Hi there, !
Today Wed 08/02/2023 Tue 08/01/2023 Mon 07/31/2023 Sun 07/30/2023 Sat 07/29/2023 Fri 07/28/2023 Thu 07/27/2023 Archives
Rantburg
534637 articles and 1864692 comments are archived on Rantburg.

Today: 71 articles and 132 comments as of 16:13.
Post a news link    Post your own article   
Area: WoT Operations    WoT Background    Opinion    Local News    Politix   
European Union Suspends Financial, Security Aid To Niger Republic
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 3: Non-WoT
3 17:26 Super Hose [16] 
4 17:23 Super Hose [11] 
8 22:06 trailing wife [14] 
0 [11] 
1 19:00 NoMoreBS [11] 
0 [11] 
1 17:10 Classer [11] 
2 12:05 Procopius2k [9] 
13 18:38 magpie [10] 
13 14:53 M. Murcek [9] 
6 13:43 Super Hose [7] 
3 10:40 Super Hose [15] 
0 [8] 
8 14:26 M. Murcek [9] 
0 [9] 
1 10:44 Super Hose [5] 
Page 1: WoT Operations
3 20:03 Solomon Sproing2985 [19]
4 22:08 trailing wife [24]
2 10:26 Super Hose [10]
1 10:28 Super Hose [8]
0 [7]
0 [6]
0 [12]
0 [12]
0 [20]
0 [20]
0 [13]
0 [17]
3 14:10 Mullah Richard [12]
0 [13]
0 [12]
0 [10]
0 [12]
0 [11]
0 [17]
0 [12]
0 [20]
1 06:44 NN2N1 [17]
0 [15]
0 [17]
Page 2: WoT Background
0 [7]
0 [13]
0 [7]
0 [14]
0 [7]
0 [15]
0 [12]
2 11:50 NoMoreBS [11]
0 [11]
0 [5]
0 [18]
0 [6]
Page 4: Opinion
3 15:16 Abu Uluque [5]
0 [12]
1 10:24 Super Hose [5]
2 06:31 Skidmark [11]
4 12:08 Procopius2k [12]
8 23:16 JHH [14]
0 [18]
1 10:20 Super Hose [15]
3 13:59 Super Hose [8]
14 12:42 Mullah Richard [10]
Page 5: Russia-Former Soviet Union
0 [15]
3 17:59 ruprecht [15]
0 [12]
0 [9]
0 [12]
0 [5]
4 18:25 Frank G [14]
0 [10]
Page 6: Politix
10 23:20 JHH [11]
-Obits-
Two-star general dies in plane crash in Maryland
[Defense news] Lots of comments that he really bought it in UKR.

I also do find it strange that the airport whence he departed is not mentioned.

A longtime U.S. Army acquisition officer and aviator has died in a plane crash near Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.

Maj. Gen. Anthony Potts, who until weeks ago led the service’s Program Executive Office Command, Control and Communications-Tactical, or PEO C3T, died at the scene near 3600 Old Level Road in Havre de Grace, according to the Harford County Sheriff’s Office and media reports.

Potts was the only person in the single-engine plane when it went down in a field July 25. No one on the ground was hurt. Dozens of first-responders were dispatched to search for the wreckage, according to the Level Volunteer Fire Company. The National Transportation Safety Board said it is investigating the matter.

Potts, who grew up in Kentucky, planned to retire soon after nearly four decades of military service. He was commissioned as an Army aviation second lieutenant in 1986 and later served in operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. He was also an attack helicopter platoon leader in Germany.

Potts most recently helmed PEO C3T, tasked with developing, deploying and supporting battlefield communications gear. Before that, he led PEO Soldier, which deals in everyday equipment, such as uniforms, body armor, night-vision devices and guns. Both roles were considered critical to protecting troops and modernizing the way the Army fights.

Maj. Gen. Robert Collins, who led PEO C3T prior to Potts, in June 2022 described the Kentuckian as “a truly a strategic and critical thinker, a team builder.”

“He understands the modernization instrument and how it runs,” Collins said at the time, “and he certainly understands that the centerpiece of our modernization is our soldiers.”
Posted by: DooDahMan || 07/30/2023 08:21 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [14 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Tony Potts was a night stalker and friend. He loved to fly both in service and civil. Damn, he will be missed.
Posted by: 49 Pan || 07/30/2023 10:06 Comments || Top||

#2  Potts earned a number of award and decorations during his service, including the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal with Valor Device, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Valorous Unit Award, Army Superior Unit Award, National Defense Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, Kuwait Liberation Medal, Saudi Kuwait Liberation Medal, Senior Aviator Badge, Air Assault Badge and Army Staff Badge.
Posted by: Skidmark || 07/30/2023 10:27 Comments || Top||

#3  Sorry, I should have included the short text to the article.

WASHINGTON — A longtime U.S. Army acquisition officer and aviator has died in a plane crash near Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.

Maj. Gen. Anthony Potts, who until weeks ago led the service’s Program Executive Office Command, Control and Communications-Tactical, or PEO C3T, died at the scene near 3600 Old Level Road in Havre de Grace, according to the Harford County Sheriff’s Office and media reports.

Potts was the only person in the single-engine plane when it went down in a field July 25. No one on the ground was hurt. Dozens of first-responders were dispatched to search for the wreckage, according to the Level Volunteer Fire Company. The National Transportation Safety Board said it is investigating the matter.

Potts, who grew up in Kentucky, planned to retire soon after nearly four decades of military service. He was commissioned as an Army aviation second lieutenant in 1986 and later served in operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. He was also an attack helicopter platoon leader in Germany.

Potts most recently helmed PEO C3T, tasked with developing, deploying and supporting battlefield communications gear. Before that, he led PEO Soldier, which deals in everyday equipment, such as uniforms, body armor, night-vision devices and guns. Both roles were considered critical to protecting troops and modernizing the way the Army fights.

Maj. Gen. Robert Collins, who led PEO C3T prior to Potts, in June 2022 described the Kentuckian as “a truly a strategic and critical thinker, a team builder.”

“He understands the modernization instrument and how it runs,” Collins said at the time, “and he certainly understands that the centerpiece of our modernization is our soldiers.”
Posted by: DooDahMan || 07/30/2023 11:01 Comments || Top||

#4  condolences 49PAN
Posted by: 746 || 07/30/2023 11:15 Comments || Top||

#5  Amen, Pan
Posted by: Frank G || 07/30/2023 12:06 Comments || Top||

#6  Text added to article box, DooDahMan. Thank you for bringing this to us, sad as it is.

My condolences to all who knew him. 49 Pan, what is your favourite story about General Potts that can be shared?
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/30/2023 12:25 Comments || Top||

#7  TW, might not be my favorite, but a note to his character. He brought a young guy to the unit. The guy ended up under my command. He could not fit into the rank structure of the organization, he was a good guy, but would not listen to guys of lower rank and more experience. I eventually had to send him back to the regular Army. Potts had vouched for him, and when I went to Potts to tell him what I was going to do, so he could move him and protect him, he managed the action personally and did not hold it against me. Where I come from that says a lot.
Posted by: 49 Pan || 07/30/2023 18:49 Comments || Top||

#8  That’s lovely, 49 Pan. Thank you so much for telling it so we can appreciate him properly.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/30/2023 22:06 Comments || Top||


Marine drill instructor Steven Smiley sobs and says sorry as he's cleared of killing recruit Dalton Beals during boot camp
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news]
  • Staff Sergeant Steven Smiley has been cleared of negligent homicide after a Marine recruit died during his grueling training session

  • Marine recruit Dalton Beals, 19, died of hypothermia during Smiley's 54-hour 'Crucible' training on June 4 2021
Posted by: Skidmark || 07/30/2023 00:39 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [8 views] Top|| File under:


-Great Cultural Revolution
Ford set to lose $4.5 billion on electric vehicles this year, despite increased revenue
[Fox Biz] Few would buy them if they weren't subsidized by taxpayer $$
Posted by: Skidmark || 07/30/2023 06:46 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [10 views] Top|| File under:


#2  Government 'loans' (or investments as they are referred to) will cover Ford's losses. The loans will obviously be forgiven.
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/30/2023 7:21 Comments || Top||

#3  Never mind that there is no "government money," only money the gummint has coercively extracted from the taxpayer. "Printed" money can just be considered a tax on as yet unborn taxpayers.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 07/30/2023 7:25 Comments || Top||

#4  /\ No greater, or more painful truth.
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/30/2023 7:27 Comments || Top||


#6  Anywhere you could be stranded in too hot or too cold conditions with no ride passing by or shelter withing walking distance, an EV could get you killed.

The policy makers for the most part never leave the safe parts of their beloved urban enclaves. They know nothing of Death Valley in August or the middle of nowhere on the Kansas prairie in February.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 07/30/2023 8:08 Comments || Top||

#7  ..or the middle of nowhere on the Kansas prairie in February.

I was thinking most anywhere in Wyoming or the rural Dakotas (areas NOT near the Interstates) in December-March. To be fair, some of the small town do have one or two chargers for public use...if they're operational that is.

Northwestern Colorado or a good portion of Montana springs to mind, too.

What they don't talk about is the need for owners to install a 50-60 ampere 240-volt charging station (they say 30 ampere minimum, but the newer 'long distance' EVs require at least 50A chargers). Kind of tough if your older home has only a 60-100 ampere electrical service. Charge your vehicle or run your freezer.
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 07/30/2023 8:55 Comments || Top||

#8  #2 Yep. The modern consumer is the antecedent to the new and glorious Gummint Customer.
Posted by: Rex Mundi || 07/30/2023 10:15 Comments || Top||

#9  A few years ago, IIRC, there was a blizzard the DC area, stranding motorists on I-95 for 20-30 hours. I recall several stories about how EV owners suffered compared t fossil fueled vehicles.
Posted by: Bobby || 07/30/2023 11:54 Comments || Top||

#10  "It's the wave of the future."
The future does not look good.
Posted by: ed in texas || 07/30/2023 13:41 Comments || Top||

#11 
Posted by: M. Murcek || 07/30/2023 13:48 Comments || Top||

#12  California is using portable deisel generators to charge electric trucks.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 07/30/2023 14:07 Comments || Top||

#13  How many of these 50-60+ Amp chargers will a residential neighborhood's electrical network be able to support? How many charges per day? The 'EV Revolution' requires a rebuilding of the electrical infrastructure (many, many $dollars$) -OR- strangling the 'American Dream' of private car ownership ...which one do you think the elites will opt for?
Posted by: magpie || 07/30/2023 18:38 Comments || Top||


Not one student at LeBron's 'I Promise' school has passed the state's basic math test in over 3 years
[BLAZE] LeBron James established the "I Promise School" in 2018 to help educate "at-risk" students. However, not one of the students at the NBA star's school in Akron passed Ohio's state math test, according to a new report.
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/30/2023 04:39 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [9 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Neither dreaming of flight nor flapping of my arms has achieved liftoff. Shall I blame "systemic racism" for my failure?"
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/30/2023 4:45 Comments || Top||

#2  So you think the laws of physics are the reason?

No one is talking about the 'epidemic of fatherlessness': Larry Elder
Posted by: Skidmark || 07/30/2023 6:13 Comments || Top||

#3  /\ So you think the laws of physics are the reason?

Yes, fatherhood and genetics as well. You may love the game of football but you will never be a good receiver if you cannot run, and run well.

Pablo Picasso is known as the father of Cubism, one of the most influential visual art styles of the early twentieth century. Most art styles have a 'father' of some sort which others copy. Colton said "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" but it is much more. It is how we learn and grow.

Posted by: Besoeker || 07/30/2023 6:49 Comments || Top||

#4  ...Although in principle I certainly approved of and supported Mr. James' efforts to teach Akron kids, there were a couple things wrong with the plan from the beginning.

I was a USAF Recruiter in Akron 89-93. One of my schools was St. Vincent - St. Mary's, which is where LeBron attended. His mother worked two jobs to be able to send him there, and SVSM was known THEN as someplace where you went to be the best. His knowledge of school is of a place where you had engaged, caring, and mostly married parents working together with motivated, well-trained, and capable teachers - the absolute opposite of 80% of the students in Akron Public Schools.

And then there's the Akron NAACP and Urban League. Instead of advocating for the kids marooned in those schools, they have NO, repeat NO interest in doing anything other than fundraising and - bluntly - influence peddling. To pull a single child out of that hole reduces their influence by that much, and they have no intention of letting that happen. Akron Public Schools are just as complicit - like most large public school systems anymore, they exist to funnel money to administrators, not teach kids.

The kids that IPS have to work with are mostly lost when they walk in the door. At least he tried, which is more than one can say about the institutions that were supposed to do the job in the first place.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 07/30/2023 7:17 Comments || Top||

#5  "Just throw money (and get a celebrity name associated with your cause) and everything will be great." is basically a cargo cult outlook.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 07/30/2023 7:20 Comments || Top||

#6  Someone needs to study why it is that "taxpayer dollars" never seem to help any effort as much as "private money does."

I think Milton Freidman had an idea on the matter.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 07/30/2023 7:22 Comments || Top||

#7  Ref #4: Thanks for sharing Mike. Saving just one is perhaps worth the effort.

Sir Alexander Fleming, FRS, FRSE, FRCS, was a Scottish physician and microbiologist. Had he not been born and gained an education, would we now have penicillin ?
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/30/2023 7:23 Comments || Top||

#8  And those state lotteries...LMAO...monies supposed to go to schools and....
Posted by: DooDahMan || 07/30/2023 8:21 Comments || Top||

#9  I have not read up on the implementation or structuring of the 'I Promise School', but somewhere back in my mind I see a Public Teachers Union (and Public School Administration) that might have been severely offended about a system that might work and take pupils (and power) away from themselves. Why do I smell sabotage?

How many of this school's teachers and administration staff were selected from the existing local pool of 'experience'?

Keep in mind that 'power' is something so addictive that some folks might do anything to retain it. If it means scuttling the future of our young people, so be it.
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 07/30/2023 8:36 Comments || Top||

#10  Randi Weingarten, any comment?
Posted by: DooDahMan || 07/30/2023 8:38 Comments || Top||

#11  My father worked with Akron and East Cleveland students as part of an Upward Bound program back in the day. When the kids escape those school systems, they perform at or better than grade level.
Posted by: Super Hose || 07/30/2023 10:38 Comments || Top||

#12  ...not one of the students at the NBA star's school in Akron passed Ohio's state math test

Equity!!
Posted by: Procopius2k || 07/30/2023 14:43 Comments || Top||

#13  Wanna bet the "NBA star" couldn't pass that test either?
Posted by: M. Murcek || 07/30/2023 14:53 Comments || Top||


-Short Attention Span Theater-
Coast Guard needs stockpiles of food, water for emergencies, report finds
[JustTheNews] Coast Guard officials are taking steps to address the issue.

Some Coast Guard field units called on to respond to natural disasters and other emergencies don't have stockpiles of food and water in case of emergencies, according to a new report.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office report found that while Coast Guard field personnel serve as first responders for natural and human-made disasters, "agency policies about maintaining emergency food and water for field personnel are unclear."

"Without emergency food and water on hand, these units may become disaster victims themselves – making it harder to help others," according to the report.

For example, Coast Guard disaster preparedness policies do not identify a clear requirement for field units to maintain emergency food and water for their personnel, the report found. The U.S. Government Accountability Office surveyed 32 Coast Guard field units. Twenty reported they did not maintain emergency food and water supplies.

"Field personnel we met with or surveyed said they did not believe agency policy required their unit to maintain these supplies, or they were unsure about the policy," according to the report. "In addition, agency policies and procedures about procuring emergency food and water are unclear and incomplete. This has resulted in confusion among personnel at several levels of Coast Guard field operations."

One of the problems is that another Coast Guard policy prohibits buying bottled water under many circumstances, according to the report. Funding, staffing and storage also were identified as potential challenges to building and keeping emergency food and water supplies.

U.S. Government Accountability Office recommended the Coast Guard adopt clearer "policies and procedures about obtaining and maintaining emergency food and water could enhance field unit disaster preparedness."

Coast Guard officials are taking steps to address the issue.

"Officials from the Coast Guard's Financial Management Policy Division, who are responsible for managing the Financial Resource Management Manual, acknowledged that the manual did not fully reflect what field units are allowed to purchase and how to obtain approval," according to the report. "They also agreed that Coast Guard policies and procedures should be clarified and cross-referenced across manuals, where appropriate."
Posted by: Skidmark || 07/30/2023 08:04 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Why duplicate the FEMA role, unless you are just talking about local self-support which is what it seems to imply.
Posted by: NoMoreBS || 07/30/2023 19:00 Comments || Top||


Tear-jerking moment overjoyed toddler, 3, rushes to see his beloved grandpa after he returns to Louisiana from Dubai work trip
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news]
  • Sandra Merry Lemoine, 53, filmed the special moment between her grandson Bennett, 3, and her husband Terrell, 52, and posted the video to TikTok on July 24

  • In the 9 second clip, viewed 3M times, Bennett can be seen bounding toward his grandfather before screaming 'I'm coming papa' leaving witnesses emotional

  • Sandra and Terrell live in Louisiana - however the 52-year-old works for an oil company on the water overseas and had been gone for the past two months
Posted by: Skidmark || 07/30/2023 00:26 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [9 views] Top|| File under:


The Russian daredevil who helped to build America's nuclear weapon
[Russia Beyond] U.S. Colonel Boris Pash (1900 — 1995) was a typical 20th-century American ’badass’ — he hated the communists’ guts, took German cities almost single handedly in WWII and captured the Nazis’ nuclear energy resources. And he was Russian.

A wartime chronicle of 1945 shows a group of American and British soldiers, smiling and waving hands, as they advance eastward from liberated France towards the German cities. They belonged to a very specific unit — the joint U.S.-UK ’Alsos Mission’ team, whose aim was to get their hands on Germany’s atomic secrets before the Soviets, for the sake of American and British nuclear programs. And Alsos Mission was a huge success.

"The captured uranium, the documents and the scientists were worth their weight in gold for the Manhattan Project and for the future Cold War," explains British WWII historian Mark Felton in the documentaryHunting Heisenberg: Capturing Germany’s Atomic Secrets.
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/30/2023 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Felton’s videos are well done.
Posted by: Super Hose || 07/30/2023 10:44 Comments || Top||


-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
Follow Up Details on the Secret Fresno Chinese BioLab-Additionally they found 900 genetically engineered mice, engineered to catch and carry COVID-19,
Posted by: NoMoreBS || 07/30/2023 11:36 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11 views] Top|| File under: Commies

#1  The secret Chinese Bio=agent lab discovered in Reedley, California is a bigger problem than most understand. Reedley is approx 40 miles from NAS Lemore, home of the US Navy ‘s West coast F-18 Hornets.


https://twitter.com/Jkylebass/status/1685349443283881984
Posted by: NoMoreBS || 07/30/2023 15:17 Comments || Top||

#2  I am suspicious of the assertion that the mice were genetically modified to carry Covid.
Posted by: Super Hose || 07/30/2023 16:00 Comments || Top||

#3  It's the author's assertion, but the 20+ known pathogens and the location to population centers, food supplies, the LeMoore base and just the surreptitious nature of its creation are cause for alarm for me.
Posted by: NoMoreBS || 07/30/2023 16:39 Comments || Top||

#4  That vicinity of the world is not someplace that you end up by accident. Most Navy personnel avoid orders to that base. Prices are high and it is very isolated.
Posted by: Super Hose || 07/30/2023 17:23 Comments || Top||


-War on Police-
Colorado sheriff's office releases bodycam footage of man being struck by SUV after being tased by deputy
Posted by: Skidmark || 07/30/2023 06:49 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [9 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Saw the video yesterday, there's gonna be alot of paperwork on that deal.
Posted by: Chris || 07/30/2023 8:46 Comments || Top||

#2  I had a father. He once said - do what the officer says. He said I could be right but dead right. Period.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 07/30/2023 12:05 Comments || Top||


Caribbean-Latin America
State Department orders U.S. personnel to evacuate Haiti
[JustTheNews] The U.S. State Department ordered all government personnel to evacuate the Caribbean nation of Haiti amid a significant rise in gang violence and domestic turmoil.

The embassy in Port-au-Prince announced a "Do Not Travel" order, citing heightened risk of kidnapping. Non-emergency government personnel were also ordered to leave the country.

"Do not travel to Haiti due to kidnapping, crime, civil unrest, and poor health care infrastructure," the warning reads. "On July 27, 2023, the Department of State ordered the departure of family members of U.S. government employees and non-emergency U.S. government employees."

"U.S. citizens in Haiti should depart Haiti as soon as possible by commercial or other privately available transportation options, in light of the current security situation and infrastructure challenges. U.S. citizens wishing to depart Port-au-Prince should monitor local news and only do so when considered safe," it continued.

The embassy further warned that the U.S. government could only offer "extremely limited" assistance and that remaining government personnel were prohibited from leaving the area around the embassy. They further may not use public transportation or taxis, visit banks or use ATMs, drive at night, or travel anywhere without authorization.
Posted by: Skidmark || 07/30/2023 08:06 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11 views] Top|| File under:


Economy
Yellow lays off huge swath of workers as embattled 99 year-old trucking firm teeters on brink of bankruptcy
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] Good job killing the goose that laid the golden eggs, Teamsters.
  • Yellow made massive layoffs on Friday and is reportedly weighing bankruptcy

  • The trucking company narrowly averted Teamster strike earlier this week

  • Company faces cash crunch and could filed for bankruptcy as soon as Monday
Posted by: Skidmark || 07/30/2023 00:32 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [9 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Flashback to Hostess and the union that put into closing and bankruptcy.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 07/30/2023 8:33 Comments || Top||

#2  Eventually the parasite grows so large that it overwhelms the host.
Posted by: ed in texas || 07/30/2023 8:35 Comments || Top||

#3  Big Labor™ at its ugliest: "Hey, UPS, give us all we want or we will bankrupt you like Yellow!" ...Of course all the employees at the defunct company are just 'collateral damage'. IMO, Big Labor™ is just as rapacious and evil as Big Business™ except that the union management doesn't seem to care how many dues paying workers they deny a payroll to with their tactics ...the management has a business to run and products it has to sell.
Posted by: magpie || 07/30/2023 10:31 Comments || Top||

#4  Wonder why GM builds 70% of its cars in China?

Why businesses went to Mexico?

Why people don't have conferences with a normal slide show in Philadelphia because of union rules?

Why fast-food joints are going to automated kiosks versus paying $15/hour?

We do it to ourselves.
Posted by: DooDahMan || 07/30/2023 10:59 Comments || Top||

#5  Wonder why Union has a hard time winning votes in southern factories, the ones that were built or moved out of Union states.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 07/30/2023 12:07 Comments || Top||

#6  In a graduate school business class someone who was described as a senior exec at GM was quoted as saying: "GM is a pension and healthcare company that builds cars."
Posted by: NoMoreBS || 07/30/2023 12:57 Comments || Top||

#7  Why people don't have conferences with a normal slide show in Philadelphia because of union rules?

Come to McCormick Place in Chicago and try to plug in an extension cord or power strip to a a wall or floor outlet.
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 07/30/2023 14:08 Comments || Top||

#8  Oh, how I loved being given instruction on how to behave in the paste up room at the newspaper. Hands in pockets. If I touched anything it could trigger a grievance from the pressmen's union.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 07/30/2023 14:26 Comments || Top||


International-UN-NGOs
United Nations facing ‘crippling funding crisis’
Does this mean they’ll be cutting back on white Toyota SUVs?
[AMUtv] The United Nations
...where theory meets practice and practice loses...
is facing a "crippling funding crisis" that has forced it to cut food, cash payments, and assistance to millions of people in many countries.

Carl Skau, Deputy Executive Director of the World Food Program (WFP), said Friday that the organization has been forced to cut or plans to cut assistance soon in at least 38 of the 86 countries it supports — including Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of...
, and West Africa.

The WFP’s operating requirement is $20 billion to provide aid to everyone in need, but it has only received around $5 billion so far this year, far below its target.

Skau pointed out that humanitarian needs have surged due to the COVID-19 pandemic, conflicts like the war in Ukraine, climate change, food price inflation, and global economic challenges.

He warned that funding shortages could worsen the situation, making 2024 even more dire.

"The largest food and nutrition crisis in history today persists...This year, 345 million people continue to be acutely food insecure while hundreds of millions of people are at risk of worsening hunger," Skau said.

Skau emphasized that conflict, insecurity, climate change, disasters, food price inflation, and debt stress are the primary drivers of acute hunger worldwide.

The WFP is seeking to diversify its funding sources but urged traditional donors to step up and support the agency during this challenging time.

The lack of funding has already resulted in drastic cuts to food rations in various regions. For instance, in Afghanistan, WFP had to reduce rations from 75 percent to 50 percent for communities facing emergency levels of hunger.

Skau said that in May WFP was forced to cut food for 8 million people — 66 percent of the people it was assisting — and now, it is helping just 5 million people in Afghanistan.

In Syria, 5.5 million people who relied on WFP for food were already on 50 percent rations, and this was further cut to 2.5 million people in July.

In Yemen, the WFP is facing a huge funding gap that will force it to cut aid to 7 million people as early as August.

Skau warned that ration cuts are not a sustainable solution and could lead to a worsening humanitarian emergency in the future.

He urged world leaders to prioritize humanitarian funding and invest in long-term solutions to conflicts, poverty, development, and other root causes of the current crisis.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/30/2023 03:55 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [7 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "Crippled" are they? Cutting assistance to Afghanistan, Syria, and Yemen ?

A utilitarian approach to the treatment of medical trauma generally directs that care be given those most likely to benefit the most from it. Endlessly attempting to resuscitate the dead denies assistance to the living.
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/30/2023 4:34 Comments || Top||

#2  Since the USA IS THE BIGGEST donor already now.
How about an independant audit on where and how the USA Donated $21 +/-Billon is being spent or pocketed first?
Posted by: NN2N1 || 07/30/2023 5:44 Comments || Top||

#3  UN bodies receive millions from ‘terror charities’ - opinion
Posted by: Skidmark || 07/30/2023 7:37 Comments || Top||

#4  Crippled = a moderate decline in anticipated revenue.
Posted by: Rex Mundi || 07/30/2023 10:27 Comments || Top||

#5  Translation-Biden is in the final stages of looting the Treasury before he does Woodrow Wilsom REDUX and we want in on it, even though we are late to the party!
Posted by: NoMoreBS || 07/30/2023 11:56 Comments || Top||

#6  Services to be cut but no layoffs. Dead wood prioritized over hungry people.
Posted by: Super Hose || 07/30/2023 13:43 Comments || Top||


Science & Technology
The US Mutant Missile Designed to Annihilate Any Aerial Threat


In the skies above a distant battlefield, an unprecedented encounter unfolds. A sleek, sixth-generation stealth jet armed with the US Air Force’s latest weapon, the MUTANT missile, closes in on an elusive and highly maneuverable enemy aircraft.

The pilot’s heart races as he locks onto his target, aware that traditional air-to-air combat tactics are futile against such an adversary.

But the MUTANT missile is no ordinary weapon. Born from decades of research and cutting-edge technology, it has an ace up its sleeve—an articulating nose that bends and twists to track its target with unwavering precision. With a heart-stopping roar, the missile leaves its launch rail, and the chase begins.

The enemy aircraft twists and turns, attempting to evade the relentless pursuit. However, the MUTANT missile’s morphs are shaped mid-flight, a feat that gives the projectile extraordinary agility.

Onlookers at the 2023 Air and Space Forces Association’s Warfare Symposium gasp in awe as the enemy aircraft makes one final desperate maneuver and the MUTANT missile strikes. A brilliant flash lights the sky, and air-to-air combat is forever changed...
Posted by: DarthVader || 07/30/2023 14:38 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [16 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I'm sure Joe can provide the specs to China for a price.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 07/30/2023 16:42 Comments || Top||

#2  P2K, if he hasn't already.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 07/30/2023 16:49 Comments || Top||

#3  It’s design was inspired by some of Hunter’s videography.
Posted by: Super Hose || 07/30/2023 17:26 Comments || Top||


Oil Field Bandwheel Central 'Power' (video)
[YouTube] Many of these 'powers' were operated by natural gas from a wellhead. Rod lines running out into the field operated pump jacks. A sort of perpetual motion machine. Few remain in operation today. 'Technology' from a bygone era.
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/30/2023 07:35 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11 views] Top|| File under:


Breakthrough prosthetic fingers revolutionize the lives of amputees
Posted by: Skidmark || 07/30/2023 06:55 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Can I order one to give to the govermennt?
Posted by: Classer || 07/30/2023 17:10 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Islamic Iran is engulfed by sex tape scandal: Senior regime official is suspended after video is leaked 'showing him having sex with a man'
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news]
  • Iran official in charge or promoting Islamic values suspended after sex tape leak

  • Video shows a man alleged to Reza Tsaghati him having sex with another man

However the identities of the two men in the video and its authenticity have not been verified, the BBC reports.

Iran is an Islamic nation where homosexuality is illegal, carrying a potential death sentence, and LGBT+ people face constant threats of abuse, harassment and violence.

Mr Tsaghati has reportedly been suspended from his position pending an investigation by the authorities - and the government have denied any prior knowledge of his alleged behaviour.
Posted by: Skidmark || 07/30/2023 00:42 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [15 views] Top|| File under:

#1 
Posted by: DarthVader || 07/30/2023 1:41 Comments || Top||

#2  That would get him a senior posting in the Brandon administration.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 07/30/2023 8:15 Comments || Top||

#3  Probably time to feel free to move about somebody else’s country.
Posted by: Super Hose || 07/30/2023 10:40 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
33[untagged]
11Taliban/IEA
3Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (al-Nusra)
3al-Shabaab (AQ)
2Tin Hat Dictators, Presidents for Life, & Kleptocrats
2Commies
2Govt of Iraq
2Hezbollah
2Islamic State
1Pak Taliban (TTP)
1Sublime Porte
1[untagged]
1Antifa/BLM
1Boko Haram (ISIS)
1Govt of Iran
1Govt of Pakistain Proxies
1Govt of Pakistan
1Houthis
1Migrants/Illegal Immigrants
1Narcos

Bookmark
E-Mail Me

The Classics
The O Club
Rantburg Store
The Bloids
The Never-ending Story
Thugburg
Gulf War I
The Way We Were
Bio

Merry-Go-Blog











On Sale now!


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.
Click here for more information

Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
Steve White
Seafarious
tu3031
badanov
sherry
ryuge
GolfBravoUSMC
Bright Pebbles
trailing wife
Gloria
Fred
Besoeker
Glenmore
Frank G
3dc
Skidmark

Two weeks of WOT
Sun 2023-07-30
  European Union Suspends Financial, Security Aid To Niger Republic
Sat 2023-07-29
  Niger coup leader calls for 'calm, vigilance and patriotism' in address to nation
Fri 2023-07-28
  Suspect in infamous ISIS massacre arrested in Sulaimani
Thu 2023-07-27
  Over 60 Al-Shabaab militants killed in joint op by SNA supported by local residents at El-Dhun Adegow in Bay region
Wed 2023-07-26
  Judge rejects Hunter Biden plea deal
Tue 2023-07-25
  Iraqi Court Hands Life Sentence to Former ISIS 'Military Police' Member
Mon 2023-07-24
  Kenya: Is 60% of Mandera under Al-Shabaab control?
Sun 2023-07-23
  Surprise! ‘Mohammed' is The Most Common Name Amongst Arrested ‘French' Rioters.
Sat 2023-07-22
  Sudanese army strikes RSF troops in Khartoum and North Kordofan
Fri 2023-07-21
  Iraqi protesters set fire to Swedish embassy in Baghdad, 20 arrested, Iraq severs diplomatic relations with Sweden
Thu 2023-07-20
  More than 700 sentenced to prison over French riots
Wed 2023-07-19
  Lebanon judge seizes central bank chief's properties
Tue 2023-07-18
  Gunmen Kill 10, Injure Two In Terrorised Northwest Cameroon
Mon 2023-07-17
  At least 18 Al-Shabaab members killed in Danab force operation
Sun 2023-07-16
  Lebanese lawmaker leads group across Israeli border; IDF fires warning shots

Better than the average link...



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.
18.222.121.79
Help keep the Burg running! Paypal:
WoT Operations (24)    WoT Background (12)    Opinion (10)    Local News (8)    Politix (1)