Archive for the ‘Linkzookery’ Category
Lawmakers denounce plan to retire six B-1Bs
Want to save money and cannibalize parts for other 60 in the fleet. B-1s have flown 72% of the bomber missions in Afghanistan and Iraq since 9/11.
U.S. Looks at New Ways to Supply Troops in Afghanistan
Reducing the footprint would also help the supply situation. Just saying.
Marine pilots recount daring rescue mission
Dozens of Marines, two CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters, two Ospreys, two Harriers and a KC-130J tanker were involved in the TRAP mission, which remains one of the highest profile incidents in the U.N.-backed military intervention in the Libyan civil war.
U.S. Navy’s Latest LCS Named ‘Little Rock’
LCS 9 will be the 5th Freedom-class ship.
Surprise plan would transfer MC-12s to Army
Would replace the Army’s planned Enhanced Medium Altitude Reconnaissance Surveillance Systems aircraft (EMARSS) if it goes through.
Obama OKs Medal of Honor for living Marine
Dakota Meyer, a former corporal, will be honored for his heroics in Ganjgal, Afghanistan, in September 2009
U.S. Missiles Missed Awlaki By Inches In Yemen
Just days after the Navy SEAL raid that killed Osama bin Laden, the U.S. came within inches of taking out the next big target on their terror hit list
USAF’s Bomber Will Be One Aircraft, Not Many
Looks like it will be a multi-mission jack-of-all-trades to save money and allow large numbers to be bought. Which probably means shoehorning every possible mission into one design will cause it to go way over budget, way over schedule, and perform way under expectations. And those developments will cause the program to be cut short.
Carbon monoxide suspected in F-22 grounding
The prolonged grounding of the Air Force’s F-22 Raptor fleet may be due to carbon monoxide entering the cockpit via the aircraft’s oxygen system
Fire Scout Reliability Improves on Deployment
Trying to keep the unmanned helicopter program on track despite a rough start.
3 frigates, amphib to leave fleet in 2012
Frigates Boone, Stephen W. Groves and John L. Hall will be sold to foreign militaries when they are decommissioned and amphibious transport dock Ponce will be retired. But hey, there are some LCSes on order.
Thank-You Sale at Gadsden & Culpeper
15% or more off plus a free T-shirt on orders of $30 or more of Don’t Tread on Me gear. Murdoc likes this one.
British Army to shrink to smallest size since Boer war
Will increase the role of their reserves.
Asteroid Arrival! Dawn Spacecraft Slips Into Orbit Around Vesta
First probe ever to enter orbit around an object in the main asteroid belt.
The Loch Ness Monster of Alaska?
“Cadborosaurus willsi,” which means “reptile” or “lizard” from Cadboro Bay, British Columbia, where it was originally spotted centuries ago.
2000: ‘Snowfalls Are Now Just a Thing of the Past’
2011: Motorists Urged to Prepare as Forecaster Predicts the Worst Winter on Record
ISSC-Austria Desert Tan ISSC MSR MK22 Now Shipping
Desert Tan model of the .22 SCAR looks sharp.
Star Trek And The Legion of Superheroes Team Up
Original Series STAR TREK crew to encounter “Great Darkness”-era Legionaries. The best of both worlds.
Obama warns Cantor: ‘Don’t call my bluff’ in debt-ceiling talks
He doesn’t realize that you don’t tell you’re opponent that you’re bluffing when you’re bluffing.
Bush trumps Barack in the Arab world: President Obama is proving an embarrassing flop in the Middle East
Smart Diplomacy in action.
Brit Defence Secretary Fox: Some NATO partners ‘pathetic’
“The US will not always be there to bail them out and if they want an insurance policy they should think about paying the premium.”
U.S. recognizes rebels as Libyan government
The United States and other nations on Friday formally recognized Libya’s main opposition group as the country’s legitimate government until a new interim authority is created.
Massive Drone Strike Hits Qaida Cop Station in Yemen
Boom.
AIM-9X achieves milestone C
AIM-9X Sidewinder Block II missile to begin low rate initial production.
100 Firefights, Three Weeks: Inside Afghanistan’s Most Insane Fight
The insurgents managed to negate the Marines’ night-vision gear, and rendered their traditional close-combat tactics useless.
U.S. May Pull Tactical Nukes Out of Europe
Probably not a bad idea.
U.S. May Delay Next Carrier
John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) may be pushed back two years. An alternative proposal calls for completely cutting CVN 80. What is this? The Royal Navy?
Over a Fifth of Navy Ships Aren’t Ready to Fight
What is this? The Royal Navy?
US Consumer Sentiment Falls To Lowest Level in Two Years
Suckers.
Chrysler Auto Workers Caught Smoking and Drinking During Lunch Breaks…Again
The Bailout in action.
Senators Question LCS Certifications
This program has pretty much turned into a joke.
Drone Copter Flops Half Its Missions; Navy Still Wants More
MQ-8B Fire Scout is not off to a great start.
Gun Contests for July
Over at Weapon-Blog.com.
Cartwright: Budget cuts could force a return to the draft
Sounds like alarmist BS to Murdoc.
Hungary introduces ‘fat tax’ to boost nation’s health
Yeah, but it could never happen here. The government tries so hard to keep out of peoples’ lives.
The latest piece of nonsense from the Righthaven suits
Does Righthaven not $3,815 to pay this?
Blackhawk Xiphos NT Weapon Light
With pictures.
Russian Teenager Designs Electric Rifle
Says it outperforms sniper weapons. Doesn’t seem likely.
American Boots on Ground in Somalia
Murdoc has no issues with the operations in Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen, and other similar spots. It would be a great victory if we could (honestly) get Afghanistan ops to a similar level. FWIW, Murdoc doesn’t really think counting such operations as “wars” makes a whole lot of sense.
Wreck Diving the Mysterious Ghost Fleet of Truk Lagoon [33 PICS]
A photo-filled National Geographic story on the wrecks of Truk I read as a kid is probably part of what got Murdoc interested in ships and naval history.
Battleship hull repairs begin
North Carolina getting some long overdue repairs.
The Five Best Inventions of the Founding Fathers
Benjamin Franklin mentioned twice. Shocking.
President Obama Apologizes to Family of Fallen Soldier
Claimed in a speech to have given the MOH to a living soldier…but the soldier was dead when it was awarded.
War Dog Memorials 7: Hartsdale, New York
Wow. Murdoc had no idea such a thing existed. Well deserved.
Last Vietnam Era Draftee Finally Retires
Served for 39 years.
Real U.S. Stealth-Tech Advantage: Its Assembly Lines
Sure, the Chinese and Rooskies have unveiled stealthy fighters. But can they actually produce them?
The Facts About Fracking
The real risks of the shale gas revolution, and how to manage them.
Is Ethanol a Solution, or a Problem?
Letters in response to The Great Corn Con in the NYT. Murdoc can’t figure out if he’s skeptically optimistic or cautiously skeptical about the whole thing.
Huge Rare Earth Deposits Found in Pacific
In sea mud extracted from depths of 3,500 to 6,000 metres (11,500-20,000 ft) below the ocean surface at 78 locations.
George Lucas gets his midichlorians in an uproar over Greenpeace
George Lucas’s concern about protecting his copyright overrides his concern about offending treehuggers. Is he just being a big Jabba? Is this yet another sign that the global-warming fad is over? Both?
Roy Thomas Saved Marvel
Speaking of George Lucas, the STAR WARS adaptations were apparently a big part of getting Marvel Comics back on track in the 70s.
Girl, 12, kills herself to donate organs to family
But she is cremated before family finds suicide note detailing her wishes
‘Man-Gagement’ Ring Trend Booming
I’m sorry. That’s stupid.
Justice Officials in ‘Panic Mode’ as Hearing Nears on Failed Anti-Gun Trafficking Program
They’d better be, if even half of what we’ve heard is true. Murdoc’s guessing we haven’t heard even half of it, though.
Revisiting Unemployment Predictions
It’s almost like politicians don’t have a freaking clue. And lie. Or both.
China surpasses US as top energy consumer
China accounted for 20.3% of global demand in 2010 vs. 19% for US
Catamount
Up To 8-Foot Long, 160-Pound Mountain Lion On The Loose In Greenwich, Conn.
Custody Battle Leads to Facebook Double-Sting
The big story about how a wife used Facebook to trick her husband into admitting he wanted her killed was, in fact, a scheme by the husband to trick his wife into incriminating herself. He knew she was messing with him and busted her doing so.
U.S. Plans Private Guard Force for Iraq
State Department Prepares to Hire 5,100-Strong Security Detail and Take Over Military Hardware for After Army Leaves
Again, the US wants Argentina and Great Britain to enter into negotiations over Falklands???
Another slap in the face for Britain: the Obama administration sides with Argentina and Venezuela in OAS declaration on the Falklands, and is not the first time
What a difference a gun makes
If Murdoc had a magic wand that would make all guns disappear forever, he’d snap it in half.
Danish Planes in Libya Running Out of Bombs
Asking the Netherlands to help replenish their stock.
Lockheed: Eglin to receive first F-35 in ‘days’
Six F-35 aircraft are scheduled for delivery by the end of the fiscal year
3-star SEAL’s Osprey targeted in jailbreak
Two detainees escaped from a detention facility on a Marine base in Afghanistan, then used a grenade launcher to target an MV-22 Osprey about to take off with a three-star Navy SEAL on board. It was last summer and the facility was Afghan-run. Two contractors, one of the killed in the ensuing fight, are credited with opening fire on the escapees and preventing them from firing on the V-22.
Boeing proposing P-8-based replacement for JSTARS
737-based design to replace 707-based civilian conversions currently in use.
NATO Nearing ‘Decisive Blow’ In Afghan War: Gates
Gates’ farewell remarks reflected his view that a troop surge in the nine-year war has begun to bear fruit and that a withdrawal, set to start in July, should proceed at a cautious pace.
Marines struggle to convince Afghans that they won’t abandon them
Trying to win hearts and minds while the politicians try to speed up the withdrawal timetable.
India to buy 10 C-17s
Keep that line runnin’! Biggest defense deal ever between the US and India.
What hard drives used to look like
5 Mb weighed 1 ton and had to be loaded with a forklift. That’s how it was in 1956 and also in the Traveller RPG.
Biogas Comes to Afghanistan
Thanks to a Gurkha Soldier, biogas has come to Afghanistan.
We should share aircraft carrier, say French
Proposal to share one carrier with the Brits to train both fleets’ crews.
Revised U.S. Fleet Plan Extends Some Ships to 70 Years
But even our Navy is starting look like a bit of a joke.
CAA Three Window Magazine
Indicator to show full, windows to see when down to 19 and 11 rounds. Ploymer.
Last World War I combat veteran dies at 110
Australian Claude Stanley Choules joined the battleship HMS Revenge in 1917.
Spring to test U.S. strategy in Afghanistan
We’ll see if the drawdown really begins this summer as scheduled.
Mars Exploration Rover Spirit Laid To Rest
Quite a run for the rover that landed in 2004. Hadn’t been heard from since March of 2010. Opportunity continues to function.
House passes $690 billion defense bill
Lots of attempts, some successful, to add requirements for the war schedule to the budget.
Starbucks
All Starbucks, all the time.
Free NYPD Pizza For The Troops On Memorial Day!
Good stuff.
First aircraft in phase one of Block 40/45 modification completed ahead of schedule
Upgrading the electronics of the E-3 Sentry AWACS planes.
Thunderbirds to perform first demo with alternative fuel
The team will fly with Camelina-based hydrotreated renewable jet fuel.
Final launch of space shuttle Endeavour delayed
APU-1 heaters cause delay until at least Monday.
Army says WikiLeaks suspect fit to stand trial
Let’s all hope Pfc. Bradley Manning gets treated fairly and squarely.
Stanford Faculty Senate Invites ROTC Back
They must now work with the U.S. military to determine what a return to campus would look like. Murdoc thinks this is good.
25 years on: Chernobyl still leaking radiation
But Murdoc can’t find HOW MUCH radiation is still leaking. Can anyone point him toward the answer?
SECNAV: Women will serve on attack subs
First female officers will begin serving on boomers and cruise missile boats this fall.
Convicted RFK assassin says girl manipulated him
Mysterious girl in a polka-dot dress was part of a mind-control plot. Oh, and someone else also shot RFK.
DoD Moves Toward ‘Should-Cost’ Programs
Blah blah blah
France Using ‘Training Bombs’ in Libya
The old concrete bomb trick.
Admiral defends carriers amid rising costs
Brit carriers going up in cost by 1 or 2 billion pounds.
Man Arrested In The UK For Singing “Kung Fu Fighting”
Arrested because someone was offended by the song.
Exclusive combat award for Marjah Marine
Leftwich Trophy for Capt. Ryan Sparks.
Six Planets Now Aligned in the Dawn Sky
All but Saturn.
Titanic’s unknown child is finally ID’d
Researchers say he was 19-month-old Sidney Leslie Goodwin, from England
Libyan rebels to get UK body armour
Crap like this makes Murdoc wince.
Chicago school bans homemade lunches, the latest in national food fight
Parents are charge of their kids, pal.
Carrier officers say Gadhafi’s troops hard to spot
Rafales and Super Etendards off the Charles de Gaulle are finding that the Libyans are hiding.
Invincible arrives at her final resting place
British Harrier carrier, a Falklands vet, to be broken up in Turkey.
The Reaper Harvest
It took 14 years to amass a million combat hours with the Predator and Reaper fleet. It will likely only take another two-and-a-half years to reach the two million combat hour mark.
Gray Eagle Contract
Murdoc noticed this: General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., Poway, Calif., was awarded on April 8 a $173,458,076 fixed-price-incentive-fee contract for the procurement of low rate initial production in support of the Gray Eagle unmanned aircraft system. Work will be performed at Poway, Calif., with an estimated completion date of April 30, 2014. One bid was solicited and one received. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting authority (W58RGZ-11-C-0099).
The MQ-1C Grey Eagle was formerly called the Warrior or the Sky Warrior. It will replace the MQ-5 Hunter for the US Army.
Japan launches F-X fighter RFP
Boeing and Lockheed Martin have confirmed a US government representative has received Japan’s RFP on behalf of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and F-35 Lightning II, respectively. The Eurofighter is also in the running.
With F-35 delay, IAF looking at purchase of used F-15s
Will upgrade some older F-15s and F-16s and possibly purchase a squadron of USAF F-15s.
BAE Systems Delivers Greater Intelligence Capabilities to Two U.S. Navy Ships
Distributed Common Ground System-Navy (DCGS-N) is currently being installed onboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) and will soon be going onto the USS George Washington (CVN 73) in Yokosuka, Japan.
Coburn spars with Norquist over tax breaks for ethanol
Murdoc is not opposed to cutting niche tax breaks, but there should be a corresponding cut elsewhere or that tax break elimination becomes an effective tax increase.
Korea Likely to Buy Apache Helicopters
Probably 36 AH-64 Apache Block IIIs.
Sikorsky’s Next-Gen Gamble
The S-97 Raider will have a pusher propeller meant to send it zooming past the roughly 200 mph top speed of conventional rotorcraft
Russia to Deliver Carrier to India in 2012
Admiral Gorshkov will become the INS Vikramaditya at a cost of at least $2.33 billion. It will fly MiG-29Ks.
U.S. Senators Warn Obama on Missile Shield Moves
The group, led by Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., warned against giving Moscow any right to veto use of the shield or providing Russia with “access to America’s most sensitive missile defense data and technology.”
Troubled SBIRS satellite poised for 1st launch
Space Based Infrared System missile warning satellite.
Just how creepy is ‘Creepy’? A test-drive
It’s trivial to plot regular location service users on a map and determine when they normally arrive at work and when they get home.
NATO takes on part of Libya mission from U.S.
So when will the NATO ships and planes arrive to take the place of the American ships and planes?
Limitations keep F-22 from use in Libya ops
Raptor likely benched due to its inability to communicate with other coalition aircraft and its limited ability to hit ground targets, analysts said.
The One Campaign Promise Obama Has Kept
They said they wanted to raise gasoline prices, and they’ve done it. Their target is to reach the levels in Europe, which has recently been reported as about $9.70 a gallon.
Gates Details $13.6B in DoD Cuts
Pentagon to shed hundreds of civilian jobs, more than 1,000 contractors and as many as 140 generals and admirals.
Feds: Former Marines caught uniformed illegals
Border Patrol agent who had served in teh USMC wasn’t fooled by illegal immigrants trying to sneak in as US Marines.
Navy vessel named for 9/11 to be christened
USS Arlington (LPD 24) will join USS New York (LPD 21) and USS Somerset (LPD 25) as San Antonio-class amphibs named for 9/11 sites.
ATF let hundreds of U.S. weapons fall into hands of suspected Mexican gunrunners
Oops. They’ll now use this as a reason why they need to crack down on gun purchasers.
New York man faces five years in jail for ‘linking’ to online videos
Not for making illegal videos. Not for hosting illegal videos. For LINKING to illegal videos.
On April 1, U.S. Is #1 (World’s Highest Corporate Tax Rate)
Stupid big businesses not hiring more people and charging too much for their stuff.
DOD Issues Stop Work Order on the JSF F136 Extra Engine Program
Pulling the plug on the second F-35 engine.
America’s Navy and the rise of China
George F. Will on the state of things.
Iowa Guard in Afghanistan: Odd sanctuary provides safety
Forward Operating Base Gardez, Afghanistan
Battleship Power Plant Program
Chance for a special tour of the USS North Carolina (BB 55). Sounds sort of like the Hard Hat Tour of the USS Texas (BB 35) that Murdoc went on a few years back.
Diet Coke Wins Battle in Cola Wars
Diet Coke is now the #2 selling carbonated beverage after Coca-Cola.
Pastor loses job after questioning hell’s existence
Defended book which claims everyone, regardless of their faith or lack thereof, will go to Heaven.
This is the 200th installment of Linkzookery here on MO.
Navy sends 8 ships to provide tsunami relief
Includes carrier USS Reagan and assault ship USS Essex.
Earthquake Didn’t Damage Fleet in Japan: U.S. Navy
No damage to ships (including the carrier USS George Washington which was in port) and no serious damage to installations.
Obama says noose is tightening on Gadhafi
Seems like a strange thing to say by someone who isn’t doing much of anything about it.
Gadhafi Bombs Rebels While NATO Planes ‘Monitor’
The rebels are sure glad people are monitoring things.
NATO split over Libya intervention
France and the UK are for it. Germany is opposed. The US seems to have no clear idea what it should do. Wait. FRANCE is for it?
Gadhafi forces show control of key Libyan city
Looks like Gadhafi’s forces control Zawiya.
U.S. intel chief says Gadhafi will prevail
The whole thing seemed a bit shaky from the start and now with no one really doing anything to help (well, besides monitoring) the rebels could find themselves in trouble. Let’s hope not.
Obama says noose is tightening on Gadhafi
I’m just repeating this one because the previous few links might make you wonder.
Wis. governor officially cuts collective bargaining
Boom.
Marines M16A4
Training aboard the USS Germantown (LSD 42). The Germantown is one of the ships headed to Japan.
Lawsuit claims Army helicopter is unsafe
Well, on a certain level, all helicopters are unsafe. Families of men killed in an OH-58D Kiowa crash in Iraq are suing.
Obama restarts Guantanamo trials
I thought it was moral urgency of the fiercest kind that we shut this place down.
More 200th Linkzookery below!
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Unions about power, not democracy
Murdoc is shocked, shocked, blah blah blah.
Wisconsin’s Democratic senators located at hotel in Illinois
Idiots who fled state to avoid a vote are great examples of democracy in action. What losers.
Time to Start Brewing
Well, now is the moment to test this proposition. If ever there was a time for the Tea Party movement to take to the streets, it’s now in Ground Zero in Madison, Wisconsin
Wis. governor: GOP won’t be ‘bullied’ by union bill protesters
Basically tells them to “bring it on” and tells Obama to worry about his own budget rather than meddle in Wisconsin’s budget. Murdoc likes this guy already.
Gadsden Flag Bad, Egypt Flag Good
Give those Wisconsin protestors Egyptian government (either new or old) and I’ll bet they wouldn’t be so quick the carry its flag.
15 groups unite to try and stop the EPA from funding nationwide E15
Murdoc is on the fence about the ethanol thing.
New Life for Old Fighters
Looking at making them last longer.
IED toll in Afghanistan reduced by 37 percent
In January, 215 IED attacks wounded or killed troops, compared with 341 attacks that caused casualties in August. Down by over a third since August despite the number of bombs planted remaining pretty level.
More LINKZOOKERY below!
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