#2
Lost accountability. Academics. Next you're going to tell me when observations don't match their estimated mathematical models they throw the data out too.
[REUTERS] Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk said on Wednesday an accident had occurred at the Zaporizhye nuclear power plant (NPP) in south-east Ukraine and called on the energy minister to hold a news conference. Been dere, done dat.
"I know that an accident has occurred at the Chernobyl Zaporizhye NPP," Yatseniuk said, asking new energy minister Volodymyr Demchyshyn to make clear when the problem would be resolved and what steps would be taken to restore normal power supply across Ukraine.
News agency Interfax Ukraine said the problem had occurred at bloc No 3 - a 1,000-megawatt reactor - and the resulting lack of output had worsened the power crisis in the country. Interfax added that the bloc was expected to come back on stream on Dec. 5.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/04/2014 00:00 ||
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#3
Remember that all the nuclear facilities in the Ukraine were built by the Russians. Remember that Russian Technicians caused Chernobyl. The Ukrainians could probably do better, and eventually will -- if they survive.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/04/2014 14:31 Comments ||
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[EAGNEWS.ORG] ABERDARE, Wales -- Santa Claus wasn't thinking of appearances when he left a recent Christmas parade.
It turned out Father Christmas needed a ride home after the parade and the local police agreed to give him a lift -- in the back of the riot van. "Into th' paddy wagon wit' yez!"
"Ho ho ho!"
"Police officers said they were helping Santa Claus to get back to the North Pole as he had a 'busy month ahead of him,'" the South Wales Evening Post reports, but children weren't buying it. "YOUSE LIE!"
After all, Santa was there with his reindeer.
"There were a lot tears -- people couldn't believe it actually happened. My four-year-old cousin started crying saying, 'Santa can't bring me toys now,'" parent Jade Hughes says.
"It was a fantastic event until a police van reversed the whole length of Market Street and took Santa away.
"It left a lot children upset because they thought he had been nabbed Drop the rosco, Santa, or you're one with the ages!
"You'll never take me alive, coppers!" . There was a lot of very upset kids thinking Santa wouldn?t be around for them," she tells Wales Online.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/04/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
"Stop resisting!"
"Ho Ho Ho"
Draws Taser "Stop resisting!" fires Taser
"Ho Ho Yeoow"
Someone just made it on to the 'naughty' list.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
12/04/2014 7:57 Comments ||
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#2
Had a little too much Christmas cheer to drive his sled?
For a map, click here. You can enlarge the map, if you open it separately.
By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com
The ceasefire agreement announced in Donetsk two days ago appears to have been violated as Ukrainian, Russian, non-government organization observers and politicians from the breakaway region of Novorossiya work to end the fighting according to Russian, Ukrainian and English language news reports.
The ceasefire agreement reached two days ago was intended to end the nearly constant fighting for the Donetsk airport, and shelling in Donetsk city, and was to have come into force December 3nd.
But according to Donbas rebel media and other news outlets, Ukrainian artillery units continue to shell parts of Donetsk city, injuring civilians and damaging residential and commercial buildings.
According to the pro Donbas rebel Voice of Sevastopol, Ukrainian artillery stationed at the Donetsk suburbs of Peski and Avendeyevka struck the Donetsk city districts of Azotny, Petrovka, Oktyabrsky, Putilovka with artillery fire.
Rebels also claim that a total of 14 civilians were killed in an artillery strike in nearby Komsomolsk as, according to the Voice of Sevastopol news outlet report, a 220mm "Urugan" artillery strike hit several civilian buildings.
Ukrainian mortar units are said to have hit Kievsky, Putilovka, Scheglovka, Kuibyshevsky and Petrovka districts in Donetsk city.
Rebel artillery units struck back at Ukrainian army targets, but no casualty counts have emerged.
According to the OSCE, an observer team near that location was told that despite artillery hitting residential areas, no casualties were reported.
According to vesti-ukr.ru news website, truce talks took place in central Donetsk city at the Park Inn Hotel on Monday, shrouded in secrecy as to who participated in the negotiations.
According to a quote from the head of the Donetsk national security council, Andrew Purgin, that meeting was where the ceasefire agreement was officially announced two days ago.
According to the vestui-ukr.ru article, an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) observer team had just completed a tour of the airport area as the agreement was announced.
A Ukrainian Army press spokesman identified as Vladislav Seleznev said that as soon as the team left the airport shelling resumed.
One of the reasons given for the Donetsk city ceasefire in Monday's announcement was to end the fighting at the airport, which had been costly for both sides. According to the vesti-ukr.ru article, rebel commanders complained that the new ceasefire agreement interfered with their operations to take the airport, and that they were forced to retreat from the area of operation before their operations were completed.
It is unclear at this moment how Ukrainian and Russian officials intend to enforce the ceasefire. According to Russian press, Tuesday a Russian military official threatened to withhold or delay Russian humanitarian relief efforts if the rebels did not stop fighting.
Rebel commanders and politicians have complained since the implementation of the Minsk ceasefire agreement that the line of demarcation was hastily drawn and ill thought out, as it left a large part of western Donetsk city in Ukrainian hands.
Donetsk city is the capital city of the nascent Donetsk republic.
Two months before, however, Ukrainian military officials offered to withdraw from the western suburbs of Donetsk city, if the rebels withdrew from areas around the Sea of Azov port city of Mariupol. The rebels passed on the offer, instead opting to make a two month long campaign of taking areas in and around Donetsk city held by Ukrainian military units.
According to data supplied by the OSCE website, a total of 79 violations of the ceasefire occurred in Donetsk oblast (province). An OSCE UAV drone was fired on by, presumably rebel 23mm AAA a few kilometers north of Mariupol.
The new ceasefire agreement around Donetsk city did not hold as of December 3rd, and likely will not hold despite the best efforts -- and threats -- of the Russians and Ukrainians.
Preparations for the Lugansk ceasefire
Russian, Ukrainian, OSCE and Lugansk officials held more talks Wednesday, intending to fully implement a ceasefire, especially in northern Lugansk where in recent weeks the fighting has been steadily intensifying.
Tuesday, according to a rebel news account, a six man Ukrainian strike team was eliminated by rebel units as it attempted to set explosive charges on the bridge of the Northern Donetsk river near Stanitsa Luganskaya.
The battles at Stanitsa Luganskaya have been intensifying as well, as rebel units sought to force a crossing and force Ukrainian army units from the town. Instead, Ukrainian military units held fast to the northern parts of the city, using their artillery to pound rebel positions to the south and southeast.
Meanwhile, near the highway T1303, pro rebel Cossack mortar teams shelled Ukrainian checkpoint 29. No casualties were reported.
Ukrainian military units said that rebel artillery attacks were recorded all along the T1303 area including at Sokolniki, Krimskoye, Donetsky and Tryokhizbyonka.
Chris Covert writes about foreign military issues for Rantburg.com. He can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com. You can read past articles about the 2014 war in southeastern Ukraina by clicking here.
Russia's Ministry of Defense has unveiled plans to acquire more than 150 new aircraft and helicopters in 2015 as part of plans to bolster and modernize the country's Air Force.
Col. Igor Klimov, the spokesman for the Russian Air Force, told local news agency ITAR-TASS that, in the forthcoming year, the Air Force will focus its efforts on strengthening its military presence in the Arctic.
Under the plan, the new aircraft will include Sukhoi Su-34 bombers, Su-30SM and Su-35S fighters, Kamov Ka-52, Ka-226, Mil Mi-8AMTSh, Mi-28N and Mi-35 helos, Yakovlev Yak-130 advanced jet trainers, as well as Ilyushin Il-76MD-90 transport aircraft.
The Russian Air Force will also acquire new Nebo-M, Gamma and Sopka radars to boost its air surveillance capacity, Klimov said.
The latest announcement follows the recent establishment of the Arctic Strategic Command by Russia's Defense Ministry.
In April, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the Arctic has traditionally been a sphere of "special interest" to Moscow.
"It is a concentration of practically all aspects of national security -- military, political, economic, technological, environmental," Putin said April 22 at an expanded meeting of the country's Security Council.
#1
In April, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the Arctic has traditionally been a sphere of "special interest" to Moscow.
"3rd holiest place in Communism"
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/04/2014 9:07 Comments ||
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#2
I notice that almost ALL of the "new, advanced" aircraft are either new models of existing aircraft, or enhancements to older models. Not a lot "new" there. Same for the radars.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/04/2014 14:34 Comments ||
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[WashingtonPost] In a measure of the dramatically reshaped relations between Russia and the West, Russian President Vladimir Putin ...Second and fourth President and sixth of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead... on Monday scrapped plans for a major new natural gas pipeline to Europe, a surprise decision that came as the ruble slumped to an all-time low against the dollar.
The move deprives the Kremlin of a tool that would have increased Russian political influence over southeastern Europe and detoured natural gas around Ukraine, leaving it more vulnerable to Russia. Putin?s decision came after European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... leaders intensified their opposition to the plans because of the grinding conflict in Ukraine.
Putin said Russia would build a smaller pipeline to Turkey instead of the bigger project, for which construction started two years ago, to funnel large quantities of Russian gas underneath the Black Sea to Europe. The cancellation appeared to end an era, at least for now, in which Russia pursued grand, expensive infrastructure projects in Europe that gave it political clout through energy supplies. The decision follows a drop in the price of oil by more than 30 percent since the summer, starving Russia of revenue and forcing it to curtail its economic ambitions.
#1
So Vlad decides to double down on the Blue Stream project, throw a bone (and incentive) to Erdogan, and outflank Caucasus "issues" (he still has hopes to get his foot in the door in Kurdistan).
So he hammers Grozny to motivate a problem area, and create an avenue towards Armenia and Nagorny. This would give him the 'back door' to the Kurds. The deal with Turkey will give him Black Sea security, both for pipelines and Fleet usage (think Crimea), and improve access to the Med.
Look for the Turks to double down in Cypress (Russian banking conduit).
Posted by: ed in texas ||
12/04/2014 7:44 Comments ||
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#3
No law restricting foreign sale of natural gas on the books here. Seems like a good opportunity to create jobs in the expansion or building of NG terminals. Shovel ready jobs so to speak.
An Oncue Express station in Oklahoma City was selling the motor fuel for $1.99 a gallon today, becoming the first one to drop below $2 in the U.S. since July 30, 2010, Patrick DeHaan, a senior petroleum analyst at GasBuddy Organization Inc., said by e-mail from Chicago.
?We knew when we saw crude oil prices drop last week that we?d break the $2 threshold pretty soon, but we didn?t know if it would happen in South Carolina, Texas, Missouri or Oklahoma,? said DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy. ?Today?s national average, $2.74, now makes the current price we pay a whopping 51 cents per gallon less than what we paid a year ago.?
Posted by: Fred ||
12/04/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
Wake me up when it gets back to 99 cents, you'll have a story then.
#2
Likely a flash in the pan, but we should enjoy it while we can. I don't see other energy related goods & services moving downward much. When my Castrol rolls back to $2.50 per quart, call me.
Two dollars in 2014 would be .25 cents in 1960 or 1.45 in 2000.
Call me when the best and brightest economists quit 'economically easing' their buddies on Wall Street and in the investment houses at everyone else's expense by printing money without backing (as in increased productivity).
I remember filling up with gasoline in 1960 for 25 cents a gallon. Boy, those were the good old days! To adjust that for the change in the Consumer Price Index since 1960, I multiply by eight and get $2 a gallon in today's prices — still quite a bit less than today's $3.80 a gallon. Price of gasoline was worse in 1960 | News OK
newsok.com/price-of-gasoline-was-worse...1960/.../365737...
The Oklahoman
#8
Using the inflation calculator - Two dollars in 2014 would be .25 cents in 1960 or 1.45 in 2000.
In either 1975 or 1976 gas stations in my town were having a gas price war one weekend. When the price of gas dropped to .17 cents a gallon, the owner of my self serv station made me start washing windshields that weekend to get people to come to his station instead of the other self servs. Small town gas wars back in the day were vicious, but drivers loved them.
[TELEGRAPH.CO.UK] Daniel Anrig will no longer serve as commandant of Pontiff's private army after Pope Francis is rumoured to prefer a 'less military' approach to security
Posted by: Fred ||
12/04/2014 00:00 ||
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Pope Francis is rumoured to prefer a 'less military' approach to security
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/04/2014 9:06 Comments ||
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Not necessarily. Done in by a raging Muslim fanatic (there are a few around these days) probably would result in a real Crusade (officially or unofficially approved). Deus vult.
Washington — A deal struck by Congress late Tuesday will save more than 20 A-10 planes at Selfridge Air National Guard base — despite a Pentagon plan to retire the planes.
Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township is home to 21 A-10 aircraft, said Sen. Carl Levin, D-Detroit, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Under the deal announced Wednesday, the Pentagon couldn’t get rid of the planes but could reduce flying time.
In February, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel announced plans to retire the entire A-10 fleet of aircraft, including all of the planes at the base in Harrison Township.
“The bill would allow a reduction in active duty A-10 flying hours under limited circumstances. In particular, if the secretary of Defense, after receiving an independent review by the Director of the office of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation, determines that it would be necessary to avoid unacceptable reductions in readiness or unacceptable delays in the F-35 activation program, he may authorize the Air Force to reduce flying hours for active-duty A-10s by placing up to 36 aircraft on “backup flying status” for the duration of the year,” Levin said.
#1
Move them and their resources and their authorizations over to the Army. The slight of hand is so much easier as they're already National Guard (ie Federal Militia class per Title X USC, para 311, Militia).
#2
Agree P2K...as my moniker might imply...a big fan of this airframe. Here in Boise, I see them flying around occasionally from Gowen field as well as what look to be F-16s from Mountain Home. A10...The most beautiful ugly plane you'll ever see...
#5
Yeah, Grumman made some fugly planes, but they were purpose-built and seemed to do the job they were intended for. There is something to be said for that. None of this one size fits all, it's a CAS plane, it's an interceptor, it's a strategic bomber, it's a zeppelin crap.
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.
[REUTERS] Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk said on Wednesday an accident had occurred at the Zaporizhye nuclear power plant (NPP) in south-east Ukraine and called on the energy minister to hold a news conference.
[EAGNEWS.ORG] ABERDARE, Wales -- Santa Claus wasn't thinking of appearances when he left a recent Christmas parade.
Russia's Ministry of Defense has unveiled plans to acquire more than 150 new aircraft and helicopters in 2015 as part of plans to bolster and modernize the country's Air Force.
...Second and fourth President and sixth of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead...
[BLOOMBERG] $2 gasoline is back in the U.S.
Washington — A deal struck by Congress late Tuesday will save more than 20 A-10 planes at Selfridge Air National Guard base — despite a Pentagon plan to retire the planes.
