text:
The Self-Correcting Blogosphere
I originally had posted a "Shut the Fuck Up" post here about Kerry and his screwed up joke about students and Iraq.
I've had second thoughts and decided that I was a little ... abrupt... in condemning the senator for his remarks.
I still don't like him very much, and I'm still steamed about him not fighting back against the Swifties and for rolling over in Ohio, but I'm not going to let that cloud my judgment.
At least he's giving it -- and dishing it out hard -- to the Rethugs, and that's nothing but good.
So (as my wife will attest) as much as I don't like to do it, I'm saying "I take it back".
From Our "Pot Calls Kettle Black" Department
Prezdint Numbnutz today stated that the Democrats "lack a plan to win" in Iraq.
So, Baby Doc, how's that plan of yours working out? The 100th US serviceman to die in October checked out earlier today, and that total will assuredly go even higher before the month is officially over.
That's Bushco "stay the course" philosophy at work. Even though Tony Snowjob claimed that Baby Doc said it "only" eight times. Too bad the White House isn't capable of doing its own Google search, since Keith Olberman came up with nearly 30 instances -- and showed all of them -- of the little fucker chanting Stay the Course, Stay the Course.
Not that any of the fuckers in the Baby Doc Maladminstration can even articulate what "winning" in Iraq would look like.
Here's a hint: It's not going to be pretty, what with over 14 thousand of sophisticated weapons missing and unlikely to be recovered. "Winning" will like consist of slinking out under cover of darkness, abandoning a ruined country to a vicious religious war.
Global Warming: Suddenly it's Sexy Again
And all it took was a sobering look at the economic consequences. Nothing shakes up the powerful interests like a potential loss of profits. And our cousins across the pond in the UK are starting to beat the drums.
Jesus, it only took, what, 30+ years of the environmental movement's harping about it for it suddenly to catch on? And now only because of the sacred and almighty bottom line.
It's hard to imagine a more short-sighted and selfish bunch of louts that the captains of industry in this country -- and in most of the rest of the world, sadly -- but here's hoping that even they will get that sudden flash of inspiration, stop looking just at the Long Green, and start considering the Real Green.
And here's hoping that it's not too late.
Weekly "Bush Twins in Uniform" Watch
It has now been 888 days since Jenna and Not-Jenna Bush, the slacker offspring of Preznit Numnutz, graduated from college and they are still not in the uniform of the US armed services.
Why? Because they have other priorities. They are too busy partying down in Georgetown to show their support for the war by enlisting their chickenhawk-child selves into the military service, that's why.
Why can't they be like their royal counterparts in the UK? The Royal Family, unlike the Bush Crime Family, has a centuries-long tradition of honorable military service. Prince Andrew was a combat helicopter pilot in La Guerre de las Malvinas (aka the Falklands War), Prince William, direct heir to the throne, has entered Sandhurst (Britain's West Point), and little brother Prince Harry graduated from Sandhurst in April and could be on his way to Iraq as a cavalry lieutenant.
The son of Senator John McCain has enlisted in the US Marine Corps. That means that as soon as he's done with his training, he's going to be on his way to The Sandbox. Now there's a role model right in their own political party for Jenna and Not-Jenna. Will they follow him?
Be sure to check out The Yellow Elephant blog, which asks the question "It's their war; why aren't they fighting it?"
BTW, they are also still not pregnant with their own Snowflake Babies. If they can't join the service, the least they could do would be to get themselves impregnated with a couple of blastocytes that would otherwise go into the garbage. Remember what Farnsworth always says: Baste 'em, don't waste 'em.
The No-Brainer
So who the fuck is Scott Hennen? He's got a mini-watt AM morning show in tiny Fargo, ND (where I am sure he is no competition for Fargo's liberal mouthpiece, Big Eddie Schultz), with the uncanny ability to get some big-name rethugs on his show. Probably because he's such a sycophantic rightwing suckass.
So I guess it's not all that unusual for someone like Crashcart Cheney to appear on Hennen's show. But when Cheney said that water torture was a "no brainer", it suddenly became international news.
So what does the White House do? It says Cheney didn't say it. And, sure enough, he didn't actually use the terms "water torture" or "waterboarding" -- instead he and Hennen were talking about a little "dunk in water". Now there's the classic distinction without a difference.
Read the official transcript and see for yourself whether he's advocating torture or advocating a gentle and humane interrogation technique designed to facilitate further dialogue.
What I'd like to see is Cheney being gently and humanely interrogated using a little "dunk in water" as a technique to facilitate some dialogue. Then I think we'd see our Vice-President-for-Torture singing a different tune.
Total American dead in the Iraq Illegal Occupation: 2500 2513 2532 2540 2546 2558 2571 2585 2597 2605 2619 2641 2710 2737 2758 2788 2809
Number of days that the Bush Twins are still not pregnant with baste-'em-or-waste-'em Snowflake babies: 101.
It is still 836 days until the end of the BFEE Maladministration -- unless we impeach the whole sorry lot of the corrupt and criminal bastards.
Vote Democratic in November!
The Border Fence
Talk about your ill-concieved ill-thought-out ideas. This article from the Ft Worth Star Telegram puts it all into perspective.
Ranchers, farmers and businessmen all along the Rio Grande River that forms the border between Mexico and Texas are upset about the fence. And with good reason. They are afraid that the fence will keep them away from the life-giving water of the river, and will keep out the Mexican citizens who currently cross the border to spend money in the local communities. And then return home, BTW.
But it's an election year, and the good ole boys in Congress get to go home and pretend they are doing something about illegal immigration.
Any schoolboy could have told you that a 700 mile fence on a 2,000 mile border would be a joke anyway. If you go for a walk in the woods and you come to a log in your way, what do you do?
Right. You go over it if you can, or you go around it if you can't. It ain't rocket surgery.
More on the Fox Fakery
It's funny watching all the wingnut media types fall all over themselves to support their hero, the Florida Windbag, when he attacked Michael J. Fox as "faking" his illness.
Michael Reagan started yapping about Fox "politicizing" the issue, and when nominal liberal Colmes called him on it, pointing out that his own stepmother, Nancy, was quick to support stem cell research when the Gipper came down with the Big A, good old Mikey snapped back that she was wrong, she was "exploited" by the opposition, as was his own brother, Ron Jr.
Jesus, the lengths these fuckers won't go to. Check out the News Hounds story on the Hannity and Colmes show that featured this repartee.
What Happens to Has-Beens
Who could have predicted that an election in middle-American Missouri could generate this kind of heat? But Amendment 2 concerning stem cell research is getting some serious national play.
Following the Michael J. Fox commercial, Emmy-whining washed-up television actress Patricia Heaton has made a commercial for the other side. She happens to belong to an Orwellian-named organization called Feminists for Life, whose motto is "Refuse to Choose" -- whatever the fuck that's supposed to mean.
Anyway, she's joined a coterie of other quasi-celebrity wingnuts, including that blood-dripping guy from the Mel Gibson Christ movie and some sports stars to make a commercial for the other side in the flaming debate over Missouri's Amendment 2, which would legalize -- in a very specifically limited way -- so-called embryonic stem cell research.
But you can bet that if Heaton, Jesus or any of those self-important sports guys suddenly came down with a disease that could be helped by that stem cell research, their "deeply held moral conviction" would vanish faster than a cheeseburger in front of Denny Hastert.
Just When You Think You've Heard it All...
It just keeps getting better and better.
Now the bloviating windbag Rush "Oxy from Miami" Limbaugh is accusing Michael J. Fox, who is suffering from Parkinsons Disease, of "faking it" with all that shimmying and shaking around.
He might as well have said that Fox could get a job at the local paint store or the neighborhood Starbucks...
Jesus, what the fuck is it with these rightwing blowhards? I suppose if a quadruple amputee with Altzheimer's and terminal diabetes came out in favor of embyronic stem cell research, Fatboy would mock him/her. Faking it. Not REALLY sick.
It is probably too much to hope for from a universe that is random, but a Just Karma would provide that Rush and his allies in the wingnuttery would be stricken with some disease that could be cured only using embryonic stem cell research...
I propose that anyone who so vocally, so vehemently opposes stem cell research be forever banned from receiving any and all benefit that may result from that research.
I also propose that each and every one of the blowhards on the right who are SO fucking morally opposed to this research sign a disclaimer that if their lives are at stake they categorically refuse any treatment or cure that is based on embryonic stem cell research.
How many takers are we going to see? I'm betting NONE.
Playing the Race Card in Tennessee
The Rethugs wonder out loud why Baby Doc's ratings among African-Americans is hovering around 2% (and that's with a margin of error of plus-or-minus 4%!). Well, maybe the new party campaign ads swarming the airwaves in Tennessee are an indicator.
US Rep Harold Ford, a Democrat who also happens to be black, is making a run for the US Senate in Tennessee. If elected, he would be the first African-American senator from the south since Reconstruction. Which is to say, the first elected African-American senator from the south.
So what does the Rethug party do about this unfortunate turn of events? It comes up with a series of ads featuring nubile young white women hinting all over the place that they want to have hot interracial sex with Ford.
Well, we all just cain't have thet kinda shit. Tennessee is, after all, the birthplace of the Ku Klux Klan and no self-respectin' southern man is gonna let hisself be misrepresented by one o' them nigra boys, 'specially one who would choose to sully -- sully Ah say! -- the fair blossom of southern womanhood...
It would be to the credit of Ford's opponent, Bob Corker, that he's taken steps to distance himself from the ads, except can you name any southern politician who would actually come out and admit that he was a racist who hates black people? Not even David Duke would do that.
So this is one of those races to watch next month. And watch how desperate the power-hungry Rethugs get between now and election day.
Falling on His Sword
A senior US diplomat, one Alberto Ferndandez, who happens to be fluent in Arabic, made a statement on Al Jazeera television that US foreign policy in Iraq displayed "arrogance" and "stupidity".
Now he's had to take it all back and apologize. Looks like his overlords at the State Department made him feel the sting of the lash, and he had to trot out a quasi-apology.
Fernandez says now that he "seriously misspoke" when he used the phrase containing the "a" word and the "s" word.
That kind of reminds me of the good ole Nixon days, when he trotted his press secretary, Ron Ziegler, out to say that a previous statement was "inoperative"...
I can just imagine the outrage at State when they learned that one of their own spoke his own mind and told the truth. And Fernandez undoubtedly still wants to keep his career, which is why he had to fall on his sword.
But that apology isn't really fooling anyone, is it?
Total American dead in the Iraq Illegal Occupation: 2500 2513 2532 2540 2546 2558 2571 2585 2597 2605 2619 2641 2710 2737 2758 2788
THIRTY in ONE WEEK!!!
Number of days that the Bush Twins are still not pregnant with baste-'em-or-waste-'em Snowflake babies: 94.
Parallels to Vietnam? Say it Ain't So...
In an interview with George Stephanopoulos, Baby Doc finally admitted -- grudgingly -- that there might be some parallels between Iraq and Vietnam.
And, in what has to be the most incisive foreign policy analysis so far this century, Baby Doc is quoted as saying:
My gut tells me that they have all along been trying to inflict enough damage that we'd leave... And the leaders of al-Qaeda have made that very clear. They believe that if they can create enough chaos, the American people will grow sick and tired of the Iraqi effort and will cause [the] government to withdraw.
Little late to the party, there, Georgie? Haven't a whole bunch of us who actually were in Vietnam been saying this all along? Didn't all of your cabinet members and advisors who were in Vietnam warn you about ... uh... never mind.
Plus, I'm growing weary of harping on this all the time, but this Google News Search reveals once more that the vast majority of the news media reporting on this story are outside of the United States.
"Spitting on Veterans" -- It Just Won't Go Away
I've blogged before in this space on the whole bogus spitting-on-Vietnam-veterans meme and what a pussy it makes of those Vietnam vets who have, over the years, convinced themselves of the truth of these incidents, when in fact there are absolutely zero contemporary accounts of it actually happening.
But it's one of those things, like so many other Urban Legends, that just won't die. The lead paragraph of this recent story out of Tyler, Texas, is another example of it.
I don't know if these three vets actually said that to the reporter or if she took it on herself to toss it in because it would jazz up a story about a vandalized Vietnam veterans memorial, but either way it's an insult. I'd like it to die, but I guess that's too much to hope for.
Sadly, two hundred years from now (assuming we last that long as a species -- a doubtful proposition) that will still be one of the factoids about the Vietnam War that people "know".
The Last Throes are the Worst Throes
Hard to believe that we've been in the "last throes" of the insurgency in Iraq since 2004. Time flies when you're having fun.
Eleven US servicemen were killed yesterday! That makes 70 deaths just this month. We're now on track to have the worst month for deaths since January 2005.
And that's against a backgound of sectarian violence that in September alone has killed 2600 Iraqis.
And yet Darth Cheney said just yesterday on the Rush "Oxycontin Cowboy" Limbaugh show that things are going well in Iraq! I wonder what it would take for him to say things weren't going well? A nuclear explosion in the Green Zone? A total meltdown of the oil-rich desert into a huge asphalt parking lot? A Roman candle up his ass?
How can these fuckers keep this up? How can they just keep lying to us with a straight face? And how can so many people continue to believe those lies?
It boggles the mind. It really does.
Obituary -- US Constitution 1789-2006
Today the US Constitution was officially declared dead, with the signing of the death certificate by attending physician George W. "Baby Doc" Bush.
The Constitution's health had been in jeopardy since late 2000 when it suffered a debilitating stroke; it had remained on life supports for the several ensuing years.
In 2004 and again in early 2006 it staged what appeared to be a rally, only to slip back into a coma. Finally, in September 2006, radical surgery removed a number of moribund parts of the Bill of Rights, deemed malignant growths by the surgeons in the US Senate and Doctor Bush.
The operation was a success but unfortunately the patient died.
The Constitution is survived by a distant relative, the Magna Carta, still living in Great Britain, and its bastard offspring, American Fascism.
Another Rethug Congressman in the Crosshairs
From our "never rains but it pours" department, US Rep Curt Weldon (R-Corrupt) is the subject of an FBI probe of possible influence peddling, using his own daughter.
So what does Faux News lead with? Weldon's concern about the "timing" of the FBI raid, this close to the election.
As if the Democrats could control it. As if the Justice Department isn't headed by one Alberto "Torquemada" Gonzales, consigliere to the BFEE, who is perfectly capable of stalling any FBI investigation -- and especially an FBI raid -- until after the election.
So who did order the raid, and why was it this close to the election? Is Weldon being thrown overboard by the Rethugs? Or is it that the tide has finally shifted to the point that they can do nothing to stem it?
Jesus, if the Democrats aren't careful, even they won't be able to fuck this one up and lose again.
Longest Undefended Border? No more.
It used to be a matter of pride for the US and Canada, bragging rights on having the longest undefended border in the world.
Now that's history. US Army Blackhawk helicopters are doing armed patrols of the border between Montana and Alberta. Unmanned drones are scheduled to be added to the choppers. All of this to protect our northern border. Why not just build another fence, like we are doing on the southern border?
BTW, you'll note from the Google news search that nearly all of the sources for this information are Canadian. You don't see a whole lot in the American media about this kind of stuff.
Besides, I've always maintained that the fence isn't there to keep THEM out; it's to keep US in.
The Big Database
I'm sure I'm in it. You're probably in it. Everyone who reads this blog is probably in it.
It's the huge Dept of Defense database on anti-war demonstrators, pacifists, quakers and other traitors. They've managed to list us all as potential terrorists.
Read the NYTimes article (login required -- try Bugmenot.com for one it it asks) for a chilling glimpse in the fascism that is slowly surrounding us on all sides.
Yeah, won't be long until those of over here in Left Blogistan will be rounded up in the middle of the night for "extraordinary rendition" and taken to a sports stadium a la Argentina and Chile in the bad old days.
A woman I met a number of years ago was reading Prisoner Without a Name, Cell Without a Number one day, and I told her then that it could happen very easily here. She argued with me, of course, telling me that our Constitution wouldn't allow it.
Really? I wonder where she is now and if she still agrees.
Total American dead in the Iraq Illegal Occupation: 2500 2513 2532 2540 2546 2558 2571 2585 2597 2605 2619 2641 2710 2737 2758
Friday Cat Blogging
Turkish Author Wins Nobel Prize for Literature
The Nobel Prize committee has a history of choosing relatively obscure writers for the award of the Lit prize (one reason why my own hopes are still alive), and this year's choice was no different.
Orhan Pamuk is this year's recipient; he's been called the "voice of a divided country" for his lay-it-on-the-line statements about Turkish genocide against the Armenians.
I used to live in California, and I can tell you that there is no better illustration of William Faulkner's dictum that "the past isn't history; it isn't even past" than the absolute hatred that the Armenians feel for the Turks.
So it's really interesting to me that a writer who was recently on trial for "insulting Turkishness" has been elevated to the select ranks of Nobel Prize winners.
Turkey, of course, is caught in the middle. They want to join the European Union so bad they can taste it, but along with that membership is the requirement that they have to give at least lip service to the basic concepts of freedom of speech.
I'll admit that I haven't read any of Pamuk's work, but that's going to change as soon as possible. I was an English major in college, and it's always been a point of pride to me that I read at least one book by each Nobel Prize Lit winner.
And, in a somewhat related story, the French parliament voted to make it a crime to deny the Turkish genocide against Armenia. Of course France has nearly a half a million Armenians, one of the most populous populations in Europe, so maybe that had something to do with it.
Nevertheless, I do find it both amusing and ironic that the French would make free speech a crime at the same time that the Nobel committee is rewarding free speech, and both on the same issue.
New Casualty Count
Researchers from the prestigious Johns Hopkins have now come up with a new estimate of the number of Iraqi civilians killed since the Iraq War Illegal Occupation began.
It's over 655,000!!!
Which is about twenty times the estimate that Baby Doc gave us sometime earlier this year.
When he was called on this by a CNN reporter, his response was typical: "Nun-unh! Are not! Take it back!"
You Gotta Be Kidding Me...
So. North Korea allegedly exploded a "newkuler" weapon. Never mind that scientists are at odds over whether it really was nuclear. Never mind that Baby Doc himself approved -- and paid for -- the export of the raw materials for the newkuler weapon back in 2002. Never mind the fact tha there's an election coming up and we've pretty much run into the ground any "threats" from our unindicted co-conspirators in Al Qaeda.
But none of that is stopping Baby Doc from calling it "provocative"...
Provocative??? WTF??!!
Provocative is Denise Richards in Playboy.
Far be it from me to say anything negative about our Fearless Leader, but...
Does anyone else think that this stinks? That this seems like a huge fraud, to put us back into the "scare zone" since we've pretty much run out the well on the Middle East threats?
Here's what I think: I think that Kim Il Jong and the so-called "communist" North Korea is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bushco/Unification Church, and the whole thing is a phony-baloney scare tactic to frighten the Moron-American Voting Bloc into voting for Rethug candidates, on the completely bogus "national security" platform.
Wait and see if I'm right. Remember, you saw it here first.
VA Cutbacks Turn Deadly
Right in my own backyard, an aging WWII veteran named Clinton Fuller went to the VA hospital in Spokane, Washington, where he died in front of the building because they did not have the staff and equipment to man a 24-hour emergency medicine department.
Budget cutbacks at the VA, we are told. So sorry. "Stuff" happens. You go with the medical you've got, not the medical care you want or would like to have.
Tell that to Clinton Fuller and his family, who believed right up to the biter end that they could get the health care they were promised from the VA.
Read the whole sorry story here, by VA Watchdog's Larry Scott, and prepare to get pissed off.
Total American dead in the Iraq Illegal Occupation: 2500 2513 2532 2540 2546 2558 2571 2585 2597 2605 2619 2641 2710 2737
That's 27 in ONE WEEK! And we've been in the "last throes" of the insurgency since 2004.
Oh, the Irony, the Irony
I swear you can't make this shit up. A "concerned parent" in Texas (surprise) has started a movement to have a book banned from the local school 10th grade reading assignment list.
So what's the book? Huckleberry Finn? Lady Chatterley's Lover? Tropic of Cancer?
Nope, it's -- get this -- Fahrenheit 451!!!
A book about censorship and book burning! And the reading assignment was given out during National Banned Book Week!!
It's just too much. Like I say, you can't make this shit up.
Hastert Gets the Blunt Boehner
After being caught lying on the bloviating gasbag's show the other day, you'd think he'd show a little bit of remorse and shame. Instead he's not going to step aside for the good of the party.
His loyal henchmen, Boehner and Blunt, are falling over their own feet trying to distance themselves from the hapless speaker: "Hastert? Hey, I barely know the guy."
Even Joe Scarborough says that the Rethugs have gone too far, that Hastert has to go, and that the Dems are going to take back Congress next month.
So either way, Hastert is toast. If he steps aside now, it's too late to save face or anything else. And if he hangs in there, he's a handy hook for the Dems to hang the scandal hat on.
"I love the smell of napalm in the morning." -- Robert Duvall in Apocalypse Now
"Gay Bashing" and the Foley Scandal
One of the most bizarrely comical things that has surfaced in all this is the statement made several times by different spokesmouths on the right that the Rethugs didn't want to do anything about Foley because it would be seen as "gay bashing".
Yeah, the party that discharges from the military Arabic speakers who just happen to be gay, the party that opposes each and every gay civil rights law that comes along, from partner benefits to gay marriage, now that's my idea of a party that's afraid of seeming like they are "gay bashers".
Sorry, guys, that spin cycle is broken. Try a different washing machine.
It's Called "Perjury", Condi
It's lying under oath. Remember the mock outrage when Clinton "lied" about something inconsequential? Where's the similar outrage over the Rice lies?
Take a look at this list of statements that Kindasleazy made -- under oath -- to the 9/11 Commission, along with the actual reality-based facts associated with those statements.
She is a born-again liar and she's at it again. When confronted with the story of the now-infamous meeting on July 11, she first denied it, then said it happened but she didn't remember it. And now she's throwing a tantrum, acting like a petulant teenager busted coming in after curfew.
She says it's "incomprehensible" that she would ignore warnings of an Al Qaeda attack. Yeah, that's what we're all thinking, Condi. So why did you do it?
It would be a lot funnier if it weren't so tragic. This is another member of the BFEE cabal that needs to be frogmarched in orange coveralls before the court of justice at The Hague.
More on Foley
It seems that the House leadership was aware of Child Molester Republican Foley's predilections for nearly a year: In January they banned him from the Library of Congress reading room because he kept bending the pages over... (Thanx to Stephanie Miller for that one)
So, on a more serious note: How long will it be before they try to blame it on the "liberal media" and Bill Clinton?
"Divided" Opinion
It wasn't on Faux News, although it wouldn't surprise me if it showed up there. I'm talking about a headline in the print-version of Faux News, the rightwing Moonie-owned Washington Times: "Black Opinion Divided on Allen" in the Virginia senate race.
Yeah, if you can say that 999 out of 1000 people think that breathing air is a requirement, and one lone nut holdout says that we don't need it, then you have the basis for saying that people are "divided" about the need for air. This makes about as much sense.
But that's how wingnut media works. The truth is something to be spun, to be shaded, to be nuanced, and if all that fails, to be ignored, stomped on, set fire to and eradicated.


text:
Postwar operations
Military operators
Civil operators
Surviving aircraft
Specifications (G-44)
Grumman G-44 Widgeon
G-44 Widgeon
A Grumman Widgeon on Frazer Lake on the southwest end of Kodiak Island, Alaska
Amphibious transport
Grumman
United States Army Air Forces
Number built
317 (including license-built French SCAN 30)
The Grumman G-44 Widgeon is a small, five-person, twin-engined, amphibious aircraft.[1] It was designated J4F by the United States Navy and Coast Guard and OA-14 by the United States Army Air Corps and United States Army Air Forces.
The Widgeon was originally designed for the civil market. It is smaller, but otherwise similar to Grumman's earlier G-21 Goose, and was produced from 1941 to 1955. The aircraft was used during World War II as a small patrol and utility machine by the US Navy, US Coast Guard, and Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm.
The first prototype flew in 1940, and the first production aircraft went to the US Navy as an antisubmarine aircraft. In total, 276 were built by Grumman, including 176 for the military. During World War II, they served with the US Navy, Coast Guard, Civil Air Patrol, and Army Air Force, as well as with the British Royal Navy, which gave it the service name Gosling.
Grumman J4F-1 of the United States Coast Guard preserved at the National Museum of Naval Aviation at Pensacola, Florida in 2002
On August 1, 1942, a J4F-1 flown by US Coast Guard Patrol Squadron 212 based out of Houma, Louisiana, and flown by Chief Aviation Pilot Henry White, spotted and attacked a German U-boat off the coast of Louisiana. White reported the submarine sunk, and he was subsequently credited with sinking U-166 and awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
However, in June 2001 the wreck of U-166 was found sitting near the wreck of SS Robert E. Lee by an oil exploration team; and the sinking of U-166 on July 30 (i.e. two days before the Widgeon flight) is now credited to patrol craft PC-566 escorting the Robert E. Lee.[2]
White's Widgeon is now thought to have made an unsuccessful attack against U-171, a Type IXC U-boat identical to U-166 that reported an air attack coincident with White's attack. U-171 was undamaged by White's attack, but was sunk four months later in the Bay of Biscay.[3]
The sinking of a German U-boat by the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) was claimed by one of their larger aircraft on 11 July 1942. The Grumman G-44 Widgeon, armed with two depth charges and crewed by Captain Johnny Haggins and Major Wynant Farr, was scrambled when another CAP patrol radioed that they had encountered an enemy submarine, but were returning to base due to low fuel. After scanning the area, Farr spotted the U-boat cruising beneath the surface of the waves. Unable to accurately determine the depth of the vessel, Haggins and Ferr radioed the situation back to base and followed the enemy in hopes that it would rise to periscope depth. For three hours, the crew shadowed the submarine. Just as Haggins was about to return to base, the U-boat rose to periscope depth, and Haggins swung the aircraft around, aligned with the submarine and dove to 100 feet (30 m). Farr released one of the two depth charges, blowing the submarine's front out of the water. As it left an oil slick, Farr made a second pass and released the other charge. Debris appeared on the ocean's surface, confirming the U-boat's demise and the CAP's first kill.[4][5]
Grumman Widgeon at Garland's Seaplane Base on the Detroit River in 1947
After the war, Grumman redesigned the aircraft to make it more suitable for civilian operations. A new hull improved its water handling, and six seats were installed. In total, 76 of the new G-44As were built by Grumman, the last being delivered on January 13, 1949. Another 41 were produced under license by the Société de construction aéronavale [fr] (SCAN) in La Rochelle, France, as the SCAN 30. Most of these ended up in the United States.
McKinnon Enterprises at Sandy, Oregon, converted over 70 Widgeons to "Super Widgeons". The conversion features replacing the engines with 270 hp (200 kW) Avco Lycoming GO-480-B1D flat-six piston engines, and various other modifications, including modern avionics, three-bladed propellers, larger windows, improved soundproofing, emergency exits, and increased maximum takeoff weight. Retractable wingtip floats were optional.[6]
1945 G-44
Main production variant, 200 built (serial nos. 1201–1400) including J4F series military variants listed below.
Improved postwar production variant with redesigned hull, 76 built (serial nos. 1401–1476.)
J4F-1
G-44 for the United States Coast Guard with three seats, 25 built.
United States Navy version of the J4F-1 with 5-seat interior, 131 built.
OA-14
Fifteen G-44s impressed into wartime service with the United States Army Air Forces.
OA-14A
One new aircraft for the Corps of Engineers.
Gosling I
Fifteen J4F-2s transferred to the Royal Navy, later renamed Widgeon I
French-built SCAN Type 30
G-44A Licence-built in France using Metric standards and not Anodized as were original Grumman-built aircraft, 41 built (serial nos. 1–41.)
PACE Gannet
Pacific Aerospace Engineering Corporation conversions of S.C.A.N. 30s, powered by 300 hp (220 kW) Lycoming R-680-13 radial engines. Later known as the Gannet Super Widgeon
Brazilian Air Force operated 14 from 1942 to 1958[7]
Cuban Navy received four in 1952[8]
Israeli Air Force operated two from 1948 to 1949[9]
Portuguese Navy operated 12 from 1942 to 1968[10]
Royal Thai Navy operated five in 1951[11]
Royal Thai Air Force operated five from 1951 to 1956[11]
Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm
United States Army Air Corps
Uruguayan Navy operated one example from 1943 to 1979[12]
Mørefly
Sea Bee Air
Many Widgeons survive in private hands in various states of restoration or storage. The aircraft continues to enjoy a considerable degree of popularity as a seaplane, with many still being flown regularly, though rarely on the warbird circuit.
J4F-1, USCG Aircraft Serial No. V212, National Naval Aviation Museum, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida[13]
SCAN 30 serial no. 28 (reg. # CF-ODR) was on display at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in Mount Hope, Ontario until it was sold to a private owner in British Columbia in 2014.[14]
Two in Portugal, non-airworthy, both from Portuguese Navy. One on display at Museu do Ar, registration 129. Another on display at Navy Museum, registration 120 wrongly labeled 128.[15]
G-44A (cn 1449) on display at the Royal Thai Air Force Museum, Bangkok, Thailand.[16]
De plane! De plane! is seen in the opening scenes of the television series Fantasy Island delivering guests to the island. It was sold at auction on April 16, 2016[17] to an undisclosed buyer.
Grumman Widgeon 3-view drawing from Les Ailes February 1, 1947
Data from War Planes of the Second World War: Volume Five: Flying Boats[18]
Crew: 1
Capacity: 4 passengers (as utility aircraft)
Length: 31 ft 1 in (9.47 m)
Wingspan: 40 ft 0 in (12.19 m)
Wing area: 245 sq ft (22.8 m2)
Empty weight: 3,240 lb (1,470 kg)
Powerplant: 2 × Ranger L-440-5 air-cooled inverted six-cylinder inline engine, 200 hp (150 kW) each
Maximum speed: 153 mph (246 km/h, 133 kn)
Cruise speed: 138 mph (222 km/h, 120 kn)
Range: 920 mi (1,480 km, 800 nmi)
Rate of climb: 700 ft/min (3.6 m/s)
Guns: Sometimes 1 or 2 × .30 in (7.62 mm) or .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns machine guns, firing out side windows
Bombs: 1 × 200 lb (90 kg) depth charge in anti-submarine role
Related development
Grumman G-21 Goose
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Piaggio P.136
List of aircraft of World War II
List of flying boats and floatplanes
^ FAA Type Certificate Number A-734; aircraft is designated a "5 PCL-Am-FbM" which means it is a five-place Cabin Landplane-Amphibian-Flying Boat Monoplane
^ "U-166." uboat.net. Retrieved: 18 August 2010.
^ Civil Air Patrol[permanent dead link]
^ Flanders, Scott (24 October 1991). "A Clue Offered On Nazi U-boat Historians Say Sub Was Sunk By A Civil Air Patrol Plane". Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
^ Taylor 1976, p. 338.
^ World Air Forces – Historical Listings Brazil (BRZ) Archived 2012-10-18 at the Wayback Machine
^ World Air Forces – Historical Listings Cuba (CUB), archived from the original on 25 January 2012, retrieved 30 August 2012
^ World Air Forces – Historical Listings Israel (ISR)], archived from the original on 25 January 2012, retrieved 30 August 2012
^ World Air Forces – Historical Listings Portugal (POR), archived from the original on 25 January 2012, retrieved 30 August 2012
^ a b World Air Forces – Historical Listings Thailand (THL), archived from the original on 25 January 2012, retrieved 30 August 2012
^ World Air Forces – Historical Listings Uruguay (URU), archived from the original on 25 January 2012, retrieved 30 August 2012
^ "Item - National Naval Aviation Museum".
^ "Grumman G-44 Widgeon - Portugal - Navy"
^ "Building 1: Aircraft flown by RTAF after WW2." Royal Thai Air Force Museum. Retrieved: 11 January 2011. Archived 3 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine
^ "'De plane' from 'Fantasy Island' up for auction". USA Today. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
^ Green 1968, p. 174.
Donald, David. The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1997. ISBN 0-7607-0592-5.
Green, William. War Planes of the Second World War: Volume Five; Flying Boats. London: Macdonald, 1968. ISBN 0-356-01449-5.
Taylor, John W. R. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1976–77. London: Jane's Yearbooks, 1976. ISBN 0-354-00538-3.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Grumman G-44 Widgeon.
Grumman Widgeon Owners Group
Fleet Air Arm: Grumman J4F Widgeon
Grumman Widgeon
Grumman and Northrop Grumman aircraft
G-1 (floats only)
G-215 (I)
G-215 (II)
XF5F
-1 to -5
XF10F
F11F/F-11
F11F-1F
F-111B
Attack/Patrol
XTSF
TB2F
Recon/Scouts
XSBF
OV-1
EA-6
Utility/Transports
UC-103
J2F
OA-9
OA-14/J4F
U-16/JR2F/UF
Gulfstream I
Gulfstream II
Apollo Lunar Module
X-47A
X-47B
X-47C
Fire Scout
Gulfhawk III
Joint STARS
Super Tiger
USAF amphibious aircraft designations
Observation Amphibian
"OA" (1925-1947)
"A" (1948-1962)
Not to be confused with the Attack or Aerial target sequences.
USN/USMC utility aircraft designations 1935–1962
Utility (J)
Noorduyn
Bellanca
J4F Stearman-Hammond
J2K
J2Q
J2W
Utility transport (JR)
JRB
JR2F
Nash-Kelvinator
JR2M
JR2S
Utility (U)
de Havilland Canada
UV-1L

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
China should open more to the rest of the world, ease trade tension - IMF
Trump retreats from China tariffs amid White House trade discord
BOOK REVIEW: Bone up on China's business trends in one hour
US-China trade war much more than just steel tariffs - S&P Global
China softens tone on trade after US leaves empty handed
China's Xi pledges greater openness amid Trump trade dispute
Trump vows that China `will take down its trade barriers'
China has made progress on reforms but should allow market forces to play a more decisive role and accelerate its opening up to the rest of the world, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said.
While credit growth has slowed, it remains too fast, and policy makers should de-emphasise growth targets and focus on higher-quality growth, the fund said in a statement released on Wednesday in Beijing at the conclusion of its mission for the 2018 Article IV Consultation.
Embracing market forces means reducing public sector dominance over many industries, opening markets to the private sector, and ensuring competition, the fund said, adding that the trade and investment remain restrictive.
The fund's recommendations chime with the criticisms that the Trump administration has levelled at Beijing in the course of the current trade dispute.
"Faster opening up would not only support China's own high-quality growth agenda, but also benefit the global economy," the IMF said in the statement. "Recent efforts to defuse trade tensions are welcome and efforts should continue to seek a negotiated settlement that strengthens the global economy."
The comments came within hours of US President Donald Trump saying he'd move ahead with tariffs on $50bn of Chinese imports, and ahead of Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross's return to Beijing this week for more talks from June 2. The IMF encouraged all sides to ease trade tensions and strengthen multilateral trade and investment.
The IMF's senior resident representative for China, Alfred Schipke, told reporters at a briefing that rising protectionism is a risk and unilateral actions can be counterproductive. He added that the country's further opening of its financial sector should be gradual.
China's economic expansion will likely slow to 6.6% this year and to about 5.5% by 2023, according to the IMF. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg project 6.5% growth this year.
Reforms have made progress in safeguarding the financial sector, slowing credit growth, reducing overcapacity, cutting pollution and opening up the economy, the fund said.
The IMF report also recommended:
Placing less emphasis on economic growth targets and instead focusing on high-quality expansion to re-balance the economy, even if it means somewhat slower overall growth.
Slowing the too-rapid pace of credit growth will require less public investment, tighter controls on borrowing by state enterprises, and curbing household debt growth.
Monetary policy should "continue to become more price, rather than quantity, based, and the exchange rate should continue to become more flexible".
The fund cautioned last year that deep reforms are still needed to break away from debt-fuelled expansion and that China should use its growth momentum to push reforms through. It later raised its estimate for the average annual growth rate through 2020, while warning that it would come at the cost of rising debt that increases medium-term risks to growth.
IMF First Deputy Managing Director David Lipton took part in the latest policy talks with senior officials including Vice Premier Liu He, People's Bank of China Governor Yi Gang, Finance Minister Liu Kun and China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission chief Guo Shuqing.
"To be an effective and credible leader of better globalisation, China should continue to address the distortions that still beset its economy and affect cross-border trade and investment," Lipton said in a statement released with the report.
"China would benefit from exposing sheltered sectors and firms to more domestic and foreign competition, ensuring a level playing field, and better protecting intellectual property rights."
Read more about: imf | china | trade | economy


It can tell you how much you need and how long to cook your turkey!
Since Amazon first debuted Alexa almost five years ago, the virtual assistant has really taken off, despite concerns that Alexa is listening in on your conversations (spoiler alert: it's not). Even if you've never owned an Alexa-enabled device, you've probably heard of her.
Now, she can even cook a turkey.
Alexa is a smart assistant that can listen to you and respond with answers to questions, remind you of things and generally make your life easier. Rather than using your phone to look things up, you can ask out loud using the word "Alexa" at the beginning of your question and a compatible device will answer you. This is particularly helpful for times when you can't (or don't want to) use your hands.
Although Alexa has become synonymous with Amazon products like the Echo, you can't actually buy "Alexa." Instead, you have to have one of Amazon's many Alexa-enabled devices.
As Alexa's popularity has increased, Amazon has expanded the devices where it's available. Each Alexa-enabled device is slightly different and ideal for certain types of uses. Don't know which one to get? Here's a breakdown of why each of them is good.
Available in five different fabric, faux wood and metallic finishes, this is the Alexa-enabled device that started it all. The Echo is now on its second generation, which brought dual Dolby-powered speakers that easily fill a whole room with sound.
The Echo Dot is perfect if you're looking to bring the power of Alexa into additional rooms of your house. It also comes in a kids edition, which comes with parental controls and a year of FreeTime Unlimited!
This version of the Echo has a built-in Zigbee hub that controls compatible smart home devices without an additional smart home hub. Pair with a second Echo Plus in the same room for stereo surround sound.
The Echo Spot harnesses Alexa onto a 2 1/2 inch screen where you can easily see the weather, watch videos, read news headlines, video call, check your calendar and more. The compact design works in any room of the home.
The new Echo Show features a 10-inch HD screen, the built in smart home hub of the Echo Plus and improved speakers. Just ask it to show you a recipe, watch live TV, stream from Hulu, see the front door security camera and make video calls.
Available for pre-order by invitation, the Echo Auto brings Alexa into your commute. Use voice commands to play music, check the news and weather, open the garage door and get directions. The little device sits on your dashboard, plays through your car speakers using Bluetooth and can hear you over music, air conditioning and other common road noise. You'll also be able to set location-based routines, which are automated actions Alexa takes when you arrive at or leave a certain location.
This is Cher's closet from "Clueless" come to life! The Echo Look categorizes your clothes by season, occasion, weather and color so you can easily scroll through what you own and put an outfit together. After you've picked your outfit for the day, take a full-length photo or video of your outfit to keep track of what you wear on a daily basis. Amazon's "fashion specialists" can also help you decide between two outfits or recommend different things to wear based on what you own.
Those who have used them will tell you that Alexa-enabled devices can quickly become an essential part of your home, but Alexa's nothing without the more than 50,000 "skills" now on her resume.
Alexa skills are kind of like an app, which you control with your voice, that can perform different tasks — some with the help of third-party apps. Some require a bit of setup on the back end (for example, by connecting your Alexa device to product accounts or apps), but it could mean way getting way more use out of Alexa in the long run.
You probably know that this fun device responds to several basic everyday voice commands, like setting a timer, checking the weather or hearing news headlines, but it also has so many skills you may not know about. Here are the 17 best Alexa skills I've found.
Cooking the Thanksgiving turkey is never easy, but the new Butterball Alexa skill can make it much more manageable. Just say "Alexa ask Butterball how much turkey I need for four people" and Alexa will give you the correct amount or say "Alexa ask Butterball how long I need to cook my turkey" and Alexa will respond with follow up questions asking how big your turkey is and whether you're cooking it with stuffing inside or not.
Don't get up: Thanks to skills for Nest Thermostats, Philips Hue lightbulbs, August locks, robot vacuums and many more smart home devices, you can ask Alexa to handle all kinds of things around the home without lifting a finger. Don't have an Amazon Fire TV Stick and the compatible Amazon Alexa remote? Add a compatible Logitech Harmony remote control and Alexa can change the channel on your TV, too.
Instead of yelling "dinner is ready" over and over again, have Alexa do the heavy lifting for you. Just say "Alexa, announce that dinner is ready" and Alexa will work as a one-way intercom to the other Alexa-enabled devices in your home and announce that dinner is ready, in your voice.
OK, this one is pretty amazing if you have cats and hate leaving them alone all day. The Meow! skill makes kitty noises like mews and purrs to keep your little pal entertained. Whenever I play this my cat wanders around the apartment looking for the invisible friend talking to her. Try the Woof! skill for dogs!
Yep, having an Alexa-enabled device gives you access to Prime member-exclusive deals on Amazon. Use the command "Alexa, what are your deals?" or visit Amazon's voice shopping page to find specific phrases.
No time to go the gym? Clueless about where to start with a home workout? Only have less than 10 minutes to work out? Alexa can lead you through sets of exercises designed to increase metabolism, improve energy, lower stress and remove fat using the 7-Minute Workout skill.
Use the Starbucks Reorder skill to have Alexa start your typical Starbucks order at any of the last 10 stores you've ordered from before you even leave the house. By the time I get to Starbucks, my much-needed coffee is ready and waiting for me.
Alexa's ability to play music used to be restricted to Amazon Prime Music, but it now integrates with many music services, including Spotify, iHeartRadio, Pandora and SiriusXM, so you can rock out to whatever you enjoy. Podcast lovers will enjoy the Pod Buddy integration, which can pull up millions of them.
Once you connect Alexa to your account, hailing a ride is easier than ever. Simply say, "Alexa, ask Uber (or Lyft) to request a ride," and it will be billed the same way it is via the corresponding ride service app. It's especially helpful when you're running late and don't have time to manually enter your destination and track your ride.
When I'm home alone and there's no one around to call my phone (which is totally here, somewhere) I have Alexa do it. Just say, "Alexa, open 'Where's My Phone'," and she'll give your phone a ring so you can follow the ring or vibration. When you answer the phone a robotic voice says "Glad you found your phone" before hanging up the call. If you use lost and found trackers like Trackr or Tile, Alexa can help you find anything you've tagged, from your keys and laptop to a beloved child's toy.
You don't even need to be near your cellphone: Simply tell Alexa to call a person from your phone's address book. It's a great hands-free option — especially if you have to do things that require your hands, like housework or cooking, or are feeling particularly lazy, like me sometimes, during your call.
Just say "Alexa, help me sleep" to be guided through a muscle relaxation exercise that will have you sleeping in less than 15 minutes or try "Alexa, ask Sleep Sounds to play rain" to be whisked off to a deep slumber.
Subscribe to the security program Have I been pwned? (pronounced "poned") to enable this skill, then check all your accounts for security breaches. Simply ask, "Have I been pwned?" to do a cross-account check.
Wake up to TODAY's morning headlines with Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb using the TODAY Alexa skill. If you have an Echo Show or Echo Spot, you can also see brief video clips from that morning.


The big bang theory inspires discovery of new compound BaZnGa!
The work of the eminent physicist, Dr Sheldon Cooper of hit TV show The big bang theory, has served as the springboard for the creation of a new chemical compound – BaZnGa!
Those familiar with Dr Cooper will know that his use of the phrase 'bazinga!' tends to be associated with a jest or jape. Despite this, Paul Canfield, a researcher at Iowa State University, and his team decided that Dr Cooper's fearsome scientific reputation merited the thorough investigation of the compound he so frequently proposes.
I respect Dr Cooper and all of his work, and take any pronouncement of his seriously!
Na Hyun Jo, a graduate student at Iowa State University, had the initial inspiration. 'I was at home and turned on the TV, and there was a show about The big bang theory and a character said "bazinga!". They showed the elements barium, zinc and gallium. So I thought: "Wow, I think no one has ever tried to grow this material," and "maybe this could be a new discovery of a high temperature superconductor or some kind of a quasicrystal" or something like that,' she explains.
These findings, along with others, will be discussed at the annual meeting of the American Physical Society in 2018. Incidentally, the meeting is to be held in Los Angeles – the home of Dr Cooper. Canfield and his team hope that he will be in attendance.


Assembly Required. The great thing about this storage puzzle is all the many ways there are to solve it. Use the bookcases (assemble in left or right versions) as singles to draw attention to their zigzag design, or align two together from either side for a totally different effect. A set of rectangular connectors can bridge two bookcases to create one larger unit that "expands" to your dimensions. You can even connect them at an angle. Also available in maple.


text:
Q: Can I lock an element in a list to make it threadsafe, instead of locking the whole list? I would store objects in my std list on thread-safe way. I don't want to block a thread, if it want to access an element that currently not in use.
If I can't lock only one element, there is an other question: If I call a destructor on one of my object in the list, will it remove the element and invalidate it's iterator?

A: Generally you need to protect the whole list container instance by a lock or mutex in multi threaded environment.

If you are storing new'ed objects in your container, then the destructor will be called only when you are deleting the pointer to the object.

Further answer to your question depends upon:

1. What are you storing in list ? Object itself or Pointer to object

2. "If I call a destructor on one of my object in the list"... Does this mean Deleting the list node or retrieving the pointer from list and then deleting it instead of deleting the list node [This is not good unless you point the pointer to NULL] .

If you are storing object itself the list.remove will call destructor for the object.

If you are storing pointer to the object .. list.remove will not call destructor and I think its a no-op as well [correct me if I am wrong here]

3. The standard gives a guaratee that list iterator will not be invalidated on addition and splicing ... but will become invalid if the iterator pointing to the removed element.

A:
Can I lock an element in a list to make it threadsafe, instead of locking the whole list?

Yes, if all threads use a lock whenever reading/writing/destructing the element, then that is safe.
For example, if the element was a string, and one thread took the lock, appended a character, then released the lock, then another thread can:

*

*safely attempt to do the same, to the same element, contesting the same lock

*append a different element to the list without any lock

*NOT do a find() in the list; the find may attempt a read on the partially updated string

*NOT sort() the list

*NOT erase() the element from the list

I don't want to block a thread, if it want to access an element that currently not in use.

Well, you need some level of granularity.  The finest possible is a lock per element, but that's potentially very wasteful of space (and wasted memory eventually impacts performance).

If I can't lock only one element, there is an other question: If I call a destructor on one of my object in the list, will it remove the element and invalidate it's iterator?

No.  Calling a destructor doesn't normally affect the list (unless your elements themselves are aware of the list holding them and their destructors are coded to remove themselves).  Normally, you instead erase the element from the list and that calls the destructor and releases the associated heap memory.  If the element is itself a raw pointer, then you need to call delete on it yourself (smart_pointer's automated that for you).  Iterators, pointer, references to the erased element are immediated invalidated.

A: To manipulate The List, you should LOCK around The List.  Once your object is extracted, you can release The List Lock, and LOCK around the object only.

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