Posts by paul bell

Looming US immigration crackdown aims to weed out pre-crime of poverty. And that may be bad news for techie families

many others countries have long had sure rules - every consider migration to Switzerland?

Brits 'a bunch of yellow bastards', says irate Yank

what's happened to the yanks in the uk?

ever think that's it's not 7/7 that keeps people away, but perhaps the ever increasing number of ever increasingly draconian laws being passed in the UK? i for one have stopped doing business and pleasure in the UK because i don't care to be constantly watched and hassled by the cops or other government agencies. as we have learned in nyc, it's not the odd wacko with a boom or aircraft filled with fuel that's a threat to peace and security, it's the boys in blue who are omnipresent and harass honest people going about their lawful business. most of us were happy to give up our nanny when we started to school, who the hell wants to live in a state run by nanny's? a parting quote seems appropriate:

"Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims

may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons

than under omnipotent moral busybodies, The robber baron's cruelty may

sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who

torment us for own good will torment us without end, for they do so with

the approval of their own conscience." - C.S. Lewis, _God in the Dock_

maybe we could call it "Ode to Wacky Jackie" (with a lot of help from Gordon B.)

not really a sterotype

look closely at the bottle - what a wimp, it's root beer! real Americans drink Irish or Scotch!!!!!!!

'Miracle' plane crash was no miracle

jingoism and plane ignorance (pun intended)

folks, there seems to be a lot of confusion and just plain (plane) ignorance here. i can't do anything about the jingoism but here are a few facts ( don't take my word for it, check 'em out) to chew on:

there is basically no difference between Boeing and Airbus aircraft as far as safety features. any commercial aircraft operating in US airspace must pass the same certification process - some find it easy, others, the concord for example don't, but all must eventually pass. exceptions can be made, again for the concord, the remaining fuel requirement was reduced so it could meet the requirements. at that, many concord flights from france and the uk to jfk were forced to land for refueling at bangor - played hell with their on-time performance. i was once riding the jump seat in an AF concord, on approach to 17L at JFK - i leaned forward and asked the captain, " what's out alternate", he replied, with a smile, 17R.

in fact, there are very few differences between these two manufactures at all - both build good, safe, reliable aircraft. each of them tries to add their own particularly twist, some of which work out and some don't, but the differences are mainly marketing hype. fuel efficiency and noise are the current hot buttons!

the cabin interior, the power plant (engines) and the avionics are specified by the air carrier, and purchased separately - they are not specified or provided by the aircraft manufacturer.

carriers buy aircraft for a variety of reasons, mostly concerning costs. if you have an all Boeing fleet, why buy an Airbus aircraft and create a maintenance and service nightmare for yourself.

Airbus has aggressively priced their product and has had considerable success selling them. given that there isn't really much difference between them, isn't that the way it should be? what idiot would tell their stockholders they were going to spend that amount of money just because it was manufactured by a US or European manufacturer - the answer is none - i've been there when these decisions were made and i can tell you it's all about price.

ram air turbines have been standard equipment on all jet aircraft since the 1960s, i recall having one on the f-105, a lot of years ago. more importantly, all commercial jet aircraft have an auxiliary power units (APU) which provides electrical power to start the engines, and can be used in flight to provide electrical power for the hydraulic systems. modern turbine aircraft require the engines to be spun at a very high speed in order to achieve the compression necessary to sustain power - batteries just wouldn't do it. interesting to hear if the APU did cycle on and if not, why not? don't know how long it might take to spool the thing up, perhaps 10-15 seconds. BTW, almost all modern jet aircraft are "fly by wire", and that has nothing to do with anything here.

as to who made these particularly engines, an interesting data point but not really a factor. in these circumstances, all engines will respond the same - none of them will survive bits of titanium impeller blades whirling around loose inside the engine. as for one of the engines separating, that's a feature of the airframe, again mandated by the certification process. one really doesn't want an engine spewing metal parts at high speed in close proximity to a tube full of live people - get rid of the thing when it becomes a danger. there is some idea that it separated on landing but it seems to me that if one had gone on landing the asymmetrical drag would have been so great as to have skewed the path considerably, given that at that point there was very little aerodynamic control of the aircraft so no way to compensate. i don't recall seeing any signs of anything but a more or less, straight path down the river.

as for the benefits of being a glider pilot, "give us a break" !

the sum of it all is:

the aircraft performed as was expected and the flight crew, including the cabin attendants performed as was expected and they all lived. the crew deserves the praise here, any modern commercial turbine aircraft would have performed in the same fashion. too bad the crew wouldn't receive anything other that a pat on the back - i told you air carriers only think of the price (-:

Delta Boeing 777 engine suffers 'uncommanded rollback'

what do they all have in common?

interesting that all reported incidences of this issue involved aircraft that have recently refueled in china - no, of course they wouldn't adulterate something as sensitive as jet fuel - would they?

Japanese call on deities to discipline wayward PCs

Technical Blessings

there's a sound technical reason to sacrifice a couple of chickens or the occasional goat, preferably by the light of a full moon, from time to time! mainframes, of course, require something more.

Russell Crowe to play Bill Hicks?

I am an American and I never heard of the guy - By Burch

all this venom and yet of the more than 200,000 who emigrate from the uk every year more that 10% go to the states - must be some reason!

who the hell cares about comedians, actors or other entertainers anyway - did you run out of footballers to worship? nothing better to do with your time, or just a booze soaked brain that can't handle real life?

Virgin warns 800 punters for file-sharing

am i the only one weary of this?

there is one sure way to stop this sort of thing; just stop buying any recorded music and make it clear that your doing so because of the music industry's actions - 2-3 months should do it nicely.

whilst at it, stop flying until the air carriers lean on the government to back off on all the security nonsense.

vote with your wallet!!!

-paul

Eccentric brain-chip admiral expelled by toff schools

Hmm..

it's still better than America,...

wtf do you know about America anyway, what you see on the telly? it doesn't take much of an education to know the danger of believing what you see/hear on the beep! probably more people in star run schools (public in the states) then people alive in blighty.

BTW, what's with the anonymous posting - don't have a name or just afraid to stand up and be counted?

Biggles battles Yanks for right to sport tash

The Real Reason

Jeez, guy, you really need to stop believing everything you see on the telly and on the web. This is a biggish place over here, populated by a few hundred million people, every damm one of them an individual. The country is not the government, the people are the government and the country; the rights of the individual will not be infringed upon, and that includes the right to make a fool of yourself, and the right to voice your opinion, however hateful and stupid that opinion might be. The cure for hate speech is to let it reach the widest possible audience, not to pass laws against it. Again, the people will be the judge.

In “The American Magic – Codes, Ciphers and the defeat of Japan”, Ronald Lewin quotes Harold Laski, writing in his work, “The American Democracy” - “There is something in the psychological climate of America which resists any ultimate regimentation of behavior or opinion. Something always escapes the net which is thrown about the people. Non-conformity is an element in American life which is always called into being by the spectacle of conformity. What Emerson called “this din of opinion and debate””.

We value these principles very highly indeed, as do the millions who flock here every year; not a few from blighty. We get very upset when someone tries to deny these rights; usually the politicians who sometimes seem to believe these rights are reserved for them. from time to time it becomes necessary to take matters into our own hands and remind them that the constitution of this country outlines what the people will allow the government to do, not the other way around. One of the articles in the constitution provides the ultimate right to set them straight, namely the right to bear arms. Many people around the world don’t agree with this right, many of them right here, and many in governments all over the world; again, here too. Perhaps that’s why we prize these rights so highly, because they protect us from those “good” people who know better than we what’s best for us.

Of course we sometimes get lazy and become complacent, but in the end, we always sort them. so far it hasn't come to arms, but that possibility might help keep the politicians in line.

In the words of Patrick Henry, “I know not what course others may take, but as for me, Give Me Liberty or Give me Death.” It’s not just pretty sounding words, many of us really do feel that way. you guys used to feel that way as well - can you say Churchill in the same breath with Blair & Brown - perish the thought!

-paul

which CO?

does anyone actually know if it was the USAF CO who said that, or the RAF CO who was trying to be completely PC about the matter?

in my (actual) experience in the USAF, including time based at RAF Lakenheath, i find it highly unlikely that any CO or pilot, on either side would give a big rat's ass about anything except how well they could fly. to be sure, it might attract some flak in the"O" club but that's about all. for example, i used to wear climbing boots whilst flying and after a bit the CO stopped ragging me about it. fly the airplane, keep your nose clean and don't make waves!

as for me, if such facial ornamentation was good enough for spitfires & mosquitoes (now there was a real airplane) it should be good enough for an airplane that doesn't even have a propeller.

FWIW: USAF squadron COs aren't usually general officers - of course there are surely some exceptions.

-paul

US imposes 72 hour pre-reg for Visa waiver travellers

For those Americans, etal

but bail your ass out they did, at great expense in life, liberty and money - the record speaks for itself. i don't recall there was a great deal of interest in the repayment of war loans either. only germany? got a lot of help from the french and the italians, did you? the poles did try but then like now they aren't really the uk's favorite people, or is that just bbc trying to say something pithy about immigration that's doesn't involve indians or south africans?

americans have enough trouble dealing with bushie, for gods sake don't expect them to shoulder the sins of blair.

some people have trouble distinguishing hatred from envy - there's no shortage of immigrates or tourists hereabouts.

you're dead on about "the hard part...", but we have only ourselves to blame.

i've lived and worked in england, on and off, for the past 30+ years, owned property in devon and planned to retire on dartmoor, but blair put that on hold. looks like it'll have to be ireland now; a lovely country, but it's not england.

Just a... By Anonymous Coward, etal...

i suppose you've forgotten that these are the same arrogant buggers that bailed your ass out twice in the last century, and from your fellow europeans too - it's what friends do, isn't it? what's really your problem, mate?

US punters don't want mobile music

That's cos the whole system in the US

what a load of mis-information. i don't know how long you were in NY, or how many schools you visited, but the real number of school children who don't have mobiles is closer to 1-2%, rather than those that do have them. most schools in NY as well as elsewhere discourage the use of mobiles within the school.

you are correct in your observation that texting isn't a big thing in the states, not sure why, it just never took off.

also true that the pricing model could use some changes (paying for incoming as well as outgoing calls). actually, a quick perusal of any of the web sites of the various cellular carriers will show the large number of models available.

oddly enough many people in the states use telephones to make telephone calls and aren't interested in them for any other use. my experience in traveling and living/working throughtout the world is that kids in the states aren't as obsessed with music (if that's what it is) as kids are elsewhere.

not sure why you had trouble borrowing a changer for your Nokia, it's one of the most popular mobiles around, and just because a phone is a "branded" model, with the carriers name on it doesn't mean it doesn't work on any other network, assuming the proper sim and account - with the exception of the iPhone and the "pay as you go" phones, locked phones disappeared several years ago.

Japanese ISPs agree three strikes-style anti-piracy regime

we can still do something about this

if you've really had enough of this, the means to put a stop to it are at hand!

simple so without music and videos for a few months - just stop buying music & video cd/dvd for six months, i mean really stop buying them. i'm sure that once they loose all their revenue they'll find a better way to market the stuff and get off the backs of filesharers.

the same technique will probably work with airport security hassles - no chance for the people to make the government stop some of the insane security nonsense at airports but if everyone made a concentrated effort to avoid flying the airlines would pressure the feds to back off - three months of greatly reduced revenue should do it!

AI prof: The robot terrorists are coming! Aiee!

does he know Negroponte ?

perhaps he is a colleague of the (in)famous Dr. Negroponte, he of the G1G1 / OLPC scam! sounds like they could work together to devise even more bizarre schemes to fleece people of their funds - not just promise things they can't delivery, but send a robot around to convince you it's not their fault they ripped you off. has anyone seen any proof, other than what OLPC offers, that they have delivered anything?

full disclosure, i ordered via the G1G1 plan on the opening day, 12Nov07, at 0601 - to date, i've received nothing but excuses - make no mistake, i'm not alone here...

Paris: now that's a real laptop!

Submarine cable cut torpedoes Middle East access

RE: the next war in the middle east?

Karl;

no doubt you are correct, the published reasons may be less than 100% accurate. BTW: "The Guns of August" by Barbara Tuchman gives an apparently unbiased account of the many things that lead up to WW-I, but, i digress. what i was referring to was not the cause of the war, but of the practice of cutting the undersea cables serving Germany so as to force them to use other means for their long haul communications. radio, which could be intercepted, or commercial cable service, of which copies could be obtained by leaning on the cable companies. see also "The Zimmermann Telegram", also by BT.

the next war in the middle east?

what, no one has considered it an Israeli action as a prelude to a strike somewhere in the middle east? wars have started with such actions (WW-I)

US customs bust coke-smuggling 'submarine'

semi submarine

Lester: any idea how far the eastern pacific is from Jacksonville? in flight refueling for P-3 aircraft, do you suppose?