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unhappycamper
unhappycamper's Journal
unhappycamper's Journal
September 29, 2013
American Workers: Hanging on by the Skin of Their Teeth
by Mike Whitney | September 28, 2013 - 7:52am
After five years of Obama’s economic recovery, the American people are as gloomy as ever. According to a Bloomberg National Poll that was released this week, fewer people “are optimistic about the job market” or “the housing market” or “anticipate improvement in the economy’s strength over the next year.” Also, only 38 percent think that President Obama is doing enough “to make people feel more economically secure.” Worst of all, Bloomberg pollsters found that 68 percent of interviewees thought the country was “headed in the wrong direction”.
So why is everyone so miserable? Are things really that bad or have we turned into a nation of crybabies?
The reason people are so pessimistic is because the economy is still in the doldrums and no one’s doing anything about it. That’s it in a nutshell. Survey after survey have shown that what people really care about is jobs, but no one in Washington is listening. In fact, jobs aren’t even on Obama’s radar. Just look at his record. He’s worse than any president in modern times. Take a look at this graph.
More than 600,000 good-paying public sector jobs have been slashed during Obama’s tenure as president. That’s worse than Bush, worse than Clinton, worse than Reagan, worse than anyone, except maybe Hoover. Is that Obama’s goal, to one-up Herbert Hoover?
American Workers: Hanging on by the Skin of Their Teeth
http://smirkingchimp.com/thread/mike-whitney/51841/american-workers-hanging-on-by-the-skin-of-their-teethAmerican Workers: Hanging on by the Skin of Their Teeth
by Mike Whitney | September 28, 2013 - 7:52am
After five years of Obama’s economic recovery, the American people are as gloomy as ever. According to a Bloomberg National Poll that was released this week, fewer people “are optimistic about the job market” or “the housing market” or “anticipate improvement in the economy’s strength over the next year.” Also, only 38 percent think that President Obama is doing enough “to make people feel more economically secure.” Worst of all, Bloomberg pollsters found that 68 percent of interviewees thought the country was “headed in the wrong direction”.
So why is everyone so miserable? Are things really that bad or have we turned into a nation of crybabies?
The reason people are so pessimistic is because the economy is still in the doldrums and no one’s doing anything about it. That’s it in a nutshell. Survey after survey have shown that what people really care about is jobs, but no one in Washington is listening. In fact, jobs aren’t even on Obama’s radar. Just look at his record. He’s worse than any president in modern times. Take a look at this graph.
More than 600,000 good-paying public sector jobs have been slashed during Obama’s tenure as president. That’s worse than Bush, worse than Clinton, worse than Reagan, worse than anyone, except maybe Hoover. Is that Obama’s goal, to one-up Herbert Hoover?
September 29, 2013
Oh, No, Not Peace!
by Matthew Rothschild
Published on Saturday, September 28, 2013 by The Progressive
All of a sudden, peace has broken out, and the neocons couldn’t be more upset.
~snip~
It’s far preferable that the United States and the United Nations have prevailed on Syria to destroy its chemical weapons than for the U.S. to have launched missiles into Syria, which would have widened the civil war there in dangerous directions and strengthened Al Qaeda’s hand.
And it’s far preferable that the United States is talking with Iran about ending any nuclear weapons program instead of scheming with Israel to bomb Iran. A U.S. or Israeli attack would have only delayed such a program by a year or two and would have provoked retaliation by Iran and Hezbollah against Israel and threatened the flow of oil through the Persian Gulf, rattling the world economy.
For too long, the United States has relied on war-making and coup-making to get its way in the world, and under the regime of Bush and Cheney, war was the most overused tool in the shed, while diplomacy rusted.
Oh, No, Not Peace!
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/09/28-6Oh, No, Not Peace!
by Matthew Rothschild
Published on Saturday, September 28, 2013 by The Progressive
All of a sudden, peace has broken out, and the neocons couldn’t be more upset.
~snip~
It’s far preferable that the United States and the United Nations have prevailed on Syria to destroy its chemical weapons than for the U.S. to have launched missiles into Syria, which would have widened the civil war there in dangerous directions and strengthened Al Qaeda’s hand.
And it’s far preferable that the United States is talking with Iran about ending any nuclear weapons program instead of scheming with Israel to bomb Iran. A U.S. or Israeli attack would have only delayed such a program by a year or two and would have provoked retaliation by Iran and Hezbollah against Israel and threatened the flow of oil through the Persian Gulf, rattling the world economy.
For too long, the United States has relied on war-making and coup-making to get its way in the world, and under the regime of Bush and Cheney, war was the most overused tool in the shed, while diplomacy rusted.
September 29, 2013
Latest revelations based on documents leaked by Edward Snowden show how the NSA uses some of the data it collects
NSA Collecting Private Data to Socially-Profile Americans
- Common Dreams staff
Published on Saturday, September 28, 2013 by Common Dreams
York Times' James Risen, shows that the National Intelligence Agency is using its massive data collections capabilities to develop 'social profiles' of individuals based on their telephone calls and online habits.
In a story published online Saturday and slated to appear in Sunday's print edition of the Times, Poitras and Risen cite documents made available to them by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden and report:
Since 2010, the National Security Agency has been exploiting its huge collections of data to create sophisticated graphs of some Americans’ social connections that can identify their associates, their locations at certain times, their traveling companions and other personal information, according to newly disclosed documents and interviews with officials.
The spy agency began allowing the analysis of phone call and e-mail logs in November 2010 to examine Americans’ networks of associations for foreign intelligence purposes after N.S.A. officials lifted restrictions on the practice (...)
NSA Collecting Private Data to Socially-Profile Americans
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/09/28-4Latest revelations based on documents leaked by Edward Snowden show how the NSA uses some of the data it collects
NSA Collecting Private Data to Socially-Profile Americans
- Common Dreams staff
Published on Saturday, September 28, 2013 by Common Dreams
York Times' James Risen, shows that the National Intelligence Agency is using its massive data collections capabilities to develop 'social profiles' of individuals based on their telephone calls and online habits.
In a story published online Saturday and slated to appear in Sunday's print edition of the Times, Poitras and Risen cite documents made available to them by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden and report:
Since 2010, the National Security Agency has been exploiting its huge collections of data to create sophisticated graphs of some Americans’ social connections that can identify their associates, their locations at certain times, their traveling companions and other personal information, according to newly disclosed documents and interviews with officials.
The spy agency began allowing the analysis of phone call and e-mail logs in November 2010 to examine Americans’ networks of associations for foreign intelligence purposes after N.S.A. officials lifted restrictions on the practice (...)
September 29, 2013
Is Iran out of the US War Queue? The Twilight of the Hawks
Posted on 09/28/2013 by Juan Cole
The short telephone conversation between US President Barack Obama and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Friday may or may not lead to a successful diplomatic resolution of US-Iranian conflicts, especially over Tehran’s nuclear enrichment program. But if it does, how will the hawks in Washington survive?
The US is an unusually war-like country. Since 1963 it has launched a military action on average every 40 months. It is to the extent that the US is still at war in Afghanistan after 12 years, and many Americans may not even realize it.
Washington hawks always have a war queue, knowing that their campaign supporters in the war industries expect it of them. Iraq was in the war queue in the 1990s. Since the fall of Baghdad in 2003, Iran has been the number one state in the war queue. This is so even though Iran is not a superpower or even a regional power. It hasn’t invaded another country in at least a century and a half. Its annual military budget is on the order of Singapore and Norway. It has a population slightly larger than France.
The point of having an enemies’ list is only in part in order to curb an enemy. It serves to scare the public and rally them around the politicians and make them willing to give up personal liberties or forget about being upset at being ruled on behalf of a handful of large corporations.
unhappycamper comment: Marine Corps Major General Smedley Butler said it best: War is a Racket.
Is Iran out of the US War Queue? The Twilight of the Hawks
http://www.juancole.com/2013/09/queue-twilight-hawks.htmlIs Iran out of the US War Queue? The Twilight of the Hawks
Posted on 09/28/2013 by Juan Cole
The short telephone conversation between US President Barack Obama and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Friday may or may not lead to a successful diplomatic resolution of US-Iranian conflicts, especially over Tehran’s nuclear enrichment program. But if it does, how will the hawks in Washington survive?
The US is an unusually war-like country. Since 1963 it has launched a military action on average every 40 months. It is to the extent that the US is still at war in Afghanistan after 12 years, and many Americans may not even realize it.
Washington hawks always have a war queue, knowing that their campaign supporters in the war industries expect it of them. Iraq was in the war queue in the 1990s. Since the fall of Baghdad in 2003, Iran has been the number one state in the war queue. This is so even though Iran is not a superpower or even a regional power. It hasn’t invaded another country in at least a century and a half. Its annual military budget is on the order of Singapore and Norway. It has a population slightly larger than France.
The point of having an enemies’ list is only in part in order to curb an enemy. It serves to scare the public and rally them around the politicians and make them willing to give up personal liberties or forget about being upset at being ruled on behalf of a handful of large corporations.
unhappycamper comment: Marine Corps Major General Smedley Butler said it best: War is a Racket.
September 29, 2013
No. 2 nuclear commander in the Navy relieved in probe over fake gambling chips
By George Chidi
Saturday, September 28, 2013 21:53 EDT
The head of U.S. Strategic Command relieved Navy Vice Adm. Tim Giardina from his duties at the command overseeing America’s nuclear forces earlier this month as part of a probe into his suspected role in a counterfeit casino gambling chip scandal, the Associate Press reported Saturday.
News of the suspension at STRATCOM emerged Saturday when Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation special agent David Dales disclosed the suspension of the admiral to the AP Saturday. Other news agencies subsequently confirmed the suspension.
Giardina, a career submarine commander, remains at STRATCOM but may be reassigned, NBC reported Saturday. Until reassignment, Giardina is not allowed to perform any duties related to nuclear weapons or security issues.
Air Force Gen. Robert Kehler, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, recommended that Giardiana be reassigned, the AP reported. Giardina has been the deputy commander of Strategic Command since December 2011.
No. 2 nuclear commander in the Navy relieved in probe over fake gambling chips
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/09/28/no-2-nuclear-commander-in-the-navy-relieved-in-probe-over-fake-gambling-chips/No. 2 nuclear commander in the Navy relieved in probe over fake gambling chips
By George Chidi
Saturday, September 28, 2013 21:53 EDT
The head of U.S. Strategic Command relieved Navy Vice Adm. Tim Giardina from his duties at the command overseeing America’s nuclear forces earlier this month as part of a probe into his suspected role in a counterfeit casino gambling chip scandal, the Associate Press reported Saturday.
News of the suspension at STRATCOM emerged Saturday when Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation special agent David Dales disclosed the suspension of the admiral to the AP Saturday. Other news agencies subsequently confirmed the suspension.
Giardina, a career submarine commander, remains at STRATCOM but may be reassigned, NBC reported Saturday. Until reassignment, Giardina is not allowed to perform any duties related to nuclear weapons or security issues.
Air Force Gen. Robert Kehler, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, recommended that Giardiana be reassigned, the AP reported. Giardina has been the deputy commander of Strategic Command since December 2011.
September 28, 2013
n this 2004 file photo, the nation's flag flies high at the G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery VA Medical Center, in Jackson, Miss.
Mental health leading cause of military hospital stays
by Gregg Zoroya and Meghan Hoyer, USA TODAY
Post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse and other mental illnesses accounted for more days spent by troops in the hospital than any other medical condition in the military in 2012, including war wounds, injuries and illness, according to Pentagon data.
The numbers show how years of exposure to combat trauma created a core of servicemembers with severe mental health problems - about 20,000 last year - who accounted for more lost workdays than those with any other health issue.
In the worst cases, troops remained hospitalized more than a month. Only servicemembers with severe amputations and long rehabilitation stay longer, according to Pentagon data provided in response to USA TODAY queries.
~snip~
Mental health inpatients made up only 26% of troops hospitalized last year, but they accounted for half of the days troops spent in hospitals. Nearly eight of 10 troops hospitalized for PTSD have been on at least one combat deployment.
Mental health leading cause of military hospital stays
http://www.indystar.com/usatoday/article/2868421n this 2004 file photo, the nation's flag flies high at the G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery VA Medical Center, in Jackson, Miss.
Mental health leading cause of military hospital stays
by Gregg Zoroya and Meghan Hoyer, USA TODAY
Post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse and other mental illnesses accounted for more days spent by troops in the hospital than any other medical condition in the military in 2012, including war wounds, injuries and illness, according to Pentagon data.
The numbers show how years of exposure to combat trauma created a core of servicemembers with severe mental health problems - about 20,000 last year - who accounted for more lost workdays than those with any other health issue.
In the worst cases, troops remained hospitalized more than a month. Only servicemembers with severe amputations and long rehabilitation stay longer, according to Pentagon data provided in response to USA TODAY queries.
~snip~
Mental health inpatients made up only 26% of troops hospitalized last year, but they accounted for half of the days troops spent in hospitals. Nearly eight of 10 troops hospitalized for PTSD have been on at least one combat deployment.
September 28, 2013
Low miles, only driven in one war
Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY
2:12 p.m. EDT September 27, 2013
Free to a good home in a bad neighborhood: pre-owned, carefully maintained, never-blown-to-smithereens Mine Resistant Ambush Protected truck.
As the Pentagon withdraws from Afghanistan and vows never to get involved in any long, deadly wars of occupation, it has a few thousand armored vehicles to spare. So it's been giving them away to local police departments — 75 of them since August, according to the Defense Logistics Agency.
MRAPs did their job saving the lives of thousands of troops from roadside bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now, they'll be hitting the mean streets of Columbus, Ohio, where campus police at The Ohio State University can presumably bust beer bashes with the behemoths. Cops in Madison, Wis., another Big Ten party town, can presumably do the same with theirs.
They're free. Mostly. Which is a pretty good deal considering a fully tricked-out MRAP with bomb-signal jammers, radios and a .50-caliber machine gun in the turret can run about $1 million.
Low miles, only driven in one war
http://www.usatoday.com/story/nation/2013/09/27/mraps-iraq-afghanistan-ieds-local-police/2882543/Low miles, only driven in one war
Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY
2:12 p.m. EDT September 27, 2013
Free to a good home in a bad neighborhood: pre-owned, carefully maintained, never-blown-to-smithereens Mine Resistant Ambush Protected truck.
As the Pentagon withdraws from Afghanistan and vows never to get involved in any long, deadly wars of occupation, it has a few thousand armored vehicles to spare. So it's been giving them away to local police departments — 75 of them since August, according to the Defense Logistics Agency.
MRAPs did their job saving the lives of thousands of troops from roadside bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now, they'll be hitting the mean streets of Columbus, Ohio, where campus police at The Ohio State University can presumably bust beer bashes with the behemoths. Cops in Madison, Wis., another Big Ten party town, can presumably do the same with theirs.
They're free. Mostly. Which is a pretty good deal considering a fully tricked-out MRAP with bomb-signal jammers, radios and a .50-caliber machine gun in the turret can run about $1 million.
September 28, 2013
Pentagon Mocks Sequester with New Millions Wasted
by Brianna Ehley
The Fiscal Times
September 12, 2013
~snip~
Delayed Navy Aircraft Carrier Goes Over-Budget
The GAO on Friday blasted the DOD for delays and cost overruns for the Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford. The carrier is already 22 percent over budget and will not likely be ready in time for its commissioning deadline in 2016.
~snip~
Overpriced AFRICOM Headquarters:
GAO reported Monday that the Pentagon didn’t use a well-documented analysis to assess the cost-effectiveness of keeping AFRICOM’s headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany. The agency suggested that if AFRICOM was moved to the United States it could save up to $70 million each year and potentially create more than 4,300 jobs.
~snip~
DARPA Didn’t Properly Screen Contract Bids
DOD’s Inspector General reported Friday that the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency slacked off on certain portions of its contract bid review, a competitive process that could determine which company would receive awards. The IG said there were flaws in DARPA’s scientific review process and that it missed Federal Acquisition Regulation requirements in 35 of 36 contracts, which totaled $426.4 million.
~snip~
Vehicle Mismanagement Wastes $2 Million
Due to staffing shortages, the DOD failed to manage its nontactical vehicles in the Washington, DC region in the National-Capital Region, costing the department nearly $2 .5 million in 2011. An audit released by the IG said the Navy, Defense Logistics Agency, Pentagon Force Protection Agency and Washington Headquarters Services did not perform annual mileage reviews or daily mileage logs for all of the 774 nontactical vehicles in the region.
A reminder in case you need one:
Pentagon Mocks Sequester with New Millions Wasted
http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2013/09/12/Pentagon-Mocks-Sequester-New-Millions-WastedPentagon Mocks Sequester with New Millions Wasted
by Brianna Ehley
The Fiscal Times
September 12, 2013
~snip~
Delayed Navy Aircraft Carrier Goes Over-Budget
The GAO on Friday blasted the DOD for delays and cost overruns for the Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford. The carrier is already 22 percent over budget and will not likely be ready in time for its commissioning deadline in 2016.
~snip~
Overpriced AFRICOM Headquarters:
GAO reported Monday that the Pentagon didn’t use a well-documented analysis to assess the cost-effectiveness of keeping AFRICOM’s headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany. The agency suggested that if AFRICOM was moved to the United States it could save up to $70 million each year and potentially create more than 4,300 jobs.
~snip~
DARPA Didn’t Properly Screen Contract Bids
DOD’s Inspector General reported Friday that the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency slacked off on certain portions of its contract bid review, a competitive process that could determine which company would receive awards. The IG said there were flaws in DARPA’s scientific review process and that it missed Federal Acquisition Regulation requirements in 35 of 36 contracts, which totaled $426.4 million.
~snip~
Vehicle Mismanagement Wastes $2 Million
Due to staffing shortages, the DOD failed to manage its nontactical vehicles in the Washington, DC region in the National-Capital Region, costing the department nearly $2 .5 million in 2011. An audit released by the IG said the Navy, Defense Logistics Agency, Pentagon Force Protection Agency and Washington Headquarters Services did not perform annual mileage reviews or daily mileage logs for all of the 774 nontactical vehicles in the region.
A reminder in case you need one:
September 28, 2013
The $40 billion dollar USS Gerald R Ford under construction
The Pentagon's biggest, baddest - and costliest - piece of hardware ever
By Maxim Lott
Published September 27, 2013
FoxNews.com
When the USS Gerald R. Ford is finally christened, the massive aircraft carrier will be the biggest and baddest piece of Pentagon hardware ever built - and, critics note, the most expensive.
The 1,106-foot ship, under construction in Newport News, Va., has seen cost overruns push its expected price tag up some 22 percent to nearly $13 billion, with new technology dictating changes since work began in 2007. Expected to be christened on Nov. 9, the ship will be able to launch 220 air attacks per day, will hold more than 4,000 sailors and Marines, has a nuclear reactor to provide energy, and even comes with stealth features to reduce the ship’s radar profile.
The Navy touts the ship, which will have runways to allow for simultaneous takeoffs and landings, as a landmark advance that “continues the aircraft carrier history of innovation and adaptability.”
Huntington Ingalls Industries, the maker of the ship, told FoxNews.com that the overall shape of the carrier remains the same as in older models, but that what’s packed into the ship is very different.
The Pentagon's biggest, baddest - and costliest - piece of hardware ever
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/09/27/pentagon-biggest-baddest-and-costliest-piece-hardware-ever/The $40 billion dollar USS Gerald R Ford under construction
The Pentagon's biggest, baddest - and costliest - piece of hardware ever
By Maxim Lott
Published September 27, 2013
FoxNews.com
When the USS Gerald R. Ford is finally christened, the massive aircraft carrier will be the biggest and baddest piece of Pentagon hardware ever built - and, critics note, the most expensive.
The 1,106-foot ship, under construction in Newport News, Va., has seen cost overruns push its expected price tag up some 22 percent to nearly $13 billion, with new technology dictating changes since work began in 2007. Expected to be christened on Nov. 9, the ship will be able to launch 220 air attacks per day, will hold more than 4,000 sailors and Marines, has a nuclear reactor to provide energy, and even comes with stealth features to reduce the ship’s radar profile.
The Navy touts the ship, which will have runways to allow for simultaneous takeoffs and landings, as a landmark advance that “continues the aircraft carrier history of innovation and adaptability.”
Huntington Ingalls Industries, the maker of the ship, told FoxNews.com that the overall shape of the carrier remains the same as in older models, but that what’s packed into the ship is very different.
September 28, 2013
China Says J-31 Fighter Will Compete With F-35 for Sales
By Zachary Keck
September 27, 2013
A PLA Navy official has confirmed to state-run media outlets that China will export the Shenyang J-31 twin-engine fifth generation fighter jet.
According to the Taiwan-based Want China Times, Admiral Zhang Zhaozhong told the People’s Daily this week that the J-31 was never built with China’s military in mind, and it was highly unlikely that the PLA would ever operate J-31s off of its aircraft carriers. Instead, the J-31 was designed for export to China’s strategic partners and allies, particularly those that couldn’t purchase the F-35.
The J-31, often referred to as the Falcon Hawk, Falcon Eagle, F-60 or J-21, is one of China’s two prototype fifth-generation aircraft, the other being the J-20. It is built by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation, and images of the aircraft first began appearing on the internet around this time last year.
Photos of the J-31 allegedly conducting its first test run surfaced last November, followed by a one-quarter scale model of the stealth fighter being showcased the same month at the China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, China’s largest airshow. It was identified only as the Advanced Fighter Concept at the show, although reports in China’s state-run media said that prototype was a J-31. More recently, last month, the Global Times posted a picture of a J-31 doing a test run on its online edition.
unhappycamper comment:
Will this thing be cheaper than the $418 million dollar f-22?
Oops - wrong pic.
Better question - will this thing cost less than $243 million?
China Says J-31 Fighter Will Compete With F-35 for Sales
http://thediplomat.com/flashpoints-blog/2013/09/27/china-says-j-31-fighter-will-compete-with-f-35-for-sales/China Says J-31 Fighter Will Compete With F-35 for Sales
By Zachary Keck
September 27, 2013
A PLA Navy official has confirmed to state-run media outlets that China will export the Shenyang J-31 twin-engine fifth generation fighter jet.
According to the Taiwan-based Want China Times, Admiral Zhang Zhaozhong told the People’s Daily this week that the J-31 was never built with China’s military in mind, and it was highly unlikely that the PLA would ever operate J-31s off of its aircraft carriers. Instead, the J-31 was designed for export to China’s strategic partners and allies, particularly those that couldn’t purchase the F-35.
The J-31, often referred to as the Falcon Hawk, Falcon Eagle, F-60 or J-21, is one of China’s two prototype fifth-generation aircraft, the other being the J-20. It is built by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation, and images of the aircraft first began appearing on the internet around this time last year.
Photos of the J-31 allegedly conducting its first test run surfaced last November, followed by a one-quarter scale model of the stealth fighter being showcased the same month at the China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, China’s largest airshow. It was identified only as the Advanced Fighter Concept at the show, although reports in China’s state-run media said that prototype was a J-31. More recently, last month, the Global Times posted a picture of a J-31 doing a test run on its online edition.
unhappycamper comment:
Will this thing be cheaper than the $418 million dollar f-22?
Oops - wrong pic.
Better question - will this thing cost less than $243 million?
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