Year: 2010

When the Bigots Lose Tom Tancredo………

No Comments

You know that they have gone too far:

Former Congressman Tom Tancredo — the same guy who said we should send the president back to Kenya and said a Supreme Court nominee is part of the “Latino KKK” — said this weekend that the new Arizona immigration law goes a little too far.

“If I had anything to say about it, we’d be doing it in Colorado,” Tancredo told Denver news station KDVR. But, he said, “I do not want people here, there in Arizona, pulled over because you look like should be pulled over.”

We live in very strange times.

Buck Fen …… (Nelson, that is)

No Comments

So, the Senate attempted to begin debate on the financial reform package, and the vote failed by 57-41, with Ben Nelson (DINO-NE) voting with the ‘Phants.

Reid voted “no” as well, but included a motion to reconsider, which is a parliamentary trick to get a do-over.

Still, the most effective thing that the Dems could do right now is to take action against Ben Nelson.

If they start taking real actions against recalcitrant members of their own caucus, it makes it that much easier for them to deal with the Republicans, because they won’t get knifed by the Liebercrats.

OK, This IS a Sign of the Apocalypse

No Comments

The yield on 2 year Greek government bonds jumped 300 basis points (3%) to 13.522% over the past day.

To place this in perspective:

Greece’s two-year borrowing costs are now higher than those of Argentina, at 8.8 per cent, and Venezuela, at 11 per cent, two countries that have been shunned by many international investors because of the mismanagement of their economies.

This is not a collapse of Europe. What this appears to be is a classic bank run.

This doesn’t make it a potentially life threatening disaster for the George Bailey’s of this world.*

*I’m using It’s a Wonderful Life for illustrative purposes only. I never liked the film, and pretty much no one until it fell out of copyright, and TV stations around the US started using it as cheap filler.

I Hate Doxycycline

2 Comments

Even after getting corrected instructions from the Pharmacists, this medication sucks.

I’m not sure why, but I’ve felt generally achy lately, been sleeping awfully, I’ve felt fuzzy and unfocused, I’ve been throwing up a lot,* and the first joint of my left big toe is painful, hot, and swollen, so I’m hobbling around.

After some Googling, I determined that these are not that uncommon side effects, and I thank my stars that I am not taking this sh%$ for some chronic condition like acne.

Thankfully, I have only one pill left to take tonight, and then I am done.

Thank God.

*Yes, that incident in the Barns & Noble was so much fun, luckily I basically† made it to the bathroom before losing my strawberry smoothie.
†None escaped my mouth.

Unbelievably F%$#ing Stupid

No Comments
Let’s look at the targets and paths, shall we?


Pakistan


North Korea


Iran

Well, we now have SecDef Robert Gates saying that the U.S. has conventionally ballistic missiles in deployment:

Responding to a question from NBC’s David Gregory on the ability to deter nuclear armed rogue states, Gates said: “We have, in addition to the nuclear deterrent today, a couple of things we didn’t have in the Soviet days… And we have prompt global strike affording us some conventional alternatives on long-range missiles that we didn’t have before.”

This is f%$#ing insane.

Incoming ballistic missiles, whether with nuclear, conventional explosive, or kinetic warheads, all look the same from launch until the moment of impact, and so are very likely to trigger a nuclear counterstrike.

I’m with Noah Shachtman on this one:

The Obama administration is poised to take up one of the more dangerous and hare-brained schemes of the Rumsfeld-era Pentagon. The New York Times is reporting that the Defense Department is once again looking to equip intercontinental ballistic missiles with conventional warheads. The missiles could then, in theory, destroy fleeing targets a half a world away — a no-notice “bolt from the blue,” striking in a matter of hours. There’s just one teeny-tiny problem: the launches could very well start World War III.

………

The Pentagon mumbled all kinds of assurances that Beijing or Moscow would never, ever, never misinterpret one kind of ICBM for the other. But the core of their argument essentially came down to this: Trust us, Vlad Putin! That ballistic missile we just launched in your direction isn’t nuclear. We swear!

Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld couldn’t even muster that coherent of a defense. [Though the juxtaposition of, “Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld” and, “Coherent,” is generally a losing battle anyway.]

“Everyone in the world would know that [the missile] was conventional,” he said in a press conference, “after it hit within 30 minutes.”

(emphasis mine)

So, you will know after a missile hits the target whether or not it is a decapitating nuclear strike aimed at you.

Somehow, this is not reassuring, particularly since if we have a tool like this, we would likely use it on an at least annual basis.

Someone Sent Harry Reid a Clue

No Comments

Unlike with healthcare, where he sat by idly while he allowed Ben Nelson (DINO-NE) to confab with 3 Republicans in the hopes of making the bill bipartisan, this time Harry Reid has said that, “The games of stalling are over.

Basically, he is saying that if Republicans want a deal, they had better talk now, and if not, they will filibuster financial reform, and the ads will go up, the ugly ones in black and white with the sinister music and the gravely voided announcer, in the states of the ‘Phants who are up for reelection in 2010.

I only wish that he had slapped down Nelson about this on healthcare. It would have made for a much better bill.

What Paul Krugman Said

No Comments

His conclusion is all too true:

But the fact is that we’ve been devoting far too large a share of our wealth, far too much of the nation’s talent, to the business of devising and peddling complex financial schemes — schemes that have a tendency to blow up the economy. Ending this state of affairs will hurt the financial industry. So?

Until people in power realize that the basic problem with our financial system is that it is too big relative to the rest of the economy, and that it needs to be cut down to size, we will continue to have failures like these.

USAF Decides to Shoot Self in Foot

No Comments

Because of delays in the F-35 program, there will be a shortfall in fighter strength for the USAF over the next few decades, so they are looking at service-life extensions for existing F-15s and F-16s, and they have flatly ruled out any purchase of new build legacy fighters.

The idea here is that if they buy them, Congress might be tempted to cancel their white elephant.

BTW, speaking of white elephants, it not looks like the USAF will have to have its other white elephant, the F-22 will have to be escorted by F-15Cs upgraded with AESA radar, since the F-15’s larger antenna size allows for greater jamming capability. Basically, bigger antenna means more AESA modules which means more power and more range, and the AESA functions as a jammer.

Additionally, the F-15, “have the persistence [because of larger fuel loads] to stay there while the [stealthy fighters] are conducting their LO attack”. Note here that the F-15C is about ⅓ smaller than the F-22A, but apparently out-ranges, or at least out-lasts, it.

Your JSF Update

No Comments

Carrier Drop test h/t Graham Warwick

First and Foremost, I think that we need to start with the cost escalation of the F-35, with the unit cost estimates having escalated from $113.6 million to 136.2 million over just the past few weeks, which has triggered an official notification of a Nunn-McCurdy breach to Congress, which means that the price has escalated by more than 50%.

In the interest of fairness, Lockheed-Martin is rejecting the Pentagon numbers, and claiming that they will hit, or at least come closer to the original numbers, based on ……… I’m not entirely sure what, possibly reading chicken entrails.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the pond, both Italy and the Netherlands are making noises about scaling back their purchases/commitment to the program, (paid subscription required)with the Italians demanding a larger workshare, and the Dutch wondering if the entire thing is simply too dam expensive.

Note that the Dutch are supposed to participate in the Initial Operational Test & Evaluation (IOT&E), purchasing 2 aircraft, but they have only contracted for one, and they can sell the aircraft instead of participating in IOT&E.

It all hinges on the upcoming elections.

On the brighter side for the program the first F-35 with a full sensor suite has flown, sort of:

The mission system installed for the initial flight includes the APG-81 active electronically scanned array radar, EW system, integrated CNI, integrated core processor and the pilot’s helmet-mounted display. The electro-optical targeting sensor and 360-deg EO distributed aperture system will be added later.

(emphasis mine)

So the most low observable sensor, and the sensor that is supposed to allow the aircraft to compete against more maneuverable aircraft by giving the pilot a 360° field of view around his aircraft are not yet flying.

Finally, we have an analysis showing that the F-16 in 1998 out-ranges the F-35. Basically a 1998 PowerPoint slide for the F-16 gives a 630 NM radius with conformal fuel tanks on a strike mission on a hi-lo-lo-hi profile with the final 50 NM in and out on the deck, as versus a 728 NM radius for the F-35, which only pops below 5000 feet once.

Additionally, the F-16 carries 2 GBU-10 2000 lb bombs + 2 Sidewanders + 2 AMRAAM, while the F-35 carries 2 AMRAAM + 2 GBU-12 500 lb bombs.

If the F-16 is just carrying 2 AMRAAM + 2 GBU-12, and conducts its operations above at 5000 feet or above, it out-ranges the F-35, and that’s without considering that the F-16 numbers include the drag of an external jamming pod, and modern F-16s have internal jammers.

Finally, for your viewing pleasure, some the Jim Lerher’s News Hour has a segment on the F-35 that appears to cover all the bases.

It’s Bank Failure Friday!!!! (a day late)

No Comments

And here they are, ordered, and numbered for the year so far.

  1. Amcore Bank, National Association, Rockford, IL
  2. Broadway Bank, Chicago, IL
  3. Citizens Bank and Trust Company of Chicago, Chicago, IL
  4. New Century Bank, Chicago, IL
  5. Lincoln Park Savings Bank, Chicago, IL
  6. Peotone Bank and Trust Company, Peotone, IL
  7. Wheatland Bank, Naperville, IL

Seven Banks, all of them in Illinois, that’s a bit odd.

Full FDIC list

So, here is the graph pr0n with trendline:

The Ultimate Hitler/Downfall Parody

No Comments

I was thinking about putting up the Youtube (link), but by the time most of my readers saw this, it would be taken down.

There should be penalties for misusing takedown notices, something statutory, on an escalating scale, since this is only 3:50 of a movie, and a parody, and as such it should be fair use.

I am not suggesting that Youtube be sued, but I am suggesting that Constantin Film AG is breaking the law, and should be subject to sanctions, by issuing clearly illegal take-down notices.

In an interesting irony, this may be the best Hitler Parody ever.

Economics Update

No Comments

Well, we have absolutely boffo numbers on the new home sales front, with sales climbing 27% from February to March, though as Barry Ritholtz notes, “In February 2010, new Home Sales reached a record low. Bouncing off of those depressed levels is not a big deal.”

I call a dead cat bounce, with a 3 cushion shot because of the February snowpocalypse, though it is still good news, as is the durable goods order number, which were down overall, but up when aircraft sales are factored out.

As to currency and energy, the reduced fears over Greece following their request for external aid pushed the dollar down, and the housing numbers drove oil higher.

Deep Thought

No Comments
Click for full size


Get your motor runnin’
Head out on the highway
Lookin’ for adventure
And whatever comes our way

No matter who you are, or what you do, you will never be as cool as a tailless iguana tegu* in diapers driving a car.

Don’t even bother to try.

Thanks to Tiempo at the ShortSkoolBus BBS for the picture.

*A lizard of the genus Tupinambis, it can be mistaken for an iguana, but this is really not fair to either reptile.

The Republicans Will Pick Up Obama’s Senate Seat

No Comments

The Democratic candidate for his seat is State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, and as I’ve noted, before he entered politics, he worked at the troubled Broadway Bank as their chief loan officer, as well as being the son of the owner

The FDIC has just seized the bank, so his opponent, Republican Mark Kirk, who has already made much of his involvement with the bank, will doubtless be using this as a club with with to beat Mr. Giannoulias.

Nobody Goes There Anymore, It’s Too Crowded

No Comments

It appears that after a few years of being the government in Gaza, Hamas is getting complaints that they have sold out:

Hamas, the Palestinian faction viewed by many in the West as a nest of terrorists and Islamic hard-liners, is battling a curious new epithet: moderate.

Fifteen months after a punishing Israeli offensive failed to dislodge Hamas from power in the Gaza Strip, rival resistance groups and some former supporters say the organization has become too political, too secular and too soft.

“People in the street say Hamas has changed,” said Abu Ahmed, spokesman for the military wing of Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian armed group in Gaza that complained recently that Hamas had arrested four of its militants as they tried to attack Israeli soldiers near the border. “They’re paying a price for that. People need to know that Hamas is still committed to the resistance.”

You know, when I was in college, I had a number of friends who loved obscure rock bands.

If the band released a record, and it achieved any success, these folks would immediately condemn the band as having “sold out”.

I guess that they were upset because it meant that the band was no longer their secret.

I find this amusing, because this seems to be a very similar phenomenon: success, in this case defined as running the Gaza strip, is “selling out”.

It’s nice to see that some stupidities are universal.