That'll contribute to Naval superiority.
[FoxNews] USS New Jersey is a fast-attack Virginia-class submarine with crew of nearly 135 Navy personnel.
The U.S. Navy commissioned a new submarine on Saturday, the first vessel in its fleet designed to fully integrate male and female sailors.
The USS New Jersey, a fast-attack Virginia-class submarine, was commissioned during a ceremony at Naval Weapons Station Earle in Middletown, New Jersey.
"You operate the most complex platform on the planet and you continuously strive for excellence," New Jersey’s commanding officer Cmdr. Steve Halle addressed the submarine’s crew during the ceremony. "I’m amazed and humbled at what we have accomplished."
"Our superior professionalism is enhanced by our crew integration and our diversity," Halle continued. "We have exceeded expectations at every turn and overcome every obstacle set before us."
The USS New Jersey has a crew of nearly 135 Navy personnel. It’s the first in its class designed to be fully gender integrated.
When the Navy lifted its ban on women in submarines in 2010, concern about the living quarters being too tight and a lack of privacy prompted the Navy to retrofit subs and designate washrooms.
The USS New Jersey was designed for two genders from the outset
…only two?!? What bigots!!
with accommodations like increased privacy in washrooms and sleeping areas, Vice Admiral Robert Gaucher, commander of Submarine Forces Atlantic, told NorthJersey.com. Access to top bunks and overhead valves were also designed with the height, reach and strength of women in mind.
Does that mean both will be so low that the taller men, at least, will ne made exceedingly uncomfortable?
The nuclear-powered submarine was unofficially nicknamed "Jersey Girl," and its interior spaces decorated with posters and memorabilia representing the state, including a guitar signed by Jon Bon Jovi, the news outlet reported.
The sub is 377 feet long with a 34-foot beam and is able to dive to depths greater than 800 feet and operate at speeds in excess of 25 knots. Prob win some submarine races.
It is the third U.S. Navy ship named after the state of New Jersey, following the legendary battleship BB-62 that saw action during WWII, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.
#1
So glad this hasn’t infected the airedale Navy….. oh wait.
This will not end well. Look for a new game involving references to up and down periscope…..,
When it occurs, just don’t call it Tailhook II.
#6
/\ Defending the indefensible. Read Pete Hegseth's book "The War on Warriors." It's not just the Navy, it's all of the service accademies. Most of the departments and classes are now chaired by non-uniformed professors.
[Twitter/X] Featuring the talents of a violinist on the Dragon Spacecraft and youth from the United States, Brazil, Uganda. Venezuela, and Haiti. Venezuela, and Haiti.
The first 25 seconds show the launch of the spacecraft, be patient! Wait for the introduction and music. Very cool! 4'-34" total.
Posted by: Bobby ||
09/16/2024 00:54 ||
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[AFRICANEWS] In recent weeks, relentless heavy rains have battered Mayo Danay in the Far North region of Cameroon, with the city of Yagoua bearing the brunt of the unprecedented downpour.
The damage is extensive, with reports indicating at least ten fatalities, entire neighborhoods submerged, 185 primary schools and 13 high schools flooded, and the loss of over 1,100 livestock.
Residents are struggling to survive amidst the disaster, with many unable to meet basic needs such as food and shelter. Litassou Daniel, a local victim of the floods, described the dire situation:
"The rain took us by surprise in the middle of the night. Our kitchen utensils are gone—pots disappeared, and our sheep, chickens, and goats are nowhere to be found. I'm now in the water, trying to cope, but we can't even light a fire."
The humanitarian toll is staggering. Over 200,000 people have been affected, with 8,000 homes destroyed. Those displaced by the disaster have been relocated to temporary camps outside the city. However, the victims are urgently calling for more aid, as they have lost everything.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/16/2024 00:29 ||
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[LIBYAREVIEW] Libyan Prime Minister of the Parliament-designate government, Osama Hammad, issued an order on Saturday to form an Emergency and Rapid Response Committee for the city of Sabha ...After the Libyan Civil War, Sabha grew in importance as a slave auctioning town. However, an investigation by the National Commission for Human Rights in Libya (NCHRL) revealed that while there was illegal slavery, reports were exaggerated, as slave auctions were rare and not made public. This was a great comfort to everyone but the slaves peddled in secret. The city was later seized by forces loyal to the Libyan National Army (LNA) and its leader Khalifa Haftar in January 2019, probably for its collection of MiG-25 aircraft..... and other towns and regions in southwestern Libya.
The committee will be led by the Minister of Labour and Rehabilitation, with membership including several ministers and heads of government agencies.
The committee is tasked with addressing the consequences of the recent floods caused by heavy rains. Its duties include providing immediate relief to citizens, repairing damages to services, and declaring a state of emergency to prepare for potential weather changes.
The committee will operate directly from Sabha and other southwestern areas and will remain active until the weather system passes.
In conjunction with this, Sabha International Airport has suspended flight operations due to severe damage caused by the heavy rainfall. Both passenger terminals and the check-in system have been affected, disrupting operations.
Authorities are assessing the extent of the damage and working on repairs to ensure the safety of passengers and staff. This suspension will cause delays for both domestic and international flights.
The Libyan government urged citizens to be cautious when travelling between cities in the south due to road conditions and the risks posed by the continuing bad weather. It also warned residents near valleys and flood-prone areas to remain alert as more rain is expected in the coming days.
The ongoing crisis in Libya, exacerbated by years of conflict, has made responding to emergencies like this more challenging. Libya remains politically divided, with rival administrations struggling to address the country’s infrastructure needs.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/16/2024 2024-09-16 00:05 ||
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[AFRICANEWS] After weeks of mounting tension between Senegal ... a nation of about 14 million on the west coast of Africa bordering Mauretania to the north, Mali to the east, and a pair of Guineas to the south, one of them Bissau. It is 90 percent Mohammedan and has more than 80 political parties. Its primary purpose seems to be absorbing refugees... 's executive and the opposition-controlled Parliament, President Bassirou Diomaye has dissolved the National Assembly.
The move fulfills the wishes of the president's supporters, but it has sparked a heated debate among Senegalese citizens.
"It's IN THEIR INTEREST"
Assatou Diallo, a local observer, suggests the decision is strategic: ''If they dissolve the Assembly, it's because they see it serving their interests. But the real priority should be allowing the new government time to implement its program for the benefit of the people.''
A LEGAL MOVE, BUT CONTROVERSIAL
Supporters of the decision, like Seydou Sow, argue it's not only legal but necessary given the current political landscape. ''The dissolution of Parliament is a good decision considering the Assembly no longer aligns with the president's ambitions. He hasn't broken any laws,'' Sow said.
However,
there's more than one way to skin a cat... the opposition views the action as a political maneuver. They've raised concerns about how quickly elections are being organized, questioning the legality of bypassing the controversial sponsorship law.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/16/2024 00:30 ||
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[Dhaka Tribune] A disturbing series of videos that surfaced on social media has revealed harassment and assault against women in Cox’s Bazar.
Alternate spelling is Cox’s Bazaar.
The footage, posted on September 11, captures multiple incidents in which a group of men, led by one Mohammad Farokul Islam, are seen targeting women at popular tourist spots, including the beach and Lal Dighi areas.
The boldness of the attackers, who even bragged about their actions on Facebook, has shocked the public and shown the slow response from law enforcement.
WHAT HAPPENED? The incidents came to attention after at least seven different videos surfaced on social media.
In each video, a group of men, led by Farokul, harass and physically abuse women in various parts of Cox’s Bazar.
In one of the videos, Farokul, armed with a stick, forces a woman to do sit-ups on the beach while holding her ears, verbally abusing her throughout the ordeal.
In another video, a woman sitting on a beach chair late at night was approached by the group.
The men aggressively questioned her reasons for being on the beach at that hour, ignoring her pleas that she was merely a tourist and had done nothing wrong. Despite her explanations, she was forced to leave.
Another woman was seen pleading with coppers near Sugandha Beach, asking them to help her retrieve her mobile phone, which the group had stolen.
In a separate instance, a woman is seen being repeatedly beaten with a stick by Farokul as she begs him to stop.
The group also intercepted a rickshaw carrying two women, dragging them out of the vehicle.
When the women attempted to escape, Farokul and his associates chased them with sticks, further escalating the violence.
VIRAL ON SOCIAL MEDIA The perpetrators themselves posted these videos on Facebook, bragging about their actions.
Farokul and his group used social media to justify their assaults, labeling the women as hookers and claiming that those criticizing their actions were complicit in immoral activities.
Farokul further suggested in his posts that the local administration was supporting their actions, although no official confirmation of this has been made.
At one point, Farokul deactivated his Facebook account, but it was soon reactivated, and most of the incriminating videos were deleted.
Despite this, several posts remain where he attempted to provide justifications for his group’s behavior.
POLICE ACTION Despite clear evidence circulating on social media, local law enforcement did not immediately take action against Farokul and his group.
Abul Kalam, assistant superintendent of the Cox’s Bazar Tourist Police, initially said that no formal complaint had been lodged regarding the incidents, though he confirmed that they were aware of reports involving "third-gender individuals" being harassed on the beach.
Only after significant public outcry did Cox’s Bazar District Police launch an operation to apprehend Farokul.
He was arrested on Friday, and a case was subsequently filed against him at the Cox’s Bazar Sadar Model cop shoppe.
Why, sure. I'd drive an African built Chinese car with an exploding battery, Wouldn't anyone?
[ZeroHedge] China has started to build factories across Africa to manufacture electric vehicles, a strategy market analysts say will likely flood the world with cheap EVs and allow Chinese companies to dominate the global automobile industry far into the future.
Automakers under the communist regime are already benefiting from huge subsidies, resulting in dramatic increases in production and allowing China to severely undercut prices of EVs made elsewhere, including in the United States.
One study shows Beijing has given China’s EV manufacturers at least $231 billion in state aid over 15 years, from 2009 until the end of 2023.
The automobile sector in mainland China has been the largest in the world measured by unit production since 2008, said JATO Dynamics, a global leader in automotive data, analysis, and intelligence.
Automakers from the globe’s second-biggest economy already account for more than half of the EVs produced in the world, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
“China wants to maintain this advantage by adding Africa to its quiver but it knows there are factors beyond its control. For example, Chinese-built EVs currently get hit by 100 percent tax when sold in America,” said Layton Beard, an analyst at South Africa’s Automobile Association.
“I’ve never seen such proactive moves in the global motor vehicle industry as I’m seeing from the Chinese; it seems like they’re up to something new every week.” "They're inscrutable!"
In May, U.S. President Joe Biden announced that tariffs on Chinese EVs would increase from 25 percent to 100 percent.
“With extensive subsidies and non-market practices leading to substantial risks of overcapacity, China’s exports of EVs grew by 70 percent from 2022 to 2023—jeopardizing productive investments elsewhere,” according to a statement from the White House.
“A 100 percent tariff rate on EVs will protect American manufacturers from China’s unfair trade practices.”
In July, the European Union raised duties on Chinese-made EVs to almost 50 percent, as sales figures showed cars from the East are becoming popular throughout Europe because they’re much cheaper.
[American Liberty] Jeffrey Veltri, the FBI official who briefed the nation on the latest investigation into an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, reportedly had his social media scrubbed of anti-Trump posts before being promoted to head the Miami field office. According to The Washington Times, Veltri was known for his anti-Trump views on Facebook.
After Sunday's assassination attempt, former Fox News Associate Producer Kyle Becker posted on social media that a whistleblower informed the House Judiciary Committee in November that Veltri was "vocally and adamantly anti-Trump."
The whistleblower further alleged that FBI Director Christopher Wray, Deputy Director Paul Abbate and Executive Assistant Director Jennifer Moore were involved in directing Veltri to clean up his social media prior to his promotion:
"The home of President Donald Trump is located in the area of responsibility of the Miami Field Office. It was well known that Veltri was adamantly and vocally Anti-Trump," said the disclosure, which The Washington Times has obtained. "Wray, Abbate and Moore wanted to ensure that Veltri appeared non-political, Veltri was ordered to remove all of his Facebook and Social media posts that were Anti-Trump."
The whistleblower said the bureau leaders weren't concerned about Mr. Veltri's "bias against Trump" but whether "information related to Veltri's political bias can be removed from the public domain."
The whistleblower said Mr. Veltri, who served as acting deputy assistant director of the bureau's security division until March, also oversaw efforts to suspend agents' security clearances if they seemed to be a "right-wing radical."
The whistleblower's allegations are serious and deserve further investigation, said Chris Swecker, a lawyer and law enforcement professional who served as assistant director of the FBI's criminal investigative division during the George W. Bush administration.
[DHAKATRIBUNE] When an uprising ousted Sri Lanka's president, many saw it as the end of his powerful family's hold on the island nation after more than 12 years of rule.
Now, as Sri Lanka prepares to elect a new leader, Namal Rajapaksa is running for president. The 38-year-old is the son of former prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and the nephew of the ousted president Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Namal is presenting himself as an agent of change, but many see his bid for presidency as an attempt by the controversial political dynasty to regain power.
By mid-2022, the clan's political career seemed in ruins. Some of its members were forced into hiding in military camps after angry protesters stormed their residences. Others simply gave up their seats in the government as people blamed them for hurtling the country of more than 20 million people into an economic crisis.
Two years later, the family — shunned and pushed to political wilderness — is trying make a comeback via the Rajapaksa heir apparent who is styling himself as someone who could deliver Sri Lanka into a prosperous future.
But for Namal, it's more than just a political choice — it's a deeply personal one. He wants to shed the widespread allegations that the Rajapaksa clan ran the country as a family business that led to the economy crashing in 2022 — as well as the guilty verdict on corruption charges against them.
''The corruption charges are not something common to my family or to myself. If you look at all politicians in this country or in the world, including our region — all have been accused of being corrupt,'' Namal told the News Agency that Dare Not be Named (AP) on a recent afternoon. ''People will understand, you know, because if you look at the current stage, everyone is blaming each other.''
Sri Lanka was once an economic hope in South Asia, before it plunged into an economic crisis in 2022 when unsustainable debt and the Covid-19 pandemic led to a severe shortage of essentials. The crisis morphed into a popular uprising, with angry street protesters taking over the president's and prime minister's offices and other key buildings, forcing Gotabaya to flee the country and later resign.
Many blamed the Rajapaksas.
The family still had a big parliamentary majority, and voted Ranil Wickremesinghe to serve the remainder of the presidential term. Wickremesinghe ensured them protection in return for their support to pass laws in Parliament, enabling the clan to mark a return in politics.
''We didn't run away, we never bravely ran away. It's just that some people thought we were hiding,'' said Namal.
Namal's prospects for a political comeback appear grim, as the main contest appears to be between three other candidates: Wickremesinghe, the parliamentary opposition leader and a left-leaning politician with a powerful alliance.
Alan Keenan, senior consultant on Sri Lanka at the International Crisis Group, said the younger Rajapaksa's bid for the presidency is a test run that would establish ''his position as the heir apparent'' of the political dynasty.
''I think they (the Rajapaksas) know that Namal will not win. But his candidature effectively reasserts the family's ownership of the party,'' Keenan said.
The Rajapaksa family has been a mainstay in Sri Lankan politics for decades. They influenced nearly everything — from bureaucracy to courts, police, business and sports.
Namal's father was a prime minister and then a two-term president from 2005 to 2015. Even though Mahinda Rajapaksa was adored by the country's majority Buddhist Sinhalese for defeating the ethnic Tamil separatists after a 26-year bloody civil war, allegations of human rights ...which are often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless... violations and corruption led to his defeat in 2015.
The family, however, returned more powerful four years later, when Mahinda's brother was elected president. Gotabaya Rajapaksa whipped up majority Buddhist Sinhalese sentiments after the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, blamed on Islamic krazed killer groups, killed 290 people.
But the family's popularity quickly eroded under a tanking economy and alienation among ethnic Tamils, Moslems and other minorities.
With hopes to reinvent himself as a young, modern leader removed from his family's tainted past, Namal's efforts mirror that of his father, who still enjoys considerable support among some voters who credit him for crushing the Tamil separatists.
Like his father, Namal wears the trademark outfit that highlights his Buddhist Sinhalese culture, with a maroon scarf around his neck, a sarong and a white robe. During campaigns he can be seen touching his father's feet in reverence, a practice most locals consider noble. He is also promising to free the island nation from its debt crisis, create more jobs and eradicate corruption by digitizing the administrative systems.
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.
...After the Libyan Civil War, Sabha grew in importance as a slave auctioning town. However, an investigation by the National Commission for Human Rights in Libya (NCHRL) revealed that while there was illegal slavery, reports were exaggerated, as slave auctions were rare and not made public. This was a great comfort to everyone but the slaves peddled in secret. The city was later seized by forces loyal to the Libyan National Army (LNA) and its leader Khalifa Haftar in January 2019, probably for its collection of MiG-25 aircraft.....
[Dhaka Tribune] A disturbing series of videos that surfaced on social media has revealed harassment and assault against women in 
