The Eternal Genius Of The Spotless Mind

Don Rumsfeld, who may not be known for reflecting upon his own mistakes, is colorful in pointing out those made by others:

(CNSNews.com) - Donald Rumsfeld, who served as U.S. Defense Secretary under President George W. Bush, blames poor diplomacy by the Obama administration for the current strained relations with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

"Our relationship with Karzai and with Afghanistan was absolutely first-rate in the Bush administration," Rumsfeld told Fox News's Greta Van Susteren on Monday. "It has gone down hill like a toboggan ever since the Obama administration came in."

Is Rumsfeld suggesting that (here we go...) Obama is a luger? Speaking of heading downhill, the other Donald continued:

The U.S. has status of forces agreements with more than a hundred countries, Rumsfeld noted. "A trained ape can get a status of forces agreement," he said. "It does not take a genius. And we have so mismanaged that relationship."

"Trained ape" can't be the way he wants to go due to obvious and inevitable racial outrage, and the video is not at all exclulpatory. As to substance, well, even the NY Times admitted that the SOFA with Iraq was handled poorly and driven by domestic politics in Iraq and the US rather than national security concerns.

As to Karzai and Afghanistan, one might have hoped that Team Obama had learned a thing or two about hammering out a SOFA, but maybe not.

Comments

[Nomadic Born Citizen.]

Nomad's Land.

[narciso]

Well I've learned to despise Karzai on the other hand;

http://hotair.com/archives/2014/03/25/question-for-obama-what-do-you-think-of-romneys-russia-is-our-top-geopolitical-foe-comment-now/

[matt]

We're in the best of hands! Schmahtest administration evah!!!

We've been punked by China when they insulted our ambassador, Putin, Karzai, the Pakistanis, the Iranians, the Syrians, the Turks, the Egyptians and the Iraqis.

Obama is living in the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

[henry]

Matt, that might ne the "Mindless Spot"

[NK(withnewsoftware)]

Why the TomM snark for Rumsfeld? the fair criticism of Rumsfeld was his General Officer selections for Iraq 2004-2006, basically because Rumsfeld didn't agree with the 'nation building' mission. That was arrogant of Rumsfeld, but he wasn't wrong in substance. In fact, I can think of few things Rummy gets wrong. His choice of words regarding Obummer were very carefully chosen IMO. When the Dem/Media types scream bogus racial grievances, Rummy will hold up their GWB 'chimp' images.

[narciso]

Recall State wanted Pachachi, an elderly Sunni chieftain, the CIA wanted a Baathist
general,

[Miss Marple]

Here is what I remember about Karzai:

He was living in London when we went into Afghanistan. He did not have to return.

I distinctly remember Special Forces guys vouching for him as they had been his guards when he first returned to Afghanistan.

I didn't start hearing about how he was such a weasel until almost the end of the Bush term, and it came from anonymous sources in a lot of places Like the NYT.

And one thing Rumsfeld pointed out in great detail is how the civilian members of this administration, from the envoy all the way up to the president, have insulted him publicly.

So what did they expect?

I agree with Rumsfeld.

[henry]

Meanwhile, Vlad is ready for his next bite.

Transdniestria (Russian part of Moldova) has a front row seat to new Russian maneuvers.

[GMax]

I think Rumsfeld was making the distinction on an ape trying versus a human giving it no effort, but it is I guess possible that he was giving distinction or difference to training, and as Ballard is oft to point out credentials dont provide any training, HLS or not.

[narciso]

the propaganda minister of that little statelet, is memorable,

[NK(withnewsoftware)]

Henry-- if the Russians in Russia proper won't make more Russian babies, Vlad simply changes the borders to capture more ethnic Russians into 'Greater Russia'. This is blindingly obvious at this point.

[Sue]

I'm trying to work up some outrage. Guess I'll take a nap instead.

[Captain Hate]

I don't think TM was being snarky toward Rummy.

[Account Deleted]

"one might have hoped that Team Obama had learned a thing or two"

One might have a better probability of success by hoping to find the pot of gold at rainbow's end. The lack of comparison using "as Team Obama learned from X" suggests the utter futility of such a hope. "Spotless Mind encased in adamantine ignorance" more fully expresses the actual limitations exhibited.

Learnin' just ain't innit.

[NK(withnewsoftware)]

This Putin watcher explains what Putin is doing in simple easy to understand terms: http://www.jamestown.org/single/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=42144&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=7

[NK(withnewsoftware)]

CaptH-- this seemed like a snarky lead graph to me:

"Don Rumsfeld, who may not be known for reflecting upon his own mistakes, is colorful in pointing out those made by others...."

[Carol Herman]

Billions and billions was misspent on the Afghan adventure. Where we changed nothing. But we gave the DOPE trade 8-lane highways. Making getting poppies to market quicker.

Dubya's reputation is lower than Obama's. The Saud's promoted all of his "wars" ... and they're the ones who've come up short.

[Porchlight]

OT,

Today is Norman Borlaug's centenary. Happy birthday Mr. Borlaug! He was a GIANT.

http://www.hoover.org/publications/defining-ideas/article/108641

Life can sometimes imitate art. Noel Vietmeyer’s Our Daily Bread, a gripping, touching, meticulously researched biography of Norman Borlaug, the plant breeder known as the Father of the Green Revolution, accurately portrays the kind of nobility, idealism and courage epitomized by Jimmy Stewart in the title role of “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” and Gary Cooper in “High Noon.”

Borlaug’s life was one of extraordinary paradoxes: He was a child of the Iowa prairie during the Great Depression who worked on the family farm, attended a one-room school, flunked the university entrance exam—but went on to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his work that ultimately prevented worldwide malnutrition, famine, and the premature death of hundreds of millions. (That was at a time when the award was more than a mere exercise in political correctness.)

Much more great stuff at the link.

And of course, Borlaug is now villainized by the greens because of GMO BS. Lord have mercy on this darkening world.

[Miss Marple]

If only Bush had been more like Obama! Yeah, that's the ticket!

[jimmyk]

And of course, Borlaug is now villainized by the greens because of GMO BS. Lord have mercy on this darkening world.

I didn't know that. I know he's being "blamed" for the rise in gluten sensitivity, ciliac disease, etc. that is some are attributing to the new varieties of wheat that he developed. Not to get us off on a food tangent here....

[NK(withnewsoftware)]

Norman Borlaug = humble hero. Yes he was a giant.

[Jim Eagle]

Forgive me if I am wrong here but I recollect that Karzai was picked because he was a Pashtun. They were the largest bloc of ethnics we needed to win away from AQ and Taliban. We already had the Uzbeki's and Turkic people in the Nothern Alliance but we really needed the Pashtuns.

Didn't his brother (or was it Hamid) that ran an Afghan Kebab place in Bald'more?

[NK(withnewsoftware)]

'Dubya's reputation is lower than Obama's'... hmm.. that's true in Moscow, Teheran, Caracas, Bejing... but is it true in Israel? Ottawa? Tokyo? Ukraine? London? Berlin? Cairo? etc....Puh-leez.

[MarkO]

Obama's more worried about a nuke in NYC than Iran having nukes to put in NYC.

[Jim Eagle]

For reflection come tomorrow:

On March 26th,1945, Iwo Jima was declared "secured". The Marines handed the island over to the Army so the Army Air Corps could use the air fields. Then many of the Marines sailed off to another party on Okinawa.

February 19th was the start of the invasion of Iwo. For the Marines and sailors who assaulted Iwo, every one of the 36 continuous days of that battle seemed nearly that long.

About 77,000 US Marines from the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Marine Divisions converged on tiny Iwo Jima in late February. LtGen Tadamichi Kuribayashi had fortified Iwo for a full year before the invasion, and had an estimated 22,000 troops dug in under the island. US forces began bombing Iwo in June 1944, 8 full months before the invasion. Naval bombardments then shelled the island mercilessly around the clock for four consecutive days prior to the invasion.

Iwo set a number of "firsts":

It was the longest concentrated bombardment of any target in the history of mankind up to that date.

It was the largest total tonnage of bombs and artillery ever delivered on a single target to that date.

It was the largest armada of ships ever assembled for an invasion up to that date (about 700 ships).

It was the largest number of invaders to ever invade any island up to that date (each of those new records was broken by the invasion of Okinawa in April 1945).

It was the first (and last) time Seabees accompanied Marines in the first waves of a beach invasion (they swore they'd never do THAT again!).

It was the first and last time any Marine unit landed on D-Day and served an entire campaign without being relieved by another unit.

And it was the only time in Marine Corps history when the number of invading casualties exceeded the number of defending casualties. More than 19,000 Marines were wounded on Iwo, and 6,821 died there. As such, it remains the costliest battle in Marine Corps history.

One-third of all Marines killed during WWII, died on Iwo Jima.
All but about 200 Japanese defenders died on Iwo.

Marine LtGen Harry Schmidt and LtGen H. M. Smith led Task Force 56. It made up V Corps, composed of the 3rd MarDiv (MGen Erskine), 4th MarDiv (MGen Clifton Cates) and 5th MarDiv (MGen Rockey). The 5th Division had been formed expressly for the battle of Iwo Jima. It was disbanded following the battle.

Among the participants were names of distinction:
· Son of the sitting Commandant LtCol AA Vandergriff Jr (3/24)
· Future Commandant 1stLt Robert E Cushman, Jr (2/9)
· Future Commandant Clifton Cates (CG 4thMarDiv)
· Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal
· LtGen "Howlin' Mad" Smith
· And the first enlisted Marine Medal of Honor recipient of WWII, "Manila John" Basilone. Basilone had received his MOH from Chesty Puller, for action on Guadalcanal. He was KIA on Iwo.

The invasion planners felt confident the battle would take 7-10 days. It took 36. LtGen Kuribayashi's body has never been found.

The final two Japanese defenders surrendered 4 years after the battle. In January of 1949 two Japanese soldiers surrendered themselves to the occupying US Army garrison on Iwo. They had hidden in the 11 miles of tunnels and bunkers under Iwo, successfully raiding the Army supplies for food and water at night.

They had found a Stars and Stripes newspaper which showed pictures of GIs celebrating New Year's Eve in downtown Tokyo, 1948-49, and knew Japan had lost the war.

They reported in full uniforms, well fed, and surrendered clean, fully-functional weapons.

Iwo Jima stands as an icon for every Marine who has earned the Eagle, Globe and Anchor since 1945. The men who fought there are true heroes to our nation and our Corps. We can never thank them enough for what they went through for us on that small patch of hell. I've stopped often today and thought about them.

THANK YOU, Marines. Because of what you did, I grew up a safe healthy kid in comfort and freedom speaking English instead of Japanese.

Semper Fidelis.

[daddy]

From the previous thread:

Could the pilot have programmed a complete route into the navigational computers all the way to the South Indian Ocean right after the last words to ATC, and then the plane flown itself on that routing even if something immediately afterwards killed everyone on board?

Yes Cathyf.

You could easily do that and after that was accomplished in the flight plan and the plane was hooked up to the autopilot to follow that flight plan, you wouldn't need anyone alive on the plane for the plane to fly that flight plan until it ran out of gas. It would make all the turns required without any human presence at all. You could even have programmed it to climb or descend at different waypoints as it passed them and you could also program it to attempt a landing at some particular airfield, tho' without a human up front it would not have been able to lower the gear and the flaps and to configure itself for a safe landing.

[MarkO]

I think I am going to change my name here to Chesty Puller.

[NK(withnewsoftware)]

God Bless the USMC. Iwo was carnage. I didn't realize (or forgotten) John Basilone was killed on Iwo.

[Ignatz]

I see no racism in Rumsfeld's comment.
He's not equating Barry to an ape, but rather dumber even than an ape, which with a little training could negotiate an SOFA.

Does a planaria or a high functioning toadstool comparison have some racial history?

[jimmyk]

You could easily do that and after that was accomplished in the flight plan and the plane was hooked up to the autopilot to follow that flight plan

And if a plane is on autopilot, perhaps without a lot of pre-programmed turns or a particular final destination, and the crew passes out, does the plane just keep flying until it runs out of fuel? I realize there would be all sorts of alarms, but with no conscious crew, what ultimately happens?

[Ignatz]

Splash!

[Danube on iPad]

"It was the largest armada of ships ever assembled for an invasion up to that date (about 700 ships)."

Normandy preceded Iwo, and I believe was substantially larger.

My dad and Chesty were shipmates in USS Augusta (Chester W. Nimitz, commanding) out on the China Station in the 30's. My mother, who was then 21 years old, thought Chesty was one of the finest gentlemen she had ever known (no better friend, no worse enemy). As long as she lived, whenever his name came up she would say "Oh, that darling Louie Puller."

[MaryD]

'Dubya's reputation is lower than Obama's'

NK,I can't find our antecedent. Who said that,please?

[MaryD]

our = your

[Captain Hate]

NK, maybe it is; I have a hard time deciphering TM at times. But only in AM or PM hours.

Sad news here: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2014/03/25/former-bills-qb-kelly-expects-more-cancer-surgery/6865353/

[Old Lurker]

Normandy invasion involved 5,000 ships.

[NK(withnewsoftware)]

C Herman @3:06

[NK(withnewsoftware)]

DoT-- was Puller a southern gent?

[Neo]

One thing I learned is that Afghanis would rather negotiate than fight. They can be bought for song. The Taliban came to power by buying off their opposition, not by fighting them.

Obama completely doesn't understand the Afghan culture, or he just rejects it (which is odd since it mirrors Chicago so much).

Karzai sees Obama abandoning him down the road no matter what he agrees to or doesn't agree to with Obama, so he is buying his future status.

[daddy]

Using my above comment as a jumping off point for a slightly different topic.

I wonder if whatever is the ultimate result of this Malaysian Air incident, if it increases a push in the flying industry to develop planes that fly without any humans up front, or decreases such a push? We already have the demonstrated technology (drones) that can safely take off, fly just about anywhere, and return and land safely (in most cases.)

A conversation, just below the public radar screen, has been going on for a while to see if Cargo could be flown from Location A to Location B without the need of having aircrew on board to do the flying. It would have the benefit to the owner of the company of potentially saving hugh amounts of money as he would no longer need to pay flight crews or to have to worry about all the expense of providing and maintaining all the safety stuff currently required onboard to keep humans alive, and he wouldn't have to pay the mandatory flight crews training expenses, nor their retirement funding, nor have to deal with angry Union reps and potential strikes. Some of those savings you'd think would trickle down to the cargo shipping customer as well.

The general thought has been to try ti implement this in the Cargo Industry first, since it wouldn't scare the heck out of the general passenger public, and preferably during middle of the night times of low passenger traffic, and probably initially to outlying regions. The thought has been that once it has been tested and run on the Cargo model, if it works well with no horrendous screw-ups, would it then be palatable to the General Public for Passenger flights?

If this Malaysian thing pans out to be another case of a run amuck pilot like Egyptian Air intentionally killing everybody in a suicide dive, or more gross gross incompetence like the Asiana crash in San Francisco, would that be enough of a spur to make the public demand the industry seriously take a look at planes flying without potentially whacked out pilots?

Beats me, but Cargo pilots have been very mildly on edge about losing their jobs to Robby The Robot for a while now

I think the very natural first opinion of the public right now would be to say, maybe give it a trial shot on cargo planes off in some remote areas of the country like the Alaskan Bush territory, and only for Cargo, and then lets see how it does up there and reevaluate the situation after that. Our politicians I suppose would be saying, "How much of a donation is Aviation Boss so and so gonna' give me to push this Legislation?

So just as an un-Scientific JOM Quiz:

In favor, or not in favor of trial Robot Cargo runs in Bush Alaska?

Me? Hell no, a terrible idea! (But I might be slightly biased:)

[Captain Hate]

In case I haven't made it clear, I'm a big Rummy fan and believe that most of the criticism aimed at him during the second Iraq war came from ignorance of shifting strategies in war.

[Beasts of England]

Thanks for that post, JiB.

[Old Lurker]

Daddy, I thought the military uses unmanned helicopters to do just that.

[NK(withnewsoftware)]

Daddy -- I support the fully trained human element on the flight deck, cargo or passengers, keep the human in charge.

[narciso]

All things being equal, I preferred Rumsfeld to Gates, Rumsfeld it is argued ignored the insurgency in it's opening stages, but then again as the Long Wars Journal and other point out, most of those cognoscenti don't understand it either,

[Old Lurker]

Here's from LA Times: "For the first time, the U.S. military is using a drone to deliver food and supplies to troops in Afghanistan.

On Dec. 17, in a 90-minute flight, the Marine Corps deployed a cargo-lifting K-MAX helicopter drone to carry 3,500 pounds of food and supplies to U.S. Marines at Combat Outpost Payne."

[NK(withnewsoftware)]

Did Rumsfeld ignore the insurgency?, or use it to justify his opinion that the USA military should leave Iraq ASAP, and avoid picking one faction over another?

[narciso]

well you could end up with alcohol dependent robots like Bender, doing the flights, and we know how that worked around Pluto,

[Ignatz]

Too bad nobody listened to Rumsfeld.

[jimmyk]

Splash!

That would be the best outcome. If it happened to be pointed at downtown Manhattan, one might like there to be an automatic override or something that will turn it toward an ocean.

[Danube on iPad]

Chesty was a Virginian.

[Danube on iPad]

"Trained ape" has kind of a nice ring to it, don't you think?

[Thomas Collins]

"[W]ould that be enough of a spur to make the public demand the industry seriously take a look at planes flying without potentially whacked out pilots?"

What about a whacked out computer maven programming the drone? Or a whacked out drone operator Facebooking on his or her smart phone in one hand, texting his or her illicit squeeze on the burner phone in the other hand, and using his or her nose to land the 747 on a rain slicked runway?

[Captain Hate]

I think the insurgency had to exist before the Surge could be effective because prior to that it would've been hard for the native population to know who to trust. Everybody who claimed the Surge began too late seems to ignore that.

[jimmyk]

keep the human in charge.

Perhaps, but as my last post suggests, shouldn't there at least be a backup?

As for trains, it seems the guy in Chicago might have fallen asleep, like the one on the Metro North that derailed. Computers don't fall asleep, get drunk, or join unions, as Iowahawk pointed out.

[daddy]

Ted Cruz just did an excellent 10 minute segment on Neil Cavuto's Show. Hope others caught it.

[Ignatz]

If it happened to be pointed at downtown Manhattan, one might like there to be an automatic override or something that will turn it toward an ocean the Capitol, the White House, Harry Reid's iphone........

[narciso]

We see this same dynamic in Syria, where the ISIS and the Nusra front, have won some degree of support, vis a vis, the FSA, yet there has been some pushback against the former,

[Jeff Dobbs]

Daddy:
saving hugh amounts of money

Money can't buy you love.

[Dave (in MA)]

Paraphrasing Red Buttons, Borlaug never got a Droodle.

[Clarice Feldman]

Was the ape eating figs in a cave?
I love Rumsfeld. I especially loves that he says very clearly what he thinks.
His pressers were the greatest of all times. Remember him explaining to the woman reporter that soldiers were meant to kill the enemy?

[Dave (in MA)]

(or a Doodle, even)

[Captain Hate]

The Ohio version of Pinette rears his fat head again for the benefit of the usual suspects:

http://www.redstate.com/2014/03/25/next-weekend-house-republicans-collaborate-with-left-wing-interests-against-conservatives/

[Captain Hate]

Rummy's pressers had a very high entertainment value.

[Jane]

$684 million spent on advertising for Obamacare. This for a law that was so good it required no advertising. Why oh why does Congress allow them to have this money? and what are they not paying with it.

I want Obama and Sebillius to pay it back out of their own pockets. I have no doubt the kickbacks have provided that much and more.

[Jane]

Daddy, I saw Cruz. My unwavering love for him has not changed. He was great and so bloody gracious.

[pagar]

Iowa may have a replacement for Sen Hardin.

http://www.truthrevolt.org/news/iowa-senate-candidate-releases-ad-i-grew-castrating-hogs-iowa-farm#.UzGbiApgD5w.twitter

Gives us hope!

[narciso]

And on the other end;

http://hotair.com/archives/2014/03/25/kirk-im-not-going-to-campaign-against-dick-durbin/

[NK(withnewsoftware)]

JimmyK- absolutely, have full automated back ups, but IMO keep the human in charge, until the most exigent circumstances.

[NK(withnewsoftware)]

wasn't there a Star trek episode about this? Dr. Daystrom and his M-5 multiprocessor?

[Marlene]

CH@4:25... a newly married little birdie I know will be at that meeting,as will many government relations people *ahem* lobbyists.Trust me,she is well aware of the situation,but she represents evil big retail and they need a seat at the table. Although I don't suppose anyone here will defend lobbyists. : ) The GOP establishment doesn't want to lose their spot at the feed trough.

[Captain Hate]

Marlene, ask her for her opinion of LaTourette if you get a chance.

[Porchlight]

Thanks for the post on Iwo Jima, JiB.

Chesty Puller quotes from Wiki:

"Our country won't go on forever, if we stay soft as we are now. There won't be any America—because some foreign soldiery will invade us and take our women and breed a hardier race."

"They are in front of us, behind us, and we are flanked on both sides by an enemy that outnumbers us 29:1. They can't get away from us now!"

"Great. Now we can shoot at those bastards from every direction."

"We're surrounded. That simplifies our problem of getting to these people and killing them." – November 1950, during Chosin Reservoir campaign

"Remember, you are the 1st Marines! Not all the Communists in Hell can overrun you!" (at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir)

"Take me to the Brig. I want to see the real Marines."

"Alright you bastards, try and shoot me!" (to North Korean forces)

"Where do you put the bayonet?" (upon seeing a flamethrower for the first time)

"You don't hurt 'em if you don't hit 'em."

**
No wonder the Marines love him so much.

[daddy]

A long winded bit on the auto-pilot discussion, and I don't know the 777's autopilot system but I think it's very similar.

There are different modes of the autopilot, so just off the top here's some bits that may offer clarity:

On any decent, modern autopilot in the big jets, the auto-pilot can and will control Speed (via auto-throttles), Heading (via navigational computers or a manually selected heading) and Altitude (entered either manually into an altitude window or entered into an electronic Flight Computer.)

All 3 of these modes are tied into the auto-pilot.

In general, at altitude, all 3 of these modes are in full Electronic mode, meaning that they are hooked up to the Electronic Flight Plan that has been typed in to the Flight Computer, meaning nothing is in a reduced auto-pilot capability---you are at your maximum automated point, and it will fly whatever you have entered as your electronic flight plan into the computer. Essentially your typing skills are controlling the airplane.

You can downgrade any of these 3 modes at any time to a lesser electronic auto-pilot mode, by manually selecting a manually entered heading, or manually entered speed, or manually entered altitude into a panel that is not associated with the Flight Plan in your electronic Flight Computer. The plane will now follow whatever knew command you entered into that panel (if it is physically capable of doing it), but the other systems will remain in the full electronic mode, following whatever you typed into the Flight Computer. When you enter these reduced auto-pilot commands you are still in auto-pilot, but now you are controlling the plane via twisting switches and pulling buttons, not via Typing skills. In essence now you are doing what Nigel does---you are manually selecting 11

And the other option of course is clicking off the auto-pilot and flying it manually, but even then you can still have the auto-throttles engaged so you don't have to manually move the throttles.

As for flying way south to the Indian Ocean. If the plane made a left turn back toward Langkawi or Penang or wherever back towards Malaysia, if Langkawi was then entered into the electronic flight plan and the maximum auto-pilot mode was engaged, it would fly to Langkawi. But after Langkawi, if there were no other electronic waypoints entered into the Flight Computer, or simply if there was a disconnect in the Electronic Flight Plan between Langkawi and whatever next point might have been in the Electronic Flight Plan, then the plane's Heading, immediately after passing waypoint Langkawi, automatically downgrades from the Maximum Navigation mode, and downgrades to maintaining whatever Heading the plane was on when it crossed over waypoint Langkawi. If the crew was unconscious at that time due to smoke inhalation or oxygen starvation, the plane would remain on that southern Heading until it ran out of gas 6 hours later.

[daddy]

well you could end up with alcohol dependent robots like Bender, doing the flights

LOL narciso!

[Sandy ANTI - SLAVERY Daze]

Venezuela arrests three generals for alleged coup plot

narc - if you already posted this, I missed it...

[Captain Hate]

Marlene, your friend should call Orkin and tell them there's a giant weasel and a really fat groundhog that have invaded the building.

[jimmyk]

wasn't there a Star trek episode about this?

Then of course there was HAL.

[narciso]

I just heard about it, on the tube, you notice how quickly Iraq, became not merely a mistake but a crime.

Of course, Russian counterinsurgency is very brutal, no attempt at winning 'hearts and minds' there, Yermolov in the 19th Century,
he built up Grozny as a border post, and Shamanov in the 21st Century,

[Sandy ANTI - SLAVERY Daze]

Q. What Kind of Fool Am I?

A. (FTA) ...So I'm no longer an out-of-control full-bore crazy. Instead, I'm an out-of-control full-bore crazy who's lawyered up to the hilt. This will leave me free to concentrate on my core activities of insulting judges and mocking Mann's self-conferred Nobel Prize, while Dan, Mark and Mike do the boring stuff like looking up precedents and knowing what a tort is. ...
...I'm also overwhelmed by the number of lawyers from across America who have offered their services and advice pro bono or at steeply discounted rates. It is heartening to know how many understand the stakes for free speech in America. Dan, Mark and Mike believe in this case, understand its importance, and together we will prevail...

Daniel J Kornstein
Mark Platt
Michael J Songer

[Sandy ANTI - SLAVERY Daze]

Oh and By The Way...

I STAND WITH STEYN.

either one stands with Steyn, or...

[daddy]

Open the pod bay doors Hal.

[Skoot]

The 3 marxists... I mean woman on SCOTUS apparently suggested Hobby Lobby should just close their eyes and pay the fine. How progressive!

And from the US Circuit Court of Appeals we have this exchange:

“Your argument makes no sense,” Judge Edwards said. “Who cares who sets up the exchanges?”

Judge Randolph retorted: “Ben Nelson.”

Oh Snap! No you didn't!!

I think a good day overall for the limited fed gov't position

[Jim Eagle]

DoT,

I think the author mean't to say that the 700 ship armada was the largest for an "island" invasion in the pacific. That's the way I read it.

daddy,

The only issue with crewless flights is that the remote pilot (like we currently have with drones) could pull the same stunt and drive the plane into the sea then put a round in his own head. I don't see how a crew less flight makes it any safer except for the pilots if there was a mechanical or electrical malfunction. Then how do you make it hi-jack proof? The systems if remote would have to have a manual over-ride, wouldn't they?

Embry-Riddle tells me that we are entering a pilot shortage that we haven't seen in years. Doesn't seem as if we are moving toward pilotless that quickly.

[narciso]

So, that was a clever move, McTurtle:

http://minx.cc/?post=348113

[jimmyk]

The systems if remote would have to have a manual over-ride, wouldn't they?

As long as it would sing "Bicycle Built for Two" as it was being overridden.

"Stop, Dave. I'm afraid, Dave. Dave, my mind is going. I can feel it."

[Captain Hate]

First the bad news about Jim Kelly and now the Bills owner, Ralph Wilson, dies.

And the No Fun League has banned dunking the ball over the goalposts as a post touchdown situation. King Roger has spoken, peasants.

[Sandy ANTI - SLAVERY Daze]

JIB - from the Navy Officer Retention Study I posted yesterday, comes this:

4. Longest and largest commercial airline hiring spree (aviation specific)
Although a Naval Aviation-specific factor, the forecast hiring spree in commercial aviation will rapidly begin to impact retention, much as it did during the 1990s. Many commercial pilots were furloughed following 9/11 and hiring has remained relatively stagnant for the past five years, creating a pent up demand for new hires. Another challenge is the upcoming August 1, 2014 Federal Aviation Administration rule change which will significantly bias Air Transport Pilot licenses towards military pilots. The following captures the bias, since pilots with military experience need far fewer hours (funded by government experience) than their non-military counterparts:

* With military experience = 750 hours (average JO at MSR will have necessary hours)

* w/o military experience but with a 4-yr aviation college = 1,000 hours

* w/o military experience but with a 2-yr aviation college = 1,250 hours

* w/o military experience and with non-structured education = 1,500 hours

Additional retention pressures include the 2007 changes to the mandatory retirement age for pilots, which increased the retirement age for a commercial pilot from 60 to 65 and delayed large numbers of retirements until 2013. Based on this change and overall worldwide demand, a recent estimate cited by Foreign Policy claims that 50,000 pilots or more will be needed to satisfy demand through 2024.

[narciso]

that's what happened when they pulled the memory banks;

http://www.interpretermag.com/category/blog/

[daddy]

My youngest is reading the 2001, 2010, 2061, 3001 series by Arthur C Clarke.

She says that in the book the transformed Dave is given permission by the Aliens to make contact with Hal and those 2 intelligences are allowed to become buddies all over again. She is quite happy about that.

[Ignatz]

--And the No Fun League has banned dunking the ball over the goalposts as a post touchdown situation.--

Did Lew Alcindor get drafted?

[Captain Hate]

No but Tony Gonzalez got out just in time.

[cathyf]

...downgrades to maintaining whatever Heading the plane was on when it crossed over waypoint Langkawi. If the crew was unconscious at that time due to smoke inhalation or oxygen starvation, the plane would remain on that southern Heading until it ran out of gas 6 hours later.

Ok, I'm getting lost here... The pictures that I've seen show that the plane took off from KL and flew more or less east. Then when they were at the handover point to Vietnamese ATC, they turned around and headed west. They flew west over the Thai/Malay peninsula, and THEN, after being pinged by military radar, they either turned 90-degrees left (current theory) or 90-degrees right (lots of us are still suspicious...) They had to have made at least one 90 degree turn because they were flying directly towards the satellite between the east and west sides of the peninsula, and then for the next 5 hours they were at about the same distance from the satellite.

So that's my question -- there is that one 90-degree turn that they had to have made after they were pinged by the military radar. Is that proof that someone was alive to turn the plane at that point? Or could they have programmed it all in back at the point that they made the 180 and everyone been dead by then?

If they ended up crashing into the ocean in the most remote place on earth, that might explain how -- perhaps the captain/co-pilot/hijackers/etc. wanted to crash the plane into Diego Garcia, and had partially programmed the route, and then all became incapacitated and then dead.

The thing that I keep coming back to is an entire planeload of 21st century people, several dozen of whom were geeks, with a plane flying over land, over cell towers, and always in range for a satellite phone, and NOBODY heard from ANYBODY. As my daughter and her friends in the theatre will rant at some length -- ANY group of hundreds of people where NONE of them is texting -- they just HAVE to be DEAD!

[Captain Hate]

I just read elsewhere that they had to stop games a few times last season to make sure the crossbars were level so maybe it was a real problem::shrug::

[daddy]

In the favor of the Captain dealing with a possible emergency on the Malaysian flight, since he was from Penang, that may have been the closest field he was intimately familiar with and the first that he considered diverting to initially. I could envision him, in the heat of battle, instantly spinning left to a heading south and then punching in a waypoint VPG for instance (The Penang VOR waypoint) and then never having the opportunity to enter the arrival, which would mean that having passed VPG, since there would be a disconnect in the Flight Plan, it would continue to head straight south until running out of gas.

I would love to see what was downloaded in that ACARS report as to what new waypoints were supposedly in the Electronic Flight Plan, and I'd also like to know if they are still sticking with the story that radar pings showed him heading northwest up the Straits of Malacca following a turn over Langkawi. That turn to the northwest obviously doesn't jibe with a due south destination off of Perth, so what's their latest story? Did they ever get any Radar pings from the Indonesians showing it headed straight south over Indonesia instead of turning northwest towards the Andaman's?

About the only thing I have positively concluded from this whole thing is that Anwar Ibrahim's opposition to the Malaysian Government's devotion to censorship and denying openness is on the money. I'd love to see from polling if his standing in the polls is currently going thru the roof.

[Miss Marple]

I see many have also chimed in with the "no robot planes" opinion. I personally lose some of my flying phobia by knowing that the guy flying the plane has skin in the game, too.

Why doesn't anyone investigate why Muslims suddenly go off the rails? Not only pilots, but the restauranteur in New York who cut off his wife's head, the guy who shot and killed his 2 daughters in Texas, etc. (I may have posted this question on another thread but I still want to know.)

Are they given hypnotic suggestions when they are kids? Is the tress of following Islam too much for them? Are they brainwashed in the mosques? I really wish someone would look into this.

Meanwhile, I am all for no Muslims flying planes in the US. Probably unconstitutional, but heck, no one in the government pays attention to that old thing anymore. /sarc

[MarkO]

You know that HAL was named just one letter off IBM.

Useful things learned in anti-trust litigation.

[narciso]

It would seem, daddy, much as with Chernobyl and Matthias Rust did in the Soviet Union, there are so many questions, which haven't been answered, re this whole sad affair, for instance, there is no emergency distress beacon, the derelict Indonesian radar operators,

[Marlene]

Captain Hate, I've attended a couple of events with her.Politicians are a strange breed,giant weasels and fat groundhogs included. My little birdie can smell BS a mile away,and she isn't enthralled by politicians.
There are a few she admires as good and decent people. From my limited observation,if people really understood how DC works (and most of us at JOM know) Clarice's pikes and pitchforks business would be thru the roof!

[daddy]

If your number one worry is a nuclear bomb going off in Manhattan, then why the heck would you reduce sanctions on a terror supporting nation like Iran that is obviously and vocally intent on creating Nuclear Weapons? Why in the world would you remove sanctions on them to make their job of building a nuke easier?

Obama, If you take him at his words, makes no sense at all.