Earlier today, I visited the USS Iowa museum in San Pedro, California with my sister and two friends, including kelbalrai1990;
http://www.furaffinity.net/user/kelbalrai1990/

It was TOTALLY AWESOME. XD

Even though I've already been to the USS Massachusetts at Fall River, MS, I was dumbfounded by the sheer size of the thing. It was longer than it's airport-sized parking lot --- you need to see an Iowa class Battleship in person to really appreciate how colossal they are!

I took lots of photos on and near the Iowa, which I'll upload to my gallery in the near future.

In the mean time, here's a photo of the USS Wisconsin, one of the Iowa's sister ships, firing it's Mk.7 16in/50 main guns;

https://youtu.be/mkx68UdcPA0

Instead of focusing on developing weapon systems within their capability, it seems Iran would much rather *pretend* to be able to develop more elaborate machines than their technology level allows for.

For instance, we've all heard of the photoshopped images of Iran's Scud missile launches;
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/20.....sile-too-many/

There are many other rants on how lousy their weaponry is, many of which may be found here;
http://beta.ar15.com/archive/topic.html?b=1&f=5&t=792288

So, I'll spare you from having to read about those.


However, there are a few new pieces of equipment they possess (or claim to) that are particularly notable.


First, they claim to have a 4th-gen MBT called the "Zulfiqar III", which looks impressive enough --- except that it's never been seen in public, except atop a lowboy trailer, with the turret traversed to the rear;
http://director.io/tanquesyblindado.....ulfiqar_05.jpg

They took a lot of flak over that, and recently they made a concession to their viewers: they traversed the turret forward;
http://gallery.military.ir/albums/u.....s/_DSC0220.jpg

(sarcasm: on)
WOW!!! The Zulfiqar III can really DO that?! That completely validates it as an effective and ***existing*** operational tank! Who knows, maybe one of these years, we'll get to see the gun elevate and depress!
(sarcasm: off)

So for all we know, Zul-faker III could very well be an empty wooden box, with sandbags in the belly to keep it from being blown off the trailer by random gusts of wind.


Second, Iran has recently developed a WIG-type Flying Boat called the "Bavar-2";
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTIoezhRS3g

Though an impressive technical achievement, I can't help but wonder --- what is it FOR, exactly? It's decribed as having "a machine gun and cameras", which is the only weaponry it looks like it could carry. It's WAY too noisy, clumsy, and reliant on a marine operating environment to make an effective FAC or COIN aircraft, and against warships, I have a hard time seeing it serving as more than a manned target aircraft.

I find the Bavar-2 very hard to take seriously for many reasons, which include this...;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beriev_A-40

...and this...;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P6M_SeaMaster

...and this;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convair_F2Y_Sea_Dart

Those were yesteryear's rejects, and they're all WAY more advanced and powerful than the Bavar-2.


Third, Iran's new ultra-fast torpedo, the "Hoot";
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4871078.stm

...which Iran never mentions is not actually THEIR design;
http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/.....row/shkval.htm


Finally, Iran is also supposedly developing a 5th (6th?) generation Air Superiority Fighter, called the "Morghe Ashura". Here's some concept art that was released for this design;
http://img238.imageshack.us/img238/.....ranianpws8.jpg

Funny, that new Iranian design looks a lot like...;http://acecombat.wikia.com/wiki/XFA-36A_Game

Take a closer look at the relevant image;
http://danymoldo.tripod.com/sitebui.....xfa36agame.jpg

Seriously, WTF Iran? Did they honestly think nobody would notice that the concept art for their "future fighter" looks almost EXACTLY like the XF/A-36A Game from NAMCO's Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere?! the image even has the same color, texture, and resolution as NAMCO's original, and the model has almost all the same seams, angles, and edges --- it's even pointed in PRECISELY the same direction!


To think people take that country seriously as a military threat...

This is NOT a re-dub or a re-cut. This was actually in an episode of GI Joe.

https://youtu.be/_E3N19VnEF4

Talk about accidental crap under the radar!

I've noticed that on Memorial Day, there's a lot of media hype about how we all have to "honor our veterans", and that a surprising number of veterans actually *bask* in this hype.

We have a different holiday for honoring war veterans --- Veteran's Day, hence it's name.

The very name "Memorial Day" means "Day of Remembrance". Specifically, remembering the servicemen who never came home.

That last part is the most important to consider, because there are a lot who went "over there", and never returned with their lives.

I'm not as much of a car guy as I used to be, when I saw this article on the new Lamborghini Urus SUV, all I could think to myself was, "What are they thinking?";
http://www.inquisitr.com/223293/lam.....aked-pictures/

It's truly a dark day when a company with the history and reputation of Lamborghini whores itself out to the masses with SUVs, the lowest common denominator of car sales; the "easy way out".

It's bad enough that Cadillac, Chrysler, and Lincoln have resorted to SUV profits, but it's a new low for the industry that Lamborghini would do the same. Are Bentley, Bugatti, Ferarri, Vector Aeromotive, and Aston Martin next?

Let's also not forget the recent Porsche Cayenne debacle;
http://www.carthrottle.com/the-wors.....-cars-of-2009/

Moreover, they seem they've forgotten about what was possibly the biggest disaster in the history of their company --- the LM002;
http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1658545_1658533_1658530,00.html

The Urus also strongly resembles another infamous SUV catastrophe, the Aztec;
http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1658545_1658544_1658540,00.html

I finally got to hear the soundtrack of Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy, and I call FRANCHISE KILLER;
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.p.....ranchiseKiller

What brought me to drop a bomb like that, you ask? Compare the original soundtrack of Ace Combat 2 to it's replacement in the Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy remake.

Yes, I said REPLACEMENT --- they replaced an entire video game soundtrack, even though it was a classic, and STILL would have fit the game perfectly.


This was the original theme for Operation Toy Box in AC2;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zj5A3WSJtW8

The theme for Operation Toy Box now sounds like this;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iRqiX_wfgM


This absolutely awesome track was the theme for Operation Seagull (and take note that this is universally considered to be THE most popular song ever played in any Ace Combat game); http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEeB2R-outc

Here's Operation Seagull's new theme;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_nLA8dtVs0&feature=relmfu


This is the signature theme of Operation Midnight Assassin in AC2; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEeB2R-outc

This is Operation Midnight Assassin's new theme;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SF82BbIQb8A


This was the theme for Operation Fighter's Honor, the final mission of AC2; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyX-Bco-PVo

This is the new theme for Operation: Fighter's Honor;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5m1tbVBmTZw&feature=relmfu


What the hell are they smoking over there at Namco?! They had a timeless, original, imaginative, and exciting soundtrack, and threw it all away for crap that sounds no different (at best) than that Royalty-Free music that now chokes the internet!

And here I thought they hit rock-bottom with Ace Combat Zero's Anvilicious moralizing, and Ace Combat 6's overly-saccharine theme and soundtrack. I thought they couldn't cheapen their own franchise anymore if they TRIED, but they've hit a new low.

I've finally finished three new pieces of Furry art for upload to FA! They'll be in my gallery in the next day-or-so (barring some unforeseen disaster).

Of course, those of you who don't have an account enabled to view mature artwork won't be able to see them.

A couple more are also in the works, but they'll take longer to upload.

Watch this space --- much intellectual ass-kicking will ensue;
http://forum.worldoftanks.com/index.....1#entry1508431

I've decided that most of the photos currently in my Gallery need to be moved (perhaps ALL of my photos), because it's just too damn crowded.

If you want to see my photos for whatever strange reason, they'll be in my "Scraps" folder.

I've never eaten at Chick-fil-A before, and after reading about THIS, I never will;

http://www.openforum.com/articles/w.....e-man-business

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/.....n_1116695.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/05/u.....il-a.html?_r=1

I shopped in a 99-cents store a while back, and came across an interesting device; an adapter that allows one to play music from a portable MP3 player or CD player though a tape deck.

Though I knew of these for a while, I never expected to find them in a store like this one. Anyhow, I bought it figuring that it was either a really great deal, or if not, it was only out $0.99.


Then later, I examined the package closely. The front of it has graphics of two different car stereos, and if you look closely, you can see that they both have CD slots.


But that's nowhere near as funny as the product description on the front of the package;

The car stereo set broadcasts to convert the machine

Umm..... what?

Even MORE bizarre are the instructions on the back of the package;

1. Check if the conect postrtion (side or front entry) if it is, skip to point5.
2. If not, remove the cover of this Adaptor by loosening the screws with a coin.
3. Reposition the cord to the desirded position (top.middle or button).
4. Replace the cover and screws.
5. Insert this Adaptor plug into the LINE OUT jack (or AUX OUT jack) of your CDPlayer.
6. Tum on your cassette play and insert this Adaptor.
7. Press PLAY on your CD player and adjust the cassette player volume
8. When done, aject this Adaptor like any casserre.

That's exactly how it appears, spelling errors and all. It's not as worrying as the stuck-on warning label with really, REALLY tiny print, though;

STATE OF CALIFORNIA PROP.65 WARNING
This Product Contains DEHP, A Phthlactic Chemical, Lead And Other Chemicals Known To Cause Birth Defects And Other Reproductive Harm.


I'm a bit nervous about using this in a stereo (especially a car stereo, as suggested by the package), but I can't really say I'm disappointed --- it only cost me a dollar.

I've heard that the Military Channel's documentary series Greatest Tank Battles is beginning a second season.

This is an outline of the new episodes;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greate.....es%29#Season_2

While I'm excited to see that the series FINALLY documents the tank battles of the First World War, the Korean War, and the Six Day War, the rest of the season seems to follow the same tired old theme --- World War 2.

There are many tank battles that *I* want to see on Greatest Tank Battles. Here's a wish list;

- Battle of Cuito Cuanavale, 1984, 2nd Bush War
- Battle of Arman, April 24th 1994, Yemeni Civil War
- Battle of Chawinda, 1965, Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
- Battle of Phillora, 1965, Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
- Liberation of Kuwait, 1991, Persian Gulf War
- Battle of Wadi Al-Batin, 1991, Persian Gulf War
- Phase Line Bullet, 1991, Persian Gulf War
- Battle of Tskhinvali, 2008, South Ossetia War
- Battle of Grozny, 1994-95, First Chechen War
- Battle of Wireless Ridge, 1982, Falklands War
- Battle of Jijiga, 1977, Ogaden War
- Iran-Iraq War tank battles
- Spanish Civil War tank battles
- Chaco War tank battles
- Yugoslav Civil War tank battles
- Libyan Civil War tank battles

Contrary to what Greatest Tank Battles would have you believe, most of history's tank battles were not fought in World War 2 --- nor did most of them involve US, British, or German forces.

And furthermore, some of the most amazing tank battles involved armor on only ONE side of the fight, like those fought by the US Army and USMC in Vietnam;
http://www.oocities.org/futuretanks.....operations.htm

http://www.oocities.org/futuretanks.....hillesheel.htm

http://www.rbracing-rsr.com/downloa.....orBattle67.pdf

Yup.

I'm normally very enthusiastic for Battleships, but whoever seriously proposed THIS design had to be on crack;
http://www.cwo.zaq.ne.jp/bface700/bb-tosa.JPG

Last night, at the Upland Brunswick Zone bowling alley, I attended my first FurMeet!

Present at the meeting were Kailin Fox, the head honcho;
http://www.furaffinity.net/user/Kailinfox85

My longtime cohort, KelbArai1990;
http://www.furaffinity.net/user/kelbalrai1990/

Asher_The_Dragon;
http://www.furaffinity.net/user/asherthedragon

Develin;
http://www.furaffinity.net/user/develin

Coolest;
http://www.furaffinity.net/user/coolest/

Ulric Wolf;
http://www.furaffinity.net/user/ulricwolf69

G-Hyena;
http://www.furaffinity.net/user/g-hyena

...and, obviously, myself.

I apologize in advance if I missed one or two.


It was really cool to actually meet other members of the fandom in-person. Several of them wore fursuit costume stuff (never really my thing), but it wasn't quite like a full-blown AnthroCon.
The reception was surprisingly positive; the kids at the bowling alley really digged the Dragon suits, and a couple of guys told G-Hyena, "That's a tight mascot, right there!" LoL

At the bowling lanes, Coolest lived-up to his name, managing the only 3-digit score in Lane 33. The other lane (32) only had Devlin and Asher bowling on it, but they got MUCH higher scores than the rest of us. Out of 7 participants, I scored 4th (cut me some slack though, this was the first time I'd bowled in 15 years!).
G-Hyena and most of the others kept bowling with a 14-pounder, because the finger holes were too small in the lighter ones, but that didn't seem to be a problem with the 7-pounder I used. I kept telling them, "You need to use a lighter Bowling Ball", but I don't think they listened.

Man, that G-Hyena and his 14lb balls... ROFL

Several of us had to wait out in the cold for rides home afterwards, during which Coolest --- who didn't have a jacket --- lived-up to his name in a way no one would have expected. XD
Ulric was thoughtful enough to provide some hand sanitizer, which is generally advisable to use after handling many unfamiliar balls; and even when you think about it THAT way, it's STILL not as gross as the rented bowling shoes. XD XD


All in all, it was awesome!

*UPDATE*

Coolest reminded me of another part of the group who was there on Saturday night;
http://www.furaffinity.net/user/xigbardrake

I probably forgot about him because he wasn't actually bowling (sorry dude).

Funny, isn't it, how the OBOGS (On-Board Oxygen Generator System) of the F-22 doesn't seem to work, despite over 20 years of R&D?

That doesn't seem to be an issue in the OBOGS systems used in other fighters, like the Typhoon, Rafale, Gripen, Mig-35, Su-35, J-10, and dozens of others --- to say nothing of PAST aircraft, like the Su-47 Firkin and F-20 Tigershark.


Even funnier is that not long after this was announced...;
http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/ht...../20110921.aspx

...THIS was announced!;
http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/ht...../20111025.aspx


And all this, after rust problems..;
http://www.strategypage.com/dls/art.....-6-25-2010.asp

...defective stealth materials...;
http://www.flightglobal.com/news/ar.....design-329025/

...jammed canopies...;
http://pogoblog.typepad.com/pogo/20....._this_man.html

...stuff coming unglued...;
http://gizmodo.com/373205/f+22-rapt.....ue-to-bad-glue

...and unexplained crashes...;
http://www.aolnews.com/2010/11/18/s.....t-rate-higher/

...all while delivering only 189 of 750 planned aircraft, in a completely different configuration than originally planned, over 10 years behind schedule, out of an aircraft built in the 2000s, refined in the 1990s, planned in the 1980s, and conceived in the 1970s --- as a means to protect America's discos from the Soviet Union.


It was all going so well!

It turns out it wasn't a crash at all --- it was a Malware program ironically titled "System Restore". Also, though my computer is still pretty messed-up, I've still got all my data and files.

I'm so happy, I could kill someone!
...
Well, not really, but I'm relieved.

Much of what costs so much in the US defense budget are a couple-dozen "big ticket" items, like these;
http://www.acq.osd.mil/ara/am/sar/SST-2010-12.pdf

...but a HUGE portion of the budget is to develop and/or purchase hundreds (if not thousands) of dubious and extraneous pieces of equipment, like this doozie;
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/201.....lightning-gun/

If you think that the JIN was an isolated incident, consider that the DoD is still pouring money into an aircraft project now more than 30 years old... whose product is an aircraft that STILL CAN'T FLY;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SLSiPsoF5Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtrwRaZTaJI


Now, for those of you who think that the JIN was a "really interesting idea", and that "it could have worked better if we only spent more money on it", consider the following facts, that apparently dawned upon nobody in Wired's comment section;
1- IEDs are primarily buried, or covered in debris.
2- Power sources small enough to carry on trucks cannot generate a laser beam powerful enough to destroy a buried or covered IED.
3- When lightning is fired at the ground, it grounds itself, transferring no electricity to anything buried underneath, or covered-up above.

That makes it only too obvious that the people in charge of procurement aren't qualified for that task --- they either don't know their job, or perform it based upon interests other than providing the US military with the best equipment for the money spent.

Like the title says.

The good news is, my files are apparently all still there, so I can recover them all somehow.

The bad news is, my desktop has been wiped blank --- there isn't even anything in the menu.

When it comes to the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, most people reminisce in the moment, or from the moment forward. However, I find it more interesting to think from the present day back to 9/11/2001, to see how much has been accomplished since then... or lack, threof.


I can't help but wonder... how much safer are we today from a terrorist attack than before 9/11? If it's a great improvement, how long until we lapse back into the habits, attitudes, and policies that allowed the attack to occur in the first place --- as with Pearl Harbor, the Civil War, and the War of 1812 before it?

There are also some things I've noticed about the circumstances surrounding 9/11 and the subsequent wars that the Corporate Media apparently doesn't seem fit for print. And seeing as we stand on the 10th anniversary of that fateful day, I feel these facts need to be more widely-known;
- The Defense budget doubled in the mid-1980s just between two years, then doubled again between then and 2001 --- and they STILL didn't make us safe from a 9/11-sized attack. Since then, the same budget has TRIPLED (has the threat tripled). Yet, we have half the number of ships and aircraft as in the mid-1980s, and half the enlisted personnel.
- We've got no shortage of Flag Officers though, as their numbers in all the services have INCREASED since 1990 --- we have three Admirals for every ship!
- 60% of the US military's total manpower is stationed abroad, in 781+ bases on the soil of more than 50 countries. Most of these are isolated little garrisons of a few-dozen to 1000 personnel; how are we supposed to gather all of these back to the US in the event of a crisis that dwarfs 9/11?
- Adding to those 781 foreign bases are stupid little F-Troop garrisons, like the Manas "Air" Base;
http://www.g2mil.com/OBRAC.htm
- We've installed the owner of the world's largest Heroin ring into power over Afghanistan, and Tehran's right-hand-man into power over Iraq. Will we wait until that decision comes back to bite us in the ass before we remove them, like we did in Panama?
- None of the architects of 9/11 were in Afghanistan when we invaded, and they concocted the attack in the Philippines --- and some are still at large. Why haven't we invaded the Philippines the same way we invaded Afghanistan?
- Our *own intelligence* revealed that Bin Laden didn't know about the 9/11 attacks until he saw them happen on the news; so why did we make HIM Public Enemy #1?
- Al Qaeda's primary demand was the the US pull all it's troops out of Saudi Arabia... and we caved to that demand on August 26th, 2003.
- Al Qaeda was also a CIA creation, concocted to infiltrate and spy on other Islamic terror groups, train CIA agents and mercenaries as an "OPFOR" unit, and funnel men and equipment to Afghanstan to harass the Red Army. They just left Al Qaeda twisting in the wind after the Cold War, so it's hardly surprising that they turned against the US.
- The US goverment literally BRIBED the insurgents in Iraq into a brief quiescence, to help create a false media image of success for the Troop Surge. They did it *again* more recently in Afghanistan, and in both cases these bribes included giving the enemy FIREARMS. Think of the "Oil For Peace" fiasco, but with guns and cash replacing the oil.
- The US government promised no permanant bases in Iraq, and both Bush and Obama promised it personally;
1- http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-m.....bases-in-iraq/
2- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/2498810.....nt-iraq-bases/
...but Obama went back on his word and did it anyway;
http://www.stripes.com/news/panetta.....sence-1.152633
- Remember the ECHELON system built in the Cold War to spy on the Russian, that the Clintonistas used to spy on EVERYONE, promising that would make the world a better place? It did nothing to warn us in advance of 9/11.

Looking into the recent past, I can't help but wonder if it's a mirror image of the immediate future... including the 9/11 attacks.

...and by "Furry", I mean the real thing --- not the incredibly fat and hairy guy wearing a bunny-ear tiara (sorry, the stereotype was too damned funny not to invoke! XD).

Would you flaunt your awesomeness, or hide from the public eye? Would you change your daily routine or your profession? Would you rather be a Human again?


I'm not really sure what brought-on that question, but I'm curious to hear what you guys would do in this position.

Now, you'd never know from the MRE reviews in my Journals, but I can actually cook pretty darned well; and this is one of my favorite recipes.


If you've has Salisbury Steaks before in a cheap restaurant, a cafeteria, or from a frozen dinner, chances are you've probably had little more than a hamburger patty, a slice of meatloaf, or a slab of random minced beef --- with or without a gravy, which may also be crudely made (and often without mushrooms).
If that's the case, you've been had; a Salisbury Steak is a specially seasoned dish, not just a bunless "gravy burger".

But seriously, why settle for someone else's lousy imitation, when you can cook it at home?


Ingredients:

1lb Lean Ground Beef

1 Egg

1/3 cup Bread Crumbs

1/3 cup Finely Chopped Onion

1tb Prepared Horseradish

2tb Milk

1tsp Ground Black Pepper

1tsp Salt

1tb Onion Powder

1tb Garlic Powder

12oz of Beef Gravy

1 1/2 cup of Sliced Fresh Mushrooms

3 servings of Cooked Egg Noodles

Butter

Yield: 4 Servings

Directions

Mix the beef, egg, bread crumbs, onion, horseradish, milk, and seasonings in a large bowl --- the best way to do this is with your hands. Form the mixture into 4 flat, oval-shaped patties.

Next, melt the butter in a frying pan over medium heat, and add the patties when the butter begins to brown. Fry the patties in a skillet over medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes, turning once, until they're cooked through. Set aside the patties and keep them warm

Lastly, with the drippings still in the pan, add the gravy and mushrooms, and cook over medium for 3 to 5 minutes. If you're using an "instant gravy", add the water first, then whisk-in the mix.

Serve the patties over cooked egg noodles, and gravy poured over the top.

Recommended side dishes; Mashed Potatoes and Green Beans.


Lastly, here's a couple important notes about the ingredients;
1- Make sure you chop those onions small, or they'll make the patty crumbly!
2- Most recipes for Salibury Steak don't call for onion powder or garlic powder, but I find that they're essential for a rich, savory flavor.
3- Use both the whites AND the yolk from the egg.
4- "Prepared Horseradish" is horseradish that's been ground or grated into a paste, and is found in most grocery stores --- do NOT use horseradish mustard or horseradish mayonnaise!
5- Mushroom gravy works well too (duh).
6- I used White Mushrooms in this recipe --- I have no idea how other mushrooms would taste in this dish.

My theory is that whatever company came up with this thing had to have a clueless CEO, and lots of yes-men, because...

...well, I mean LOOK at this thing;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbsSeVr5NSI

So, who else ROFL'ed at it?

I've been giving a lot of thought to the Joint Strike Fighter Debacle lately, and I can't help but wonder what disasters this project is a primer for.
Drawing upon my knowledge (some of which, I will admit, is limited) of aviation history and current fighter technology trends,

Why, you ask? Partly so that I can say "I told you so!", but mostly to show that when things go pear-shaped (and they WILL), there will be proof right here that the outcome was obvious all along --- and that if those who had a vested interest in the F-35 knew what was good for them, they would have listened.



These are 20 possibilities I see in the future for the F-35;

1- When it enters full production, the *actual* Unit Cost will be revealed to be over $400 Million.

2- Just the same as Lockheed's PROMISED "1600-mile" range proved to be only 850 miles, and it's PROMISED "22500lb" empty weight proved to be 29300lbs, the other attributes of the F-35 will all prove to be much weaker than the contract required. The 60000ft service ceiling, 50000ft/min climb rate, 13000lb payload, 50000lb maximum take-off weight, 150-mile scan range, and Mach 1.6 top speed will ALL prove to have been massive overestimates. No one responsible for the F-35 will get in trouble for this.

3- Like the F-111D Raven, the enormous physical complexity, and all-purpose "tri-service" design (i.e., "all-singing and all-dancing") will result in maintenance demands so massive, they will be cannibalized for parts at a rate of one airframe-per-day. No one responsible for the F-35 will get in trouble for this.

4- As the house of cards, FAKE positive image of the F-35 begins to collapse, at least 4 of the 9 participants in the JSF program will drop-out, and buy other aircraft made by other countries.

5- Like the F-22A Raptor before it, a number of additional variants of the F-35 will be proposed --- and also like the F-22A Raptor before it, none will ever be manufactured.

6- Just as with the F-111 Raven, the F-35 will prove to be one of the greatest humiliations in the history of the DoD --- and at the same time, no one responsible for it will get in trouble.

7- Either the F-35 will suffer massive losses in combat over a very short span of time (just like the F-111 Raven before it), or the DoD will find some excuse to keep it out of the combat in the first US war that begins after it officially enters service (like the B-1B Lancer, B-2A Spirit, and F-22A Raptor before it).

8- The first time the US military DOES use F-35s in combat, it will only be against an enemy with little or no fighter cover or SAM systems (or otherwise against an enemy who isn't competent enough to use them, like the B-1B Lancer and B-2A Spirit over Afghanistan and Iraq) so that the F-35 can't lose.

9- There will be a political s***storm when the F-35 fails the combat test in Close Air Support (the role of the A-10 Thunderbolt II that the F-35 is meant to replace).

10- The USAF brass will try to replace the F-15E Strike Eagle with more F-35As, as an excuse to siphon more funding to their future sugar daddies in Lockheed.

11- There will be a scandal when the vertical and horizontal stabilizers of the F-35 begin to demonstrate a tendency to suddenly snap-off during sharp maneuvers and/or high-speed flight. No one responsible for the F-35 will get in trouble for this.

12- By the time the F-35 is fully established in the US military, the 6th Generation of Tactical Fighters will have proliferated into the air forces of multiple threat countries.

13- Many-times-cheaper T-50s, J-20s, and other highly advanced 5th-gen fighters will defeat the F-35 in every merit-based competition.

14- The F-35's wasteful engine, limited internal stowage capacity, lack of rear visibility, large size, and high wing loading will prove it to be poor in combat against fighters, while it's microscopic gun ammo capacity, delicate construction with NO ARMOR (despite being larger and heavier than an A-10!), poor payload, and few weapon stations will prove it ineffective in air-to-ground combat. No one responsible for the F-35 will get in trouble for this.

15- The F-35's complexity, expenses, and hidden flaws will be it's undoing, but the DoD will propose a replacement that promises to be exponentially MORE complex, expensive, and flawed --- and Congress will pick your pocket to fund it. No one responsible for the F-35 will get in trouble for this.

16- Of the 3000+ F-35s originally promised, less than 1000 will be built.

17- The poor performance of the F-35 in combat will quickly result in other fighters constantly supplementing it in combat --- for the USAF's F-35As, most of these will be the A-10s, F-15s, and F-16s it "replaced". No one responsible for the F-35 will get in trouble for this.

18- Just as the USAF will try to invent a new excuse to keep the failed F-35 program alive by proposing that they also replace the F-15 E Strike Eagle, the US Navy will soon try to push the F-35 as an F/A-18E Super Hornet replacement.

19- When it enters service, each F-35 variant will be heavier than they are now, and all will have shorter ranges. No one responsible for the F-35 will get in trouble for this.

20- The because if it's sheer size and degraded Stealth technology (from the F-22), the F-35's Radar Cross Section will prove to be at best no smaller than the comparatively tiny F-16 is was meant to replace. No one responsible for the F-35 will get in trouble for this.


I'll admit that I'm "shotgunning" it, but this is nowhere near Nostradamus' scheme of making THOUSANDS of predictions, so that at least a few could somehow come true.

So, if you read about any of these things happening in the future, remember that I said it was going to happen, way back on March 15th of 2011!

You'd think with a title like that, this journal would be about the dead-end bridge scorched earth "strategy" US troops used in Vietnam, but amazingly enough, we've steered ourselves into the same trap AGAIN in Afghanistan;
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/201.....n-off-the-map/

Of course, in order to save the village, we had to destroy it (sound familiar?).

Having been caught slipping on a 40-year-old Banana Peel, the PR spin-doctors had these flimsy excuses for turning an entire community into homeless refugees;
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/201.....e-village-out/


Not only have the (Br)asshats forgotten the US military's own failings in Vietnam, but they've actually demonstrated the bombastic, in-your-face ignorance to ignore lessons learned from CURRENT EVENTS as well;
http://afpak.foreignpolicy.com/post.....in_afghanistan

Not surprising, given the US military's doctrine for COIN operations;
http://www.infowars.com/flashback-u.....-human-rights/

...as diametrically-opposed to eroding the enemy's base of support, the ONLY conscionable way to defeat an insurgency, and therefore the ONLY way to avoid both foreign and domestic backlash in the long run.

In the words of Colonel David Hackworth;
If you were a student of warfare, as I was, you quickly realized that, tactically, we were not going to win the war and we had to win the people. This was a lesson from the French experience, and it was, as Mao said, "The guerrilla is the fish and the people are the water." If you want to kill the fish, you remove the water. If you want to kill the guerrilla, you remove the people, because they provide all kinds of assistance: medical help, agricultural help, they put out the booby-traps, they provide the intelligence, they provide the trailwatchers. They are the whole sea in which the guerrilla-fish swims.


You want to "win the people" anyway, so why are we turning them into refugees in the most dangerous warzone (and the most HEAVILY-MINED REGION) in the world? How does this erode the enemy's base of support?

It doesn't.

A superb analogy is the old expression, "Cutting of your nose to spite your face";
http://thinkstrat.wordpress.com/201.....ite-your-face/


But at least our *overall strategy* is simple and sound;
http://minnesotaindependent.com/wp-.....9a-580x423.jpg