Category: Business

David Frum and Facts Have Only a Passing Acquaintance

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David Frum, the Canadian former Bush speech writer whose phrase Axis of Evil is probably responsible for a thousand or so American deaths had an essay on Marketplace, yesterday, and while I expect right wingers to lie, this is the first time in my not so young (I’m 45) life that literally every word out of his mouth was not the truth.

So, I’m sending them the following letter:

Subject: Re: No defense for Europe’s protectionism

In listening to Mr. Frum’s essay on defense procurement, the F-35, and the Eurofighter, I had a unique experience. This is the first time in my life in which I have heard a commentary where I know that literally every fact stated is incorrect. I am not suggesting that there is deliberate deception involved, but the only alternative is a complete ignorance of the subject involved.

Cases in point:
* The NATO allies will soon reach a crucial decision about their next-generation air-to-ground fighter plane. Two candidates have emerged as finalists: the US-UK-Dutch-Italian-Norwegian F-35, or an update of the Franco-German “Eurofighter.”

While the F-35 is intended to a large degree, perhaps primarily, for air to ground operations, the Eurofighter Typhoon is primarily an air defense fighter, though an air-to-ground capability is being developed for the plane in later tranches.

The Eurofighter is not a Franco-German endeavor. The French are not involved at all, having built the Dassault Rafale. The partner nations are the UK, Germany, Italy, and Spain. The F-35 is not a US-UK-Dutch-Italian-Norwegian project. Only the UK qualifies a very junior partner, and they have still not been given the information necessary to properly maintain the aircraft. The rest of the countries are simply customers.

* Just about everybody agrees that the F-35 is the better — and probably cheaper — plane.

When comparing the two aircraft, the Eurofighter is more agile, with a higher thrust to weight ratio and lower wing loading, and faster, it supercruises, and has a higher ceiling, much like the F-35’s big brother, the F-22, though the F-35 is stealthy, and the Eurofighter is not.

Additionally, the Typhoon can accommodate the Meteor, the long-range missile being developed in Europe, which has superior kinematics to the US AMRAAM, while the F-35, with its internal weapons stowage cannot.

Furthermore, the current prices are nearly the same, but you are comparing a design that is in production (Typhooon) with one that is still in development (F-35), and whose price is still escalating, so it to predict anything beyond parity in cost is simply wrong.

* It’s the plane that will be bought by the Israelis, who tend to be choosy about things bearing on national survival.

The Israelis will not be able to buy the Eurofighter, as political considerations of of the Typhoon’s sale to Saudi Arabia preclude this. Additionally, it will be purchased with significant US military aid, which requires that US equipment be purchased with these funds.

Additionally, the cancellation of significant defense purchases of French aircraft and British tanks in the 1960s, the Israelis do not feel that they can rely on the Europeans as a reliable source of supply.

* The Eurofighter is built on four separate assembly lines in four Western European nations. This redundancy creates more jobs, but at very high cost. High cost, in turn, reduces the number of aircraft the European allies can afford to purchase.

This applies to final assembly lines only , and it is, in fact not very costly. The evidence is in examining the F-16 program, the least expensive, and most numerious, of the previous generation of Western combat aircraft, where it has been assembled in the US, Korea, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Turkey.

I would note that given the facts to support his thesis are all wrong, his thesis itself is suspect.

As Atrios would put it, wanker of the day*.

*The “wanker” bit is not going in the letter.

Islamo-Fascist Awareness Week is Scam to Get Speaking Gigs

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David Whororitz admits it in an interview with the George Washington University Hatchet, the Student Newspaper.

“I’m a prominent conservative but no one is inviting me to speak at their campuses,” Horowitz said in an interview with The Hatchet. “I had to create an event.”

Ummm…No, you are an obnoxious lying fascist clown, who jumped from one extreme to the other, and have since been trying to milk that for all it’s worth.

You have less credibility as a speaker than Mahmoud Ahmadinejad*, who at least believes the crap spewing forth from his mouth.

*And DAMN you for forcing me look up his name.

Tell Your Rep That You are a Net Neutrality Voter

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Last week there was news that Comcast was blocking traffic from BitTorrent, Gnutella, and other file sharing operations, Comcast has finally responded to these reports. They say that they are not blocking these applications, they are just delaying them.

Speaking on background in a phone interview earlier today, a Comcast Internet executive admitted that reality was a little more complex. The company uses data management technologies to conserve bandwidth and allow customers to experience the Internet without delays. As part of that management process, he said, the company occasionally – but not always – delays some peer-to-peer file transfers that eat into Internet speeds for other users on the network.

Of course, some of these applications have legal uses, BitTorrent was developed to do online software releases, and almost every Linux distro these days uses it, and it is blocking crippling other applications, like Lotus Notes.

While I think that Notes is one of the worst email/groupware packages ever written, and I would not shed a tear to see it gone, it would be inappropriate for me, as an ISP, to block it.

So, not only is Comcast dishonest and hypocritical, they are also incompetent. Who would have expected that from the cable company.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation noticed the same sort of packet forging that the AP did (and that Broadband Reports readers did some time ago), and continued its testing to see if other applications are affected. The answer is a disturbing “yes.” The results of additional testing done by the EFF indicate Comcast is sending forged reset packets with some Gnutella traffic. When the EFF ran a Gnutella node on a Comcast connection, the forged reset packets disrupted communication between the nodes.

What’s particularly insidious about Comcast’s packet forging is that it’s transparent to both its customers and those on the opposite ends of the connection. Applications such as BitTorrent and Gnutella retain some of their functionality, but they’ll also appear to malfunction for no apparent reason.

Even if you accept the argument that all P2P traffic is inherently evil, and that Comcast has the right to disrupt it in order to put a stop to copyright infringement, Comcast’s traffic-shaping efforts have apparently extended beyond the realm of P2P and into good old enterprise groupware. Kevin Kanarski, who works as a Lotus Notes messaging engineer, noticed some strange behavior with Lotus Notes when hooked up to a Comcast connection last month.

When Lotus Notes users attempt to send e-mail with larger attachments over Comcast’s network, Notes will drop its connection. Instead of a successfully sent e-mail, they’re greeted with the error message, “Remote system no longer responding.” Kanarski did some digging and has managed to verify that Comcast’s reset packets are the culprit. Instead of passing the legitimate e-mail through its network, Comcast’s traffic monitoring tool (likely Sandvine) is sitting in the middle, imitating both ends of the connection, and sending reset packets to both client and server.

So there is more than some arcane issue of people wanting their free music and pr0n, through incompetence (remember, this is the cable company), they are blocking legitimate software too,

Blackwater: Tax Cheats and Mercenaries Security Contractors

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Well, it appears that Blackwater is both more crooked, and more stupid, than I had previously thought. They have been classifying their mercenaries as independent contractors for tax purposes.

The rules on this are pretty strict. To be an independent contract, you have to be indepndent, you have to set your own hours, place of works, not be subject to company supervisors, etc. Mercenaries don’t qualify. They are told when and where and with what to fight, and Blackwater supplied them with uniforms, flak jackets, weapons, etc.

These were not freelance illustrators.

Henry Waxman has noticed this discrepancy, and that this does not correspond to the standard practices of other firms, like Triple Canopy and Dyncorp, and further noticed that his testimony did not jibe with direction from the IRS.

They are looking at huge fines. It may not be as satisfying as getting them for being mercs and war criminals, but it worked to get Al Capone.

Here is the first part of Waxman’s letter to Blackwater, which implies tax evasion and perjury before congress:

I have received documents which suggest that Blackwater may have engaged in significant tax evasion. According to an IRS ruling in March 2007, Blackwater violated federal tax laws by treating an armed guard as an “independent contractor.” The implication of this ruling is that Blackwater may have avoided paying millions of dollars in Social Security, Medicare, unemployment, and related taxes for which it is legally responsible.

Unlike DynCorp and Triple Canopy, the two other major private military contractors providing security services to the State Department in lraq, Blackwater classifies its armed guards as independent contractors rather than as employees. Under federal tax laws, this classification has important ramifications. Businesses must pay Social Security, Medicare, and unemployment taxes for their employees. They must also withhold federal income taxes on their salaries. By classifying its armed guards and other personnel as independent contractors instead of employees, Blackwater has apparently evaded withholding and paying these taxes.

When you testified before our Committee on October 2,2007, Congresswoman Norton asked you why Blackwater treats its security personnel as independent contractors, while your competitors treat their guards as employees. You responded that Blackwater treats its guards as contractors because you found “it is a model that works” and because your guards prefer the “flexibility” of an independent contractor relationship.

Since the hearing, I have learned that the IRS determined in March – six months prior to your testimony – that your classification of a security guard working in Afghanistan as an independent contractor was “without merit.” The IRS advised that “[y]ou are responsible for satisfying the employment tax reporting, filing, and payment obligations that result from this determination.” By its terms, the IRS ruling applied only to the individual security guard who protested his classification, but the IRS warned that its ruling “may be applicable to any other individuals engaged by the fum.” The logic of the ruling would appear to apply to your entire workforce in Iraq and Afghanistan.

There is also evidence that Blackwater has tried to conceal the IRS ruling and the evasion of taxes from Congress and law enforcement officials. The IRS determination was issued in response to an inquiry by an individual security guard who questioned his classification as an independent contractor. In June, Blackwater required this employee to sign a nondisclosure agreement before it agreed to pay the back pay and other compensation that he was owed. The terms of this agreement explicitly prohibited the guard from disclosing any information about Blackwater to “any politician” or “public official.” The agreement further provided: “THE UTMOST PROTECTION AND NONDISCLOSURE OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION IS OF CRITICAL IMPORTANCE AND IS THE ESSENCE OF THIS AGREEMENT.“

It is difficult to read the IRS ruling and the nondisclosure agreement and not question Blackwater’s intent and actions. When the IRS issued an alert in 2004 warning employers not to “incorrectly treat employees as independent contractors,” the IRS Commissioner described the “[f]ailure to pay employment taxes” as “stealing from the employees of the business” and said that “those who embrace these schemes face civil or criminal sanctions.” Yet it now appears that Blackwater used this illegal scheme to avoid millions of dollars in taxes and then prevented the security guard who discovered the tax evasion from contacting members of Congress or law enforcement officials.

I believe that Blackwater is completely boned.

Countrywide CEO May Be Involved in Insider Trading

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What, the CEO of Countrywidemay have dumped his stock when he got advance notice in violation of insider trading law???

Don’t make me quote Claude Rains in Casasblanca.

Here is the CEO in an industry that has largely depended on a pump and dump mantality, and has increasingly relied on the ignorance of its customers for its business, and we are supposed to be Suprised when it turns out that there are indications that perhaps the senior management did not scrupulously follow the rules????

Well, knock me over with a sledge hammer.

For My Readers Who Use Comcast

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Highly recommended. This guy is the one on NPR. Comcast must DIE! dot com

Actually, I have no deathwish for Comcast or any other gigantic, blundering, greedy, arrogant corporate monstrosity, What I do have is the earnest desire for such companies to change their ways. This site offers an opportunity — for you to vent your grievances (civilly, please) and for Comcast to pay close attention.

I advise you to include your customer number in your post; this will give Comcast the chance to contact you and work on your problem. If it does so, I encourage you to post an update, giving credit where credit is due. Meantime, be aware you may be the target of online fishers trying to get personal information from you. DO NOT REPLY TO EMAILS CLAIMING TO BE FROM COMCAST. Deal with them only by phone.

Congratulations. You are no longer just an angry, mistreated customer. Nor, I hope, are you just part of an e-mob. But you are a revolutionary, wresting control from the oligarchs, and claiming it for the consumer. Your power is enormous. Use it wisely.

— Bob Garfield

Sweden to renew Gripens as Thailand selects Swedish fighter-17/10/2007-Washington DC-Flightglobal.com

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SAAB just scored a major export coup, Thailand has selected Sweden the Gripen fighter and the Erieye airborne early warning aircraft in a $1.1 billion dollar contract.

Considering that Thailand already operates the F-16, it’s rather a surprise, though there may have been US export issues related to the recent Thai coup.

Particularly in light of the upgrades planned, the Gripen, the smallest, lightest, and cheapest of the 4.5 generation fighters (also Typhoon and Rafale) may be the Mirage III of the next decade.

Pot. Kettle Black

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It appears that Condoleeza Rice told Russian officials that she is concerned with weapons sales by the Russia to a number of countries.In an interview with ABC News, Secretary of State of Condoleezza Rice expressed concern about Russia’s increasing military assertiveness.

This from the woman representing the biggest arms dealer in history, not to mentionthe most gonzo* administration in US history.

*I mean this in a bad way, no association with Hunter S. Thompson is intended.

There May be No Winner in the HD-DVD/Blu-Ray Wars

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I’ve been posting off and on (here, here, here, and here) about the HD-DVD/Blu-Ray wars, and I have not really covered what might be an increasingly likely outcome, that both formats may lose.

While I think that HD-DVD may do better in the long fun, given Sony’s (and not Disney’s) anal retentive and counter productive licensing and marketing strategies, it may very well be that these will be irrelevant in a home entertainment context, though they might still duke it out in areas like backup formats and software distribution.

Given technologies out there, I got FIOS a month ago, and one of the side benefits is a digital TV tuner which allows for on-demand content, which is about the same price as going to the Video store, I’m wondering whether online high definition will be the eventual winner.

Given that the additional resolution is hard to notice on a typical TV, and that much of the motivation for the higher definition DVD formats is content control, which from an end user perspective is basically screwing the consumer, perhaps these two formats will simply be bumps on the road to digital distribution.

While there are a lot of people on without online access, or on dialup, who have DVDs, the overwhelming majority of those who would go with a high def DVD format already have broadband, so why bother with media at all. One can go with a digital library.

Genentech Chooses to Blind People for Profit

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Here is what is going on, Genentech makes two drugs, Avastin and Lucentis. The former is used to treat colon cancer, and the latter “wet” macular degeneration, one of the more common forms of blindness.

The drugs are very similar, but Avastin, when cut to a dosage for eye treatment, costs about $38.00/dose, as opposed to Lucentis, which wholesales for $1,950.00 a dose (no, I have not misplaced a decimal place.

So now Genentech is going to cut off pharmacists it believes are delivering the drug to ophthalmologists who use it in an off label application.

They claim that it’s safety concerns. Bullsh$#!

Is Bands Moving to Online Distrubution of Their Music Part of a Trend?

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I hope so, as the record distributors are a group of contemptable greedheads who rip off both the fans and the artists, and who should be the first ones agaisnt the wall when the revolution comes.

As it stands now, Both Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails have dumped record distributors completely.

Certainly, getting their tracks on iTunes®, or some similar service should be pretty easy, as the marginal cost of keeping a track in a virtual “warehouse” is fractions of a penny.

Considering the number of hits out there from 40 years ago that are still “not recouped” by the record labels, there is no reason today for bands to go with the lables.

SEC Is Looking Into Insider Abuse of Stock Plans

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A stock plan is an automatic stock trading scheme. It is frequently used by senior corporate officers, because (theoretically) it provides insulation from the temptations or accusations of insider trading.

The SEC is now looking into whether these plans are being manipulated by insiders.

Introduced in 2000 as part of a broader securities reform, these plans enable executives to buy and sell company stock virtually year-round, regardless of insider knowledge or trading “blackouts.” Financial planners and brokers tout the plans as a smart way for executives to take money off the table and diversify their portfolios.

The main stipulation is that executives must set up a written, systematic trading plan when they have no inside information, then hand off the actual trading to a broker or other third party.

But experts say the rules are so flexible that they have led to a wide spectrum of practices and disclosures. Some executives trade in consistent batches at recurring intervals, sometimes on a daily basis. Others trade stock based on undisclosed formulas that can be pegged to daily stock prices, moving averages or other variables.

Once again we are seeing that market deregulation frees the market to be corrupt to a far larger degree than it frees the market to be efficient. We need toi bring back all those FDR era laws that have been repealed starting in the mid 1970s.

This repeal has created nothing but corruption and pain for the little guy.

Bush and His Evil Minions&trade Are Conceiling Documents and Testimony from the Utah Mind Disaster

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Here.

The question is, why? The owner of the mine, Robert E. Murray is a politically connected Republican, and it probably serves his purposes for there not to be disclosure.

Additionally, the release of information leading to more regulation of the mine industry that might result from disclosure is not something that either the mining industry, or the Bush administration wants.

Amusing Classified ad:

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Read the very last line, it’s very amusing.

Nissan Skyline GTR R34 VSpec Super Car T reg 1999 – 420BHP MINT! + Many Extra’s – see specs”

This Car is also available at £26K Inc VAT without the T9 GTR Number Plate.

The Nissan Skyline GT-R (This one is a ScanSpecII one of only 4 In The World) made many more exotic rivals look a bit silly.

What is Scan Spec II – This is a upgrade/branding dirivative of VSpecII – Scan Spec where our Boss Mr. Shelley Raja has “souped” up / “Overclocked” the cars to his own spec in partnership with RB Motorsport, and, like our Overclocked PC’s is a Scan Company association.

Our Scan Spec II cars now include 3 R34’s, 2 R33’s, 2 Mitsubishi EVO 9’s, Scan also sells performance car parts did you know! Our sister Company is www.priracing.com

Here is a Supercar that could seat four in comfort, was blessed with a large boot and good reliability, yet could still lap the Nurburgring quicker than a Lamborghini Diablo.

Four-wheel drive and four-wheel steering are just part of the equation.

The R34 GT-R V-Spec (ScanSpecII) modified to approx 420BHp. Stage 1

http://www.scancom.co.uk/product.php/2131/1011/80134434f063c4d1130e48180e4f4775

Ckick above to see the Ferrari Beater

Car Specifications.

• Colour Bayside Blue
• Stage 1 Upgraded to approx 420BHp by RB Motorsport
• Nissan Skyline BNC R34 VspecII – Still considered by many to be the worlds best Overall Super Car –
Twin Turbo – 180+ MPh.
• 4 Wheel Drive – 4 Wheel Steering
• 1 of 80 UK cars (also only 1 of 9 nismo uk press
cars original no plate T9 GTR worth over £3900)
Its the one in all the Video’s – One of the Most famous!
• 69,000 miles
• Mint condition one of the best kept Skylines R34’s in UK
• Inside also mint
• Full PIAA Xenon Lights All Round (£1200)
• Alpine stereo with ipod connector
• Clifford concept auto start alarm
• Full history with Middlehurst and RB Motorsport (Rod Bell – Mr. Skyline)
• New tyers put on Febuary 2006
• New sports exhaust fitted oct 2006 by Rod Bell Motorsport
• Twin HKS sports induction kit, Engine overhauled and ECU Re-Mapped only by Rod Bell Motorsport
• Full leather trip with red piping UK Spec Original
• Full details of parts & work available if required (£7200)
• Fully Serviced every Six Months & Oil Changed every 3000 miles Serviced By Rod Bell (RB Motorsport) Exclusively
• Never Raced or used on a track

Notice to Potential Buyers: Strictly No test Pilots please. If you are under 25 – please check your insurance cost before you go further.

Notice to all Scan Staff – Not Available on Loan File for Evaluation or Testing in Technical Dept!!

Reason for Selling: Purchased without proper consent from the wife. Apparently “do whatever the F**K you want” does not mean what I thought.

Consider this an open thread.

Russia Working on New Carrier Killers

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It’s interesting that Russia is dusting off a 30 year old missile design (the 3M-25 Meteorit, pics are at the end, the first picture is a testbed) that was canceled 30 years ago.

Part of this, when justaposed with the hypersonic testbed, is to show Russian capabilities, but I believe that there is a more direct market that they are addressing, a missile that can credibly threaten a US Carrier Battle Group, particularly the Carrier itself.

With a weight of over 10 tons, and speed and altitude in excess of mach 3 and 20,000 meters, even a few of these, if launched, could inflict serious damage on any ship out there.

Given technological advances, and the fact that a 4000km range would not be needed for attacking carrier battle groups off a country’s shores, I could see a derivative coming in at less than 5 tons.

Russia Rekindles High-speed Cruise Weapons Interest (Paid Subscription Required)
Aviation Week & Space Technology
10/08/2007, page 60

Douglas Barrie
London

Printed headline: Speed Metal

Russia dusted off and declassified an almost 30-year-old missile design for display—the 3M-25 Meteorit supersonic strategic cruise missile—at the recent Moscow air show (MAKS). But why present a program canceled in the early 1990s?

NPO Mashinostroenia’s Meteorit (Meteorite) program had been intended to develop a “universal” cruise missile for air, surface and submarine launch. The turbojet-powered weapon would cruise at 75,000 ft. beyond Mach 3.

…

On display as well at MAKS was a mock-up of the Central Aero-hydrodynamics Institute’s (TsAGI) GLL-AP-02 hypersonic “flying testbed” (shown). This is a notional Mach 6 air vehicle, to fly at 70,000 ft., powered by a Central Institute of Aviation Motors scramjet. TsAGI is looking at potential weapon applications of hypersonic air vehicles.

Here are the pics of the Meteorit


A Strike Deadline is Set For Chrysler

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This Wednesday.

This highly irregular. Normally, the contract negotiated with the target firm is adopted across the industry.

I can think of two potential things driving this, either the differences between GM and Chrysler are driving significantly different contracts, or Cerberus Capital Management is coming from a very different philosophy on running the company.

If it’s the latter, it means that the private equity firm is intending to flip and flee, which is beyond even the incompetent and crony laden management at GM.

I think that it’s the latter, and that Cerberus wants to treat Chrysler like a chop shop treats a stolen car.