New Presidential Helicopter On Hold

I said when the Navy awarded the contact this was a mistake now it looks like I and other observers were right. The contact should have been awarded day one to Sikorsky who has been responsible for Marine One as long as I can remember. The advantages of Sikorsky were new technology and most important an American company. I need to be clear here the base helicopter in question is an Augusta Westland modified EH-101 with LM and Bell as integrators. Lets hope the Navy does the right thing for once and cancel this turkey and buy the Sikorsky.

GAYLE S. PUTRICH
The most trying moment for the VH-71 presidential helicopter came in the twilight of what had already been a rocky year for the program.
After cost increases and schedule problems — driven in part by nearly 2,000 requirement changes — DoD officials met Dec. 13 with the White House Military Office to discuss the program’s fate.
The following day rumors abounded that the program faced cancellation, but the Pentagon swatted away speculation.
“There has been no decision to terminate the program,” Bill Balderson, deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for aviation programs, said Dec. 14. “We’re continuing to look at all the options. We’ve looked at almost every conceivable option because we didn’t want to take anything off the table.”
Sources suggested that the Pentagon wanted to kill the program, which reportedly has grown from $7 billion to $11 billion, but was overruled by the White House.
Neither White House nor Pentagon officials could discuss details of the meeting, but one source said that after all options were discussed, the decision was made to move ahead with the program.
A team composed of Lockheed Martin, AgustaWestland and Bell Helicopter Textron won the contract with the US101 in 2005, but rising costs and engineering glitches slowed development and raised concerns in the Pentagon.
A critical design review found that the Increment 1 aircraft met the needs of the first phase of the program, but an April systems requirements review revealed that nearly 2,000 design changes would be needed to meet Pentagon requirements for the second round of aircraft. The changes included a new tail, transmission and rotor blades.
“Increment 1 was a different program, a different airplane,” Balderson said. “There was an underestimation at the outset of how much work and how much time it was going to take to meet the requirements.”
With Lockheed’s ability to meet the 2015 delivery deadline for Increment 2 aircraft in doubt, the program has been essentially put on hold while options are considered.

Russia Denies Selling Iran an S-300 Air Defense System

So the Iranians are lying again, say its not so. But trust us we are not building towards a nuclear reactor. LMAO

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, MOSCOW
Russia denied selling a powerful new air defense system to Iran, following an announcement by the Iranian government that Russia would supply it.
"The question of selling Iran an S-300 anti-air missile system ... is not on the agenda, is not being discussed and is not being talked currently about with the Iranian side," the Federal Service for Military Cooperation said in a statement.
This week, Iran announced it was to receive the S-300 system, prompting the U.S. government to express "concern."
Earlier this year, Moscow overrode U.S. opposition by delivering to Tehran 29 TOR-M1 air defense missile systems, in a deal estimated to be worth $700 million.
Iranian state media touted the S-300 as an even more sophisticated system than the TOR-M1, saying it could hit incoming enemy targets at a greater altitude.

C-17's over Charleston

I just thought this was a cool shot

Fifteen C-17 Globemaster IIIs from Charleston Air Force Base, S.C., fly over the city of Charleston's Arthur J. Ravenel Bridge Dec. 20 during a training exercise. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. James L. Harper Jr.)

Al- Qaeda Claims Credit In Bhutto’s Assassination

This should not surprise anyone. What can be hoped for is that this act will convince her supporters and others in Pakistan that Al-Qaeda and fundamentalist Islam is the real enemy and ignite a fire under them to clear out the Western provinces. This same thing has happened in Iraq and has contributed to the large gains made by the Surge over the last 5 months.
But the delusional left will still blame Bush and Musharraf instead of the radical terrorists.

Karachi, 27 Dec. (AKI) - (by Syed Saleem Shahzad) - A spokesperson for the al-Qaeda terrorist network has claimed responsibility for the death on Thursday of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
“We terminated the most precious American asset which vowed to defeat [the] mujahadeen,” Al-Qaeda’s commander and main spokesperson Mustafa Abu Al-Yazid told Adnkronos International (AKI) in a phone call from an unknown location, speaking in faltering English. Al-Yazid is the main al-Qaeda commander in Afghanistan.
It is believed that the decision to kill Bhutto, who is the leader of the opposition Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), was made by al-Qaeda No. 2, the Egyptian doctor, Ayman al-Zawahiri in October.
Death squads were allegedly constituted for the mission and ultimately one cell comprising a defunct Lashkar-i-Jhangvi’s Punjabi volunteer succeeded in killing Bhutto.
Bhutto had just addressed a pre-election rally on Thursday in the garrison town of Rawalpindi when the bomb went off.
She had come to Rawalpindi after finishing a rapid election campaign, ahead of the January polls, in Pakistan’s volatile North West Frontier Province (NWFP) where she had talked about a war against terrorism and al-Qaeda.
Reports say at least 15 other people were killed in the attack and several others injured.
As news of Bhutto’s death spread throughout the country, there are reports that people have taken to the streets to protest the death of the leader of the PPP, which has the largest support of any party in Pakistan.
In the southern port city of Karachi, Bhutto’s hometown, residents reportedly threw stones at cars and burnt tyres.

Russians To Sell Iran S-300 SAM System

The Russians have announced the sale of the sophisticated S-300 SAM system to Iran.
While concerning I cannot belive this is a showstopper if U.S. or Israeli forces deem it necessary to take down the Iranian nuclear program.

U.S. Concerned By Russian Sale Of Air Defense Systems To Iran
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, CRAWFORD, TEXAS
The White House expressed concern Dec. 27 over Iran’s announcement that Russia would supply S-300 air missile defense systems to the Islamic republic.
“We have ongoing concerns about the prospective sale of such weapons to Iran and other countries of concern,” Scott Stanzel, a White House spokesman, said from Crawford, Texas, where President George W. Bush was spending the year-end holiday on his ranch.
Iranian Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar announced Dec. 27 that Russia would deliver the system but said the date for the delivery would be revealed later. Moscow has not confirmed the sale.
The announcement came as Washington is seeking to impose new U.N. sanctions on Iran over its refusal to halt its nuclear program, which the U.S. fears could be used to build an atomic bomb.
Earlier this year, Moscow frustrated Washington by delivering to Tehran 29 TOR-M1 air defense missile systems, in a deal estimated to be worth $700 million.
Iranian state media touted the S-300 as an even more sophisticated system than the TOR-M1, saying it could hit incoming enemy targets at a greater altitude. Iran said in January it had successfully test fired the TOR-M1.
The U.S. had urged Russia to cancel that sale, saying it was a mistake when the U.N. Security Council had imposed sanctions on Iran’s ballistic missile industry as part of measures against its nuclear drive.

Blast From The Past, XB-70 Valkyrie

The XB-70 was a bomber developed in the early 1960’s as a follow on high-speed replacement for the B-47. Although none were actually delivered to the Air Force, 2 test prototype versions were developed and flown extensively.
The XB-70 had many unique features; it was the first A/C to use extensive stainless steel honeycomb construction, engine installation was another ground-breaking feature on the Valkyrie, everything was bolted to the engine itself, making engine removal and replacement a job that could be done in just a couple of hours. The wings were another unique item, in flight, the XB-70 could lower the outer wing sections either 25 degrees for flying from 300 knots to Mach 1.4, or 65 degrees for speeds from Mach 1.4 to Mach 3+. Measuring just a bit over 20 feet at the trailing edge, these wingtips represent the largest movable aerodynamic device ever used.
The Valkyrie was truly an amazing aircraft with both jets running many hours at Mach 3, developing all kinds of aerodynamic data that was used in later A/C development programs. The Air Force left the program after the second prototype was lost in a mid air collision with an F-104 killing one of the crew and the Starfighter pilot. NASA flew the jet on 33 more research flights with the final flight to the Air Force museum at Wright Patterson AFB in February of 1969.

Specs
Crew: 2
Length: 185 Ft 10 in (56.6 m)
Wing Span: 105 ft 0 in (32 m)
Height: 30 ft 9 in (9.4 m)
Wing area: 6,296 ft² (585 m²)
Airfoil: Hexagonal; 0.30 Hex modified root, 0.70 Hex modified tip
Empty weight: 210,000 lbs (93,000 kg)
Loaded weight: 534,700 lb (242,500 kg)
Max takeoff weight : 550,000 lb (250,000 kg)
Power plant: 6× GE Y93 turbojets 28,000 lbs of thrust) each
Max Speed: Mach 3.1 (2,056mph, 3,309 km/h)
Cruise Speed:Mach 3.0 (2,000 mph, 3,219 km/h)
Range: 4,288 mi (7,900 km) combat
Service ceiling: 77,350 ft (23,600 m)

Merry Christmas

Here is wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Remember New Years Eve is for amateurs.

F-15 A-D Model Almost Ready For Flight

Great job by the Robbins Team, I’ve worked with this fine team on numerous occasions when I was on active duty. They due a great job and are a major asset for the Air Force.

Robins team believes last snag cleared in F-15 groundings
BY: Gene Rector, Macon Telegraph (Ga.)12/19/2007

ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE -- After a tedious, highly detailed process much like crime scene investigation, Robins Air Force Base engineers believe they have cleared the last technical hurdle affecting the nation's F-15 fleet.
Older models of the supersonic fighter have been grounded three times - the latest happening Dec. 4 - following the Nov. 2 crash of a Missouri Air National Guard F-15C.The last two stand downs have affected only the F-15 A through D models, about 450 aircraft. The newer, heavier and more robust F-15Es - 224 aircraft - were returned to flight Nov. 11.
The investigation has focused on upper cockpit longerons near the canopy area. To this point, cracks have been found in eight aircraft - all F-15Cs. Officials zeroed in on that area after eye witnesses to the crash said the jet appeared to separate immediately behind the cockpit during normal training maneuvers. The pilot ejected with only minor injuries.
Col. Stephen Niemantsverdriet, 880th Aircraft Sustainment Group commander at Robins, said cracks have been found in both the right and left upper cockpit longerons of the eight aircraft. He said 97 percent of the fleet has been inspected. Longerons are metal rails that run horizontally and hold the fuselage together.
The Warner Robins Air Logistics Center at Robins is the worldwide manager of the Air Force's F-15 fleet, providing resupply, periodic overhaul and engineering oversight for the premier, but aging air superiority weapon system.
The F-15 first entered the Air Force inventory in 1975. The latest model - the F-15E - joined the force beginning in the late 1980s. The fleet averages 25 years of service.Robins engineers have issued eight inspection orders to flying units since early November -the latest at midnight Dec. 15 - identifying areas to be inspected and the techniques to be used.
"Based on our review and interaction with Boeing and the accident board, we believe we have captured and mitigated all the risks," Niemantsverdriet indicated. "We're just at the point of getting the airplanes flying again, although that decision will be made by Air Combat Command and other using command."
McDonnell-Douglas, the original manufacturer of the F-15, was purchased by Boeing some years ago.
A thinning of the longeron at a key stress point - possibly due to a manufacturing defect - may be the root cause of the mishap and the cracks found in the eight aircraft."More than likely it is a manufacturing issue and we have pulled all the Boeing material discrepancy reports," the group commander said. "So far, we have not been able to isolate it to a particular production run or series. The cracks show up in aircraft as old as 1978 and as new as 1985."
Recurring checks had not called for a review of the area in the past."It was a 25,000 to 100,000-hour part," the colonel stressed. "So it was not included in our depot and phase inspections. It was designed to significantly outlast the aircraft."
However, the Robins team has learned that a number of factors create additional stress on the component - a splice joint in the two-piece longeron with different material thicknesses coming together, reduced width proceeding from the joint, angle variations and changes in the canopy sill.
"So a large amount of activity occurs in that single spot," Niemantsverdriet acknowledged. "It's like a creek that narrows down, making the water flow faster."
The inspections call for a thorough review for cracks in the longeron and a check for prescribed thickness. "We're looking at a good portion of the longeron - about 30 inches - and we're checking thickness at about 90 different locations. For an aircraft to be released to fly, there must be no cracks and the thickness must meet production tolerances," he said.If thickness issues crop up on crack-free aircraft, Boeing - at the request of Robins - will conduct fatigue life analysis to see if the aircraft can be returned to flight.
Replacement longerons will be manufactured at Robins. Niemantsverdriet said a production order has been placed for 15 with an anticipated 120-day lead time."We believe we can accelerate that," he said, "although one of the limiting factors will be availability of material."The Robins commander had high praise for his engineering team, the non-destructive inspection lab on base and technicians on the center's maintenance line who have assisted with validating and verifying inspection orders before they were released to the flying units."My hat's off to our engineering team and the people who have given us a

Why Not Minot? Freezing Is The Reason

As the official start of winter is just a few days away, I would like to salute the soon to be frozen airmen of Minot as they perform the daily task of getting the Buff into the air.

(Photos: USAF)

American Taliban Tries Again To Commute Sentence

Once again lawyers for American Taliban John Walker Lindh has called on President Bush to commute his 20-year sentence. He was originally charged with conspiring to kill Americans and supporting terrorists but pleaded guilty in 2002 to lesser offenses of supplying services to the now-defunct Taliban government. This is his 4th attempt to have his sentence commuted. The father of CIA officer Mike Spann, who was killed in an Afghanistan prison uprising where Lindh was captured, called for Lindh to serve his full sentence. While his mother during a news conference Tuesday said” His only offense was serving in the army of Afghanistan, He's admitted this was a mistake on his part."
Newsflash to this dirt bag and other of his ilk, they are non-uniformed enemy combatants and as such can be tried and executed by a military tribunal in the field. They are not afforded any protection under Geneva Convention 1949 or any of the supplements because they due not meet the criteria of a legal combatant or other protected individual. In my opinion 20 years was not enough, with the death of Mike Spann he should never be allowed to walk free again.

Energy Policy Disaster

Once again the career politicians in Washington have failed us with today’s vote by the House on the latest feel good policy. My own local congressman Mike McIntyre voted yes as usual. Mike for years has been a decent guy but over the last 18 months he has gone from a southern blue dog to voting with Nancy and company on almost all of their anti war surrender and other left wing legislation. He does decent work for veterans in our area as he stabs a knife in the back of the troops currently in the field, troops like my daughters boyfriend a Marine Corporal in Delta Company 2nd LAV who are gearing up for their next deployment to the desert. Mike right now could be the poster boy for term limits. The state republicans are running an Iraq Vet Will Breazeale who is a current Army reserve major and airline pilot I will be supporting him as best I can to get rid of Mike once and for all. Below is my latest letter to Mike.

Sir,
Once again we have another useless feel good bill by your Democrat comrades and the Rhino’s on the hill that in the long term will due more harm than good. Some of the unintended consequences will be a continued increase in the cost of basic food as more corn is diverted to government subsidized ethanol production. The talk of making huge amounts of ethanol from non-corn cellulose sources is nothing but a pipe dream much like the talk of a switch to hydrogen fuel. Who exactly is going to pay for the research and development for the technology to make this happen? Oh I know it will be my fellow taxpayers and myself. And of course final implementation of the ethanol boondoggle is 2022 long after all of the curent members are gone from office. This bill will also be another major hit for a beleaguered US auto industry that will now have to retool to make new smaller cars when their market share and ability to invest is already crippled.

I love the quote by Hoyer "This legislation is a historic turning point in energy policy, because it will cut demand for foreign oil and promote non fossil fuels that will cut greenhouse gases linked to global warming”. Any read of basic scientific literature will show that that water vapor has a greater effect in atmospheric heating than Co2 and ethanol produces much more water vapor than gasoline and because it is not as thermally efficient as gasoline more must be burned to accomplish the same amount of work. The Majority leaders comments are at the least disingenuous and show how the fringe of the environmental movement is swaying the thinking of the Democrat party.

Like it or not we are an oil-based economy, if you actual want to get us away from middle east oil in the short term than get some legislation through that will open up and encourage drilling in the ANWAR and off the coasts and development of the oil shale in the west. This coupled with an aggressive policy of building nuclear power plants and encourage the building of additional refining capacity will actually impact on our energy policy not deciding what light bulbs I use. Why do we let the Chinese drill in our backyard the Gulf of Mexico while we sit on the sidelines as your party is held hostage by the environmental movement?

This is just another symptom of what is wrong in Washington; instead of leadership and making tough calls we get feel good legislation that the politicians can feed back to their districts to show what great work they are doing, when in reality they are just kicking the can down the road.

Regards

Bali Climate Conference Done, Marxist Doctrine Exposed

The much touted climate conference is finally over in Bali. The global warming freaks finally showed their real stripes in what the game plan is. Their bottom line is to tax carbon emissions set up some phony carbon dioxide cap and offset program and have the wealthy nations help the poor and downtrodden. All of this is pure Marxist crap of income re-distribution and having everyone equal and no one unhappy. By trying to label Co2 as a pollutant and having government buy into this notion it gives these elites the ability to dictate industrial policy to the western industrialized world in particular the big bad USA. I’m so sick of these UN and nanny state bureaucrats trying to tell us how to live, act and work on a theory based on junk science. Remember these are the same people who back in the 70’s screamed like Chicken Little that the next ice age is coming. When the Goracle the new environmental rock star will sit down and debate the issue with real scientists I’ll be impressed but we all know he never will even with the 150K on the table to prove man made global warming on Junk Science. Check out the news on Global warming on JunkScience.com -- Steven Milloy, Publisher and Not by Fire but by Ice. Also check out Mark Steyn, in the Daily Telegraph What planet are the eco-cultists on? - Telegraph. Here is some of the article “In the past third of a century, the American economy has swollen by 150 per cent, automobile traffic has increased by 143 per cent, and energy consumption has grown 45 per cent. During this same period, air pollutants have declined by 29 per cent, toxic emissions by 48.5 per cent, sulphur dioxide levels by 65.3 per cent, and airborne lead by 97.3 per cent. Despite signing on to Kyoto, European greenhouse gas emissions have increased since 2001, whereas America's emissions have fallen by nearly one per cent, despite the Toxic Texan's best efforts to destroy the planet.”

NORAD Tracking Santa

NORAD will continue its holiday tradition started in 1955 tracking Santa Claus. The tracking will start 2:00 AM MTN on Christmas Eve, Below is the web site.

http://www.noradsanta.org/en/home.htm

F-22 Finally Operational

The F-22 Raptors at Langley AFB have reached full operational capability Dec 12, according to Gen John D.W. Corley, ACC Commander. So after more billions that you can count and many more dollars to spend to give it real air to ground capability, The USAF’s latest silver bullet is FOC with no one to fight and nothing to contribute to the current war on terror. Of course there are always those pesky Chinese that the Air Staff dreams of meeting air to air with their scarves on. I’ve never been a big fan of the F-22 because of the insane cost and the fact that only 183 are currently going to be bought. Instead of recapitalizing the fleet what we are doing by buying these expensive jets is effectively disarming ourselves. I still say we should have taken Boeing up on the offer of the F-15X proposed back in the late 90’s, a jet which would have been much like the Typhoon, but with an existing depot support structure and a proven design that would have been enhanced by modern avionics and known stealth technology.
Instead we have the Raptor, which may in fact have both corrosion and structural problems that will need to be adrresed sooner, rather than later adding more money to the cost. Check out the article in Air Force Times online.

http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2007/11/airforce_raptor_rust_071112w/

(U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Ben Bloker)

Oath of Enlistment

This is a great shot and story of a patriot and hero. After watching all the freaks and draft dodgers on the History Channel show 1968 shots like this give me faith in the future. I actually feel sorry for the draft dodgers I saw in this show, they will never know the feeling that Sgt Moldovan and I felt every time we raised are right hand and repeated these words below.


I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.


Sgt. Jon Moldovan, reciting the oath of re-enlistment with Brig. Gen. Rodney Anderson (to left, not shown). Sgt. Moldovan, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, re-enlisted one day after he was wounded while helping his comrades wrest control of Musa Qala, Helmand Province, Afghanistan, from the Taliban.

Blast From The Past, F-82 Twin Mustang

Possible one of the strangest looking fighter ever, the F-82 served as an excellent bridge between the propeller driven fighters to the new jets in the late forties and early fifties.
The F-82 was developed at the end of WWI as a long-range fighter escort for the B-29 in the Pacific. It was finished prior to the war but did not enter squadron service until early 1946. The F-82 was based on the P-51 Mustang mounted to a newly designed center wing, tail and propellers, as well as having a unique four wheel landing gear. It reatined controls in both cockpits The night fighter version the F-82F replacecd the contols in one cockpit with a radar intercept set up. The Air Defense Command used radar-equipped F-82s quite extensively as replacements for the P-61 night fighter. During the Korean Conflict, Japan-based F-82s were among the first USAF aircraft to operate over Korea. The first three North Korean airplanes destroyed by U.S. forces were downed by F-82’s. The F-82’s ended their career as long-range escorts for SAC bombers in Alaska finally being withdrawn from service in 1953.

SPAN: 51 ft. 3 in. (15.62 m.)
LENGTH: 39 ft. 1 in. (11.9 m.)

HEIGHT: 13 ft. 10 in. (4.2 m.)

WING AREA: 408 sq. ft. (37.9 m²)

EMPTY WEIGHT: 14,914 lb. (6764.5 kg.)

LOADED WEIGHT: 24,813 lb. (11255 kg.)

MAX. OVERLOAD: 24,864 lb. (11278 kg.)

CRUISING SPEED: 280 mphMAX. SPEED: 482 mph (748 kmh)

SERVICE CEILING: 40,000 ft. (12192 m)

ARMAMENT: Six .50-cal. machine guns, 25 five-inch rockets, and 4,000 lbs. of bombs ENGINES: Two Packard V-1650s of 1,380 hp. ea.

A Date, Which Will Live In Infamy

Today is Dec 7, the 66th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor . Below is FDR’s speech to Congress on Dec 8, 1941.


Franklin D. Roosevelt's "Day of Infamy" Speech
To the Congress of the United States:

Yesterday, December 7, 1941 -- a date which will live in infamy -- the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.
The United States was at peace with that Nation and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its Government and its Emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific. Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in Oahu, the Japanese Ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to the Secretary of State of form reply to a recent American message. While this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or armed attack.
It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time the Japanese Government had deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.
The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian Islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. Very many American lives have been lost. In addition American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu.
Yesterday the Japanese Government also launched an attack against Malaya.
Last night Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong.
Last night Japanese forces attacked Guam.
Last night Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands.
Last night the Japanese attacked Midway Island.
Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our Nation.
As Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense.
Always will we remember the character of the onslaught against us.
No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.
I believe I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost but will make very certain that this form of treachery shall never endanger us again.
Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory, and our interests are in grave danger.
With confidence in our armed forces -- with the unbounded determination of our people -- we will gain the inevitable triumph -- so help us God.
I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December seventh, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
The White House, December 8, 1941

It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived. --Gen George S. Patton

(Pics USN, Battleship Row, Dec 7, 1941 and the USS Ronald Reagan and USS Arizona)

Oil Prices Down Again, Does Anyone Know This?

The MSM shows how biased their reporting is again over the last few days. As crude prices went up through November and peaked near 100 dollars a barrel all we heard everyday from the usual suspects, CNN, CBS, ABC and the rest was the wailing of increased prices at the pump and who was to blame, blah, blah, blah.
But now over the last week oil has dropped back over ten dollars a barrel from the peak and you hear not one peep from the MSM. This evening on the Spot markets WTI Cushing closed at 87.49 a barrel and the NYMEX Crude Future was trading at 86.80. This pushed gasoline futures down to 225.75. Trending reports look like the price will continue a gradual drop. Can you imagine if the leftist and Eco freaks would actually let us drill the reserves that are available in this country were the price might be?

Questions On The NIE Iranian Report

Many MSM outlets have been all twittering about the NIE calling the Iranian nuclear weapons program being currently frozen. I personally don’t by it for a number of reasons not the least being the lack of any substantial human intelligence assets in the Middle East for years dating back to the Carter administration. Remember it was the same intel type that couldn’t see the Iranian revolution coming and that is when we had people on the ground. Why would a regime that is dedicated to eliminating the state of Israel, who knows that no one expect the U.S. and Israelis are willing to step up and stop them give up a program that they claim is their right? Check out In From The Cold for his detailed report on this ttp://formerspook.blogspot.com/ and the article from the New York Sun. http://www.nysun.com/article/67479

Oakland 34, Denver 20,

Holy Cow, two in a row for my beloved Raiders against AFC west opponents. Even better beating the pesky ponies who had beat us 5 time in a row. The big news was Jamarcus Russel making his pro debut in the second quarter. One of the Denver defensive backs John Lynch said "He looked pretty good to me," "He looked poised. He's probably the biggest man I've seen at QB. He looks like he has a fluid arm." The game also saw another great performance by Justin Fargus with 146 yards on 33 carries. Who knows run the table and end up 8-8? I doubt it but i can dream.

Hope For Venezuela

Stalinist bastard Hugo Chavez was stunned in voting over the weekend loosing the constitutional referendum, which among other items would have allowed him to run for office an unlimited amount of times. This shoes that the spark of freedom some thought extinguished in Venezuela is still alive. Here is a link to the article.
hthttp://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8T9P9C81&show_article=1tp://