#3
...All the vsrious SOCOM parts have had problems - the nature of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan made them the best tools in the box. But, as in Vietnam, the exponential growth of the SOCOMs led to people who never should have been anywhere near them being accepted. They get out in the field and, unsupervised with unlimited resources, do exactly what you'd think they'd do.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
02/14/2020 6:12 Comments ||
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#4
Ref #3: Mike nails it. Something akin to police work. Not everyone who wants to wear a badge, should actually be wearing a badge.
The number of 'bad apples' are very small, but their actions get widely publicized when things go badly.
#5
The father-of-three suffered a psychotic break where he believed he was god's second son, could talk to the sun, and even that he was a nuclear weapon
#13
Thanks to Fred, I have developed the habit of seeing the news as a humorous unfolding of mostly scripted events with the odd Skidmarkian insert from the twilight zone. It's what kept me sane. ☺
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Leaning on its SARS experience, Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd (0293.HK) has slashed flights, asked staff to take unpaid leave and is re-assessing its fleet as it battles an epidemic and a crisis of morale after pro-democracy protests.
Planes are parked unused at its home airport, flights across its network like Rome and Washington have been canceled because of low demand, and the airline is temporarily closing some of its premium lounges.
Cathay used a similar playbook during previous shocks, including the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic and the global financial crisis, both of which it rebounded from relatively quickly.
This time, though, Cathay was already dealing with an internal crisis before the virus hit.
Last year, it fired dozens of employees sympathetic to widespread anti-government protests in the city, and its two top executives resigned after criticism from China.
That means there is less goodwill among staff being asked to take three weeks of unpaid leave, six employees told Reuters on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak with media.
"No one is lining up to personally sacrifice for this company - not anymore," a Cathay pilot said. "We have all seen how quickly the company and economy recover from these things, and in hindsight they are but a blip on the timeline of Cathay’s business."
The carrier is the most-exposed airline outside mainland China to falling demand caused by the coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, which has killed more than 1,300 people and sickened more than 60,000.
[CNBC] The U.S. does “not have high confidence in the information coming out of China” regarding the count of coronavirus cases, a senior administration official told CNBC.
The official also noted that China “continues to rebuff American offers of assistance.”
There are more than 60,000 confirmed cases of virus, with the vast majority occurring in China, and over 1,300 people have died. After several days of reporting a slowing number of new cases, Chinese officials said on Thursday there was more than 15,000 additional cases. The majority of those came from a change in how the numbers were reported, with the “clinically diagnosed” cases now counting as “confirmed.”
There has been skepticism among researchers that the official numbers reflect how contagious the virus truly is. An article published last month in the medical journal Lancet estimated that there were already more than 75,000 cases in China as of Jan. 25.
Reuters reported that National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow also said on Thursday that there does not appear to be good transparency by China regarding the outbreak.
The World Health Organization sent an advance team to the country on Sunday.
#1
Reuters reported that National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow also said on Thursday that there does not appear to be good transparency by China regarding the outbreak.
...And there won't be, either. We're just being polite about it. Even when (if?) they get it under control, the damage has been done - the country's image has taken a serious hit and the CCP's image of infallibility has been shattered. I hope President Xi has his bolthole in Switzerland ready - he may need it.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
02/14/2020 6:17 Comments ||
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#2
He can always retire back to Pooh Corner, with Piglet, Allahpundit Eeyore, and Tigger
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/14/2020 6:41 Comments ||
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#3
We can, however, have at least medium confidence in the WHO compilation of non Chinese infections.
This number was about 600 as of this morning.
Some countries other than China. e.g., North Korea (which claims no infections), probably have incorrect numbers but others, e.g., Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, have numbers that are probably reliable.
Posted by: lord garth ||
02/14/2020 9:35 Comments ||
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#5
Tons of people are confined to their apartment complexes, one person from each apartment is allowed out once every two days to buy food. They get their temperature checked going in and out. Most businesses are closed except for food stores.
China is taking a bath on this one. They're going to lose 1/12 their economy for the year by being closed for a whole month.
Posted by: Herb McCoy ||
02/14/2020 16:16 Comments ||
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LONDON (Reuters) - Activist group Extinction Rebellion plans to send mosquito-like swarms of protesters to disrupt financial, accountancy and media firms in London this year to mobilise broader popular support for transformative action against climate change.
The goal is to spark a worldwide conversation over how to shift to a low-carbon society in time to avert the most catastrophic impacts, said Gail Bradbrook, a co-founder of the movement, who holds a PhD in molecular biophysics.
"We’ll be like sets of mosquitoes coming into London ‐ the aim is to disrupt the system, not the public," Bradbrook told Reuters ahead of the publication of an Extinction Rebellion strategy document on Wednesday. "In other news, DDT has been unbanned"
Extinction Rebellion, in common with a "new economics" movement of economists, academics and scientists, argues that a relentless focus on ever-faster economic growth is pushing the world’s ecosystems to breaking point.
"The economic system is acting like a cancer on humanity," Bradbrook said. "The regulatory system, the accountants, the legal firms support the metastasizing of this cancer."
#2
It's cute how they think a couple minor tweaks makes their swastika unrecognizable.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
02/14/2020 8:09 Comments ||
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#3
All those big firms have security departments. They should be war-gaming how to short-circuit any disruptions.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
02/14/2020 8:09 Comments ||
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#4
Sprinkler/irrigation systems make one hell of an area denial during the dead of winter. Lots of additives that can make the water slimy which are harmless to human skin and the environment. Routine preventive maintenance for freezing weather. Put up caution signs and do the due diligence for public walkways. Any attempts to thwart the sprinklers are now vandalism. That took 30 seconds of war gaming. I have zero experience in security. Surely professional security companies can come up with better.
#9
by the time they do that most sensible people will be at home isolating themselves as much as possible from social contact because coronavirus transmission will be in full swing
they want to go out and demonstrate? enjoy your coronavirus...
[EIA.gov] EIA expects global petroleum and liquid fuels demand will average 100.3 million barrels per day (b/d) in the first quarter of 2020. This demand level is 0.9 million b/d less than forecast in the January STEO and reflects both the effects of the coronavirus and warmer-than-normal January temperatures across much of the northern hemisphere. and, re: US supply
EIA forecasts U.S. crude oil production will average 13.2 million b/d in 2020, up 1.0 million b/d from 2019, and then rise to 13.6 million b/d in 2021. Most of the production growth in the forecast occurs in the Permian region of Texas and New Mexico. and re: Nat Gas
U.S. dry natural gas production set a record in 2019, averaging 92.1 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d)... dry natural gas production will average 94.2 Bcf/d in 2020, a 2% increase from 2019.
Posted by: lord garth ||
02/14/2020 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
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#1
Natural gas production rises every election year
[NZHerald] A British woman has claimed she was answering the call of nature at a London cafe when she stumbled upon members of a "satanic sex cult" eating pork pies and scotch eggs.
Anya Driscoll was visiting the Bonnington Cafe in Vauxhall with her brother when she made the shocking discovery, finding 20 people dressed in black robes and carrying ceremonial daggers.
Driscoll's discovery sent her on a search online for details of the meeting, but she could not find any events listed.
After she posted the tale to Twitter she was soon met with hundreds of replies, many offering suggestions on the group.
One user appears to have hit the nail on the head with his guess that group were members of the Order of Oriental Templars, an organisation founded early last century by occultist and author Aleister Crowley.
The group is loosely based on Freemasonry and operates as an international fraternal organisation but has been described as a "satanic sex cult" by the media.
[ScienceAlert] If the new coronavirus 2019-nCoV (now also called COVID-19 virus) is anything like its family members, a new study suggests it could survive on inanimate objects for well over a week.
According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) it's "currently unclear if a person can get 2019-nCoV by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes."
In fact, not a lot is known about the COVID-19 virus at all, so researchers are turning to similar coronaviruses, like SARS and MERS, for answers.
Reviewing the literature on all available human and veterinary viruses within this family, encompassing 22 studies, researchers have found that the human pathogens can persist on surfaces and remain infectious at room temperature for up to nine days. (To put that in perspective, the measles virus can live on contaminated surfaces for up to two hours.)
Granted, that's the upper end of a coronavirus lifespan, but on average, researchers say this family of viruses can survive between four and five days on various materials like aluminium, wood, paper, plastic and glass.
Some of the veterinary coronaviruses - the ones that can only infect animals - could even persist for longer than 28 days.
"Low temperature and high air humidity further increase their lifespan," says physician Günter Kampf at the Greifswald University Hospital.
To reduce the spread of coronaviruses in general, the authors of the new study suggest hospitals carefully disinfect surfaces with various solutions made from sodium hypochlorite, hydrogen peroxide, or ethanol.
In their study, they found these particular WHO recommendations to be "very effective" against SARS and MERS.
The results were originally bound for a future textbook, but under the circumstances, the authors felt it was best to publish their findings in advance. They think the results might also extend to the COVID-19 virus.
"Different coronaviruses were analysed, and the results were all similar," says virologist Eike Steinmann form Leibniz University Hanover.
None of the viruses were 2019-nCoV however, and the team indicated they don't have data on whether hands can become contaminated with coronavirus after patient contact or after touching contaminated surfaces.
While MERS doesn't transfer as easily from person to person as other coronaviruses, SARS spreads rather efficiently whenever an infected person sneezes or coughs. If the mucous lands on a surface and is touched by a person later, it can then contaminate them, even if the contact occurs days after the initial exposure.
Given how threatening this could make 2019-nCoV, washing our hands often and making sure to disinfect public areas seems like a harmless price to pay.
"In hospitals, these can be door handles, for example, but also call buttons, bedside tables, bed frames and other objects in the direct vicinity of patients, which are often made of metal or plastic," explains Kampf.
[Napoleon State Bank] Bell Precision Rifles was started in 2010 with a strong focus on quality firearms manufacturing producing the quietest integrally surpressed rifle ever produced. Bell Precison's vision is to produce the most complete weapon system on the market that provides customers with absolute confidence in the reliability, performance, and accuracy of their products. No firearm leaves their shop before meeting their highest personal standards. Joe and his crew fully stand behind their products, services, performance, and employees. Link
My Vision - I ensure to, not only supply truly handbuilt precision hunting rifles, quality services, and education, but to also offer a one of a kind experience that is welcoming, personable, and effective. This is my guarantee.
#1
As a raging capitalist I totally back people's right to spend whatever they want on a rifle. I will say that none of my off-the-rack Remington 700s has ever let me down.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
02/14/2020 8:53 Comments ||
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#7
If I was a pro 2A legislator anywhere, I'd always be pushing an amendment to any "common sense" gun law shinola that says "Anything the law abiding public is prohibited from having is also illegal for law enforcement agencies to possess."
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
02/14/2020 9:23 Comments ||
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#8
Don't get a thumbhole stock. Get this or this...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
02/14/2020 10:17 Comments ||
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#9
If M1A is your game (It's isn't? What's wrong with you?) go here...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
02/14/2020 10:45 Comments ||
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[MAIL] An extinct branch of human ancestry has been discovered lurking inside the DNA of modern-day West Africans which evolved around 500,000 years ago.
Traces of this so-called 'ghost population' were located in modern-day people and did not match the genetic fingerprint of Homo sapiens, Denisovans or Neanderthals.
Exactly what species the hominids belonged to is unknown, but humans mated with them around 50,000 years ago, researchers discovered. Maxine Waters? Ewwww
No physical evidence — DNA from ancient bones, for example — was found, but a computer model indicates this mysterious species must exist.
Scientists at the University of California in Los Angeles say the unidentified species accounts for up to 19 per cent of the genetic ancestry of four populations in three countries: two from Nigeria, one from Sierra Leone and one from the Gambia.
#10
"A male of any of the species will stick his main staff in anything including a mud hole. " Thank God sheep aren't cross fertile , and can't cook . "
[Politico] The Trump administration plans to sap money intended to build fighter jets, ships, vehicles and National Guard equipment in order to fund barriers on the U.S.-Mexico border, the Pentagon told Congress on Thursday, a move that has agitated Democrats and even drawn condemnation from a top House Republican.
The surprise reprogramming of another $3.8 billion, transmitted to Congress and provided to POLITICO, means the Pentagon will have forked over nearly $10 billion since last year to help pay for President Donald Trump's border wall.
But this shift in funding marks a new phase for the administration, which until now had used money set for military construction and counterdrug operations, not combat equipment. The fiscal 2020 money will be moved into drug interdiction accounts that the Pentagon tapped last year to fund border barrier projects.
A chorus of Democrats swiftly condemned the money grab, as did the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Mac Thornberry of Texas.
#2
I don't know g(r)om. Comparatively speaking, the 'wall' has a minimal maintenance and contractor tail, few cost overruns. Modifications and upgrades could be years if not decades off.
#5
Yes. Border security is a legitimate defense function and therefor a legitimate DoD expense. If the money needs topped up to buy planes and ships, cut DHS, FBI budgets accordingly.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
02/14/2020 8:08 Comments ||
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#6
What use is a defense department if they never defend our own country?
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
02/14/2020 8:10 Comments ||
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#7
if they never defend our own country
Too busy defending / lobbying for Ukraine and Turkey.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
02/14/2020 9:46 Comments ||
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#8
#6 What use is a defense department if they never defend our own country? Posted by: Rob Crawford
Well put.
I would also like to suggest that the DoD reduce its inventory of General Officers in order to pay for the maintenance of said wall.
#9
The border will return many times its price in savings on government spending on illegals.
fairus.org: In 2017, the total cost of illegal immigration for the United States – at the federal, state, and local levels – was approximately $116 billion.
Posted by: Theamble Spawn of the Brontosaurs5870 ||
02/14/2020 12:17 Comments ||
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#10
Start:
Everyone who ever worked for / with
McBastard - out
McRavin - out
Skelly - out
Hayden - out
And so on
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
02/14/2020 12:43 Comments ||
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#11
Yesterday on Rantburg: the USAF wants a bigger share of the DoD Budget or they will cut A-10s and B-1s...
Today the DoD wants a bigger share of the Federal Budget or they will cut...
Maybe, just maybe it is past time to start trimming the roster of Flag Officers in the Dod, and their staffs, to make the budget goals. Or at least get the attention of the remaining bureaucrats in the Pentagon by laying off a sizable number.
Seriously, the girls - the real girls - have a strong case. They have suffered or are going to suffer grievous economic harm as a result of this grotesque Shitshow: they will likely miss out on athletic scholarships that may be worth as much as $200,000 each because these two f---ing scam artists are grabbing the #1 and #2 positions.
Typically, in track and field, Division 1 schools ie the ones with the most $$$ to give out, reserve scholarships for runners, jumpers etc who place #1 or #2 in their conference (or state, if it's small-- like Connecticut, where these girls are from).
So the two disgusting little twerps in mascara who've stolen these girls' rightful prizes are also depriving them of hundreds of thousands of $$$.
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.
LONDON (Reuters) - Activist group Extinction Rebellion plans to send mosquito-like swarms of protesters to disrupt financial, accountancy and media firms in London this year to mobilise broader popular support for transformative action against climate change.
[Politico] The Trump administration plans to sap money intended to build fighter jets, ships, vehicles and National Guard equipment in order to fund barriers on the U.S.-Mexico border, the Pentagon told Congress on Thursday, a move that has agitated Democrats and even drawn condemnation from a top House Republican.
