Major General John R. Alison, a World War II fighter pilot who helped lead a daring and unprecedented, high risk Allied glider air invasion of Burma, died on June 6th, a son said Wednesday.
Alison was chosen in 1943 by Army Air Forces commander Gen. Henry "Hap" Arnold for a top-secret mission that flew more than 9,000 troops, nearly 1,300 mules and 250 tons of supplies behind enemy lines in Burma over six days, according to a Nov. 2009 article in Air Force Magazine.
As deputy commander of the mission dubbed Operation Thursday, Alison piloted the first in a group of Waco CG-4A glider planes that were towed by C-47 transports and released to make risky jungle landings. Of 67 gliders that departed the first night, 32 arrived, 20 were lost en route and 15 turned back, according to the magazine article.
Alison's military decorations included the Army Distinguished Service Cross and the Distinguished Service Order presented by King George VI of Great Britain.
#1
He was co-commander with Philip Cochran, who was the inspiration behind characters in the Terry and the Pirates and Steve Canyon comics by Milton Caniff.
Guillen's beef with Penn dates back to March of last year, when Penn, during an appearance on Real Time with Bill Maher, defended controversial Venezuelan president-for-life Hugo Chavez. "Every day this elected leader is called a dictator here, and we just accept it and accept it. And this is mainstream media, who should--truly there should be a bar by which they--one goes to prison for these kinds of lies," he told Maher. The outspoken White Sox manager, a native of Venezuela, took offense to Penn's comments and tweeted: "Oh God, you are very crazy. Go and move to our country. You will change your mind," and "Sean Penn defended Chavez is easy when you have money and [don't live] in [our] country shame on you mr penn."
Penn, apparently, did not take Guillan's words to heart, as he had further praise for the Chavez government in a Huffington Post editorial this week. Penn insists the Chavez's dictator reputation is manufactured by the U.S. government and media and amounts to "defamation, not only to President Chavez, but also to the majority of Venezuelan people, poor people who have elected him president time and time again." The actor urges Americans to "call for a moratorium" on the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability and Divestment Act which being applied to Venezuela "until such time as a congressional hearing may be convened and strategic benefits evidenced in balance with the historic effects of similar sanctions in other developing and impoverished nations."
It didn't take long for this post to reach Guillen, who gave Penn a piece of his mind, once again, via Twitter. "Sean penn if you love venezuela please move to venezuela for a year," Guillen suggested, early this morning. "But rent a house in guarenas or guatire to see how long you last clown."
#1
Throw in the immigres who return to the 'old country' after working their lives in America because the dollar [at least used to] go further. When they die, who notifies Social Security to stop sending the check? See in America not only can you keep on getting a check but you still get the vote too, proving there is life after death.
Six old, huge, faulty dams that normally have reserve space for spring snow melt are nearly full now before the spring floods start. St. Louis could be flooded.
Four of the nation's 10 largest reservoirs are along the Missouri River Fort Peck, Fort Randall, Garrison and Oahe. Three of these had less than five feet of total storage space behind the floodgates at the end of May. With a combined height of 700 feet, these three dams are nearly full. Melting snow surely will complete the task.
Effective flood control from six large dams is no longer an option. As a Corps of Engineers representative said, "It now moves us into uncharted territory."
Here is a likely scenario: Garrison, Oahe and three other downstream earthen dams would have to catch and hold a massive amount of water, an area covering nearly 250 square miles 100 feet deep. But earthen dams, when overtopped with floodwater, do not stand. They break and erode away, usually within an hour. All are full.
There is a possibility a failure of Fort Peck Dam could lead to a domino-like collapse of all five downstream dams. It probably would wreck every bridge, highway, pipeline and power line and split the heartland of the nation, leaving a gap 1,500 miles wide.
Countless sewage treatment plants, toxic waste sites and even Superfund sites would be flushed downstream. The death toll and blow to our economy could be ghastly.
#1
I read a while back the reason the dams level weren't lowered in anticipation of the snow melt was so that plover nests (an endangered wading bird) wouldn't be washed out.
Let's give thanks to our benevolent government who are always on the watch for our and little birdies' best interests. For the hundreds of thousands of citizens downstream whose homes and jobs may be flooded out, the hundreds or thousands killed and the millions affected by having our country cut in two, let them take comfort in the knowledge that their travails resulted in a few dozen freaking eggs hatched.
#2
Heard a good one watching a STL Cardinals game recently; Anheiser-Busch (sp?) encouraged a program for employees to go without shaving their beards in order to conserve water.
#3
It occurs to me that we might not have this problem if we had spent the $800 billion porkulus money on actual infrastructure improvements instead of using it as Nancy and Harry's personal slush fund. That was a historic missed opportunity.
Posted by: Matt ||
06/08/2011 17:10 Comments ||
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#4
"That was a historic missed opportunity."
That's the Dems for you, Matt.
Just like their heroes, the paleos, they never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
06/08/2011 18:43 Comments ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] Prosecution on Tuesday submitted a petition to a Dhaka court seeking issuance of an arrest warrant against BNP Senior Vice Chairman Tarique Rahman in a money laundering case.
Special Public Prosecutor Mosharraf Hossain Kajol submitted the petition on ground that Tarique went abroad for treatment before filing of the case and he did not obtain bail from any court in the case.
Moreover, the trial court on May 19 asked Tarique to appear before it on Tuesday (today) but his lawyer did not file any petition with the court regarding his absence.
So, the prosecution appealed to the court to issue an arrest warrant against him for his non-appearance before the court.
Judge Mohammad Mozammel Hosain of the Special Judge's Court-3 will deliver an order on the petition later in the day.
On the other hand, Tarique's lawyer Sanaullah Miah submitted a petition with the court on Tuesday seeking an adjournment of the charge framing hearing, saying that they had earlier filed a criminal revision with the High Court challenging May 5 trial court order for taking the charges into cognisance against Tarique.
But the hearing on the revision will be held on June 20.
That's why, the lawyer prayed for an adjournment for hearing the charge framing.
After hearing, the court fixed July 3 as the next date for hearing on the charge framing in the case.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/08/2011 00:00 ||
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The US on Tuesday welcomed the sale of 10 Boeing C-17 Globemaster III aircraft to the Indian Air Force ( IAF) with ambassador Timothy Roemer stating that it would sustain 23,000 jobs in America while significantly boosting the IAF's heavy transport capabilities.
"For India, the sale adds strategic and humanitarian muscle to its defence needs,'' Roemer said in a statement. "The sale grows and sustains 23,000 jobs in America. For both countries, the sale will further strengthen the strategic ties between the US and Indian armed forces, leading to enhanced cooperation for a safer and more secure region and world,'' he added.
According to Roemer, the C-17 Globemaster will broaden India's capability to provide humanitarian assistance to people devastated by natural disasters; to deploy peacekeeping troops around the world to secure peace in dangerous areas and to evacuate its citizens and others from areas of civil strife anywhere in the world.
"This is indicative of the growing military and humanitarian ties between our two democracies. From joint training exercises to defence sales and ship visits, the United States is committed to sharing expertise and cutting-edge technology with India, and to do so in a way that has economic benefits for both India and the United States. India is a leader in maintaining regional stability in South Asia, and a partner in promoting peace and economic growth,'' Roemer said.
Posted by: john frum ||
06/08/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
We could buy those ourselves. 10 C-17s is a few billion dollars. We shit that out in additional debt every day -- not total daily spending, only daily spending above and beyond what we daily collect. As long as China is paying, let's buy some cool stuff to support Taiwan or South Korea when we need it.
#2
See also INDIAN DEFENCE FORUM > BOEING: [C-17] ORDER FROM INDIA TO SAVE LONG BEACH [California] JOBS, + 25,000 others scattered around 44 US States, esepc thru "gray/iffy" production year 2012 into 2013.
* LOCKHEED MARTIN = willing to share parts of F-35 production wid JAPAN iff the latter will buy the plane.
#3
"We need an Aussie to run the UN, or we need to disband it entirely as an well intentioned artifact of a previous era belief in unicorn farts."
FTFY, rj.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
06/08/2011 18:48 Comments ||
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#4
How about Anthony Weiner for head of the UN? He has more credibility and higher ethical standards than current UN staff. And he'll be needing a new job soon.
The Army is weighing different camouflage patterns as it moves to select a new set of uniforms. The older Universal Camouflage Pattern has been criticized as ineffective, and some soldiers see the Marine Corps' MARPAT (Marine Pattern) as vastly superior.
Brig. Gen. Peter Fuller, former head of Program Executive Office Soldier which is responsible for military gear, earlier told the Army Times that the Army could remove the Corps' emblem and appropriate the uniform for Army use if it proves most effective in field tests. That's something the Marines don't want to see happen, claiming the uniform is their property and that Marines should be distinguished from other soldiers.
But a spokeswoman in Fuller's department told FoxNews.com that MARPAT is "not a leading choice for the Army's next combat uniform."
#2
When militarism (an end to itself) trumps legitimate military function. I see it as another manifestation of human nature. Rather than simply copy something which has worked, organizations will choose inferior imitations just to be different.
#3
To be honest how effective is Camo these days? I'm not talking about special forces or sniper teams, but for the guys on base, or on patrol. The enemy sees the Hummers, they know where the base is. If your attacked and take cover I suspect the camo helps a little but at that point your gunfire is generally giving away your position anyway. Is the camo that important? Perhaps I'm wrong, but I'd think they could keep the same uniforms for a lot longer. This isn't the Federation with uniform changes every four years, at least it shouldn't be.
#5
From the outside, it seems like a pretty anti-patriotic approach for the Marines to seem to be telling the Army to bleed instead of using the most effective camouflage, one that the USMC happens to have. This is not an argument over beret color or dress uniforms. This affects casualties.
I do not understand this other than some Marine general's ego leading to stupidity that might make Army soldiers end up with less effective camouflage. It seems this is mainly to preserve the USMC "uniqueness" in some fit of childish pique. The USMC must realize is not the only combat service and should be part of the team and do things that help other parts of the team. The USMC is nto uinique other than part of its culture and PR. The Army also has infantry, does helicopter and waterborne assaults, fights close in as infantry, sustains casualties and bleeds for the nation. The Marines must remember that the Army is traditionally tasked with things the Marines Corps is too small to sustain or not structured to accomplish.
This is not the marketing of laundry soap, it is the effectiveness of a branch of the US military.
Why the apparent childishness of the Marines about this?
Posted by: The Other Beldar ||
06/08/2011 15:54 Comments ||
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#6
To be honest how effective is Camo these days?
The intent is to distort rather than hide like a cloaking device. When the enemy has a long look, they can probably make out their target to lay a good line of sight on it. However, in the chaos of combat when you get glimpses rather than the long stare, it can make the difference in blending with your surroundings.
#7
The different branches of the armed services have always had different uniforms, both in design and in colour. In Britain, each of the different regiments has a different dress uniform, if I recall correctly, all of them garish. ;-). The Marines want to be instantly distinguished from the Army, and the Army should wnt the same. It doesn't take much change to trigger identification as other. The Army should get over it and choose a co our and pattern that is good enough and different enough that it's visually distressing when a soldier and a marine re standing next to one another.
#9
TW not true. We all wore BDU for nearly 2 decades, and OD before that. The Marines had their cap, we had ours, but the uniforms are for the most part identical since the Korean war. Speaking about fighting uniforms.
Dress uniforms are different - I hated the Army Green class A, I always preferred my Blues (everyone that went to Korea got their made there, for the longest time that was pretty much an Army tradition). Army should never have gotten rid of the Khakis IMHO.
As for this snit, the USMC will get over themselves if the Army takes MARPAT - after all the USMC pretty much lifted it from CADPAT with a differing color set. And both of them came from DIGICAM create by US Army Natick depot. It was used by the Army in the early 80's. I got pics of my old unit, the 2ACR with "DualTex" on our vehicles long before the Canadians and USMC commissioned their studies. And I found some online as well.
Yep that's an M60 Turret in "digital camo" somewhere likely between 80 and 84. So... shut yer cake hole about digi camo Marines. The Army Cavalry got there first. Scouts OUT!
;-)
(And if you want to get picky, the Germans and their Flecktarn and Wehrmacht predecessors are pretty close to being predecessors of all this).
OldSpook, it's a good thing I don't mind being corrected by someone who knows more on the subject than I. Especially because it happens so often round these here parts. ;-)
#12
TW, no offense intended. But I've worn everything from the Gomer Pyle OD green fatigues, to BDU (which all services wore in the 80's to early 90's), to Chocolate-chip to Desert "pinks" (which some of the USAF and Navy still use) to the ACU.
Not strictly WoT-related, but as a study it's useful to understand the idea of a financial choke-point for spam. Why? Thug-states like Iran, North Korea and Venezuela have similar choke-points. For all they want to do, in the end they need to use the western international banking system, and that gives us opportunities to see what they're doing. And stop them. To hamstring either spammers or dictators, you do what we were told to do in Watergate: follow the money.
For years, a team of computer scientists at two University of California campuses has been looking deeply into the nature of spam, the billions of unwanted e-mail messages generated by networks of zombie computers controlled by the rogue programs called botnets. They even coined a term, spamalytics, to describe their work.
Now they have concluded an experiment that is not for the faint of heart: for three months they set out to receive all the spam they could (no quarantines or filters need apply), then systematically made purchases from the Web sites advertised in the messages.
The researchers looked at nearly a billion messages and spent several thousand dollars on about 120 purchases. No single purchase was more than $277. The hope, the scientists said, was to find a choke point that could greatly reduce the flow of spam. It turned out that 95 percent of the credit card transactions for the spam-advertised drugs and herbal remedies they bought were handled by just three financial companies one based in Azerbaijan, one in Denmark and one in Nevis, in the West Indies.
If a handful of companies like these refused to authorize online credit card payments to the merchants, youd cut off the money that supports the entire spam enterprise, said one of the scientists, Stefan Savage of the University of California, San Diego, who worked with colleagues at San Diego and Berkeley and at the International Computer Science Institute.
Steve Kirsch, chief executive of Abaca Technology, an antispam company based in San Jose, Calif., said the findings held the potential for a very powerful deterrent to spammers. If the credit card companies wanted to shut down the spammers, we can easily aid them in rapidly and unambiguously identifying the merchant accounts used by spammers, he said.
Spam has proved notoriously difficult to defeat over the years, despite sophisticated filtering technologies and legal investigations and convictions. Seven years after the famous prediction by Bill Gates, then chairman of Microsoft, that spam would be eradicated in just two years, about 90 percent of all e-mail is spam. An earlier study undertaken by the scientists showed that a single commercial spam e-mail campaign generated three messages for every person on the planet. That same study revealed that to sell $100 worth of Viagra, a spam provider needed to send 12.5 million messages.
In the end, spam is an advertising business, Dr. Savage said in an interview. However, it only makes sense if you can find a way to take peoples money.
This means credit cards. Credit cards are the only payment platform that is ubiquitously available to Western consumers and can be used for Internet commerce.
Merchants must work with a bank that is authorized to handle the transactions, he said, but most banks already refuse to work with shady sellers. If the financial companies like those found in the study would follow suit, then spammers would have to find new banks and the cost of switching would be high. Moreover, it is difficult to mask high-risk transactions, making it relatively easy to maintain blacklists.
The computer scientists say that because the spam system relies on just a few banks and an even smaller number of credit card processors, the business is highly vulnerable to disruption by regulators and law enforcement agencies.
In their report, the University of California researchers looked at a campaign organized by a brand named Pharmacy Express, part of the Mailien marketing group, based in Russia. On Oct. 27, 2010, for instance, a network of zombie computers called the Grum botnet delivered an e-mail with Viagra Official Site in the subject line. Users who responded to the message were directed to a Web site that had been registered nine days earlier.
The Internet system that supported the Web site was spread around the globe: the domain registrar was in Russia, the server computer was in China, and a proxy server computer was in Brazil. When a purchase was made from the Web site, the shopper was redirected from a computer in Turkey to the Azerigazbank Joint-Stock Investment Bank in Baku, Azerbaijan. The drugs themselves were sent directly from a manufacturer in India.
The weak link in the system, the researchers noted, was that the Visa payment system handled the transaction between the customers bank in the United States and the bank in Azerbaijan. By blocking the transactions at the point at which the consumer uses a credit card, it is possible to shift the burden of cost to the spammer.
The defenders can, in principle, identify which banks the scammers are using far faster than they can get new banks, Dr. Savage said, and for basically zero cost.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/08/2011 12:33 ||
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#1
My Yahoo email got zombied a coupla weeks ago. Spent two days rebuilding both laptops after most everybody I know kept asking when I became a one stop salesman for all of usual crap.
Finding them and killing them is fine with me.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
The Army is weighing different camouflage patterns as it moves to select a new set of uniforms. The older Universal Camouflage Pattern has been criticized as ineffective, and some soldiers see the Marine Corps' MARPAT (Marine Pattern) as vastly superior. 
