It ISN’T One World…

The downgrading of  European nations credit worthiness continues today with Fitch downgrading a few new countries.

The interesting thing to me is that the nations being downgraded do not have as bad an economic problem as does the United States – or Britain.

The difference is that the US and Britain retained their own currencies and so do not suffer when other nations (PIIGS) pull down the common currency of the 17 European nations tied to the Euro.

So Spain and Italy’s problems cause other nations to get downgraded because the premise is that they must bail out Spain and Italy – while Britain and the US can simply look on.

Now you know the danger of a “One World” economy and a common currency, as some propose.

Political Correctness, International Style

PC Magazine today picks up on a recent NY Times article I read and simply forgot to remark upon – it was about the terrible working conditions of Chinese workers at Apple’s Chinese Foxconn plant.

That Times article uses the cultural norms of the US and most of the West to complain that China treats its workers poorly. This continues Western liberal attempts to westernize the developing nation – a practice liberals decry when it comes to fast-food and movies/TV – but then liberals always want to have everything their own way regardless of inconsistencies.

The proper way to look at the (by western standards) poor working conditions is that NONE of the workers are conscripted! They VOLUNTEER to work in less than optimum (Western) working conditions because is is BETTER than working the rice paddies!

The proper view is not that the conditions are worse than those of Qualcomm, but are they an improvement over the Chinese alternative, rice paddies?

Working at Qualcomm is not available to them – the rice paddies are.

Just Observing

Just an observation: The nine hostage-takers killed by Navy SEALs makes at LEAST the third straight SEAL attack (actually the third straight REPORTED SEAL attack) wherein there were no reported enemy wounded or captured.

In the 2009 rescue of the ship’s captain, the Osama killing, and the recent hostage rescue, not one enemy was left wounded or captured to be placed in GITMO.

In fact not a single enemy has been admitted to GITMO in YEARS!

That is the downside to liberals making justice so difficult a maze to navigate that it is simply easier to provide street justice than it is to be just a bit more humane.

Now admittedly, when you point a gun at a SEAL (or a policeman in the field), you are committing suicide – but there are liberals who demand that the police “shoot to wound” or use less than lethal means to disarm people. Of course these liberals are not the ones facing the explosive end of a weapon and their experience is all theoretical, but the proper response to being pointed at with a weapon is the old Texas dictum I learned in my Texas youth: “Make certain that there is only one side of the story told at the inquest.”

If the justice system was better at actually meting out justice, there would be more criminals and more combatants alive, rather than dead.

Apparently, that is the way the liberals want it because it is they who have designed and support the litigious labyrinth  we have.

 

Quick Hits

There can be no question that the proliferation of cell phone cameras and business surveillance cameras has had a major impact upon crime. More perps are caught, caught faster and evidence is overwhelming when convicted. It is certainly taking a bite out of crime!

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I wonder how much of the internecine warfare the voters can stand before they tune out.

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CIO reports that the iPHONE 4S/iPAD2 is outselling Android devices 3-1 in corporate America as of last quarter. Considering Apple’s corporate aversion to corporate America, this must reflect the “Bring Your Own Device” to the “enterprise” which can accommodate just about everything.

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Apparently the latest rescue was precipitated by the hostage-takers themselves. They tried to put pressure on the family to pay ransom by claiming a medical problem – which moved up the timing of the attack, to the hostage-takers detriment.

Interesting take in the Weekly Standard about the Political Correctness stands of the universities, who have been bitten in the butt by their support of Indian Rights. The Indians now claim the rights to ancient – REALLY ancient American bones, which the universities now must return to the Indians and can no longer be studied by the universities. The Weekly Standard notes that 10,000 (and older) bones have no more relationship to modern Indians than they do to the professors who are studying the bones!

“Ethics of War?”

The “Ethics of War” are an oxymoron.

The charges against the Sgt. soon to be released from Courts Martial regarding the “Haditha Massacre” at Camp Pendleton are a joke.

Yes 24 civilians were killed. Do you think that 24 civilians were killed in the firebombing of Dresden, or Tokyo? 240? 2,400? 24,000?

You are still way, way low!

Clue: Civilians are killed in war, and they are just as dead if they are individually killed by a Marine squad or by a pilot at 30,000 feet who never sees them.

“Back In The Day”: One of the oft-discussed “ethics” in submarine wardrooms during long undersea patrols was a question without a “right” answer.

Scenario (this closely approximates several actual instances in WWII):

You are on war patrol, and get a message: “A ‘heavy’ (large ship) moving at top speed will transit your patrol area, unescorted, at or about noon tomorrow. Sink it without fail.”

The “without fail” is a not too subtle message to the submarine commander that even if it costs his submarine and all of his men, that transiting ship must be stopped.

During the next morning, Sonar hears a fast moving but heavily laden ship approaching, and the CO commands, “Battle Stations – Torpedo.” A submerged attack is commenced with bearing and range determined by SONAR with quick periscope confirmations until the correct course and speed of the ship and aiming point of the torpedoes are determined.

“Make ready all forward torpedoes. Set speed high, set running depth 15 feet.”

“Open all outer doors!”

Time for one final look. “Up scope! Bearing…MARK! Range…MARK! Damn! Down scope!”

What the CO just saw was a large ship with a huge Red Cross on its side.

What to do? Only seconds remain before the shot must be taken.

Shoot, or don’t shoot?

Wardrooms, usually with six officers, were never unanimous or even nearly so.

(My answer: “Forward Torpedo Room: Fire One! Fire two, Fire three…After Torpedo Rom: make ready all aft torpedoes, set speed high, depth 15 feet. Open all aft outer doors! Forward Torpedo Room: Fire four, fire five, fire six! Right full rudder, flank speed. On fire-control solution, prepare to fire all aft  torpedoes. Reload all forward torpedo tubes…time to first detonation? On detonation, prepare to reload and fire all torpedoes aboard…”)

Teachers Need to LEAD!

Teachers everywhere (in my blogging on other sites) maintain that it is not just they, the teachers, who are responsible for the poor performance of the schools – but the students must take some responsibility.

Teachers also deny that unions – particularly their union — are part of the problem.

Good teachers don’t need unions and bad teachers don’t deserve unions.

Yes, students need to step up — but those are the same students that just a few years later are in Spec Forces, and high tech submarines, and flying drones from 5,000 miles away, with good leadership.

It is a teachers responsibility to motivate and lead. Those students can be motivated and our great military does it in spades every day, but teachers believe that all they must learn is the details of the subject about which they lecture.

It is not.

Leadership.

(Apparently, it is too much to ask..)

A Prime Example of Government Meddling

The Los Angeles authorities asked the California Association of Realtors to convey to Realtors in the LA area that if the Realtors hire tiny drones to take aerial photos of high-end properties, that the drones must be certified by the FAA and you must get a permit from the LA authorities.

No such certification or permit is needed if you are simply flying the same machine at the same altitude for fun, but the instant it is done for business, the government red tape takes over. Apparently, it is not the tiny plane or helo that is dangerous – what is dangerous is that someone, somewhere may be making a dime.

I’ll admit to having hired a tiny drone to take photos of a high-end home I was listing here in San Diego County. A man drove up and assembled a gas-powered helo from the back seat of his car and had it hover about 100 feet up. On the ground we viewed the video and still shots and directed the photos, viewing them in detail later on a laptop. It all worked beautifully.

As I recall, the price was about $350 and well worth every penny. Whether it would be worth getting airworthiness certification for the helo for this very niche business, and getting a permit for each time one hired this drone operator for half an hours work – I think not.

High-end homes usually have a manned helo come over every few years and take aerial photos, but these helo companies take perhaps a hundred homes a day and although some of the photos are really good, there is no control of the angle of the shot, or the time of day and lighting, or what part of the property gets emphasis. If those shots have been purchased by a homeowner, then the copyright can be bought for less than $50 for publication, but I like to have personalized and specialized photos. I do this when possible.

The owner of that specialized drone helo I hired can fly his drone all day for fun, but it apparently becomes a threat to something if he makes a few dollars? I was a licensed Private Pilot for years and was never permitted to fly anywhere near as low as these small drones fly – they are NO threat.

No, it is an example of (literally) making a federal (FAA) case out of nothing – and a local government trying to make a dime off permits – just typical government meddling.

Quick Hits

 

The IMF had predicted that the world economy would expand 4% in 2012, then in September the IMF changed that to 3.8% — and now to 3.3%.

“The world recovery, which was weak in the first place, is in danger of stalling,” IMF chief economist Olivier Blanchard said. “But there is an even greater danger, namely that the European crisis intensifies. In this case, the world could be plunged into another recession,” he said.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203806504577180762119432238.html

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There is an African teenager named Mamadou Ndiaye playing for a Christian High School in Huntington Beach.

Not much news there—players from all nations come to America for baseball, track, football and basketball – but this kid stands 7’ 5” and he is still growing.

With 350 pound football players, and 7’5’’ high school basketball players, we are moving into far less student athletes than minor leagues for the pro system, and the pro system should be paying for this development league instead of the taxpayers footing the bill. Now as it happens this is a private Christian school, but the question remains – why are not the pro teams paying for talent development?

It’s The Economy, Stupid!

This is NOT about auto racing for those who are not racing fans, it is about economics.

The most dominant racing team over the past decade has been the French Peugeot LMP1 Le Mans Racing team – a team of diesel cars that has just dominated the circuits against another team of Audi diesels in 12 and 24 Hour races. No gasoline powered racing cars are as fast, or as reliable as the diesels of Peugeot or Audi – and now only Audi is left. (Toyota is readying a gasoline hybrid to compete in this, the fastest class of cars.)

This year, the season starts at Sebring 12 Hour, and the pits were set up for Peugeot – the drivers were assembling – and  Peugeot ended their participation with their drivers in the air to Florida.

Stopped. Quit. Kaput!

Peugeot spent as much as $100 million a year just to try towin their home race – the 24 Hours of Le Mans. (Audi won last year)

No Mas!

Gone!

It is the money. The Euro is tanking, and Peugeot is retrenching. Peugeot has laid off 5,000 workers and cannot afford to compete even in a sport in which they dominate.

France and the United States have both been downgraded for their debt, and both nations – indeed the entire EU – are in a recession. The EU recession is deepening as the result of the PIIGS problems, while the US has some light at the end of the tunnel.

Peugeot no longer can afford to continue to race. Their place will be filled with Toyota within a year, and Porsche in two years.

(Just to put the Peugeot in perspective, at the Le Mans race last year it finish second, and about 347 miles ahead of the fastest US designed and made car – a factory Chevrolet Corvette, which won its class!)

Quick Hits

Good move by the Supremes in blocking the use of GPS to track people without “probable Cause” and a search warrant. Certainly reasonable if it is a criminal matter and a Judge will approve.

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The resignation of Rep. Giffords is necessary but regrettable. Her recovery will be hastened by less worry that she is not serving her constituents in Congress. Her people have been without representation for too long.

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There are all sorts of questions regarding the Rand Paul refusal to be patted down and his subsequent detain order in Tennessee. The Constitution says he may not be arrested while Congress is in session, but he similarly can be refused access to an airplane. Paul offered to go back through the scanner, and that was a reasonable request – it was unreasonable to require a patdown.

Interesting legal case.

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If Romney does not get more like his supporter Chris Christie, move right and get some passion into his attacks on the Obama administration and the media, he is going to lose. As flawed as Newt is, he is STRONG.

The EU looks as if it will take a strong stand on the Iranian oil embargo, and Iran says it will then close the Straits of Hormuz.  This could get messy, quickly. European military ships are transiting the Straits today, as are US Carrier Task Forces — lots of firepower is available.

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