German military looking to drop-outs and foreigners as cannon fodder?

February 16, 2011

This seems to indicate a perverse view of military recruitment. With the end of conscription the German armed forces are short of people.  But targeting school drop-outs and foreigners for lower-ranking military positions seems like an attempt to recruit cannon-fodder.

The Local Germany reports:

German military officials are considering pursuing high school dropouts to fill the Bundeswehr’s ranks following the end to conscription.

Photo: DPA

The Bundeswehr is hoping to make military service more attractive to less educated and unskilled Germans as it transitions to a fully professional force, daily Financial Times Deutschland reported.

“In light of the demographic developments as well as the ongoing structural adjustments to the Bundeswehr, young people with below-average education and school dropouts will now be approached for recruiting,” the document acquired by the paper reads. This “opening of new potential for gaining personnel” will be necessary to maintain the necessary troop numbers, it says, calling the plan an “Attractiveness Programme.”

These recruits would be targeted to fill mainly lower-ranking military positions, the paper said.

The latest detail in military reform plans by the Defence Ministry came after this weekend’s news that foreigners living in Germany could be allowed to join the Bundeswehr. But a Defence Ministry spokesperson told the Financial Times Deutschland on Tuesday that only EU citizens and those from a few other countries would be among those considered for enlistment.

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One in three Russians believes the sun revolves around the earth!

February 15, 2011

Perhaps humanity as a whole has not come as far as we think from the days of Genghis Khan and the inquisitions of the Catholic Church and witch doctors and shamans.

Reuters reports:

Does the sun revolve around the Earth? One in every three Russians thinks so, a spokeswoman for state pollster VsTIOM said on Friday.

In a survey released this week, 32 percent of Russians believed the Earth was the center of the Solar system; 55 percent that all radioactivity is man-made; and 29 percent that the first humans lived when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth.

The study also found that women were more likely than men to believe the scientific fallacies.

image: crooksandliars.com

 

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Nice work if you can get it! The rewards of whistle-blowing?

February 15, 2011

Free-loading civil servants are present everywhere and are the rotten apples among the many millions who are actually civil and who do actually serve but this case from China stands out. Though it is somewhat unclear as to whether he is a heroic whistle-blower or just a free-loader.

“Chinas most capable civil servant”

Jiang Jinxiang - "Chinas most capable civil servant"

WhatsonXiamen.com reports:

File:Longyan.png
A civil servant from Longyan, Fujian Province, who collected a monthly salary for nearly nine years without lifting a finger, intends to go back to work Monday.
Jiang Jinxiang, a former director at the Urban Construction Commission in the Standing Committee of Longyan People’s Congress, was suspended on May 16, 2002 and never returned to work.
Internet users exposed him after they learned he still received a monthly salary of 2,700 yuan ($410) from the local government even though he stayed home. Jiang, 55, who was suspended for trying to expose quality control problems at a city project during a local People’s Congress session in 2002. He told the Global Times Sunday that he stopped going to work in 2002 because his colleagues did not talk to him, which made him unhappy.
“I couldn’t accept the government’s treatment. I felt it was unfair because what I exposed was true,” Jiang said. Jiang saw a government notice in the Minxi Daily on Saturday that ordered him to show up for work within 15 days. Zheng Lixin, head of the Longyan Construction Bureau, which oversees Jiang’s section, said that they kept sending him payments on humanitarian grounds since his family was poor, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

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Carbon dioxide rip-off has cost Australia $5.5 billion – so far

February 14, 2011

With easy money like this floating around and waiting to be siphoned off it is not difficult to see why the global warming fraud continues! And of course these $5.5 billion are small change compared to the amounts that have been scammed in Europe.

And to make it worse, carbon dioxide emissions are a little less than insignificant for global temperatures.

The Sydney Morning Herald:

Billions blown on carbon schemes

SUCCESSIVE federal governments have spent more than $5.5 billion over the past decade on climate change programs that are delivering only small reductions in greenhouse gas emissions at unusually high costs for taxpayers and the economy.

An analysis by the Herald of government schemes designed to cut emissions by direct spending or regulatory intervention reveals they have cost an average of $168 for each tonne of carbon dioxide abated. ……

The analysis of 17 programs with a total cost of $5.62 billion shows many of the schemes are at odds with the goal of tackling climate change at the lowest cost to the economy. ………

The weighted average cost of the 17 programs was $168 a tonne. They will deliver about 25 million tonnes of carbon abatement in 2020 – less than 10 per cent of that needed to meet the government’s target of reducing emissions in 2020 by 5 per cent on 2000 levels.

The worst offenders have included Labor’s rebates for rooftop solar panels, which cost $300 or more for every tonne of carbon abated, and the Howard government’s remote renewable power generation scheme, which paid up to $340 for each tonne.

Read the article.

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Heaviest snowfall in a century in South Korea

February 14, 2011

An excavator removes snow from a road in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, Sunday. The heaviest snowfall in a century hit Gangneung and other cities in the eastern part of the province between Friday and Saturday, with hundreds of people stranded on roads and causing property damage. / Korea Times photo by Kim Joo-young

While all the snow and ice covering a large part of the Northern hemisphere does not prove anything about climate, in the style of the global warmists we could say that it is entirely consistent with the coming of a new Dalton-like solar minimum and a coming ice-age!!

From the BBC:

The heaviest snowfall in more than a century on South Korea’s east coast is causing widespread chaos. Hundreds of houses have collapsed under the weight of the snow. One newspaper described it as a snow bomb. The South Korean government has deployed 12,000 soldiers to rescue stranded residents.

The worst weather has been in Gangwon province. Weather experts say there will be more snowfall in the area in the coming hours. “I am 83 years old. It’s the heaviest snow in my life. I am really grateful for the soldiers’ help,” said Park Chae-ran. …..

….. January was the coldest since the 1960s. In Gangwon on the eastern coast, one city recorded 80cm (2.6 feet) of snow in a single day – the heaviest fall in 24 hours since records began there back in 1911.

The Han River in the capital, Seoul, iced over for the first time in years – but the latest snowfalls have left the capital unaffected so far.

More snow is forecast.

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China retracts a national scientific award for plagiarism

February 14, 2011

From Xinhua News:

Li Liansheng: photo China Daily

BEIJING, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) — The recent revocation of a national scientific award due to academic fraud was the first of its kind in China, National Office for Science and Technology Awards told Xinhua Thursday.

China’s Ministry of Science and Technology, on Feb. 1, issued a statement revoking the State Scientific and Technological Progress Award (SSTPA) given to Li Liansheng, former professor of Xi’an Jiaotong University.

According to the statement, the investigation found Li had plagiarized others’ works and fabricated data in his winning project, and his prize will be canceled and money awarded retrieved.

Zhao Baojing, senior officer with the National Office for S&T Award, told Xinhua that it was the first time China had withdrawn a national scientific honor.

Li Liansheng, former professor and doctoral tutor of Xi’an Jiaotong University, received the second-place prize of the SSTPA in 2005 for his research on key technologies for designing and manufacturing scroll compressors.

In 2008, he was accused of plagiarism and providing false data in the winning project by six professors of Xi’an Jiaotong University. An investigation was later carried out.

Xi’an Jiaotong University suspended Li from working at the university and rescinded his employment contract in March, 2010.

AsiaOne.com writes:

News that the ministry is stripping him of his award for scientific and technological progress comes three years after six colleagues first claimed that the energy and power studies expert had plagiarized the work of others.

Wan Gang, the minister of science and technology, had earlier vowed that there would be a “zero tolerance” policy toward research frauds and academic plagiarism amid growing criticism about the country’s academic integrity.

“We will dig up the past of those researchers who fake their works and punish them,” he told China Daily in November 2010.

The country has more than 2.3 million workers in the science and technology field and the number of research papers published on the subject has topped the world.

The intense competition to get work published has led some researchers to exaggerate their achievements, said critics.

“In China, we care whether a paper is published in a magazine more than we care about the paper’s quality and academic influence,” Rao Yi, dean of the School of Life Sciences at Peking University, was quoted as saying in a report in China Youth Daily.

Universities and colleges are ranked according to the number of academic papers their staff can get published and the number of references they get in influential journals

Related:

https://ktwop.wordpress.com/2010/10/13/chinese-science-ministry-vindicates-academic-fraud-journalists/

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An active Sunday for the Sun

February 14, 2011

An unusually active Sunday for the Sun yesterday mainly from the very large sunspot 1158 with magnetic flux values not seen since 2006.

From Solarcycle24.com:

Solar Flares: Mutiple Solar flares took place around Sprawling Sunspot 1158 on Sunday, including an M6.6 Flare which was the 2nd largest of Cycle 24 thus far.  ….. . There will continue to be a chance for M-Class flares and NOAA also lists a 5% chance for an X-Class event.

Solar Flux 107: For the first time in Cycle 24, the official daily solar flux number measured in Penticton, BC closed above 100. The solar flux of 107 is the highest since September 2005. The last time the solar flux finished above 100 was in December 2006.

Solar Update: Huge sunspot 1158 which is located in the southern hemisphere will continue to be a threat for strong solar flares. Elsewhere, Sunspot 1157 which is in the northern hemisphere showed growth late on Sunday and Sunspot 1160 which rotated into view on the eastern limb has sprouted a few new spots as well. The M6.6 Solar Flare did cause a Radio Blackout on HF which was short lived.

Sunspots (Early Monday): image solarcycle24.com

NOAA forecast:

Solar Activity Forecast: Solar activity is expected to be low to moderate with a chance for a major x-ray event for days one thru three (14-16 February). Region 1158 continued growth and recent major flare make this region the most likely source for a major event. There is a slight chance for C-class activity from Region 1157 and Region 1159.

Geophysical Activity Forecast: The geomagnetic field is expected to be predominately quiet on day one (14 February). Quiet to unsettled with a chance for active conditions are expected on days two and three (15-16 February), due to a recurrent coronal hole high speed stream becoming geoeffective.

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JAXA to go fishing for space debris

February 13, 2011

Space junk: image discovery.com

http://www.jaxa.jp/projects/engineering/research/index_e.html

From the Telegraph

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Nitto Seimo Co aim to tackle the increasingly hazardous problem of rubbish in orbit around the Earth damaging space shuttles and satellites once and for all.

Last year, a US report concluded that space was so littered with debris that a collision between satellites could set off an “uncontrolled chain reaction” capable of destroying the communications network on Earth. It is estimated there are 370,000 pieces of space junk.

The Japanese plan will see a satellite attached to a thin metal net spanning several kilometres launched into space. The net is then detached, and begins to orbit earth, sweeping up space waste in its path.

During its rubbish collecting journey, the net will become charged with electricity and eventually be drawn back towards earth by magnetic fields – before both the net and its contents burn upon entering the atmosphere.

It is likely the nets will target the orbital paths of space shuttles which are constantly monitored for debris.

It is thought that the net will remain in orbit for several weeks, collecting enough rubbish to make the trip financially worthwhile, before sending another net into space.

Inspired by a basic fishing net concept, the super-strong space nets have been the subject of extensive research by Nitto Seimo for the past six years and consist of three layered metal threads, each measuring 1mm diameter and intertwined with fibres as thin as human hair.

The company, which became famous for inventing the world’s first machine to make strong knotless fishing nets in 1925, is aiming for the fuel-free system to be completed within two years.


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Dark chocolate is a “super-food”

February 13, 2011
Dark chocolate.

Dark chocolate: Image via Wikipedia

Cacao seeds are a super-fruit and dark chocolate is a super-food with health giving properties superior to many fruit juices.

This comes from a peer reviewed paper in Chemistry Central Journal even if the study was conducted by scientists at the Hershey Centre for Health & Nutrition. To satisfy my own preferences for dark chocolate I am willing to overlook the fact that the Hershey Centre for Health and Nutrition has probably never found any negative effects of chocolate!!

However heating chocolate destroyed its health giving properties.

Cacao seeds are a “Super Fruit”: A comparative analysis of various fruit powders and products by Stephen J Crozier, Amy G Preston,  W Jeffrey Hurst , Mark J Payne , Julie Mann, Larry Hainly  and Debra L Miller, Chemistry Central Journal 2011, 5:5

doi:10.1186/1752-153X-5-5

The Telegraph reports:

Researchers found that chocolate contains more healthy plant compounds, gram-for-gram, than many fruit juices.

In a test, they found that powdered dark chocolate contained more antioxidants and polyphenols – all of which are thought to protect the body from diseases such as cancer, and heart conditions.

Superfoods are usually classed as those high in antioxidants – compounds which prevent oxidisation and can stop healthy cells from being damaged.

Researchers made comparisons between single servings of dark chocolate, cocoa, hot chocolate mix, and fruit juices including acai berries, cranberries and pomegranates

The research showed that both dark chocolate and cocoa had more antioxidant activity and more flavonols than fruit.

Dr Debra Millar, the lead author, said that the results showed that chocolate should be labelled a “superfruit”.

“Cacao seeds should be considered a ‘super fruit’ and products derived from cacao seed extracts, such as natural cocoa powder and dark chocolate, as ‘super foods’,” she said. …….  However heating chocolate destroyed any health giving properties, they discovered.


 

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Indian MMRCA decision in two weeks – Eurofighter Typhoon still leads

February 13, 2011

A decision on the winner of the $10 billion Indian MMRCA deal for 126 fighters could be announced in two weeks and the contract signed by September. But in the normal way of these things I expect that a number of the losing contractors will object to whoever is chosen and some of the objections may well be in Court. There is no large Government contract placed in India without allegations of biased and “fixed” evaluations by the losers. But eventually the number of decisions overturned by such objections is very few. Whoever is called for negotiations when the winner is announced is 95% certain of being awarded the contract.

Eurofighter take-off: image india-defence.com

The word on the street is that the 4-nation European consortium’s Eurofighter Typhoon still leads after the commercial and strategic evaluation having already won the technical evaluation . But all the offset proposals put forward by the contractors may not have been fully evaluated yet. It would seem that technical considerations for one ( Lockheed Martin’s F-16IN Super Viper) and strategic considerations for the other ( Boeing’s F/A-18 Super Hornet) may disallow the choice of the US fighters. The Saab JAS 39 Gripen is probably running second.

But there may yet be a surprise.

Business Standard reports:

Electrifying aerospace vendors at Aero India 2011 in Bangalore, Indian Air Force chief, Air Chief Marshall PV Naik, announced today that New Delhi would decide within two weeks about which medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) it would buy, and actually sign the US $10 billion contract by September.

A panoramic view of Aero India 2011: image Broadsword (4.bp.blogspot.com)

“The CNC (Cost Negotiation Committee) is likely to start in a week or two. Taking that as the datum and giving [the CNC] another 6-8 months, the contract is likely to be signed in September”, declared Naik.
The CNC is a group of officials that negotiates, between the Ministry of Defence and the winning vendor, a final price for the sale.
Naik’s boss, defence minister AK Antony, had stated at Aero India 2011 yesterday that the globally-watched contract would be finalised by the end of the next financial year 2011-2012, i.e. by March 2012. By setting the deadline six months earlier, Naik appears to have put the MoD under pressure.
Asked for a clarification by Business Standard, Naik’s officiating deputy, Air Marshall RK Sharma, confirmed his chief’s announcement. Sharma clarified that the winning vendor would be issued an invitation within two weeks to appear for cost negotiations, while the CNC would actually meet within two months. An invitation to a vendor to appear in a CNC is tantamount to announcing the winner of a contract.
“The DAC (the MoD’s apex Defence Acquisition Council) will formalise the winner soon; we will then invite that company for negotiations”, said Sharma.
Six fighters are competing for the IAF contract: Boeing’s F/A-18 Super Hornet; Lockheed Martin’s F-16IN Super Viper; the MiG Corporation’s MiG-35; Saab’s Gripen NG; Dassault’s Rafale; and a four-nation European consortium’s Eurofighter. Executives from these companies say they are baffled by Naik’s announcement. Asked in late-2010 to rework their offset bids, and with no date yet given for resubmission, the MoD does not have a key element needed to decide a winner.
“Is the MoD going to decide the contract winner without examining the offset bids?” asks a bemused executive, from one of the competing aircraft manufacturers.
……….

The air chief also voiced his apprehension that the contract could be delayed by “dissatisfied vendors (who) put a spoke in the wheel”, using allegations of wrongdoing to trigger long-running probes by investigation agencies.
Yesterday, a defensive Antony had announced that political considerations would play no role in deciding the winner. That seemed to suggest that the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), which will be required to approval the contract after the CNC negotiates a final price, would merely rubber-stamp the IAF/MoD decision.
Other than the impending contract for 126 medium fighters to boost the IAF’s dwindling numbers, the IAF chief also announced the impending conclusion, “within this financial year”, of the contract to upgrade the air force’s 20-year-old fleet of 52 Mirage-2000 medium fighters. This upgrade, which has been the subject of bitter negotiations between the IAF and French contractor, Thales, will give the Mirage-2000 another 20 years of service life by fitting on a new radar and a modern cockpit with state-of-the-art avionics and electronic warfare equipment.
While Thales had initially demanded US $52 million per aircraft, the deal has been concluded, say IAF sources to Business Standard, at US 39 million per aircraft.
Related:
https://ktwop.wordpress.com/2010/11/07/eurofighter-typhoon-leads-after-technical-evaluation-but-still-not-the-favourite-for-indian-m-mrca-contract/
https://ktwop.wordpress.com/2011/01/04/no-surprise-secret-technical-evaluation-in-indian-mmrca-deal-found-on-the-street/

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Posted in Aviation, Defense, India, International Trade | 6 Comments »

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