Iran's Press TV said that the Iranian army's "electronic warfare unit" brought down the drone on 4 December as it was flying over the city of Kashmar, about 140 miles (225km) from the Afghan border.
The drone incident came at a time of heightened political tension over Iran's controversial nuclear program the West suspects is aimed at developing atomic weapons. The United States and Israel said they were considering “all options” on Tehran, if diplomacy fails to resolve the dispute.
During a news conference in Washington Thursday, U.S. President Barack Obama said Iran has a clear choice — to end its pursuit of atomic weapons in favor of a peaceful nuclear program or continue to resist global pressure and face increased isolation.
Mr. Obama said “Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons is contrary to U.S. security interests, as well as to the national interests of U.S. allies, including Israel, and Washington will work with the world community to prevent that.”
The agreement by investor Warren Buffett's MidAmerican Energy Holdings to buy a $2-billion photovoltaic farm in San Luis Obispo County could bring a ray of financial sunshine to the battered solar-energy industry.
The scale of Buffett's foray into this sector of the renewable energy scene is considerably more modest than his $34-billion purchase of BNSF Railway, but it could provide the same kind of boost to the solar power business that the 2009 acquisition did to the railroad industry, experts said.
"In a lot of ways, this is classic Warren Buffett," said Bruce Bullock, executive director of the Maguire Energy Institute at Southern Methodist University. "He comes into an industry that is starving for capital investment. At the same time, this is something that also tells people it's time to take solar power seriously."
MidAmerican is buying the 550-megawatt, thin-film photovoltaic solar energy development called Topaz Solar Farm from First Solar Inc. of Tempe, Ariz., the two companies said Wednesday. How much the Berkshire Hathaway Inc. subsidiary is paying for the solar project, which will be able to generate electricity for about 160,000 homes, wasn't disclosed.
The contract, which locks in relatively high power rates, was one of the things that attracted MidAmerican, said Greg Abel, chairman and chief executive of the Des Moines energy company. Abel said that solar power projects have to prove that they can be worthy of financing without the backing of a federal loan guarantee.
"We had to take the perspective that we can finance this project in the traditional capital markets, and we believe it can be," Abel said. "We believe the underlying cost structure of their technology is very reasonable. Their technology is proven and can be implemented at a utility scale level."
MidAmerican has made other significant investments in renewable energy, he said, adding that it will have a total of about 3,300 megawatts of wind power in its portfolio by the end of 2012. Abel said MidAmerican will look at more deals in the future.
The US says simply that its Sentinel had a malfunction, but the plane is supposed to have a failsafe back-up system that automatically steers it back to base if contact is lost with its controller.
The base in this case is Shindand in western Afghanistan, a former Soviet airbase from where US-operated drones are used to monitor the movements of Taliban insurgents and smugglers along the long border with Iran.
...
Above all, they must be asking: does Iran really have the capacity to intercept transmissions between our stealth drones and our controllers on the ground?
New applications for US unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week by 23,000 to a seasonally-adjusted 381,000, the Labor Department said Thursday, hitting the lowest level since February.
...
US stock futures pared some losses immediately after the report, to trade slightly higher.
There has been a lot of talk in the press lately about a “cold war” being waged by the United States, Israel and other U.S. allies against Iran. Such a struggle is certainly taking place, but in order to place recent developments in perspective, it is important to recognize that the covert intelligence war against Iran (and the Iranian response to this war) is clearly not a new phenomenon.
...
All eyes were on this covert intelligence war after The New York Times published an article Jan. 15 reporting that the United States and Israel worked together to create and launch Stuxnet against the Iranian nuclear program. The visible events related to the intelligence war maintained a relatively steady pace until Oct. 11, when the U.S. Department of Justice announced that two men had been charged in New York with taking part in a plot by the Iranian Quds Force to kill Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States, Adel al-Jubeir, on U.S. soil.
...
The United States is currently in the process of completing the withdrawal of its combat forces from Iraq. With the destruction of the Iraqi military in 2003, the U.S. military became the only force able to counter Iranian conventional military strength in the Persian Gulf region. Because of this, the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq will create a power vacuum that the Iranians are eager to exploit. The potential for Iran to control a sphere of influence from western Afghanistan to the Mediterranean is a prospect that not only frightens regional players such as Israel, Saudi Arabia and Turkey but also raises serious concerns in the United States.
A major Syrian oil pipeline was attacked, adding further stress to an economy buckling under sanctions and widespread fuel shortages, as talks continued to let Arab observers into the country to stem the violence that took 13 more lives ...
That prayer, it can move mountains, but explosive demolition does it quicker.
City investigators have confirmed that a new Bronx high school principal made bizarre sexual remarks to staffers that included x-rated cravings for inanimate objects, The Post has learned.
...
As The Post reported last month, Chase also alluded to receiving sexual gratification from a full-service copy machine by marveling that “it even has a hole in it where you can stick your d--k in and get a blow job.”
He told another staffer who inquired what a server is, “This part is for storage. This part is for filing. Oh, and this part is where I stick my d--k and get a blow job,” the report said.
Mike DuHaime, a top political adviser to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Romney supporter, summed up the prevailing view among strategists toward Romney’s campaign.
“This is going to be a tough fight,” DuHaime said. “It always was going to be.
The wrong thing to do at this point would be to panic and prematurely deviate from the plan.” But he added, “I think they should, and will, begin to contrast with Newt fairly soon to slow his momentum.”
The E.C.B. lowered its growth projections Thursday, saying that output could fall as much as 0.4 percent next year.
Lower interest rates will be particularly welcome in countries like Portugal and Italy, where the debt crisis has pushed up interest rates and made it harder for businesses to get loans. And the cuts will provide immediate relief to the many homeowners in Ireland and other euro countries who have variable-rate mortgages tied to the central bank’s rate.
But many economists continue to argue that ultimately the European Central Bank will have to intervene more aggressively in the region’s government bond markets, to prevent borrowing costs for Italy and other countries from becoming so high that they are unable to refinance their debt.
A Canadian and an American were hunting in Canadian woods when a Mexican runs across the field and the Canadian shoots him in the back and kills him. "You can't do that!" cried the American.
"No, no, it's legal here in Canada" replies the Canadian.
Later that night the American goes and buys some beer and puts it on the roof of his truck to open the door. Just then a Mexican runs by, grabs the beer, and runs away. The American thinks "No problem" and he shoots him in the back and kills him. As he is getting his beer the police come and arrest him. "But I thought it was legal to shoot Mexicans here in Canada!" protests the American.
"Well yeah," says the cop, "but you can't use bait."
Australian scientists on Thursday hailed the discovery of a pair of insect-like eyes belonging to a freakish prehistoric super-predator which trawled the seas more than 500 million years ago.
...
The fossil had been pushed from the sea floor at about the same speed human fingernails grow and eventually ended up on Kangaroo Island -- now a hotbed of Cambrian artefacts -- off Adelaide in South Australia.
...
Though anomalocaris specimens had been found before in Canada and China, Kangaroo Island was the first place an intact eye had been discovered, due to the unique shale rock it was trapped in, which had once been "zero oxygen" mud.
But there has been no significant dip in the volume of drugs moving across the country. Reports of human rights violations by police officers and soldiers have soared.
...
The death toll is greater than in any period since Mexico’s revolution a century ago, and the policy of close cooperation with Washington may not survive.
“We need to concentrate all our efforts on combating violence and crime that affects people, instead of concentrating on the drug issue,” said a former foreign minister, Jorge G. Castañeda, at a conference hosted last month by the Cato Institute in Washington. “It makes absolutely no sense for us to put up 50,000 body bags to stop drugs from entering the United States.”
Talk about a bonehead move.
ReplyDeleteIranian hackers hijacked the the thing.
ReplyDeleteIran's Press TV said that the Iranian army's "electronic warfare unit" brought down the drone on 4 December as it was flying over the city of Kashmar, about 140 miles (225km) from the Afghan border.
ReplyDeleteKeep in mind the potential calamity if we decide to go hot to attempt to destroy Iranian nuclear.
ReplyDeleteWhat could possibly go wrong?
How about this scenario?
ReplyDeleteThe geniuses at the Pentagon couldn’t figure out how to put a few self-destruct explosives
in that thing if she’s flying over hostile territory?
That figures.
The Iranians didn't just jam the signal, they also told the drone to turn off its' engines and descend for a soft-ish landing.
Fire the top 3 ranking stars with top war monger Leon Panetta.
Chinese reverse engineering has already begun.
ReplyDeleteThey managed to do TWO things.
ReplyDeleteFirst, they broke its tether (hijacked the signal,) and
Second, they overcame its instructions in its onboard computer to "go home" if it loses its signal.
Obviously, the poor, ignorant darlink thought it was still talking to "Reno."
The Chinese may not even bother with reverse engineering that piece of crap.
ReplyDeleteTom Clancey said twenty years ago that the Iranians were better at this "electronics" thing than we were giving them credit for.
ReplyDeletejenny said...
ReplyDeleteChinese reverse engineering has already begun.
In an ideal world, the cost of China getting that aircraft would be a 20% tariff on all their junk, but that's just me.
The interesting question, to me, is: did the Iranians learn how to do this from "the Russians/Chinese," or did they figure it out on their own?
ReplyDeleteIf they figured it out on their own the Chinese/Russians will probably be much more interested in what they did than they are in the drone, itself.
The drone incident came at a time of heightened political tension over Iran's controversial nuclear program the West suspects is aimed at developing atomic weapons. The United States and Israel said they were considering “all options” on Tehran, if diplomacy fails to resolve the dispute.
ReplyDeleteDuring a news conference in Washington Thursday, U.S. President Barack Obama said Iran has a clear choice — to end its pursuit of atomic weapons in favor of a peaceful nuclear program or continue to resist global pressure and face increased isolation.
Mr. Obama said “Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons is contrary to U.S. security interests, as well as to the national interests of U.S. allies, including Israel, and Washington will work with the world community to prevent that.”
The agreement by investor Warren Buffett's MidAmerican Energy Holdings to buy a $2-billion photovoltaic farm in San Luis Obispo County could bring a ray of financial sunshine to the battered solar-energy industry.
ReplyDeleteThe scale of Buffett's foray into this sector of the renewable energy scene is considerably more modest than his $34-billion purchase of BNSF Railway, but it could provide the same kind of boost to the solar power business that the 2009 acquisition did to the railroad industry, experts said.
"In a lot of ways, this is classic Warren Buffett," said Bruce Bullock, executive director of the Maguire Energy Institute at Southern Methodist University. "He comes into an industry that is starving for capital investment. At the same time, this is something that also tells people it's time to take solar power seriously."
MidAmerican is buying the 550-megawatt, thin-film photovoltaic solar energy development called Topaz Solar Farm from First Solar Inc. of Tempe, Ariz., the two companies said Wednesday. How much the Berkshire Hathaway Inc. subsidiary is paying for the solar project, which will be able to generate electricity for about 160,000 homes, wasn't disclosed.
Buffet Buys $2 Billion Solar Farm
You know what a sucker Buffet is; he'll fall for anything.
This should be a lesson to someone, but odds are it won’t be.
ReplyDeleteMsybe it’s a head fake loaded with Stuxnet 2.0.
ReplyDeleteThe Stock Prices of Both Companies went up.
ReplyDeleteFirst Solar is the Premier Solar Company in the World, and says they will be making Solar Panels for $0.52/Watt within a year, or so.
The contract, which locks in relatively high power rates, was one of the things that attracted MidAmerican, said Greg Abel, chairman and chief executive of the Des Moines energy company. Abel said that solar power projects have to prove that they can be worthy of financing without the backing of a federal loan guarantee.
ReplyDelete"We had to take the perspective that we can finance this project in the traditional capital markets, and we believe it can be," Abel said. "We believe the underlying cost structure of their technology is very reasonable. Their technology is proven and can be implemented at a utility scale level."
MidAmerican has made other significant investments in renewable energy, he said, adding that it will have a total of about 3,300 megawatts of wind power in its portfolio by the end of 2012. Abel said MidAmerican will look at more deals in the future.
The US says simply that its Sentinel had a malfunction, but the plane is supposed to have a failsafe back-up system that automatically steers it back to base if contact is lost with its controller.
ReplyDeleteThe base in this case is Shindand in western Afghanistan, a former Soviet airbase from where US-operated drones are used to monitor the movements of Taliban insurgents and smugglers along the long border with Iran.
...
Above all, they must be asking: does Iran really have the capacity to intercept transmissions between our stealth drones and our controllers on the ground?
New applications for US unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week by 23,000 to a seasonally-adjusted 381,000, the Labor Department said Thursday, hitting the lowest level since February.
ReplyDelete...
US stock futures pared some losses immediately after the report, to trade slightly higher.
There has been a lot of talk in the press lately about a “cold war” being waged by the United States, Israel and other U.S. allies against Iran. Such a struggle is certainly taking place, but in order to place recent developments in perspective, it is important to recognize that the covert intelligence war against Iran (and the Iranian response to this war) is clearly not a new phenomenon.
ReplyDelete...
All eyes were on this covert intelligence war after The New York Times published an article Jan. 15 reporting that the United States and Israel worked together to create and launch Stuxnet against the Iranian nuclear program. The visible events related to the intelligence war maintained a relatively steady pace until Oct. 11, when the U.S. Department of Justice announced that two men had been charged in New York with taking part in a plot by the Iranian Quds Force to kill Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States, Adel al-Jubeir, on U.S. soil.
...
The United States is currently in the process of completing the withdrawal of its combat forces from Iraq. With the destruction of the Iraqi military in 2003, the U.S. military became the only force able to counter Iranian conventional military strength in the Persian Gulf region. Because of this, the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq will create a power vacuum that the Iranians are eager to exploit. The potential for Iran to control a sphere of influence from western Afghanistan to the Mediterranean is a prospect that not only frightens regional players such as Israel, Saudi Arabia and Turkey but also raises serious concerns in the United States.
War Against Iran
Kind of puts those unmanned (stealthy) drones in a new light, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteThis picture on Drudge will make What is "Occupation" blow his stack.
ReplyDeleteIf Obama wins in 2012 - they will say the antichrist won.
ReplyDeleteIf Obama loses in 2012 - they will say the antichrist lost this time.. praise the power of prayer.
The Wall Street Journal reports
ReplyDeleteA major Syrian oil pipeline was attacked, adding further stress to an economy buckling under sanctions and widespread fuel shortages, as talks continued to let Arab observers into the country to stem the violence that took 13 more lives ...
That prayer, it can move mountains, but explosive demolition does it quicker.
Japan's snack industry operates under the assumption that something new has to be offered every week or so.
ReplyDeleteWhich explains Clam Chowder Doritos
So, Warren Buffet's making Very Large Investments in Solar, and Wind. My, my.
ReplyDeleteClam chowder doritos? Seriously?
ReplyDeletelink
ReplyDelete...a shot of Glenmorangie...
Seriously, Sam.
ReplyDeleteClam Chowder Doritos.
City investigators have confirmed that a new Bronx high school principal made bizarre sexual remarks to staffers that included x-rated cravings for inanimate objects, The Post has learned.
ReplyDelete...
As The Post reported last month, Chase also alluded to receiving sexual gratification from a full-service copy machine by marveling that “it even has a hole in it where you can stick your d--k in and get a blow job.”
He told another staffer who inquired what a server is, “This part is for storage. This part is for filing. Oh, and this part is where I stick my d--k and get a blow job,” the report said.
Mike DuHaime, a top political adviser to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Romney supporter, summed up the prevailing view among strategists toward Romney’s campaign.
ReplyDelete“This is going to be a tough fight,” DuHaime said. “It always was going to be.
The wrong thing to do at this point would be to panic and prematurely deviate from the plan.” But he added, “I think they should, and will, begin to contrast with Newt fairly soon to slow his momentum.”
I'm waiting for Bloody Mary Doritos.
ReplyDeleteThe E.C.B. lowered its growth projections Thursday, saying that output could fall as much as 0.4 percent next year.
ReplyDeleteLower interest rates will be particularly welcome in countries like Portugal and Italy, where the debt crisis has pushed up interest rates and made it harder for businesses to get loans. And the cuts will provide immediate relief to the many homeowners in Ireland and other euro countries who have variable-rate mortgages tied to the central bank’s rate.
But many economists continue to argue that ultimately the European Central Bank will have to intervene more aggressively in the region’s government bond markets, to prevent borrowing costs for Italy and other countries from becoming so high that they are unable to refinance their debt.
A Canadian and an American were hunting in Canadian woods when a Mexican runs across the field and the Canadian shoots him in the back and kills him. "You can't do that!" cried the American.
ReplyDelete"No, no, it's legal here in Canada" replies the Canadian.
Later that night the American goes and buys some beer and puts it on the roof of his truck to open the door. Just then a Mexican runs by, grabs the beer, and runs away. The American thinks "No problem" and he shoots him in the back and kills him. As he is getting his beer the police come and arrest him. "But I thought it was legal to shoot Mexicans here in Canada!" protests the American.
"Well yeah," says the cop, "but you can't use bait."
Australian scientists on Thursday hailed the discovery of a pair of insect-like eyes belonging to a freakish prehistoric super-predator which trawled the seas more than 500 million years ago.
ReplyDelete...
The fossil had been pushed from the sea floor at about the same speed human fingernails grow and eventually ended up on Kangaroo Island -- now a hotbed of Cambrian artefacts -- off Adelaide in South Australia.
...
Though anomalocaris specimens had been found before in Canada and China, Kangaroo Island was the first place an intact eye had been discovered, due to the unique shale rock it was trapped in, which had once been "zero oxygen" mud.
But there has been no significant dip in the volume of drugs moving across the country. Reports of human rights violations by police officers and soldiers have soared.
ReplyDelete...
The death toll is greater than in any period since Mexico’s revolution a century ago, and the policy of close cooperation with Washington may not survive.
“We need to concentrate all our efforts on combating violence and crime that affects people, instead of concentrating on the drug issue,” said a former foreign minister, Jorge G. Castañeda, at a conference hosted last month by the Cato Institute in Washington. “It makes absolutely no sense for us to put up 50,000 body bags to stop drugs from entering the United States.”
It is interesting that you guys choose to believe the Iranian story.
ReplyDeleteThey got pikturs, Ash. :)
ReplyDeleteAn', they got the goods.
ReplyDeleteOccam's razor, in this case, seems to be slicing their way.
ReplyDeleteNobody is debating they have it. The question remains as to how it came to be in their hands
ReplyDeleteg'nite all.
ReplyDeleteI don' think we can blame this one on the Jooos.
ReplyDeleteIf it's a phony that we just flew over there and landed on their driveway, they'd surely figure that out pretty quick.
I hate to say it, but logic seems to be pointing to this being the real deal. It looks like they stole it, "fair and square." :)
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteEddie Murphy starring in a movie about Marion Barry directed by Spike Lee---this is still a great country.
ReplyDeleteb
Barack O'Carter
ReplyDeleteb