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i would untie it from the posts, lay it down and roll it up. the posts in concrete arent worth the hassle of removing the concrete. the others should pull out of the ground easily enough
just means you dont deal with long outages, you should feel lucky
shutting off the mains could possibly save the life of an exhausted utility employee also. we work 16hrs a day until most everybody is restored and some guys "forget" to do the proper tests for backfeed before restoring power. you should shut the mains off before power is restored anyhow, could save some expensive electronics in your home
im surprised you havent heard of this. people who get cut off steal/borrow from neighbors the same way.
i just finished 8 days worth of restoring customers in chicago and quite a few customers held out with generators that way
seems kind of expsensive to order without firsthand xp
have you used the product?
is it normal for a laptop to have a download speed of 238kps on a wireless modem?
we have 1000 ft reels of 3/0 cable stolen off of job sites. we never leave any copper on job sites, but they do steal the scrap copper cable we remove in the city. we cut it up and put it under the trucks until we leave. thats just less things we have to pick up
your electric utility probably uses it still. we install it above ground and underground.
i was told that codes for us are less strict because they want any faults to happen on our cable. makes for less of a chance of a fire starting
and thats what the world is coming to, f#@king idiots! what normal person would think like that?
looks like the prices on M-1s will be coming down
Garand Gold Discovered In South Korea
September 25, 2009: As South Korea upgraded its armed forces over the last two decades, it has had to dispose of a lot of old equipment. But then it discovered that it had put into storage 108,000 World War II era rifles it had received from the United States during the 1950s. Some of these M-1 Garand rifles (the first semiautomatic rifle to enter wide service in any army) and M-1 Carbines (which fire a pistol class 7.62mm round) had only been used occasionally by reservists, and even these troops have since been armed with more modern weapons. In the normal course of events, these old rifles would be melted down. Fortunately, someone in the South Korean Defense Ministry realized that M-1s sell for over a thousand dollars each on the collectors market. So those 86,000 M-1 are probably worth over $100 million (or half that, if they are all dropped on the market at once). The 22,000 M1 Carbines, which used to be sold cheap, have recently been going for nearly as much as the Garands. For once, the South Koreans will be able to sell a used weapon at a huge profit (since they received them for free, and have only had to pay for storage and maintenance since then).
http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htmurph/articles/20090925.aspx
knowing from working with the linemen, most of the old school linemen dont test for backfeed. and if there is backfeed there will be serious consequences
i guess i should have read both posts. you got to what i was getting at in my last post.
that would work, but seems like an expensive way to go about things. not sure as i havent looked into that.
i do work for the utility in the chicago area and we test for backfeed every time we install a meter. if we install a meter and there is backfeed, it will shoot that meter out like a bullet. and if there is a house on a generator that isnt isolated from the grid, it could kill the lineman on the pole
the big issue is that you have to isolate the system from the grid. you cant backfeed into it, that will blow the nearest transformer and cost you a lot of money if they find out you caused it
any company installing a backup generator will install the necessary equipment to take the house off the local power grid.
Gates: AP decision 'appalling'
Mike Allen Mike Allen – Fri Sep 4, 10:38 am ET
Defense Secretary Robert Gates is objecting “in the strongest terms” to an Associated Press decision to transmit a photograph showing a mortally wounded 21-year-old Marine in his final moments of life, calling the decision “appalling” and a breach of “common decency.”
The AP reported that the Marine’s father had asked – in an interview and in a follow-up phone call — that the image, taken by an embedded photographer, not be published.
The AP reported in a story that it decided to make the image public anyway because it “conveys the grimness of war and the sacrifice of young men and women fighting it.”
The photo shows Lance Cpl. Joshua M. Bernard of New Portland, Maine, who was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade in a Taliban ambush Aug. 14 in Helmand province of southern Afghanistan, according to The AP.
Gates wrote to Thomas Curley, AP’s president and chief executive officer. “Out of respect for his family’s wishes, I ask you in the strongest of terms to reconsider your decision. I do not make this request lightly. In one of my first public statements as Secretary of Defense, I stated that the media should not be treated as the enemy, and made it a point to thank journalists for revealing problems that need to be fixed – as was the case with Walter Reed."
“I cannot imagine the pain and suffering Lance Corporal Bernard’s death has caused his family. Why your organization would purposefully defy the family’s wishes knowing full well that it will lead to yet more anguish is beyond me. Your lack of compassion and common sense in choosing to put this image of their maimed and stricken child on the front page of multiple American newspapers is appalling. The issue here is not law, policy or constitutional right – but judgment and common decency.”
The four-paragraph letter concluded, “Sincerely,” then had Gates’ signature.
The photo, first transmitted Thursday morning and repeated Friday morning, carries the warning, “EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT.”
The caption says: “In this photo taken Friday, Aug. 14, 2009, Lance Cpl. Joshua Bernard is tended to by fellow U.S. Marines after being hit by a rocket propelled grenade during a firefight against the Taliban in the village of Dahaneh in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan. Bernard was transported by helicopter to Camp Leatherneck where he later died of his wounds.”
Gates’ letter was sent Thursday, after he talked to Curley by phone at about 3:30 p.m. Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said Gates told Curley: “I am asking you to reconsider your decision to publish this graphic photograph of Lance Corporal Bernard. I am begging you to defer to the wishes of the family. This will cause them great pain.”
Curley was “very polite and willing to listen,” and send he would reconvene his editorial team and reconsider, Morrell said. Within the hour, Curley called Morrell and said the editors had reconvened but had ultimately come to the same conclusion.
Gates “was greatly disappointed they had not done the right thing,” Morrell said.
The Buffalo News ran the photo on page 4, and the The (Wheeling, W.Va.) Intelligencer ran an editorial defending its decision to run the photo. Some newspapers – including the Arizona Republic, The Washington Times and the Orlando Sentinel – ran other photos from the series. Several newspaper websites – including the Akron Beacon-Journal and the St. Petersburg Times – used the photo online.
Morrell said Gates wanted the information about his conversations released “so everyone would know how strongly he felt about the issue.”
The Associated Press reported in a story about deliberations about that photo that “after a period of reflection,” the news service decided “to make public an image that conveys the grimness of war and the sacrifice of young men and women fighting it.
“The image shows fellow Marines helping Bernard after he suffered severe leg injuries. He was evacuated to a field hospital where he died on the operating table,” AP said. “The picture was taken by Associated Press photographer Julie Jacobson, who accompanied Marines on the patrol and was in the midst of the ambush during which Bernard was wounded. … ‘AP journalists document world events every day. Afghanistan is no exception. We feel it is our journalistic duty to show the reality of the war there, however unpleasant and brutal that sometimes is,’ said Santiago Lyon, the director of photography for AP.
“He said Bernard's death shows ‘his sacrifice for his country. Our story and photos report on him and his last hours respectfully and in accordance with military regulations surrounding journalists embedded with U.S. forces.’”
The AP reported that it “waited until after Bernard's burial in Madison, Maine, on Aug. 24 to distribute its story and the pictures.”
“An AP reporter met with his parents, allowing them to see the images,” the article says. “Bernard's father after seeing the image of his mortally wounded son said he opposed its publication, saying it was disrespectful to his son's memory. John Bernard reiterated his viewpoint in a telephone call to the AP on Wednesday. ‘We understand Mr. Bernard's anguish. We believe this image is part of the history of this war.
The story and photos are in themselves a respectful treatment and recognition of sacrifice,’ said AP senior managing editor John Daniszewski.
“Thursday afternoon, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates called AP President Tom Curley asking that the news organization respect the wishes of Bernard's father and not publish the photo. Curley and AP Executive Editor Kathleen Carroll said they understood this was a painful issue for Bernard's family and that they were sure that factor was being considered by the editors deciding whether or not to publish the photo, just as it had been for the AP editors who decided to distribute it.”
The image was part of a package of stories and photos released for publication after midnight Friday. The project, called “AP Impact – Afghan – Death of a Marine,” carried a dateline of Dahaneh, Afghanistan, and was written by Alfred de Montesquiou and Julie Jacobson:
“The U.S. patrol had a tip that Taliban fighters were lying in ambush in a pomegranate grove, and a Marine trained his weapon on the trees. Seconds later, a salvo of gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades poured out, and a grenade hit Lance Cpl. Joshua ‘Bernie’ Bernard. The Marine was about to become the next fatality in the deadliest month of the deadliest year of the Afghan war.”
The news service also moved extensive journal entries AP photographer Julie Jacobson wrote while in Afghanistan. AP said in an advisory: “From the reporting of Alfred de Montesquiou, the photos and written journal kept by Julie Jacobson, and the TV images of cameraman Ken Teh, the AP has compiled ‘Death of a Marine,’ a 1,700 word narrative of the clash, offering vivid insights into how the battle was fought, and into Bernard's character and background. It also includes an interview with his father, an ex-Marine, who three weeks earlier had written letters complaining that the military's rules of engagement are exposing the troops in Afghanistan to undue risk.”
http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20090904/pl_politico/26759
i bet the saudis are going to let the russians check out some of their US hardware, it was probably in the purchase price
i have run malware a couple of times. and rebooted the system, i was surprised that avast ran in dos and took about 15 mins.
then i will leave it running
thanks for the help from you guys. i have run glary and it corrrected 77 items. avast just finished and found nothing.
hopefully glary found the flea, only time will tell.
do i need to have avast running in the background?
thanks, ill do that. i never clicked on it, thinking they would ask for some cash
edit
its asking me for a new key and the only option to get it is to buy it.
thanks larry, running glary right now.
i have avast but the license has expired, is there something else i should download? unless i really have to i would rather not spend the money on it, there seems to be enough free programs out there
Bruce, i am having a problem a virus scanning program that i didnt download.
it starts by taking over the tab when im am on ihub. i try closing out the boxes that show up telling me i have trojans. every time i close one box another opens. the only way to get rid of it, is to close the whole tab.
it claims to be a microsoft program but doesnt look like one to me. i know i shouldnt have closed it this last time because now i dont have anymore info on it for you.
i have run malwarebytes a couple of times and it hasnt found anything. im not sure where to go from here, i appreciate any help
i worked at UPS in college, they actually have very strict security, and that was almost 20 yrs ago.
i am surprised and not surprised that things are so easily stolen. all they have to do is get a few people in on the scam and they are in business. it doesnt take a genius to reconize what certain packages contain.
not sure why anybody was upset over this program
CIA Hired Blackwater Hit Squads
No change in US drawdown despite Iraq bombings
US plans to withdraw forces from Iraq over the next two years remain in place despite a wave of "tragic" bombings in Baghdad, a Pentagon spokesman told AFP on Wednesday. "The bombings are unfortunate and tragic," said spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Ryder. "We certainly express our condolences to those who lost family and friends. "But in terms of affecting our drawdown plans, there's no effect," Ryder said. Devastating attacks across Baghdad killed at least 95 people on Wednesday in the worst day of carnage to hit the Iraqi capital in 18 months and the bloodiest since US troops pulled out of the country's cities. Iraqis pointed the finger at their domestic security forces, which in turn blamed members of executed former dictator Saddam Hussein's regime. "These are attempts by insurgent groups to try to exploit sectarian tensions," Ryder said. "But to this point we have not seen the retributive, retaliatory violence that we saw back in 2006-2007." He said the US military retained confidence in Iraqi security forces. "There are certainly still challenges," he said. "But the security forces continue to make progress and obviously have the lead on security operations. We're confident in their abilities to continue moving forward." US President Barack Obama has vowed to withdraw all combat troops from the country by the end of August next year, leaving behind an advisory force of up to 50,000. A security agreement with Iraq requires all US forces to be out by the end of 2011. Obama on Monday warned that Iraqis would be tested by violent attacks but repeated his promise that the United States would abide by the 2011 deadline under its security deal with Baghdad. The US president has sought to shift the focus to the war in Afghanistan but has had to balance competing demands from the commander in Iraq, amid warnings the situation there remains fragile. About 131,000 American troops are stationed in Iraq and at least two brigades, or about 10,000 troops, are due to withdraw by the end of the year. Citing positive security trends, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said last month the pace of the drawdown might speed up with an additional brigade of up to 5,000 troops possibly departing by 2010. Despite a reduction in violence compared with last year, attacks on security forces and civilians remain common in Baghdad, the restive northern city of Mosul and in the ethnically divided oil city of Kirkuk. (AFP Report)
by Staff Writers
Baghdad (UPI) Aug 20, 2009
The CIA enlisted U.S. contractor Blackwater as part of a covert program to hunt and kill senior al-Qaida members, U.S. media reports say.
Quoting current and former government officials, The New York Times said the controversial U.S. private security company helped the CIA with planning, training and surveillance.
The hit squad plan was revealed in June, sparking furor among congressional leaders who said they had never been briefed.
When the news broke, CIA director Leon Panetta informed lawmakers and then pulled the plug on the program. The Central Intelligence Agency maintained that no hit missions had been launched and that no militants had either been located or captured, according to the report.
Still, citing senior intelligence officials, the Times reported that in 2004, during the Bush administration, the CIA went as far as hiring Blackwater for an unknown role in the secret program, designed to take out high-value members of al-Qaida.
About 1,000 Blackwater staff members were used to guard U.S. government personnel in Iraq after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, making it among the largest security companies operating in this country.
Its operations for the U.S. government, however, have come under scrutiny and raised questions of accountability.
Blackwater first drew fire on March 31, 2004, when four employees were killed by an angry mob in Fallujah, then a Sunni Arab insurgent stronghold.
The bodies were mutilated and strung from a bridge as images of the incident were broadcast worldwide. The gruesome event fanned a monthlong assault on Fallujah, leaving 36 U.S. soldiers, 200 insurgents and 600 civilians dead.
Earlier this year the Iraqi government cancelled Blackwater's operating license for using excessive force on a number of occasions, including the killing of 17 civilians in Baghdad's Nisoor Square on Sept. 16, 2007.
In an attempt to shed its negative reputation, the U.S. company, based in North Carolina, has since been renamed Xe.
Controversy spawning from the Times report centered on its revelation that while the CIA held no formal contract with Blackwater it retained individual agreements with top executives in the company.
It remains unclear whether the U.S. spy agency planned to use Blackwater contractors to actually capture and kill militants or just assist in the training and surveillance of the program, the Times reported.
In a related report, a senior State Department official told The Nation that Blackwater was operating in Iraq under the name "U.S. Training Center" and would continue its armed presence in the country until Sept. 3.
"Authorized personnel under that task order are permitted to continue carrying weapons until that time," the magazine quoted a State Department diplomatic security official as saying on condition of anonymity. "The purpose and mission of the Department of State's private security contractors is limited to protection of U.S. diplomats and diplomatic facilities only and is defensive in nature."
Blackwater's remaining contract for diplomatic security in Iraq is an aviation contract, The Nation reported. It said the Obama administration extended that contract on July 31, increasing Blackwater's payment by $20 million and bringing the total paid by the State Department to Blackwater for its "aviation services" in Iraq to $187 million.
The company, whose owner is said to views its role as fighting a Christian crusade to "eliminate" Muslims and Islam globally, is scheduled to be replaced by Triple Canopy for its protective security work in Iraq, The Nation said.
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/CIA_hired_Blackwater_hit_squads_report_999.html
Outside View: Shock and awe redux
Afghan elections credible and a security success: NATO chief
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen hailed Thursday's Afghanistan presidential election "a success" in security terms and credible for the Afghan people. "Seen from a security point of view the election has been a success," Rasmussen said in comments on the NATO website published during a visit to Iceland. "All-in-all the election today has been conducted effectively," he added. "The most important thing is that the elections will be considered credible in the eyes of the Afghan people," said Rasmussen, who recently visited Afghanistan. The nationwide elections were "a testimony to the determination of the Afghan people to build democracy," added the former Danish prime minister "I want to congratulate the people of Afghanistan for the courage they have shown in spite of challenging circumstances. We have seen Afghans defying threats of intimidation and violence to exercise their democratic rights." In Kabul the Afghan government said it was "satisfied" with voter turnout at Thursday's landmark presidential and provincial elections. There were sporadic outbreaks of violence and militants stormed one town in the normally peaceful north. However Rasmussen, who took over the top job at the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation this month, praised the Afghan security forces, saying "they have done everything possible to make these elections as secure and as inclusive as possible." The world "knew in advance that the enemies of Afghanistan would try to block the road towards the elections through a series of terrorist attacks," and the Afghan forces "should be applauded," declared Rasmussen in the comments carried live on-line. He met all the presidential candidates during his recent trip to Kabul and urged them to handle the outcome of the elections "in a responsible manner." He was assured that the would by their avowed "willingness to cooperate after the elections and embark on a reconciliation process which I think is the way forward." In earlier comments in Reykjavik the tone was equally upbeat, with Rasmussen saying that more polling stations had been open than expected. While proclaiming that the election turnout was "a clear demonstration that the Afghan people want democracy, they want freedom and reject terrorism," he also alluded to reports of vote-buying and corruption. Rasmussen was in Iceland to attend a meeting of Baltic and Nordic foreign ministers, who were set to discuss a number of foreign and regional policy issues during the two-day event. Afghans went to the polls Thursday to elect a president for the second time in history. Seventeen million of them registered to vote and they will also elect 420 councillors in 34 provinces across the largely rural and impoverished country. Pre-election violence stoked fears about whether it would prove safe to vote despite thousands of US and NATO troops stepping up anti-insurgency assaults. Voting centres closed officially at 4:00 pm (1130 GMT), guarded by a huge deployment of 300,000 Afghan and foreign forces. But the election commission s|aid people still in queues would be allowed to cast ballots. (AFP Report and AFP file image)
by Harlan Ullman
Islamabad, Pakistan (UPI) Aug 19, 2009
The apparent elimination of Tehrik-e-Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud two weeks ago in a Predator strike is, on balance, very good news. Mehsud was a villain, murderer and reportedly the mastermind of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination just after her return home as well as responsible for the killing of 1,500 or more fellow citizens in a reign of terror that lasted far too long. Whether Mehsud's demise will provoke a bloodbath in determining a successor, eliminating a major Pakistani Taliban leader will have political and psychological impact and distract the attention of the insurgents for time away from staging major attacks against the government and public.
The strategy in these Predator strikes is one of decapitation -- if you cut off enough heads, the multiheaded hydra will die. The risks are obvious. Kill one and another may be eager to take his place. Kill any and the rest will accuse you of murdering innocent civilians irrespective of the facts. And continue the raids and alienate the Pakistani public who see these attacks as directed against their sovereignty and against their fellow citizens, Taliban or not.
That said, the profoundly and inherently difficult and even intractable problems of dealing with the Taliban and other insurgents on and along both sides of the Pakistani-Afghan border form the heart of the dilemma and the urgency in bringing some measure of peace and stability to the region. The history -- from Alexander the Great to creating and supporting the mujahedin in running out the Soviets -- is well known. Yesterday's allies become today's enemies. And, from the Pakistani perspective, fearful of yet another American withdrawal from the region, ambivalence in dealing with the Afghan Taliban who form an insurance policy should history repeat and Washington retract its commitments is a reality and possible immovable obstacle to progress.
What should be done? First, the strategy of decapitation can work -- if. And the "if" is a big one. Second, assuming the "if" can be addressed operationally and strategically, implementing that strategy will require large quid pro quos on the part of the United States for Pakistan.
In the mid-1990s, I was part of a group of former military and civilian defense officials who created what became known as the doctrine of "shock and awe." The aim of "shock and awe" was to affect, influence and control the will and perception of the adversary through a variety of means including the use of force to achieve particular outcomes. In other words, one started with the desired outcome and worked backwards. Unfortunately, in the run-up to Operation Iraqi Freedom in early 2003, the notion of shock and awe was used in precisely the opposite way.
The objective was a spectacular defeat of the Iraqi army and the overthrow of Saddam Hussein rather than the establishment of a pluralistic state under the rule of law. Militarily, the operation was hugely successful and perhaps the most lopsided victory in the annals of war. Politically, strategically and economically, the war was, to use the title of an important book on the operation, a fiasco.
Fast-forward to Pakistan: a strategy of shock and awe to eliminate the key leadership of both the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban is feasible provided accurate and timely targeting intelligence is available. Knowing the certainty or near certainty of being hit by Predator strikes, Taliban insurgents surely will be open to some form of negotiation as these insurgents are not al-Qaida and all do not hold similar views about martyrdom. But success will require complete support from the Pakistan side -- something that has not been fully forthcoming.
To achieve that support, the United States needs to affect and influence -- not control -- perceptions of the Pakistani public and elite. Symbolism is as important as action. Here, if we are serious, several quids are essential. First, the United States has imposed large tariffs on the import of textiles from Pakistan, higher than for any other country. While Congress has been inflexible in reducing those tariffs, there could not be a more significant and symbolic step than to cut them.
Second, while the United States has poured many hundreds of billions of dollars into Iraq and now Afghanistan, it has been miserly in its support to Pakistan with a population nearly three times larger than the total of the two other states.
Third, and given the $20 billion economic package signed with India, now is the time to put Indo-Pakistan relations on a truly peaceful track.
But are we serious? If we are, the above will indeed be a powerful and positive display of shock and awe that will turn the tide in Pakistan and by extension in Afghanistan. If not, the outcome will not be happy one.
(Harlan Ullman was co-chairman of the group that invented shock and awe.)
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Outside_View_Shock_and_awe_redux_999.html
European Governments Place Restrictions on NATO Forces in Afghanistan
By Andre de Nesnera
Washington
20 August 2009
International forces under the banner of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are continuing to fight Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan. But NATO field commanders are hindered by certain restrictions placed on troops by European governments.
NATO has more than 60,000 troops in Afghanistan as part of a United Nations mandated contingent known as the "International Security Assistance Force" - or ISAF.
ISAF troops are located in most parts of the country. One of their most difficult missions is to fight insurgents in southern Afghanistan - home of the Taliban, ousted from power by a U.S.-led coalition in 2001.
"Caveats"
Analysts say NATO is hindered in its fight against the Taliban by so-called "caveats" - restrictions placed by various NATO countries on what their forces can or cannot do.
Tomas Valasek, at the London-based Center for European Reform, describes some of those restrictions.
"What's happening is that whenever a call for troops comes in for a particular operation, the different contingents come back, or get back to the NATO commanders saying, well we'd love to take part but under the national 'caveat' we are not allowed to operate in this particular area, or we're not allowed to operate this far away from the base, or we are not allowed to operate at night," he said.
Valasek says NATO commanders in the field are finding it difficult to put together a workable strategy.
"If you are a military commander, and if you are looking at putting together a fighting force out of what is already a hodge-podge of national militaries, and you're finding that each one operates under a different set of rules - some of them very restrictive - well, that's a very difficult way to fight a war. Caveats have been a tremendous frustration to the NATO commanders," he said.
Most of the fighting in Afghanistan is taking place in the south. But the Taliban has expanded its range of action to the east and to the relatively peaceful north.
Robert Hunter, former U.S. Ambassador to NATO, says the presence of "caveats" means only a few countries are bearing the brunt of the heavy fighting.
"The United States, Britain, the Dutch, the Canadians, who've actually had more fatalities in Afghanistan than any war since Korea - what 50, 60 years ago," he said. "The Estonians, the French are doing a bit more, the Poles do a bit. But most of the rest of the allies are not involved, really, in that most dangerous part of the country."
The United States is the largest contributor to the ISAF force with approximately 30,000 soldiers and Marines. Their presence in the most dangerous areas of Afghanistan has prompted some U.S. soldiers to say ISAF - the "International Security Assistance Force" - stands for "I Saw Americans Fighting", or "I Stop At Five", a reference to the European "caveats".
During a recent speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars, President Barack Obama said the Taliban insurgency will not be defeated overnight.
"This will not be quick, nor easy," he said. "But we must never forget. This is not a war of choice. This is a war of necessity. Those who attacked America on 9/11 [2001] are plotting to do so again. If left unchecked, the Taliban insurgency will mean an even larger safe haven from which al-Qaida would plot to kill more Americans. So this is not only a war worth fighting. This is fundamental to the defense of our people."
Fundamental difference
Many analysts say this is the fundamental difference between Washington and many European countries: whereas the U.S. believes Afghanistan is a national security issue, the European public does not.
Charles Kupchan is with the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington D.C. "They do not believe, for example, in Germany, that German forces are protecting German territory from a potential strike by al-Qaida," he said.
"And as a result of that, it is difficult for the German government to make the case to the German public, not only that they should send more troops, but that those troops that are already there should stay and should run the risk of physical harm. And so a lot of it is that the Europeans simply have not done a good enough job of making the case to their publics for the war in Afghanistan," he added.
Some analysts are also questioning whether the Obama administration has done enough to convince the American public the U.S. must stay - at least for the time being - in Afghanistan. A recent public opinion survey indicates 51 percent of those questioned say the war in Afghanistan is not worth fighting.
"If the war in Afghanistan does not go well, then I think by sometime in 2010 Obama may have a domestic problem. And those who worry about Afghanistan becoming Obama's Vietnam may say: 'I told you so," said Kupchan.
In the meantime, experts say the U.S. must convince the Europeans to do more in Afghanistan for NATO to succeed.
They say if the Europeans have an interest in keeping NATO strong - as they say they do - then it requires doing some unpopular things - like sending troops to dangerous areas in Afghanistan.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2009/08/mil-090820-voa08.htm
Boeing Unveils Mobile GBI
This article first appeared in AviationWeek.com.
Boeing officials are unveiling a mobile Ground-Based Interceptor design as an option while the White House mulls the future of deploying an additional set of defenses designed to protect the United States and Europe from the threat of an Iranian long-range ballistic missile.
The company included a small model of the concept at its exhibit for the Space and Missile Defense Conference 2009 here this week. Program officials also spoke about it publicly for the first time at the conference.
President George W. Bush was pursuing a plan to base an X-band tracking radar in the Czech Republic and 10 fixed GBIs in Poland. But the plan triggered ire from Russia, which claims the interceptors could threaten Moscow’s nuclear deterrent capability or that the missiles could actually provide an offensive capability against Russia – as well as encroach on Russian regional influence. U.S. officials refute those arguments, but the Obama administration is reviewing the proposal, including a consideration of other options.
Some missile defense advocates suggest the delay of a two-stage booster verification fly-out test, which is now set for next spring, indicates a lack of urgency in fielding this variant in Poland (the two-stage GBI is being developed for the European application).
MDA officials, however, say a lack of Polish movement ratifying the arrangement, as well as limits handed down by the U.S. Congress in establishing the site, allowed more time for the test, which was scheduled for this summer. The Ground-based Midcourse Defense system also further had a controversial history with testing, in general.
Boeing’s concept is to provide a mobile, two-stage GBI in a truck container. The missile would be hatched and perched on a pedestal in preparation for launch. Including shipping from the continental United States, the mobile GBI could be ready for launch 24 hours after departure, says Norm Tew, Boeing GMD program manager.
This configuration could address some of Russia’s concerns about a fixed site of Polish silos. And, it could be subject to standard arms control monitoring regimes. Perhaps to quell Russian worries, it could be stored in containers until a threat is detected, whereupon the system could be readied for launch in about an hour.
Read the rest of this story, see what's percolating on the EFV in QDR, check out a truck pics in Helmand and read about India's new MiG from our friends at Aviation Week, exclusively on Military.com.
-- Christian
http://www.defensetech.org/archives/004990.html#comments
IBM sees future of microchips in DNA
IBM expects it will take about a decade before DNA origami technology reaches the marketplace.
by Staff Writers
San Francisco (AFP) Aug 17, 2009
IBM on Monday said it was looking to DNA "origami" for a powerful new generation of ultra-tiny microchips.
The US computer giant collaborated with California Institute of Technology
researchers to develop a way to design microchips that mimic how chains of DNA molecules fold, allowing for processors far smaller and denser than any seen today.
"This is a way to assemble an electronics device of the future," said Bill Hinsberg, manager of the lithography group at IBM's Almaden Research Center in California.
"It offers a potential way to construct nano-scale devices. The industry has always gone in the direction of making things smaller, because that opens the realm of possibilities."
A tenet of the chip industry is Moore's Law, a history-backed belief that the number of transistors that can be placed on a computer circuit doubles every two years, enabling smaller but increasingly powerful computing devices.
Lithography is a common method of making computer chips that have shrunk to contain technology measuring a mere 22 nanometers. The "DNA origami" method can allow for chip features as slight as 6 nanometers, according to IBM.
"At some point, it gets more difficult to get smaller," Barnett said. "We've pursued DNA origami as a way to assemble an electronic device of the future."
DNA origami chips would have vastly increased data storage capacity and lead to power smaller, faster, smarter devices, IBM said.
"It took a couple of years, but once you figure out how to do it, it's easy," said lead IBM researcher Greg Wallraff.
The DNA method is to assemble chips "from the molecule up" in a way that costs less than today's manufacturing methods, the technology titan said.
IBM expects it will take about a decade before DNA origami technology reaches the marketplace.
"You'd have to develop whole new ways of fabricating the chips," Wallraff said. "You have to really change the way you do things."
http://www.spacemart.com/reports/IBM_sees_future_of_microchips_in_DNA_999.html
me either as long as it isnt our division. that is the only thing i hold against him, he knows why everybody is so pissed
i was in total disbelief! and people think that is the way things should be
Questions Remain Over Ship's Russian Rescue
MOSCOW -- Russian investigators are looking into the circumstances of the apparent hijacking of a Maltese-registered ship "Arctic Sea" with 15 Russian sailors aboard, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports.
The vessel was seized by an armed group consisting of Russian, Estonian, and Latvian nationals on July 24 in Swedish territorial waters.
On August 17 the ship was freed by the Russian "Ladny" patrol vessel near the Cape Verde Islands.
Former sailor Mikhail Voytenko, who is editor in chief of "Morskoy Byulleten-Sovfrakht" (The Sea Bulletin-Soviet Freight) online magazine, told RFE/RL that the whole story is very unusual and does not seem like an ordinary pirate hijacking.
Voytenko said the ship was seized by highly trained professionals, who were experts in communication systems aboard contemporary sea vessels, and it is very hard to define the real goals of the hijackers.
The whole operation on the vessel's hijacking might have cost more than the vessel itself and the timber aboard it. Who needs that kind of ship with that kind of cargo aboard? Voytenko asks.
He adds that the ship was captured in Europe, sailed without any problems through the English Channel, and then further into the Atlantic Ocean.
That is not what ordinary pirates do and some states and state interests might have been involved in the whole story, he concludes.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2009/08/mil-090819-rferl04.htm
these people need the sh!t knocked out of them. who the hell talks to people that need positive reinforcement in their life like that?! this crap is about as elitest as it gets.
Favre officially vilified in Green Bay
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Maybe Brett Favre(notes) lost the keenest segment of the Green Bay Packers fan base long ago. Maybe he lost them when every summer began to orbit around him, and every roster decision was applauded or disparaged based on how it impacted No. 4. Maybe he lost them in one tumultuous offseason after another, when his emotional whims became reason enough to hold the franchise hostage.
Or maybe he really, truly lost them on Tuesday, when he signed with the hated Minnesota Vikings, and then in Favre fashion, said “If you’re a true Packer fan, you understand.”
That was the line that still had fans fuming as the line that still had fans fuming as they filed out of Stadium View Sports Bar in Green Bay, aptly named for its view of Lambeau Field down Armed Forces Drive. Some fans that had flocked for the Packers’ evening practice on Tuesday piled into the bar to watch Favre’s news conference. And ultimately they had a resounding opinion as they filed back out: Favre’s iconic legacy in this city has hit a new low.
“I couldn’t believe the ‘true Packers fans’ should understand thing,” said Ron Knautz. “I’m 54 years old. I’ve been a Packers fan since I was 5, which is when I knew what the Packers were. I got my picture taken with Bart Starr when I was 12. I’m a true Packers fan. Maybe a true Packers player would understand how I feel.”
And that was an overwhelming sentiment pulsing through Green Bay, where radio talk shows were pre-empting programs and dumping everything but call-in segments, as the fan base opened a fiery vein. On the rare occasion a fan called to support Favre’s right to play for the Vikings, they were bayoneted by the next five callers, who reacted as if they’d just heard someone pitch the positives of joining the Taliban. One caller said he’d confiscated all the pieces of clothing in his house emblazoned with Favre’s number. Another woman said she had removed Favre’s autographed picture from her wall and banished it behind her couch.
“I think it comes down to how you were a fan,” said Gary Nixt, nursing a beer inside Stadium View. “If you’re a Packers fan, you’re behind the team and you’re going to have that tunnel vision. If you are a Brett Favre fan, you’re going to stand behind him no matter what he does.”
Nixt was among those behind Favre, saying “No matter what happens, he goes into the Hall of Fame as a Packer.” And he’s not entirely alone. Some have come to see the onetime icon as a self-absorbed football nomad. Others remain the baptized faithful, mindful of the 16 seasons which raised the Packers back to NFL relevance.
The latter have long given Favre its own version of amnesty. They blame general manager Ted Thompson for not bending more to the quarterback’s ego. They complain that other parts of the team failed Favre long before he ever failed them. And they have been slow to fully embrace Aaron Rodgers(notes), the successor who they believe helped force out their hero.
“Those people exist, absolutely,” said Brian Smith(notes), a Milwaukee resident who has been driving to Green Bay to watch practice and attend games “since Don Majkowski was a big deal.” Smith was parking his car across from Brett Favre’s Steakhouse, which suddenly seemed like a palpably awkward place to eat.
“Some people love Favre and will love him even if he beats the Packers twice a year for the next 10 years,” Smith said. “He’s just legendary in their eyes.”
You get the feeling it will be a little harder for those people to exist in Green Bay going forward. Yes, some fans will look at Favre now and see what they’ve always seen – like Elvis Presley fans who clung to his fading lounge acts in Las Vegas while still proclaiming him to be The King. Others? Tuesday took another chunk out of a crumbling mythology that may never be the same.
“Of course it takes away from his aura,” Knautz said. “He’s coming back with the Vikings.”
Knautz adjusted his Packers hat and made a sour face.
“The Vikings,” he said. “I never would have believed it.”
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=cr-favrereaction081809&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
ill watch him play at least 2 times a year. more if their games are on at he right times, i still love seeing throw the ball.
i dont think he wants the attention, i think he wants to play and prove TT he can do it at a high level. he is still better than most of the QBs in the league and he knows it, why quit.
playing for the viqueens just sticks it in TTs face.
chicago radio thinks the viqueens will win the division and the bears will be the runner up. i think the pack has a very good chance of winning the division and chicago radio can go to hell. lol
The Battle of Kandahar
The Battle of Kandahar
By Greg Grant Tuesday, August 18th, 2009 1:18 pm
Posted in International, Policy, Uncategorized
A wave of insurgent attacks have hit Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, in recent days as the country’s presidential elections draw near. The spectacular attacks may distract from a greater danger down south, according to a number of Afghanistan watchers, who warn of the possibility of a Taliban takeover of Kandahar city. The former Taliban stronghold has emerged as the key piece of terrain in the current phase of the Afghan war.
Occasional adviser to the U.S. command in Afghanistan, Andrew Exum, a fellow at the Center for a New American Security, recently warned that the fall of Kandahar would not come in the Tet offensive version, that is, not with Taliban flying columns loaded in Toyota pickups. Instead, the fear is of a creeping takeover of the city by insurgents operating in the shadows, assassinating or intimidating the police, judges and local leaders. Counterinsurgency adviser David Kilcullen, speaking at USIP last week, said clandestine Taliban cells in Kandahar are waging a “silent war of terror.”
In a report issued last December, the Senlis Council, a Brussels based research organization, warned of an insurgent noose tightening around Kabul, and that there was a risk of the city being overrun by the Taliban. The report was largely dismissed as being a tad hyperbolic. The sizeable ISAF presence in Kabul would preclude any direct Taliban attack on the capital, although clearly suicide and car bombings and mortar and rocket attacks are a persistent threat.
Where the insurgent noose is really tightening is around Kandahar. Already there are well established Taliban enclaves in the Pashtun city. A number of the districts surrounding Kandahar are under serious stress. Kandahar holds important significance for the Taliban and if insurgents were to gain a foothold, even to the point where it became a debate as to who actually controlled the city, it would be a staggering defeat for the U.S. led coalition.
The Council on Foreign Relation’s Stephen Biddle, for one, believes the current disposition of U.S. forces should be changed. Troops currently operating in the northeast, in the mountainous areas along the order with Pakistan, should be shifted down south to the Kandahar area.
Some experts have hinted, without coming right out and saying so, that the ongoing offensive in Helmand has been a poor use of the Marine Expeditionary Brigade; that the Marines would have been more effectively employed in and around Kandahar. The Helmand offensive was planned in advance long before the new Afghan commander, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, took over. It will be interesting to see if there is a reallocation of forces in coming months.
Kandahar is now the priority for new Afghan Army units and resources, according to officials. The Army’s 5th Stryker brigade is also now operating in the area and should bolster security around the city.
http://www.dodbuzz.com/2009/08/18/the-battle-of-kandahar/
this isnt good, my brother is being sent here in Oct
looks interesting, but not at that price
i wonder how long the blades last?
not a bad deal. i almost paid $20 more for one that wasnt refinished, good thing i didnt
nothing wrong with them showing up like that. its their constitutional right as long as they dont brake the law. its the other idiots that are there that i would worry about