Air and Rope to Defend Against Pirates

BCB has created the Buccaneer, a ship-based device that uses compressed air and a rope or net to stop pirates in their tracks. The Buccanner is fires and when the prop of the pirates' boat runs over it, it becomes entangled and the boat stops. As a commenter mentions, it probably won't do anything for jet ski type craft. A good idea, but how long until the pirates add jet skis to their fleets

A Defense of the Stimulus

These days it is easy to find critics of the various economic stimulus bills wending their way thru Congress. They look like pork-laden pieces of political claptrap designed to do nothing so much as pay off the friends of politicians. And most of the defenses are simply lame, "We have to do SOMETHING!" i.e. The supporters of a stimulus bill feel it needs no reasoned defense in light of the crisis. As though a fire were an excuse for any action, even throwing gasoline in its general direction.

Finally, someone has bothered to put together a clear defense of a stimulus which explains why its supporters feel that the details of the stimulus are less important than the bill itself. It is a short article and worth a read. I do not think it addresses many of the concerns of critics, but it is a good, clear defense.

Retraction: Chinese Sub Surprises U.S.S. Kitty Hawk

We here at Mod-Blog are all human and unfortunately, that means we make mistakes. I was discussing the story about the Chinese Sub and the U.S.S. Kitty Hawk today and found out that the article I referenced was misleading. Although the U.S.S. Kitty Hawk was out to sea at the time of the posting, this incident happened during its 2006 winter cruise. I apologize for the erroneous post. The refusal of the Chinese government to dock at Hong Kong did happen this cruise and is considered a big deal.

Chinese Sub Surprises U.S.S. Kitty Hawk

The other day while the U.S. Navy was doing exercises in the Pacific, a Chinese sub surprised them surfacing within range of firing a torpedo or missile at the U.S.S. Kitty Hawk. Now, I happen to know that the U.S.S. Kitty Hawk is one of our older aircraft carriers so perhaps a newer aircraft carrier would have detected the sub, but the Chinese sub had to also slip past at least a dozen surface ships and at least two submarines to get that close. This is a wakeup call that China's friendship is merely one of convenience. We must be on our guard and continuously researcher how to keep our military superior and safe.