offtopic. but sintra you could have waited for the new panda 4×4 😀 bags of fun!

Offtopic alert 😀

The new Panda 4X4 is sold in Portugal, didnt tested it, but tested the 500L.
You wouldnt believe how much space the lugagge of a wife and a four year old kid needs… The Panda might be “bags of fun” (loved when the chaps at top gear climbed the bloody Etna with it!) but its too small for my family.

Cheers

Not the case; Dacia Logan meets all the European safety and emissions regulations. It is as modern as any other but looks retro to protect Renault’s own brand models in Western Europe.

Unlike Dacia Logan, it is not modern.

The 2013 Dacia Logan is built over the Renault B0 platform, in other words its built over the 1998 Clio II platform. Of the three engines that power the Logan, two are modern (0.9 gasoline, 1.5 Diesel) one is not (1.2 gasoline), all the three are woefully underpowered for that car.
Every Dacia till now has “won” a three stars by Euroncap, the industry norm is five stars. Etc.
I have recently changed car, i´ve tested a Dacia Duster, ended up paying a lot more for a Skoda Yeti, gladly i might had.
Dacia are simple, reliable, cheap, good “bang for the buck”, not modern, not secure, not confortable, not good drivers and not “fun” (well, in this last two categories the 4X4 Duster is an exception). But yes, by comparison with the cars that Dacia built a few years ago, the new Logan, the 2012 Sandero Stepway, the Lodgy, etc, are a massive improvement.

Total rubbish! The reason koreans are starving is because of the USA’s ever increasing thirst for profit. Just read the posts before, another 10 or ( much!) more billions for those F-35 or F-15 going in the american militaro-industrial complex’s bag. This is the reason, the HUNDREDS and THOUSANDS of billions they make off “protecting” their “allies” against the evil NK or Iran, or China, or Russia etc. They try their best to maintain strife and discord, they try their best to seed paranoia and suffering in the “evil” countries, especially small ones like NK or Iran, by embargoes, sanctions and all that stuff (remember Iraq and it’s sweet oil? They said themselves they embargoed Iraq through the nineties so that the peoples will get so desperate and starving that they will topple Saddam for them. No, it didn’t happened, although half a million to a million people died- but they don’t count, after all they are only arabs).

Peace in the korean peninsula (or ME etc.) is not an option for USA. Imagine a sudden friendship and cooperation treaty between NK and SK , or some inter-asian agreement between China, Japan, other countries in the area etc, that remove any discord reasons and promotes an Asia for asians policy. The americans will be stuffed! Who will they be selling their ***, all those juicy billions they make off weapons, all the economic coercion and domination of their “allies” there, all that will be gone. Oh no, they don’t want that.

This thirst for profit seems to have developed ever larger during the Cold War and as much as the russians were some sort of buffer ( not that stalinism and bolshevism are to write home about, but they served some interests perfectly, ironically), restricting what they can afford to do worldwide, after 1990 they really went out of control, Iraq, Balkans,Afghanistan, Libya you name it. Someone mentioned policemen, well US is one of those corrupt, violent, greedy policemen, unpredictable and all-powerful (he thinks),ruling through fear, but one that is loathed by everyone who are just waiting and hoping for an opportunity to get rid of him. God help him when he’s down.

NK is a milking cow, privately i’m sure the americans are having a toast for them every day, counting their cash made off their backs, and even if a war will start, which disturbingly some are itching for, they welcome it too, the NK will be easily defeated obviously, but still, that war and “pacification” is going to cost HUNDREDS of billionsor TRILLIONS, so more good times for the US militaro-industrial complex. Besides there’s always China, that is THE cow to milk.

By the way, regarding the militaro-industrial complex, someone mentioned about 9/11 (shamefully used as a justification for the subsequent wars and invasions), i see the far right crowd crying with crocodile tears about their oh so hard worked money spent, 6 trillions or something (without usually mentioning ANYTHING about the MILLIONS of iraqis and afghans killed, crippled or having had their lives and families destroyed), well they should ask themselves WHERE those money went, what did 6 TRILLION bought? They should ask LM and General Motors and Texaco and Armalite and so on, and so on …that’s where their 6 trillions are.

So yes, it is things like the above that makes anyone with a reasonable level of intelligence and education loath and be increasingly disgusted by the americans’ actions on the world scene, just like i do. It’s not the “ungrateful” world’s fault, it’s theirs.

Now i´ve seen it all!

I remember the days when the Typhoon was definitely a deal with India…

Hey, hey…

It can go for Dassault, it can go for Eurofighter, for Boeing, for LM. Its entirely open till the fat lady sings…

Did the course mention the beginnings of the Koean War…the unprovoked invasion of the South in 1950 which led to the United Nations taking action?
Hardly a U.S. only operation.

You are correct that it was not a U.S. only operation, but the invasion was hardly “unprovoked”.

Cheers

But at this stage I can’t blame anyone if they attack NK.

Tu22m

Untill now, and for the last two months, North Korea has only made a fool of themselves, they have not engaged in military actions or even in any sort of mobilization, i cant see in any way a justified pre emptive attack from the south, that wont happen.

Following the rule of thumb for costs of legacy jets, $15B would easily allow you to operate 60-65 jets over a 30 year period.
That’s $5B for procurement (aircraft, initial spares, support equipment and logistics) and another $10B for Operations & Support (training, operations, maintenance and upgrades over the life of the fleet).

Last time i´ve checked there are public available recent reports about cost of acquisition and ownership for the JSF coming from the USAF, US Navy, GAO, the FMS and the Canadian MOD, we dont really need “rule of thumb”.
Multiply those 15 billion by 2 and you have a realistic number.

Here you go:
http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/reports-rapports/ngfc-cng/index-eng.asp#4iv
http://www.dsca.mil/PressReleases/36-b/2008/Israel_08-83.pdf

The same can be said about the other two and the media coverage that is going to shift to the next non news once people get tired of the “OMG! mad evil commie fatso is threatening the Free World® with WWIII”.

Media coverage? Really? Is it me or the fatso has been providing the world wide media with enough entirely idiotic quotes to fill an entire encyclopedia?
Better, when the reaction is not apelative enough they invent new, more bombastic, threats, this at a rate of one by day.
And the fault is in the media?!!!

Hollow threats are that, nothing more nothing less. Trying to look tough against someone that is not a threat unless it feels threatened is irresponsible.

Hollow threats? Are we talking about the same chaps that have recently shelled Yeonpyeong and have been carrying nuclear tests?

And notice how this administration doesn’t look for Congress approval before engaging in another mess.

Oh, yes, American Administrations look for the Congress to provide guidance in external policy… Oh, no, wait…
Remember Bill “Cigar” Clinton sending the USS Independence and the USS Nimitz in a “good will” tour near Taiwan, did he consulted the Congress before issuing orders?
And did Bush Senior asked the Congress for guidance when Kuwait was invaded?
Etc…