The Speed of a Sniffing Dog

Andrew Johnson writing  for the Independent stated that:

“Taliban fighters have developed a deadly new generation of their most lethal weapon, the improvised explosive device, or IED, which is almost undetectable because it has no metal or electronic parts.”

and…

“Earlier in the war, IEDs would be mostly triggered by two hack-saw blades separated using a spacer. When the blades were stepped on or driven over they would complete an electronic circuit which so detonated the explosive – often an artillery shell…

…metal saw blades have now also been replaced with graphite blades and the artillery shells with ammonium nitrate. The damage is caused by the power of the blast rather than metal fragments, or shrapnel.”

In case you were not sure… this is bad.  Without metal or electronics, the only way to detect that type of bomb (before detonation… after is easy) is with dogs.

“One brigade commander posted to Afghanistan said that sniffer dogs were
the most reliable way of detecting IEDs, but this method took a long
time and required a lot of animals. Already convoys have to move at very
slow speeds while roads ahead are checked for explosives. “

All our modern military transportation technology has been reduced to the speed of a sniffing dog by a pile of wood and fertilizer?   Wow.

This is the pain that is  guerilla warfare…  and a great illustration of how low-tech insurgencies can throw sand in the gears of high-tech conventional forces.  This kind of war is not what our forces are optimizeProxy-Connection: keep-alive
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to fight.  I am not suggesting we completely retool our military to be optimized against Taliban and the Wooden Bomb Brigade because that would leave use vulnerable to other modern militaries and that is not cool.  But I think we will have to acknowledge that this is going to be messy and no fun and if we are going to keep slogging it out with these guys then we are going to have some losses.  You can “out tech” a low technology but modern army (i.e. Iraq in 1991), but that doesn’t work if the enemy plays by different rules all together and goes for “no tech”.

One criticism… in the beginning of the article he called these IED’s a “new generation” weapon.  I have a problem with that.   Typically, when talking about new generations of weapons and styles of warfare, it refers to a technological advance that must be matched or surpassed to be defeated.  (cannons over catapults, guns over swords and bows, manuever warfare over trench warfare, etc).  This is not a “new generation” weapon any more than insurgency/guerilla tactics are a “new generation” of warfare.  Traps, tricks, underhanded terror tactics (assassination, bombs, etc) have been around for centuries.  These are not new.   They are just becoming more difficult to fight against because we hate to admit that they are still effective against all our expensive toys.

Really? Was it Really Attempted Use of a WMD?

Yesterday on NPR, I heard the discussion about the would-be Christmas airline bomber as having attempted to use a weapon of mass destruction.

Really?  Should we really be calling the Christmas airline bomber an attempted use of Weapon of Mass Destruction? He burning his lap!  Seriously?

If we use that term to describe the attempted downing of an aircraft then isn’t every anti-ship cruise missile a WMD?  There can be hundreds to thousands of people on ships.  Or what about a 2000 lbs bomb that we drop all the time?  How about a grenade?  If he stabbed the pilots and brought the plane down would that be a WMD?  Will will have to have an international armistice treaty on box cutters!

I think a more honest term would “attempted mass murder.”  How about we save WMD for the big stuff like nukes and not water down our own language.

Only in Thailand

On a recent trip to Phuket, Thailand…

This is a very common scene. I even saw a man driving a scooter in traffic with a woman and two small children (one on each leg) sitting side saddle. But if you are thinking they are not concerned about safety… think again. Check out this safety warning on a Patong Beach street corner…

See? Thailand cares about safety.

Here is another example of good motoring sense…

Links to Everything Geo-Political

Great blog that links to what is being discussed in the geopolitical world…
http://gretaslinks.blogspot.com/

How Detroit Killed the Inflatable Car

The Inflatable Car

I am a huge fan of new ideas and inovative technology.  XP Vehicles is developing an inflatable car that is an absolutely phenomenal idea.  If you don’t want one for yourself then that is fine.  You can’t deny that a car made out of “airbags” (the same polymer materials used to cushion NASA’s rovers when they landed on Mars) is a pretty cool idea.  Especially when that car uses no gasoline and gets over 125 miles per battery charge. Not to mention the company’s claim that you can drive the car off a cliff without serious injury, and that it will float in a flood or tsunami.

But the Department of Energy says…

REJECTED!

 Here is an excerpt from an email I received from XP Vehicles:
“Detroit” wants XP Vehicles stopped!

The DOE reviewers, mostly from “Detroit”, have turned down XP’s loan application in favor of “Detroit” players. Are we a nation where innovation and great ideas win support or where great influence buyers win the support? If you want an XP Vehicle, call Congress now and ask for action!

In the next 48 hours you will see a Press Release sent out by XP Vehicles after we were contacted by the Department of Energy and informed that our application was being rejected. We have been told that most of the smaller, advanced technology electric car companies’ applications are being rejected in favor of Ford, Nissan and GM applicants. XP was told it was rejected because it did not use E85 gasoline and was not building millions of cars.

As stated in our Press Release, we have no problem with the federal government supporting our traditional automotive industry, we do have a problem with absolutely no support for smaller companies who have not made the mistakes of the Detroit Three and are just trying to get new technology on the roads today and available to consumers. Americans deserve the opportunity and right to make the right choices and start reducing our energy consumption and air pollution TODAY.

If America, and the world, wants a car that goes an almost unlimited range via hot-swap cartridges, costs less than $20,000.00, uses no gasoline, is easy to repair, easy to build, saves your life better than any other car, is faster than competing solutions, does not require an extension cord, uses electricity and creates green jobs; then we hope they will let Congress hear their voices.

XP Vehicles needs your help. If you want to support them you can send the below letter to your congressman:

 

Letter of Support

DATE

The Honorable John Doe

U.S. House of Representatives/United States Senate

Washington, DC 20515/20510

Dear Representative/Senator Doe:

As your constituent and a firm supporter of our nation’s environment and energy independence, I was extremely disappointed in the recent announcement made by the U.S. Department of Energy to reject a comprehensive and thorough Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing (ATVM) loan application submitted by the California-based company XP Vehicles. Their innovative car technology has produced a vehicle capable of delivering about 125 miles per one battery pack charge and uses no gasoline. I cannot understand why the Energy Department is not willing to fund a car that goes an almost unlimited range via hot-swap cartridges, costs less than $20,000.00, uses no gasoline, is easy to repair, easy to build, saves your life better than any other car, is faster than competing solutions, does not require an extension cord, uses electricity and creates green jobs. I hope that you have the same questions and would be willing to phone or write Secretary Chu and ask him directly.

While I realize that some of these loan monies should go to established and traditional automotive companies, I find it unbelievable that the Department is not being more forward-thinking and allocating some of their investment in the future.Again, as your constituent, I am asking you to call or write Secretary Chu and ask him to reconsider the loan application submitted by XP Vehicles.

We need to invest in companies that are working on advanced technology to develop more fuel efficient, safer vehicles and will put Americans back to work in “greener” jobs. If you have any questions or would like a sample letter to send to Secretary Chu, feel free to contact XP Vehicles’ Washington Lobbyist Janet Kopenhaver at 703-528-7822 or via email at janetk@eyeonwashington.com. Thank you in advance for supporting advanced technology, less dependence on foreign oil and a cleaner environment.

Sincerely,YOUR NAME

 

Will this make a diference?  Probably not.  But at least you will have tried.

Why not model a Govenrnment Health Care plan after the FAA?

The FAA model brings up an interesting example in support of government run health care.

 

There is a definite problem with the current healthcare system. If you have private insurance and get become very sick, the insurance company has an strong motivation to find a way to cancel your policy. Although this makes sense for the companies bottom line, it is not exactly what I would call insurance. Most of us would like to imagine that “insurance” means: any means of guaranteeing against loss or harm. But this goes away when it is a for profit industry that does not want to pay for loss or harm. And quite frankly, if I was an invester in an insurance company, I wouldn’t want them to cut into their profit to pay for your illness either.

 

However, the idea of the government providing for our health care sends chills up the spines of most conservatives and many liberals. Do we really trust the government with our lives? I argue that you already do… every time you board an airplane in the United States you are trusting the FAA.

 

Here is one way to model the field of medicine after the FAA and it just might work:

 

Doctor Pay:

ATC controllers are highly paid and they make more money at larger airports (so rewarded for skill and hard work), have very demanding requirements, little room for error and are government employees. Maybe that is not such a bad model for doctors. Rather than pay them through hospitals that are billing insurance companies, why not have well compensated doctors (perhaps in a similar organizational structure as military doctors) that are paid a wage from the public coffers. Just like air traffic controllers who work at an airport but not for the airport (paid by FAA), doctors could work at hospitals but not for the hospital.

Medical School:

Obviously, we still want to attract the best and brightest to be doctors. Medical school is tough. It will stay tough. Right now it is expensive and tough and that means only people with wealthy families can become doctors (not always the brightest) or people willing to incur massive debt. This requires very high pay later to cover loans. Why not have medical education free and based solely on merit. If you are good enough to get in and finish the program, you are in the club. If not, see you later (and you owe for the ammount spent on you). No amount of money will get you in, rich boy. That makes it more like the Naval Academy which generally produces good officers.

Hospitals and clinics:

Offer free treatment to any citizen (taxpayer) and get reimbursed from the government for treatment. This is still competitive because people have a choice where they go to see the doctor. Provide a crappy facility and you get less patients at your door = less money. Patients that are not citizens can also be seen but will be billed at the same rate that the government would have paid. The non-citizen can utilize a private health insurance provider if they choose or can pay out of pocket.

Alternative Plan:
How about combining health insurance with life and disability, so the company has a financial incentive to keep you alive and healthy?

Credit Card Games

I have a Discover card that I have had for many years. It has a decent interest rate (5.9%) and I use it for emergencies. The other day I received a letter from Discover informing me that the rate was going up to 12.99% and if I didn’t like it I could pay off my balance a leave. This applies to all new purchases and outstanding balances. I owe about a $1000 so I would rather not pay it all right now but the new rate is crap.

I called them to complain and see what we could work out. They said the new rate was being instituted “across the board” for everybody and they would send me the paperwork to appeal it. Because I have never missed a payment I could probably negotiate a lower rate than 13%.

But here is the kicker… the guy on the phone said the new rate is “due to the economy.” Seriously? The new rate is Prime Rate + 9.74% (=12.99%). So the increase is not due to the economy because that would mean the Prime Rate had gone up. The increase is not because I am a high risk borrower because nothing in my life or bill paying practices have changed. The new rate of 12.99% is because they know they can get away with it and most of their customers will chalk it up the the bad economy and take it in the shorts.

Think about it. Why 9.74% and not something else? Because that plus Prime is just under 13% and “12 something” sounds less criminal than 13. It has nothing to do with the economy and everything to do with taking advantage of the consumer by playing the headlines. The letter states, “our decision to make this change was based on the higher cost of doing business due to the challenging economic environment.”  Again, that would be Prime Rate and it has not gone up.  In fact, Prime Rate is much lower than it has been in years.

Discover is not hurting anymore than EXXON was hurting when gas prices were high. Discover does not make high risk home loans or anything of that nature. They only do credit cards and online bill paying. Discover’s stock is low but their P/E ratio is hanging around 4. They are showing a sizeable profit already and now Discover is going for the gold by jacking up the rates. Their profits in 2008 equaled close to $1 billion.

Discover Card… I call Bull $hit!

Man records encounter with TSA

I wish there was a way to require a basic ethics class for all government/public service employees. Something that covers the principles of freedom, democracy, liberty, privacy and our constitution that our laws our based on. I don’t think enough people understand how our country is supposed to work anymore.

note: FOX news actually had a story with substance and worth my time! Shocking!

The Trillion Dollar Spider



YAY! Problem solved! I knew it wasn’t that difficult to get this national debt thing under control.
If this seems silly… think about this next time the Federal Reserve says its time to increase the money supply.