The army on Monday used heavy firepower to crack down on a group linked to bloody land clashes in western Kenya, local officials said, a day before parliament was to debate - and possibly adopt - a power-sharing deal to end a deadly political crisis.
The violence in the western Mount Elgon region underlines how difficult it will be for Kenya to retreat from the edge of violent breakup, even though politicians who clashed bitterly for weeks - and who are accused of fomenting some of the fighting - now are talking peace.
Defense Department spokesman Bogita Ongeri declined to give details of the army's Mount Elgon operation, saying only troops were in the area to assist local officials.
Ochiemo Cheptai, who identified himself as chairman of the Mount Elgon chapter of the Kenya Red Cross, said 30,000 people fled their homes after the army began pursuing members of the Sabaot Land Defense Force on Sunday, bombing several villages in the Mount Elgon area where militants were believed hiding. Red Cross officials in Nairobi challenged the 30,000 figure, saying they have not yet assessed the numbers fleeing.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/11/2008 00:00 ||
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African Union troops are set to launch a major offensive against a renegade leader of one of the three islands that make up the Union of Comoros Islands. Mohammed Bacar remained president of Anjouan island after winning elections last year declared illegal by the central government of Comoros.
AU envoy Francesco Madeira told the BBC troops had taken up strategic positions and were set to begin their operation.
Tanzania, Sudan, Senegal and Libya have all provided troops for the mission. Few details are available but some media reports suggest the offensive may already be under way.
That's where all the peacekeepers for Darfur and Somalia went!
A special AU Ministers summit on Comoros held in Addis Ababa last month, agreed to send troops in support of Comoros President Abdallah Sambi. "We have made necessary efforts to have Mr Bacar submit to the democratic process in Comoros but he seems to be adamant and we have the consensus of everybody to take action against him," Mr Madeira told the BBC's Network Africa programme.
He said the mission of the forces is to take over the island, home to some 300,000 people, and they have taken positions to ensure they effectively counter resistance from allies of Mr Bacar.
A history of political violence has left the Comoros desperately poor. At times, the country has teetered on the brink of disintegration, amid tensions between the semi-autonomous islands and the central government.
A shortage of Army doctors and nurses is forcing the Ministry of Defence to employ hundreds of temporary civilian medics at an average rate of more than £700 a day. At least £8 million was spent on locums last year to cover more than 12,000 shifts left short by the manning crisis, new figures have revealed.
Dozens of civilian nurses and a neurosurgeon have even been deployed in war-torn Iraq and Afghanistan. The figures come amid concern among troops and their families about the reliance on locums as the number of Army doctors declines.
Experienced doctors are leaving the forces and new ones are becoming reluctant to join, partly because they earn less with the Armed Forces than they can make in the NHS.
Which tells you just how bad it is.
Latest MoD figures reveal significant shortfalls in many areas of the Defence Medical Services (DMS) with only 240 consultants on the books out of the 690 deemed necessary. The DMS has only 46 of the 97 anaesthetists needed, 20 of the 40 general surgeons required and 16 of the 30 emergency nurses wanted.
MP Mike Hancock, a Liberal Democrat member of the Commons Defence Select Committee, said: "There is a real crisis, but this has been there for a long time.
"Unfortunately there is little or nothing they can do. If they could recruit them and keep them they would do it."
The cross-party defence committee recently heard that many doctors were discouraged from joining the forces by pay issues and the likelihood of separation from their family. Brendan McKeating, chairman of the British Medical Association's armed forces committee, said doctors in the military felt they were paid less, particularly since new GP and consultant contracts came in.
GPs can expect to earn 4.8% less in the Army over the course of their careers than they would at home, he told the committee. The Army Families Federation has also raised concerns about the lack of provision of doctors and dentists overseas.
In a letter to Tory peer Lord Astor, Baroness Taylor disclosed that £9,747,000 was spent on contracts under which civilian locums were employed by the MoD in 2006/7. However, £1,266,000 was for contracts that included services other than locums as well. In total, 12,094 days' cover was required.
Up to four nurses have been deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan at any one time, the total number reaching 54 last year, as well as one civilian neurosurgeon. These deployments accounted for £1,155,000 of the total cost of employing locums.
The MoD said in a statement: "Defence Medical Services have met all the operational requirements placed on them.
"There is no question of British forces deploying on military operations without the appropriate medical support."
It acknowledged a "problem" with manpower shortages, particular in consultant and nurse specialities, but was taking steps to address them. "In the current financial year we have continued to hire a small number of nurses for Iraq and Afghanistan operations and have hired one consultant neurosurgeon in Afghanistan for a three-month period," the MoD added.
#2
I wouldn't willingly work for the MoD either. If they're openly shorting bullets for the troops, why should one expect the medical staff will have an adequate budget for bandaids?
#5
I get the impression that the British MoD and their political "bosses" don't support their troops at all well. While Doctors & Nurses sometimes might not have what is termed "common sense" they are not mentally deficient. I would make a bet that the problem is not primarily money. When patriotism is denigrated and service is not appreciated by the populace then why risk your fanny or inconvenience your family.
#6
The UK has lost a large number of ethnically British doctors and nurses for the last decade to emigration. Those who took their place have neither the roots nor, in many cases, the identification with the UK that leads to military service.
#1
It would be better to make the little buggers start every day with a pledge of allegiance and singing God Save the Queen. Wonder how it would sound in Hindi and Pashtu?
"We must intensify our effort to strengthen national defense and step up army building while going all out for economic, political, cultural and social development, so as to support and guarantee the progress of socialism with Chinese characteristics and make greater contribution to world peace," said Hu, also chairman of the Central Military Commission. Gotta love that socialism with Chinese characteristics. Anyhow, pics at the link.
The modernization of the armed forces should be aimed at combat readiness, and military training should be conditioned to the age of information technologies, he said. Yes, they're doing that rather well, unfortunately.
"We must aim at improving the capability to win high-tech regional wars and keep enhancing the ability of the military to respond to security threats and accomplish a diverse array of military tasks," the president said. In other words, their agents in the Defense Department will connect USB drives to their computers at the time instructed, which will upload their worm payloads, which will wreak havoc throughout DoD networks because nobody had the bright idea to secure them. This will all come out in the post-mortem of the first Pearl Harbor of the Information Age. The prevailing theme of this report will be "how could they have been so mind-bogglingly stupid?" No generals will lose their commands, and no contractors will lose their contracts.
#2
Gromky, truer words were never spoken. The security folks have been death on cellphones ever since they put pictures in them, but don't regulate USB sticks and thumbdrives. They depend on CAC cards to protect unattended computers.
MADRID - Fresh from a second consecutive election victory, Spains Socialists began to prepare a public works programme on Monday to reinvigorate a flagging economy. Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who boosted his tally of parliamentary seats but once again fell short of an absolute majority, said he would approach smaller parties to forge alliances.
There are a number of parties we can speak to, an exhausted-looking Zapatero told a news conference. Obviously were going to be talking to all of them, he said, without specifying whether he would be seeking a permanent alliance or simply continue as he has over the past four years, with different deals for different legislation.
The Socialists gained five seats for a total of 169 in the 350-seat parliament. The opposition conservative Popular Party (PP) also gained five seats to reach 153, while smaller left-wing parties and some nationalist parties lost ground. Sundays turnout was a high 75 percent, in an election overshadowed by the assassination of a former Socialist councillor in the Basque Country, blamed on ETA rebels. Participation almost matched that of 2004.
The Barcelona newspaper La Vanguardia reported that Socialist officials had already met representatives of the moderate Catalan nationalist party Convergencia i Unio to talk about a possible deal. CiU, which won 11 seats, declined to comment. CiU would almost certainly want a bigger share of tax revenues for the wealthy Catalonia region. They (the Socialists) are seven seats away from an absolute majority. They can pick and choose their allies on an ad hoc basis, said Charles Powell, of San Pablo-CEU University.
With Spains long economic boom slowing sharply since the global credit crunch bit late last year, Zapatero's first priority will be to put the lid on unemployment, which rose by 50,000 in February alone to 2.3 million. The government hopes increased spending will keep economic growth at 3 percent after 3.8 percent expansion last year, but some private economists, worried by high levels of debt in both households and firms, fear it could fall as low as 2 percent.
Analysts also point to the long-term economic problems of a country that for years has relied on a construction boom and ballooning private sector debt for growth. The private debt load is reflected by a current account deficit running at nearly 10 percent of gross domestic product.
Economists say Spain badly needs to make its exports more attractive and encourage inward investment in sectors other than property, notably by improving productivity as well as infrastructure and education.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/11/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
"Spains victorious vicious Socialists turn to under economy"
There, fixed it for ya.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
03/11/2008 6:53 Comments ||
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#2
Given that world largest 'open' economy is America and your Euro is making your market financially unattractive, its not going to be easy to grow based upon exports or recruiting investments.
#4
How did they win without support from their Islamist allies? Heck, the leftards would be screaming still had a terror attack shifted governance of any country to the right instead of to the left.
From the "Journal Editorial Report" on Fox News last Friday, with Paul Gigot, Wall Street Journal editor.
GIGOT: One thing you wrote in the article for the Journal: you said McCain has to talk about Iraq and the war on terror in a way that gets Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to attack him.
ROVE: Right.
GIGOT: I would think he would attack them. What do you mean by getting them to attack him?
ROVE: In politics, oftentimes, the counterpunch is more powerful than the initial assault. I think there is a difference. If John McCain articulates a vision and says this is what I want to do in this troubled region and this is what I think is important for the American people to think about, I think it is better for him to do that than for him to say I will start by picking a disagreement with Obama or Clinton and going after them.
He is better off saying what he believes and letting them come after him and having defined a position that's the most defensible and strongest on his terms, let them come after him.
GIGOT: You think Iraq and the war on terror, should be strong general ground for McCain.
ROVE: Absolutely. In fact, look, there is a significant gap within the Democrats as to who is seen more as commander-in-chief. Hillary Clinton is seen by far more Democrats as ready to be commander-in-chief than is Obama. My sense, though there is not a lot of data, is that if the question is who should be commander-in-chief, John McCain will outdistance his Democratic competitors. ...
ROVE: Well, what [Obama]he ought to do -- but what he is not really capable of doing -- is articulate a concrete vision that moves beyond the inspiring rhetoric. What happened to him was the inspiring rhetoric we saw begin at the Jefferson-Jackson dinner in December in Iowa, which galvanized the caucus-goers in Iowa, has been followed for essentially the last three months. But it is wearing thin. There is very little to it. It is changing from inspiring to insipid.
His problem is he has two choices. The easy choice is to go after her. The better choice is to flesh out what it is that he believes that he wants to do and do so in a way that conveys passion.
I think his problem is that his record in the Senate shows he is an amused, ironic observer, not an engaged, passionate, committed leader.
More thoughts at the link from the regular panelists on what the candidates should do at this stage of the campaign, and on other subjects. And the article is part of the Wall Street Journal's free content, in the hope of seducing you into buying a proper subscription.
#1
Hillary Clinton is seen by far more Democrats as ready to be commander-in-chief than is Obama.
And just what is that experience--that she reads the NYTs? She has put a lot of untruths out there regarding her vast experience such as bringing about peace in Northern Ireland and Bosnia. If her lips are moving...she is most likely prevaricating.
Go ahead, Hillary, deny that photo. Still gonna take his superdelegate vote?
The federal investigation of a New York prostitution ring was triggered by Gov. Eliot Spitzer's suspicious money transfers, initially leading agents to believe Spitzer was hiding bribes, according to federal officials.
They said if George Bush was re-elected president that opposition party governors would be investigated for their personal lives, and by golly they're right!
It was only months later that the IRS and the FBI determined that Spitzer wasn't hiding bribes but payments to a company called QAT, what prosecutors say is a prostitution operation operating under the name of the Emperors Club.
Someone remind me: what percentage of 'high class' prostitution rings are controlled by organized crime? Particularly ones that launder payments? It's not the sex that's the problem here, Eliot ...
As recently as this past Valentine's Day, Feb. 13, Spitzer, who officials say is identified in a federal complaint as "Client 9," arranged for a prostitute "Kristen" to meet him in Washington, D.C. The woman met Client 9 at the Mayflower Hotel, room 871, "for her tryst," according to the complaint. Client 9 also is alleged to have paid for the woman's train tickets, cab fare, mini bar and room service, travel time and hotel.
The suspicious financial activity was initially reported by a bank to the IRS which, under direction from the Justice Department, brought in the FBI's Public Corruption Squad. "We had no interest at all in the prostitution ring until the thing with Spitzer led us to learn about it," said one Justice Department official.
Unless there was high-quality video ...
Spitzer, who made his name by bringing high-profile cases against many of New York's financial giants, is likely to be prosecuted under a relatively obscure statute called "structuring," according to a Justice Department official. Structuring involves creating a series of financial movements designed to obscure the true purpose of the payments.
Prosecutors reportedly have a series of e-mails and wiretapped phone conversations of Spitzer.
In a interview two years ago, Spitzer, then-attorney general, told ABC News he had some advice for people who break the law. "Never talk when you can nod, and never nod when you can wink, and never write an e-mail because it's death. You're giving prosecutors all the evidence we need," he said.
And lookee: you got to the end of the article and ABC News still didn't tell you the name of his political party!
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/11/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Has Spitzer never heard of cash? BTW, in that photo is Spitzer holding hands with a zero diamond girl?
Posted by: ed ||
03/11/2008 1:37 Comments ||
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#2
must be expensive money transfers for the FBI to think they were bribes.
#8
The FBI takes "structuring" activity seriously, because the bulk of it is drug money activity. The banks provide lists (data-mined) of suspicious looking activity, and off the investigators go. Imagine the eyes that popped when the governor of NY state's name showed up...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
03/11/2008 9:40 Comments ||
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#9
Hey, honey, if you don't get me anything for Valentines Day, that's okay. I took care of it...
#10
I'd still like to know how long Eliot had been a client of EMPG, how he came to learn of them, what other consideration he received from them for what services he may have provided to them and who were clients 1-8. I suspect there's a lot more to come and it may take till November for it to all come out, as it were.
#13
did this "corruption-fighter" have no thought about how his services with an industry with ties to organized crime put him in a blackmail position? Arrogant idiot!
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/11/2008 13:15 Comments ||
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#14
The real question is:
What are the DNC's rules on counting "absentee ballots" from Superdelegates at the Convention???? Especially if that absenteeism is because he's in freakin' jail???
Of course, that might be cause for celebration in the DNC. Wonder if old Bill has already contacted Eliot for "Kristen's" phone #?
Posted by: BA ||
03/11/2008 13:38 Comments ||
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#15
As recently as this past Valentine's Day, Feb. 13, Spitzer, who officials say is identified in a federal complaint as "Client 9," arranged for a prostitute "Kristen" to meet him in Washington, D.C.
Kristen darling...are you deaf? I asked you to lick my erection not wreck my election!
#17
Can't believe the Spitzer was so dumb. Must have self-destruction urges. Surely, he was aware of monitoring, tracking of large money transfers, etc. Someone might have blown the whistle (no pun intended) on him in retribution.
#19
For those of you who were wondering what could Spitzer want that's worth $5,500, I offer this quote from the NY Post:
"Suwal (alleged madam) told Kirsten (alleged call-girl) that Client-9 "would ask you to do things that, like, you might not think were safe - you know . . . I mean that . . . very basic things."
Al
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
03/11/2008 18:37 Comments ||
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#20
Reports say Spitzer may have spent $80K on these "very basic things".
Posted by: ed ||
03/11/2008 18:59 Comments ||
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#21
I mean couldn't he, like other bored middle aged men, have spent the money on a Porsche?
Posted by: ed ||
03/11/2008 19:02 Comments ||
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Sen. Barack Obama set out this morning to puncture the idea of a Clinton-Obama ticket, calling the suggestion an example of "gamesmanship" and "doubletalk" by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and former president Bill Clinton, who said here Saturday that a ticket with Clinton on top and Obama as vice president would be "an almost unstoppable force."
The very idea is presumptuous, Obama said, pointing out that he has won more states, more votes and more Democratic delegates than Clinton. He also said, with evident delight, that their notion undermines the Clintons's central challenge to his candidacy -- that he is not prepared to be president. "I don't understand," Obama said, playing the moment as the crowd cheered, "if I'm not ready, how is it you think I would be such a great vice president?"
Posted by: Fred ||
03/11/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Hey Barak,news flash: you're no President either.
#3
He should stick around the Senate till he figures out how the Federal Government works. (Hint it's not a bigger State of Illinois)
Al
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
03/11/2008 11:39 Comments ||
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#4
How is it you think I would be such a great vice president?
"Because even though you're a rookie, you're pretty presentable and people seem to like you. We can give you enough on the job training to qualify you for your 2016 run."
I'm surprised Hillary hasn't come back with something like that so far.
#5
Hillary doesn't want him as a VP, she just wants him out of the race and gave him the easy option. If he showed any doubt it would have eroded confidence in him among his zealots. He answered beautifully. I think he's way underqualified but he does have good instincts for the Clinton knife-fighting that's going on.
#12
African-Americans are all of mixed blood, one way or another. I remember being told once that sub-Saharan Africans consider them white. The thing Senator Obama is not is an African-American, as the term is commonly understood. He is not descended of African slaves, after all, his father being a Kenyan tribal princeling. He is a first-generation American like me and like General Colin Powell, just with darker skin.
DAKAR (Rooters) - Facing "Islamophobia" in the West, the world's biggest Islamic body is seeking to rebrand itself this week as a forum for settling conflicts peacefully and for redistributing wealth to the world's poorest states.
At a summit on Thursday and Friday in Senegal, the 57-nation Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) will seek to agree on a modern charter that will give it a more active, influential role as the voice of Islam in a globalised world.
OIC leaders meet in Dakar at a time when suspicion in the West about the Muslim world remains high, still colored by the September 11, 2001 attacks carried out by Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda in the name of militant Islam. Subsequent attacks by Islamic militants in Spain and Britain, coupled with the U.S.-led "war on terror" in Iraq and Afghanistan and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, have appropriately stoked fears of a global clash of civilizations.
OIC Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu called for a concerted effort by the group to promote dialogue and mutual respect with the non-Muslim world to fight hatred and bigotry. Because hatred and bigotry come solely from the intolerant West and its misconception about the Master Religion, whose members are the True Victims, here.
"Combating Islamophobia is and will continue to be one of the biggest challenges faced by the Muslim World," he told OIC foreign ministers meeting in Dakar.
While confronting Islamic terrorism will be our biggest challenge.
Senegal, hosting its second OIC summit in 17 years, wants the Islamic Ummah to harness its geographical reach and immense resources so it can punch at its full weight in the world arena and assist its poorest members, mostly in Africa. Why do I get something of a "down with whitey" feeling, here?
"The OIC has existed for 30 years but is still trying to find itself," host President Abdoulaye Wade told Rooters ahead of the March 13-14 summit in Dakar, whose roads and avenues have been given a face-lift for the Islamic gathering.
The octogenarian Senegalese leader thinks the group can do much more to foster aid, trade and investment. "I would like to propose that this summit be the basis for a determined and effective fight against poverty," Wade said.
Wade wants this week's meeting to top up a special OIC fund -- the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development, initially projected at $10 billion -- to finance anti-poverty projects AKA "Mosques" mostly in Africa, but also in other parts of the Islamic world. "I think we can find much more money than that," Wade said.
Only $2.6 billion has been committed to the fund so far, according to the Islamic Development Bank.
Wade is urging the Islamic group to play a more decisive, active role in solving conflicts affecting its members, whether in Sudan's Darfur or the enduring conflict between Israelis and Paleostinians. "We need to bring peace to the Ummah ... and it's not just by making declarations that we're going to do that," he said.
Senegal's Wade is using the OIC summit, only the second to be held in Sub-Saharan Africa in nearly 20 years, as a vehicle to raise his visibility as a diplomatic mediator in Africa and to promote his West African nation as an investment destination. He is hoping to host the signing in Dakar on Wednesday of the latest peace pact between two feuding OIC members, Chad and Sudan, whose rivalry is entangled in the Darfur crisis. A string of previous peace deals between the two have collapsed.
With funds provided by OIC heavyweights like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Abu Dhabi, Senegal's picturesque but scruffy capital has built a network of new highways linking the city centre to the airport and other points on the Cap Vert peninsula. But several OIC heads of state are staying away, among them Libya's Muammar Gaddafi and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf.
National Public Radio listeners who tuned in to "Morning Edition" during the last four days of February found some atypical programming around 6:30 a.m. during the broadcasts. One can only imagine their complete despair and shock
"Conversations with Conservatives" was heard during morning-drive time with host Steve Inskeep and a conservative of the day with much on his mind. The roster consisted of the Rev. Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission; Grover Norquist, founder of Americans for Tax Reform; talk-radio host Glenn Beck; and David Keene, chairman of the American Conservative Union.
Each man had his own focus Mr. Land addressed the status of evangelical voters; Mr. Norquist the spectrum of fiscal policies that most appealed to Republican voters; Mr. Beck with ideas about conservative core values; and Mr. Keene on challenges faced by Sen. John McCain, saying the Arizona Republican must prove to the conservative base that he is, indeed, a conservative. The discussion on Evangelicals would have put them right over the edge
NPR Morning Edition listeners there are 13 million a week were not especially pleased in the aftermath of the broadcast segments, which lasted about seven minutes each. Predictable response in 3, 2, 1...
According to NPR ombudsman Alicia Shepard, more than 60 angry e-mails and phone calls arrived at the network, calling the programming "shameful" and a "love-fest with radical, right-wing nuts." There were only a few, she said, that praised the series as "refreshing" and "articulate," among other things. So shocking they took the time to put down the lattes
"Our basic motivation was to get a sense of where the GOP is heading, and where conservatives want to be. You can never get every viewpoint, but we wanted a sampling of opinion," Mr. Inskeep said. "In the course of it, I learned just how carefully people were watching John McCain," he recalled. "It was David Keene, for example, who pointed out the positioning of liberal and conservative officials onstage at the McCain victory speech in the Virginia primaries. That's something I wouldn't have noticed."
#1
Anyone with an opposing viewpoint is a radical right-wing nutcase. It's sad how far liberalism has fallen, when you compare it with pre-60s liberals. Those men, I might disagree with, but I respected.
#2
It's actually really funny. Again, a number of the "open-minded", "diversity-loving", individuals on the Left cannot handle dialogue. As Bugs would say, "What a bunch of maroons."
#3
I'm sure more than one bong was tipped that morning.
What drives me nuts is how fantastic most of their shows are. Why the see the need to slant crap is, well frustrating to say the least. Especially since we, are all paying for it.
#4
Oh please! Am I the only one to find it amusing that their "conservative line up" has the president of the Souther Baptist Convention the same day that drudge has an AP report that says, "NEW YORK (AP) -- In a major shift, a group of Southern Baptist leaders said their denomination has been "too timid" on environmental issues and has a biblical duty to stop global warming. The declaration, signed by the president of the Southern Baptist Convention among others and released Monday, shows a growing urgency about climate change even within groups that once dismissed claims of an overheating planet as a liberal ruse. The conservative denomination has 16.3 million members and is the largest Protestant group in the U.S."
Didn't Grover Norquist have a spat with McCain where John McCain used his report to clobber Grover Norquist, and Norquist rebutted by calling McCain a "liar" and "delusional."??
I don't know if Beck supports McCain and I know nothing about David Keene, however call me suspicious for thinking that their motives weren't for equal opportunity for conservatives.
#5
60 emails out of a 13,000,000 listener base. I think that's about 0.000005%. What a torrent of rightous outrage! NPR better watch it. They could lose dozens, maybe even hundreds of their base. Considering the average age of their listeners, at least that many probably die of old age each week.
Posted by: Titus Cloling7944 ||
03/11/2008 5:17 Comments ||
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#6
"atypical programming around 6:30 a.m."
I'm surprised there were many liberals up to hear it at that time of morning. Must have been on their way home from a party the night before. It's mostly conservatives who have to go to work before sunrise. Or maybe people who go to work before sunrise tend to become conservative.
#7
Out of 13 million listeners only 60 complained?!?
And some of those emails and calls were positive?
I don't think this is the start of an NPR Intifada or anything. When you get so many angry emails that your server catches fire and melts into a puddle of lead, then you have a furious reaction.
#16
Lady Kroc [she of the House of McDonalds] willed 200 million to NPR. Invested they should be generating 10 mill a year, enough to go it alone without government subsidy. Should've happened already.
And PBS subsidies should've ended when successful programming kept the royalties and didn't kick back into the system. It's a one way street. They take and don't give back.
#18
NPR has had commercials for a number of years, although they pretend it's a matter of thanking corporate sponsors, thus pulling the sheerest possible veil over the indignity of crass consumerism.
I agree the choice of representative conservatives is curious. But as for the 6:30 a.m. time slot... an awful lot of vice presidents and directors of this'n'that lean toward Liberal for the citizenry at large. It's one of those reverse discrimination thingies: Sure, I worked like a dog to put myself through college and then to get where I am today, skimping to save pennies along the way; but it just isn't reasonable to expect others to do so, nor fair to punish them, as it were, when they don't. So the NPR vice presidential types are just pulling in to the office parking lot at 6:30 a.m., having already done a full work-out, balanced the checkbook, and got in three phone conferences during the drive in. We won't even mention the fifty-seven emails answered while riding the exercise bike. (Yes, I do know the type intimately -- it's exhausting sometimes just watching him!)
NEW YORK (AP) -- Gasoline prices were poised Monday to set a new record at the pump, having surged to within half a cent of their record high of $3.227 a gallon. Oil prices, meanwhile, surged above $108 to a new inflation-adjusted record and their fifth new high in the last six sessions on an upbeat report on wholesale inventories.
The national average price of a gallon of gas rose 0.7 cent overnight to $3.222 a gallon, 69 cents higher than one year ago, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Last May, prices peaked at $3.227 as surging demand and a string of refinery outages raised concerns about supplies. That record will likely be left in the dust soon as gas prices accelerate toward levels that could approach $4 a gallon, though most analysts believe prices will peak below that psychologically significant mark. In its last forecast, released last month, the Energy Department said prices will likely peak around $3.40 a gallon this spring; a new forecast is due Tuesday.
Retail gas prices are following crude oil, which has jumped 25 percent in a month. On Monday, crude prices surged to yet another record after the Commerce Department said wholesale sales jumped by 2.7 percent in January, their biggest increase in four years, according to Dow Jones Newswires. The strong sales report suggested to oil traders that the struggling economy may be doing better than thought.
Light, sweet crude for April delivery rose $2.75 to settle at a record $107.90 on the New York Mercantile Exchange after earlier setting a new trading record of $108.21. Energy investors shrugged off a relative stabilization of the dollar and a cooling in tensions between Venezuela and its neighbors Colombia and Ecuador.
Many analysts believe speculative investing attracted by the weak dollar is the primary reason oil has risen so far so fast in recent months. Crude futures offer a hedge against a falling dollar, and oil futures bought and sold in dollars are more attractive to foreign investors when the dollar is falling. "We've got a Fed(eral Reserve) meeting on the 18th that could see a sizeable rate cut," said Brad Samples, an analyst with Summit Energy Services Inc., in Louisville, Ky. "So, it's not over."
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/11/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Speculative investing, that says it all. A couple of thousand people make untold wealth while the rest of us make less every year. Go ahead and give me the b.s. line again about how a free market with NO price guidelines is better for the consumer. A little interference in the energy industry might be needed if we want to keep our economy out of the shithouse.
#2
From last night: http://www.businesswire.com/
The US oil import bill last year came to some $327 billion, and should easily top $400 billion this year. That's an increase of some 300% since 2002, according to PIW.
That 3 times what the US is spending on Warfare as Welfare for Muslims.
Posted by: ed ||
03/11/2008 9:15 Comments ||
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#3
Supply/Demand of oil has not substantially changed, certainly not doubled in the last 18 months. SO how did this happen?
Hedge Funds.
They've damaged the economy enough with their manipulation of prices - and with their prior messes in finance and questionable methods (remember the bailout they got a few years ago?).
They Should be OUTLAWED.
Liquidate the hedge funds now and oil prices would collapse.
#4
Before we outlaw hedge funds, we need to define what they are.
Higher on my list of culpability is the Federal Reserve system and the American people. Note that it's not just oil that's increasing, it's every commodity around. If we'd show some monetary discipline, take our medicine and get through this recession without so much wimpering before it's even started, there would be a lot less opportunity for speculators to make money betting on a government financed inflation.
#5
When the economies of India and China stop accelerating so rapidly, with concomitant increases in oil purchases, then perhaps the price of oil will start to drop.
When Iraqi production increases to where it should be, then perhaps...
When the new government in Venezuela has invested in the delayed maintenance of the past decade, and manages to lure back the international oil companies to run extraction and production, then perhaps...
When the new government in Iran ditto, then ditto.
When Canadian oil sands excavations finally hit peak, ditto.
When the American ecology emos stop fussing and let us drill for oil off the Florida and California coastlines, and increase extraction in Alaska, ditto.
Bottom line, production is far from optimal, while consumption is increasing.. Until production increases to match consumer desires -- and both decisive factors are outside American borders and American control -- I wouldn't expect oil prices to drop significantly... if my slight understanding of matters financial and economic bear more than a passing resemblance to reality.
#6
1. China is now a major petroleum consumer unlike a decade or two decades ago. Demand is up.
2. NIMBY and eco-radicals have shut off both the exploitation of known existing resources and the substitution of others.
3. The dollar has cheapened as the Fed has dumped cash to fuel the American capital market with without regards to inflation.
4. The agents involved in the speculative markets are not held accountable for their acts, both by getting 'relief' when they caught holding worthless paper [by having the American people pick up the tab] and not being prosecuted for RICO actions as in the corporations and institutions which over rate the company/paper in the market.
5. No real functional accountability for presidents, CEOs, and board members who engage in these activities. With millions of bonds, stocks, and various degrees of paper [with and without power], individuals and even investment firms do not have leverage to oust with cause and no compensation those who in effect loot the corporations for a living in an 'good old boy' network of executives.
#7
P2K, 4 and 5 are really consequences of 3. The problem here is the Fed. Prices of commodities are up across the board, it's not China, it's Washington.
#8
At these prices US demand has to be falling.
Even with these exchange rates, worldwide prices have to be rising.
At least the Chinese economy (and likely others) are affected by rising internal prices and reduced US product demand.
Thus, I don't see that the demand side of the equation explains the magnitude and speed of the price runup.
Speculation? Maybe. I don't really understand how that works.
Some significant impending supply shortfall that is not yet generally known? Maybe. But I have not heard of anything really sudden and unexpected going on.
To me, it doesn't add up. And as I always say, 'if something doesn't make sense then you don't know the whole story.'
I wonder if the Fallon story is connected to the price rise? Are there some insiders leaking thoughts, discussion, etc. about a pending assault on Iran? Even if not true, might THAT be enough to motivate the speculators?
People that drive to work can't cut their consumption much. Our local newspaper ran an article last week about truck drivers going out of business because of high fuel prices. People may alter their consumption patterns some. They might think twice about driving to the local convenience store for a lottery ticket but rather combine trips. They might eliminate some of the discretionary trips but I don't know how much they might do this.
Supply and concerns over the environment seem like the biggest problem.
#11
Speculation? Maybe. I don't really understand how that works.
OK Glenmore, here's a pocket explanation.
1, You're a greedy bastard, the multi-millions you already have are simply "Not Enough".
(Cant do this unless you're already a billionaire or better.)
2, you find something that there's plenty of (Housing, Coal, Generating plants etc) you buy as much as you can, Report "Shortages" (You also own the news outlets) creating an artificial shortage.
3 You convince your other "Robber Baron" Friends that you've got something (This part is easy, they're greedy too) and they also buy this now "Scarce" thing.
4 price of the "Thing goes up because of this "Shortage". (Mind you now it's not at all scarce, just bullshit and owning the news outlets, you can make it seem so.) Example don't buy gas stations, buy refineries, you can control the price then, not so with stations.
5 When the price is high enough Sell all, quickly an quietly, no announcement, no "News" bulletins, if selling is discovered deny it strongly, threaten the "Slanderous" reporters with jail or whatever you think scares them most.
6 After half to 2/3 of your holdings are sold, sell "Short" to drive the price even lower.
7 (Optional) buy at or near the very lowest prices, then Announce Your "Brilliant investment strategy" (NO Details whatever) and you wind up with a huge percentage of the (Whatever) and record profits. in other words, you've still got your money (Or more) and the "Thing" is also now yours.
8 find another "Thing".
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/11/2008 20:08 Comments ||
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#12
Mods, please remove one of those duplicates, thanks Jim
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/11/2008 20:36 Comments ||
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Stung by rumors that they were not serious about developing a new heavy bomber, the U.S. Air Force announced that it was developing such an aircraft, that it would be in service by 2018, and would be able to operate with, or without, a crew. The implication was that the design of the new bomber was already quite advanced, and that it was, like the B-2, being handled as a "black project" (all work done in secrecy, until ready for production.) So the military admitted they were making the B-3 because their feelings were hurt? The media should try that more often and see what shakes out of the tree. Maybe they'll find out about the transporter beam that is in the final stages of development.
The new bomber would be similar to the current B-2 in many ways. That is, it would be stealthy, have a crew of only two, and be capable of staying in the air for over 24 hours at a time. The "B-3" would probably also be capable of super-cruise (travelling long distances at very high speeds), and would definitely have a full array of the latest sensors and communications capabilities. The biggest potential problem is cost. The B-2 bombers were so expensive that only 21 were built. One recently crashed. Adding in the development expenses, each B-2 cost about two billion dollars. If the B-3 costs a lot more, the air force will have a hard time selling it to Congress. This would be the case even if the air force came up with a design that amounted to a "semi-space" ship, that travelled at hypersonic speeds (enabling it to reach any point on the planet in a few hours). Price has definitely become a factor, and that may be why the air force has been reluctant to release any details on the next generation heavy bomber. My isn't this fishing expedition article rich on detail.
Anyway, when will commercial planes have hypersonic capability? Is it a fuel hog? If this article turns out to be more than just a fishing expedition by the media, then perhaps it won't be until mid-century before this happens, otherwise it won't be much of an advantage to have a stealthy bombing platform with hypersonic capability vs. a generic civilian platform with hypersonic capability. Maybe it's better to hold off if this is true.
#1
Sounds like the USAF = US Space Force + B3 needs a PU286 EXPLOSIVE FLUX CAPACITOR-R-R, ala Marvin Martian + Doc "Back to the Future" Brown, as opposed to SADDAM's SUPERGUN DESIGN.
#5
...Well, nobody should get too excited about it. The EARLIEST IOC for a B-3 will be around 2025-2030 as the last B-1s leave service (B-2 is expected to be around til about 2035-2040)and by that point there won't be any constituency for a new bomber. The Fighter Mafia will have won simply by attrition.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
03/11/2008 5:01 Comments ||
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#6
The B-2 will be as obsolete as the B-52 in another 10 years...without its stealth it's actually a pretty crappy aircraft.
#8
Just because it's still useful in certain situations doesn't mean it's not obsolete. The AS/400 is obsolete as hell, and they're still being used. A B-2 with its stealth rendered useless by new tech will be about as useful as a tub of warm pudding.
#9
As an old bomber guy, let me add a few thoughts to the mix:
1. From 1945 to 1965, the AAF and AF bought ~4500 bombers; from 1965 to present, 123.
2. The fighter mafia is getting its butt kicked daily by Congress and the UAV crowd. Case in point, you don't exactly see the sky filled with Raptors.
3. The B-52 will never be stealthy, but has phenomenal endurance and a huge payload.
4. Obsolescence is relative to mission, not technology. The basic philosophy of using the B-52 hasn't really changed much. Something else (formerly missiles, now LO aircraft) will kick down the door. Then the BUFF comes through and kills all the bad guys. The BUFF has been upgraded to handle all the modern weapons systems and is continually improving its systems. The latest is the CONECT program.
5. The AF fighter mafia has just about ruined the AF in its quest to "recapitalize" the fighter fleet. It keeps cutting money from other elements to fund new fighters and Congress keeps the money and doesn't buy fighters. The contraction of the force is real and is starting to impact capability.
6. As far as bombers go, there is a movement to get the band back together again. AF Cyber command (AFCYBER) stands up 1 Oct 2008. In spite of the name, one look at the command patch tells you all you need to know about it.
7. I doubt if there will be another manned bomber. The developments in UAVs are breathtaking and UAVs are significantly cheaper than manned aircraft and much more acceptable politically.
#11
As painful as it sounds, it might be tactically better for the congress to demand that the AF develop a decidedly low-tech bomber, of the old school, that is, a higher altitude cargo delivery plane.
Since developing air superiority and suppressing enemy SAM activity has been such a high priority, after the initial battle, US bomber needs have been essentially cargo delivery. The aircraft don't need all the high tech defensive gizmos that cost a fortune.
This is why B-52s are still in such high demand in conflicts. They are very low cost and low maintenance to operate compared to more modern bombers, yet perform the same mission just as well or better.
In a future conflict, the AF should use its high tech bombers just at the start, then send them back home when all their special and expensive capabilities are no longer needed.
#12
Costs favor long range missiles and low cost aircraft.
Tomahawk: $600K
Stealthy JASSM = $1M
B2 w/ R&D: $2.1B = 2100 JASSM or 3500 Tomahawks
This new bomber won't be any different because the funds won't be authorized to build it in quantity. Buy cargo aircraft conversion with bomb bays. In a high intensity war bombers won't survive repeated missions over hostile territory, so fire long range missiles instead. For brush wars, any heavy aircraft will do.
Posted by: ed ||
03/11/2008 9:40 Comments ||
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#13
Is it a fuel hog?
The F-22, which has hypercruise, is no more a fuel hog than other fighter aircraft. The engines allow it to go supersonic without using an afterburner, so they are fairly efficient for a fighter. It takes time to get up to speed, but no more fuel than normal acceleration.
Now a B-3, with hypercruise and no pilots... that is just plain scary. It can barrel in at high Mach levels, drop JDAMs or cruise missiles, turn away at levels that would splatter a normal pilot all over the windshield and speed away at the same high speed all while remaining stealthy.
As an aside, this is one of the strongest heraldric symbols ever. The clenched fist...mailed...with lightning bolts shooting out of it. You can't get much more powerful than that without going outside the genteel bounds of heraldry.
#17
The Navy is having the same problem. Look at the DDG-1000 Zumwalt class "destroyers". The blue services are spending too much time and wasting too much money developing wonder weapons to defeat the enemy as if it were a mirror reflection of us and not enough to defeat the enemy we actually face. And the Army still can't develop a superior rifle for the infantrymen who get killed. Sheesh.
#18
It's taken the Air Force eight years (and probably more, depending on how the various lawsuits go) to buy a new tanker... it's taken them three years or so to sort out the lawsuits re: their purchase of a new Chinook helicopter for SAR work.
BUT... all the problems the AF has are the result of the fighter mafia.
#19
Of course, the rest of the world better hope we develop a new bomber. The alternative is hypersonic missile from CONUS to anywhere, which will cut way down on the time to get on the red phone and ask "can't we talk about this?"
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
03/11/2008 11:27 Comments ||
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#20
I believe a better option is to have a suborbital plane capable of dropping bombs anywhere in the world and being back in 90 minutes or less. By 2018 we could have such a beast, heck the technology is there now if we have the willingness to spend.
By 2018 I believe we'll be to the point of using primarily concrete bombs for fear of collateral damage and because the kinetic energy invovled from an orbital drop would be incredible. They are also cheaper, and finding a way to drop them accurately without the advanced targeting systems on the actual bomb (thus no cost or evidence) will be a big deal.
#21
The points RWV makes in #9 also apply to the Navy; the F/A/G (fighter attack guys, anything that starts with a 'F') won out over the light / medium attack (anything that starts with an 'A') and got a 26,000 pound payload truck replaced with a 6,000 pound, half the radius POS. then they got the organic tanker assets ( first the KA-6, then the S-3 w/ buddy store) by hanging a store on this same POS, at the cost of running bombs.
after the initial attack run, the command and control assets are gone so non-stealthy birds can make their runs and deliver mass quantities of ordnance.
#23
AS, yes, the fighter mafia is the cause of most of the AF's problems because they have been the senior leadership for most of the last 30 years. As for the procurement problems, they stem in a large part from a decision that the AF made back in the 70's to establish "management" as a professional career field. Instead of taking officers from the field (pilots, maintenance, etc)to backstop the procurement bureaucracy, the AF took college graduates and trained them to become managers, not withstanding that they didn't have even a wee bit of understanding about what they were managing. This has resulted in a procurement system that is long on procedures and legalisms and short on common sense. At the end of the day, most of the stuff that finally gets on contract the user finds unusable. The system spends millions to make sure that no one steals a nickel, but slows procurement down to the point that the "Enterprise" (another "leadership" euphemism to describe what is supposed to be a fighting force) almost chokes and stops.
#24
Now a B-3, with hypercruise and no pilots... that is just plain scary. It can barrel in at high Mach levels, drop JDAMs or cruise missiles, turn away at levels that would splatter a normal pilot all over the windshield and speed away at the same high speed all while remaining stealthy.
Yaeh right. Try to make a turn at high G with a fricking bomber (that is a plane who carries over ten pounds of ordnance) and two things will happen: 1) your wings will fold and 2) your thirty tons of bombs will suddenly weigh three hundred tons and simply cut through the fuselage. The only advantage of an UAV design over say a B52 is that they don't neeed toilets.
#26
Try to make a turn at high G with a fricking bomber (that is a plane who carries over ten pounds of ordnance)
Um... hate to burst your bubble, but fighters do that every day with a couple of 2000lbs bombs on them. Yes it slows the plane down a bit, but AFTER dropping everything, like I said before, a high g turn is more than feasible.
B-1s still make 5g turns fully loaded, so your argument doesn't hold a lot of water. With a wing design that can spread the load over the entire airframe, 10-15g turn when loaded is possible.
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