#1
I live in Germany, and watched it on Eurosport. They didn't show the awards ceremony. Handed out the yellow jerseys, then pulled the plug, switching over to some minor league soccer game. Apparently some producer couldn't stand airing the US national anthem for the 8th year in a row?
Well. Yipppee!! Even our cripples can beat 'em!
Posted by: ST ||
07/23/2006 13:15 Comments ||
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#10
Maybe they'll have a chance next year, since the US contender was going to be Terri Shiavo. Unless Stephen Hawking becomes and American or something.
#12
Although it no doubt galls the Gauls not to have a winner in so long, this race, and bicycling in general, is an international sport. Not everything has to be all nationalistic all the time like the Olympics or footie, thankfully. Floyd's Team Phonak is sponsored by a company based in Switzerland. The teams all have members from many countries.
If you are looking for an American race (i.e. in the USA) there is Tour de Georgia (won by Floyd this year) and Tour of California (ditto).
This was one of the best races you could hope to see. Floyd hit the wall on stage 16 - he just ran out of juice and could hardly pedal. He got eight minutes behind the leaders. Luckily, his teammate Axel Merkx, son of the great Frenchman Eddie Merkx, stayed right with him and shepherded him carefully to the finish. Everyone thought that was it for Floyd (who is riding with a necrotic hip!). But the next day, in a stage that commentators say was the greatest seen in the modern Tour, perhaps all time, Floyd turned a grueling mountain stage into an individual time trial and finished six minutes ahead for an astonishing comeback. He was ranked as a 75 to 1 underdog.
Although Floyd didn't win the following time trial, he did very well and picked up enough time on the leaders to win the overall Tour de France. Now he has to have his hip replaced.
For those who didn't see it, check OLN next Sunday at 7 EST for the wrapup show. There were several spectacular crashes which I'm sure they will replay, and the scenery is great.
#15
There may be no need to be nationalistic about the Tour, but is there any doubt that the cause of the French hatred of Lance Armstrong was his nationality? How can we help but be amused that the first champion of the "new era" is another American - and one who can hardly walk at that?
Anyway, I don't care what nationality these people are. You know, one thing I notice is their expressions on the podium: almost beatific. My wife thinks it's the endorphins. It's remarkable that they all look so happy and thrilled to be there.
#17
After watching the 'news' of this sport the past few years the cynic in me figures the winner is just the one with the best drugs and anti-detection system. Sort of like the winner of the home run crown in major league baseball. It may not be true, but there have been so many accusations and prosecutions (and convictions) that the rest are tainted too in my mind. Sad - the cheaters are destroying the very thing they are cheating to win.
#18
It's easy to call foul these days what with all the doping scandals/accusations. However, Landis is a Mennonite (minus the bike-riding). Not to mention he rode with the best (Armstrong). I for one, give him the credit he deserves for racing an amazing race, and riding an incredible 18th stage.
The Red Sea is parting again, but this time Moses doesnt have a hand in it.
Ambassador Bolton could not be reached for comment.
Satellite images show that the Arabian tectonic plate and the African plate are moving away from each other, stretching the Earth's crust and widening the southern end of the Red Sea, scientists reported in this week's issue of journal Nature. Last September, a series of earthquakes started splitting the planet's surface along a 37-mile section of the East African Rift in Afar, Ethiopia. Using the images gathered by the European Space Agency's Envisat radar satellite, researchers looked at satellite data before and after these activities.Over a period of three weeks, the crust on the sides of the rift moved apart by 26 feet and magmaenough to fill a football stadium more than 2,000 timeswas injected along a vertical crack, forming a new crust.
"We think that the crust and mantle melt slowly at depths greater than 10 kilometers [6 miles], where it is hotter, forming magma (molten rock)," said Tim J Wright, study co-author, a Royal Society University Research Fellow. "This magma rises through the crust because it is less dense than the surrounding rock.
The magma collects in magma chambers at depths of 3 to 5 kilometers [1.9 to 3 miles] where the density is the same as the crustal rocks, Wright explained. "Slowly, the pressure has been building up in these chambers until last September when it finally cracked, breaking the crust along a vertical crack. The magma was then injected into this crack." The intrusion of magma into the gap, rather than the cracking of the crust, is responsible for segmentation of continental drifts. This is the first rifting episode to have occurred since 1970 and the largest single rip in the Earth's continental crust during the satellite-monitoring era.
Continued on Page 49
#1
And once Halliburton gets that northern earthquake zone working right the whole Arabian peninsula and southern Iraq will be moved to southern California? Including Israel?
Guevara, whose bearded image has become an international symbol of rebellion, helped Castro lead the Cuban revolution in 1959. Eight years later, he was captured by the
CIA and executed in Bolivia, where at age 39 he was fighting to spread socialist revolution.
No mention of Che's being Castro's executioner. He even had a special window made in his office so he can watch the executions - his favorite pastime. Oh and no trial or anything like that.
No mention of Che' bravely slitting the throat of a fierce 11-year old boy who's only offense was to object to the murder and execution of his father? Its said that the brave Che enjoyed doing stuff like that.
#1
Latin America is going left. The Middle East is going Islamofascist.The prospects of expanding liberty and democracy are as bad as they were when the West was indulging Nazism and Japanese militarism. Is anybody asking why?
BERLIN (AFP) - New problems have been detected on Airbus's giant A380 super jumbo jet, adding to the woes of the fledging aircraft which is already afflicted with wiring problems. Problems with section 19 of the fuselage were detected during trial flights in Toulouse, southern France, according to an internal Airbus document, the weekly Der Spiegel reported in its edition which goes on sale Monday.
The European aircraft manufacturer decided in early March to reinforce section 19, the aft cone of the fuselage, Der Spiegel reported.
The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), which owns 80 percent of Airbus announced in June that deliveries would be delayed by six to seven months because of a production problem involving wiring connections. Only nine of the aircraft would be delivered in 2007, seriously affecting the EADS's financial results.
The double-decker plane is designed to carry 555 to 840 passengers, about 35 percent more than the Boeing B747. To date, 16 airline companies have ordered 168 of the super jumbo jets.
#2
no, because there are "lemon laws" which imply that there are lemons. Thus the term lemon implies that you have received a car that is malfunctioning contrary to the way it is expected to function.
#5
It's a turkey, I clipped it from a web site I found via Google. Useful for any Airbus story, I think. Fred's the one who calls the A380 the 'sumo' jet; the original story calls it the 'super' jet.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/23/2006 3:11 Comments ||
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#6
Ah...turkey. So it is... And I suppose that makes me one too.
#7
There were reports in March that Airbus was reinforcing section 19. If it is the second go around, then not good at all. BTW, section 19 contains the tail actuators (and therefore takes the strain of vertical and horizontal control surface movements), pressure bulkhead and APU. Kinda important.
The other big issue I haven't heard much of was a wing failure test that only stood up to 147% of max load. I think the FAA requires 150%. So Airbus must design extra support to an already overweight plane or reduce payload by about 5%.
Posted by: ed ||
07/23/2006 10:04 Comments ||
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#8
We can't expect their brave pilots to fly in a plane that's not properly armored, now can we?
#9
Likely false alarm from Der Spiegel. Airbus says A380 fuselage fault long since resolved Airbus said that a fault discovered in the fuselage of its A380 super jumbo in the spring has been long since resolved, saying it was "astonished" at how the issue was "blown up" in a German magazine article.
The fault is an "old issue which has been fixed", with the company carrying out "reinforcements on the structure, and there is absolutely nothing abnormal about that," a spokeswoman for the European aerospace group said.
Posted by: ed ||
07/23/2006 10:48 Comments ||
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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd made a good impression on Florida Democratic Party activists Saturday
Is it just me or do the Dem candidates always have to get approved by "activists" lately before they can campaign in earnest? I may have a blind spot, but I don't see GOP hopefuls having to perform in for the circus first...
in his first major appearance since announcing he'll explore a 2008 White House run. He warmed up a crowd of about 175 by talking about his friendship with popular Florida Democrats like former Sen. Bob Graham and the late Gov. Lawton Chiles and by mentioning the state's 2000 presidential recount and his efforts to fix voting problems.
He went on to roused the group with a speech that criticized the war in Iraq, called for a minimum wage increase, stressed the need for alternative fuels, declared education as the nation's most important issue, promised to protect Social Security and pointed out problems in the health care system. Dodd said people are "nauseated" by the country's polarization under President Bush.
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson was scheduled to speak Saturday night and retired Gen. Wesley Clark on Sunday morning. Both also are considering presidential runs. Was Dodd impressive enough to be considered for president? "Oh God, yes!" said Casey O'Harra, 65, who chairs the Lake County Democrats. "I would definitely be able to support him as president."
Posted by: Fred ||
07/23/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
I remember one story of how a drunk Kennedy (FRK, Fat Rich Kid) and Dodd raped a waitress in the private room where they were drinking. She was smart enough just to get out of there when they were done, instead of complaining and getting her legs broken.
Posted by: Captain America ||
07/23/2006 0:44 Comments ||
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#4
but I don't see GOP hopefuls having to perform in for the circus first...
LOL! Question? Do the Kos kiddies really matter, or are they just the pole dance that Dems' have to perform to get the dollars stuck in their tiger tighties?
#6
He went on to roused the group with a speech that criticized the war in Iraq, called for a minimum wage increase, stressed the need for alternative fuels, declared education as the nation's most important issue, promised to protect Social Security and pointed out problems in the health care system. Dodd said people are "nauseated" by the country's polarization under President Bush.
Let's tick the boxes, shall we?
Criticized the war in Iraq? - Check
Minimum wage? - Check
Alternative fuels? - Check
Education is most important issue (pandering to the NEA and others) - Check
Keep entitlement programs - Check
Problems in the health care system - not strictly ok, but as long as he said it was due to funding issues, we can give him a pass - Check
and of course the obligatory Bush hate-fest.
What do you reckon - could I sit in front of a load of Democrat activists and make a good impression on them? Maybe even get their nomination ;)
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
07/23/2006 5:03 Comments ||
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Indian Army hopes to become the first force in the world to field supersonic cruise missiles by operationalising the Indo-Russian 290-km range Brahmos surface-to-surface missile by September next year.
The Army has given its go-ahead for production of the land version. Army Chief General J J Singh was present when the surface-to-surface version of the missile was successfully test-fired at the Pokhran range in Rajasthan.
All the three trials of the missile to test its range and accuracy, have been highly successful and the Army has already dispatched artillery officers to Hyderabad for training to operate Brahmos, a highly-placed defence source said.
When raised, the new Brahmos missile units would be the third such missile-formations in the country. The Army, under its lone 40th artillery division, has already raised specialised groups to operate short-range 150-300 kms Prithvi missile and longer range Agni-I (700 kms) and Agni-II (1,500-2,500 kms).
Buoyed by the successful test-trials of the land version of the Brahmos, Indian scientists are now working on the advanced version of the supersonic missile with longer reach,
improved trajectory design, a touch-botton-guidance system and capability to carry miniaturised warheads.
"We are aiming for a lighter missile with a small warhead and faster speed, up to Mach 8, to incorporate scramjet technology," a senior DRDO official said.
Brahmos' biggest advantage, according to missile experts, is that if produced in large numbers it could tilt the conventional arms balance between India and Pakistan.
Though Islamabad claims to have tested its own version of cruise missiles, defence experts say both China and Pakistan have access only to subsonic version of the missile.
Artillery officers estimate that around 90 mobile autonomous launchers (MAL) would be enough for India to create a major strategic deterrence.
According to Army sources, the new Brahmos artillery missile units would be equipped with four launchers which will have the capability of firing 12 missiles simultaneously
at 12 different targets within 30 seconds.
DRDO sources said a single launcher can also be detached from the battery to operate independently to give land forces operational flexibility and make detections extremely
difficult.
Posted by: john ||
07/23/2006 13:15 ||
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#1
Photo of the TEL vehicle - 3 missile tubes
Posted by: john ||
07/23/2006 14:29 Comments ||
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#2
"We are aiming for a lighter missile with a small warhead and faster speed, up to Mach 8, to incorporate scramjet technology,"
Scramjet technology? Would that mean they would be working with the Aussies on HyShot?
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
07/23/2006 14:43 Comments ||
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#3
No, they have a hyperplane project.
The Hyderabad-based Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL) is building an 8metre technology demonstrator, which will be powered by a supersonic combustion ramjet (Scramjet) engine that takes oxygen from the atmosphere and burns liquid hydrogen.
"The ground tests of the engine would begin in 2005 and we aim to fly the unmanned aircraft in 2007," DRDL Director Prahlada told PTI in Bangalore.
DRDL is jointly working with academic institutions, including the IITs and the Indian Institute of Science, besides collaborating with the Mishra Dathu Nigam (Midani) to develop high temperature Nickel-Cobalt alloys and carbon composite materials, which could withstand heat during high-speed flight of the hyper plane.
DRDL, Hyderabad has an onging programme to develop a hydrogen fuelled supersonic combustion ramjet for the hyperplane, which will be a fully reusable, single stage, hypersonic vehicle. Under a programme sponsored by DRDL, NAL has developed the technology for the design of supersonic combustors (see Figure). A direct connect supersonic combustor test facility, which is suitable for simulation of flight at Mach 6, 30 km altitude has been successfully set-up. The supersonic combustion of hydrogen in a Mach 2 airstream has been demonstrated. A novel method of achieving flame stabilisation using a cavity cascade has also been developed. This avoids placing solid obstacle flame stabilisers in the flow and also allows for distributed heat release in the supersonic combustor, thus achieving high performance. For volume limited supersonic missile applications, kerosene would be a more suitable fuel. The supersonic combustion of kerosene, aided by hydrogen, has also been successfully demonstrated. Such supersonic combustors could be employed in the proposed RBCC engine of the VSSC air breathing launch vehicle.
Posted by: john ||
07/23/2006 15:15 Comments ||
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#4
But I think the hypersonic tech used on the Brahamos will a collaboration with the Russians.. unrelated to the hyperplane.
Posted by: john ||
07/23/2006 15:16 Comments ||
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#5
All this military build up reminds me of a old friend of mine. He would build up a garage full fishing equipment but never goes fishing. Indians are dying everyday due to terrorism, it's time to go fishing.
India has been working on SCRAM Jet for a while now, nothing has materialized. I don't think it ever will because it's just too expensive. The only way it can succeed is if there is a cooperative effort between multiple countries. I think the year 2007 unmanned flight is too soon. I think it will be delayed. SCRAM Jet is an old technology, it's been around since, I could be wrong, the late 60's. There is a huge difference between SCRAM Jet technology on a two-seater and passenger line aircraft for the modern age.
VSSC is quite busy with building the LOX/LH2 cryo stage for the GSLV rocket.
Reportedly ISRO also wants a 100-150 ton semi-cryo stage - LOX/Kerosene.
They may replace the UDMH/N2O4 second stage on the GSLV-3 with this.
The hypersonic combustor is probably way down the list.
Posted by: john ||
07/23/2006 17:00 Comments ||
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#7
Thanks for the info John, I didn't know they had their own programme.
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
07/23/2006 17:06 Comments ||
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#8
All this military build up reminds me of a old friend of mine. He would build up a garage full fishing equipment but never goes fishing.
I think you've described Indian military procurement perfectly
Posted by: john ||
07/23/2006 17:12 Comments ||
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#9
Indian Army wants 90 cruise missile TELs
"And a pony!"
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/23/2006 21:20 Comments ||
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#10
Thought the guidance system on the Brahmos was basic and rudimentary i.e ins not even GPS, fast but not adaptable, but then I know a little, John?
#11
There was a Brahmos test at Pokhran during December 2004 where the missile was equipped with special image processing software for terminal homing (allegedly DSMAC).
India has been building Ring laser Gyroscopes for years so the INS will be suitable.
GPS is probably a given since India is collaborating with Russia on resurrecting the GLONASS system, with some satellites to be launched on Indian boosters.
It is also building its own GPS variant, for the Indian ocean region.
Posted by: john ||
07/23/2006 21:42 Comments ||
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WHAT EXACTLY led to the failure of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle mission on July 10? A team of oceanographers and professional divers assisted by a robot are searching for clues in the Bay of Bengal to help space scientists answer that.
The 414-tonne GSLV-FO2 (with a piggyback load of the INSAT 4C communication satellite) had veered 10 degrees off course and had to be exploded 15 km above the sea seconds after its launch. The blame was put on one of its strap-on engines that failed. Nobody knows why it failed.
Space scientists were asked to probe into it and a hastily formed team was instructed by the ISRO to scout for the remains of the engines and strap-on motors so that they can be examined.
The under-sea operation off the Sriharikota coast near Chennai, which started four days ago, reported its first find on Saturday. Experts on board the ocean research vessel Sagar Kanya sent word to Delhi that they had located and hauled one of the four strap-on engines. P.S. Goel, secretary, Department of Ocean Development, Delhi, told HT: One of the four strap-on engines has been recovered. But it may not be the one that failed. He said the search was a major, first-of-its-kind effort.
The debris is in an area about 200 metres by 200 metres, said T.V. Bhaskara Rao, director (logistics), National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR), Goa. Its a marathon task for the divers.
Every piece of computerised data or debris will be vital for space scientists not just to understand the failure of GSLV-FO2 but also to perfect Indias future satellite launches, the unmanned Chandrayaan-1 moon mission, and ambitious plans for inter-planetary explorations.
NCAOR has deployed Sagar Kanya with equipment that emits sound waves that can map the ocean floor. It also has winches, or drums with steel ropes lowered for divers to hook and lift debris. Goel said divers hired for the job were exploring 15 metres undersea and six to seven km from the coast off the spaceport of Sriharikota. About 10-15 potential locations of the debris have been surveyed for diving operations. Once a part is located, divers can also strap inflatable air bags and float it to the surface. A remotely-operable vehicle with built-in video cameras is also being used, said S. Kathiroli, director, National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) Chennai.
NIOT has deployed coastal vessels Sagar Purvi and Paschimi for the job. Russian vessel Akademik Boris Petrov, hired for Indias Antarctica expedition, is also on call.
Posted by: john ||
07/23/2006 12:42 ||
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Jones Ginting can't remember much of his battle with bird flu, and it's probably for the best.
For the first two weeks, he slipped in and out of consciousness at Adam Malik Hospital. His skin stuck to the sweaty sheets as a fever raged. His arms were as rigid as steel pipes. When he did come to, he was delirious and agitated, fighting nurses who were trying to give him the antiviral drug Tamiflu.
And always, always, he was struggling to breathe.
Looking back, Ginting might have remembered how his family had gathered for a feast in late April, laughing and chatting, eating chicken curry and grilled pork as the children played.
Then, one by one, they started falling sick and dying. First his sister, then nephews, a niece and two other siblings.
Suddenly, world attention focused on the family in the tiny Christian farming village on Indonesia's Sumatra island. Seven of the eight sickened relatives tested positive for the H5N1 bird flu virus, the World Health Organization said. And though specimens were not taken from Ginting's sister before burial, she is considered part of the world's largest reported cluster.
The WHO later said she likely got infected from contact with poultry, then passed the virus on to other relatives through limited human-to-human transmission. The spread stopped with the eighth blood family member, and no one else became sick.
Still, the size of the cluster was enough to rouse international concern. Until then, most bird flu cases were linked to contact with infected birds. Bird flu has killed at least 133 people since it began ravaging Asian poultry stocks in late 2003. Indonesia has seen a flurry of cases this year and is tied with Vietnam for the world's most human deaths -- 42.
Ginting, 24, was scared and confused initially, refusing to believe that bird flu was to blame. After being admitted to the hospital in May, he fled.
His wife, Amnestia Tarigan, and their two small boys raced to a nearby doctor who was a relative. Ginting took some medicine, then visited a traditional healer. His condition worsened and he was eventually brought back to the hospital in Medan.
"Jones was afraid to stay at the hospital because his brother and other relatives had died there," recalled Amnestia, 23. "He was afraid he would die there. That's why he ran."
The struggle was not over. His head pounded and it "felt like a hammer was hitting my hips again and again." Blood gushed out of his nose and he had two-hour coughing fits that left him exhausted.
"I had no hope at all," Ginting told The Associated Press as he rested at a relative's house in Medan. "I thought maybe I could die at any time. Just die -- that's it."
Even his doctor didn't think the young man with the shaved head and colorful tattoos would make it.
"Everybody was surprised. The international doctors were all surprised. How can he survive?" asked Dr. H. Luhur Soeroso, a specialist who treated Ginting. "Everyone told me, it's a miracle."
But Ginting wasn't just fighting bird flu. The virus had attacked his lungs and weakened his immune system, inviting other infections. After complaints of a stiff neck and headaches, tests revealed multiple brain abscesses caused by parasites. Dark patches were also visible on lung X-rays, and Soeroso worried that severe pneumonia was causing further damage.
Even after Ginting tested negative for bird flu, the splotches remained. He began feeling better in late June and was released from the hospital last week, but he must return for weekly checkups for the next six months.
Yet for the moment, the family is at peace. Ginting's 61-year-old mother, Jenda Kem Sembiring, sits on the floor in a traditional sarong. She smiles when she speaks of her son's recovery: "I never forgot to pray to God and thank God."
She also never left her son's side for the two months he was hospitalized. She lost three children and four grandchildren to the virus that experts fear could mutate into a form that spreads easily among people, potentially sparking a pandemic.
Ginting's wife said everyone thought it was black magic at first, but now the family is convinced it was the H5N1 virus. Why she and the children never became sick -- they were all in close contact throughout the ordeal -- is still a mystery.
Ginting says the experience helped him stop drinking and smoking, but there's one thing he refuses to give up.
"I do eat chicken," he said, as hens and chicks scratched and squawked outside the door. "I'm not afraid of chicken. I don't know why."
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 Red Sea is parting again, but this time Moses doesnt have a hand in it. 
BERLIN (AFP) - New problems have been detected on Airbus's giant A380 super jumbo jet, adding to the woes of the fledging aircraft which is already afflicted with wiring problems. Problems with section 19 of the fuselage were detected during trial flights in Toulouse, southern France, according to an internal Airbus document, the weekly Der Spiegel reported in its edition which goes on sale Monday.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Connecticut Sen. 
