So we are not supposed to have owr own gps, airliner jets, 5th gen fighters. How about television sets or pc’s, are we allowed to develop them, or we need also permission from uncle Sam? In a free market it seems that some countries wanna be more “free” than the others which is reminding of the way the WarPac functioned in political and economic ways… In a free democratic and capitalist world, after winning the cold war, we are supposed to have gotten rid of monopolies, right???

Surprisingly there are people who actually think that way… If it wasn’t scary it would be hilarious…

PS1 I suggest to the Under Secretary of the Air Force to bomb, in case of war, the factory that manufactured those terrible terrorist weapons situated in Everret WA, as well as arresting and executing those Federal Administration executives and military personel responsible for selling F-16 technology to China ( via Israel)…

PS2 Unfortunately Kubrik is dead so there is little chance for a Dr.Strangelove PartII, in the current context of events…

When…

Well, this is a proposed upgrade for a possible sale, so until ink has been put to paper and we know all the details, it sounds more like a sales brochure. The Block 30’s were offered for sale without finding a buyer and earlier plans had left them out of a possible upgrade. Later other proposals came up with the latest having MMC for all blocks, when earlier proposals were considered the possibility of retaining the GAC for financial reasons, and so on… Taking into account the 145 combat helicopters program that is ongoing for years along with the financial problems of SPEWS for the THK Block 50’s, things are not certain even after the signing of contracts. Such news should be taken with a grain of salt imho, especially when at the same time there is talk for 25-30 Typhoons and 48 more T2020’s…

In any case the matter is interesting…

Arthur may remember a Greek M2K pilot that made an emergency landing on rail tracks in February 1991 and was later repaired…

Cypriot protests after Israeli jets force airliner into flight control zone
LARNACA, Cyprus, Oct 5 (AFP) –

The Cypriot authorities issued a strong protest Tuesday after Israeli warplanes forced a German airliner into their flight control zone without prior authorization amid a bomb alert.

The foreign ministry summoned the Israeli ambassador over the action taken against the Tel Aviv-bound Lufthansa flight, the privately run Sigma television channel reported.

Public television said protests would also be filed with the international civil aviation authorities as well as the Israeli communications ministry.

“The plane was escorted by Israeli jets to some 60 nautical miles off the Larnaca coast before retreating,” complained Communications Minister Haris Thrasou.

“Israel would not allow the plane to land.”

The distance is outside Cypriot airspace but well within the Nicosia flight information region covered by control towers on the Mediterranean holiday island.

Six hours after the Boeing 747 touched down here at 3:08 pm (1208 GMT), the 331 passengers and 18 crew who had left Frankfurt at 10:10 am (0810 GMT) were still on the ground, AFP correspondents on the scene said.

Sniffer dogs had already searched both cockpit and cabin and given the all clear. Cargo was also unloaded and re-inspected.

In Berlin, a Lufthansa spokeswoman told AFP that the bomb alert had been discounted from the outset.

“We came to the conclusion with the German authorities that this alert was not serious. We wanted to fly through to Tel Aviv but the Israeli authorities forced us to land in Larnaca,” she said.

Cyprus Justice Minister Doros Theodorou said the aircraft had only been allowed to land at Larnaca without the normal clearance “for humanitarian reasons”.

Military sources in Jerusalem confirmed that the bomb scare aboard the airliner had prompted the air force to be put on “very high alert”.

The internet edition of Israel’s Haaretz newspaper said F-16 fighter jets were scrambled to escort the plane and keep it out of Israeli airspace.

Copyright 2004 Agence France Presse

http://www.turkishpress.com/turkishpress/news.asp?ID=29699

It seems that the Nikeforos/Toros LIVEX cancellations came in the right moment…

In any case I have to agree with Arthur about the paranoia bit, a prank call is not reliable intelligence, and although it should be taken seriously until investigated, there are ROE and criteria to be met before a shoot down…

In any case it was a good chance for the IDF/AF to make “good publicity”, and it would be interesting if Syria wold take the diverted plane instead… 😉

Well, terrosism is taking schoolchildren hostages and exploding the school. Terrorism is also an AH-64 shooting on apartment buildings or people in the street…

So instead of going into this discussion let’s just concentrate on the topic at hand, and whether these stories hold any grain of truth in them, or in the age of information PsyOps are more hard to distinguish…? 😮

The photo appeared on the Greek newspaper Imerissia, although there is a larger version that shows the rest of the plane. As you can see half of the fin and 90+% of the rudder are gone…

Special thanks to George Psarras for the heads up…!!!