No Responses to “Friday Linkzookery - 29 Feb 2008”

1. GeekLethal Says:
   February 29th, 2008 at 4:35 pm

   The text with the Bofors vid mentions that the system is basically 80 years old. Not so different from Mother Deuce in that regard, ditto the quad mount. Both weapons are examples of things that just plain work. Which is why I’m astonished that the services keep them in the field.

2. 11 Bravo Says:
   February 29th, 2008 at 5:25 pm

   Un-freaking-believable. They appear to have given the contract to EADS and Boeing is out in the cold. Will somebody please tell me what why America must be de-industrialized? I just read the new Pat Buchanan book, Day of Reckoning, and it has opened my mind to the folly of the so-called ‘free traders’ or should I say ‘free-traitors.’

3. Vitor Says:
   February 29th, 2008 at 5:33 pm

   Well, The Boeing one looks better to me, so by the laws of free trade ,the better one wins, no prejudice towards the nationality. And, yeah, the Boeing definetly looks better.

4. irtusk Says:
   February 29th, 2008 at 5:40 pm

   > Will somebody please tell me what why America must be de-industrialized? that’s an interesting comment since the EADS/NG win guarantees the construction of a NEW FACTORY IN THE US so building a new factory = deindustrialization? no, it is a victory for the USAF: they get the more capable plane AND it is a victory for the US economy - if Boeing won, that would only be 179 planes - with a EADS/NG win, that’s 179 planes + ALL 330-200Fs, which already has 75 orders before first flight

5. 11 Bravo Says:
   February 29th, 2008 at 6:52 pm

   irtusk , the Airbus final assembly in AL is just that. It is equivalent to the US selling F-18s to Australia and sending the pieces in crates for the Aussies to assemble. Yes, technically the Aussies assembled the jets, but I don’t think that really counts as being an aircraft manufacturer. The bottom line is a foreign company was on the ropes and the US taxpayer is going to infuse life into them. This foreign company will in turn use this added energy to engage in the civil market against our last remaining comerical manufacturer. How much difference could there have been in the planes? The 767 has an excellent service record and was or is the most used plane for trans-Atlantic flights. Boeing has 50 years of expertise in supporting aerial refueling. They still support the KC-135 even though that platform has been out of production for 20 years. Do you really think the USAF would be at a disadvantage with the boeing product? No freaking way. IF we gave a shit about putting the best product in the hands of our troops, we would never have introduced the M-16 or the B-1. Anyways, today is another sad day for those who love their nation.

6. irtusk Says:
   February 29th, 2008 at 7:10 pm

   > It is equivalent to the US selling F-18s to Australia and sending the pieces in crates for the Aussies to assemble. no all the integration work for the tanker is done by NG, this isn’t an ‘uncrate and assemble’ job that said, there is still a lot of money in assembly > The bottom line is a foreign company was on the ropes and the US taxpayer is going to infuse life into them. if by ‘on the ropes’ you mean ‘had yet another year of record sales’, then yes, i guess they were ‘on the ropes’ both Boeing and EADS have had record years, neither was in the slightest danger of going under if they didn’t win this contract

7. Dfens Says:
   February 29th, 2008 at 11:48 pm

   Let’s continue to protect Japan so they can continue to devalue their currency and steal our automotive and other industries. That’s a really good idea. After all, we owe it to them, right? That’s the ‘conservative’ position, if you’re a neocon poser.

8. Dfens Says:
   March 1st, 2008 at 3:07 pm

   ‘The virtual fence,’ writes the Post, ‘was to complement a physical fence that the administration now says will include 370 miles of pedestrian fencing and 300 miles of vehicle barriers to be completed by the end of this year. The GAO says this portion of the project may also be delayed and that its total cost cannot be determined. The president’s 2009 budget does not propose funds to add fencing beyond the 700 or so miles meant to be completed by this year.’ In short, these characters cannot build a virtual fence and won’t complete a physical fence. If the nation is fed up with Republicans, who can blame them? Securing a border is not that difficult. In 1954, President Eisenhower sent an Army general to Texas to do it. He began repatriating thousands of Mexicans and had the situation in hand within a year. Along the San Diego corridor, a crude fence of corrugated steel matting from U.S. airfields in Vietnam has stopped illegal trucks from crossing, cut back 90 percent on the illegal alien traffic, and virtually eliminated murders and assaults in the border area.Pat Buchanan, Human Events

   Our high tech detection methods worked so damn well in Vietnam on the Ho Chi Minh trail, why would we ever think they wouldn’t work on our border? But don’t put up a fence. That would cost too little and might actually work. Better to pay off a defense contractor on another corporate welfare project. Amazing.

9. Dfens Says:
   March 1st, 2008 at 3:11 pm

   I’m trying that link again.

10. Dfens Says:
    March 2nd, 2008 at 5:16 pm

    South America getting a bit tense?’ Ya’ think?
    

    Warning that Colombia could spark a war, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez sent tanks and thousands of troops to the countries’ border Sunday and ordered his government’s embassy in Bogota closed. The leftist leader warned Colombia’s U.S.-allied government that Venezuela will not permit acts like Saturday’s killing of top rebel leader Raul Reyes and 16 other Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia guerrillas at a camp across the border in Ecuador. ‘Mr. Defense Minister, move 10 battalions to the border with Colombia for me, immediately–tank battalions, deploy the air force,’ Chavez said during his weekly TV and radio program. ‘We don’t want war, but we aren’t going to permit the U.S. empire, which is the master (of Colombia) … to come to divide us.’ He ordered the Venezuelan Embassy in Bogota closed and said all embassy personnel would be withdrawn. It pushes already tense relations between the South American neighbors to their lowest point yet, with potentially far-reach effects on billions of dollars in cross-border trade. Though Chavez didn’t say how many troops he was sending, a Venezuelan battalion traditionally has some 600 soldiers–meaning some 6,000 could be headed to the border. Chavez called the Colombian government ‘a terrorist state’ as he sided with the leftist rebels it has battled for decades, saying its military ‘invaded Ecuador, flagrantly violated Ecuador’s sovereignty.’ Neither Colombia’s foreign minister nor the country’s military leadership would comment on Chavez’s latest move when pressed by reporters for comment Sunday as they left a funeral service in Bogota for a Colombian soldier killed in Saturday’s raid. Speaking in Texas, U.S. National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said officials were monitoring the situation. ‘This is an odd reaction by Venezuela to Colombia’s efforts against the FARC, a terrorist organization that continues to hold Colombians, Americans and others hostage,’ Johndroe said. - Breitbart

    Looks like another good opportunity to put Blackwater to work, since our military is already stretched past its limit. Keep on driving those SUVs, though. Maybe you can make an extra stop or two at Citgo too. After all the conservative thing to do is to put money in the hands of our enemies. If you don’t believe me, just ask Rush Limbaugh. I mean, if he’s not too busy golfing in Dubai (damn traitor).

11. Dfens Says:
    March 2nd, 2008 at 10:52 pm

    Apparently Idaho hasn’t learned anything from the mass murder shootings at the ‘gun free zones’ brought to you by college campuses around the nation:
    

    Idaho universities and colleges will keep their authority to regulate firearms on campus under a new bill headed to the Senate floor. The Senate State Affairs Committee unanimously approved a measure Wednesday that pre-empts local governments from regulating most aspects of firearms. The proposal no longer has a provision that would require the State Board of Education and the University of Idaho’s Board of Regents to set rules allowing concealed weapons on campus. - KTBV News

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