kscarbel2

Heavy Duty Trucking / November 18, 2016 Net Class 8 orders were weak in October, driven by a high number of cancellations in the month. October Class 8 orders totaled 13,907 units for the month while cancellations totaled 8,610 units. Seasonally adjusted, orders for the month were at 12,060 units. “The driving factor behind the weak net orders number was an unusually high level of cancellations booked in the month,” said one truck industry analyst. “The cancellations offset a total orders number of 22,517 that reflected, to some degree, the traditional strength of this kickoff month.” Medium-duty Class 5-7 truck orders fared better in October with a slight drop compared to September but overall strong numbers. Medium-duty truck orders hit 201,922 units for the month, 18,250 when seasonally adjusted. Strong medium duty orders were partly a result of strength in the retail sales, services and construction industries. “Medium duty statistics continue to reflect the underlying health of the consumer and closely related segments of the economy,” said the analyst. “While this was a drop from September SA results, it does sustain a year-to-date increase compared to the like 10 months in 2015.”

Jim, this is the 3 million dollar question. I would like to know the answer as well. And always remember, 99 percent are NOT refugees, rather they are economic migrants.

I agree. But I would say that businessmen, alike politicians, are all owing of favors.

Bannon, Kushner and Priebus: rivals for power at the heart of Trump's team The Guardian / November 19, 2016 One by one they came, walking by the marble walls, the cascading waterfall, the ogling tourists and the eager cameras, into the shiny lifts and up to the 26th floor to kiss the ring of the new king. This week, TrumpTower was a hive of scurrying courtiers, from a prime minister, media mogul and nonagenarian diplomat to senators, congressmen and businessmen. And as the palace intrigue deepened, it was apparent that three men, in particular, had the ear of President-elect Donald Trump. “I am Thomas Cromwell in the court of the Tudors,” says Steve Bannon, Trump’s chief strategist, likening himself to Henry VIII’s right hand man and master manipulator (who, in a fact he may have overlooked, was ultimately executed for treason). Bannon did not propose historical roles for Reince Priebus, chief of staff, or Jared Kushner, an intimate adviser married to Trump’s daughter, but they are his rivals for Trump’s attention. Shaun Bowler, associate dean of political science at the University of California, likened the plot to Hilary Mantel’s historical novel Wolf Hall. “Her account of people tiptoeing around a character like Henry VIII strikes me as providing lots of insight into what life for advisers will be like inside the White House from now on,” he said. “What we probably can say is that – whatever the actual pattern of influence – we can be pretty sure that at least one of them will end up leaving after a blow-up.” Last Sunday, the president-elect made his first move. He announced that Bannon would be chief strategist, triggering a fierce backlash because of the adviser’s executive role at the website Breitbart, which has run white nationalist and anti-Semitic headlines. At the same time, Trump appointed the more conventional Priebus to the more conventional role of chief of staff. The chairperson of the Republican National Committee (RNC) had been unswervingly loyal ever since the end of the primaries, even while the candidate ignored pleas to tone down the rhetoric. But there is also a third centre of power, unofficial but no less important. Kushner, a property developer, investor and newspaper publisher married to Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, is said to have called the shots throughout the campaign and is now doing the same in the transition. Kushner was present at Thursday’s meeting with Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe and behind a “Stalinesque purge” of the transition team. There are other major players in the Trump universe. They include Vice-President-elect Mike Pence, a vital bridge to Congress and the conservative movement; Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the first senator to endorse Trump and now the nominee for attorney general; Paul Ryan, the House speaker with whom Trump has made a fragile peace; and Mitch McConnell, the Republican majority leader in the Senate [age 75 next February]. But it is Priebus, Bannon and Kushner, vying for 70-year-old Trump’s infamously short attention span, who could form the most potent triumvirate in the Oval Office since the days when Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and Karl Rove counseled George W Bush. Given Trump’s track record of pitting rivals against each other, they probably face an uncertain future. “Apparently Trump likes to manage with concentric circles of chaos,” said Michael Steele, Priebus’s predecessor as RNC chair. “He doesn’t mind that. He likes the tension between the different sectors of influence. So far you’ve got the Kushner circle, you’ve got the Bannon circle, they all interrelate into Trump’s circle but when they have to work with each other, that’s where the challenge is going to be because their interests are very different interests.” Priebus, a technocrat and consummate party man, will be the voice of the Republican establishment, and a vital conduit to Congress, including Ryan, a fellow Wisconsinite. “Reince is not Donald Trump’s guy,” Steele added. “Bannon is. Reince is Paul Ryan’s guy and so Trump is doing what he thinks he needs to do to create some olive branches to the establishment types because he knows he needs them. But, quite honestly, they need him just as much. I suspect, as much as they will try to play it down, there will be some tough times where those interests will conflict.” During the campaign, Kushner, well-mannered but guarded, emerged as operational guru, helping with recruitment, online fundraising, drafting policy and even selecting a running mate. Over the past week, Kushner orchestrated the removal of transition team leader Chris Christie and his allies; Christie had successfully prosecuted his father for tax evasion 11 years ago. Kushner, 35, is taking legal advice on whether he can get around anti-nepotism laws to join the new administration, the New York Times reported. Like Trump, Kushner is steeped in the property world and has no political experience. “I’m sure he’s a very smart young man, a very successful businessman,” Steele said. “But he doesn’t know foreign policy, he doesn’t know national security, that’s not the world in which he has operated. “Trump has to be very careful how close in he has someone and the advice he’s taking from someone who has no real background or appreciation or understanding of the obvious stuff, let alone the nuances of policy and government.” Kushner and 62-year-old Bannon are, in many respects, polar opposites. One is clean cut and favors crew-neck sweaters; the other is disheveled and looks in need of a shave. One is the son of a multimillionaire; the other was born into a working-class family. One is an Orthodox Jew (Ivanka converted before their marriage), the other a Catholic who has been accused of anti-Semitism. “Jared Kushner’s the most interesting to me,” said Rick Tyler, a former member of Ted Cruz’s campaign team. “Billionaires don’t trust everyone who walks through the door but Trump trusts Kushner and Kushner trusts Bannon. They believe in Bannon and the advice he’s given. People can complain about it, then get over it.” This week, guests to TrumpTower included 93-year-old Henry Kissinger, secretary of state under Richard Nixon; and Rupert Murdoch, 85, the media tycoon and another bete noire of the liberal left. On Friday, Trump nominated Sessions as attorney general, congressman Mike Pompeo as CIA director and retired lieutenant-general Michael Flynn as national security adviser. Before departing on his last meeting with European leaders, Obama, said Trump was a “pragmatist”, not an “ideologue”. The same could be said of Kushner and Priebus, both of whom are valued for organisational sense. But Bannon is different. After careers as an investment banker and naval officer, and before becoming Trump’s campaign chief executive, Bannon ran Breitbart, notorious for rightwing dog-whistles and anti-globalist themes that surfaced in Trump speeches and ads. Its headlines have included “Hoist it high and proud: The Confederate flag proclaims a glorious heritage”, “Birth control makes women unattractive and crazy”, and “Clinton aide Huma Abedin ‘most likely a Saudi spy’.” Bannon has denied allegations of racism. “I’m not a white nationalist, I’m a nationalist,” he says. “I’m an economic nationalist. The globalists gutted the American working class and created a middle class in Asia. The issue now is about Americans looking to not get f*cked over.” “If we deliver”, Trump’s team will win most white voters and a near majority of black and Hispanic voters. “We’ll govern for 50 years.” Democrats, he said, had “lost sight of what the world is about”. Dan Cassino, a political scientist at FairleighDickinsonUniversity, said it was unclear whether business or ideology was Bannon’s priority at Breitbart. “He’s willing to use racist and anti-Semitic content to make money off it, whether or not he’s racist or anti-Semitic himself. He’s willing to tolerate it.” Cassino argued that whereas Fox News covers familiar issues from a conservative perspective, Breitbart pursues an entirely different agenda. “We should be concerned to the extent Steve Bannon controls what information goes in and goes out of the White House. Traditionally information is controlled by the chief of staff but every administration is different.” He noted that Breitbart typically gives official figures no credence, and that Trump appeared surprised, in a recent TV interview, to learn about actual hate crime totals. “If he’s getting facts from Breitbart just as Bush got facts from Fox News, we have a problem,” Cassino said. “We want a president to make data-based decisions.” It may then fall to Priebus, a 44-year-old whom Trump called “a superstar” on election night, to provide a reality check. Henry Barbour, who helped run his 2010 campaign to chair the RNC, said the committee was in so much debt at the time that Priebus had to make payments on his personal credit card. “He was an easy guy to work with even when we didn’t agree on everything,” he recalled. “His ability to work with people and cut through the crap will serve him well. He does not have a big ego. He’s not interested in self-promotion and will be interested in giving good, candid advice to the president. He’s not a yes-man but he will be loyal.” Barbour, now a lobbyist with Capitol Resources, insisted: “Reince has told me directly he has developed a good working relationship with Bannon and gets on well with him. I have no doubts Reince will work well with Jared Kushner.” Terry Sullivan, a Republican strategist, said Priebus was “Wisconsin nice” but also “a smart hire”. “He can bring multiple factions together,” he said. “He might be the only figure who is still liked by the establishment of the party who spent so much time defending Trump.”

BBC / November 19, 2016 An asylum seeker from Myanmar has been identified as the man who set himself alight in a bank in the Australian city of Melbourne on Friday. The 21-year-old is under guard in hospital after the incident that injured 26 others. He arrived by boat three years ago and had been released from detention pending a decision on his case. His benefits had not been in his account when he tried to withdraw them on Wednesday. The man, known to his friends as Noor, set himself alight using gasoline at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia branch in the Melbourne suburb of Springvale. Five bystanders suffered burns and 21 more smoke inhalation. Video taken by eyewitnesses of the immediate aftermath showed flames inside the bank branch and thick black smoke. The suspect had arrived in Australia as an unaccompanied minor and was awaiting receipt of a refugee visa. The man was reportedly of mixed Muslim parentage. Although he is partly Rohingya - the Muslim community that lives in Rakhine state near the Bangladesh border and which has been denied citizenship and freedom of movement by the government - he reportedly lived in southern Myanmar. He had been detained in a camp on Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean before being moved to Melbourne. The president of the Australian Burmese Rohingya Organisation, Habib Habib, told the Melbourne Age: "He has been suffering and his friends say his welfare payment was not received and he couldn't pay his rent." He had returned to the bank each day after finding his money was not available on Wednesday. Mr Habib said: "This system makes all of them crazy. They're in legal limbo." Refugee and asylum seeker advocate Pamela Curr told the Age the man was also was known to have mental health problems. The department of immigration has set up a fast-track system to process about 30,000 asylum claims.

Trump meets critic Romney CNN / November 19, 2016 Romney allegedly under consideration for secretary of state. "We had a far-reaching conversation with regard to the various theaters in the world where there are interests of the United States of real significance. We discussed those areas and exchanged our views on those topics," Romney said

Mercedes-Benz may stop selling diesels in the U.S. Automotive News / November 19, 2016 With consumer demand dwindling, Mercedes-Benz is questioning whether to continue offering diesel vehicles in the U.S. Mercedes is working to get certification on a limited number of diesel models it had planned to offer in the U.S., Matthias Luehrs, vice president of sales and product management for Mercedes-Benz Cars, said last week during an interview at the auto show here. More rigorous testing procedures by the EPA in the wake of Volkswagen's diesel emissions scandal have delayed diesel certifications for Mercedes and other automakers. But Mercedes' long-term outlook on diesels in the U.S. is shakier. The company is conducting market research on U.S. diesel demand to help guide its direction, Luehrs said. "We have to look at that and see whether it makes sense to offer diesels in the future," Luehrs said. "We have not come to a conclusion but we obviously always tend to develop cars and offer vehicles according to customers' demands." Dropping diesels entirely in the U.S. "is a theoretical option," he said. Mercedes expects the first batch of results from its market research early next year, Luehrs said. He noted that demand for diesels in North America has been low "and is still lowering" for cars and crossovers. With regard to the certification efforts under way on diesel models, Mercedes is "confident that in most of the cases" it will succeed in gaining approvals, Luehrs said. Mercedes says its priority is securing EPA certification for the V-6 diesel in the GLS350d, a diesel version of the brand's large crossover. The company had been seeking certification for at least four diesel models in the U.S: the GLS, plus the GLC and GLE crossovers and the C-class sedan. A Mercedes spokesman last month said the company no longer plans to offer the diesel C class next year in the U.S. That car had been slated to go on sale in the first quarter of 2016.

Troubling if not scary. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Darkness is good: Dick Cheney. Darth Vader. Satan. That's power. It only helps us when [the media and liberals] get it wrong. When they're blind of who we are and what we're doing.' "Bill Clinton’s strength was to play to people without a college education. High school people. That's how you win elections." "I'm not a white nationalist, I'm a nationalist. I'm an economic nationalist. The globalists gutted the American working class and created a middle class in Asia. The issue now is about Americans looking to not get f—ed over. If we deliver, we'll get 60 percent of the white vote, and 40 percent of the black and Hispanic vote and we'll govern for 50 years. That's what the Democrats missed. They were talking to these people with companies with a $9 billion market cap employing nine people. It's not reality. They lost sight of what the world is about." "Like Andrew Jackson's populism, we're going to build an entirely new political movement. It's everything related to jobs. The conservatives are going to go crazy. I'm the guy pushing a trillion-dollar infrastructure plan. With negative interest rates throughout the world, it's the greatest opportunity to rebuild everything. Shipyards, iron works, get them all jacked up. We're just going to throw it up against the wall and see if it sticks. It will be as exciting as the 1930s, greater than the Reagan revolution — conservatives, plus populists, in an economic nationalist movement." "The media bubble is the ultimate symbol of what's wrong with this country. It's just a circle of people talking to themselves who have no f—ing idea what's going on. If The New York Times didn't exist, CNN and MSNBC would be a test pattern. The Huffington Post and everything else is predicated on The New York Times. It's a closed circle of information from which Hillary Clinton got all her information — and her confidence. That was our opening." "They [Murdoch-owned Fox News] got it more wrong than anybody. Rupert is a globalist and never understood Trump. To him, Trump is a radical. Now they'll go centrist and build the network around Megyn Kelly. "He [Trump] gets it; he gets it intuitively. You have probably the greatest orator since William Jennings Bryan, coupled with an economic populist message and two political parties that are so owned by the donors that they don't speak to their audience. But he speaks in a non-political vernacular, he communicates with these people in a very visceral way. Nobody in the Democratic party listened to his speeches, so they had no idea he was delivering such a compelling and powerful economic message. He shows up 3.5 hours late in Michigan at 1 in the morning and has 35,000 people waiting in the cold. When they got [Clinton] off the donor circuit she went to TempleUniversity and they drew 300 or 400 kids." "I knew that she [Hillary Clinton] couldn't close. They out-spent us 10 to one, had 10 times more people and had all the media with them, but I kept saying it doesn't matter, they got it all wrong, we've got this locked." "I am Thomas Cromwell in the court of the Tudors." (Likening himself to Henry VIII’s right hand man and master manipulator) Steven Bannon, Breitbart News Network Editor and Trump administration chief strategist

I like Jeff Sessions. He calls a spade a spade. He's had to be careful, in order to rise in a politically correct environment. I hope to see him now do great things. .

Blindsided by Trump Tweet, UAW Meets With Ford on SUV Plan Bloomberg / November 18, 2016 United Auto Workers leaders huddled with Ford Motor Co. executives today after the union was caught off guard by President-elect Donald Trump’s tweet last night he helped prevent another Ford model from going to Mexico. While the union is pleased Ford has now committed to continue building the Lincoln MKC small sport utility vehicle at a Kentucky factory, Trump’s tweets had suggested that the entire Louisville Assembly Plant’s output was under threat of moving to Mexico. The MKC is built on the same assembly line as the Ford Escape, which outsells the Lincoln version by 12-to-1. More than 5,000 employees are working nearly around the clock on three crews to meet demand for the two SUVs, said Todd Dunn, president of UAW Local 862 in Louisville. So were Trump’s tweets that there would be “no Mexico” because he “worked hard with Bill Ford to keep the Lincoln plant in Kentucky” misleading? “I’ll let each individual reach their own conclusions, but the true answer should be clear to anyone,” Dunn said in an interview. “What is important is the transparency between Ford Motor Co. and the UAW. We’re doing a good job and that wasn’t decided in an overnight tweet.” Ford didn’t inform the union of its long-term plans for the MKC before those tweets went out Thursday night, Dunn said. That’s what UAW Vice President Jimmy Settles, who oversees Ford contract negotiations, and other union leaders were planning to discuss with the company today, he said. Settles and Ford manufacturing chief Bruce Hettle sent a letter to Louisville plant workers Friday promising to meet with them “in the coming days” to discuss the change in plans on the MKC. Talks With Trump After Trump’s tweets, the company acknowledged for the first time it had been considering moving production of the MKC to Mexico, allowing the plant to boost output of the Escape, one of its hottest models. After talks between Executive Chairman Bill Ford and the president-elect, the automaker decided to keep building the MKC in Louisville after the UAW’s current contract expires in 2019. “We had planned to move the Lincoln MKC out of Louisville Assembly Plant,” Christin Baker, a Ford spokeswoman, said in an e-mail, noting the UAW contract signed last year allowed for such a move. "Cuautitlan plant in Mexico was likely the plant for MKC." During his campaign, Trump was relentless in his criticism of Ford for planning to move all its North American small-car production to Mexico, where wages are 80 percent lower than in the U.S. Ford also builds the Lincoln MKZ sedan at a factory in Hermosillo, Mexico. During the campaign, Trump threatened to slap Ford’s Mexican-built cars with a 35 percent tariff. He also said he would terminate the North American Free Trade Agreement, which lets goods flow between Mexico, the U.S. and Canada without tariffs. Ford, which has expressed a willingness to work with Trump since he was elected, has been in "constant contact" with his transition team, Chief Financial Officer Bob Shanks told analysts Thursday. Ford’s change of heart on moving the MKC to Mexico followed those discussions. “We are encouraged that President-elect Trump and the new Congress will pursue policies that will improve U.S. competitiveness and make it possible to keep production of this vehicle here in the U.S.,” the automaker said in an e-mailed statement after Trump’s tweets. Bill Ford met with Trump during the campaign in an unsuccessful attempt to get the candidate to stop targeting the automaker, which says it has created nearly 28,000 jobs in the U.S. during the past five years. In his first answer of the first debate with Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, Trump attacked the automaker for plans to move production of the Focus small car and C-Max hybrid from a plant in Michigan to Mexico. “We are everything that he should be celebrating about this country,” Bill Ford told reporters in September. “We pulled ourselves up by our bootstraps, we paid back our borrowings, we are healthy again, we’ve been adding jobs in the U.S. and we are the largest manufacturer of cars and trucks in the U.S.”

Trump picks hardliners to head DoJ and CIA The Financial Times / November 18, 2016 Jeff Sessions chosen as attorney-general and Mike Pompeo for intelligence chief Donald Trump has abandoned the conciliatory tenor of his immediate post-election transition by picking conservative hardliners for three of the most sensitive law enforcement and intelligence posts of his incoming administration. Jeff Sessions, the Alabama senator chosen to head the justice department, is an immigration hardliner who strongly backed Trump’s call for a wall on the US-Mexico border. Mike Flynn, a retired general who will be national security adviser, has been a harsh critic of Islam. Mike Pompeo, a Kansas congressman picked to head the CIA, wants enhanced surveillance powers for intelligence agencies. In announcing the selection, Mr Trump touted the three men’s long experience in law enforcement and military affairs, arguing they all have distinguished careers as military officers — in the case of Mr Flynn and Mr Pompeo — and as a prosecutor in Alabama, where Mr Session worked before joining the Senate. But that experience also comes with long and controversial records that opponents quickly seized upon. Sessions, 69, was accused of racism after making comments that ended up derailing a push by Ronald Reagan to make him a federal judge three decades ago. Trump defended Sessions, who has been one of the most important advisers to Trump over the past year, including sending some of his staff to advise the Republican candidate. In a statement, Trump said Sessions was respected in the Senate and had a “world-class legal mind”. Although Trump sent a signal that he was willing to reach out to establishment Republicans by picking Reince Priebus, head of the Republican National Committee, as his chief of staff, the move to give some of Washington’s most high-profile intelligence and security jobs to outsiders was a sign the president-elect is sticking to his campaign rhetoric in fighting terrorism and combating immigration. The justice department and CIA have played key roles in setting US policy towards interrogating terrorism suspects, and Trump has repeatedly said he would return to the Bush-era practice of using “enhanced” techniques such as waterboarding to gain intelligence, although he has backtracked when told that they were illegal. Flynn, an intelligence officer who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, was previously head of the Defense Intelligence Agency. The role of national security adviser is seen as even more important than usual, given Trump’s lack of foreign policy experience. Flynn was previously fired from the Defense Intelligence Agency over his leadership style. Pompeo, a little-known congressman from Kansas and a former US army officer, was an unexpected choice for CIA director. Pompeo, who first won election in 2010, is a staunch critic of the Iran nuclear deal struck by President Obama last year. He came to prominence as a Republican member of the House committee who sought to pin the blame for the deadly 2012 attack on the US consulate in Benghazi on then secretary of state Hillary Clinton. Pompeo is close to vice-president-elect Mike Pence, but he initially endorsed Florida senator Marco Rubio during the Republican presidential primaries. Like Sessions, he is regarded as a hardline conservative.

Associated Press / November 18, 2016 Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, who has been offered the role of national security adviser in Trump’s adminstration, began receiving classified national security briefings last summer while he was also running a private consulting firm that offered “all-source intelligence support” to international clients. Two months ago, during the height of the presidential campaign, Flynn’s consulting firm, the Flynn Intel Group, registered to lobby for a Dutch company owned by a Turkish businessman close to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Critics are livid that Flynn began sitting in on U.S. intelligence briefings for Trump in August while working for foreign clients. “This is profoundly troubling and should be disqualifying,” said Norm Eisen, who served as Obama’s ethics adviser and later as an ambassador to the CzechRepublic. He predicted that if Flynn is named as Trump’s national security adviser, “there will be wholesale resignations of national security professionals, and I believe some have already drafted their resignation letters.” On Thursday, White House officials refused to say if Flynn was designated to receive national security briefings. According to a copy of a Memorandum of Understanding signed on Election Day, the Trump transition team, as a condition of receiving government briefing materials, was required to provide a statement to White House chief of staff Denis McDonough last week that all designated members of the transition team had disclosed their financial interests and did not have any conflicts of interest. A Trump transition spokesman refused to answer questions about whether Flynn had made such disclosures. Rep. Elijah Cummings, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said the terms of the memorandum raise questions about whether Flynn is even eligible to continue to receive national security briefings at this point. Flynn Intel Group chief counsel Robert Kelly refused to say why the firm was hired to lobby Congress on behalf of Innova BV, a firm based in Holland and owned by the Turkish businessman, Ekim Alptekin. The lobbying disclosure statement filed with the secretary of the Senate on Sept. 30 states only that Flynn’s firm “will advise client on U.S. domestic and foreign policy” and congressional appropriations bills for the State Department. Without disclosing his lobbying relationship with the Turkish firm, Flynn published an op-ed in the newspaper the Hill on Election Day, in which he advanced the No. 1 cause of Erdogan’s government: advocating the extradition of Fethullah Gülen, a Turkish exile living in Pennsylvania whom Erdogan has blamed for instigating the failed military coup against his government last summer. In the op-ed, which ran under the headline “Our ally Turkey is in crisis and needs our support,” Flynn described Gülen as a “shady Islamic mullah,” who runs a “vast global network [that] has all the right markings to fit the description of a dangerous sleeper network. This is the not the first time questions have been raised about Flynn’s overseas ties. Last December, Flynn, who served as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency from 2012 until 2014, flew to Moscow to participate in the 10th anniversary of RT, the Russian government propaganda network. He gave an interview to one of its anchors and attended a gala dinner where he sat at the same table as Russian President Vladimir Putin. In a testy exchange with Yahoo News during the Republican Convention in Cleveland in July, Flynn acknowledged that he was paid through his speakers bureau to attend the RT event, but he refused to say how much. What was striking, according to ethics experts, is that given his overseas consulting business, Flynn began sitting in on classified intelligence briefings with Trump last summer. Flynn was reportedly so assertive during the initial briefing in August, peppering the briefers with rapid-fire questions, that Trump’s adviser Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, who also attended the briefing, was prompted to try to calm him down by placing a hand on his arm. Danielle Brian, executive director of the Project on Government Oversight, an outside watchdog group, said that she finds it “deeply disturbing” that Flynn attended these briefings at a time that he was representing foreign clients with interests before the U.S. government. “It’s exactly the kind of foreign entanglements our laws are designed to prevent,” she said. One retired military officer who has advised both Republican and Democratic presidents said of the allegations about Flynn: “If this is true, it’s a disqualifying conflict of interest — if not by ethics laws, certainly in the spirit of conflict of interest, not to mention security regulations. We should be deeply concerned about his ethical judgment, but more specifically how can he possibly provide unbiased advice to the POTUS about Turkey and Russia, when he’s taken money from both.” .

That's an air-cooled Deutz-powered model C11664DD. The Deutz V-8 engine model is BF8L513, and it is still available from Deutz as a factory Xchange unit. Today's 15.9-liter Deutz BF8M1015 V-8, rated up to 600 horsepower, is quite a powerhouse. Not a Deutz-powered unit, but this one is absolutely beautiful..........http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/3885-1997-diamond-reo-truck/

I always felt the Red Dot unit was better than the Kysor "Mini Brute" installed in R/U/DM glider kits by R.D. Knorr. And certainly due to far wider usage, Red Dot parts enjoyed better availability.

You stated: There are 3 types of people advocating the dissolution of the electoral college: sore losers, the uneducated, and those who would like to see voter fraud in the cities affect the outcome of the entire election instead of only the individual states where it occurs. I asked you: Which of the three types of people am I ? You replied that I am "all of the above". Apparently, you imply that I am multi-tasking. In support of the concept of mutual respect, I take the time to read your thoughts. We all bring interesting points to the table in support of a healthy exchange of viewpoints. That said, your guess is incorrect. I am not any of those three. I'm struggling here. You adamantly support the burning* of the American flag, and state that the United States of America is not a democracy. I respect your opinions, of course, but respectfully disagree with them. * http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/45093-trump/?page=3 / http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/45093-trump/?page=4

Prior to 1987, production of Allentown glider kits was outsourced for many years to Allentown-based R.D. Knorr Industries, a long time supplier. Note that only glider kits came with Kysor Mini Brute heater/AC units. Complete trucks came, at first with Signet, and by 1986? with Red Dot (like this truck). In 1987, Curcio wanted to shift Allentown glider kit production from Knorr to Macungie. I don't recall the outcome.

BBC / November 17, 2016 The radical Islamist behind a bombing in New York which wounded 31 people in September has pleaded not guilty to terrorism-related charges. Ahmad Khan Rahimi was charged with eight offences, including use of a weapon of mass destruction, bombing and use of a destructive device. Rahimi is accused of being behind explosions in Manhattan and New Jersey. Investigators say Rahimi planted two bombs in Chelsea but one failed to detonate. Another bomb exploded in a New Jersey seaside town earlier on the same day but no-one was hurt. He is also accused of leaving explosives in a discarded rucksack in a rubbish bin in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Assistant US Attorney Nicholas Lewin said the government had video clips of Rahimi's movements on the day of the bombings, internet records showing he bought bomb-making materials and proof his DNA was on the explosive devices. Police also found a handwritten journal in which Rahimi praised Osama bin Laden and criticized US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. "Rahimi's goal was to bring fear and destruction to innocent people", said New York FBI office head William Sweeney.

Iveco Trucks Australia Press Release / November 18, 2016 Victorian Government supports local manufacturing with Iveco fleet purchase The Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change, Lily D’Ambrosio, this week attended Iveco’s Dandenong (Melbourne) manufacturing facility, to inspect four locally-built Iveco trucks that will shortly begin service as transport vehicles for the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP). The Minister was accompanied on her visit by State Member for Dandenong, Gabrielle Williams and DELWP personnel. The trucks consisting of three Powerstar 6400 prime movers and a Stralis 8x4 rigid (still in build) will be configured as ‘first attack’ transport vehicles, mobilising bulldozers to bushfire hotspots, where they’re typically one of the first responders to an emergency. Outside of the bushfire season the equipment will be used as part of planned burning and land management activities. Developed by Iveco Australia exclusively for the local market, the Powerstar features 60 per cent local content while the Stralis 8x4 boasts 55 per cent local content. Both the Minister and Member for Dandenong stressed the importance of supporting Australian manufacturing as well as equipping DELWP with the best equipment possible. “We’re putting people first by ensuring that these world-class vehicles are built right here in Victoria,” the Minister said. “We’re supporting local manufacturing workers and providing the best equipment available for our forest firefightrers,” the Member for Dandenong said. Equipment ‘nuts and bolts’ Iveco Australia was selected as a vehicle supplier after an exhaustive evaluation process that included in-field trials in which DELWP operators drove and experienced the vehicles in real-world conditions. DELWP Manager – Mobile Plant & Equipment, Nigel Robertson, says there were many considerations in making the purchase decision. “At the top of our list was engine braking capability, it’s a very important factor for our drivers especially when fully loaded and operating in steep and difficult conditions,” Mr Robertson said. “Strong horsepower was also up there – we don’t speed but in an emergency we need to get there as fast and safely as possible, we can’t have the driver struggling up hills and getting worked-up before even reaching the fire site. “When the operators of these trucks arrive on site they have to unload the bulldozers and then they can spend hours at the controls so it’s essential that their travel to the fire site is as easy and stress-free as possible, we can’t have drivers arriving fatigued. The Iveco cabin is very spacious and comfortable especially with driver and passenger ISRI air-suspended seats and extensive stowage areas,” he said. All four trucks feature identical drivelines consisting of 500hp Cursor 13 engine and Eurotronic 16-speed automated manual transmission (AMT). Mr Robertson says that although the original intent had been to specify the vehicles with manual transmissions, following the first trial where his operators were able to drive the AMT, there was an overwhelming change of decision. “Our previous vehicles were manuals and at the start of the evaluation process the drivers were steadfast on again getting manuals, but after trialing the AMT it was almost unanimous that this was the way to go,” he said. “The trucks were much easier to drive with the AMT and allowed the driver to better concentrate on the road conditions. Specifying an AMT also provides peace of mind for the less experienced drivers. We have selected the same engine and transmission combination in all vehicles, this along with commonality of interior will allow drivers to move from one truck to another seamlessly.” OEM specification aside, Iveco is also assisting DEWLP with aftermarket accessories for the application, to deliver the organisation with turn-key and fit-for-purpose end products. Iveco Powerstar - https://www.iveco.com.au/product/powerstar .

Owner/Driver / November 18, 2016 State government looks to RSRT in new inquiry into owner-drivers and forestry contractors The Victorian government will review the laws regulating owner-drivers and forestry contractors, announcing an inquiry into the industry’s practices post the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal (RSRT). Stating that "economic pressures" have "forced some drivers into unsafe practices", the state-run review is seeking submissions by the end of January next year. The inquiry comes after the "the Victorian Inquiry into Labour Hire Industry and Insecure Work recently heard evidence on a range of issues regarding rates of pay, certainty of working hours, and occupational health and safety for tip truck owner drivers," a government statement says, and will "look at the inquiry’s recommendations, including a code of practice for the tip truck industry and the threshold requirements on hirers to provide applicable rates and costs to owner drivers." It will also "examine contracting requirements and dispute resolution mechanisms available to owner drivers, and seek to address any avoidance of rights and responsibilities under the ODFC Act and Regulations," the statement says. The move by the Labor government in Victoria follows a decision by the Liberal federal government to abolish the RSRT installed by the previous Labor federal government. The tribunal was officially removed in April, just weeks after it came into existence, and saw the Liberal party and NatRoad go head to head with the Transport Workers’ Union (TWU) and the Labor party in a war of words. Both sides claimed they had owner-drivers’ best wishes in mind. The topic is already the subject of an Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO) Kate Carnell-led inquiry, backed by the then federal small business minister Kelly O’Dwyer. To make a submission to the new inquiry, information on the terms of reference and correct address are available here. It is open until January 31.

Prime Mover Magazine / November 17, 2016 Freight movement on New Zealand’s South Island has come to a standstill following the devastating magnitude 7.8 earthquake that shook the country on Monday and left more than 1,000 people stranded in the small seaside town of Kaikoura. According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), the damage to roads and infrastructure is expected to take months to repair, with Economic Development Minister, Steven Joyce, saying “the whole of Kaikoura and surrounding towns are literally out of business” until access is restored. The National Business Review’s Chris Hutching, transport companies have parked up their loads until roads and rail lines are cleared again, with coastal shipping companies expected to fill the gaps. "Until we get roads we can't move. Who knows what lies ahead. It's very fluid. It's impossible to answer questions until we know what road links can be used,” Bob Gairdner, Operations Manager at trucking company, Halls Group, told Hutching. Road Transport Forum Chief Executive, Ken Shirley, said there will be "severe disruption" to freight, even though road authorities are working hard to repair enough of the inland Kaikoura route to restore at least “some vehicle access”. "The weeks ahead are a worry. Logistics these days is governed by the just-in-time ethos," Shirley told the National Business Review. "For a lot of these fast moving consumer goods, a couple of days will mean there will be shortages. "There are a myriad of specialised products and basic food items. Everything you can think of is moved on a truck. It just highlights how dependent we are on the movement of freight." Shirley said access for over-sized nine-axle trucks will be especially hard to negotiate as they are restricted on some of the diversion routes. However, exceptions are likely to be made. "The [New Zealand Transport Agency] can allow them in emergency situations like they did after the 2011 earthquakes and restrict speeds across bridges and culverts,” said Shirley. “They will accept acceleration in wear and tear on pavements in some circumstances.” .

KamAZ Trucks Press Release / February 17, 2016 Next March, KamAZ is will begin pilot production of three new vocational models, the 6580, 65801 and 65802. The new models, dubbed the G-Class, will replace the 6520 and 65201. The biggest change is in the truck’s powertrain. For the first time, the Cummins ISG series will be offered, available in 10.5 and 11.8 liter displacements. The ISG is the global market version of the North American market ISX12. The Cummins ISG engines will be available in both Euro-5 (near EPA2007) and Euro-6 (near EPA2010) emissions ratings. The outgoing 6520 and 65201 models featured the 11.97 liter Mercedes-Benz OM457LA or the proprietary Kamaz 11.76 liter V8. The new trucks offer increased payload, extended service intervals and the availability of both ZF AMT and Allison automatic transmissions. .

Relating to Ford Trucks' global "Cargo" heavy truck line-up, the Ecotorq engine family now includes the 7.3L (in-line), 9.0L, 10.3L and 12.7L.

Ford Turkey Press Release / November 17, 2016 Ford Motor Company’s R&D facilities at the Ford-Otosan joint venture are among the company’s largest in the world. This video takes a look at the history of R&D at Ford-Otosan, with views of both Ford Truck’s global “Cargo” heavy truck range as well as the Transit van range designed and produced there. Ford Otomotiv Sanayi A.S. (Ford Otosan) is incorporated in Turkey and operates as a joint venture between Ford Motor Company and Koç Holding. Ford Otosan is the global heavy truck making arm of Ford Motor Company. While the Ford/Koc cooperation dates back 54 years, the relationship began when Henry Ford made the Koc family a distributor in 1928. Today, Ford and Koc Group each hold a 41 percent equity stake each, and the remaining shares are listed on the Istanbul Stock Exchange. .

So, Lakhbir, Palwinder and Jagtar demonstarte their unwillingness to subjugate to the American way of life by refusing J.B. Hunt’s pre-employment hair-sample drug testing program that ALL other drivers are required to take. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) states regarding "Pre-employment", an employer must receive a negative drug test result before permitting a CDL driver to operate a CMV. (§382.301). However, Lakhbir, Palwinder and Jagtar argued that their religion places them above U.S. law, and walk away with $260,000.