Paul in Qatar

Thank you for posting this. It is very sobering.

The whole idea of American football is well past its sell-by date. Would you let your son play high school ball? Would your wife? The sport is simply dangerous and will soon die out under a mountain of lawsuits and the loss of its farm-system of colleges, high schools and Pop Warner leagues. It takes a lot of expensive gear, cannot be played in any serious way by some kids in a field. I am surprised it has held on as long as it has.

She is scheduled to arrive in Pearl on Thursday morning. The civilians aboard have already arrived on a USN ship. Protecteur is schedule for the scrap heap in 2015, and she may not be repaired at all. No new AORs for the RCN until 2020 or so.

In addition to the direct costs of the academy's football team, consider the prep schools. We have acres of sergeants who would make great officers, but who need a year to get up to speed in calculus or whatever. Those guys can't get in because the prep schools are used to train up high school kids to be football players. All in all, we ought to contract out the football team functions to the NFL. It would be cheaper, we would not have to pay the disability costs and we could pay attention to winning a war.

She is probably about 300KM out from Pearl at this point.

The situation is worse than first reports indicated. She is now under tow in not-ideal seas. http://www.news.odin.tc/index.php?page=view/article/1272/HMCS-Protecteur-to-be-towed-to-Hawaii Posted on March 2, 2014, 8:58 pm Canadian Navy supply tanker HMCS Protecteur suffered more serious damages from the fire in engine room, than it was originally reported. As of Mar 2 tanker was dead in water some 340 nautical miles northeast of Hawaii, waiting for towage. Tanker is to be towed to Hawaii by the cruiser USS Chosin and a U.S. Navy tug. Meanwhile, USS Chosin delivered fresh supplies to Protecteur on Mar 1, and destroyer USS Michael Murphy helped transfer family members from Protecteur. There were nearly 300 people onboard, including 17 family members of the crew. Towage is hampered by heavy seas. First news: HMCS Protecteur engine room fire March 1 Royal Canadian Navy said in a press release, that HMCS Protecteur, replenishment Navy tanker, is under way with limited power after fire on board. Fire broke out in engine room at around 1020 Pacific Standart Time Feb 28, and was extinguished by the crew, with several crew members suffering some injures. The ship is heading for Pearl Harbor now, currently some 350 nautical miles away. HMCS Protecteur (AOR 509) is the lead ship of the Protecteur-class replenishment oilers in service with the Royal Canadian Navy. Built 1968, displacement 24700 tons, speed 20 knots, 365 officers and crew, including air personnel, 3 helicopters.

Poland, Latvia and Lithuania are calling for an Article Four meeting of North Atlantic Council. (Why this could not wait for the routine meeting is a matter of statecraft, I suppose.)

This morning at the office, eight hours ago, I went to the Russia Today website. http://rt.com/ Every single headline that had the word "Ukrainian" in it instead used the word Nazi. "Up to 143,000 Nazis Requested Asylum" "Nazi Military Resigning En Masse" I showed this to a bunch of people at my office, but it was changed in an hour or so and now of course there is no trace of it. Hackers I suppose.

Apparently, in this case, the US Navy. The Protecteur is reportedly turned to Pearl instead of British Colombia.

A Canadian supply ship has had a fire aboard in the middle of nowhere in the Pacific. The fire is reportedly out but some crewmen are injured. A USN ship is en route to give aid. http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/02/28/canadian-navy-ship-adrift-in-heavy-seas-off-hawaii-with-more-than-300-people-on-board-after-engine-room-fire/ VANCOUVER — A Canadian navy ship with more than 300 people on board is adrift in the Pacific Ocean in heavy seas after a fire in the engine room. HMCS Protecteur was returning to its home port of Esquimalt, British Columbia when the blaze broke out Thursday night. Several crew members aboard the 44-year-old supply ship suffered minor injuries from the fire. Sailors put out the flames, the Department of National Defence said Friday morning. HMCS Protecteur is currently 630 kilometres northeast of Pearl Harbor and has limited power.

CAS is a mission, not an airplane. Even B52s can now provide CAS, and they can loiter for hours. The A-10 was optimized to kill tanks, there is not a lot of call for that. (I bet a surplus A10 would be a lot of fun to fly on weekends.)

About that lady who sued McDonald's over being burned by coffee. (In 1992, I am an old person.) http://www.upworthy.com/ever-hear-about-the-lady-that-spilled-coffee-on-herself-at-mcdonalds-then-sued-for-millions?c=reccon1

How long have they been pushing the papers on this? ISTR this was John McCain's #1 priority after 9-11. (Heck it was everyone's #1 priority.)

I did see that. Thank you very much.

Independence Square before and after. Lots of great images and footage of this bit of history.