TheList 5303

The List 5303 TGB


I hope that you all have had a great Friday. Some bits and world News

Regards,

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Thanks to shadow

On Apr 30, 2020, at 3:06 PM, Roy Stafford . wrote:

For those who have known me for a long period (years, decades)… all of you know that I have been saying that "Global Warming", "Climate Change"... was a fraud and a political movement… not science! In particular, my main argument was based on simple logic… "Consensus is not science"… if it were, the world would still be flat! I was particularly scornful of computer generated predictions of a pending climate disaster… citing that the planet had always experienced shifts in periods of warm and cold. My argument of "Consensus is not science"… was a simple concept based on knowledge, common sense and awareness of political agendas.



Burt Rutan recently shared with me some correspondence he had with one of his friends from the "Left" side of politics. Now Burt is one of my personal heroes. A World Class and World Famous; scientist, engineer and aircraft designer… as well as an independent thinker and problem solver. Those of you who don't recognize his name… will certainly recognize his aerospace accomplishments. The first unrefueled, around the world flight…. Followed by the first non-refueled around the world solo flight… the first successful privately designed and flown space vehicle (Space Ship One) and for those of us in aviation, some of the most advanced and common sense applications to aviation the world has ever known. He has been honored and celebrated the world over…. I am proud to have flown with Burt decades ago and have been a follower and admirer ever since. I'm even more proud to call him "Friend".



Anyway… in Burt's correspondence… I found this little nugget… it was something I believe Gordon Fulks, one of Burt's friends, came up with and it takes my simple short statement about consensus… to a more logical and explanatory conclusion. Please read the following…



"Science by consensus is politics. Science by belief is religion. Science by climate code is computer gaming. Science by story telling is science fiction. On the other hand, science by logic and evidence IS science"!



All the Best, Shadow



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Comment from Tom USMC





The clearly stated and official purpose for our entry into the Vietnam war, was to stop the spread of communism in the area, (Southeast Asia) or as it was referred to in those days, the "domino effect", which held that if Vietnam fell to communism, the whole of Southeast Asia would also fall, presumably to the detriment of the world at large. Well, guess what folks, we've been screwed over by our government once again, cause Vietnam did fall to communism and it didn't matter to our industrialists one fucking bit, as they're now one of our favorite trading partners, which leads inextricably to the damning question, "What the fuck did over 58000 of our troops die for? No one in government has been made to account for this gross miscarriage of justice. So let's quit kidding ourselves that we have a 'representative government' that is both responsive and accountable to "the people"..WE DON'T!





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Thanks to Mike

Like the Thoughts...



Food for thought from a friend…and potential for compassionate adaptation.





Go USA!



Thankfully as a nation this crisis is causing us to reevaluate our priorities: faith, family, community and freedom; and seeing the easy dispatch of liberty also reignites that oft forgotten flickering flame…



Journalists are less important than janitors. Our nation's best athletes are healthcare workers rushing to assist those in need The true heroes are not celebrities, but rather farmers, truck drivers, stock clerks, and supermarket cashiers.



The most valuable businesses do not glitter or present themselves with self-congratulatory award shows; they do today what they have always done to keep our food supply flowing. Perhaps now, at least for a few short weeks, we stop taking them for granted.

Effective right now comfortably invisible workers are recognized as critical priorities; or as the government has officially designated them "essential services." These folks form the network of our lives; they always have, but we didn't notice. Everything else is less than.

The average hard-working American is worth more today than all those who chase the golden statues of Hollywood; and ultimately if they want to go down the superiority path… well, what they provide is essentially useless.



Florida Power and Light won the prestigious International Edward Demming award for excellence in multi-platform engineering and efficiency superiority. They didn't blow every PhD intellectual out of the water with slide rules, CAD programs and engineering acumen. They did it with hard hats and dirty fingernails.



Because they lost the award, the Japanese spent 6 months studying FPL and later published a 1,000 page dissertation essentially saying FPL "wasn't really good, they were just lucky"….. FPL field leadership laughed, took out markers and wrote on the back of their hard hats: "WE'RE NOT GOOD, WE'RE RUCKY"….



When every single Kuwaiti oil field was blown up by Saddam Hussein, they said it would take over five years to cap them all off and restart their oil pumping industry. The Kuwaitis and Saudis called Texans, who had them all capped and back in working order in ten months.



We are a nation that knows how to get shit done.



When the Northern Chile mine workers were trapped two miles underground, they said no-one could save them. Who did they call for help? A bunch of hick miners from USA coal country who went down there, worked on the fly, engineered the rescue equipment on site, and saved every one of them….



That's our America.

Don't lose sight of it.



When a half-breed Islamic whack job, armed with an AK-47 and a goal to meet his virgins, begins opening fire on a train in France, the Americans on board didn't run to the nearest safe room and hide themselves amid baguettes and brie. They said "let's go", and beat the stuffing out of that little nut with a death wish.

Legion d'Honneur or not, that's us. That's you.

That's just how we roll.



Lady Liberty can stroll along the Champs-Elysées with a swagger befitting Mae West because without her arrival they'd be speaking German in the Louvre. Yet for the better part of the past decades groups of intellectual something-or-others have been selling an insufferable narrative that it's better to be sitting around a campfire eating sustainable algae cakes and picking parasites off each other. Enough!



Ordinary people, just like you and me, gave their lives and crashed flight #93, a commercial airliner, into a field in Shanksville Pennsylvania so they could save our nation's capital. Yeah, I think we can wash our hands, quit touching our faces and stay inside for a few days.



In case you missed it, it wasn't FEMA driving jacked-up monster trucks into the flooded neighborhoods around Houston Texas to rescue people from their homes; it was a bunch of glorious rednecks assembled like the second division of the Cajun Navy… which also just happens to be a fabulous bunch of shallow water boat operators who convoy their gear voluntarily into the aftermath of hurricanes and floods.

That's America folks; in all her magnificent colorblind glory.

Git-r'-done ain't government.



Quoting from Bart Hall:

Truckers are saying "f--k the log rules, I'm hauling" and they're getting supplies to the stores. People are stocking the shelves all night and letting old people shop first. Folks are buying meals for truckers, who (obviously) can't go through the drive-ups. Asking 'em what they want, then buying it for them.



Carnival Cruise Line has told Trump "We can match those big Navy Hospital ships with some fully staffed cruise ships"

GM and Ford have said "hold our cars and watch this — we can make ventilators where we were just making car parts, starting next week" — by re-engineering seat ventilators which their engineers hacked together for a new purpose. In under a week.

In a project with which I'm loosely associated, a very-effective agricultural disease-control agent was re-purposed and re-labeled specifically for Corona-virus control by the FDA and EPA in under ten days, from initial request to distribution.

Restaurants and schools have said, "we've got kitchens and staff; we can feed the poor kids who used have school lunch."

NBA basketball players have said, "Hold our basketballs while we write checks to pay the arena staff."

Construction companies are saying, "Here are some high-end masks for medical staff and doctors".



Distilleries are making sanitizer out of distilling "heads and tails" which are normally discarded. Nasty shit to drink, but effective sanitizer.

People are tipping grocery check-out clerks and thanking them for taking the risk.



Local, state, and county governments are taking control of everything the feds cannot do. Some are doing it wrong, but for the first time in decades … they're doing it. Federalism is re-emerging, and the smallest unit of government is the individual and the family. This, too, is re-emerging after decades of dormancy.



As Japanese Admiral Isokuru Yamamoto said, after Pearl Harbor … "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve."



I sense this has just happened. We have a wonderful country, the greatest single force for good in all human history. We have closed our borders, with good reason, yet we have top medical people now assisting North Korea in their response to the virus.



Many things have been re-set, and will never be the same.

By microbiological accident, we are living in profoundly transformative historical times.



So I ask you a question, what part are you to play?

If you feel comfortable sitting in your socially distant box and bitching about all things that are not right, or might be not be right…. Or, if you prefer to allow yourself to be overcome with dark imaginings simply because what cannot be done is more comfortable than the effort to oversee what needs to be done…. well, that's okay.

You can do that.



And when you're done doing that you'll still be in the same place.



Or, you can check on older neighbors to make sure they are OK and make sure they have necessities. If older neighbors need something at the store, get it for them. Friends and neighbors who are anxious, send them a card or note with positive comments on it. Give people hope. If you don't want to send a card, send an e-mail checking up on people.

Order an extra lunch or dinner from a local restaurant just so you can give a tip to the delivery person who shows up at your door. Then stick the extra in the fridge and eat it tomorrow. We can do this.

No-one is saying this doesn't suck; but some people know that standing around bitching about the comparative values of current life in suckdom doesn't actually accomplish anything.

President Trump is doing what needs to be done; with far more information than me; and in the best manner he can assemble to keep America great. He does this while simultaneously swatting away thousands of piranhas biting at him on an hourly basis.



So again, ask yourself a question: what part are you to play?

Live your best life.

You only have this moment once.



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Daily News thanks to Military Periscope for 1 May 2020



USA—PrSM Guided Missile Successfully Passes 3rd Flight Test

Defense News | 05/01/2020

The U.S. Army has successfully completed its third flight test of Lockheed Martin's Precision Strike Missile (PrSM), reports Defense News.

On Thursday, the missile was test-fired from an M142 High-Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) at the White Sands Missile Range, N.M., successfully striking a target 53 miles (85 km) away.

This was the shortest-range test yet, requiring the missile to tip over immediately after launch to bleed off energy, said Brig. Gen. John Rafferty, the Army's Long-Range Precision Fires cross-functional team director.

Previous test-launches traveled 149 miles (240 km) and 112 miles (180 km), respectively.

Lockheed Martin has already been contracted to build four more missiles for three flight tests next year, including one where two missiles are fired in short succession from the same launcher, reported Breaking Defense.

A test-firing in 2021 is also scheduled at the PrSM's maximum range of more than 310 miles (500 km).

Plans call for initial fielding of the missile in 2023. Seeker upgrades to enable the targeting of moving targets are expected to follow around 2025. The Army is also looking at extending the range of the PrSM beyond 500 km.

The PrsM is the Army's replacement for its ATACMs tactical ballistic missiles.





USA—Navy Picks Fincantieri To Build New Frigates

USNI News | 05/01/2020

The Navy has selected Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri to build its new class of guided-missile frigates, reports USNI News.

On Thursday, Fincantieri received a $795 million contract for the detail design and construction of the first frigate, which is based on the European multimission frigate (FREMM) design in service with the French and Italian navies.

The deal includes options for nine more ships, which, if exercised, would bring the total contract value to $5.58 billion.

The lead ship is expected to cost $1.28 billion, with the remainder of the value covering government-furnished equipment, including the Aegis Baseline 10 combat system, AN/SPY-6(V)3 radar, 57-mm Mk 110 main gun, 32 Mk 41 vertical launch system cells, up to 16 Naval Strike Missiles and a RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile close-in weapons system (CIWS), reported Naval News.

The frigate will be built at Fincantieri's Marinette Marine shipyard in Wisconsin.

Design work is slated to begin immediately, with construction to start no later than April 2022. Delivery is scheduled for 2026.

A contract for the second ship is expected to be awarded in April 2021, with delivery to follow 5.5. years after, reported Defense News.



USA—White House Pushing Intel Agencies To Find Evidence COVID-19 Started In Wuhan Lab

New York Times | 05/01/2020

The White House has exerted pressure on intelligence agencies to find support for a theory linking the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic to a lab in Wuhan, China, where the outbreak began, reports the New York Times.

Current and former officials said that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has taken the lead in pushing intel agencies to provide information supporting the hypothesis.

Matthew Pottinger, the deputy national security adviser, requested information that would support a lab-based genesis for the virus in January.

Anthony Ruggerio, who leads efforts to track weapons of mass destruction at the National Security Council, expressed dissatisfaction with a CIA analysis in January that indicated there was not enough evidence to link the virus to the lab.

In a statement on Thursday, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said that the intelligence community would continue to investigate whether the outbreak began through a zoonotic event or an accident at the laboratory.

The intelligence community concurs with the scientific consensus, which does not believe that the virus was manmade, the statement said.

Some theories posit that an accident at one of the labs in Wuhan that researches viruses in bats may have led to the current outbreak, while other theories support an animal-to-human transfer of the virus at a live animal market in Wuhan.

White House officials and some Republicans in Congress have sought to blame China for the pandemic in part to deflect attention from the administration's mismanagement of the crisis.

Analysts have expressed concern that any intelligence document blaming Beijing for the outbreak could seriously harm bilateral relations for years to come.



USA—Pacific Fleet To Oversee Reduced RIMPAC Drills

U.S. Pacific Fleet | 05/01/2020

The U.S. Pacific Fleet says it will hold a scaled-down version of the biennial Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise this year due to concerns about the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

The exercise is scheduled to take place off the coast of Hawaii from Aug. 17 to Aug. 31, the fleet announced on Wednesday.

The drills will have limited shore-based activities to prevent potential crew exposure to COVID-19. Foreign warships will be able to access Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam for logistics support.

A minimal footprint of staff will be maintained on shore for command-and-control, logistics and other support functions, said Pacific Fleet.

This year's exercise is expected to focus on multinational anti-submarine warfare, maritime intercept operations and live-fire training events.

The number of nations that will participate has not been confirmed. Twenty-six countries from the Indian Ocean, South Pacific and South America participated in the 2018 drills, reported USNI News.

A South Korean military source confirmed that Seoul would send a contingent to the exercise, reported the Yonhap news agency (Seoul).





USA—Costs Grow For Boeing Tanker, Presidential Transport Programs

Defense News | 05/01/2020

Boeing has revealed that it will have to pay hundreds of millions of dollars due to cost increases on its tanker and presidential transport programs with the Air Force, reports Defense News.

The company said it took an $827 million pre-tax charge on the KC-46 Pegasus aerial tanker program. About $551 million of the cost was due to design and integration work on a new remote vision system under a deal with the Air Force reached earlier this month.

The balance of the cost growth was attributed to production inefficiencies and the effects of shutting down its production facilities in Washington state due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, reported Air Force magazine.

With the latest charges Boeing has been forced to absorb $4.6 billion in cost overruns on the KC-46 program.

Boeing also reported that it would take another $168 million hit due to cost growth in the VC-25B presidential transport program. These increases were also blamed on inefficiencies caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Air Force One replacement program is not expected to be delayed due to the issues, said an Air Force spokeswoman. The next phase of modifications is on track to begin in June, she said.



Russia—3 ISIS Terrorists Killed In Yekaterinburg Op

Tass | 05/01/2020

The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) says it has killed several terrorists in an operation in the suburbs of Yekaterinburg in Russia's Urals region, reports Russia's Tass news agency.

Three militants who were planning a terrorist attack were killed when they refused to surrender during a counterterrorism operation on Thursday in Yekaterinburg's Chkalovsky district, said a release from Russia's National Antiterrorism Committee (NAC).

A cache of weapons, ammunition and improvised explosive devices was recovered during the mission.

The militants were supporters of the Islamic State, the NAC said.



China—2 Improved Ballistic Missile Subs Reported In Service

South China Morning Post | 05/01/2020

Chinese military sources say the navy has commissioned two new nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, reports the South China Morning Post.

The Jin-class subs, built to the improved Type 094A design, entered service in time for the navy's 71st anniversary on April 23, the sources said.

The subs feature improved radar, sonar and torpedoes and a smoothed design compared to the previous boats, which had noticeable humps for their missile launchers, reported the Times of London.

The subs join four baseline Type 094 boats that had been previously delivered.

Each sub carries up to 12 JL-2 submarine-launched ballistic missiles.



Philippines—Military Considers Apaches, Vipers To Upgrade Attack Helicopter Capabilities

U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency | 05/01/2020

The Philippines is seeking to buy new attack helicopters from the U.S., reports the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency.

Manila is considering acquiring either AH-64E Apache or AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters to modernize its aging fleet.

The U.S. State Dept. has approved a potential sale for both aircraft.

One possible deal, worth US$1.5 billion, covers six AH-64E Apache attack helicopters; 18 T700-GE-701D engines; 15 Honeywell embedded Global Positioning Systems/inertial navigation (EGI) systems with precise positioning service; 200 AGM-114 Hellfire missiles; 300 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS)rockets; and 200 FIM-92H Stinger missiles.

The proposed sale also includes six AN/ASQ-170 modernized target acquisition and designation sight/AN/AAR-11 modernized pilot night-vision sensors (M-TADS/PNVS); six AN/APG-78 fire-control radars (FCR) with radar electronic units (REU); six AN/APR-48B Modernized-Radar Frequency Interferometers (M-RFI); and eight AAR-57 Common Missile Warning Systems (CMWS).

Separately, the State Dept. authorized a potential US$450 million sale of six AH-1Z attack helicopters; 14 T-700 GE 401C engines; seven Honeywell embedded Global Positioning Systems/inertial navigation (EGI) systems with precise positioning service (PPS); six AGM-114 Hellfire II missiles; and 26 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) rockets.

Congress has been notified of the possible deals and has 30 days to review them.



Pakistan—3 Die In Firing Across Line Of Control In Kashmir

Dawn | 05/01/2020

A Pakistani soldier and two civilians have been killed in attacks across the line of control in the disputed Kashmir region, reports the Dawn (Karachi).

On Wednesday, Indian artillery fire landed in the Rakhchkiri and Haveli sectors, killing two women and injuring two others, Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Thursday.

In the nearby Kailer district, Indian troops attacked Pakistani army posts, killing a soldier, said the ISPR.

The ISPR accused India of deliberately targeting civilians in Rakhchikri, reported Xinhua, China's state-run news agency.

Pakistan responded with its own attacks, killing a teenager and injuring a civilian in the Poonch region of Indian-administered Kashmir, reported the Indo-Asian News Service



Yemen—U.N., Red Cross Say Prisoner Swap Between Government, Houthis Near

Al Jazeera | 05/01/2020

Officials from the United Nations and International Committee of the Red Cross say the internationally backed Yemeni government and Houthi rebels could soon agree to a prisoner exchange, reports Al Jazeera (Qatar).

Around 1,000 prisoners have been identified for the first stage of the transfer, U.N. sources said.

The Yemeni government and the Houthi rebel group had agreed to a mass prisoner exchange as a confidence-building step during talks in Stockholm in December 2018. Under the plan, each side would have released about 7,000 prisoners.

Disagreements over the implementation of the exchange have hindered the effort.

The sides are now close to a deal and the only remaining step is for both to grant final approval, a Red Cross official said. The deal is far enough along that the swap could take place within days, said the official.



Syria—Suspected Israeli Strikes Hit Targets In Quneitra, Homs Provinces

Jerusalem Post | 05/01/2020

Israel is believed to be behind the latest attacks on Hezbollah and Iranian targets in southern and western Syria, reports the Jerusalem Post.

On Thursday, Israeli helicopters launched five missiles at targets in Quneitra, on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, reported the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).

The strikes only caused materiel damage, said Syrian officials. Some accounts indicated that there were Hezbollah targets in the area.

Separately, explosions were reported east of Homs on Friday.

Those strikes targeted a Hezbollah ammunition warehouse and missiles at the Ḥasan Ibn Al Haytham camp, reported the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Syrian officials later denied that the facility had been attacked. A military source told SANA that explosions at the site were the result of human error during the transport of ammunition.

At least 10 people were injured in Homs as a result of the explosions.

Meanwhile, unknown aircraft attacked Iranian-backed militias near Al Bukamal in Syria's eastern Deir Ezzor province on Thursday, resulting in an unspecified number of casualties, according to the opposition-affiliated Halab Today TV station.



Egypt—10 Soldiers Killed, Wounded After Armored Vehicle Strikes IED

Ahram Online | 05/01/2020

Ten Egyptian soldiers have been killed or injured in an improvised explosive device (IED) attack in the North Sinai region, reports Ahram Online (Cairo).

On Thursday, the armored vehicle the troops were traveling in struck an IED in southern Bir El-Abed, said a military spokesman.

An officer, a non-commissioned officer and eight soldiers were killed or wounded in the attack, he said.

There were no immediate claims of responsibility.

This is the first such attack in the region since February, when militants ambushed a security checkpoint.



Libya—GNA Rejects LNA Cease-Fire

Reuters | 05/01/2020

The U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in Libya says it will continue operations despite a unilateral cease-fire declared by forces loyal to eastern military leader Khalifa Haftar, reports Reuters.

On Thursday, the GNA said that it would continue its "legitimate self-defense" operations and attack any threats.

The move came after a spokesman for Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA) said it would call a unilateral cease-fire for the remainder of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The GNA indicated that it did not trust the LNA after previous failed truces and Haftar's declaration on Monday that he was seizing power in Libya.

The LNA announcement was cover for a string of losses suffered by Haftar and the LNA, one analyst told Al Jazeera (Qatar).

As a result of a GNA counteroffensives, Haftar's two main bases, Al Watiya airbase and Tarhuna, are under siege at a time when he has lost some of his authority in the east, where he leads with a nominal legislature, said the analyst.

In April 2019, Haftar launched an operation to take Tripoli from the GNA, which he said was unable to act against militias and gangs controlling the city.





Somalia—Al-Shabaab Publicly Executes Alleged Spies In El Bur

Voice Of America News | 05/01/2020

The Al-Shabaab militant group has executed three of its fighters accused of spying on behalf of the Somali federal government and Western intelligence agencies, reports the Voice of America News.

On Tuesday, the three alleged spies were brought into El Bur in the central Galgudud region and executed in the center of the town in front of residents, a local government official said.

The men were not from El Bur but were brought there specifically for the execution.

An Al-Shabaab judge said that all three had admitted to spying.



Sudan—Jebel Marra Rebels Join SLM-TC In Darfur

Sudan Tribune | 05/01/2020

Nearly three dozen military and political leaders in the Jebel Marra region of Darfur have agreed to join the Sudan Liberation Movement–Transitional Council (SLM-TC), reports the Sudan Tribune (Paris).

On April 26, 34 leaders, led by Salah Adam, also known as Rasas, announced that they would join with SLM-TC, which has been working to unify rebel groups in the region.

The SLM-TC is led by Hadi Idris Yahya, who is also the chairman of the Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF). The SLM-TC is taking part along with other SRF factions in peace talks with the Sudanese transitional government brokered by South Sudan.

The SLM-TC called the move a "significant addition to the movement."

The SLM-TC and Rasas had been negotiating the move for more than a year, sources said.



Sudan—A.U. Backs Khartoum In Bid For U.N. Political Mission

Radio Dabanga | 05/01/2020

The African Union says that it supports the Sudanese transitional government's request that an upcoming United Nations special political mission move forward without military units, reports Radio Dabanga (Khartoum).

On Wednesday, the A.U. representative in Sudan, Mohamed Belisha, met with Lt. Gen. Shamseldon Kabashi, a member of the Sovereignty Council, and Omer Gamar Eldin, the state minister for foreign affairs, in Khartoum, reported the Sudan Tribune (Paris).

The talks covered various peace and security issues, including Sudan's approach to the planned U.N. political mission.

The mission, being established under Chapter VI of the U.N. Charter, will not have a military component, whether peacekeepers or U.N. police units, said Belisha.

Elements of the transitional government have expressed concern that international peacekeeping and police units might remain in Sudan.

The political mission is expected to focus on implementing the transitional constitution, supporting peace talks and implementing peace agreements, Sudanese officials said.

Last week, several Western diplomats noted the ongoing instability in the western Darfur region and proposed that the mission include a police component to help protect civilians.