Tanker RFP Re-Released

Well, the Air Force has released a new RFP, and already a Congressman from Boeing is whining, "Not Fair."

You can look at the proposals (warning big PDFs) here and here

The good folks at Flight International have read it, and they note 3 major changes:

1. Official credit for having fuel offload capacity in excess of the RFP minimums.
2. Separating maintenance and fuel costs from acquisition, and giving more import to acquisition costs in the evaluation process.
   
3. Extending the lifecycle period from 25 years to 40 years.

The first should favor Airbus, the second should too, because it pretty much locks out the Boeing 777, because it would require yet more development and have a higher acquisition cost.

The third might favor Boeing, because being a smaller plane, the 767 consumes less fuel, though it would likely be a wash on a per pound of fuel offloaded basis.

I still think that the Airbus offering brings a lot more to the table, but I thought that before the first award, and did not expect them to get it, because of Boeing's political pull.

Break out the popcorn.

Bin Laden's Driver Convicted of Being...A Driver

He was convicted of "offering material support" by being a driver.

The Judge seems to be remarkably fair, which surprises me:

As the subsequent sentencing hearing began, the judge called Hamdan "a small player" and refused to let the government call an FBI agent to testify about retrieving bodies from the World Trade Center after the September 11 attacks.

The judge, Navy Capt. Keith Allred, said the testimony was irrelevant since Hamdan had been cleared of conspiring with al Qaeda to carry out any attacks.

While Hamdan was convicted on five counts of providing material support for terrorism, the judge said the charges duplicated each other and ordered that he be sentenced only for one count, which he summarized as "driving Mr. bin Laden around Afghanistan."

Matt Bors put it best.



Link to cartoonist.

Michael Hirsh notes that this verdict is a loss for Bush. Among other things, it's likely to be overturned on appeal, because the tribunals were only given authority to prosecute war crimes, and "material support" is not a war crime.

What's more, the Judge pretty much said with his instructions, and his sentencing actions, that the Bush administration's definition of terrorist is a 6 pounds of manure in a 5 pound bag.

T. Boone Pickens and Windmills

Endorsing wind sounds nice, but why is he saying, "use wind for electricity, and use natural gas for cars"?

It's pretty simple. Mr. "I funded the swift boaters in 2004" has extensive holding in natural gas, including, "Clean Energy Fuels Corp., a natural gas fueling station company".

Additionally, if he gets to put up his wind farm, he will undoubtedly get lent to send the power to the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and he can also run a water pipeline, using the water rights that he purchased.

Getting eminent domain for water is tough. Getting for clean, safe, renewable wind power? Not so hard.

To paraphrase Abe Vigoda, "It was just business."

Well, This Anti-Semitic Corporate Sellout Made Keith's Worst Persons

I'm beginning to think that the Ford machine is a cancer on the Tennessee, and the US Democratic party.

It appears that Harold Ford, who refused to endorse the incumbent, Steve Cohen (yes, he's Jewish and white) in the general in 2006, has now decided that it needs to be brought back into the purview of the Ford machine.

In this case, one of his proteges, one Nikki Tinker is apparently losing, because she's going hard on race on religion, with her proxies putting out this flier, which Ms. Tinker hasn't even bothered to make a perfunctory denunciation of.

But, as the Ronco announcer says, wait, there's more!!!!

She's now run an ad, which she has now pulled off of Youtube,

While he's in our churches, clapping his hands and tapping his feet ... he's the only senator who thought our kids shouldn't be allowed to pray in school

It's a clear, and enthusiastic appeal to anti-semitism, and as Olberman says, "It has no place from a Democratic candidate, or a Republican Candidate, or a white candidate, or a black candidate. It is Shameful."

I would note a clip of Keith is below.

I would also note that Emily's List apparently threw in some big bucks for her campaign, which one should consider if they hit you up for donations.

In all fairness, Emily's List condemned the ads, but they should have know who and what she was. She ran in 2006 too.

A Formal Announcement on the Olympics

I won't be watching. Over the past few decades, I've become increasingly put off by the nationalistic and jingoistic coverage from the networks, and quite honestly, they the sports that I follow anyway.

Obviously if some news crops up, most likely athletes having problems breathing, or protests, or something worse, then I will discuss this, but as to the sport itself, I am simply not interested.

Well, It Appears that these Colors Do Run

Let's be clear: the air in Beijing is a miasma of pathological chemistry, and members of the US Olympic Bicycle team were completely justified in wearing filter masks when they flew in.

It looks like as a result of some arm twisting from Steve Roush, the chief of sport performance for the U.S. Olympic Committee, they all signed a letter that he drafted apologizing for wearing a mask, though bicyclist Mike Friedman said, "I'm not sorry for wearing the masks at all."

This is a health issue. Athletes are delaying going to Beijing to minimize their exposure to the air. The bicyclists are completely justified in their actions.

Oil Companies May `Panic' on Tanker-Rate Outlook: Chart of Day

It appears that oil tanker companies may direct their captains to slow down to save fuel, which would cause a shortage in the supply of tankers, and higher rental rates.

They are looking at a slowdown to 12 knots from 15 knots, which would save about 20 grand a day in fuel costs.

I would imagine that we would see a similar process unfolding with container ships, and this may contribute to increased costs for non-petroleum imports too.

Zimbabwe Update

It appears that there has been positive movement on power sharing.

I'm wondering if that might have anything to do with the announcement by the MDC that they have no intention of returning land seized from white farmers, though they will, "ask the international community and multilateral lenders to help compensate farmers whose farms were confiscated by Mugabe's government since 2000".

It might also just be the fact that the only thing less popular in Zimbabwe than Mugabe is returning the land to white farmers.

In any case, even with the New Zimbabwean dollar having 10 zeros dropped, it appears that the gasoline coupon is the most trusted currency in the nation.

Because Republicans Don't Want N*gg*rs to Vote

It appears that Republicans are throwing a hissy fit because the Obama campaign is aggressively trying to get people to register to vote. We all know why.

Obama is already hiring lawyers to deal with this. Hopefully, this will minimize problems on election day.

McCain's Fundraising Corruption

Hmmmm....It appears that one of McCain's major campaign bundlers, Harry Sargeant III, is using straw donors to funnel money to the campaign from non-US citizens in the Middle East, which is a felony.

Actually it's two, straw donors and foreign campaign donations.

Read the article. Many of the donors don't make much money, and many of them are not even registered to vote.

And all the contributors in the story have Arab names, which when juxtaposed with Sargeant's statement that, "I have a lot of Arab business partners. I do a lot of business in the Middle East. I've got a lot of friends," does lead one to wonder what's going on here.

Truman's Aphorism on Phony Republicans Applies to Germans Too

As our 33rd president of the United States once said, "When people have the choice between a real Republican and a fake Republican, they'll choose the real thing."

It appears that Kurt Beck, head of the German Social Democrats, and Frank-Walter Steinmeier, their most likely candidate for premier in the next election, are discovering just how right Truman was.

They are unable to do anything to lower Angela Merkel's popularity, and the party is now hemorrhaging members to the "Left Party", created from trade unionists and the ashes of the old East German communist party.

If they have any chance of returning to power, they will necessarily have to be in coalition with the Left Party, and probably the Green Party too, but the LP would require more concessions, if the GP's time in the coalition is any indication.

The LP would likely require a roll back of some of the anti-worker and anti-safety net policies of Shroder, which are a much bigger deal than the GP's focus on environmental issues.

There is also a pensioner party forming to resist cutbacks in government pensions which may grab a few seats in the next elections.

Economics Update

A number of economists have suggested that the world economy has become "decoupled", and that a recession in the US may not cause a recession elsewhere.

If the latest information coming out of Japan is any indication, these economists are wrong, as Japan seems to be heading into a recession too, though one could argue that the 1990s Japanese recession still hasn't fully ended.

Not surprisingly, this driven the dollar up, and it hits a 7-month high vs the Yen, ¥109.56.

In the ongoing GSE soap opera, the Treasury Department has hired Morgan Stanley to look at at the financial structure of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

There was a competitive bid process to select Morgan, though I still wonder if this is prudent oversight, or the fox guarding the hen house.

In either case, I think the fact that Freddie Mac has cut dividends after posting an $821 million loss, about 3 times what was expected, was a sensible move.

Dividends are for when you make a profit.

The monoliner insurers are not a soap opera though, they are farce, and the latest case is Ambac claiming a $823.1 million profit, which appears to be entirely due to an accounting change:

Ambac, once the second-largest bond insurer, reported a $1.7 billion net loss in the first quarter after a $3.3 billion loss in the fourth quarter of 2007. A rise in the risk premiums on Ambac's own debt in the second quarter lowered the value of bond guarantees, which was allowed to be reflected as a gain under new accounting rules, resulting in the quarterly profit.

Ambac rose 35 cents, or 7.4 percent, to $5.08 at 10:08 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.

Ambac and other financial companies are taking advantage of the accounting standard change -- intended by rulemakers to expand so-called mark-to-market accounting -- to report gains when market prices for their liabilities fall.

I'd appreciate a translation from accountant-speak, but it appears to me that they are profiting from the fact that no one is willing to pay face value on the debts that they owe.

In real estate, nirtgage applications rose last week, though only a little, and the week to week numbers are, as I always remind my reader(s) noisy. It's still way down.

In energy, oil fell on reports of increased inventories to $118.58/bbl, and
retail gasoline fell again. It's now $0.25 off of the record, so you save two bits a gallon.

Finally, we note that when the US gets a cold, Mexico catches pneumonia, particularly in rural villages, where the economy is even more dependent on remittances.

The depressing thing is that on a per capita basis, Mexico is solidly in the middle of the world in terms of wealth, and if a bit more could be pried from the top 1-2%, everyone would do better.....But I forget...that's socialism, so we deal with hoards of economic refugees in the US instead.

Kansas Anti-Abortion Wingnut Crushed in Primary

Phill Kline, former Kansas Attorney General, and now District Attorney in Johnson County, just got crushed in his bid for reelection.

It appears that his efforts to file criminal complaints against Planned Parenthood, and to subpoena all their patient records have convinced Kansas voters that they want nothing to do with this butt wipe.

He hasn't won an election since went postal on Planned Parenthood and he was defeated as Kansas AG. He was appointed as Johnson County DA, because that was the guy who won the race for AG.

Put a fork in him, Phill Kline is done.

We Are Starting to See Housing Development Ghost Towns

This is obviously just an anecdote, but Dennis Pflueger is living in one of two houses that are occupied on his block, and that only because he was given a year to live there rent free as a sales inducement.

This is going to get Dennis Pfluegervery ugly.

Agreed: Natanyahu Will Win

This is a good analysis of why Natanyahu will win the next elections.

I would also say that with Ariel Sharon effectively gone, he's auditioning for his role as Israel's state vegetable, Kadima is done. Sharon was the party.

They will be lucky to finish 3rd this time around.

What a Sh&%ty Little Man

Nicolai Sarkozy says that he will not meet Dalai Lama.

What a small, small man.

Lawmaker Gets Constituent High-Fives for Accidentally Supporting Marijuana Legalization

When William "Lacy" Clay, Jr. (D - MO), signed off on Barney Franks's (D-MA) bill to decriminalize marijuana, he thought that he was supporting medical marijuana, which he has supported for years.

It turned out that Frank's bill actually decriminalized posession of all pot in amounts less than 100g (a bit less than ¼ pound).

The response of his constituents surprised him. They were overwhelmingly supportive of decriminalizing marijuana:

Clay was worried about the reaction. Supporting the liberalization of marijuana laws is not often seen as a political winner, especially in Midwestern cities like St. Louis.

But instead of stoner jokes, derision and righteous indignation, Clay was surprised to start getting praise from complete strangers.

“People are coming up to me saying this is a common-sense, sensible way to deal with the issue of personal use,” Clay said.

So far, he said, his calls, mail and contacts are running 80-20 in favor of the bill. He was impressed enough that he decided to go ahead and step before the cameras last week with Frank and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) at a news conference touting the bill.

The only people who support throwing people in jail for a couple of joints are the business interests in the iron triangle that is the US Law Enforcement/Industrial/Prison system.

Not surprisingly, Ron Paul, who is consistent about such things, was the only Republican co-sponsor of the bill.

Hamdan Trial at Guantanamo

The prosecution wanted the instructions to the jury changed, but withdrew the request when it was clear that this would result in a mistrial. Furthermore, the judge said that they had waited too long.

The judge instructed the jury that, in order to find him guilty on the charge of transporting the missiles, "they must find the missiles were intended for use against protected people -- civilians not involved in hostilities, soldiers removed from combat by illness or capture, or religious or medical personnel."

Since at the time of his capture, the only aircraft flying in Afghanistan were US and coalition aircraft, it seems to me that this is innocent.

The prosecution objected to this instruction, they wanted the judge to, "Tell jurors that any attempt by an 'unlawful enemy combatant' to kill a U.S. soldier in combat is a war crime," which is a novel definition of a war crime, and, as the defense put it, "Then the United States committed a war crime by providing missiles to mujahideen forces who used them against the Soviet military in Afghanistan in the 1990s." (date wrong in the article. It was the 1980s.)

These really are Kangaroo courts, and I think that the prosecutors may very well be committing a war crime, or a crime against humanity, by working under these rules.

Finally, the military managed to create this homage to Kafka:

Hamdan was allowed an hour-long phone call with his wife in Yemen on Monday evening, a Guantanamo official said. Defense attorneys said they tried to get permission for her to attend the trial but were refused on grounds that she is married to a terrorism suspect.

(emphasis mine)

We really need to prosecute the entire chain of war crimes from top to bottom when Bush and His Evil Minions^™ are out of power, from the lowliest officer (the enlisted men have been prosecuted) to the very highest authority.

FBI Used Abusive Tactics That Might Have Caused Ivin's Death

Just lovely. It appears that he was in counseling, and was briefly hospitalized, as a direct result of abusive FBI tactics, which included pressuring his children to turn on him, telling his son that he could get the $2.5 million dollar reward and buy a sports car, and showing his daughter gruesome pictures of the Anthrax victims, and told her, "Your father did this."

The FBI has noted his access to a lyophilyser, a freeze drying maching that, "could be used to dry wet anthrax into powder," but would not have produced weaponized anthrax.

The output would resemble instant coffee, which would require extensive processing to become inhalable. I used to do routing maintenance on an lyophilyser in an medical lab (1982-3), and I am aware of its capabilities.

A number of his co-workers believe that the FBI singled him out because of history of alcohol problems and other problems, so they figured that they could break him.

Don't Worry, Be Happy

This Picture courtesy of the shrill one:

John Sidney McCain III is Really Pissing Me Off

Not only did he bring into politics, but now She who must not be named has released a campaign ad, which means that I have to show it to you!!!

Gaaaaaa!!!!

McCain Makes Olympics Ad Buy

Obama spent $5 million, so McCain is spending $6 million.

To quote Shreck, "Do you think maybe he's compensating for something?"

Pentagon's Spokesmen Revealed

Courtesy of The Onion - America's Finest News Source




This is not accurate. They have been using robots for at least 7 years....It's that they are now pulling off the skin suits.

New Tanker RFP Due Out Tomorrow

We'll see what, if any changes will be made.

When Does a Writer Become too Personally Repulsive to Read?

Orson Scott Card does not raise the question for me, I read Ender's Game, and was not particularly impressed, but he does for a lot of avid readers of SF.

His recent essay equating gay marriage with allowing blind people to drive, and suggesting a fascist state will mercilessly expose children to "te gay" will further conflict those folks who think that he doesn't write crap, particularly when he seems to call for a revolution to promulgate anti-gay discrimination in our society.

Luckily, I find his plotting pedestrian, his characterizations flat, and his writing not particularly engaging, which is which I read Ender's Game 20+ years ago, and haven't read anything else of his since.

Debate Moderators Announced

And it's mostly the usual suspicts, which is to say at least half of them should not be doing this.

First presidential debate
Friday, September 26
The University of Mississippi, Oxford, Miss.
Jim Lehrer
Executive Editor and Anchor, The NewsHour, PBS

He's impartial, but he does not call out lies, he just has two people on with opposing view points.

Vice presidential debate
Thursday, October 2
Washington University in St. Louis, Mo.
Gwen Ifill
Senior Correspondent, The NewsHour, and Moderator and Managing Editor, Washington Week, PBS

Rumored to be Condi Rice's girlfriend.

Second presidential debate (town meeting)
Tuesday, October 7
Belmont University, Nashville, Tenn.
Tom Brokaw
Special Correspondent, NBC News

No real comment from me.

Third presidential debate
Wednesday, October 15
Hofstra University, Hempstead, N.Y.
Bob Schieffer
CBS News Chief Washington Correspondent, and Host, Face the Nation

Personal friend of GW Bush, and his brother has been appointed to a couple of ambassador positions by GW Bush.

Because You Can Always Break Promises to the Little People

So here we have an article where we see hand wringing because European governments are not being aggressive enough in reducing benefits for pensioners.

These generous pension deals were made as part of a very simple equation: The public accepted less generous wages in exchange for the pension benefits.

But now, its inconvenient for countries trying to emulate the US YOYO (You're On Your Own) model, so they want to ignore their contract.

Shades of the big 2½ automakers, who cut the same deal in the 1960s, and now want to be releases.

It's going to be expensive, but that was known when these deals were cut in the 1950s and 1960s.

You Know that the ISI will be There

Pakistan is demanding consular access to Aafia Siddiqui, who is accused of trying to murder US personnel at an Afghan police station.

While it's clear that this is their right under international treaty, my guess is that at least one of the people sent to deal with her will be an agent of the ISI, the notorious Pakistani intelligence organization, which has been linked to support for al Queida and Taliban activities, most recently the bombing of an Indian mission in Pakistan.

They will want to ensure that she knows nothing, or will say nothing, regarding any ISI involvement in her activities.

Petro dollars running scarce?*

Interesting. It appears that the volume of ad buys in OH, PA, IA, and NM are dropping off.

I'm thinking that the sick old man has burn rate issues.

^*Swiped from the comments of the linked post.

If You Want Nightmares

Read Mike Morgan's essay The World’s Grandest Ponzi Scheme Unravels.

He makes Nouriel Roubini, and for that matter me, look like Panglossian optimists, though he does appear to be a short seller, which means that pessimism is his job.

I've shown this scare chart, but it's time to show it again:

Total Fed lending to financial institutions.

Pleasant Dreams.

Head of Unscom Bio Weapons Said, Ivins Couldn't Have Done It

Richard Spertzel, head of the biological-weapons section of Unscom from 1994-99, nd a member of the Iraq Survey Group, wrote an Op/Ed in the Wall Street Journal that I highly recommend.

Basically, he says that Bruce Ivins, and everyone at the lab, worked on the bacteria in growth media, and did not have the equipment to make the weaponized form, which is powdered and given coatings to create a static charge to further spread the powder:

From what we know so far, Bruce Ivins, although potentially a brilliant scientist, was not that man. The multiple disciplines and technologies required to make the anthrax in this case do not exist at Army's Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases. Inhalation studies are conducted at the institute, but they are done using liquid preparations, not powdered products.

(emphasis mine)

Economics Update

Well, the Fed held rates steady, and it appears from their statement that they will hold rates steady.

Honestly, I don't expect any rate change now before the election. Changing the rates in September or October would lead to complaints of a political agenda.

The Index of Supply Management's index of non- manufacturing businesses showed continuing contraction in July.

It was up to 49.5, which was above forecast, but anything under 50 is contraction.

For what it's worth, it looks like Noriel Roubin's prediction that hundreds of banks will fail as a result of the credit crunch is finally getting some ink at a major news service (Reuters).

I would suggest his blog to get more detail, particularly on his estimate that the Taxpayer will be on the hook for $1-$2 trillion for all this.

Both he, and I, think that the credit crunch will get a lot worse, and stories like former Merrill Lynch superstar Dow Kim shutting down his hedge fund before it started, because investors got skittish and pulled out, would seem to confirm this.

I would also note that delinquent loans are rising for commercial real estate, which indicates that the commercial real estate market is following the residential market down the drain.

In the normal indices, we see the dollar up a bit, and oil and gasoline down for another day.

Thursday, when the Euro Central Bank sets its rates, should be interesting.

Latest Bizarre Ruling in Wecht Case Overturned

U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab had ruled, after a mistrial was declared in the politically motivated prosecution of Cyril Wecht, that the names of the jurors names were to be kept secret from the press, though political hack US Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan sent FBI agents out to intimidate them.

Well, the appeals court just overturned that, saying, that their identification was a, "well-established part of American judicial tradition."

Background here. Short story: there were allegations that Wecht used office staff and equipment for his private practice, including 24 counts involving the amount of $3.06 (no, I'm not screwing up the decimals).

Russia Looking to Restore Ties With cuba

This development is not particularly surprising.

Russia is looking at ways to counterbalance the expansion of NATO, and a return to Cuba is a logical response now that they are flush with cash.

Impeachable Offense

Ron Suskind, in his latest book, the Way of the world, says that the White House ordered that the CIA forge a back-dated letter between the head of Iraqi security and Saddam Hussein showing al Queida ties after the fall of Baghdad to deflect attention away from the lack of WMDs.

The National Security Act of 1947 specifically forbids the CIA from taking actions that have their primary intent of deceiving the American People.

So, what will happen?

Nothing.

NOT ON THE TABLE! NOT ON THE TABLE!
\

This is Unbelievably Wankeriffic

Andrea Mitchell, Roger Simon and Mike Barnicle are all sitting around saying that John Sidney McCain III is an honorable man, and that the only way that he would sign off on the current attack ads is if he were completely out of the loop.

Because he's just so honorable.....and, it appears, so bloody senile.

Wankers and tools.

All I Can Say is, When You Pry My Cats from My Cold Dead Fingers

It appears that one Dr. Christian Koch claims to have invented a thermal reactor that turns biomass directly into diesel.

He says that it can use, old tires, weeds, and animal cadavers, and that, "the cadaver of a fully grown cat can produce 2.5 litres of fuel".

We are not amused.

Uppity, Uppity, Uppity!

Yep, that's the message of McCain's latest ad.

This is going to be an ugly campaign, there is nothing to recommend John Sidney McCain III, so this is all he has, screaming, "Uppity N*****".

FBI Looking to Close Anthrax Case, but the Evidence Seems Thinner Than it Should Be

It turns out that the evidence pointing toward Bruce Ivins was circumstantial, which does not mean invalid, but is not necessarily definitive.

At least 10 people had access to the flask that is now believed to be the source of the letters, and there is nothing tying Ivins to the postbox from which the Anthrax was mailed.

The envelopes came from post offices in Frederick, but it's clear that the Anthrax came from Detrick, and it's clear from the article that the FBI has been a bunch of keystone Cops on this.

What's more, we now have a report that the White House was pressuring the FBI to finger al Queida on the Anthrax mailings.

Additionally, Glenn Greenwald has a rundown on the person who requested a restraining order against Bruce Ivins, and notes that the order is only 2 weeks old, and the application makes reference to the FBI investigation, which is odd, so I'm wondering if the FBI told her that the guy was under investigation as the Anthrax mailer, or that Ivins, who she was counseling, told her that he was under investigation, and she freaked.

I'm not saying that there is a conspiracy out there, just that the FBI really wants to close this case, and that they might still operating at a Keystone Cops level competence.

The Quality of DC Punditry Just Improved

It appears that his problems with the brain tumor are "dire" and so Robert Novak has announced that he is retiring.

Best of luck in his medical treatment, but he improves journalism in the US generally, and inside the Beltway particularly, through his absence.

Late to the Party: Mortgage Edition

The economic reporters out there are finally noticing that the mortgage crisis is not just subprime, and that default and foreclosure rates for Alt-A and Prime mortgages are skyrocketing too.

Pandering, but Politically Useful, I Guess

Obama is calling for releasing oil from the strategic petroleum reserve to push prices down.

I think that it's a potent club to use against the offshore drilling advocates, it would push oil prices down immediately, but the fact is that oil prices are going to continue higher, and the strategic reserve will not solve that problem.

Will Belgium Split?

There have always been tensions between the Flemish (Dutch speaking) and Walloon Belgians, and this article implies that the cultural and linguistic difference may push Belgium to a breakup.

This, and the repeated attempts by the Quebecois to secede, are very good examples of how a multilingual society is a dysfunctional society.

Without the language issue, both nations would be among the most tolerant and unified societies on earth.

Bankruptcies Today

Retailer Boscov's has filed for bankruptcy reorganization, as has homebuilder WCI, which has fired its CEO.

McCain Campaign in the Last Throws

John Sidney McCain's strength has always been that the press loves him.

The press loves him because he gives them access, and he spends a lot of time sucking up to him.

Well, it now appears that the McCain campaign is restricting access to the press.

I'm not sure if they are simply unprepared, or if McCain can no longer handle the give and take, he increasingly seems confused on the campaign trail, but in either case, if the press does not grade McCain on a friendly curve, he will fail.

Economics Update

Challenger, Gray & Christmas is reporting that planned job cuts were up 26% in July, and the Conference Board's Employment Trends Index fell to 112.1 in July, leading the board to predict that unemployment could pass 6% in 2009.

Additionally, the board noted that U6 has now topped 10%, which is probably the best metric, and closer to the one used in EU nations, for the first time in 5 years. Quoth the Wiki:

• U1: Percentage of labor force unemployed 15 weeks or longer.
• U2: Percentage of labor force who lost jobs or completed temporary work.
• U3: Official unemployment rate per ILO definition.
• U4: U3 + "discouraged workers", or those who have stopped looking for work because current economic conditions makes them believe that no work is available for them.
• U5: U4 + other "marginally attached workers", or those who "would like" and are able to work, but have not looked for work recently.
• U6: U5 + Part time workers who want to work full time, but can not due to economic reasons.

In an article with a typically bad headline, we see that personal spending and income fell in July, the headline leads with non-inflation adjusted spending, and we also see that inflation has eaten up most of the tax rebate stimulus package.

So what the taxman giveth, the House of Saud taketh away.

Commodities are showing some moderation now, with copper and aluminum falling because of the economic slowdown, though there is a consensus that latter will rebound.

Energy is down too, both oil and retail gasoline, much for the same reasons.

The dollar is down slightly, but is likely to be a holding pattern until tommorow, when the Fed makes its decision on interest rates, and may not move much until Thursday, when the ECB does the same.

In banking, Citi is now losing money on credit card securitizations, where they take credit card debt and package it into securities (similar to mortgage backed securities).

When you lose money on this, the economy is not in good shape, or you are completely incompetent. In the case of Citi, probably both.

Finally, the finance unit of Chrysler was able to finance only $24 billion of the $30 billion it sought to renew, and it was at a higher cost than anticipated, which will likely make auto loans more expensive.

Knights Templar Sue Pope

Talk about a long legal dispute!

The Association of the Sovereign Order of the Temple of Christ, which claims to be a descendant of the Knights Templar, are suing Pope Benedict over what they claim are about €100 billion in assets seized in 1307.

It appears that both Benedict and the Association of the Sovereign Order of the Temple of Christ are both moving toward the rehabilitation of the order, though I am not sure how the lawsuit would aid in this process.

The Association claims that, "Their motive is not to reclaim damages only to restore the 'good name' of the Knights Templar."

Methinks that someone has watch the latest Indiana Jones movie too many times.

Bad Legislation

Tanta has noted that, "some of the bigger economic illiterates in Congress," have sponsored a bill to restore the Downpayment Assistance Program (DAP). (previous posts here)

Basically, it allows a seller to supply the down payment to the buyer in exchange for a higher sales price, allowing people who won't make a down payment to get an FHA approved loan, which require a down payment.

They funnel the money through a DAP company, and all is forgiven.

The default rate on DAP loans is at least three times those with down payments.

This is something that, "builders, real estate lobbies, and DAP companies," are lobbying for, big time.

The Congresscritters in question also do not understand insurance apparently, details at link.

Syrian Liaison to Hezbollah Assassinated

Reports say that Brigadier General Mohammed Suleiman was shot while at his beach villa from someone in a boat.

It should be noted that he was rather more senior, and closer to Bashir Assad than his title indicated, with reports that, "His status was even more important than that of the defense minister."

Like Assad, he was a member of Syria's Alawite religious minority.

An unnamed Israeli official has denied involvement.

Whoever did this had to be a very impressive shot, as a rocking boat to a head shot is a non trivial bit of marksmanship.

A Tempest in a D-Cup*

In response to concerns that underwires and other bra components might cause injury if an officer were shot while wearing a bra, underwires, and other metal plactic portions of the bra could cause physical injury, the German police have issued them to their female police officers.

They are all emblazoned with the word "police" and made from cotton, polyester, elastic and some other synthetic materials, thickly padded and with no metal or plastic studs or fasteners.

How long before they shoe up on eBay?

^*No apology for the pun. It's the entire reason I wrote the story.

Damn You McCain!!! Damn You to Hell!!!!!!

I made a promise about She Who Must Not Be Named last June.

I promised the following:

I am not referring to the city of lights, neither am I referring to the similarly named town in Texas.

Rather, I am referring to the hotel heiress.

Absent some sort of political activity, such as endorsements, running for office (PLEASE GOD NO!!), or her attempting to assassinate someone, she will not be mentioned here.

Now, you force me to say the following:

Damn you John McCain!! Damn you to hell!^*

Because, your lame ass add, and the subsequent condemnation of that ad by Kathy Hilton, the mother of She Who Must Not Be Named:

It is a complete waste of the money John McCain's contributors have donated to his campaign. It is a complete waste of the country's time and attention at the very moment when millions of people are losing their homes and their jobs. And it is a completely frivolous way to choose the next President of the United States.

What's more, Kathy Hilton has actually contributed to your campaign!

How can I ignore that. How can I let all that pass.....Damn you.

^*Yes, I know that the stakes are high in the presidential campaign, and that this post is really all about me, but I've never claimed to have class, or vision, or for that matter, hair on the top of my head.^†
†Hair on my back, and my ears....that I claim proudly.

Animal Rights Terrorism in California

They allegedly firebombed two homes of researchers.

Hopefully, the FBI will be a bit competent, and a bit more credible, than they were in the Anthrax mailings.

And in the Department of the Blatantly Obvious

The New York Times is noting that increases in shipping costs are pushing against globalization.

This really is no surprise. You saw a decrease in overseas trade between the US and Europe in the 1920s because production costs fell, but transportation costs remained relatively static. Krugman notes this here.

Great Lakes Basin Compact Passes Senate

The Great Lakes Basin Compact is a multi-state agreement that would, among other things, prevent transfer of water out of the region and coordinate environmental efforts.

It's interesting that it's being cast as preventing the export of water to foreign nations, though it's far more likely that any mass transfers would be to the mountain west, parts of which rely on the rapidly depleting Ogallala aquifer.

It appears that the House will pass it too, and Bush has said that he will sign it.

Davod Gergen Calls Out McCain on Racism

Gergen notes that he grew up in the south, and says that it is blindingly clear to him that the purpose of these ads is to cast Obama as "Uppity".

See the vid (1m 30s):

Solzhenitsyn Dead

He was 89.

I need to read some of his books.

Iraq Election Vote Postponed

They could get together a quorum of legislators in order to vote, and the issue of Kirkuk is still poisoning everything.

Why is Iraq Buying Abrams and Light Armored Vehicles

Seriously, anyone who thinks that a $10.7 billion purchase that includes such items as Abrams tanks is a response to actual military needs is full of it.

There are still thousands of tanks and APCs out there for them to lose, but someone in the Pentagon or the State Department has twisted their arms to buy equipment that they do not need.

They won't be engaging in a major shooting war with anyone for the next 20+ years, and under those circumstances, T-72s and BMPs will do the job just fine.

I'd Like to Think that Jews Aren't That Stupid

It looks like McCain is looking at Representative Eric Cantor (R-VA) as a VP pick.

I hope that this sort of choice won't make a difference to how Jews vote, and my guess is that it would not have much of an impact on Jewish voters, but it would piss off the Evangelicals that McCain is so aggressively courting.

We'll see.

I expect his running mate to be an Evangelical, because choosing a Jew or a Catholic, or even a mainline Protestant would honk off their leadership.

Missing Friday Evening News

Specifically the news from the FDIC, which almost always chooses to act after the close of business on Friday.

Well, this Friday, they seized First Priority Bank. Sun Trust will be taking over the deposits.

Additionally, they warned four banks that they did not have enough liquidity. They were ordered to, "raise more capital, expand their loss allowances and better oversee and diversify their loan portfolios."

Stupid Congress Tricks: Tanker Edition

Rep. Norm Dicks (D-WA) got language inserted into the defense spending bill to benefit Boeing, things like forbidding consideration of characteristics of the tanker proposals that might exceed the minimum requirements of the bid, which I would note is pretty much an admission that the A-330 makes a better tanker.

Well, we have a rumor that the nomination of Michael Donley for Secretary of the Air Force has had a hold placed on it by Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) (as if you couldn't guess the state). She wants the military to, "the gravity of the flaws in the tanker acquisition process."

You gotta love that military-industrial complex.

Gee, Here's a Surprise, "Lax Oversight" on LCS Costs

So, the Navy has discovered that the second Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), now $300 million over budget and one year late, did not have effective oversight on costs, or on schedule, it would appear.

The Flying Car is Just Around the Corner

Just as it has always been since the end of WWII.

This version, from Terrafugia, uses folding wings.

Look at the pictures though. I don't think that it flies. It's just so fugly that it repels the ground:

DDG-1000 Political Battle Lines Drawn

At first, it seemed fairly straightforward, with friends of the DDG-1000 fighting it out with friends of the DDG-51, though it is complicated because, even the Navy doesn't want any more, Admiral Mike Mullen, who is chairman of the JCS, spent a lot of time defending it, and the policy direction, to Congress.

Well, John Murtha just made everything a lot more complex. He's proposing that instead of putting the money in either destroyer, that the money be put into an LPD-17 amphibious warfare ship, two T-AKE auxiliary dry cargo dock carriers, and long lead items for the next Virginia class submarine.

Thing is, Murtha is probably right. The surface combatant fleet, destroyers basically, is the youngest part of the fleet, and the old ships that need to be replaced are amphibious warefare craft and support ships, and the Submarines are the only survivable combatants in a surface engagement with a peer power (which is at least 20 years away), and are useful at surveillance and things like inserting SEAL teams.

I Want My Jetpack

Only $100,000.00, and it's supposed to have about an hour's endurance (see also here).

It sounds a lot like a lawn mower, and based on the video (see below) I think that the flight controls are not ready for prime time.

Additionally, it probably needs some refinement....It has a 200 hp engine, as compared to the 178 hp engine used in the original Bell Model 47, (The chopper you see carrying wounded in the opening credits for the M*A*S*H TV series), so my guess is that there is a some aerodynamic refinement that could be done, in addition to getting weight out of the system.

Still, it comes with its own ballistic recovery parachute, a must for the ham-handed pilot.

Speaking of the Eclipse 400.....

The CEO and founder of Eclipse Aviation Vern Raburn has stepped down. It appears that their major backer European Technology and Investment Research Center Aviation (ETIRC) made this a condition of additional funding.

As a part of the leadership change, there is an announcement that their Eclipse 400 single engine VLJ is not a done deal.

Eclipse is not even close to approaching its intended production rate for the Eclipse 500, 4 planes a day, it's currently at less than 1, and I think that ETIRC wants to get the ducks in a row on the 500 before moving on the 400.

VJL Update

Hmmm....It looks like Cirrus is developing a dingle engine business jet, the SJ50, that looks an awful lot like the Eclipse 400 (previous posts here) that I discussed a couple of months ago.

It's pretty clearly a form following function thing, rather than any outright copying. There are relatively few configuration options for a single engine very light jet that the marketplace will accept.

Interestingly enough, it appears that Cirrus will sell it with a recovery chute, as it does on its piston engine models, which will be a challenge, given the higher speeds and energy involved.



First, Diamond International expects to certify its D-Jet and start deliveries some time in Q2 2009.

Seeing as how their engine supplier is not Thielert or some other new entrant, it's a Williams FJ-33-4A-19 turbofan, I would expect them to be on schedule.

Honestly, I think that the single engine VLJ is likely to be a winner in the VLJ sweepstakes, because the operating costs will be lower.


In the two jet VLG category, the Adam A700 has been rescued from bankruptcy, albeit absent the "Adam" name, as AAI, who purchased the company out of receivership, thinks that there is some bad market mojo there.

It appears to be among the most spacious of the VLJs, which may, or may not, be a function of its twin boom design.


Finally, Piper has flown it's VLJ Piperjet, which is another of the single engine VLJs, though it's somewhat larger then the D-Jet, the Eclipse 400, and Cirrus Jet.

It appears larger than its single engine competitors, but it just doesn't look right. Something just looks wrong about the aircraft, but then again, so did the F-4 Phantom.

Gaaahhhhh!!!!!!!!

We have a winner in the wanker press competition, coming, not surprisingly, from the Wall Street Journal.

Writer Amy Chozick is suggesting that with much of the American public overweight, that Barack Obama might be too fit to be president!!!!

But in a nation in which 66% of the voting-age population is overweight and 32% is obese, could Sen. Obama's skinniness be a liability? Despite his visits to waffle houses, ice-cream parlors and greasy-spoon diners around the country, his slim physique just might have some Americans wondering whether he is truly like them.

So, this is the new meme of the Kule Kidz inside the Beltway, huh? as opposed to this adulatory coverage of Bush and Rice about their "intense" exercise regimes.

So, is Obama too skinny, or too black?

So Not Shocking...JFS Cost Skyrockets

The cost of the JSF for Australia has apparently $AUS75 million to $AUS131 Million^* (the Australian dollar is about $0.95 US).

It's still cheaper than the F-22, which law forbids them to get anyway, which clocks in at an eye-popping $355 million (US).^*

I think that a number of nations will start considering alternatives, either US (F-15, F-16, F-18E/F) or foreign (Typhoon, Rafale, Gripen,Flanker Family), when the full cost is made known.

Additionally, I think that for non-US (and non-UK) forces the support costs may be higher because their own militaries will not be able to maintain some of the systems, as they will not be given sufficient information on the aircraft's highly integrated avionics.

But wait, there's more!!!!

Lockheed is looking to change the accounting structure in order to generate a sh$#load more costs:

The JPO currently bills each of the three major F-35 contractors separately. This unique arrangement is designed partly to limit the amount of overhead feeds charged by each of the contractors, which can amount to hundreds of millions of dollars over time.

Lockheed's proposal, however, would bundle all of the industry team's charges into a single billing process for submitting to the JPO for payment.

Each charge submitted by BAE and Northrop would include a discrete fee to cover their own overhead costs. Lockheed would then add its own overhead for the aggregated bill. Since Lockheed would be charging an overhead fee on top of fees already charged by BAE and Northrop, the JPO would be paying a "fee on a fee", Wood says.

She adds that the JPO estimates the current structure has saved $850 million already, so making a change for the full-rate production phase could dramatically increase the programme's overall costs.

So if you read anyone who says they have a handle of the actual cost of the F-35, don't believe them.

^*There are a number of ways to price aircraft, and I believe that both are total program cost divided by number of aircraft. I've heard quotes at about 1/2 as much for the F-22.

Is There Pentagon Electronic Warfare Deficit?

Stephen Trimble is reporting that the Pentagon is concerned that its current generation of EW gear will not be able to cope with later models of Russian SAMs.

The S-300 and S-400 systems (SA-12, 20, 21, 23) have the potential even the existing ALQ-99, which is carried by dedicated jammers, the EA6B Prowler and F/A-18G Growler.

I'm not sure how much this is Pentagon budget sucking, and how much is real needs myself.

He also posted a neat Youtube (it's about an hour long) on the history of electronic warfare in the Silicon Valley:

Those EU Regulators Have No Sense of Adventure

Emirates airlines is planning a super luxurious first class for their A-380 super-jumbos.

It includes having a shower available to first class passengers which is kind of neat, but EU regulators refused to allow them to recycle water for the shower, so now they have to carry an additional 500kg of water for the showers.

It turns out that they do allow recycling in private jets, but for a passenger airline, they were not quite ready.



BTW, I think that this bathroom is neat. If I were to walk into it, upon leaving, I would have to say, "No Mr. Bond, I expect you to die.'

It's got a wicked evil mastermind feel to it.

A New, and Plausible, Competitor in the Aviation Diesel Sweepstakes

SMA light aircraft engines sent a rep to Oshkosh to sing the praises of their new engine.

What makes it different is that it's designed to operate at 2,200 rpm, which means no reduction gearing between the engine and the prop, so the engine has a 2,000 hour TBO, and they expect to push it out to 3K hours, as compared to the gearbox on the Thielert, for example, that needed to be rebuilt/replaced every 300 hours.

It's turbocharged, and rated at 230hp for five minutes and 200hp continuous up to 10,000 feet.

It displaces 5 liters, which is larger than the 2.0 liter Thielert obviously, but my guess is that the swept volume (rpm x displacement) are probably pretty similar.

Tanker Tango: How Much Did Boeing Suck?

The former Air Force Secretary says that it's enough to say that you just want to be friends:

Former Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne thinks the service should be pitiless with losing contractors, so they’re not encouraged to endlessly protest important contracts. Excessively kind language, he said, leads the losers to think they only lost by a hair. In the KC-X tanker competition, “We should have been harsher on the loser,” Wynne said during an interview July 28.......

One of the things that I've always said is that in order for the tanker contract to go to EADS, in an election year, it wasn't a close thing, which implies to me that Boeing has a significantly inferior product.

Wynn is strongly implying the same thing.

NASA Testing Real Time Wing Displacement Sensors

Seriously neat tech, it uses tiny embedded wires to measure deformation, basically strain gauges, but they are small and light enough that they can be part of an aircraft's basic equipment.

More A400M Delays

It's the Europrop International TP400-D6 engine again.

The full-authority digital engine control (FADEC) software is still being developed, and they have had issues with water ingestion tests and some indications of problems with the gearbox.

Nice to know that it's not just the US that has bloated and delayed defense procurement.

A380 Weight Looks to Come Down

As they get further down the production road, it looks like Airbus will get closer to the originally intended structure weight for the A-380.

According to Airbus and Emirates Airlines, it should add about 13 hours more endurance, and allow flights from their home base to SFO and LAX.

Additionally, Emirates is looking at pulling the retail catalogues out of the seats (!), and replacing them with a interactive channel on inflight entertainment system, which could save nearly a ton.

I think that this may make the aircraft far more competitive vs. the 747-8.

Bloody Fool

Obama Opens the Door to Offshore Drilling

You and your campaign just allowed yourself to be bitch slapped, again.

Let remind my readers of the "Bitch Slap Theory of Republican Politics":

One way -- perhaps the best way -- to demonstrate someone's lack of toughness or strength is to attack them and show they are either unwilling or unable to defend themselves -- thus the rough slang I used above. And that I think is a big part of what is happening here. Someone who can't or won't defend themselves certainly isn't someone you can depend upon to defend you.

You just caved to a tremendously stupid idea.

It does not make you strong, it makes you look weak.

You and the Democrats lose, and McCain and the Republicans win. It's that simple.

Please, God, Please Make This So!

House committee moves to ban in-flight cell phone use.

Please let this be true.

Talk About Rebelling Against Your Parents

Yes, I know that the source is Wing Nut daily, but this story is just too amusing to pass up.

According to WND, Masab Yousuf, son of West Bank Hamas leader Sheik Hassan Yousef, has converted to Christianity, and has become a supporter of Israel:

"I know that I'm endangering my life and am even liable to lose my father, but I hope that he'll understand this and that God will give him and my family patience and willingness to open their eyes to Jesus and to Christianity. Maybe one day I'll be able to return to Palestine and to Ramallah with Jesus, in the Kingdom of God," Masab said.

Masab said he previously aided his father with Hamas activities, but he now has affection for Israel and laments Hamas.

Well, I guess that's how you rebel against your parents, if your parent is a rebel.

Hedge Funds Going Vulture

They are buying delinquent mortgages at pennies on the dollars, and if they can modify the mortgages to make a profit, good. If not, foreclose, and sell at a discount, but you still make a profit on it.

OK, these Numbers are Grim

This time, it's commercial mortgage back securities, and the default rate is about 4%, but this number is expected to quadruple if the economy slows down significantly.

Let's note that this is commercial property, the stuff that's supposed to be largely recession proof that we are talking about here:

Such a scenario corresponds "to the negative predictions currently offered by commercial real estate experts", analysts at Fitch wrote. This would happen if the economy suffered a similar downturn to 1991, and assumes that the value of properties covered by the deals falls by 25 per cent, and cash flow from rents by 15 per cent.

The higher defaults under such a slowdown compares with a historical default rate of 7.9 per cent, and with the milder scenario that Fitch thinks is more possible of 0.8 per cent economic growth and a 13.7 per cent rate of default.

It would cause non-investment grade bonds - B and BB rated CMBS - to suffer loss rates of 100 per cent and 95.9 per cent, respectively. Meanwhile, 30.6 per cent of the lowest-rated investment grade bonds - BBB rated - would experience losses, while loss severities would rise to 37.9 per cent from an historical average of 33.5 per cent.

The data suggest that recently issued CMBS may fall victim to inflated property values and weaker underwriting standards experienced at the height of the US property boom in 2006 and 2007, as well as the weaker economy. Those bonds make up about 49 per cent of the outstanding CMBS market of more than $800bn. The survey covers all Fitch-rated bonds issued during those two years, making up 74 deals worth $217.3bn. That was about 60 per cent of all CMBS issued during the period.

These numbers are apocalyptic.

Freddie Mac Gets on the Clue Train

This is why no one in their right mind is building anything. Construction spending is down for the 11th time in 13 months.

Freddie Mac seems to have realized the gravity of the situation though. Yesterday, I wrote about their doubling the payments to servicers for loan workouts, and today we discover that they are ending bonuses for servicers who foreclose quickly.

It makes sense. When times are good, you just want the stuff off your books and resold quickly, but when times are bad, you go broke doing that.

Oh Crap!!!! Not that Yahoo!

Netanyahu

Polls have him leading Labour and Kadima in the next election.

Judge Removed from 'Jena 6' Cases

Thank goodness. Judge Mauffrey has given every indication that he had pre-judged the case.

The court of appeals has apparently had enough of him.

Citi in Legal Trouble on Auction-Rate Securities

The SEC has subpoenaed them, and the state of New York has filed fraud charges against them.

Someone has been a very bad boy.

Auto Maker Meltdown News

GM, Toyota, Ford, and Chrysler and Nissan took huge US sales hits, were down year over year by double digits in July, while Honda was down by about 3%, and Nissan was up by 8%.

GM got hit particularly badly, they posted a $15.5 billion loss.

China eases Internet restrictions for foreign journalists

Thank you sir, can I have another.

Economics Update

Well, the official unemployment rate climbed to a 4 year high, 5.5%, and total number of jobs fell by 51K, the 7th straight monthly drop in a row, in July.

We're in a recession. Get over it.

Manufacturing actually did a bit better than expected in July, it was flat, though much of that was military and exports driven by a weak dollar, but I'll take what I can get.

In the monoliner insurance follies, we have good news for AMBAC, they paid Citigroup $850 million to get out of a $1.4 billion guarantee on some collateralized debt obligations (CDO).

It's being reported as good news for AMBAC, which says something about the qualities of said CDOs.

As bad as the job news was, it was better than expected, so the dollar strengthened in international trading.

In energy, the employment report drove oil up too, though retail gasoline is back below $3.90/gallon. Woo hoo!!

Zimbabwe Update

Well, we now have a report that Zimbabwe: Robert Mugabe offered Morgan Tsvangirai the vice presidency, a position with no powers, in negotiations....What I expected.

It's no surprise then that there are reports that the negotiations are deadlocked, though talks are supposed Zimbabwe's crisis talks to resume Sunday.

One interesting development is that Botswana is threatening to boycott of the summit of the next Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit if Mugabe is allowed to attend, which indicates, I think, some level of dissatisfaction with Thabo Mbeki's mediation efforts.

An unfortunate development is that Mugabe is considering stopping a court action on disputed parliamentary seats:

Fearing an imminent court defeat that would further increase MDC's parliamentary majority Robert Mugabe's military junta is considering a law forbidding the courts to invalidate his defeated Zanu (PF) party's victories in 60 constituencies facing legal challenges, official sources say.
The MDC is challenging the results of the March 29 elections in 60 constituencies, where they say electoral fraud, violence and intimidation of voters compromised the returns.

These are not the actions of a man, or a party, willing to negotiate in good faith.

One final note, they have dropped 10 zeros off the currency, meaning that a 10 billion Zimbabwean dollar is now 1 new Zimbabwean dollar, to deal with inflation, but with inflation running at something like 15,000,000%, it will not help for long.

This may finally be what takes Mugabe and his cronies down.

McCain's Campaign Co-Chair Tied to Corrupt Lobbyist

Stephen Payne, who was caught on tape selling access to the White House, and tied to McCain's senior foreign policy guy, has now also been tied to his campaign co-chair, and major fund raiser, Fred Zeidman.

He was a senior member of, Payne's efforts lobbying on behalf of corrupt autocratic oil rich regimes.

Another day, another bit of Republican slime.

Military Stonewalling on Rape

This is a serious problem, but ordering your top official on sexual abuse to ignore a Congressional subpoena only makes it look like you are trying to cover up the problem....because you ARE covering up the problem.

The only real question is whether this is a systemic problem with the military, or an artifact of the military being broken by Iraq.

Still the statistics, 41% of female veterans saying that they have been raped and an 8% prosecution rate, are mind boggling if only half accurate.

Trust GOP to Favor the Forces of Evil, Comcast Edition

The FCC took a vote to order Comcast to stop throttling internet applications.

What is interesting is the pressure that Republicans put on FCC chairman Kevin Martin to vote for Comcast having the right to throttle applications.

Here is a question for you, "Are the Republicans f%$#ing insane?!?!?"

Seriously, I can think of no entity in American life more universally loathed than the cable companies, and the Republicans were going on record supporting these folks?

Karadzic: Holbrooke Promised No War Crimes Trial

Between a Karadzic and Holbrooke, I won't venture a guess on who to trust, as I've never believed that Holbrooke's casual slip about Valerie Plame was unintentional.

Holbrook could have promised this, or he could have not promised this, or he could have said it in a private moment with no intention of following through with his promise.

I don't know, but I do not trust Richard Holbrooke.

Our Friends in Pakistan

Well, it looks like our friends in the ISI, Pakistan's intelligence service, helped plan the bombing of the Indian embassy in Kabul.

I believe that there is a serious need to reevaluate our relationship with Pakistan, and make it a bit more conditional.

Ft. Detrick Scientist Targeted in Anthrax Probe, Commits Suicide

His name was Bruce Ivins, and it appears that his arrest was imminent.

More important than the possibility, and no evidence has been presented, that the Anthrax mailer has been identified is the question about who lied to the press about the presence of Bentonite in the spores.

Not only was this completely untrue, there were none in the samples, but it was used to point a finger at Iraq, which, unlike the US, used Bentonite in its bio-weapons program.

Glenn Breenwald has a rundown of how the press, ABC in particular, were used to finger Iraq for the Anthrax by mentioning non-existent Bentonite.

Who were the government sources who were lying to the press? Was Bruce Ivins one of them? Was this a part of a concerted effort to gin up support for the attack on Iraq?

Maybe the Smiler Can Share a Cell With the Shrub in the Hague

Because it is now clear that US intelligence operatives were torturing detainees at the British base of Diego Garcia.

Tony Blair, pack your toothbrush.

IAEA Approves Inspection Regime with India

So now various countries' nuclear power industries have a green light to enter into business arrangements with India for civilian nuclear power.

My emotions are mixed on all this, because I don't see how this won't benefit their nuclear weapons program.

McCain Loses the Wall Street Journal

We have a straight news story that calls out his hypocrisy

RACINE, Wis. -- Sen. John McCain continues to slam rival Barack Obama for wanting to raise taxes on Social Security, even as he periodically explains that he might be willing to do the same.

Pretty amazing. They are actually checking out what he says.

Then there is a columnist who literally asks, "Is John McCain Stupid?" and says that "This isn't a flip-flop. It's a sex-change operation."

And he loses Howie "Mr. Conflict of Interest" Kurtz, whose wife is a Republican consultant, when he describes McCain as having, "gone tabloid".

On the Never Ending OOXML Wars

Well, first, and least important is the appearance on Wikileaks of a document on the fast track process which seems to imply that the fast track approval of the Microsoft^® OOXML document standard was improper.

Someone with more knowledge than me needs to check it out though, it's only 2 pages.

Of more note, is that Microsoft^® will natively support ODF in Office. The head of Griffin Brown, the organization nominally in charge of maintaining the ODF standard thinks that this will relegate OOXML to second place status, but I'm more inclined to believe that this is an attempt to "embrace and extend" (damage) ODF to the maximum degree possible.

McCain's Brain Owned by Achmed Chalabi

This time, it's his chief foreign policy guy, Randy Scheunemann, who Achmed Chalabi, Iranian agent, corrupt banker, and general con man calls a "Close Friend."

As Lionel Beehner puts it, "What puzzles me is his long and distinguished résumé of being wrong on pretty much every major foreign policy issue of our time."