Not a post on politics or how to best kill people, but a truck!

Did anyone other than myself and bobby see the new truck that ford has designed and showed off at the detroit car fair? Its freaking amazing. First, it sits on the F250 frame, one of the best frames out there for driving as its strong as shit as well as being very sturdy. The stiffness is very good with enough damping you don't feel every bump. The new front end on this Super Chief looks as impressive as the Ram's and thats always good. And the 24 inch rims....holy hell thats alot of traction on the road. Freakin hot!

And the engine, i mean, whats not to like about an engine that takes ethanol, gas, or hydrogen and still has 10 cylinders to put out well over 330 HP? And its more efficient than the current engine with hydrogen being the bet it can do. Rumor has it that even if the truck isn't made, the engine will still be used with smaller ones as well. Yay for R&D.

Lastly the interior. Whats not to like. Its as nice as a Mercedes, BMW, or a Lexas, in a bad ass truck. The back might be more comfortable than the front. In a PICKUP no less! An ottoman for the lounger in the back, jesus, i don't even need an appartment, i can just live in the truck.

I have alot of doubts on whether the truck, in this form, will be made. The least it can cost my my figures is in the 40s with a 50 or 60 price tag more likely. And we all know that sux. But the fact that they are looking at it at all makes me filled with glee. Even a smaller truck similar would be hot. I don't have it now but if i had that kinda coin, as i hope to in a few years, i could see trying to get one.

No relience on foreign courts

This quote by Alito is one of the best i have read in a while.

"I don't think it's appropriate or useful to look to foreign law in interpreting the provisions of our Constitution," Judge Alito said in response to questions from Senator Tom Coburn, Republican of Oklahoma, in the third day of the judge's confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
"I think the Framers would be stunned by the idea that the Bill of Rights is to be interpreted by taking a poll of the countries of the world," Judge Alito said. "The purpose of the Bill of Rights was to give Americans rights that were recognized practically nowhere else in the world at the time. The Framers did not want Americans to have the rights of people in France or the rights of people in Russia or any of the other countries on the continent of Europe at the time; they wanted them to have the rights of Americans."

The innovation of drugs

Its funny to me some of the stats on medical drugs. While the majority of the story is about Germany, there is another very important part of the story. The US produces approx 70% of the new crop of drugs that are saving lives. 70% is a large number. We heard enourmous amounts of hand wringing during the 2004 election year about the massive costs of drugs for people, ecspecially the elderly, but those same companies that are charging for these drugs are the same ones that sink all the money into research. And we are having some people that think we should get the generic companies drugs from Canada. This seems to me to be contradictory since it kills the research. Do you support the majority that can get the new wonderdrugs or do you believe that the generics are okay since they are cheaper with the possibility that the drug companies that produce all the new innovations are gonna have to cut back or drop their research from lack of funds?

Doesn't this seem to happen every year?

I swear it does. Tragic when people trying to do a religious duty kill themselves and others. Unlike the assholes that like to take sniper rifles to babies and blow up schools, there people were trying to peaceably worship and now are dead.

Post on Armor

UPDATE: On Stratagypage, the guys there have put out a full breakdown of exactly how much weight a soldier or marine on patrol is carrying. You can find the full link here. I don't think people realize that people on the ground are carrying in excess of 100 pounds and still expected to be at full effectiveness. If you really wanna see if an idea is good or not, see if the Special Forces uses it and then see why they do or do not. Thats usually a pretty good judge. Armor for troops is obviously a good idea, but more isn't always the answer, cause mobility and just less weight to reduce fatigue can be just as or even more important.


Interesting post on body armor for marines. They talk specifically about marines but the same applies to the army or any other service with ground personel, as the navy and airforce do have people on the ground. It makes you think that if a guy thinks its a better idea to wear less, and its his life, and not yours that he is risking, then he should be able to do so. I am not really sure what the counter argument to this would be that is very convincing. I spose we could always use the old "soldiers and marines are stupid because they were duped into enlisted and don't know what is in their best interest and arn't old enough to decide anything for themselves" idea. Then again, since most of these people are in cause they WANT to be there, and got in knowing we were going to war or reenlisted, and in addition, the college degree percentage is bigger than its ever been. Well you gotta think they know what they are doing. I mean me, i don't know if mobility or armor is the better defense. Eventually, know how much i would wear, there is gonna be something big enough to poke a big hole in it. Perhaps killing them first is the best idea and that means mobility. Guess we will find out.

Amazing and good news the MSM DOESN"T WANT YOU TO SEE!

This is the kind of stuff that you never see in the MSM that should be reported

Iran continues on...

Well, Iran seems to be taking this hardline stance about nuclear enrichment to the brink. Now its not just Israel, the US and the UK that are concerned but other countries. At this point they have broke the UN seals and are in direct violation of treaties and the IAEA. Now if you do think the UN has a purpose, and is useful at all, how can you see letting this stand? I understand no one else wants another war, but it you back down in the face of threats when clearly Iran is in violation of the UN regulations, and is pushing all-in, then what is the option but to force consequences, sanctions being the probable first step. All credibility of the UN is down the shitter if this does not get resolved soon.

Canada wants to ban Space Weapons

Canada wants to ban space weapons. In related news, I want a treaty to ban ugly people. Is it the same thing, no, but its close. Why the hell would Canada have any stake in this or would anyone listen to them, they don't have a space agency! They don't even have a horse in this race yet they think they should have a say in how its run...why?

How coverage breaks down

Here we have two posts, the first is from a US media organization and the second is from Aljazeera. The facts are the same but you seems to get a different impression. I do know that this is a minor point considering the debacles i have seen before including the .50 cal incident, and its really semantics, but if you let the little stuff go, the larger stuff is just that much easier. The thing i am nothing here is the use of alleged. Al describes the attacks as alleged when he has admitted to doing them, was seen doing them, and was convicted. Its not really alleged. He even said he would do it again. Alleged...my ass.

Newsday

Aljazeera

I'm Back

Well, break is over so i will start to have time to put up more posts on interesting stories and sorting through the news for important and silly things. Hope i can do better than last year. My schedule is pretty good for anyone who doesn't know it. I am off every monday and friday. And wednesday i have rifle shooting from 230-5 and international diplomacy from 615-930. Tuesday and Thursdays suck though. Straight from 8-630 every one and the only good class is Yoga. Yeah Yoga. It should be fun.

Anyway i had an amusing musing this early afternoon when i walked in the library. I saw a bunch of people reading textbooks and novels, they all looked like freshmen and sophomores, and i thought to myself, "most of these people will be reading the same spot 1 week before exams because they slacked" And its so true cause i saw it last month. Funny eh?

So with a brief glance, it looks like, Sharon, Alito, and Iran are gonna be the big news stories right now. I will try to get up some good stuff on them by tomorrow at the latest. I should have something on Alito today cause the hearings are going on and they are pretty interesting from a few standpoints. If anyone has anything else that they want me to post on or that looks interesting, let me know.