Mitchell Mission

They were turning the R-2600 over using the starter on this B-25J I guess for the film crew.  I learned that you have to turn each engine 9 or 11 blades by hand before trying to start since all the engine oil settles to the bottom cylinders and causes hydraulic lock. 

This was probably one of the most laid back but fun encounters I have had with Warbirds.  Usually airport authority or when on a military base, the cordons will be maintained at all times.  Except for the planes blocked off for filming; the ramp area with the Texans and the B-25J Killer 'B' was open.  Of course when the folks with the planes or the ramp crew asked people to move, the people did.  Everything was perfect including the weather.

This is the CAF B-25J Yellow Rose taking off for the parade flyover.  You can hear how brisk the wind is along with the sound of two R-2600s producing 1,700HP each.  I apologize for the shake-cam but did not bring a tri-pod with me.  Was not expecting to be allowed such close viewing and hence take such footage.

After the parade fly over the B-25s went to visit the air fields used by the Raiders to train in 1942.  If you paid $425 you got a chance to ride in one of the B-25s, be part of the flyover, and the visit.  It was sorely tempting to fork over the money.

Florida Nose Art

Panchito again.  Metal gleaming in the morning sun.

B-25J-32 Killer 'B'

B-25J of the CAF Yellow Rose

SNJ-5 VC-10 6 of Diamonds

Only the SNJs, T-6s, and the B-25J Killer 'B' was available for public inspection.  Yellow Rose, Panchito, and the other B-25J that was painted like a Doolittle Raider were roped off because of a documentary film crew.

Killer B and Yellow Rose were both painted in a North African scheme of sand and green over neutral gray.  Both sported the brief Torch national insignia of a yellow surround to the white star in a blue circle.  Also they had RAF tri-color fin flashes.  Made for interesting contrast.

Doolittle Flyby

 

One of the SNJs was painted as a utility plane assigned to VC-10 in Cuba.

 The Doolittle Raider Goblets and bottle of cognac.

 Doing the heavy lifting here...

 The very polished B-25J Panchito

Boston Marathon

Words can not adequately express the grief and the soul wrenching hurt such events create.  All I can think of are the people who's lives have been shattered with the loss of loved ones or loss of limb.  All because some coward had to strike at innocent people for a sick and twisted cause.

To work through this I have created a simple slideshow.  I am not sure if what I did is any good.  But I wanted to show how the marathon was before the dreadful explosions and some may disagree with some images.  But I felt this was how to do it.  There are no high value special tansitions or fades, just a timeline progression.

Here is the version that runs under VLC and Windows Media Player.  Its a 5MB .wmv file.

The music I chose is composed by Yoko Kanno for the Ghost In The Shell movie Solid State Society.  The song is called Aramaki's Theme.

Whispers of Vipers

I should not be surprised that within 48 hours of the nomination of Pope Francis I to lead the Roman Catholic Church that some think they have found dirt on the Pontiff.  Accusations of Bergoglio being a collaborator with the military junta in Argentina.

The first article is written by Heracio Verbitsky and posted online at Alternet.org, a site funded by the Tides Foundation and George Soros' Open Society Initiative.  The other article is posted online at Huffington Post and is based upon the reporting of another Argentinian journolist Olga Wornat.

Both articles share one accusation, that Bergoglio actively helped the military junta in the kidnapping of Jesuit priests.  Wornat claims to have concrete proof that he was a collaborator including from Jesuits, but does not name anyone.  Verbitsky does name the two Jesuits, in fact unlike Wornat who just says the Jesuits in question worked with the guerrillas, he does go into detail saying Bergoglio told the Jesuits to stop what they were doing when Peron fell from power but they persisted and were picked up by the new military government.  And Bergoglio tried to get them released and after six months of harsh imprisonment the two Jesuits were released.

Verbitsky however must be considered a very biased writer in this regard.  A hostile witness perhaps or the Bill Ayers of Argentina.  He freely admits to being a communist guerrilla and did participate in shootings and quips 'luckily no one died.'  He was also accused of being involved in a plot that resulted in the death of 21 people in 1976, charges against him were only dropped due to the statue of limitations.  Strange for a person living in a glass house to accuse another.

Wornat's critical thinking processes are a bit challenged.  She claims to be Bergoglio's intimate and knows what he is thinking due to a book she wrote.  Which must come as a surprise to the people who have read Bergoglio's books.  Perhaps Wornat is trying to puff up her credentials by lying to the Huffington Post writer?  Looking at her list of publications, Wornat seems more in line with Kitty Kelly - writing unauthorized and titillating books.  Her book on Christina de Kirchner on the other hand seems to be a paean to Mrs. Kirchner.

What is really odd about the interview is Wornat's attitude in the Storni case.  Storni was an Argentine archbishop who had fled the country to seek sanctuary in the Vatican due to molestation charges.  Pope John Paul II and Cardinal Ratzinger, later Pope Benedict XVI, sent Storni back to Argentina to face justice.  Wornat seems to have issue with the Church paying for Storni's lawyer, was she expecting the Church to be unfair and merely throw Storni to the wolves?  Deny him the due process that Verbitsky enjoyed?  What the whole story does highlight is how Rome treated the case most seriously and also of Bergoglio being a fair man.  Hardly the dark past Wornat alludes to.

Drone Debate

Sen. Rand Paul [R-KY] just concluded an almost 13 hour long filibuster of the US Senate. This filibuster has delayed the confirmation by the full Senate of Brennan to head the CIA. The reason why Sen. Rand spoke, with able assistance for 13 hours, is very simple as he wants a simple answer to a very serious question.

Sen. Paul wants to know if the Obama administration, via the CIA that Brennan is nominated to head, is willing to use drones to kill American citizens on American soil without the due process of the law. Yes or no, that is all Sen. Paul wanted to know.

The response he got from Attorney General Eric Holder can be charitably called a 'maybe' answer. Two strawmen were brought out by Holder in his answer – Pearl Harbor and 9/11. There is a simple logical fault in using these two examples, neither attack was carried out by American citizens. Unlike Hassan Nidal at Ft. Hood or Timothy McVeigh at Oklahoma City.

In the case of Nidal and McVeigh, regular means were used to apprehend the killers. A routine traffic stop detained McVeigh long enough for them to connect the rental truck VIN to him. Nidal was bodily tackled and stopped in his killing spree.

So this administration wants a blank check to determine if an American citizen is an imminent danger. Without recourse to the American judicial system to rule if they have enough evidence to make such a finding. And then to send a remote control aircraft to kill that American citizen. Let me rephrase that, this administration wants to have the ability to assassinate American citizens on US soil without any oversight.

If you are not disturbed at that thought, just contemplate the government getting bad intelligence and sending out a drone on that information. Remember that wedding party in Iraq that American aircraft bombed by accident? Now imagine that happening on Main St in Peoria, IL – a drone fires a Hellfire missile at someone's SUV. Its noon in Peoria. The Hellfire hits and detonates, exploding the gas tank for good measure. Besides Betty Sue and her twin girls getting murdered because of bad information, how many people in the surrounding area just got killed or maimed also.

Now do you think armed drones over the US is such a good idea?

P.S. You may want to look up a movie from the 1980s called 'Blue Thunder' with Roy Scheider. LAPD is loaned a new helicopter. An armed helicopter that can also spy. Scheider's character Murphy finds out the organization supplying Blue Thunder has an ulterior motive of eliminating domestic threats. This administration is trying to replace Blue Thunder with something almost like a video game, just press the R1 on your X-Box controller to fire a Hellfire missile to blow up the target and get Achievement Points which is now a medal that can be worn between the Silver Star and Bronze Star.

Why Robin Has To Die

Perhaps this is why the new Robin is being killed off by DC Comics?  He sold out as any grandson of Ras al Ghul would?  So Batman had to fix the problem?

Gun Show

This was an interesting item to be seen today at the Jackson, MS gun show.  A Rossi lever action.  Box was labeled that it was to be sold as a handgun.  And sticker on the side said .357.  Price tag was just under $600.

I really do not see the point of a bling gold digi-cam upper and lower on an AR-15 that is already tricked out to the max.  Prices for 5.56/.223 AR-15s ranged from about $1,200 to over $2,800.  I saw a lot of 30rd and even the Beta 100rd magazines being sold for good prices.  Some had taken to tie-strapping display magazines down.  Saw one 40rd AK-47 mag listed at $55.

Don't want to own an EBR?  How does bright pink grab you?  As you can see one dealer had a fine selection on hand.  All they were missing was some Hello Kitty stickers.

Ammunition prices continued to be crazy for all calibers.
One seller had 1,000rds of Lake City 62gr 5.56mm loose in a plastic bag for $950.  Another place was selling 140rds of 5.56mm in stripper clips for $140.  Did find one seller with an unopened box of Winchester 55gr .223 1000rds.  When I asked how much, the snotty kid quoted a price just under $27 for a box of 20 or roughly $1,350 for the whole box.  Yikes!

9mm was not much better.  Remington or Winchester 9mm was about $27 for a box of 50.  Same place that had the $1.350 box of .223 had some really off brands and the likes of Federal.  Depending upon grain and quantity, price per round fluctuated between 44 cents/round to 54 cents/round.

The only relatively cheap thing for sale at the gun show was the little girl selling Girl Scout cookies for her troop.  And they still cost $3.50/box.