I have to disagree here Oren.
First of all, i think the context definately matters. Beginning a sports event with some overt political statement is a bit dubious IMHO. It’s one thing if you start a sporting match with singing anthems, but rallying up nationalistic tendencies for a sporting match by having an orchestrated bash at another nation is something of a different league. Although i could be wrong – it wouldn’t surprise me if a North Korean figure skating contest combines some anti-US-propaganda with it. Somehow it strikes me as a bit dubious coming from a Western democracy (call me biased if you will of course).

Furthermore, burning flags at a political rallye or demonstration does IMHO try to bring forward the idea behind the flag-burning as a point of view beyond just the attendants of that demonstration or rallye. It is a demonstration after all. On the other hand, a sports match (and especially something like US-style show-wrestling) is primarily aimed at an already existing audience, and doesn’t seem to have ‘export of ideas’ as it’s goal. There’s a big difference in preaching for your own parrish and trying to spread the word.

This makes the burning of the French flag at a WWE to me look more like an attempt at entertainment than as a serious political statement. Which IMHO is quite different from burning flags out of political motives.

And burning flags in a private setting is considered the most ‘right’ way to dispose of a flag that is no longer suitable to represent it’s country.

So they have 13 years to come up with a design, find or build a wharf (the Nikolayev shipyards are Ukrainian now), then build the boat, and commission it?

Sure.

Hey, i spent yesterday afternoon having a great time (and drinking lovely Belgian Rheinheitsgebot-beer) in Eupen. Although i guess that the mere thought of a German-language town in the idolated country of Belgium would be heartbreaking 😀

Originally posted by Sauron
I have seen a number of US flags burned in France over the years by any number of jabbering popinjays shouting anti- US slogans. You would argue they have the right and they do and so would most Americans who normally just shrug it off. Your outrage over using the Tricolour as a prop at a WWF match isn’t believable.

I think there is a difference between the desecration of a flag as a political statement, and the desecration of a flag as part of something considered to be entertainment. I’m sure you realise that – although i’d like to see some evidence from MD.

Looking forward to talk with me? Well, i’m definately flattered, but are you really sure… i can be quite an azzhole, as many people here would gladly testify.

While you have been reading up on our ramblings here, perhaps you could introduce yourself a bit more? Where you’re from, if there are any particulair interests, do you like your tea English style or vaguely-coloured-water-Euro-style, just the stuff which might interest us and definately the stuff that surprises us lot.

Welcome to the mudpit!

Depends on what variant you’re talking of. The standard pylons aren’t even pylons, they are fuel tanks. Outward of the engines for the C-130A series, between the engines for later variants. All other pylons are subvariant-specific or just individual modifications. The AQM-34 pylons (if it’s fired from a Herc, it’s an AQM obviously) are for example unique to DC-130s, the refuelling tanks at the same spot where the C-130A’s had their fuel tanks are specific to KC-130/HC-130, the wingtip-pylons with ESM are only to be found on certain British Hercs, there are ECM-racks on a lot of AC-130s and some MC-130s, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

Impossible to describe generally.

Originally posted by plawolf
…nor has there been any evidence of PAF F16s being transfered to china.

I could well be wrong here, but i do think there is a pretty old pic showing (i think it was) our good old comrade Deng at some aircraft institute with an appearant F-16 in the background? It doesn’t mean much though – the Deng days of course being long gone now obviously. It should also be remembered that there was considerable cooperation between the West and the PRC aviation-wise throughout the 1980s, going as far as the project to have China licens-build Harrier GR.3s.

Originally posted by Distiller
Is that the same French Mirage 2k shot down at Pale on 30Aug1995 by Serbs (I suppose IFF didn’t work)?

😀

Still, your remarks don’t say much about the actual growth in M2K capability, nor about the actual cases in which the M2K was/is used. It did perform without any problems (that i know of at least) over Afghanistan, and it was actually the French that did a rather significant part of the PGM-decoy-plinking during Allied Farce. Besides, limiting NATO ops over Bosnia to Deliberate Force only is a bit arbitrary, isn’t it? It just too easily negates the other losses over Bosnia (Etendard, Sea Harrier, Hero of the United States Union Scott O’Grady)

As for the minimal CAP-role given to the M2K’s in 1991, i’m not so sure if the French are to blame for that or if it was decided by the same USAF planners who denied the USN any shots (except for an unplanned F/A-18 vs MiG-21 kill) or who vectored in a Saudi F-15 when it was time to demonstrate the world the Arab contribution in the conflict? After all, the French Jaguars did see plenty of tactical action over Kuwait, whereas the F1CR’s were eventually reluctantly used as well (since the USAF discovered it lacked tactical recce with the RF-4C being on the way out back then).

While the second part of your quote is definately true, it is far more abou the lacking total European C4I infrastructure and/or it’s inability to use it in a ‘expeditionary’ (as if Amendola is expeditionary :rolleyes: ) power-projecting context, than about the actual capability of the aircraft as stand-alone systems. While the latter is of course hardly relevant for actual NATO-style combined ops, it IS relevant when marketing the aircraft abroad. And i don’t think Taiwan is doing such a bad job with it’s M2K’s here.