Must read: Michael Moore's "Bush by the Numbers"
If only John Kerry could be this eloquent in attacking the credibility of the tenant in chief at the White House.
Michael Moore.com : Mike's Message : Mike's Latest News
Tuesday, September 07, 2004
Presidential debates scheduled
Although it has receveived scant press attention so far, the schedule for the Presidential and Vice-presidential debates has been announced. The first Presidential debate is Sept. 30. The vice-presidential debate is Oct. 5. Two additional Presidential debates are October 8 and 13.
In other news, the acting President attributed the poor economic health of the country to out-of-control lawsuits. I wonder if the economy would have been better if George W. Bush had been admitted to the University of Texas Law School when he applied in 1970. I'm sure he could have solved all the problems with the legal profession from within.
Yahoo! News - DEBATES WILL DECIDE THIS ELECTION
Although it has receveived scant press attention so far, the schedule for the Presidential and Vice-presidential debates has been announced. The first Presidential debate is Sept. 30. The vice-presidential debate is Oct. 5. Two additional Presidential debates are October 8 and 13.
In other news, the acting President attributed the poor economic health of the country to out-of-control lawsuits. I wonder if the economy would have been better if George W. Bush had been admitted to the University of Texas Law School when he applied in 1970. I'm sure he could have solved all the problems with the legal profession from within.
Yahoo! News - DEBATES WILL DECIDE THIS ELECTION
Friday, September 03, 2004
George W's Missing Year
At the Republican convention, GWB and his croonies, the chickenhawks, criticized John Kerry for his Vietnam service and post-Vietnam activism. What was George Bush doing during that time? Getting drunk, dodging National Guard Service and taking up space in a campaign office apparently.
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | George W Bush's missing year
At the Republican convention, GWB and his croonies, the chickenhawks, criticized John Kerry for his Vietnam service and post-Vietnam activism. What was George Bush doing during that time? Getting drunk, dodging National Guard Service and taking up space in a campaign office apparently.
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | George W Bush's missing year
2005 Ford Freestyle
The styling of this tall station wagon - I'm sorry "crossover SUV"- appears to be about as generic as you can get. One commentator said Ford should have called it the "Stylefree". In a market that has gone horsepower crazy, at first blush, it appears to be market-suicide to put out a new 3-row, 4000 lb. family truckster with a 3 liter 203 h.p. engine. Ford says, look deeper, it has more usable space than the Chrysler Pacifica, and they say the Freestyle performs better with its 203 horsepower engine than the Pacifica does with its 255 horsepower 3.5 liter engine. Part of the difference is a 500 lb. weight penalty that the Pacifica is saddled with. Another difference is the CVT transmission on the Freestyle. In theory, a CVT transmission is about as efficient as a manual transmission, roughly 10-15% advantage over a conventional automatic.
In practice, both Subaru and General Motors have had problems with their CVT transmissions. GM has had enough entirely. GM announced recently that they would stop making the Saturn Vue with the CVT transmission. Audi, Nissan and Honda currently have CVT models, but I haven't heard much about users' experience with them - good or bad.
Ford claims 8.6 seconds 0-60 for the (probably front-wheel-drive) Freestyle, with EPA MPG ratings of 20/27 for FWD and 19/24 for all-wheel-drive versions. Given the size that appears to be squarely between the Escape and Explorer SUVs, Ford might have to worry more about cannibalizing its own sales than attracting buyers from the competition. Nevertheless, a sale is a sale. If you want a family vehicle that isn't a minivan, that doesn't ride like a SUV, and that says it's not a station wagon even though it really is, take a look at the Freestyle which should arrive at a dealer near you soon. I suspect that incentives should be available by Christmas, and with an employee or supplier discount, the Freestyle should be pretty well-priced.
The Car Connection [ The Web's Automotive Authority ]
The styling of this tall station wagon - I'm sorry "crossover SUV"- appears to be about as generic as you can get. One commentator said Ford should have called it the "Stylefree". In a market that has gone horsepower crazy, at first blush, it appears to be market-suicide to put out a new 3-row, 4000 lb. family truckster with a 3 liter 203 h.p. engine. Ford says, look deeper, it has more usable space than the Chrysler Pacifica, and they say the Freestyle performs better with its 203 horsepower engine than the Pacifica does with its 255 horsepower 3.5 liter engine. Part of the difference is a 500 lb. weight penalty that the Pacifica is saddled with. Another difference is the CVT transmission on the Freestyle. In theory, a CVT transmission is about as efficient as a manual transmission, roughly 10-15% advantage over a conventional automatic.
In practice, both Subaru and General Motors have had problems with their CVT transmissions. GM has had enough entirely. GM announced recently that they would stop making the Saturn Vue with the CVT transmission. Audi, Nissan and Honda currently have CVT models, but I haven't heard much about users' experience with them - good or bad.
Ford claims 8.6 seconds 0-60 for the (probably front-wheel-drive) Freestyle, with EPA MPG ratings of 20/27 for FWD and 19/24 for all-wheel-drive versions. Given the size that appears to be squarely between the Escape and Explorer SUVs, Ford might have to worry more about cannibalizing its own sales than attracting buyers from the competition. Nevertheless, a sale is a sale. If you want a family vehicle that isn't a minivan, that doesn't ride like a SUV, and that says it's not a station wagon even though it really is, take a look at the Freestyle which should arrive at a dealer near you soon. I suspect that incentives should be available by Christmas, and with an employee or supplier discount, the Freestyle should be pretty well-priced.
The Car Connection [ The Web's Automotive Authority ]
Thursday, September 02, 2004
The Phoenix Program and Homeland Security
I recently talked to a vietnam vet who is suffering from accute post-traumatic stress disorder relating to participating as a soldier in an operation called Operation Phoenix, or the Phoenix Program.
I did a spot of research on the Phoenix program, this was a CIA sponsored anti-insurgency operation designed to rob the Viet Cong of their support in rural villages. The goal was to get local people to rat out the VC operatives through bribery, intimidation, torture, whatever it took. In some cases it took burning the whole village down. It was in the context of this operation that Senator Bob Kerrey (Not candidate John Kerry) confessed to brutal behavior during his tour of duty in Viet Nam. One source places the number of vietnamese dead at 50,000 for this operation alone.
How is this important to us today? Well, consider this, we have already faced scandals in regards to the treatment of prisoners both in Iraq and at Guantanamo Bay. Prisoners claim that they aren't terrorists, but they were ratted out for selfish reasons by others who sometimes were terrorists. As it turns out, this phenomenon was not only encountered in the Phoenix operations but special interrogation techniques were developed to try to identify it. These techniques were not always successful.
An author named Douglas Valentine, who wrote a book on the Phoenix Project sees disturbing paralells between the abuses of the Phoenix Project and the Bush Administration's Homeland Security approach. I don't buy everything Mr. Valentine is saying, but I do agree that the Bush administration has had a cavalier disregard for civil liberties, and in general does not understand that it is the exercise of liberty that keeps us free and not the exercise of police power.
Douglas Valentine - Articles & Poems
I recently talked to a vietnam vet who is suffering from accute post-traumatic stress disorder relating to participating as a soldier in an operation called Operation Phoenix, or the Phoenix Program.
I did a spot of research on the Phoenix program, this was a CIA sponsored anti-insurgency operation designed to rob the Viet Cong of their support in rural villages. The goal was to get local people to rat out the VC operatives through bribery, intimidation, torture, whatever it took. In some cases it took burning the whole village down. It was in the context of this operation that Senator Bob Kerrey (Not candidate John Kerry) confessed to brutal behavior during his tour of duty in Viet Nam. One source places the number of vietnamese dead at 50,000 for this operation alone.
How is this important to us today? Well, consider this, we have already faced scandals in regards to the treatment of prisoners both in Iraq and at Guantanamo Bay. Prisoners claim that they aren't terrorists, but they were ratted out for selfish reasons by others who sometimes were terrorists. As it turns out, this phenomenon was not only encountered in the Phoenix operations but special interrogation techniques were developed to try to identify it. These techniques were not always successful.
An author named Douglas Valentine, who wrote a book on the Phoenix Project sees disturbing paralells between the abuses of the Phoenix Project and the Bush Administration's Homeland Security approach. I don't buy everything Mr. Valentine is saying, but I do agree that the Bush administration has had a cavalier disregard for civil liberties, and in general does not understand that it is the exercise of liberty that keeps us free and not the exercise of police power.
Douglas Valentine - Articles & Poems
Phoenix Program - Counter-insurgency Comics
This is really weird. It reminded me of a National Lampoon parody.
Counterinsurgency Comics: "Mr. Ba's Family and the Phoenix Operation"
This is really weird. It reminded me of a National Lampoon parody.
Counterinsurgency Comics: "Mr. Ba's Family and the Phoenix Operation"
The Phoenix Program - Interrogation Methods
Does this sound familiar? The interrogation method described below is standard CIA method circa 1972.
As for the American role, according to Muldoon, "you can't have an American there all the time watching these things."
"These things" included: rape, gang rape, rape using eels, snakes, or hard objects, and rape followed by murder; electrical shock ("the Bell Telephone Hour") rendered by attaching wires to the genitals or other sensitive parts of the body, like the tongue; "the water treatment"; "the airplane," in which a prisoner's arms were tied behind the back and the rope looped over a hook on the ceiling, suspending the prisoner in midair, after which he or she was beaten; beatings with rubber hoses and whips; and the use of police dogs to maul prisoners. All this and more occurred in PICs, one of which was run by Congressman Rob Simmons (R-CT) while he was the CIA officer running the PIC in Phu Yen Province in 1972.
Douglas Valentine: ABCs of CIA Interrogation Methods
Does this sound familiar? The interrogation method described below is standard CIA method circa 1972.
As for the American role, according to Muldoon, "you can't have an American there all the time watching these things."
"These things" included: rape, gang rape, rape using eels, snakes, or hard objects, and rape followed by murder; electrical shock ("the Bell Telephone Hour") rendered by attaching wires to the genitals or other sensitive parts of the body, like the tongue; "the water treatment"; "the airplane," in which a prisoner's arms were tied behind the back and the rope looped over a hook on the ceiling, suspending the prisoner in midair, after which he or she was beaten; beatings with rubber hoses and whips; and the use of police dogs to maul prisoners. All this and more occurred in PICs, one of which was run by Congressman Rob Simmons (R-CT) while he was the CIA officer running the PIC in Phu Yen Province in 1972.
Douglas Valentine: ABCs of CIA Interrogation Methods
Background article regarding River Boat Operations in Vietnam
This article explains the different types of boats and how they were used in the river operations during the Vietnam War. Do you know what a "zippo" is? It's a "monitor" boat with a flame thrower (or throwers) instead of guns.
The Boats
This article explains the different types of boats and how they were used in the river operations during the Vietnam War. Do you know what a "zippo" is? It's a "monitor" boat with a flame thrower (or throwers) instead of guns.
The Boats
2005 Honda Odyssey Unveiled
Yesterday Honda pulled the tarp off the 2005 Honda Odyssey. Much to the relief of the domestic auto industry, it is more evolutionary than revolutionary. The Odyssey is more important than it's raw numbers would otherwise dictate because its platform forms the basis of the Pilot and MDX suvs and the new SUT, sport utility truck.
The new Odyssey will not have second and third row fold flat seats, just the same third row magic seat as before. There is no hybrid option for now, although there is a storage area underneath and between the front and second row seats that is used for a "lazy susan" accessible to either row. This space would be a good place to put a battery pack in a hybrid due to the weight distribution.
The upgraded 3.5 liter engine has been bumped up to 255 horsepower (on regular unleaded). In the upper trim levels a cylinder deactivation scheme lets the car run on 3 cylinders under light loads, allowing highway fuel economy to be bumped from 25 mpg to 28.
In general though there's nothing that Daimler Chrysler couldn't match with an engine upgrade.
The article linked below focuses on the new Alabama plant where all US Odysseys will be built. With the engine and vehicle assembly being done on the same campus, the Odyssey will probably have the highest domestic content of any minivan.
Welcome to TimesDaily.com
Yesterday Honda pulled the tarp off the 2005 Honda Odyssey. Much to the relief of the domestic auto industry, it is more evolutionary than revolutionary. The Odyssey is more important than it's raw numbers would otherwise dictate because its platform forms the basis of the Pilot and MDX suvs and the new SUT, sport utility truck.
The new Odyssey will not have second and third row fold flat seats, just the same third row magic seat as before. There is no hybrid option for now, although there is a storage area underneath and between the front and second row seats that is used for a "lazy susan" accessible to either row. This space would be a good place to put a battery pack in a hybrid due to the weight distribution.
The upgraded 3.5 liter engine has been bumped up to 255 horsepower (on regular unleaded). In the upper trim levels a cylinder deactivation scheme lets the car run on 3 cylinders under light loads, allowing highway fuel economy to be bumped from 25 mpg to 28.
In general though there's nothing that Daimler Chrysler couldn't match with an engine upgrade.
The article linked below focuses on the new Alabama plant where all US Odysseys will be built. With the engine and vehicle assembly being done on the same campus, the Odyssey will probably have the highest domestic content of any minivan.
Welcome to TimesDaily.com
Wednesday, September 01, 2004
Oldsmobile and 8 track tapes - together again resting in peace
Now that Oldsmobile is defunct, it's time to remember the time when the 8 track tape was virtually standard equipment in the good old family Olds.
Carts and Their Cars
Now that Oldsmobile is defunct, it's time to remember the time when the 8 track tape was virtually standard equipment in the good old family Olds.
Carts and Their Cars
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