Captain George Hunt, who died on August 16 aged 95, sank more enemy ships than any other British submariner of the war, commanding patrols that were considered of unsurpassed daring and brilliance.
His successes were based on a technical mastery that was allied to steely courage, and for these qualities he was awarded a DSC and Bar and a DSO and Bar as well as being twice mentioned in despatches making him one of the nations most highly-decorated naval officers.
Perhaps his greatest feat came on June 27 1944, when he detected the 3,317-ton cargo ship Cap Blanc close to Cap Antibes; despite her four escorts he managed to sink her with four torpedoes. He was hunted for an hour, but eluded the depth charges and, as he slowly drew away, spotted the 5,260-ton tanker Pallas under tow of two tugs, with five more escorts and four aircraft circling overhead.
Though conditions were good for an anti-submarine chase, Hunt succeeded in penetrating the strong escort screen, and at 08h31 fired his last two torpedoes from 1,500 yards: both hit.
He dived to 300ft, near to maximum safe diving depth, to endure what he knew would be a heavy counter-attack; he stopped counting the depth charges after the first 100. The detonations started several leaks but none proved catastrophic and Hunt crept away until, at about noon, he came to periscope depth and saw his enemy hull down on the horizon.
His senior officer wrote that while the first attack was brilliant, the second mounted only three hours later was the most superlative exhibition... [achieving] an unseen, undetected position inside such a massive and violently zigzagging screen suggests consummate technical skill, but shows, moreover, determination and courage of the highest order. Hunt, who was awarded a Bar to his existing DSO, modestly preferred to describe the presence of so many escorts as very off-putting.
#1
...My mother in law is in Emerald Isle, NC - they've been told to get the hell out; she has decided she's staying. My wife is pretty upset right now but there's not much we can do except keep an eye on things.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
08/26/2011 5:45 Comments ||
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#2
If obumble would fly to London, Irene would turn right and head out to sea.
Martha's Vineyard is gonna get clobbered.
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/26/2011 5:55 Comments ||
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#5
Local weather says right now it should be downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it gets up here. Track is into western NE, big time rain to the west of that, 40-50 MPH gusts to the east and significant but not inundating rain. They stress that this subject to change. Should still be an interesting Sunday.
#6
Some jackhole on ms.nbc was interviewing the Gov of NC, asked her if she was kinda excited about putting people to work on the cleanup, help with the whole unemployment thing.
Gotta run, to her credit she (Bev ____,) said that is not the way to create jobs. I propose that these events cause unemployment to increase, hiring a few hands to clean up does not equal perm business going under.
New York City is bracing for impact as Hurricane Irene slowly makes its way up the East Coast and will likely gain in strength. Parts of South Carolina are beginning to feel the effects of Irene and the hurricane is expected to reach North Carolina late Friday night. The forecast for NYC is for Irene to hit New York as a Category 1 storm on Sunday, packing 90-mph winds, but could potentially reach the area as a Category 2. At the very least, the city is expected to get pummeled with heavy rains that could lead to flooding and a shutdown of the entire transportation system.
#9
Heh. Look who asked the question. The Great Plagiarist himself...
Mike Barnicle, of MSNBC's "Morning Joe": We don't have much time left here but is there potentially a rather dark, downside to the storm and that after the storm passed, after it's over there might be employment in reconstruction and things like that?
Gov. Beverly Perdue (D-NC): "I hadn't thought of that but obviously there will be some employment as people rebuild and prepare. This morning they said there's at least 27,000 or 28,000 structures that have an opportunity to be hit by the storm. So, we'll know by Saturday or Sunday. But all of us want jobs, but this isn't a way to get them quite frankly."
So, Mike, by your reasoning New Orleans ought to be thanking Bush for cranking up the Halliburton Hurricane Machine and sending Katrina their way, right?
Oh, wait...
#10
at 2pm EDT, the hurricane had weakened both in peak wind and lowest barometric pressure; there is almost no chance that it will be a cat 2 when it hits NY, however a cat 1 that is as big as Irene is capable of pushing a 12 foot storm surge into NY and Newark harbors; there are several underground rail stations (both in the MTC and NJ transit) that could be inundated
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
08/26/2011 15:22 Comments ||
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Transit officials will start shutting down subways, buses and commuter trains at noon Saturday and the city ordered mandatory evacuations of some 300,000 people in low-lying areas as Hurricane Irene took aim at New York. The orders apply to low-lying areas in all five boroughs - including Coney Island, Battery Park City, Broad Channel and the Rockaways - and shelters were set to open Friday afternoon. The evacuations came as the MTA prepared to start shutting down mass transit, including Access-A-Ride -- at noon Saturday. Bridges, the New York State Thruway and other major highways are also set to be shut down if winds exceed 60 mph.
#13
at 500 pm EDT, Irene has not strengthened -- the 100 mph peak winds was unexpectedly low the minimum barometric pressure would be consistent with about a 130 mph peak
this will be discussed for years; was it more dry air than normal mixing it; was it some issue with the alignment of the storm and upper tropospheric winds who knows
anyway, wind damage may be less than originally feared
however, damage from storm surge and excess rain will still probably be above $10 B
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
08/26/2011 16:55 Comments ||
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#14
tu3031, that is the sound bite I heard.
Again no time about the jobs, has to do with those who were being paid anyways (already have jobs) and volunteer labor.
#15
Here in central Virginia, we're expecting tropical storm force winds and heavy rain, but nothing worse unless it tracks to the west. I used it as an excuse to bring in the deck chairs & umbrella for the season (I really won't need them again anyway).
Hopefully we'll keep power - I remember 5 days without after Isabel. :-(
Fingers crossed for those closer to the coast....
Posted by: Barbara ||
08/26/2011 17:33 Comments ||
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#16
Went into Walgreens to buy a transistor radio the other night in case the power goes. When I asked the kid if they had any, he looked at me like I had ten heads.
But they had some.
#17
DREXLEY'S MIDNIGHT RUNNERS = "Here comes Irene [not Eileen]...
Many major Sports events are cancelled, or else are on the verge of being cancelled, just as the storm is repor weakening.
IIRC CNN PM [last Nite] > Pert said that many well-known of historic areas in NYC = lower Manhattan, e.g. undergound Subway System + below-sea-level Airport, could STILL be flooded out even iff Irene weakens to a CATEGORICALLY TWO, OR STRONG CATEGORY ONE, STORM???
#18
CHINESE MILITARY FORUM > POSTER Thread = WALL STREET TO BE EVAC [evacuated] EVEN UNDER CATEGORY 2, MTA [Mass Transit Sys] TO BE SHUT DOWN ON 12 NOON SATURDAY [even iff Category 1].
#4
Mohammud only had 9 wives or so at a time and about as many slave women and no more than one sleeping with him at any time and no required FGM and didn't prohibit children.
So, in those areas, Mo was less of a pervert than Gaddafi.
However, Mo did take some of his wives from villages where he had their husbands and/or fathers butchered. Also, Mo also took wives from the close families of his dearest followers. So in those areas, Mo is the greater villain.
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
08/26/2011 3:50 Comments ||
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#9
In San Diego, he's an engineer with an F-150. She's a Killer Bodyguard with a killer bod. They meet...and hilarity ensues! "I Married a FemBot". 10 Eastern, 9 central. Only on Fox...
#10
Keep in mind that Gaddafi was Al Qaeda no 1 target for the last 10 years.
Go past the regular muslim agit prop(you know, the White House Obamunist shit)and you find that everything about Gaddafi is utter crap.
The women where NOT mistreated, fact his treatment of women was the main beef of Al Qaeda against Gaddafi.Like the Taliban main beef agaisnt the Russians in Afganistan is that they treated women as humans, we are tolerated there because we let them treat females as raw meat.
[Daily Nation (Kenya)] Former DR Congo militia leader Thomas Lubanga is guilty "beyond any possible doubt" of conscripting child soldiers, the International Criminal Court ... where Milosevich died of old age before being convicted ... heard Thursday in the closing stages of its first ever trial.
Lubanga, 50, is accused of using children under the age of 15 to fight for his militia during the Democratic Republic of Congo's five-year civil war, which ended in 2003.
"The evidence submitted in this case show not only beyond reasonable doubt but beyond any possible doubt that Thomas Lubanga is guilty," deputy prosecutor Fatou Bensouda told judges at the Hague-based court.
"Those children were trained in about 20 camps around Ituri... they were used to rape and pillage."
Lubanga's trial began in January 2009 and the international tribunal has also since begun the trials of two other militia leaders from the DRC.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/26/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
DR Congo is an open case. Dyncorp is a an operation I have very large interest in how they handled their interest.
To read the previous Rantburg story on the Moreira political crisis, click here
Problems for Partido Revolucionario Institucional leader Humberto Moreira deepened Thursday as the Mexican Minister of Public Finance, Ernesto Cordero filed a criminal complaint with the Ministry of the Interior (SEGOB), according to Mexican news accounts.
The complaint does not name anyone and it is a request for SEGOB to begin investigating how the public debt for Coahuila state under former governor Moreira exploded from MP $323 million (USD $26,177,373.50) to more than MP $32 billion (USD $259,342,400.00) when he left office last March. A Partido Accion Nacional (PAN) fvestors Service.
A late report Wednesday quoted Coahuila's Servicio de Administracion Tributaria del Estado de Coahuila (SATEC), Ismael Ramos Flores, as saying he was currently in negotiations with ten banks to put the current public debt of Coahuila state on a short term financing basis, which, as the article has pointed out, will place even more pressure on interest rates Coahuila must pay to service the debt.
At a press conference Cordero is reported as saying that his ministry detected "irregularities" in reporting of efforts to refinance pubic debt. Some public officials with Coahuila state, albeit not Moreira are already facing possible charges for crimes related to contracting and servicing the debt including falsification of public documents and failure to properly disclose the debt Coahuila has acquired. Public officials include a former aid to Moreira, Javier Villareal.
According to a Reforma article, the president of the Junta de Gobierno del Congreso de Coahuila, Fernando de las Fuentes said that the short term financing was necessary to obtain more favorable terms for longer term financing.
In a Thursday article Reforma reported that as soon as he won election July 3rd as Coahuila's governor, Ruben Moreira, who is Humberto's brother, began plans to cut at least three social/income support programs instituted or maintained by his brother Humberto in 2007 in order to rein in public expenditures. Included planned cuts are an elderly meal subsidy program called Comedores de la Gente Mayo which provided meals to 1,500 elderly clients, Tarjeta del Hogar which provided an income supplement of up to MP $200 (USD $16.01) a month and Seguro Escolar which provided free health care to students and employees of Coahuila's educational system.
According to an El Universal news daily article, the per capita debt load in Coahuila is four times the national average. The current per capita debt for Coahuila is MP $11,633 (USD $130.72).
Juan Pardinas, president of the Instituto Mexicano para la Competitividad said debt in Coahuila increased 284 percent since 2005, which would emcompass part of the governor's term just prior to Moreira's.
Unexpectedly, of course!
People may have been disappointed with the initial Q2 GDP estimate of 1.3% from the Commerce Department announced last month, but that turned out to be the high point for American economic measures this year. Commerce revised the estimate sharply downward today to 1.0%, as numbers from the quarter begin to firm up:
Real gross domestic product -- the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States -- increased at an annual rate of 1.0 percent in the second quarter of 2011, (that is, from the first quarter to the second quarter), according to the "second" estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the first quarter, real GDP increased 0.4 percent.
The GDP estimates released today are based on more complete source data than were available for the "advance" estimate issued last month. In the advance estimate, the increase in real GDP was 1.3 percent (see "Revisions" on page 3).
The increase in real GDP in the second quarter primarily reflected positive contributions from nonresidential fixed investment, exports, personal consumption expenditures (PCE), and federal government spending that were partly offset by negative contributions from state and local government spending and private inventory investment. Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, increased.
According to Reuters, economists expected a revision down to 1.1%, and says the US is now on "recession watch":
Economists had expected output growth to be revised down to 1.1 percent. In the first quarter, the economy advanced just 0.4 percent. The government's second GDP estimate for the quarter confirmed growth almost stalled in the first six months of this year.
The United States is on a recession watch after a massive sell-off in the stock market knocked down consumer and business sentiment. The plunge in share prices followed Standard & Poor's decision to strip the nation of its top notch AAA credit rating and a spreading sovereign debt crisis in Europe.
While sentiment has deteriorated, data such as industrial production, retail sales and employment suggest the economy could avoid an outright contraction.
The change mainly came from inventories, which the previous estimate overshot. Real final sales of domestic goods -- GDP less inventory adjustments -- remained at 1.2%, making it a rare quarter in the last two years where this measure outstripped the topline GDP growth rate. Most of the GDP reports have been amped up by inventory expansions. Another bright spot is a revision in consumer spending, which increased 0.4% rather than the initial 0.1% estimate. However, exports got downgraded to a 3.1% increase from an initial estimate of 6.0%.
There was one warning note: the core personal consumption expenditure index rose at 2.2%, faster than anything since 2009Q4, according to Reuters. That may be enough to keep the Fed on the sidelines, which we will know later today when Ben Bernanke gives a speech today on the economy and the Fed's direction. If they see a risk of inflation arising, the Fed will not likely engage in another round of quantitative easing.
Politically, of course, this is a rolling disaster for the Obama administration. The downward revision comes while Obama is on Martha's Vineyard, enjoying a high-profile "vacation" and promising to get around to a jobs plan ... soon. Commerce will give one more revision to Q2′s estimate in late September, which will put the poor economic performance under his stewardship on display yet again -- and then Obama will have to deal with a Q3 result that so far doesn't look any better than Q2. If Hurricane Irene doesn't bring the vacation to an early end, this number really should have the White House political team calling to have Air Force One warming up the engines. New Republican 2012 slogan: "Our economy simply can't take 4 more years of hope and change."
Tiny Goshen College in Indiana has banned the "The Star Spangled Banner: at all sporting events because the Mennonite school's president considers the National Anthem's words to be too violent.
The 1,000-student school had already banned the words last year, but the band could still play the music for patriots in attendance. Now, the school has banned the song entirely, according to NBC Sports.
The school's board of directors told college President Jim Brenneman to "find an alternative to playing the National Anthem that fits with sports tradition, that honors country and that resonates with Goshen College's core values and respects the views of diverse constituencies." This is PC crap run completely amok. It slanders all the men that fought and died to keep this country free. You people disgust me and you do not deserve the freedom and prosperity that people died to bring you.
#1
I have a couple Mennonite friends, and actually, this is true to form for many. Mennonites differ just as the rest of us do, but the ones who take their faith seriously really do abhor violence. Some reject violence to the point of rejecting the concept of self defense, but that's only some.
Point is, I kinda understand where Mr. Brenneman is coming from, and I see it more as a restatement of a long-term commitment to their faith than as a 'fifth column' type of act.
Love 'em or hate 'em, the Mennonites aren't the problem in our country.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/26/2011 14:38 Comments ||
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#2
Asmall northern Indiana college announced Wednesday that they will now play "America the Beautiful" instead of the national anthem at sporting events.
Goshen College stopped playing "The Star-Spangled Banner" after some students and alumnae said the song promoted war.
Goshen's president said "America the Beautiful" fits better with the Mennonite church-affiliated school's beliefs. The use of "America the Beautiful" will begin this fall and the American flag will be present.
#3
I second #1, the action is true to their faith. They do put their money and work into practice in many productive ways. From a Mennonite site: Mennonites are known for their peace stand, taken because they believe Jesus Christ taught the way of peace. Many members choose not to participate in military service. Some take their belief further by objecting to government military expenditure; a few choose not to pay the percentage of their annual income tax that would go for military purposes.
This is not a major issue.
#4
Goshen College. It's not Berkeley.
They spell out their philosophy right there. Do I agree with it? No. Do I think we should Arclight them? No.
In Philadelphia, the Flyers play "God Bless America" before their hockey games. Kate Smith used to come up and sing it before playoff games. It's a tradition. No one complains.
#6
Well...certain events in the War of 1812 *did* provide the inspiration for "The Star Spangled Banner" and as we all know, war never solved anything. Except for ending the tyranny of kings and tyrants, slavery, Nazism, Communism and a whole bunch of other nasty crap. And allowing people in America to practice their religion unmolested, no matter how naive.
The sometimes eerie task to photograph more than 219,000 grave markers and the front of more than 43,000 sets of cremated remains in the columbarium is part of the Army's effort to account for every grave and to update and fully digitize the cemetery's maps. The Old Guard performs its work at night to escape the summer heat and to avoid interrupting funerals.
#1
There is nothing remotely "eerie" about this project, any more than visiting a loved one's grave site is "eerie." It's far overdue but is finally getting done. Perhaps relatives and friends of those buried at Arlington will be able to see the grave markers if they are unable to make a visit. There is a worldwide project closely related to this, called FindAGrave which is a public voluntary database of deaths and grave markers worldwide. It is also useful to family & local historians. Findagrave already has some web pages for Arlington National Cemetery, but only 337, since it's a volunteer effort.
An Albuquerque Grand Jury has just indicted three suspected members of a Chinese crime ring of helping out of state illegal immigrants get a New Mexico driver's license. The new indictments show the Chinese men used forged documents to get licenses for 62 illegal immigrants, mostly of Chinese descent.
Bernalillo County District Attorney officials say the men advertised in Chinese newspapers in New York that illegal immigrants could get a New Mexico drivers license for $1500.00. Reuters: New Mexico is one of three states, including Utah and Washington, that allow illegal immigrants to lawfully obtain driver's licenses provided they show proof of residency.
Some officials fear the state's lenient driver's license rules were making New Mexico a magnet for illegal immigrants from out-of-state seeking licenses unavailable to them in the states where they live. New Mexico's governor has already tried and failed to change state law to prohibit giving state driver licenses to illegal immigrants.
#1
Yep. The governor is attempting to get the state legislature to implement the necessary safe guards called for in the 2006 Real ID Act. Citizens complain they have to get a passport or passport ID to go to Canada or Mexico. The Congressional delegation secured a two year extension on the implementation deadline only to see the usual suspects in the legislature kill the necessary work in committee without it even making it to the floor. Now the same group is trying to block the governor from conducting a validation of existing addresses on issued licenses. By law you have a specific time frame to notify the license bureau of any address changes. Loyalty to blood trumps loyalty to community, state, or nation for too many in places of influence.
[Dawn] Over 20 people were killed and several houses were destroyed during heavy rains and flooding in northwest Pakistain's Kohistan region, DawnNews reported.
Unexpectedly.
Sixteen bodies had been recovered from the affected areas and the corpse count was expected to rise.
District Police Officer (DPO) Kohistan Mohammad Ilyas told DawnNews that 16 bodies had been recovered.
Separately, police officer Abbas Khan said rescuers on Thursday found six bodies and efforts were under way to trace the missing.
Mr Ilyas moreover said that rescue operations were difficult to manage due to the remoteness of the areas affected and that helicopters had been requisitioned from the provincial authorities.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/26/2011 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] Apple's legendary co-founder and top ideas man Steve Jobs resigned as chief executive Wednesday in a move long expected after he began a dramatic fight with cancer.
In a written statement, Apple, the world's second most valuable company by market capitalization, announced that chief operating officer Tim Cook would take over as CEO but that Jobs would stay on as chairman of the board.
Jobs is seen as the heart and soul of Apple, with analysts and investors repeatedly expressing concern over how the Cupertino, Caliphornia-based company will fare without the figure seen as its driving force.
"Steve's extraordinary vision and leadership saved Apple and guided it to its position as the world's most innovative and valuable technology company," board member Art Levinson said in a statement.
Apple stock price slid more than five per cent to $356.32 in trading that followed news of Jobs's resignation and it remained to be seen what the market has in store for the company with the opening bell on Thursday.
Gartner analyst Van Baker saw no reason for investors to panic.
"My suspicion is that Apple will do just fine," Baker told AFP. "There are so many talented people there and Steve's attention to detail is baked into the culture." Jobs will still be around as chairman of the Apple board and the company has product plans mapped, according to the analyst. Apple is expected to launch a fifth-generation iPhone in September or October.
"Apple is an execution monster, and that includes products, supply chain and marketing," Baker said. "Their roadmap is in place; I'm sure they are already working on the next iPad." No reason was given for Job's resignation, but his health problems, including a lengthy medical leave for a liver transplant in 2009 and his gaunt appearances at public events, fueled speculation he would have to give up the everyday running of the company he co-founded in 1976.
Cook ran Apple when Jobs went on medical leave and has essentially been running day-to-day operations since early this year with the company racking up record revenue and profit.
"The board has complete confidence that Tim is the right person to be our next CEO," Levinson said.
"Tim's 13 years of service to Apple have been marked by outstanding performance, and he has demonstrated remarkable talent and sound judgment in everything he does," Levinson continued.
Cook was previously responsible for Apple's worldwide sales and operations, including management of the supply chain, sales activities, and service and support in all markets and countries.
Jobs is a living legend in Silicon Valley. He is the beloved visionary behind the Macintosh computer, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad as well as the iTunes online shop.
Born on February 24, 1955 in San Francisco to a single mother and adopted by a couple in nearby Mountain View at barely a week old, he grew up among the orchards that would one day become the technology hub known as Silicon Valley.
Jobs was 21 and Steve Wozniak 26 when they founded Apple Computer in the garage of Jobs's family home in 1976.
While Microsoft licensed its software to computer makers that cranked out machines priced for the masses, Apple kept its technology private and catered to people willing to pay for superior performance and design.
Under Jobs, the company introduced its first Apple computers and then the Macintosh, which became wildly popular in the 1980s.
Jobs was elevated to idol status by ranks of Macintosh computer devotees, many of whom saw themselves as a sort of rebel alliance opposing the powerful empire Microsoft built with its ubiquitous Windows operating systems.
Jobs left Apple in 1985 after an internal power struggle and started NeXT Computer company specializing in sophisticated workstations for businesses.
He co-founded Academy-Award-winning Pixar in 1986 from a former Lucasfilm computer graphics unit that he reportedly bought from movie industry titan George Lucas for $10 million.
Apple's luster faded after Jobs left the company, but they reconciled in 1996 with Apple buying NeXT for 429 million dollars and Jobs ascending once again to the Apple throne.
Since then, Apple has gone from strength to strength as Jobs revamped the Macintosh line, revolutionizing modern culture and launching a "post-PC era" in which personal computers give way to smart mobile gadgets.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/26/2011 00:00 ||
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Apple announced today that it has developed a breast implant that can store and play music. The iBoob will cost from $499 to $699, depending on cup and speaker size. This is considered a major social breakthrough because women are always complaining about men staring at their breasts and not listening to them."
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
08/26/2011 8:31 Comments ||
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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.
International Criminal Court
Tiny Goshen College in Indiana has banned the "The Star Spangled Banner: at all sporting events because the Mennonite school's president considers the National Anthem's words to be too violent.
Over 20 people were killed and several houses were destroyed during heavy rains and flooding in northwest Pakistain's Kohistan region, DawnNews reported.
