Steve TouchdownYeah, Jonesey, it’s all made up.
So’s this:
“Subjected to a body search, handcuffed and locked up – this journalist was treated like a criminal,” RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard protested in the letter. He pointed out that in 2003, 12 other journalists were arrested, treated in a similar fashion by immigration officials at Los Angeles airport and subsequently expelled, whereas only one such case was reported at any other US airport. “Los Angeles immigration officials should urgently be informed that such methods must stop,” Ménard said.
Why does personal ignorance of situation(s) make something a “generalisation”?
Steve TouchdownThanks muchly for posting those great ‘Meatbox’ pics, Guys…especially that great-looking FAB one, Adelphi 🙂
Okay, I have to admit I’ve taken the bait from this thread and I’m going to get stuck into those HAF totals, especially the T-Bird one :p
Fantasma, I’ve worked out that the serial list you kindly posted comes from http://www.hellasarmy.gr/t33a.htm I think…but does it say anything there about sources etc. or how recently that list was put together? Only reason I ask is that, after cross-checking a handful randomly, I’ve noticed that a couple operated by 222 MEE fairly late into its existence at Souda, and one in the Ikarus school at Tatoi-Dekelia aren’t listed.
I’ve started to dig around already and one good source, dating back to the late 1970s, suggests that a figure of “over 180 HAF T-Birds is a conservative estimate”.
Art, if you’ve anything lurking on a shelf that may shed some light I’d be morethan happy to hear it too!
Cheers
Steve ~ Touchdown-News
Steve TouchdownFrom 26th May, 2004, so just over a week old:
Brazil minister sees no delay in fighter purchase
Brazilian Defense Minister Jose Viegas said on Wednesday he expects the country to go ahead with the planned purchase of new fighter jets, denying speculation it could be put off.
There has been talk by the bidders in the tender, worth more than $700 million, that President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva could put the purchase on ice because of spending constraints and pressures for funding on social projects.
Shortly after Lula came to power in January 2003, he suspended the tender to focus on social spending and concentrate on his “Zero Hunger” campaign.
The result of the tender, which is set to be Latin America’s biggest arms contract in recent times, was expected during the first half of this year.
“I do not expect the decision to be put off,” Viegas told Reuters in an interview, adding that no date has been fixed for the announcement. “The decision now depends on the president.”
In the running for the contract are Lockheed Martin Corp. with its F-16 fighter, BAE Systems Plc and Sweden’s Saab with the Gripen jet and Russia’s Sukhoi with the Su-35 “Super Flanker.”
France’s Dassault has teamed up with Brazilian airplane maker Embraer to offer a special version of the Mirage strike plane.
The purchase is intended to replace Brazil’s aging fleet of Mirage jets. Viegas said in the interview Brazil was expected to enact a law allowing it to shoot down planes suspected of drug trafficking, following certain strict requirements, which could increase the country’s necessity for the new jets.
Viegas said the defense ministry had completed its part of the tender by elaborating the technical evaluations of the planes, which were sent to the president several months ago.
“The defense ministry has no preference for any plane,” he said.
The final decision will be taken by the country’s national defense council, which includes the president, several ministers and leaders of Congress.
It is up to the president to call a meeting of the council to decide and “we are ready to implement that decision,” Viegas said.
Source: Reuters
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Best regards
Steve Rush ~ Touchdown-News
Steve TouchdownMM: that Carribou is a civil registered one not in the inventory list of the KAF, do you have any details on it, especially why it is in camo?
Was ex-Kenyan AF: 5Y-BEV served as s/n 202 with Kenyan AF (c/n 238) then 5B-CIN now stored at Cape May, NJ as N96NC where I saw it in May 2001 along with about 25 other Caribous, including the another three ex-Kenyan AF examples.
Steve ~ Touchdown-News
Steve TouchdownOne thing I have that’s never been published (so far anyway) is an official list of MAP deliveries. The total shown for F-84G delivered to Greece under the programme is 233, so that figure in the list of 250 isn’t that outlandish.
The T-33s are a *LOT* more complicated: I have confirmation of 78 delivered under MAP (and another 19 RT-33A recce birds) but, as Art and Fantasma will already know, both the HAF and the THK collected dozens and dozens of further T-33s from European NATO countries right through the 1970’s (and just into the 80’s?). I believe the overall total for THK T-33As has been established, but not so for the HAF. 400 does seem a little too high though….
Best regards
Steve Rush ~ Touchdown-News
Steve TouchdownThe “AEW variant” was the still-born EC-130V project for the US Coast Guard that was cancelled through lack of funding. There aren’t any in service: the USCS use modified P-3 Orions as their AEW platform.
The sole EC-130V was already out of USCG service when I saw it at Hill AFB/Ogden ALC, UT in November 1993 awaiting mods and acceptance as a re-designated NC-130H for the USAF. After a few years with the Air Force it then switched to become as US Navy test bed with ‘Force’ at Pax River, MD where I believe it is still used for test and eval on the E-2C’s radar modernisation programme.
Best regards
Steve Rush ~ Touchdown-News
Steve TouchdownItalian authorities to investigate graft case
The Trento prosecutor’s office in northern Italy has issued a warrant for the arrest of former Rosvooruzheniye chief executive officer Yevgeny Ananyev, 56. Rosvooruzheniye was a state-run Russian company responsible for coordinating arms and combat-hardware exports.
Ananyev, as well as Russian citizen Olga Beltsova, 37 and Italian citizen Giulio Rizzo are charged with money-laundering operations; the three persons were apparently bribed during the signing of a contract for the sale of Russia’s Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29 Fulcrum air-superiority fighters to Peru.
Beltsova, who has a little baby, has now been placed under house arrest. Ananyev has gone into hiding; and we don’t know his whereabouts; meanwhile Rizzo is staying in prison, Col. Attilio Iodice, spokesman for the Trentino Alto Adige autonomous region’s financial guard, told RIA Novosti.
RIA Novosti received some documents from top municipal financial-guard officers June 3; such documents note that the Italian tax police have frozen the three persons’ bank accounts at Italian banks in Rome, Milan, Genoa and some other cities during operation Matreshka.
Operation Matreshka was the result of protracted work involving Swiss and Italian investigation divisions. The relevant criminal proceedings were instituted in 2001 by Swiss law-enforcement agencies, which froze the accounts of several Peruvian politicians and military officers at Zurich banks.
All those people were linked with Torres Montesinos, who had signed a contract with Rosvooruzheniye for the purchase of three MiG-29 aircraft worth $117 million in 1998 on behalf of the Peruvian Government. Former KGB general and former Rosvooruzheniye CEO Ananyev acted as Montesinos’ partner.
Investigators have established that Montesinos and Ananyev received illegal “commission” to the tune of $18.4 million, what with the Peruvian citizen getting nearly $11 million. Ananyev was entitled to the remaining sum total.
Ananyev deposited about $5 million at the Lugano-based Adamas bank soon afterward. Ananyev had no trouble opening accounts at that bank because he had served as president of Russia’s MAPO-Bank at that time. Small tranches were subsequently remitted to Italy and deposited on the accounts of Ananyev’s girlfriend Beltsova. According to the Italian prosecutor’s office, financial consultant Rizzo handled the money after that.
In September 2001 Italian law-enforcement officers searched Ananyev and a Russian eye specialist, who was accompanying him, in Milan’s Malpensa airport, subsequently finding hand-written documents, which dealt with financial aspects of the MiG-29 graft case.
In March 2004 the Zurich prosecutor’s office provided the Trento prosecutor’s office with detailed information pertaining to specific violations on the part of Montesinos and Ananyev. Prosecutors in Peru also received similar information.
Acting on orders from the Trento prosecutor’s office, the financial guard’s tax-police service tracked numerous bank transfers involving these people. Italian authorities subsequently obtained ample evidence of money-laundering operations in Italy.
Source: Pravda (4th June, 2004)
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Steve Rush ~ Touchdown-News
Steve TouchdownThere is a nice ‘underground’ trade in these aircraft, keeping track of them is really difficult. Which is nice, at least it gives us enthousiasts a little do dig for.
Art,
guess you’ve already picked-up on some of the ex-Czech AF stock of Frogfeet at Prerov have upped-roots and been shipped to Kazakhstan?
Cheers
Steve ~ Touchdown-News
Steve TouchdownYep stick it up to £1 a litre, I have no problem with that whatsoever.
Petrol prices in REAL terms have never been lower.
If it’s so expensive then why:
1) Do almost all the kids in my 5 year-old daughter’s class get driven a mile to and from school every day in Shoguns, Land Rover Discoveries and Volvo estates?
2) Did it take me almost six hours to drive to Monmouth from Surrey last Friday (avoiding both rush hours)?
3) Every time I go to fill up I have to queue for fuel when the forecourt has 8 pumps?
Paying too much?? Don’t make me laugh!
It’s BEER that should be cheaper not petrol!
Steve
p.s. couple of talk radio stations here, and their callers, seem to think fuel is much cheaper in France. Ask Hand how much it now costs to use the Peage compared to even 3 or 4 years ago. We spent the equivalent of a year’s UK road fund licence during a 3 week trip to France last year on tolls.
Steve TouchdownGod this place gets worse week by week.
New Iraqi AF? Try 16 x UH-1H and 2 (rising to 5) C-130B Hercules all, allegedly, coming from Royal jordanian AF stocks (for which the RJAF will probably receive UH-60L Black Hawks from the US via FMS).
The first Iraqi UH-1H crews have just qualified on the Hueys in Jordan at Amman.
Proposals for supply of the “aerial surveillance platforms” were due to close on May 21st and the delivery schedule was notified as follows:
AIRCRAFT DELIVERY PLAN:*The Contractor shall deliver new, fully integrated and operational aircraft systems to Basrah International Airport, in Iraq, FOB Destination.*The aircraft will be delivered IAW the following schedule based on the date of contact award.*The aircraft must be fully certified to FAA Part 23 at the time of delivery.*Aircraft numbers 1 and 2 shall be delivered 30 days after contract award (DAC); aircraft numbers 3 and 4 shall be delivered 90 DAC; aircraft numbers 5 and 6 shall be delivered 120 DAC; aircraft numbers 7 and 8 shall be delivered 180 DAC.*
F-15s? F-16s?! AH-64s?! 😮
Ciao!
Steve ~ Touchdown-News
Steve TouchdownRussian and Chinese aircraft – obsession in this forum ??
It obviously reflects the real knowledge and first-hand experience of 90% of posters to this forum: ie they know nothing except what they’ve found via Google on the web and the closest they’ve come to real, live military hardware are CGI images of some Chinese student’s wet dream fantasy.
Have fun while I’m away, Kids…off to see some aeroplanes again 😀
Steve TouchdownSome nicely-timed PR:
M+W Zander US Operation Inc., Plano, Texas, was awarded on May 18th, 2004, a $31,676,996 firm-fixed-price contract for design and construction of military facilities. Work will be performed at various locations within Israel, and is expected to be completed by Aug. 17th, 2005. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. There were 50 bids solicited on Dec. 23rd, 2003, and six bids were received. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Germany, is the contracting activity (W912GB-04-C-0021).
Somehow I don’t think they’ll be rebuilding the zoo that Flood mentioned.
Steve TouchdownSame as last summer’s…and One could almost say inspired by Robbo’s! 😀
Taken in the garden at the Harrow Inn on Farleigh Common…just t’other side of Selsdon from where Robbo hangs out by the looks of it.
Ahhh those long summer days.
Steve
Steve TouchdownIt always puts a wry smile on my face when I hear both American and Jewish-Israelis come up with that old chestnut to justify recent internal outrages: that Israel is “the only democracy in the Middle-East”.
If there has been a more blatant case of gerrymandering to make the term “democracy” completely meaningless, then maybe somebody could point us to it?
No wonder Dame Shirley Porter feels so at home there…I’m sure Israeli gerrymandering was the inspiration for her Westminster Council plans.
Steve
Steve TouchdownThink it was Kirk Brandon, a close friend of Boy George according to the courts…;)
Those were the ones that happened to be playing as I typed – it has just finished Iggy Pops Lust For Life and gone into The Skids Into The Valley…So next will be Buzzcocks and Boredom!
Yesterday I was playing The Chemical Brothers – go figure!;)Flood.™
“B’dum, b’dum”
Ahh yeah…that be he…of bleached white hair and Billy Idol sneer. Come to think of it I reckon I saw them as ToH at the Music Machine on Camden Lock so they must have been SoD by the time of the St.Albans gig.
Used to love the Buzzcocks but the only member of the band from that “Spiral Scratch” era I still listen to now is Howard Devoto…”The Correct Use of Soap” by Magazine is one of my all-time fave LPs…John McGeoch’s (a recent RIP, sadly) guitar on that is a work of pure genius. Also saw him play with Siouxsie and the Armoury Show (a Skids link!!).
Chemical Bros are cool too…go figure 😀
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