO came about, and it turned out to be way too much gun for full-auto, and then a little more than a decade later the Yanks did an about face and signed on for the 5.56 poodle shooter. And history bears out my “as usual”: the US military was one of the last to switch from flintlocks to percussion fired guns, was one of the last to adopt a metallic cartridge firearm (Springfield 1873 “trapdoor” in .45-70), was one of the last to go to a repeating rifle (the Krag), was one of the last to get on the spitzer bullet bandwagon, etc, ... but somehow was one of the first to adopt a semi-automatic battle rifle, the M1 Garand. Although it’s debatable whether the 8mm Mauser or the .30-06 was the better cartridge, both were far more than what was called for after 1945. So the 7.62 NATO was adopted, and it matched the .30-06 in terms of military performance, but did it with a cartridge 1/2” shorter and somewhat lighter. But the .280 British was nearly as potent, was 3/4” shorter and even lighter, and would have made a tremendous intermediate range combat cartridge, solidly effective to 600 meters. Too bad that politics killed it. It took the Americans almost 50 years before they came back around to the idea of light, short rifles of intermediate power (FN SCAR) and we still may not be there yet.

Here’s a link John sent to a great old newsreel clip now on video. Look how little recoil the .280 generates in that backwards built bullpup gun. Fantastic.

And I’d rather just ignore the fact that all of these rounds were reinventing the wheel to a great extent, and any number of shorter cartridges of somewhat smaller calibers and somewhat shorter lengths had all be around since about 1905 or thereabouts. Truly, there is very little new in the gun world. Most of it has been kicking around for more than 100 years now. Almost all the advances since then have been in metallurgy and propellants, although we’ve come up with some new ideas about case taper, shoulder angle, and neck length that have all aided accuracy.

So hats off to the “.280 JJ” or whatever Mr. Jay calls his creation once he makes it work. He’s not looking to get any government to adopt it, but it ought to make a dandy deer hunter for moderate distances. And it might just fit into the AR platform, just to smack the hoplophobic argument that “black rifles are only for war, not for hunting” as it so richly deserves. Awesome.

Posted by Drew458     on 03/17/2012 at 02:46 PM   
Filed Under: • Guns and Gun Control •  
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   Friday - March 16, 2012

whatever it takes

Once upon a time I would have categorized this under Eye Candy. These days it’s just Hollywood. But I always like it when people get back to their roots.


March 6th:




March 8th:

Fresh off her Saturday Night Live hosting gig, the actress, 25, showed off her new dye job in Beverly Hills, California Thursday. Though she’s been blonde for years, Lohan has finally returned to her natural red hue.

Whatever it takes. 

Posted by Drew458     on 03/16/2012 at 11:28 PM   
Filed Under: • Hollywood • Humor •  
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yeah, there’s that

Gasoline prices are zooming past $4 a gallon and the United States is hardly freer from the grip of imported oil or closer to robust economic recovery. With his approval ratings dropping precipitously, U.S. President Barack Obama is blaming speculators and investigating fraud and at the pump when this mess is the direct result of failed federal energy policies.

By word and deed, the Obama administration has sought to limit off-shore oil exploration and development and hasten the commercial viability of solar, wind and alternative vehicle technologies.

The annual trade deficit on petroleum is about $300 billion. Raising U.S. oil production to its sustainable potential of 10 million barrels a day would cut import costs in half, directly create 1.5 million jobs. Applying Obama administration models for assessing the consequences of stimulus spending, it would indirectly create another 1 million jobs.

Overall, attaining U.S. oil production potential would boost gross domestic product about $250 billion. Not bad, considering that it could be accomplished by reducing dependence on foreign oil, increasing federal royalty and tax revenues and cutting the federal deficit.

If there was no other reason to increase domestic oil supply and refinery capacity, this alone is more than sufficient. Keep the money in the USA and it builds jobs. Send the money to sandland and it funds terrorists. Good enough for me.

Posted by Drew458     on 03/16/2012 at 02:01 PM   
Filed Under: • Economics • Oil, Alternative Energy, and Gas Prices •  
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Roussses and Rudmates

Hermosas pelirrojas. Frimousses rousses. Rudmates. Pick your language, it all means the same thing.

Caitlin Randolph by Lauren Randolph

Kristen Rautenbach by EMPhotography

Barbara Meier, 2007 winner Germany’s Next Top Model

Posted by Drew458     on 03/16/2012 at 12:16 PM   
Filed Under: • Eye-Candy •  
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