kscarbel2

Why? I myself agree with most of Stone's comments. We never gave authorization to our employees in Washington to perform mass surveillance on the entire U.S. population. For decades, some of us suspected. You would be mocked as a conspiracy theorist. But it was true......all true.....and much more. I'm appreciative that Snowden made it public knowledge that the government is monitoring all our phone calls, phone messages, e-mails and even your posts on BMT. The clandestine surveillance of law abiding citizens is wrong. Such a draconian act is a page right out of George Orwell's book "1984".

Trident.....the best of Australia's best. It's a B-double tractor.

Trump plans biggest tax changes since Reagan, says Mnuchin The Financial Times / November 30, 2016 Donald Trump’s incoming administration is planning the “largest tax change” since the Reagan era, according to the former Goldman banker nominated by the president-elect to be the next Treasury secretary. Steven Mnuchin, who played a central role in the property developer’s election campaign, confirmed plans to cut the US federal corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 15 percent. “By cutting corporate taxes, we’re going to create huge economic growth and we’ll have huge personal income,” says Mnuchin. He also said that he believed the US economy could grow at a sustained rate of 3 to 4 per cent. He said any reduction in upper income taxes would be offset by fewer tax deductions. In this way, “there will be no absolute tax cut for the upper class.” Mnuchin, 53, confirmed in the interview he had been picked by Trump as Treasury secretary along with billionaire Wilbur Ross as commerce secretary. Mnuchin left Goldman 15 years ago to produce films in Hollywood. He backed the president-elect during the Republican primary and then served as campaign finance director. On the question of Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen, who was sharply criticised by Trump during the election campaign, Mnuchin refused to say whether she should finish her term. He said, however, that “she’s done a good job”. Mnuchin added that filling two vacancies on the Fed’s policy-setting board would be a high priority. He said interest rates are likely to stay low for a few years, but the recent rise in bond yields made sense. He added: “We’ll look at potentially extending maturity of the debt because eventually we’re going to have higher interest rates.” Wilbur Ross, meanwhile, weighed in on the debate over Trump’s controversial trade policies, saying that “protectionism is a pejorative term, it’s not really meaningful”. “There’s trade, there’s sensible trade and there’s dumb trade. We’ve been doing a lot of dumb trade,” he said. He also took a hit at the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a pact that is central to President Barack Obama’s “pivot to Asia” but been lambasted by Mr Trump as a bad deal. “The trouble with regional trade agreements is you get picked apart by the first country, then you negotiate with the second country and get picked apart, and then go with the third one and get picked apart again,” Ross said.

Okay, I understand now. You feel the act of burning the U.S. flag to be repulsive. So you and I have exactly the same thoughts on the matter. And, you are in total agreement with president-elect Trump.....even though by taking this position you feel that you are not supporting liberty nor defending the Constitution. I personally think most people will support your respect for the flag though. Regarding the video and the late Justice Scalia's comments, I don't agree with his interpretation of the first amendment so far as flag burning goes (great man otherwise, generally speaking). His opinion isn't etched in stone. Like Miller said, "Flag burning should be illegal, end of story". It goes without saying.

KamAZ Trucks Press Release / November 29, 2016 This year, Rostec subsidiary KamAZ Trucks has decided on something special for the children of company employees to help them celebrate the New Year holidays. By the New Year, KamAZ children under 15 years old will receive a package of wood in the form of a KamAZ Dakar race truck. The wooden truck will bring the younger generation about a kilogram of different sweets from leading Russian confectionery factories, and colored markers allowing the children to customize the appearance of their wooden race trucks. KamAZ has already commissioned more than 18,000 New Year's toy trucks. Half the cost of the New Year gift is financed by KamAZ Trucks, while the other half is paid by the parents. However, about 6,000 sweets trucks for the children of employees entitled to a discount are fully paid for my KamAZ. Those families receiving free gifts include large families, families in which there are people with disabilities, and women who are on leave for child care up to three years. Christmas presents for the children of non-working pensioners, former KamAZ employees, are also financed by the company. .

Do you feel burning the U.S. flag is right or wrong ?

Renault Trucks Press Release / November 25, 2016 Renault Trucks introduces Urban Lab 2 - its laboratory distribution vehicle developed with six partners under the collaborative EDIT (Efficient Distribution Truck) project. Combining innovative technology in aerodynamics, hybridisation of the engine, tyres and vehicle-infrastructure communication, fuel consumption savings of 13% have been achieved. Whereas Optifuel Lab 1 and 2 were experimental vehicles dedicated to Research and Development for Long Distance transport, Urban Lab 2, designed using a 19-ton Renault Trucks D WIDE Euro 6, targets the urban and regional distribution sector. The truck features a range of technology developed with six partners, namely Valeo, Lamberet, Michelin, BeNomad, INSA Lyon (LamCoS) and IFSTTAR (LICIT). Urban Lab 2 is the result of the EDIT (Efficient Distribution Truck) project, financed by the Single Inter-Ministry Fund, Auvergne Rhône-Alpes Region, Métropole de Lyon, Ain Department Council and the FEDER. The aim is to offer accessible innovation by 2020, focusing on four key areas: aerodynamics, the drive chain, connectivity and tyres. Aerodynamics To reduce the aerodynamic drag of the Urban Lab 2 - and therefore its fuel consumption - engineers worked on airflow throughout the vehicle. Lamberet and Renault Trucks adapted the cab, chassis and refrigerated body to the recommendations of aerodynamic specialists, whilst meeting the regulatory and operating requirements of controlled-temperature transport. The first step involves reducing the front surface area: "The refrigeration unit is normally located above the cab", explained François Savoye, Energy Efficiency Strategy Manager at Renault Trucks. "On Urban Lab 2, we decided to position it in the wheelbase of the vehicle to free up space overhead and optimise the body/tractor link to lower the body and improve airflow. This meant we could incorporate a roof deflector shaped to provide seamless continuity with the body. Redesigning the interior architecture of the refrigerated body has made a marked improvement in the shape of the roof, without adding to the height. As for the sides of the vehicle, these are fitted with textile side deflectors. "We have used a PVC-coated textile for the first time", François Savoye added. "When stretched and fitted on the side protectors, it provides a light, effective and economic system." Lateral airflow is also boosted by streamlined wheels and the fitting of rear deflectors that are perfectly in keeping with the architecture and continuity of the tailgate. These deflectors are angled so as to reduce depression in the slipstream of the vehicle and do not require any manual operation when handling the doors. The access step is completely covered thanks to a mobile guard opened by door extensions that provides a seamless continuity between the upper and lower sections of the cab. Ground clearance is optimised by the addition of flexible components, thus optimising air flow in the understructure. Lastly, replacing wing mirrors with a system of profiled cameras and internal feedback screens also helps reduce vehicle air resistance. Stop & start and micro-hybrid To reduce fuel consumption, Urban Lab 2 also proves innovative in its engine design, with a system combining Stop&Start and micro-hybrid technology, developed in partnership with Valeo. The Stop&Start system cuts the engine when the vehicle comes to a halt, at a red light for example, thereby reducing fuel consumption. In addition, the micro-hybrid system recovers "free" energy, such as energy generated during foot lift or braking, via a high-power (48 V) reversible electric machine. This energy can be used to drive the electrical accessories of the vehicle or reduce the mechanical power required by the thermal engine. Renault Trucks has also been working with the Lyon INSA to reduce friction in the front face of the engine in order to optimise the overall efficiency of the micro-hybrid system. Connectivity For Renault Trucks, drivers play a key role in reducing fuel consumption. This is why Urban Lab 2 features technology to help them with their driving by connecting the vehicle to infrastructures. Working with the company BeNomad, engineers have developed special navigation software that to provide this connectivity. For each journey, the GPS proposes the route that is the most efficient and uses the least fuel, estimating both the predicted journey time and fuel consumption. This software has been configured to take not only fuel consumption into account, but also, and above all, the operational constraints of a distribution vehicle. Lastly, Urban Lab 2 is connected to infrastructures to optimise driving through green lights. When Urban Lab 2 approaches traffic lights, it receives information from the lights and the system calculates if it is more efficient to brake or accelerate, when conditions and regulations allow it to do so. This therefore limits the amount of stop-start driving, which has a highly negative impact on fuel consumption. The traffic modelling expertise of LICIT has helped Renault Trucks to effectively integrate the effect of traffic on fuel consumption. Tyres Already a partner on the Optifuel Lab 1 and 2 projects, Michelin is once again working with Renault Trucks to develop energy-saving tyres specially designed for distribution vehicles. "The objective of these tyres is to further reduce rolling resistance, without negatively impacting other performance criteria, such as safety, grip or longevity", explained Jean-François Cordonnier, Truck Pre-development Manager at Michelin. To this end, Michelin has deployed its wide range of technologies, in particular Infini-Coil technology, to guarantee tyre endurance and safety. Firstly, the self-generating tread ensures a lasting grip throughout the life of the tyre and secondly, silica is used as a reinforcing agent in the tread to improve the compromise between longevity and rolling resistance. Finally, Renault Trucks and its partners have set themselves the ambitious target of reducing fuel consumption by 13% compared to an equivalent Renault Trucks D WIDE. The vehicle was tested for the first time on a closed circuit in November 2016 and will be road-tested in Bordeaux from February 2017 onwards. The results will be presented at the end of the project, scheduled for 2018. .

Volvo Trucks Press Release / November 29, 2016 .

Volvo Trucks Press Release / November 29, 2016 .

As Trump's presidential transition spokesman Jason Miller so aptly said, "Flag burning should be illegal, end of story". Mr. Miller is referring to the "higher law". The vast majority of Americans don't need a law to know that burning the United States flag is wrong. It is the utmost act of disrespect. You have adamantly voiced your support for Trump. However now, you are now completely in disagreement with our president-elect over respect for our country's flag. Your tremendous enthusiasm for advocating the burning (desecration) of the United States flag is troubling.

Associated Press / November 29, 2016 Protesters burned United States flags outside the Trump International Hotel in New York on Tuesday, in an angry response to a tweet by President-elect Donald Trump that flag-burners should face legal consequences. On Tuesday, Trump suggested that burning the United States flag should be punishable by a year in jail or a revocation of citizenship. Nobody should be allowed to burn the American flag - if they do, there must be consequences - perhaps loss of citizenship or year in jail! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) Nov. 29, 2016 'Flag burning is completely ridiculous ... and I think the vast majority of Americans would agree,' says Trump presidential transition spokesman Jason Miller. 'It's completely ridiculous, and I don't think there's a big universe of people out there who support flag-burning. It's terrible and it's despicable.' . .

If "close to 1,000 jobs" will remain in Indianapolis, then close to 400 Indy workers are still seeing their jobs relocated to Mexico, and all of the 700 workers in Huntington are still having their jobs sucked away (Ross Perot speak) to Mexico. It's not a success story to brag about unless all the jobs remain in the US. In fairness, I would like to know the wages of these union workers relative to the tasks they perform.

Carrier Corp. Agrees to Keep About 1,000 Jobs at Indiana Plant The Wall Street Journal / November 29, 2016 Carrier Corp. has agreed to keep in Indiana roughly 1,000 jobs it had planned to shift to Mexico, after a lobbying effort from the incoming Trump administration. In exchange for keeping the jobs in Indiana, the company will receive new government incentives [free taxpayer money]. Carrier, a division of United Technologies Corp., that makes heating and air conditioning equipment, had announced plans earlier this year to shift some production to Monterrey, Mexico, as part of a broader corporate cost-cutting. The decision became a target during the presidential campaign of Donald Trump, who pledged to prevent such outsourcing or punish U.S. firms that shifted jobs abroad. In a statement on Tuesday, Carrier said the company was “pleased to have reached a deal with President-elect Trump & VP-elect Pence to keep close to 1,000 jobs in Indy. More details soon.” Mr. Trump and Vice President elect Mike Pence are expected to travel to Indiana on Thursday to announce the details of the agreement with Carrier. Trump transition officials have been in close contact with Carrier and United Technologies executives for weeks trying to iron out specifics of the package. “If they’re saving us some jobs, anything’s positive,” said Chuck Jones, president of United Steelworkers Local 1999 in Indianapolis. Union leaders had complained this year about Carrier’s lack of cooperation with workers on the plans for closing the plant. Mr. Pence, who is governor of Indiana, had taken the lead in negotiating with United Technologies officials. Mr. Pence has held wide-ranging talks with the company in the weeks since the presidential election, which focused not just on Mr. Trump’s objections to NAFTA and free trade, but also on key priorities for the company in the coming Republican Congress, including an expected tax reform package that could hold windfalls for big manufacturers like United Technologies. Mr. Pence has also in the past held the company to account for its plans to close the two affected plants—a Carrier Corp. factory in Indianapolis employing 1,400 workers and another factory in Huntington, Ind. for its electronic controls unit employing 700. The governor negotiated a deal earlier this year under which he clawed back state and municipal incentives previously granted to Carrier, after the company’s February announcement that it would leave for Mexico. Mr. Trump lambasted the move on the campaign trail this year, at one point suggesting he would impose a 35% tariff on Carrier products made in Mexico that it shipped to the U.S.

Violence spreads in trucker strike The New York Times / February 2, 1983 Violence spread today as independent truckers tried to enforce their efforts to shut down the trucking system to protest scheduled increases in Federal fuel taxes and user fees. Federal transportation officials and the trucking industry called for restraint and vowed to maintain truck movements across the nation. In the worst of the violence, George Franklin Capps, 33 years old, a teamster from Clayton, N.C., was shot through the neck by a sniper Monday night while driving along Route 701 near Newton Grove, N.C. Howard N. Adams, 45, of Riverside, Calif., was wounded in the chest Monday afternoon and was in serious condition at a Utah hospital. Another trucker was in satisfactory condition after he was shot this afternoon as he walked out of a truck stop in Gary, Ind., and still another man was shot when a bullet fired at a truck by a sniper near LaPorte, Ind., missed but hit a man driving a van filled with 11 children. The wounded man, Chris Balawender, 35, was hospitalized in fair condition with a hip wound. The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission offered a $10,000 reward today for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for injuring a girl near Pittsburgh. Melissa Sarsfield, 14, was struck in the head with a brick at 5:15 P.M. Monday as she rode along the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Police say the brick was thrown at a truck from an overpass or a nearby hill and crashed through the back window of the Sarsfield car. The was listed in guarded condition today after five hours of surgery. Eight other shootings were reported Monday night in four western counties of Pennsylvania. The Associated Press reported that the police were investigating attacks on at least 50 rigs in 22 states since the strike began early Monday. Five drivers were hurt when bullets or rocks hit their trucks in unrelated incidents in Alabama, Maryland, Florida, Connecticut and Oregon. After Ohio's independent drivers joined the strike today, eight trucks were hit by gunfire and dozens had their windshields smashed. Although truck traffic appeared to be down considerably in many areas of the country Monday night, Federal officials said traffic picked up today, indicating that many drivers were choosing to drive in daylight and park at night. Some drivers expressed more fear of militant strikers than a desire to stop work over their grievances. A seven-state survey of selected truck plazas by the National Association of Truck Stop Operators today found that gasoline and diesel sales were off 15 percent from last Tuesday in the West and Southwest and down 25 percent in the Middle West. No shortages of goods were reported in the nation's markets. Despite the intimidation, trucking specialists said there were only remote chances of a widespread shutdown. ''Given this recession, for every trucker who parks his rig, three or four others will chase after his freight,'' said an official of the American Trucking Associations (ATA), which represents most of the major carriers. Michael Parkhurst, president of the Los Angeles-based Independent Truckers Association, has led the call for a shutdown, but others oppose it. Independent truckers, or owner-operators, make up about one-fourth of the nation's 400,000 truck drivers. The independent drivers object to recent legislation raising the Federal taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel, imposing excise taxes on heavy equipment and increasing registration fees for large trucks. Because of the poor economy and heavy competition, they contend, they will be unable to pass on the higher costs for fuel. The strike is opposed by drivers who work for companies and by their union, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. The ATA has also called for an end to the strike while it works more quietly in Congress to oppose the taxes. 'Call Your Congressmen' Mr. Parkhurst told drivers today: ''We have stressed over and over that we deplore violence. If you want to help, go home and call your Congressmen and senators.'' However, Bennett C. Whitlock Jr., president of the ATA, laid the blame indirectly at the feet of Mr. Parkhurst, saying: ''We deplore violence, which is the natural aftermath of a shutdown characterized by Parkhurst and his organization as a 'war.' It is unfortunate that the actions of a few ill-advised and frustrated individuals may adversely affect not only the vast majority of law-abiding truckers, but also the American public.'' On Capitol Hill, meanwhile, the number of bills to repeal or roll back portions of the tax package rose to six today as Senator Rudy Boschwitz of Minnesota and Senator Larry Pressler of South Dakota, both Republicans, introduced legislation.

"I am free of all prejudices. I hate everyone equally." - W. C. Fields

Elaine Chao Post: Secretary of Transportation Previous experience: Deputy Secretary of Transportation under President George H. W. Bush (1989-1991); Secretary of Labor under President George W. Bush (2001-2009); Director of the Peace Corps; Chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission; Deputy maritime administrator; White House Fellow. Age: 63 (64 next March) Schooling: Chao attended Tsai Hsing Elementary School in Taipei for kindergarten and first grade, and Syosset High School in Syosset, Long Island, New York. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts, in 1975 and an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1979. Chao has received 36 honorary doctorates, most recently a Doctor of Humane Letters from Georgetown University. Background: Elaine Chao was born in Taipei, Taiwan. Her parents had fled from Shanghai to Taiwan in 1949 when the Communists took over the mainland. Chao arrived in the U.S. with her family in 1961 at age 8. Chao is married to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. They married in 1993. Trump says Chao will play a key role in carrying out his campaign pledge to revitalize U.S. infrastructure with up to $1 trillion in funding, a goal that will require broad support from Congress. “Secretary Chao’s extensive record of strong leadership and her expertise are invaluable assets in our mission to rebuild our infrastructure in a fiscally responsible manner. She has an amazing life story and has helped countless Americans in her public service career," said Trump in a statement. "The President-elect has outlined a clear vision to transform our country's infrastructure, accelerate economic growth and productivity, and create good paying jobs across the country. I am honored to be nominated by the President-elect to serve my beloved country as Transportation Secretary,” said Chao in a statement. “Chao has a distinguished record of serving the nation and has already shown she can work effectively with members on both sides of the aisle. Her leadership will benefit the Department of Transportation in guiding investment in our infrastructure and making transportation safer and better for the public,” said Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Commerce Committee, which oversees trucking policy.

You can't simply go by a casting number. That casting was machined at least 2 or 3 different ways to meet differing requirements, resulting in different Mack part number "P variations".

Cultural decay and declining standards of behavior in the United States. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Father sexually abuses and kills his 10-week-old girl The Washington Post / November 28, 2016 The initial allegations in the case were brutal: Robert Davidson, a 24-year-old father in Rockville, had sexually abused his 10-week-old daughter and then killed her. In court Monday at Davidson’s plea hearing, it became even more clear how much the little girl had suffered in her short life. The autopsy of Aleah Thompson showed a broken collarbone and 34 rib fractures in “various states of healing,” said Assistant State’s Attorney Mary Herdman. The injuries occurred during at least three “severely traumatic events” and appeared to be the result of Aleah’s chest being constricted, Herdman said. Davidson pleaded guilty to sex abuse of a minor and first-degree child abuse resulting in death. As part of his entering the plea, prosecutors agreed to drop an additional charge of second-degree murder. Davidson faces up to 50 years in prison. [why not death?] On June 23, 2015, Davidson called police and medics to an apartment where he lived with Aleah and Aleah’s mother, Lorena Thompson. The child died three days later at a hospital. Davidson initially told detectives he’d been in the living room playing video games when he heard labored breathing coming from a bedroom. He went to check on Aleah, he had said, and found her limp and unresponsive. Davidson also told police that he had dropped his daughter several times and that she had rolled off a couch. He later admitted to police that he had shaken the child. An autopsy found the child died of “multiple blunt force injuries.” Doctors found injuries to her head, eyes and spine. A forensic anthropologist examined Aleah’s bones, and determined she had suffered severe trauma during the first two weeks of her life, several weeks after that, and just before her death. Under the terms of the plea agreement, prosecutors agreed to seek no more than 50 years in prison for Davidson. Aleah’s mother also was charged in the case. On July 22, 2016, she pleaded guilty to neglect of a minor. Police and prosecutors say she had seen bruising on her girl and suspected Davidson had inflicted the injuries, but she took no action. She was sentenced to five years of probation. .

In the country's early documents, the founding fathers wrote both "democracy" and "republic". I suspect that since they borrowed many thoughts from France's system of government, and France was a "republic", that is how the collection of wording came about. No country lives its government to the exact letter of the definition. One can say our country is a "hybrid" system which adopted traits of what the concepts of "democracy" and "republic" represented to the founding fathers some 240 years ago. And as Paul would say, it was a different time and place, with different attitudes (outlooks).

If we had a direct voting system, one person - one vote, and it was real.......and free of corruption, then we would have an "inarguable" election result. Trump has publicly denounced the electoral college system. I agree with him.

The casting number usually is NOT the part number. Can you post your truck's line sheet?

I always liked the International Cub 154 "low-boy". Never a more serious lawn tractor. It had a 15-horsepower liquid-cooled L-head 4-cylinder International C60 engine (59.5 cu.in.). .

Paul, I know Tasmania gets snow. Doesn't it snow as far north as Sydney?

This all reminds of an older article in The Mack Bulldog about a gentleman who built a mini R-model on a Dodge chassis, a believe it was a D300.