What the RCB really needs:



Jolly Roger 14 out

New Virginia Speeding Fines

Virginia Introduces $3550 Speeding Ticket Virginia legislator introduces new speeding ticket tax that boosts penalties beyond $3550, driving business to his traffic law firm.

Virginia motorists convicted of minor traffic violations will face a new, multi-year tax beginning July 1. Led by state Delegate David B. Albo (R-Springfield), lawmakers slipped a driver responsibility tax into a larger transportation funding bill signed by Governor Tim Kaine (D) in April. Albo, a senior partner in the Albo & Oblon, LLP traffic law firm, can expect to see a significant increase in business as motorists seek to protect their wallet from traffic tickets that come with assessments of up to $3000 in addition to an annual point tax that tops out at $700 a year for as long as the points remain.

Driving as little as 15 MPH over the limit on an interstate highway now brings six license demerit points, a fine of up to $2500, up to one year in jail, and a new mandatory $1050 tax. The law also imposes an additional annual fee of up to $100 if a prior conviction leaves the motorist with a balance of eight demerit points, plus $75 for each additional point (up to $700 a year). The conviction in this example remains on the record for five years.

Other six-point convictions include "failing to give a proper signal," "passing a school bus" or "driving with an obstructed view." The same $1050 assessment applies, but the conviction remains on the record for eleven years.

Although the amount of the tax can add up quickly, the law forbids judges from reducing or suspending it in any way. The tax applies only to Virginia residents, so that out-of-state motorists only need to pay the regular ticket amount. Michigan, New Jersey, New York and Texas also impose a somewhat more modest driver responsibility tax <http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/03/362.asp> which they apply to out-of-state residents.

The Virginia Supreme Court provides a full explanation of the new penalties for each traffic infraction in the 34k PDF file at the source link below. Update: View which legislators support a repeal, link to online petition <http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/18/1880.asp> .

Source: PDF FileCivil Remedial Fees <http://www.thenewspaper.com/rlc/docs/2007/va-drivertax.pdf> (Executive Secretary, Virginia Supreme Court, 6/21/2007)

Here is the link

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/18/1818.asp

This weekends weather

Ugh!!!!





Jolly Roger 14 out

Old Navy Salt

Subject: Fwd: Old Navy Salt
This is forwarded only to those who will "get it."

The Navy Peacoat, I know that they don't issue them like they did in 1962...Those sonsuvabitches weighed two tons and were ALL WOOL...It took the entire wool production of thirty seven sheep over two years to make. They were the equivalent of a four-inch thick lead kimono. You could stand out in a driving rain and they could soak up thirty gallons of rainwater and become so heavy that your ankles broke and your femurs would punch their way through your pelvis. They came with two lined very warm pockets. And some REALLY stupid bastard in the Navy came up with a goofy uniform reg that forbid a sailor with frost bitten fingers from putting his hands in his pockets...Then the Navy created ratings called Boiler Tenders, Postal Clerks and Personnelman, who when they reached E-6, were handed a white belt and a Billy-club an SP armband and put the bastards in bus and train stations to walk around saying, "Hey Sailor...Get yer hands outta them pockets!" Then you ended up at Captain’s Mast and risked having your hands surgically removed so that you would not repeat the offense.
Take a look at the statue of the Lone Sailor in the memorial plaza down on Constitution Avenue in Washington DC...THE SAILOR HAS HIS HANDS IN HIS PEACOAT POCKETS...wonder what the jerk who made up the stupid regulation thinks every time he sees it? They actually keep a Navy nurse on duty to revive shore duty CPO's who pass out when they see that statue..."Oh my God...That bluejacket has his hands in HIS POCKETS." None of the sonsuvabitches ever hitchhiked home in February in single digit temperatures.
I once saw a modern peacoat...some Dacron and wonder fiber composition lightweight thing that remotely resembling an old time peacoat but weighing the same as a Victoria Secrets teddy...Why do they do it? Turned out cheap crap with severely reduced spec requirements and terribly reduced efficiency?
To say nothing of this idiotic seagoing aguaflage (stupid camouflage) to be worn by sailors...mark my word, American bluejackets are going to be laughed at and embarrassed by the ridicule if that silly Madison Avenue female dreamed up fashion statement ever gets issued...God help the poor bastard who goes overboard in a sea state with whitecaps. When they pass MAN OVERBOARD simply draw a line through his name on the WATCH, QUARTER AND STATION BILL...and pack the contents of his locker.
At some point, the Navy is going to find itself with a big cajones CNO...who is going to put his bluejackets back in uniforms dating back to the days when the United States Navy only knew VICTORY and never dined on the bitter tasting fruit of loss and defeat, endless go-nowhere wars...ass kickings and sitting duck duty chasing animals who have no fear of death. Once you start dressing sailors in carnival clown suits, things referred to as poopie suits and shitcan the uniforms worn by men who wore the WWII Victory medals (last VICTORY medals issued) and the sailors referred to THE GREATEST GENERATION you simply reinforce the loser culture...
You begin to gentle and socially refine the mixed gender sensitized force and put your forces in Girl Scout beanies and sloppy baggy pajamas with boots that no longer require shining...you lose the cockiness and "devil take the hindmost" attitude that characterized our military forces. In the days before this wonderful nation had to bribe its' manhood to fill the ranks, with money pan-handled from the Chinese...the same bastards that put the shrapnel in many of the vets suffering in VA hospitals (Whatever happened to financing wars by the issuance of WAR BONDS where AMERICANS and only Americans benefited from the interest involved in repayment? We wouldn't be in the shape we're in if we hadn't turned inherently military functions over to profit incentivized contractors, hired mercenary thugs, paid foreign contractor created police forces and Iraqi and Afghani Poor Quality Military Forces filled with terrorist sympathizers and people whose loyalty is to the highest bidder.
When did you hear of Naval Studies on the competence of present leadership like our Navy is currently involved in? All we need to do, is to bring back the two ton peacoat...bell bottoms, low jumpers...spit shined shoes...cocky looking white hats with wings and worn cocked over one eye or on the back of your head...allow bare breasted girls in ships insignias...beer ballgames...pier dumpster nightly conferences.... slush funds...frayed white hats...faded dungaree shirts, soft dungaree trousers...red lead and zinc chromate spattered Mammy Yoakum’s...and greasy snake neckerchiefs and simply "let sailors be sailors" and forge the sacred traditional bonds of becoming shipmates over beers consumed in seaport dumps from Hell to Hong Kong...and stop paying sonsuvabitches to join the finest organization on the face of God's earth...THE UNITED STATES NAVY...And oh yeah, don’t forget some Painless Nell Tattoos!

Jolly Roger 14 out

Road trip

Jeese the "LAP"brador retreiver.......

Roadtrip!

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

MV Arctic Sea cons"piracy" ?

Well I am fully confused on the MV Arctic Sea issue nowafter reading this: http://www.osen-hunter.com/docRepo/F-L%2009-034%20September%203.pdf

Could these:

Video here: http://www.warfare.ru/video/WMV/s300pmu.wmv

Have been in here?

Russian Mafia, Mossad, Iranians and or Syrians? Sounds like a side line from Lord of War.

Something about this sounds very feasable.

Jolly Roger 14 out

Tsk, tsk

Pretty new truck on the way to the shop. Whatever happened to the motor pool?

-- Sent from chris' Palm Prē

Good read: JTRS Update

JTRS Update
JTRS Successfully Demonstrates Wideband Networking Capabilities.
Military Information Technology:
http://www.military-information-technology.com/mit-home/190-mit-2008-vol
ume-13-issue-6/1803-jtrs-update.pdf

During the largest-ever demonstration of its kind, the Wideband
Networking Waveform (WNW) - a critical capability of the Joint Tactical
Radio System (JTRS) - effectively networked 30 mobile nodes and shared
data and video across multiple sub-networks in a challenging forested
and residential environment. The Jun 09 demonstration for senior
government officials took place at the Space and Naval Warfare Systems
Center Atlantic in Charleston, SC.

"JTRS is no longer just in graphs on PowerPoint demonstrations," said
Howard Pace, deputy program executive officer for JTRS. "We've now
demonstrated that the Wideband Networking Waveform capability
successfully scales to 30 nodes with all the nets and subnets. It's
working and working well." The demonstration showed how, when fielded,
the software-defined radio waveform can overcome many of the mobile
networking challenges soldiers face on the battlefield. Today's forces
use a variety of unique voice and data waveforms to communicate with
each other or with modern Internet Protocol-based networks. These
specialized systems can make it difficult to communicate between joint
forces.

WNW solves that communication challenge. A networking waveform that
enables connections between vehicles, planes and ships utilizing mobile
networking technologies, WNW offers the ability to transit more
information with greater security and provide new capabilities to
seamlessly route and retransmit information. The waveform can transfer
information of different classifications over the same wireless network.

"We are on track to meet joint warfighter requirements to provide a
flexible and pervasive networking capability to address the challenges
of modern battlefields," said Navy CAPT Jeffrey Hoyle, program manager,
JTRS Network Enterprise Domain (NED). "The demonstration location
offered significant opportunities to evaluate multi-path propagation
effects in heavily forested terrain and marsh.

"During the demonstration, WNW performed as expected, and we were able
to validate laboratory performance improvements from recent waveform
algorithm enhancements in the field," added Hoyle. "The ability to
integrate waveform enhancements rapidly while testing in the field
[three times in as many weeks] thoroughly demonstrated a significant
advantage that JTRS provides - the ability to upgrade warfighter
communications and networking capability while deployed through
software-only updates in fielded radios."

Performance results measured during this demonstration indicate a
significant new networking capability that will continue to improve as
the data collected are thoroughly analyzed to enable additional waveform
software upgrades, as well as through processor and power amplifier
improvements inherent with the improved JTRS Ground Mobile Radio (GMR)
engineering development model hardware being delivered now and the
airborne/maritime/fixed station hardware in the future. "The ability to
expand and contract the network while soldiers are mobile is a
mission-critical capability," added Ralph Moslener, Boeing program
director, JTRS GMR and NED. Boeing is developing the WNW for JTRS NED.

"The demonstration proved that WNW will seamlessly connect soldiers and
commanders so that they can trade real-time information and have greater
situational awareness than ever before," Moslener said.

"The demonstration of the Wideband Networking Waveform capability is an
important accomplishment," added Hoyle. "This capability has now been
successfully demonstrated in a field environment, and we can leverage it
as other JTRS systems are developed and implemented."

Cross post from http://standupforamerica.wordpress.com/2009/05/22/the-reality-of-taxing-the-rich/#comment-12759

For Tax Year 2006
Row 1: Percentiles Ranked by AGI
Row 2: AGI Threshold on Percentiles
Row 3: Percentage of Federal Personal Income Tax Paid

Top 01% $388,806 39.89%

Top 05% $153,542 60.14%

Top 10% $108,904 70.79%

Top 25% $64,702 86.27%

Top 50% $31,987 97.01%

Bottom 50% <$31,987 2.99%

“Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:
The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.
So, that’s what they decided to do.
The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. “Since you are all such good customers,” he said, “I’m going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20.”Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.
The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men – the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his ‘fair share? They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody’s share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man’s bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.
And so the fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 ( 22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).
Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.
“I only got a dollar out of the $20,”declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man,” but he got $10!”
“Yeah, that’s right,” exclaimed the fifth man. “I only saved a dollar, too. It’s unfair that he got ten times more than I!”
“That’s true!!” shouted the seventh man. “Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!”
“Wait a minute,” yelled the first four men in unison. “We didn’t get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!”
The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.
The next night the tenth man didn’t show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn’t have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!
And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.”

Jolly Roger 14 out

Amen

Scientists meet to dispute global warming theory

NEW YORK CITY - The A-list of manmade climate-change skeptics is meeting in New York City for the 2009 International Conference on Climate Change.

The Conference is definitely international in scope. Opening the conference is Vaclav Klaus, president of the Czech Republic and the European Union. When it comes to manmade global warming, Klaus calls that a myth. He is also an outspoken critic of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and says the panel is one-sided and has a political agenda.

Say it isn't so................


Jolly Roger 14 out

So this is where the housing idiocy got some help

Fannie Mae Eases Credit To Aid Mortgage Lending

By STEVEN A. HOLMES

Published: (September 30, 1999 NY Times article)

In a move that could help increase home ownership rates among minorities and low-income consumers, the Fannie Mae Corporation is easing the credit requirements on loans that it will purchase from banks and other lenders.

The action, which will begin as a pilot program involving 24 banks in 15 markets -- including the New York metropolitan region -- will encourage those banks to extend home mortgages to individuals whose credit is generally not good enough to qualify for conventional loans. Fannie Mae officials say they hope to make it a nationwide program by next spring.

Fannie Mae, the nation's biggest underwriter of home mortgages, has been under increasing pressure from the Clinton Administration to expand mortgage loans among low and moderate income people and felt pressure from stock holders to maintain its phenomenal growth in profits.

In addition, banks, thrift institutions and mortgage companies have been pressing Fannie Mae to help them make more loans to so-called subprime borrowers. These borrowers whose incomes, credit ratings and savings are not good enough to qualify for conventional loans, can only get loans from finance companies that charge much higher interest rates -- anywhere from three to four percentage points higher than conventional loans.

''Fannie Mae has expanded home ownership for millions of families in the 1990's by reducing down payment requirements,'' said Franklin D. Raines, Fannie Mae's chairman and chief executive officer. ''Yet there remain too many borrowers whose credit is just a notch below what our underwriting has required who have been relegated to paying significantly higher mortgage rates in the so-called subprime market.''

Demographic information on these borrowers is sketchy. But at least one study indicates that 18 percent of the loans in the subprime market went to black borrowers, compared to 5 per cent of loans in the conventional loan market.

In moving, even tentatively, into this new area of lending, Fannie Mae is taking on significantly more risk, which may not pose any difficulties during flush economic times. But the government-subsidized corporation may run into trouble in an economic downturn, prompting a government rescue similar to that of the savings and loan industry in the 1980's.

''From the perspective of many people, including me, this is another thrift industry growing up around us,'' said Peter Wallison a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. ''If they fail, the government will have to step up and bail them out the way it stepped up and bailed out the thrift industry.''

Under Fannie Mae's pilot program, consumers who qualify can secure a mortgage with an interest rate one percentage point above that of a conventional, 30-year fixed rate mortgage of less than $240,000 -- a rate that currently averages about 7.76 per cent. If the borrower makes his or her monthly payments on time for two years, the one percentage point premium is dropped.

Fannie Mae, the nation's biggest underwriter of home mortgages, does not lend money directly to consumers. Instead, it purchases loans that banks make on what is called the secondary market. By expanding the type of loans that it will buy, Fannie Mae is hoping to spur banks to make more loans to people with less-than-stellar credit ratings.

Fannie Mae officials stress that the new mortgages will be extended to all potential borrowers who can qualify for a mortgage. But they add that the move is intended in part to increase the number of minority and low income home owners who tend to have worse credit ratings than non-Hispanic whites.

Home ownership has, in fact, exploded among minorities during the economic boom of the 1990's. The number of mortgages extended to Hispanic applicants jumped by 87.2 per cent from 1993 to 1998, according to Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies. During that same period the number of African Americans who got mortgages to buy a home increased by 71.9 per cent and the number of Asian Americans by 46.3 per cent.

In contrast, the number of non-Hispanic whites who received loans for homes increased by 31.2 per cent.

Despite these gains, home ownership rates for minorities continue to lag behind non-Hispanic whites, in part because blacks and Hispanics in particular tend to have on average worse credit ratings.

In July, the Department of Housing and Urban Development proposed that by the year 2001, 50 percent of Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's portfolio be made up of loans to low and moderate-income borrowers. Last year, 44 percent of the loans Fannie Mae purchased were from these groups.

The change in policy also comes at the same time that HUD is investigating allegations of racial discrimination in the automated underwriting systems used by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to determine the credit-worthiness of credit applicants.

Hat-tip to Atilla

Jolly Roger 14 out

Getting Punk'd in Pakistan

February 24, 2009: Pakistan has come under a lot of criticism for its recent peace deal with Taliban terrorists in the Swat valley (an area northwest of the capital that is not in the tribal territories). Basically, the deal calls for the Taliban to stop terrorizing the population if the government allows the Taliban to enforce Sharia (Islamic law) in the region. This would allow the do whatever they wanted, because it is left to the Taliban to decide exactly what is proper Sharia. Afghanistan, India, NATO and the U.S. have all condemned this as a surrender to the Taliban and allowing terrorists a sanctuary inside Pakistan. But the Pakistani government insists that it is a proposal, not a done deal, at least not until the Taliban allow government officials to regain control of Swat. Thus it appears that all the peace talk with the Swat Taliban is just that, until the Taliban allow the refugees (over 100,000 of them) to return to Swat, along with the government officials. Few believe this "peace for Sharia" deal will work, and all are trying to figure out exactly what is going on here. None of the several previous peace deals with the Taliban have worked. The Taliban do not keep their end of the bargain, and openly call such peace deals a sign of government weakness (getting punked, to use a term even some young Taliban are familiar with.)




Swat Valley District, Pakistan (highlighted in yellow)


This is why we have seperation of Church and State.




Jolly Roger 14 out

And Microsoft thought they had problems with China (link to story here)

Chinese Pirates Ravage Russia
February 17, 2009: Russia has admitted, for the first time, that China is producing unlicensed copies of the Su-27 fighter. Russia has known about this theft for some time. It all began in 1995, when China paid $2.5 billion for the right to build 200 Su-27s. Russia would supply engines and electronics. But after 95 of the Chinese built aircraft were built, Russia cancelled the agreement. They claimed that China was using the knowledge acquired with the Su-27 program, to build their own copy of the Su-27, the J-11. Russia kept the piracy issue quiet, and warned the Chinese that simply copying Russian technology would produce an inferior aircraft. Apparently the Chinese do not agree, and are continuing their work on the J-11, using only, what they claim is, Chinese technology.

Russian SU-27


Chinese J-11

I wonder if they are running VISTA..................

Jolly Roger 14 out

Bad week for OPSEC

OPSEC defined: "A process to deny potential adversaries information about capabilities and/or intentions by identifying, controlling, and protecting unclassified information that gives evidence of the planning and execution of sensitive activities."

Predator drones flown from base in Pakistan, U.S. lawmaker says Sen. Feinstein's surprise disclosure likely to complicate joint campaign against Taliban militants (more here).

Congressman Twitters an Iraq Security Breach. A congressional trip to Iraq this weekend was supposed to be a secret. But the cat’s out of the bag now, thanks to a member of the House Intelligence Committee who broke an embargo via Twitter (more here).

Ooops.................

Jolly Roger 14 out

Ooops, when satellites go bump in the night.....

"A broadside collision between two satellites -- one of them an operational Iridium communications relay -- was the worst orbital accident on record and may wind up rivaling the 2007 Chinese anti-satellite weapon test in the debris cloud it created.
The Iridium satellite -- one of 66 in the "Big LEO" low-Earth orbit constellation -- and the 16-year-old Cosmos 2251 Russian government communications satellite collided at an altitude of 790 kilometers with a closing velocity of about 7 miles per second shortly before noon Tuesday EST."

JR14 out

Royal Navy Safely Escorts Food Aid Convoy into Somalia

And I shall call you "WIDOW MAKER".

Brits make their first "informal" convoy escort thru somali waters.

JR14 out

STIMULUS Deconstructed

Well I'm back and as pissed as ever.

Try this one on for size:




JR14 out

The ultimate iPhone accessory

M110 Semi-automatic sniper rifle with iPhone ballistics application............SWEET.










JR14 out

Inauguration Day

Even on the brink of a new era upon us some cannot move on................

As hope-filled spectators greet the incoming president, Bush will leave office with some of the lowest approval ratings in history. Hundreds of protesters in their final throes marched to the White House on Monday in opposition to the Iraq war. They threw about 40 pairs of shoes at the gate, mimicking the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at Bush during a news conference in Baghdad.


I will support my soon to be president, but not blindly so.




JR14 out

More on the suicide bombings in Afganistan. Cross posted from CDR Salamander's blog.

Monday, December 29, 2008
Mandatory viewing
Sure, the words are one thing.
A single-file line of schoolchildren walked past a military checkpoint Sunday as a bomb-loaded SUV veered toward them and exploded, ending the lives of 14 young Afghans in a heartbreaking flash captured by a U.S. military security camera.The video shows the SUV slowly weaving through sand-bag barriers at the checkpoint just as the children, most wearing white caps, come into view. They walk along a pathway between the street and a wall, several of them pausing for a few seconds in a group before moving forward again.The vehicle moves toward the security camera while the children walk in the opposite direction, nearly passing the SUV when the footage ends in a fiery blast.Photos of the bombing's aftermath showed bloodied textbooks lying on the ground beside small pairs of shoes. Afghan officials said the children were attending a final day of class for the year to find out whether they would move up to the next grade.Abdul Rahman, a doctor at a hospital near the blast, said the children were 8 to 10 years old.22 total killed. pupils were receiving their exam results and end-of-year education certificates, police said.

But it is the video that you need to see.

CNN is too busy worshiping Palestinians to show it to you though. At least the NYT and AP have it up.
Labels: Afghanistan, Terrorists
// posted by CDR Salamander @ 07:13

Think about this the next time someone argues with you on diplomacy with these zealots.

JR14 out