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unhappycamper
unhappycamper's Journal
unhappycamper's Journal
May 31, 2014
In the battle for security for all citizens, the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership is the only weapon in our arsenal. Only more transparency in negotiations and respect for each other's values will dispel suspicions and clear the rumor closet of 'chlorine chickens' and genetically altered corn.
No Data Privacy, No Free Trade Agreement
Frankfurter Rundschau, Germany
By Nadja Hirsch and Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger
Translated By Ron Argentati
23 May 2014
Edited by Laurence Bouvard
No later than the dawn of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, everyone should have learned that anything that affects people and their everyday lives in the 21st century can no longer be negotiated secretly. Nor should they be. There are good reasons to conclude free trade agreements: job and wealth creation and lower costs for consumers of cross-border goods. Those hip Ray-Ban sunglasses will certainly get cheaper, as will automobiles. But it shouldn't stop there. Europeans remain critical — rightly so — and won't allow themselves to be devoured by the European Union Commission. The German parliament should and must represent the interests of European citizens regarding this agreement and should not allow the commission to usurp these rights.
Why Is Transparency a Concern?
Presently, the TTIP is keeping pace with ACTA and, unless something changes, will fail just as ACTA did. Only more transparency in negotiations and consideration for the cultural values of others, will help reduce mistrust and eliminate rumors of “chlorine chickens” and genetically altered corn. But the German political parties CDU, CSU and SPD all appear to be unwilling to bring pressure to bear on the European Union Commission. If all parties are expressly opposed to a lowering of consumer and worker protection standards and no one wants to see a multibillion-dollar investment protection clause included, why the opposition to transparency? One can only advise those who want to see a free trade agreement enacted to immediately begin pressuring both Brussels and Washington for more daylight to be brought into the negotiations.
But one aspect is getting short shrift in the discussion: Even if the requested transparency is forthcoming and the fears of hormone-drenched meat never materialize, when crunch time arrives, it's still all about protecting our private data! The Free Democratic Party insists a data privacy agreement must be a prerequisite to any free trade agreement, because the free trade agreement is the last leverage Europe will have for perhaps another 10 years to wring a reasonable data privacy deal from the United States for our citizens, our businesses and our research facilities.
But what real chance is there of getting a data privacy agreement parallel with a free trade agreement? Chancellor Merkel visited Washington. Her personal cell phone was tapped, along with those of millions of other Germans and Europeans. Everyone would have understood had she found the right words to respond to that eavesdropping. Everyone had actually expected her to respond appropriately. But the chancellor only mentioned the NSA in passing reference; whether she did so out of resignation or disinterest makes no difference. The signal was still the same: America can do whatever it chooses to do.
No Data Privacy, No Free Trade Agreement
http://watchingamerica.com/News/239529/no-data-privacy-no-free-trade-agreement/In the battle for security for all citizens, the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership is the only weapon in our arsenal. Only more transparency in negotiations and respect for each other's values will dispel suspicions and clear the rumor closet of 'chlorine chickens' and genetically altered corn.
No Data Privacy, No Free Trade Agreement
Frankfurter Rundschau, Germany
By Nadja Hirsch and Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger
Translated By Ron Argentati
23 May 2014
Edited by Laurence Bouvard
No later than the dawn of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, everyone should have learned that anything that affects people and their everyday lives in the 21st century can no longer be negotiated secretly. Nor should they be. There are good reasons to conclude free trade agreements: job and wealth creation and lower costs for consumers of cross-border goods. Those hip Ray-Ban sunglasses will certainly get cheaper, as will automobiles. But it shouldn't stop there. Europeans remain critical — rightly so — and won't allow themselves to be devoured by the European Union Commission. The German parliament should and must represent the interests of European citizens regarding this agreement and should not allow the commission to usurp these rights.
Why Is Transparency a Concern?
Presently, the TTIP is keeping pace with ACTA and, unless something changes, will fail just as ACTA did. Only more transparency in negotiations and consideration for the cultural values of others, will help reduce mistrust and eliminate rumors of “chlorine chickens” and genetically altered corn. But the German political parties CDU, CSU and SPD all appear to be unwilling to bring pressure to bear on the European Union Commission. If all parties are expressly opposed to a lowering of consumer and worker protection standards and no one wants to see a multibillion-dollar investment protection clause included, why the opposition to transparency? One can only advise those who want to see a free trade agreement enacted to immediately begin pressuring both Brussels and Washington for more daylight to be brought into the negotiations.
But one aspect is getting short shrift in the discussion: Even if the requested transparency is forthcoming and the fears of hormone-drenched meat never materialize, when crunch time arrives, it's still all about protecting our private data! The Free Democratic Party insists a data privacy agreement must be a prerequisite to any free trade agreement, because the free trade agreement is the last leverage Europe will have for perhaps another 10 years to wring a reasonable data privacy deal from the United States for our citizens, our businesses and our research facilities.
But what real chance is there of getting a data privacy agreement parallel with a free trade agreement? Chancellor Merkel visited Washington. Her personal cell phone was tapped, along with those of millions of other Germans and Europeans. Everyone would have understood had she found the right words to respond to that eavesdropping. Everyone had actually expected her to respond appropriately. But the chancellor only mentioned the NSA in passing reference; whether she did so out of resignation or disinterest makes no difference. The signal was still the same: America can do whatever it chooses to do.
May 31, 2014
The Illusion of “Humane” Killing
Neue Zürcher Zeitung , Switzerland
By Andreas Rüesch
Translated By Holly Bickerton
28 May 2014
Edited by Gillian Palmer
In the relationship between Europe and the U.S., the same friction points have been the cause of irritation for years. Different views on the use of military force or the extraterritorial application of American law are persistent sources of transatlantic tensions. But hardly anything gives rise to such a feeling of mutual difference on an emotional level as the topic of the death penalty. The fact that it still forms part of the American justice system is met with incomprehension and even revulsion in Europe. It is notable that European criticism of the U.S. is louder than criticism of countries such as China and Iran, where executions are much more common. This application of double standards can be easily explained by European sensitivities. On the old continent people are, correctly, proud to have eradicated the death penalty everywhere—with the exception of Belarus—and consider it to be incompatible with the practices of civilized countries. The fact that highly-developed, democratic constitutional states such as the U.S. and Japan don’t share this view hurts like a thorn in the flesh. It is a reminder that what are proclaimed as the norms of a civilized world are by no means undisputed outside the borders of one’s own country.
A Clause with Consequences
To declare oneself a shining example and accuse others of barbarism is not very helpful in this situation. Something else is turning out to be unexpectedly effective here. In 2011, the EU issued export restrictions for two barbiturates which are used in injections at executions. Since these narcotics are not produced in the U.S., the authorities there are now confronted with supply shortages. Several states have been forced to think about their methods of execution or to test new toxic cocktails. The prolonged agony of two people who were executed using untested substances has caused a stir and re-ignited the debate about the death penalty. Several commentators have pointed out that such incidents are against the American Constitution, which forbids “cruel and unusual” punishments.
But it would be wrong to believe that the decisive impulse for the debate came from abroad. In reality, support for the death penalty in the U.S. has been decreasing for years. At 55-60 percent, supporters are still in the majority, but this number is the lowest it has been in 40 years. The change is also reflected in law enforcement. In the mid-1990s, the death penalty was imposed four times more often; since then the number of executions has fallen sharply. One reason for this development is the fact that many states have introduced the possibility of life sentences without the option of parole as an alternative to the death penalty.
No Deterrent Effect
It is of fundamental importance that today, four decades after the reintroduction of the death penalty, the counter-arguments are clearer than ever: a deterrent effect of executions cannot be proved; there is still a considerable risk of death sentences being given to innocent people because of failings in the legal system; studies indicate that racial prejudices play a role in the imposition of the maximum sentence; the costs of administering the death penalty are exorbitant. A video report from the Neue Zürcher Zeitung about conditions in Texas sheds light on what it is like for the families: For the family of the condemned, a death sentence means many years of suffering; conversely, the victim’s family is by no means helped when the state takes deadly revenge for the crime in their name.
The Illusion of “Humane” Killing
http://watchingamerica.com/News/239539/the-illusion-of-humane-killing/The Illusion of “Humane” Killing
Neue Zürcher Zeitung , Switzerland
By Andreas Rüesch
Translated By Holly Bickerton
28 May 2014
Edited by Gillian Palmer
In the relationship between Europe and the U.S., the same friction points have been the cause of irritation for years. Different views on the use of military force or the extraterritorial application of American law are persistent sources of transatlantic tensions. But hardly anything gives rise to such a feeling of mutual difference on an emotional level as the topic of the death penalty. The fact that it still forms part of the American justice system is met with incomprehension and even revulsion in Europe. It is notable that European criticism of the U.S. is louder than criticism of countries such as China and Iran, where executions are much more common. This application of double standards can be easily explained by European sensitivities. On the old continent people are, correctly, proud to have eradicated the death penalty everywhere—with the exception of Belarus—and consider it to be incompatible with the practices of civilized countries. The fact that highly-developed, democratic constitutional states such as the U.S. and Japan don’t share this view hurts like a thorn in the flesh. It is a reminder that what are proclaimed as the norms of a civilized world are by no means undisputed outside the borders of one’s own country.
A Clause with Consequences
To declare oneself a shining example and accuse others of barbarism is not very helpful in this situation. Something else is turning out to be unexpectedly effective here. In 2011, the EU issued export restrictions for two barbiturates which are used in injections at executions. Since these narcotics are not produced in the U.S., the authorities there are now confronted with supply shortages. Several states have been forced to think about their methods of execution or to test new toxic cocktails. The prolonged agony of two people who were executed using untested substances has caused a stir and re-ignited the debate about the death penalty. Several commentators have pointed out that such incidents are against the American Constitution, which forbids “cruel and unusual” punishments.
But it would be wrong to believe that the decisive impulse for the debate came from abroad. In reality, support for the death penalty in the U.S. has been decreasing for years. At 55-60 percent, supporters are still in the majority, but this number is the lowest it has been in 40 years. The change is also reflected in law enforcement. In the mid-1990s, the death penalty was imposed four times more often; since then the number of executions has fallen sharply. One reason for this development is the fact that many states have introduced the possibility of life sentences without the option of parole as an alternative to the death penalty.
No Deterrent Effect
It is of fundamental importance that today, four decades after the reintroduction of the death penalty, the counter-arguments are clearer than ever: a deterrent effect of executions cannot be proved; there is still a considerable risk of death sentences being given to innocent people because of failings in the legal system; studies indicate that racial prejudices play a role in the imposition of the maximum sentence; the costs of administering the death penalty are exorbitant. A video report from the Neue Zürcher Zeitung about conditions in Texas sheds light on what it is like for the families: For the family of the condemned, a death sentence means many years of suffering; conversely, the victim’s family is by no means helped when the state takes deadly revenge for the crime in their name.
May 31, 2014
With the help of news services like RT and Ruptly, the Kremlin is seeking to reshape the way the world thinks about Russia. And it has been highly successful: Vladimir Putin has won the propaganda war over Ukraine and the West is divided.
The Opinion-Makers: How Russia Is Winning the Propaganda War
By SPIEGEL Staff
May 30, 2014 – 04:07 PM
Ivan Rodionov sits in his office at Berlin's Postdamer Platz and seems to relish his role as the bad guy. He rails in almost accent-free German, with a quiet, but sharp voice, on the German media, which, he claims, have been walking in "lockstep" when it comes to their coverage of the Ukraine crisis. During recent appearances on two major German talk shows, Rodionov disputed allegations that Russian soldiers had infiltrated Crimea prior to the controversial referendum and its annexation by Russia. He says it's the "radical right-wing views" of the Kiev government, and not Russia, that poses the threat. "Western politicians," he says, "are either helping directly or are at least looking on."
Rodionov defends President Vladimir Putin so vehemently that one could be forgiven for confusing him with a Kremlin spokesperson. But Rodionov views himself as a journalist. The 49-year-old is the head of the video news agency Ruptly, founded one year ago and financed by the Russian government. The eighth floor of the office building has a grand view of Germany's house of parliament, the Reichstag. It's a posh location and the Kremlin doesn't seem to mind spending quite a bit of money to disseminate its view of the world from here. Around 110 people from Spain, Britain, Russia and Poland work day and night in the three-floor office space on videos that are then syndicated to the international media.
At first glance, it's not obvious that Ruptly is actually Kremlin TV. In addition to Putin speeches, there are also numerous other video clips available in its archive, ranging from Pussy Riot to arrests of members of the Russian opposition. When it comes to eastern Ukraine, however, the agency offers almost exclusively videos that are favorable towards pro-Russian supporters of the "People's Republic of Donetsk," which was founded by separatists. You'll also find right-wing radicals like Britain's Nick Griffin or German far-right extremist Olaf Rose, an ideologist with the neo-Nazi National Democratic Party (NPD), stirring up hatred towards the European Union and its Ukraine policies.
~snip~
The battle over Ukraine is being fought with diverse means -- with harsh words and soft diplomacy, with natural gas, weapons and intelligence services. But perhaps the most important instruments being deployed by Moscow are the Internet, newspapers and television, including allegedly neutral journalists and pundits dispatched around the world to propagate the Kremlin position.
The Opinion-Makers: How Russia Is Winning the Propaganda War
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/russia-uses-state-television-to-sway-opinion-at-home-and-abroad-a-971971.htmlWith the help of news services like RT and Ruptly, the Kremlin is seeking to reshape the way the world thinks about Russia. And it has been highly successful: Vladimir Putin has won the propaganda war over Ukraine and the West is divided.
The Opinion-Makers: How Russia Is Winning the Propaganda War
By SPIEGEL Staff
May 30, 2014 – 04:07 PM
Ivan Rodionov sits in his office at Berlin's Postdamer Platz and seems to relish his role as the bad guy. He rails in almost accent-free German, with a quiet, but sharp voice, on the German media, which, he claims, have been walking in "lockstep" when it comes to their coverage of the Ukraine crisis. During recent appearances on two major German talk shows, Rodionov disputed allegations that Russian soldiers had infiltrated Crimea prior to the controversial referendum and its annexation by Russia. He says it's the "radical right-wing views" of the Kiev government, and not Russia, that poses the threat. "Western politicians," he says, "are either helping directly or are at least looking on."
Rodionov defends President Vladimir Putin so vehemently that one could be forgiven for confusing him with a Kremlin spokesperson. But Rodionov views himself as a journalist. The 49-year-old is the head of the video news agency Ruptly, founded one year ago and financed by the Russian government. The eighth floor of the office building has a grand view of Germany's house of parliament, the Reichstag. It's a posh location and the Kremlin doesn't seem to mind spending quite a bit of money to disseminate its view of the world from here. Around 110 people from Spain, Britain, Russia and Poland work day and night in the three-floor office space on videos that are then syndicated to the international media.
At first glance, it's not obvious that Ruptly is actually Kremlin TV. In addition to Putin speeches, there are also numerous other video clips available in its archive, ranging from Pussy Riot to arrests of members of the Russian opposition. When it comes to eastern Ukraine, however, the agency offers almost exclusively videos that are favorable towards pro-Russian supporters of the "People's Republic of Donetsk," which was founded by separatists. You'll also find right-wing radicals like Britain's Nick Griffin or German far-right extremist Olaf Rose, an ideologist with the neo-Nazi National Democratic Party (NPD), stirring up hatred towards the European Union and its Ukraine policies.
~snip~
The battle over Ukraine is being fought with diverse means -- with harsh words and soft diplomacy, with natural gas, weapons and intelligence services. But perhaps the most important instruments being deployed by Moscow are the Internet, newspapers and television, including allegedly neutral journalists and pundits dispatched around the world to propagate the Kremlin position.
May 31, 2014
Is the US Mil. Training of African Special Ops a prelude to disaster?
By contributors | May. 31, 2014
By William R. Polk
With everyone’s attention focused either on the European elections, President Obama’s speech at West Point or the Ukraine, a story by Eric Schmitt in The International New York Times of Tuesday, May 27, 2014 may not have caught your attention. I believe, however, that it provides an insight into some of the major problems of American foreign policy.
~snip~
Without much of the rhetoric of Mr. Sheehan and General Donahue and on a broader scale, we have undertaken similar programs in a number of countries over the last half century. Iran, Turkey, Indonesia, Guatemala, Egypt, Iraq, Thailand, Chad, Angola to name just a few. The results do not add up to a success almost anywhere. Perhaps the worst (at least for America’s reputation) were Chad where the man we trained, equipped and supported, Hissène Habré, is reported to have killed about 40,000 of his fellow citizens. In Indonesia, General Suharto, with our blessing and with the special forces we also had trained and equipped, initially killed about 60,000 and ultimately caused the deaths of perhaps 200,000. In Mexico, the casualties have been smaller, but the graduates of our Special Forces program have become the most powerful drug cartel. They virtually hold the country at ransom.
Even when casualties were not the result, the military forces we helped to create and usually paid for carried out the more subtle mission of destroying public institutions. If our intention is to create stability, the promotion of a powerful military force is often not the way to do it. This is because the result of such emphasis on the military often renders it the only mobile, coherent and centrally directed organization in societies lacking in the balancing forces of an independent judiciary, reasonably open elections, a tradition of civil government and a more or less free press.
Our program in pre-1958 Iraq and in pre-1979 Iran certainly played a crucial role in the extension of authoritarian rule in those countries and in their violent reactions against us.
Is the US Mil. Training of African Special Ops a prelude to disaster?
http://www.juancole.com/2014/05/training-special-disaster.htmlIs the US Mil. Training of African Special Ops a prelude to disaster?
By contributors | May. 31, 2014
By William R. Polk
With everyone’s attention focused either on the European elections, President Obama’s speech at West Point or the Ukraine, a story by Eric Schmitt in The International New York Times of Tuesday, May 27, 2014 may not have caught your attention. I believe, however, that it provides an insight into some of the major problems of American foreign policy.
~snip~
Without much of the rhetoric of Mr. Sheehan and General Donahue and on a broader scale, we have undertaken similar programs in a number of countries over the last half century. Iran, Turkey, Indonesia, Guatemala, Egypt, Iraq, Thailand, Chad, Angola to name just a few. The results do not add up to a success almost anywhere. Perhaps the worst (at least for America’s reputation) were Chad where the man we trained, equipped and supported, Hissène Habré, is reported to have killed about 40,000 of his fellow citizens. In Indonesia, General Suharto, with our blessing and with the special forces we also had trained and equipped, initially killed about 60,000 and ultimately caused the deaths of perhaps 200,000. In Mexico, the casualties have been smaller, but the graduates of our Special Forces program have become the most powerful drug cartel. They virtually hold the country at ransom.
Even when casualties were not the result, the military forces we helped to create and usually paid for carried out the more subtle mission of destroying public institutions. If our intention is to create stability, the promotion of a powerful military force is often not the way to do it. This is because the result of such emphasis on the military often renders it the only mobile, coherent and centrally directed organization in societies lacking in the balancing forces of an independent judiciary, reasonably open elections, a tradition of civil government and a more or less free press.
Our program in pre-1958 Iraq and in pre-1979 Iran certainly played a crucial role in the extension of authoritarian rule in those countries and in their violent reactions against us.
May 31, 2014
WATCH: Rand Paul ‘not sure’ if he wants to dismantle his state’s Medicare expansion
By Arturo Garcia
Friday, May 30, 2014 19:38 EDT
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) struggled to explain his feelings on Friday toward his state’s healthcare exchange, putting him alongside Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) in an awkward position regarding the new service, Talking Points Memo reported.
“I’m not sure,” Paul told reporters on Friday, before launching into a halting explanation. “There’s going to be — how we unravel or how we change things. I would rather — I always tell people there’s a fork in the road. I was in healthcare for 20 years, so we had problems in healthcare, but we could have gone one of two directions. One was towards more competition and more marketplace and one was toward more government control.”
Earlier this week, Paul and McConnell seemed to be taken aback during a joint press conference when a reporter asked McConnell whether the exchange should be dismantled, considering his strong opposition to the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
McConnell paused for several seconds, then nearly handed the microphone to Paul before pulling it back and saying that subject was “unconnected” to his feelings on the health care law.
--
WATCH: Rand Paul ‘not sure’ if he wants to dismantle his state’s Medicare expansion
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/05/30/watch-rand-paul-not-sure-if-he-wants-to-dismantle-his-states-medicare-expansion/WATCH: Rand Paul ‘not sure’ if he wants to dismantle his state’s Medicare expansion
By Arturo Garcia
Friday, May 30, 2014 19:38 EDT
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) struggled to explain his feelings on Friday toward his state’s healthcare exchange, putting him alongside Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) in an awkward position regarding the new service, Talking Points Memo reported.
“I’m not sure,” Paul told reporters on Friday, before launching into a halting explanation. “There’s going to be — how we unravel or how we change things. I would rather — I always tell people there’s a fork in the road. I was in healthcare for 20 years, so we had problems in healthcare, but we could have gone one of two directions. One was towards more competition and more marketplace and one was toward more government control.”
Earlier this week, Paul and McConnell seemed to be taken aback during a joint press conference when a reporter asked McConnell whether the exchange should be dismantled, considering his strong opposition to the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
McConnell paused for several seconds, then nearly handed the microphone to Paul before pulling it back and saying that subject was “unconnected” to his feelings on the health care law.
--
May 31, 2014
Former Air Force toilet-unplugger wraps self in flag, clutches guns, tells you to ‘Google’ history
By TBogg
Friday, May 30, 2014 10:32 EDT
Stung by criticism for his exceedingly brief encounter with empathy for the families who lost kids in the Santa Barbara Second Amendment Slaughterfest, Joe the Unlicensed Plumber has both bunkered and doubled down with his assertion that you can have his guns when you pry them from his clammy toilet-plunging hands.
You see, when you tell Joe the Plumber that it was kind of a dick move to tell grieving parents that your guns are more important than the lives of their previously alive kids — before the bodies are even in the ground — well, that means that you hate our fighting men and women and our Founding Fathers and the US Constitution (2nd Amendment only) and probably America too, you filthy Marxist hater.
Yes, Joe went for the Otter defense.
Because, when you attack Joe The Plumber, you’re “mocking” the memory of everyone who has ever fought and died in our wars. Even the ones that we lost or tied.
Former Air Force toilet-unplugger wraps self in flag, clutches guns, tells you to ‘Google’ history
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/05/30/former-air-force-toilet-unplugger-wraps-self-in-flag-clutches-guns-tells-you-to-google-history/Former Air Force toilet-unplugger wraps self in flag, clutches guns, tells you to ‘Google’ history
By TBogg
Friday, May 30, 2014 10:32 EDT
Stung by criticism for his exceedingly brief encounter with empathy for the families who lost kids in the Santa Barbara Second Amendment Slaughterfest, Joe the Unlicensed Plumber has both bunkered and doubled down with his assertion that you can have his guns when you pry them from his clammy toilet-plunging hands.
You see, when you tell Joe the Plumber that it was kind of a dick move to tell grieving parents that your guns are more important than the lives of their previously alive kids — before the bodies are even in the ground — well, that means that you hate our fighting men and women and our Founding Fathers and the US Constitution (2nd Amendment only) and probably America too, you filthy Marxist hater.
Yes, Joe went for the Otter defense.
Because, when you attack Joe The Plumber, you’re “mocking” the memory of everyone who has ever fought and died in our wars. Even the ones that we lost or tied.
May 30, 2014
Final Air Force plane maintained at Boeing facility leaves Wichita
By Molly McMillin
The Wichita Eagle
Published Thursday, May 29, 2014, at 11:22 a.m.
Updated Thursday, May 29, 2014, at 8:09 p.m
~snip~
The last plane to undergo maintenance inside Boeing Wichita’s facility, an E-4B, started its engines and took off late Thursday afternoon. It flew to the south, then gracefully turned back north for a final goodbye pass before disappearing from sight.
A fixture in Wichita since 1927, Boeing once employed as many as 40,000 people here. It was a vital center of military production during World War II, building trainers and the B-29 Superfortress and helping the city become known as the Air Capital of the World.
Before Thursday’s departure, Boeing employees completed maintenance on the white and blue aircraft for the Air Force. The modified Boeing 747 was undergoing final test flights and preparations for delivery, according to information from the Air Force.
~snip~
Boeing announced in January 2012 that it was closing its Wichita defense plant and moving engineering and project management duties to Oklahoma City; modification, maintenance and repair work to San Antonio, and tanker work to the Puget Sound area of Washington state.
Final Air Force plane maintained at Boeing facility leaves Wichita
http://www.kansas.com/2014/05/29/3480742/final-air-force-plane-maintained.htmlFinal Air Force plane maintained at Boeing facility leaves Wichita
By Molly McMillin
The Wichita Eagle
Published Thursday, May 29, 2014, at 11:22 a.m.
Updated Thursday, May 29, 2014, at 8:09 p.m
~snip~
The last plane to undergo maintenance inside Boeing Wichita’s facility, an E-4B, started its engines and took off late Thursday afternoon. It flew to the south, then gracefully turned back north for a final goodbye pass before disappearing from sight.
A fixture in Wichita since 1927, Boeing once employed as many as 40,000 people here. It was a vital center of military production during World War II, building trainers and the B-29 Superfortress and helping the city become known as the Air Capital of the World.
Before Thursday’s departure, Boeing employees completed maintenance on the white and blue aircraft for the Air Force. The modified Boeing 747 was undergoing final test flights and preparations for delivery, according to information from the Air Force.
~snip~
Boeing announced in January 2012 that it was closing its Wichita defense plant and moving engineering and project management duties to Oklahoma City; modification, maintenance and repair work to San Antonio, and tanker work to the Puget Sound area of Washington state.
May 30, 2014
Missing Malaysia Airlines jet not in search area, officials say
Barbara Demick
5.29.2014
The case of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 became ever more mysterious Thursday as Australia claimed that the missing airliner is not in the more than 300-square-mile patch of ocean where authorities have been searching since early April.
The admission came after a U.S. Navy official disclosed that the four "pings" once described as the most promising clues to the plane’s supposed location in the southern Indian Ocean most likely did not come from the plane’s black boxes.
"I wouldn’t say we are back to square one, but maybe to square one-and-a-half," said Ron Bishop, an Australian search-and-rescue expert and head of aviation at Central Queensland University.
The flight disappeared March 8 on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people aboard. Between April 5 and April 8, officials announced that an Australian ship equipped with a U.S.-made towed pinger locator had detected four signals that matched the frequency of the missing Boeing 777’s black boxes.
Missing Malaysia Airlines jet not in search area, officials say
http://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-malaysia-flight-mh370-search-20140529-story.htmlMissing Malaysia Airlines jet not in search area, officials say
Barbara Demick
5.29.2014
The case of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 became ever more mysterious Thursday as Australia claimed that the missing airliner is not in the more than 300-square-mile patch of ocean where authorities have been searching since early April.
The admission came after a U.S. Navy official disclosed that the four "pings" once described as the most promising clues to the plane’s supposed location in the southern Indian Ocean most likely did not come from the plane’s black boxes.
"I wouldn’t say we are back to square one, but maybe to square one-and-a-half," said Ron Bishop, an Australian search-and-rescue expert and head of aviation at Central Queensland University.
The flight disappeared March 8 on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people aboard. Between April 5 and April 8, officials announced that an Australian ship equipped with a U.S.-made towed pinger locator had detected four signals that matched the frequency of the missing Boeing 777’s black boxes.
May 30, 2014
Putin's Ukraine ambitions hinge on allies he can't rely on
Carol J. Williams
5.30.2014
The prospect is alluring: long-term influence over a Russian-speaking corridor linking eastern Ukraine and Crimea, ensuring supplies of electricity, food, jet engines and other military hardware as well as unfettered access to offshore oil and gas fields.
The difficulty for Russian President Vladimir Putin in the next stage of the Ukraine conflict is the status of his best tool for achieving that goal: armed separatist groups. They may be in danger of losing momentum in their battle with the Ukrainian government. And even if they maintain their grip, they show signs of pursuing a rogue agenda that hurts Russia more than it helps.
Putin has kept a low profile in the days since Ukrainians elected a new president and government troops scored a rare success by preventing the pro-Russia separatists from taking over the country's second-largest airport.
As the dispute drags on, it seems less likely that he will send in the troops who have been massed along the nations' border. But the desire remains to rebuild Kremlin influence, lost in the collapse of the Soviet Union, across a region that manufactures hardware for the Russian defense industry.
Putin's Ukraine ambitions hinge on allies he can't rely on
http://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-ukraine-putin-20140530-story.html#navtype=outfitPutin's Ukraine ambitions hinge on allies he can't rely on
Carol J. Williams
5.30.2014
The prospect is alluring: long-term influence over a Russian-speaking corridor linking eastern Ukraine and Crimea, ensuring supplies of electricity, food, jet engines and other military hardware as well as unfettered access to offshore oil and gas fields.
The difficulty for Russian President Vladimir Putin in the next stage of the Ukraine conflict is the status of his best tool for achieving that goal: armed separatist groups. They may be in danger of losing momentum in their battle with the Ukrainian government. And even if they maintain their grip, they show signs of pursuing a rogue agenda that hurts Russia more than it helps.
Putin has kept a low profile in the days since Ukrainians elected a new president and government troops scored a rare success by preventing the pro-Russia separatists from taking over the country's second-largest airport.
As the dispute drags on, it seems less likely that he will send in the troops who have been massed along the nations' border. But the desire remains to rebuild Kremlin influence, lost in the collapse of the Soviet Union, across a region that manufactures hardware for the Russian defense industry.
May 30, 2014
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Left to right: Chargers Owner Alex Spanos, President Dean Spanos, Executive Vice President of Football Operations John Spanos, and CEO A.G. Spanos
A.G. Spanos sees optimism in stadium plans
By Tom Krasovic
10:50 a.m.May 29, 2014
While the NFL may not be headed to Los Angeles soon, in San Diego the football stadium issue appears unchanged in one major aspect.
Without a new home here for the Chargers, San Diego cannot expect to host another Super Bowl.
The Chargers and the mayor's office are having regular conversations about how to get a stadium built. Talking with ESPN's Eric D. Williams, Chargers CEO A.G. Spanos provided an update Thursday.
~snip~
Spanos didn't say how much the Chargers are willing to pay of the estimated $1 billion needed to build such a facility. In Oakland, where the Raiders play in an old multi-purpose venue similar to Qualcomm Stadium, Raiders owner Mark Davis also seeks public funding for a new home. Davis told NFL.com the Raiders have $400 million to put toward a new stadium.
--
Getting into a Superbowl is the least of San Diego's problems.
A.G. Spanos sees optimism in stadium plans
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/may/29/ag-spanos-chargers-super-bowl-spanos-stadium/?75d51d0aea2efce5189afce216053cbc530c46a8
Left to right: Chargers Owner Alex Spanos, President Dean Spanos, Executive Vice President of Football Operations John Spanos, and CEO A.G. Spanos
A.G. Spanos sees optimism in stadium plans
By Tom Krasovic
10:50 a.m.May 29, 2014
While the NFL may not be headed to Los Angeles soon, in San Diego the football stadium issue appears unchanged in one major aspect.
Without a new home here for the Chargers, San Diego cannot expect to host another Super Bowl.
The Chargers and the mayor's office are having regular conversations about how to get a stadium built. Talking with ESPN's Eric D. Williams, Chargers CEO A.G. Spanos provided an update Thursday.
~snip~
Spanos didn't say how much the Chargers are willing to pay of the estimated $1 billion needed to build such a facility. In Oakland, where the Raiders play in an old multi-purpose venue similar to Qualcomm Stadium, Raiders owner Mark Davis also seeks public funding for a new home. Davis told NFL.com the Raiders have $400 million to put toward a new stadium.
--
Getting into a Superbowl is the least of San Diego's problems.
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