To All,
Good Saturday morning October 14 2023
Roofers are back and I got a lot of weed Whacking done yesterday. I got in around of weed golf with my double edged weed cutter. Both serrated edges are sharp and the blade is about 14 inches long almost two inches wide and the handle is oak and a bit more than an inch in diameter. It is heavy. If I get the whole thing in one swipe and it is a half inch or less that is a par. If it is larger and some are almost an inch in diameter and as tall as I am then I get a birdie. If I have to do a a back swing to get the whole thing I get a pain in my shoulder.
Have a great weekend I am off to do the chicken cage.
Regards
Skip
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My apologies to all. I hope that at least one of these works
You will have to use the exact link it looks like since it gets stripped off when you remove formatting:
https://givetaxfree.org/campaigns/squawk-7700-heater-needs-some-help/
Squawk 7700 Heater Needs some Help
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Today in Naval and Marine Corps History thanks to NHHC
October 14
1862 The Union iron screw gunboat Memphis, with acting commander Lt. P.G. Watmough, captures blockade running British steamer Ouachita at sea off Cape Roman, S.C. during the Civil War.
1915 The keel to first electrically-driven battleship USS New Mexico (BB 40) is laid. She is commissioned May 1918, and later provides numerous off-shore bombardments during World War II in the Pacific.
1935 Lt. Cmdr. Knefler McGinnis, Lt. j.g. James K. Averil, NAP Thomas P. Wilkerson and a crew of three fly an XP3Y-1 consolidated patrol plane from Cristobal Harbor, Canal Zone to Alameda, Calif. in 34 hours and 45 minutes and establish a new world record for Class C seaplanes of 3,281.383 miles.
1942 USS Greenling (SS 213) sinks the Japanese army cargo ship Takusei Maru six miles off Todo Saki near the northern coast of Honshu and USS Sculpin (SS 191) sinks the Japanese army cargo ship Sumiyoshi Maru 75 miles southwest of Kavieng, New Ireland.
1965 The 1,200-nautical-mile range Polaris A-1 fleet ballistic missile is retired from service when submarine Abraham Lincoln (SSBN 602) returns to the United States for overhaul and refitting with 2,500-nautical-mile range Polaris A-3s.
2017 Following more than 46 years of honorable naval service, the afloat forward staging base (interim) USS Ponce (AFSB(I) 15) is decommissioned during a ceremony at Naval Station Norfolk.
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Today in World History October 14
1066 William of Normandy defeats King Harold in the Battle of Hastings.
1651 Laws are passed in Massachusetts forbidding the poor to adopt excessive styles of dress.
1705 The English Navy captures Barcelona in Spain.
1773 Britain's East India Company tea ships' cargo is burned at Annapolis, Md.
1806 Napoleon Bonaparte crushes the Prussian army at Jena, Germany.
1832 Blackfeet Indians attack American Fur Company trappers near Montana's Jefferson River, killing one.
1884 Transparent paper-strip photographic film is patented by George Eastman.
1912 Former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt is shot and wounded in assassination attempt in Milwaukee. He was saved by the papers in his breast pocket and, though wounded, insisted on finishing his speech.
1930 Singer Ethel Merman stuns the audience when she holds a high C for sixteen bars while singing "I Got Rhythm" during her Broadway debut in Gershwin's Girl Crazy.
1933 The Geneva disarmament conference breaks up as Germany proclaims withdrawal from the disarmament initiative, as well as from the League of Nations, effective October 23. This begins German policy of independent action in foreign affairs.
1944 German Field Marshal Rommel, suspected of complicity in the July 20th plot against Hitler, is visited at home by two of Hitler's staff and given the choice of public trial or suicide by poison. He chooses suicide and it is announced that he died of wounds.
1947 Test pilot Chuck Yeager breaks the sound barrier aboard a Bell X-1 rocket plane.
A note that he did it with broken ribs from falling off a horse. He did not tell the doctor because he knew someone else would get the job.
1950 Chinese Communist Forces begin to infiltrate the North Korean Army.
1962 Cuban Missile Crisis begins; USAF U-2 reconnaissance pilot photographs Cubans installing Soviet-made missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
1964 Rev. Martin Luther King is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for advocating a policy of non-violence.
1966 Montreal, Quebec, Canada, opens its underground Montreal Metro rapid-transit system.
1968 Jim Hines, USA, breaks the "ten-second barrier" in the 100-meter sprint at the Olympics in Mexico City; his time was 9.95.
1968 US Defense Department announces 24,000 soldiers and Marines will be sent back to Vietnam for involuntary second tours of duty.
1969 The British 50-pence coin enters the UK's currency, the first step toward converting to a decimal system, which was planned for 1971.
1983 Prime Minister of Grenada Maurice Bishop overthrown and later executed by a military coup.
1994 Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, Israel's Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres for establishing the Oslo Accords and preparing for Palestinian Self Government.
1998 Eric Robert Rudolph charged with the 1996 bombing during the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia; It was one of several bombing incidents Rudolph carried out to protest legalized abortion in the US.
2012 Felix Baumgartner breaks the world record for highest manned balloon flight, highest parachute jump, and greatest free-fall velocity, parachuting from an altitude of approximately 24 miles (39km).
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ROLLING THUNDER REMEMBERED Thanks to the Bear … Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻
OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER (1965-1968)…
Skip… For The List for Saturday, 14 October 2023… Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻
OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER (1965-1968)
From the archives of rollingthunderremembered.com post for 14 October 1968…
A look at six back-channel documents that framed the US approach to the long-stalled talks in Paris…
Thanks to Micro
From Vietnam Air Losses site for Saturday October 14
October 14: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=59
This following work accounts for every fixed wing loss of the Vietnam War and you can use it to read more about the losses in The Bear's Daily account. Even better it allows you to add your updated information to the work to update for history…skip Vietnam Air Losses Access Chris Hobson and Dave Lovelady's work at: https://www.VietnamAirLosses.com.
This is a list of all Helicopter Pilots Who Died in the Vietnam War . Listed by last name and has other info https://www.vhpa.org/KIA/KIAINDEX.HTM
MOAA - Wall of Faces Now Includes Photos of All Servicemembers Killed in the Vietnam War
The site works, find anyone you knew in "search" feature.
https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/ )
Wall of Faces Now Includes Photos of All Service members Killed in the Vietnam War
By: Kipp Hanley
AUGUST 15, 2022
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Thanks to Mugs
Wonder what Zionism means? Watch this.
Mugs
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Thanks to Interesting Facts
7 Fluid Facts About Water
Is there anything more commonplace than water? Every day, we drink it and bathe in it, and in certain climates, walk right through it. But the reason water is everywhere is the same reason it's interesting: It's in almost everything, including us. Humans, and all other life on Earth, literally couldn't exist without it.
So let's take a few moments to pause and appreciate water — water inside our bodies, water on the surface of the Earth, and even water in space. In what unexpected places can we find water? How does water behave in different places? Grab a glass of water and sip along to these seven interesting facts about H2O.
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Our Bodies Are More Than Half Water
We don't just need water to survive — water makes up a large part of our bodies. Babies are born at about 78% water, and adults are up to 60% water, though adult women are slightly less watery (55%) than adult men. Similarly, some body parts are more watery than others. Your bones are around 31% water, but your brain and heart are around 73%. The lungs are one of the wateriest parts of the body, at 83%.
So what does this bodily water do? It helps regulate your temperature, produce hormones and neurotransmitters, digest your food, deliver oxygen throughout your body, protect your brain and spine, flush out waste, and more — you know, basic survival stuff.
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The Earth Contains 332.5 Million Cubic Miles of Water
There's a fixed amount of water on Earth, so it's a good thing that we have a lot of it. All together, the Earth's water adds up to 332.5 million cubic miles (or 326 million trillion gallons). This includes liquid water, ice, groundwater, water in the atmosphere, and the water that's in our bodies.
The vast majority of the Earth's water — more than 96% — is in oceans, with ice caps, glaciers, and permanent snow at a very distant second (1.74%) and groundwater a close third (1.69%).
You might be wondering: If the amount of water on Earth doesn't change, why are the sea levels rising? There are a couple of reasons. For one, the oceans are warming, and water expands when it gets hotter. The oceans are also taking in some extra water: The Earth's water supply includes glaciers, and those are warming up, too. When they melt, they flow into oceans.
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Most of the World's Fresh Water Is Ice
Oceans are salty, and since they account for so much of the world's water, very, very little of our water supply is fresh — only about 3%. Out of that tiny fraction of fresh water, nearly 70% of it is frozen. Only about 1% of all water can meet the hydration, agricultural, and manufacturing needs of humans. Most drinking water comes from rivers, which make up only 0.006% of the world's fresh water.
You can convert salt water to fresh water using a process called desalination, but it's both expensive and costly to the environment, and it's not just salt that has to come out of ocean water to make it potable (it often contains other contaminants). Still, some desalination plants do exist, especially in the Middle East and Africa, and technology is improving.
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Water Doesn't Always Boil at the Same Temperature
You may have been taught that water boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit, or a tidy 100 degrees Celsius, but that's not strictly accurate. That boiling point applies to water at sea level, but not at higher altitudes.
Water boils when the water vapor's pressure exceeds the atmospheric pressure around it, and atmospheric pressure drops at higher elevations — so the higher the elevation, the lower the boiling point. In fact, water boils about 10 degrees cooler in Denver compared to Death Valley. At the peak of Mount Everest, it only takes 162 degrees Fahrenheit to boil water. Low atmospheric pressure is why some recipes have separate instructions for high elevations, too.
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Food Counts Toward Your Water Intake
"Drink eight cups of water a day" is a common piece of hydration advice, but it isn't appropriate for everybody. Some people need more or less depending on all kinds of factors, like their age, activity level, and size. But regardless of your hydration needs, it's not just glasses of pure water that count toward your fluid intake. We get around 20% of the water we consume from moisture-rich food, like many fruits and vegetables.
Snacks that can help you stay hydrated include cucumbers, iceberg or romaine lettuce, celery, radishes, bell peppers, and tomatoes — all more than 90% water.
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2 Billion People Have Limited Access to Water
Most places in the United States have ready access to clean drinking water, with the occasional notable exception. Worldwide, access to water for drinking or even hygiene can be a little more difficult. For more than 2 billion people, clean water is either unavailable or at least far away.
Around 1.2 billion of that group has clean water within a 30-minute round trip. Another 282 million people have to travel more than 30 minutes to collect water. But around 490 million people are left with unprotected or potentially contaminated water — 368 million people get it from unprotected wells and springs, and 122 million from untreated surface water such as lakes and rivers. Access to clean water means more than hydration, of course. Less time spent ill or fetching water means more opportunities to do other things, like work and attend school.
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In Space, Water Forms a Perfect Sphere
You may not think of water as sticky, at least not in the way that glue or chewing gum is sticky, but it does have a unique ability to stick to things. This has to do with the hydrogen bonds in water's molecular structure — H2O means that each molecule of water has two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom bonded together. Hydrogen bonds form easily and are extremely attracted to one another. These easy bonds cause surface tension in water: The molecules are so attracted to each other that at the surface, with nothing above them to cling to, they form a stronger bond with their neighbors below the surface.
The most common way you'll see water's stickiness in action is a drop of water hitting a larger amount of water, but it's both much cooler and much more illustrative to see how water operates in zero gravity. In space, water pulls itself into a perfect sphere because it doesn't have to work against gravity to bond with itself.
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Thanks to Brett
Geopolitical Futures:
Keeping the future in focus
https://geopoliticalfutures.com
Daily Memo: Israel's Warning to Palestinians
By: GPF Futures
Oct 13, 2023
Egypt, for its part, urged the people of Gaza not to leave the territory.
Israel sends a warning. The Israel Defense Forces issued a statement on Friday warning Palestinians in Gaza to evacuate to the southern part of the strip for their own safety within 24 hours. They were also asked not to approach the area of Gaza bordering Israel. Israel also declared parts of the northern city of Metula, on the border with Lebanon, a closed military zone. Meanwhile, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday.
Egypt's input. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi said Palestinians should "remain on their land" following calls for Cairo to allow those left in Gaza to flee to Egypt. El-Sissi argued that, though Cairo is sympathetic to their plight, there is a danger of "liquidation" of the Palestinian cause if they leave the besieged enclave. Relatedly, Egypt's Foreign Ministry clarified that the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza remains open, despite reports that it had been closed. Meanwhile, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is in Egypt for talks on bilateral relations and the situation in Israel.
Putin's offer. Speaking at a leaders summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to act as a mediator in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. He said that Israel has the right to defend its citizens but that a solution must involve the establishment of a Palestinian state with its capital in East Jerusalem. He also said an Israeli ground operation in Gaza would lead to grave consequences for the civilian population.
Russian wheat. Also at the summit, Putin declared that Russia can meet the food needs of all its CIS partners. This comes as it was reported this week that Egypt's Food Procurement Agency has agreed to purchase almost 800,000 tons of wheat from Russia.
Meeting in Bangkok. Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa met with her Thai counterpart, Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara, in Bangkok. In their first meeting since they both took office, the two officials agreed to enhance cooperation to promote Japanese investment in Thailand based on a five-year joint action plan adopted last year.
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Thanks to Tom
View the Latest Edition of "This Week @NASA" (published Friday, Sept. 29, 2023)
Folks-
Sorry….very busy at work and personal life….overflowing…
ENJOY!
Tom
OUTSIDE READING:
Leaks!
Psyche – another Asteroid!!
AGENCYWIDE MESSAGE TO ALL NASA EMPLOYEES
Points of Contact: Rebecca Sirmons, rebecca.h.sirmons@nasa.gov, and Andre Valentine, andre.valentine-1@nasa.gov, Office of Communications, NASA Headquarters
View the Latest Edition of "This Week @NASA" (published Friday, Sept. 29, 2023)
View the latest "This Week @NASA," produced by NASA Television, for features on agency news and activities. Stories in this program include:
• Our First Asteroid Sample Return Mission Lands
• Record-Setting NASA Astronaut Returns to Earth
• Artemis II Rocket and Crew Making Progress
• Previewing the Oct. 14 "Ring of Fire" Annular Eclipse
To access this edition of "This Week @NASA," you may also visit:
This notice is being sent agencywide to all employees by NASA INC in the Office of Communications at NASA Headquarters.
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Thanks to Carl
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2023/10/13_basic_facts_to_defend_israel.html
October 13, 2023
13 Basic Facts to Defend Israel
By Seth Grossman
During the past week, I found that even most well informed Americans know very little about the causes of the war between Jews and Arabs in Israel. Here is a summary of 13 basic facts I think every American should know:
I. Until 1964, the word "Palestinian" rarely described Arabs who once lived in Israel. That was when KGB Agents of Communist Russia created and funded a terrorist group called the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Its leader, Yasser Arafat, was born and raised in Egypt. The PLO was as artificial as other effective and deadly groups communists used during the Cold War to take over Algeria, South Africa, Kenya, Vietnam, and Cuba. During this time, the KGB even gave money, weapons, and training to the IRA in Ireland.
II. "Palestine" was never an Arab nation. Until the Roman Empire crushed a Jewish revolt there in the year 132, the land was known as Israel, Judah, or Judea. The Romans renamed the province Palestine to punish the Jews. The Arabs and the Turks kept that name when they conquered and occupied the province. However, they ruled it from distant Mecca, Medina, Baghdad, or Istanbul.
III. Israel or Palestine was ruined and mostly empty after the Jewish revolt. The Arabs and Turks did little to rebuild its cities or irrigation canals. The goats and camels of Arab nomads or Bedouins stripped the land of trees, vegetation, and topsoil. Once rich farmland became malaria-infested swamp or dry wilderness. Less than 10% of the previous population remained. Many were Jews.
IV. Starting in the mid-1800s, Jews from Europe and elsewhere in the Middle East began moving back. They bought land from Arab and Turkish absentee owners who had no interest in living there. For the next 90 years, Jews rebuilt cities, roads, and irrigation canals. They drained swamps, watered deserts, and planted trees and crops. As Jews made the land prosperous again, thousands of Arabs from Egypt, Syria, and other nearby countries moved there.
V. After World War One, the British and French carved new nations out of the defeated Ottoman Empire. In 1920, they created Lebanon for persecuted Christians. In 1921, they divided the Turkish province of Palestine. Eastern or "Transjordan" Palestine became an Arab kingdom. Palestine west of the Jordan River was set aside for settlement by Jews. More Jews bought empty land and moved there. Their prosperity encouraged more Arabs to move there. By 1948, there were roughly one million Arabs, 600,000 Jews, and 160,000 Christians and Druze living in that part of Palestine.
VI. In 1947, the British granted independence to India. British India was mostly Hindu but had a large Muslim minority. To avoid conflict, the British allowed regions with Muslim majorities to form the new Muslim-majority nation of Pakistan, which included what is now Bangladesh. Millions of Hindus and Buddhists in Muslim Pakistan and Bangladesh moved to India. Millions of Muslims in Hindu India moved to Pakistan and Bangladesh. Everybody who moved permanently settled in his new country. There were no refugees or refugee camps. Nobody claimed a "right of return."
VII. In 1948, the United Nations equally divided the "Jewish National Home" part of Palestine between Jews and Arabs. The Jews accepted what they were given as their State of Israel. The Arabs in Palestine rejected statehood. They instead invaded Israel with the help of armies from five neighboring Arab countries. After a year of bitter fighting, Jews had control of roughly three fourths of western Palestine. In 1949, all parties agreed to a ceasefire. The lines where the fighting stopped became the "Green Line" borders of Israel.
VIII. During and after that 1948 war, there was a population transfer for Israel like that of India. Roughly 700,000 Arabs moved from mostly Jewish Israel to Arab parts of Palestine and other Arab countries. Roughly 700,000 Jews left Arab Palestine and other Arab countries and moved to Jewish Israel.
IX. The original 1948 "partition" boundaries between Jews and Arabs could work only if there were peace and cooperation between the two. When the Arabs chose war, Jews needed a nation with "defensible borders." In 1939, Germany invaded and easily defeated Poland and Czechoslovakia. That was partly because those nations' borders were almost impossible to defend. When Germany was defeated, the United Nations took land from Germany so both Poland and Czechoslovakia had "defensible borders." The Germans who lived there had to move to a smaller Germany. That was the price for invading neighbors.
X. The war in Gaza is part of a global war between an alliance of militant Islam and communists on one side, and Judeo-Christian Western civilization on the other.
XI. Islam began as an aggressive warrior religion 1,400 years ago. In just 50 years, Mohammed and his followers destroyed and occupied the powerful Persian Empire. They also occupied most of the Greek Byzantine Empire. Then they took North Africa and Spain away from what was left of the Roman Empire. The Koran, the holy book of Islam, has many contradictions and is difficult to understand. However, it clearly declares that Mohammed was God's final prophet and that his words (hadith) and deeds (sunna) must be followed. Many Muslim scholars teach that Mohammed allowed peace and respect for non-believers. However, three influential sects do not. They are the Wahhabis of Saudi Arabia, the Deoband school in India that inspired the Taliban, and the ayatollahs of Iran. Followers of those three branches are behind most attacks and murders of Jews, Christians, Hindus, and Buddhists today. We need an information campaign to push back against them.
XII. Communists worked closely with militant Muslims for many years. At first, this seems odd. Militant Islam seems opposed to the political and economic theories of Karl Marx. However, most communists gave up those theories soon after Vladimir Lenin took control of Russia in 1918. Lenin and his followers quickly saw that Marxism was unpopular and didn't work. They replaced it with Marxist-Leninism. This was faith only in an elite "revolutionary vanguard" that had to keep and expand its power "by any means necessary." This included propaganda, bribes, bullying, political manipulation, and arresting and murdering opponents. In 1919, Lenin formed the Communist International to expand his power worldwide. In 1920, he invited and recruited radical Islamists to a congress in Baku. That was featured in the 1981 Hollywood movie Reds, starring Warren Beatty. We need to again recognize and fight the evil of communists.
XIII. Finally, Israel, America, and the West all made many strategic and tactical military mistakes during the past 40 years. However, our moral sins are more troubling. We abandoned and betrayed countless friends who tried to help us. They included most of the people in Iran who love both America and Israel. They included pro-American Shias in Iraq like Ayatollah Sayyid Abdul Majid Al-Khoei, who was murdered in 2003. Israel also shamefully abandoned and betrayed its friends and allies. They include its Christian and Shia allies in Lebanon and thousands of Arabs in Gaza who risked their lives to warn Jews of planned attacks. We must quickly repent and change our ways.
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This Day in U S Military History
1912 – Theodore Roosevelt, former president and the Bull Moose Party candidate, was shot at close range by anarchist William Schrenk while greeting the public in front of the Hotel Gilpatrick in Milwaukee while campaigning for the presidency. He was saved by the papers in his breast pocket and still managed to give a 90 minute address in Milwaukee after requesting his audience to be quiet because "there is a bullet in my body." Schrenk was captured and uttered the now famous words "any man looking for a third term ought to be shot."
1918 – Naval Aviators of Marine Day Squadron 9 make first raid-in-force for the Northern Bombing Group in World War I when they bombed German railroad at Thielt Rivy, Belgium.
1918 – The second phase of the US-French Meuse-Argonne Offensive begins. The intervening time has been used in reorganize. US forces are now divided into two new armies. The First under General Hunter Liggett and the Second commanded by General Robert Lee Bullard with General Pershing in overall command. Liggett's First Army advances northward at a steady pace in the face of intense German resistance, while Bullard's Second Army moves to the northeast between the Meuse and Moselle Rivers. The Germans are forced to rush still more reinforcements from other threatened sectors of the Western Front.
1938 – The first flight of the Curtiss Aircraft Company's P-40 Warhawk fighter plane. The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk was an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry into production and operational service. The Warhawk was used by most Allied powers during World War II, and remained in frontline service until the end of the war. It was the third most-produced American fighter, after the P-51 and P-47; by November 1944, when production of the P-40 ceased, 13,738 had been built, all at Curtiss-Wright Corporation's main production facilities at Buffalo, New York. P-40 Warhawk was the name the United States Army Air Corps adopted for all models, making it the official name in the United States for all P-40s. The British Commonwealth and Soviet air forces used the name Tomahawk for models equivalent to the P-40B and P-40C, and the name Kittyhawk for models equivalent to the P-40D and all later variants. P-40s first saw combat with the British Commonwealth squadrons of the Desert Air Force in the Middle East and North African campaigns, during June 1941. No. 112 Squadron Royal Air Force, was among the first to operate Tomahawks in North Africa and the unit was the first Allied military aviation unit to feature the "shark mouth" logo, copying similar markings on some Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Bf 110 twin-engine fighters. The P-40's lack of a two-stage supercharger made it inferior to Luftwaffe fighters such as the Messerschmitt Bf 109 or the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 in high-altitude combat and it was rarely used in operations in Northwest Europe. Between 1941 and 1944, the P-40 played a critical role with Allied air forces in three major theaters: North Africa, the Southwest Pacific and China. It also had a significant role in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, Alaska and Italy. The P-40's performance at high altitudes was not as important in those theaters, where it served as an air superiority fighter, bomber escort and fighter bomber. Although it gained a postwar reputation as a mediocre design, suitable only for close air support, recent research including scrutiny of the records of individual Allied squadrons, indicates that the P-40 performed surprisingly well as an air superiority fighter, at times suffering severe losses but also taking a very heavy toll of enemy aircraft, especially when flown against the lightweight and maneuverable Japanese fighters like the Oscar and Zero in the manner recommended in 1941 by General Claire Chennault, the AVG's commander in southern China. The P-40 offered the additional advantage of low cost, which kept it in production as a ground-attack aircraft long after it was obsolete as a fighter. In 2008, 29 P-40s were still airworthy.
1942 – On Guadalcanal, despite the damage from the night's shelling by the Japanese, American aircraft take off from Henderson Field. They damage three Japanese transports unloading at Tassafaronga.
1943 – The American 8th Air Force conducts a raid on the German ball-bearing works at Schweinfurt. The force of 291 B-17 Flying Fortresses does considerable damage to the target but lose 60 planes with others damaged. The loss rate is too high to maintain so the USAAF abandons long-range, unescorted daylight raids.
1944 – German Field Marshal Rommel (52), suspected of complicity in the July 20th plot against Hitler, was visited at home by two of Hitler's staff and given the choice of public trial or suicide by poison. He chose suicide and it was announced that he died of wounds.
1944 – On Peleliu, the US 81st Infantry Division replaces the US 1st Marine Division in the front line on the island. American authorities announce that the occupation of Angaur has been completed but Japanese remnant forces continue to resist in the north of the island.
1944 – US Task Group 38.4 conducts air strikes on Aparri Airfield on Luzon.
1944 – One group from US Task Force 38 (Admiral Mitscher) continues to launch air strikes on Japanese positions. The 246 American planes engaged suffer 23 aircraft lost. The cruiser USS Houston is also crippled in a torpedo attack. Meanwhile, American B-29 Superfortress bombers, operating from bases in China, bomb the island.
1947 – Air Force test pilot Charles E. "Chuck" Yeager (24) flew the experimental Bell X-1 [Bell XS-1] rocket plane aircraft and broke the sound barrier to Mach 1.07 for the first time over Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., which was then called Muroc Army Air Field. The area has the largest dry lake bed in the world, a 44-square mile area known as Rogers Lake. Suspended from the belly of a Boeing B-29, Glamorous Glennis was dropped at 10:26 a.m. from a height of 20,000 feet. Yeager (who had broken two ribs in a riding accident the night before) fired the four rocket motor chambers in pairs, breaking through the sound barrier as he increased airspeed to almost 700 mph and climbed to an altitude of 43,000 feet. The XS-1 remained at supersonic speeds for 20.5 seconds, with none of the buffeting that characterized high-speed subsonic flight. The 14-minute flight was Yeager's ninth since being named primary pilot in June 1947. The Air Force and the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (the forerunner of NASA) did not make the event public until Jun 10, 1948.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
SACRISTE, LOUIS J.
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, Company D, 116th Pennsylvania Infantry. Place and date: At Chancellorsville, Va., 3 May 1863. At Auburn, Va., 14 October 1863. Entered service at: Philadelphia, Pa. Born: 15 June 1843, New Castle County, Del. Date of issue: 3I January 1889. Citation: Saved from capture a gun of the 5th Maine Battery. Voluntarily carried orders which resulted in saving from destruction or capture the picket line of the 1st Division, 2d Army Corps.
URELL, M. EMMET
Rank and organization: Private, Company E, 82d New York Infantry. Place and date: At Bristoe Station, Va., 14 October 1863. Entered service at: ——. Birth: Ireland. Date of issue: 6 June 1870. Citation: Gallantry in action while detailed as color bearer; was severely wounded.
GOODMAN, DAVID
Rank and organization: Private, Company L, 8th U.S. Cavalry. Place and date: At Lyry Creek, Ariz., 14 October 1869. Entered service at: ——. Birth: Paxton, Mass. Date of issue: 3 March 1870. Citation: Bravery in action.
RAERICK, JOHN
Rank and organization: Private, Company L, 8th U.S. Cavalry. Place and date: At Lyry Creek, Ariz., 14 October 1869. Entered service at: ——. Birth: Germany. Date of issue: 3 March 1870. Citation: Gallantry in action with Indians.
DONALDSON, MICHAEL A.
Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company I, 165th Infantry, 42d Division. Place and date: At Sommerance-Landres-et St. Georges Road, France, 14 October 1918. Entered service at: Haverstraw, N.Y. Born: 1884, Haverstraw, N.Y. G.O. No.: 9, W.D., 1923. Citation: The advance of his regiment having been checked by intense machinegun fire of the enemy, who were entrenched on the crest of a hill before Landres-et St. Georges, his company retired to a sunken road to reorganize their position, leaving several of their number wounded near the enemy lines. Of his own volition, in broad daylight and under direct observation of the enemy and with utter disregard for his own safety, he advanced to the crest of the hill, rescued one of his wounded comrades, and returned under withering fire to his own lines, repeating his splendidly heroic act until he had brought in all the men, 6 in number.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for October 14, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
14 October
1918: Brig Gen William "Billy" Mitchell designated as Chief of Air Service Army Group; however, the General Staff disapproved and abolished this designation.
1920: The Navy began tests to determine the effectiveness of aerial bombs against ships. Aircraft dropped sand-filled dummy bombs on the old battleship Indiana in Tangier Sound, Chesapeake Bay, until 4 November. (21)
1922: Lt Russell L. Maughan used a Curtiss R-6 racing biplane, powered by a D-12 Curtiss Conqueror engine, to set a world speed record of 205.31 MPH over a 100-kilometer course in the Pulitzer Trophy Air Race near Mount Clemens, (Detroit) Mich. He set a record of 205.94 for 200 kilometers too. (5)
1938: Curtiss test pilot Edward Elliot flew the Curtiss XP-40 for the first time above Buffalo, NY. (20)
1940: Off Virginia's coast, Maj Reuben Moffat, the 33d Pursuit Group Commander, became the first Army Air Corps pilot to fly an aircraft off a carrier. He flew his Curtiss P-40 off the USS Wasp along with 24 other P-40s and 9 North American O-47s to test deployment procedures. (8: Oct 90)
1943: Eighth Air Force struck the heart of the German ball bearing industry at Schweinfurt, Germany, for the second time, but 67 of 291 B-17s were lost. This mission caused the Eighth to suspend daylight bombing missions to targets deep inside Germany. (4) (21)
1947: KEY EVENT--MACKAY TROPHY. At Muroc Field, Capt Chuck E. Yeager flew faster than-sound for the first time (Mach 1.01) in a rocket-powered Bell XS-1 after being dropped from a B-29. For this most meritorious flight of the year, Yeager received the Mackay Trophy. (3) (9) SECDEF James V. Forrestal approved the Air Force's control over all surface-to-surface "pilotless aircraft" and strategic missiles. The Army gained control over all tactical missiles. (6)
1949: Chase Aircraft Company's XC-123, an assault transport aircraft that was later known as the Provider, completed its first flight test at West Trenton, N. J. (12)
1950: KOREAN WAR. Two communist aircraft, probably from Sinuiju on the Chinese border, raided Inchon harbor and Kimpo airfield, while Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) troops began entering N. Korea from Manchuria. (28)
1953: The X-10 prototype of the North American B-64 Navaho, a ramjet-propelled surface-to-surface guided missile, made its first flight. (21) (26)
1957: SAC retired its first B-47-type aircraft, an RB-47E (No. 51-5272) to the aircraft storage facility at Davis-Monthan AFB. This retirement started the B-47 phaseout program. (1)
1959: A US Army Nike-Zeus antimissile completed its first flight. (16) (24)
1961: Operation SKY SHIELD II. NORAD conducted this operation for two days. The largest air defense exercise in the Western hemisphere to date involved thousands of NORAD and SAC airplanes and sorties, and it grounded all commercial aircraft for 12 hours. (16) (24)
1962: CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS. While flying his U-2 over Cuba, Maj Richard S. Heyser took photos of Russian intermediate missiles. His discovery led to the 22 October quarantine of Cuba, the Missile Crisis, and a Soviet promise to remove the missiles on 20 November. A combined TAC and MATS airlift force of C-123s, C-124s, and C-130s delivered 10,500 passengers and 7,500 tons of cargo to Marine, Army, and USAF bases in the southern US. (1) (2)
1965: Company pilot Alvin S. White and Col Joseph F. Cotton flew the North American XB-70A Valkyrie to its designed Mach 3 speed of 2,000 MPH at 70,000 feet in a 1-hour, 47-minute test flight over Edwards AFB. (26)
1969: A C-5A Galaxy lifted off the Edwards AFB runway with a gross weight of 798,200 pounds to set a world record. (3)
1970: John Manke flew the X-24A Lifting Body on its first supersonic flight by attaining 759 MPH at 66,000 feet. (3) (26) Typhoon Joan swept over the central Philippines, killing over 500 people. PACAF airlift forces moved 751,200 pounds of cargo and 453 passengers in 80 sorties. (17)
1972: The first F-111F wing became operationally ready. For their long-distance nonstop flight at Mach 3 in an SR-71, Lt Col Thomas B. Estes and Lt Col Dewain C. Vick received the Harmon Interntional Aviation Trophy.
1973: YOM KIPPUR WAR/Operation NICKEL GRASS. Through 14 November, MAC delivered 22,395 tons of materiel from 20 locations in the US to Israel in the 1973 war. MAC completed this airlift, with a one-way distance of 6,450 miles, in 567 C-5 and C-141 missions. By comparison, the Soviets supplied 15,000 tons to the Arabs in 40 days flying over a route of 1,700 miles in 935 missions. (2) (26)
1977: Retired Brig Gen Charles E. Yeager flew an F-104 faster than sound to repeat his historical event of 1947. (16) A C-141 airlifted 20 large and 150 small tents from Ramstein AB to the African port of Djibouti for war refugees in the country of Afars and the Issas (formerly French Somaliland). (18)
1981: TAC deployed two E-3A Sentry AWACS aircraft to Egypt to help preserve calm after the assasination of President Anwar Sadat. (16) (18)
1982: Retired Brig Gen Charles E. Yeager flew an F-5G (later F-20) above Edwards AFB faster than sound to commemorate the 35th anniversary of his 1947 flight. (16)
1983: Second Peacekeeper test flight missile launched from Vandenberg AFB. (12)
1994: Through 16 October, two C-17 Globemaster IIIs flew equipment and supplies from Langley AFB to Saudi Arabia in the aircraft's first operational mission. The first C-17 airlifted a "rolling command post," five vehicles, and assorted supplies of the US Army's 7th Transportation Group, Fort Eustis, Va. En route to the Persian Gulf, the C-17 received fuel from KC-135s twice. A second C-17 mission to the Gulf region left Charleston AFB on 15 October after onloading cargo at Langley. This C-17 also received two refuelings on a 14.7-hour nonstop flight. After a four-hour layover, the C-17 returned to Charleston on 16 October. Two aerial refuelings allowed the C-17 to make a 17.2-hour flight, the longest mission to date. (16) (18)
1997: Retired Brig. Gen. Charles "Chuck" Yeager broke the sound barrier again in front of a crowd of more than 5,000 people at Edwards AFB to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his historic supersonic flight. Yeager flew an F-15 Eagle while his first supersonic flight chase pilot and long-time friend, Bob Hoover, and AFFTC Vice Commander James Doolittle III flew chase an F-16 Fighting Falcon for chase. (AFNEWS, 16 Oct 97)
1998: The 89 AW at Andrews AFB received the first C-37A, the military version of the Gulfstream V business jet. (AFNEWS Article 981676, 4 Nov 98)
2005: The 436 AW at Dover AFB transferred the last AMC-owned C-5A (tail number 70-0461) to the 445 AW, an AFRC unit at Wright-Patterson AFB. After the transfer, AMC's active-duty wings only had "B" and "C" model C-5s assigned in their inventories. There were only two C-5Cs (tail numbers 68-0213 and 68-0216) in AMC, both A-models modified in late 1988 and early 1989 support outsized space shuttle cargoes for NASA. (22)
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Thanks to Brett
Stratfor snippets - Senegal, Russia, China, Iran, Kenya, Thailand, France/Mongolia, Mexico
Senegal: Ziguinchor Court Rules for Sonko's Reinstatement on Electoral List
What Happened: The administrative court in Senegal's southern city of Ziguinchor ruled on Oct. 12 in favor of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko's lawyers' appeals to reinstate Sonko on the electoral list, Radio France Internationale reported the next day. This is the first legal victory for Sonko's Patriots of Senegal for Work, Ethics and Fraternity party since Sonko was purged from the voting list after his sentencing in June.
Why It Matters: The court ruling enables Sonko to run for president, although a likely government appeal at the Supreme Court could still force his party to nominate an alternative candidate. The period for political parties to collect legislative sponsorships for their candidates ends in December (a candidate needs 13 parliamentary signatures to compete), meaning Sonko's party has about two months to officially declare its presidential candidate. Government lawyers may attempt to drag out the presumed Supreme Court case so that Sonko misses the sponsorship window if the government perceives that Sonko has a real chance of winning the case or to mitigate concerns over unrest should the Supreme Court bar Sonko from participating in the presidential election.
Background: Sonko is still residing in a military hospital in Dakar after going on a hunger strike in July. He could be transferred back to prison at any time.
Russia: Putin Attends CIS Summit Authorizing Observer and Partner Status
What Happened: Russian President Vladimir Putin attended the Commonwealth of Independent States heads of state summit that took place in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Reuters reported on Oct. 12. The CIS heads of state signed 17 cooperation documents, most notably regarding the creation of observer and partner status in the CIS and an international Russian language organization.
Why It Matters: The signed agreements indicate the continued importance of the CIS to Russia's foreign policy goals, as the newly reached agreements will further tie CIS states to Russia. They will also expand the organization's ability to act as a single pro-Russian bloc in interactions with other states and groups of states such as BRICS that may be invited to receive the newly created partner or observer status. Still, significant internal tensions within the organization are likely to persist, most notably between Armenia and Azerbaijan and between Russia and Kazakhstan.
Background: The trip was Putin's first foreign trip since the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for him in March. Russia will chair both the CIS and BRICS in 2024. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan did not attend the summit, but Putin insisted Armenia would remain within the organization.
China: Stabbing of Israeli Embassy Employee Could Raise Reputational, Compliance Risks
What Happened: A staff member of the Israeli Embassy in Beijing, China, who is also a family member of an Israeli diplomat, was stabbed by a 53-year-old foreigner in the city's Chaoyang district, the South China Morning Post reported on Oct. 13. The victim is in stable condition, and the suspect in custody.
Why It Matters: In response to the attack, Beijing will swiftly ramp up security and surveillance of Muslims — including Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang province, domestic Hui and foreign Muslims across the country — as well as people whose physical characteristics appear Middle Eastern. This could bolster Beijing's resolve to focus on security above all else in Xinjiang, which could raise reputational and compliance risks related to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act for Western companies with supply chains in China.
Background: Gaza-based Palestinian militant group Hamas, designated by Washington as a terrorist organization, called for a global "Day of Rage" on Oct. 13 following Hamas' attacks on citizens and military in Israel that started on Oct. 7.
Iran: Call for Arab Cooperation Aims to Prevent Regional Escalation
What Happened: In a call with Syrian President Bashar al Assad, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi called for Islamic and Arab cooperation to oppose Israel's airstrikes in Gaza and support Palestinians, Reuters reported on Oct. 12.
Why It Matters: Iran's call for cooperation with Syria demonstrates that regional countries are trying to de-escalate the Israel-Gaza conflict as Israel prepares for its ground invasion, especially since the call follows a similar conversation between Raisi and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Oct. 11. It also shows that Iran does not want to go to war directly with Israel, particularly with U.S. aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford positioned nearby to provide additional air support. However, statements made by Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and Iranian-backed militants in Lebanon and Syria indicate that Iranian proxies could still get involved in a limited capacity along bordering territories after Israel begins its anticipated Gaza ground incursion.
Background: Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has repeatedly denied directing Gaza-based Palestinian militant group Hamas' attack on Oct. 7. Iranian-backed militant groups in Lebanon and Syria have exchanged limited fire with Israel since the start of the war.
Kenya: Government Warns of Solidarity Attacks Over Israel-Hamas War
What Happened: Kenya issued a statement warning Kenyans that Islamist groups like al Shabaab might carry out solidarity attacks with Gaza-based Palestinian militant group Hamas to remain relevant amid the evolving Israel-Gaza war, The EastAfrican reported on Oct. 12. The statement issued on X, formerly Twitter, said the conflict between Israel and Hamas impacts global security, adding that Kenyans should report terrorist activities to the police.
Why It Matters: This development comes two days after al Shabaab issued a statement celebrating Hamas' launch of attacks on Israel and apologized for not issuing a statement earlier. Al Shabaab's potential targets in Kenya are likely to include Nairobi, the northeastern region, and the coastal town of Lamu near the Somali border — all areas where the al Qaeda-affiliated group has previously executed high-profile attacks.
Background: Kenya has been a frequent target of attacks by al Shabaab militants and maintains a military presence in Somalia, actively participating in counterterrorism operations against the group. The Kenyan government has announced its intention to withdraw its troops by the end of 2024, in alignment with the African Union's timeline.
Thailand: Prime Minister Committed to Cash Handout Despite Warnings From Economists
What Happened: Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin will go forward with his flagship $15 billion digital money handout policy despite receiving warnings from 99 economists, including former Bank of Thailand governors, as well as criticism from the current central bank governor and the chair of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, Nikkei Asia reported on Oct. 13. The initiative is scheduled to launch in February 2024.
Why It Matters: Thailand will need to borrow large amounts of cash to realize the policy, adding to Thailand's already high public debt, which stood at 11 trillion baht ($303 billion), or 62% of gross domestic product, in August. Economists argue that the policy will saddle Thailand with an additional fiscal burden that it is not prepared to handle given the country's already slow post-COVID-19 economic recovery and the slowdown in the Chinese economy. Even so, Srettha will continue pursuing the policy to satisfy his base of low-income households, despite resistance from Thailand's middle class and business community.
Background: Srettha's Pheu Thai party made the digital handout the cornerstone policy of its election run. The digital wallet policy aims to give every Thai citizen over 16 years old $275 to spur consumption. The International Monetary Fund cut Thailand's growth projection from 3.4% to 2.7% on Oct. 12.
France, Mongolia: Countries Sign Breakthrough Uranium Mining Agreement
What Happened: France and Mongolia agreed to a $1.6 billion deal allowing French majority state-owned firm Orano to mine uranium in southwestern Mongolia and cooperate in searching for lithium using satellite technology, Nikkei Asia reported on Oct. 13. The two countries also signed a memorandum of understanding on scientific and technical cooperation, expanding a 2018 deal.
Why It Matters: France anticipates that the Zuuvch-Ovoo mine will account for 4% of global uranium production once it is fully operational, which would help France diversify its supply of raw materials. Meanwhile, the deal is part of Mongolia's "third neighbor" policy through which the landlocked country is seeking to expand trade relations beyond Russia and China. Moreover, exploration efforts between the two countries have uncovered another uranium deposit site in Mongolia that the countries could exploit in the future.
Background: The parties intend to lay the groundwork for the Zuuvch-Ovoo mine in 2024 and begin production around 2028. Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh is in Paris, France, for a three-day visit, and French President Emmanuel Macron became the first French head of state to visit Mongolia in May.
U.S., Mexico: Texas Announced New Border Inspections at Nuevo Leon Crossing
What Happened: The Texas government ordered the inspection of 100% of cargo imported into the state through the Colombia Solidarity Bridge from Mexico's Nuevo Leon state, El Economista reported on Oct. 12. Mexico's National Chamber of Freight Transport estimated that the inspections will affect 2,000 cargo shipments to the United States each day.
Why It Matters: The inspections will exacerbate cross-border supply chain delays, possibly including shipments from manufacturers in Monterrey, Mexico, which could increase costs for some household appliances and electronics sourced from the city. The announcement also indicates that the U.S. federal government and the Mexican government are unable to pressure Texas Gov. Greg Abbott into ceasing the increased inspections, meaning delays will likely continue over the coming weeks.
Background: The Texas Department of Public Safety is already inspecting cargo at other crossings, including at the Ysleta-Zaragoza border crossing bridge in El Paso and the Camino Real International Bridge in Eagle Pass. Texas previously implemented increased border inspections in April 2022 and May 2023, disrupting commercial traffic and leading to the loss of perishable food products.
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