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Terrorist attack in London, 1 dead, 5 wounded Associated Press / August 3, 2016 A 64-year-old American, Darlene Horton, has been killed, and five people wounded (2 other women and 3 men - Australian, Israeli and British), in a mass stabbing in the centre of London. Police have arrested a 19-year-old man on suspicion of murder. The suspect is a Norwegian national of Somali origin who came to the UK in 2002. The Metropolitan Police say the incident occurred at Russell Square near the British Museum at around 10.30pm on Wednesday night. “Police were called at 22:33 hours on Wednesday 3 August to reports of a man seen in possession of a knife injuring people at Russell Square, WC1,” the Metropolitan Police stated. “Officers attended the scene along with the London Ambulance Service. Up to six people were found injured at the location.” “A female (no further details) was treated at the scene but was pronounced dead a short time later. We await an update on the condition of the other persons injured and details of any other injuries.” “A man was arrested at 22:39 hours and a Taser was discharged by one of the arresting officers. Additional police units have been deployed to the area to provide reassurance.” Fears that the knifeman operated with an accomplice were raised in the early hours as the Met refused to rule out further suspects. One witness saw three men fleeing nearby Queen Square shortly after the incident. “One man fled on a motorcycle heading down a pedestrian area,” he said. “He obviously looked in a hurry.” Scotland Yard had earlier on Wednesday announced an extra 600 officers armed officers were being deployed on patrol in London after the recent terror attacks in France and Germany. The incident occurred in the same area where one of the July 7 bombs detonated in 2005. A total of 26 people were murdered when radical Islamist Germaine Lindsay, 19, detonated a suicide bomb on a Piccadilly line subway as it moved between King's Cross station and Russell Square. Retired American teacher Darlene Horton was in London with her husband, Florida State University psychology professor Richard Wagner, where he taught during the summer session when the attack occurred. The couple had planned to return to Florida on Thursday. .

Clint Eastwood defends Trump's 'racist' remarks: 'Just get over it' The Guardian / August 3, 2016 Another Republican luminary has gone public with strong feelings about Donald Trump. Really, really strong feelings. He didn’t pussyfoot like Paul Ryan. He wasn’t a convention no-show, like John Kasich. Hollywood tough guy Clint Eastwood emptied both barrels in an interview with Esquire magazine, aiming squarely … at those who have taken the presidential candidate to task for racism and other, well, rough edges. “He’s said a lot of dumb things,” the actor and director said of the man who has pilloried Mexicans, Muslims, immigrants, women, and the list goes on and on. “So have all of them. Both sides. But everybody – the press and everybody’s going, ‘Oh, well, that’s racist’, and they’re making a big hoodoo out of it”. Eastwood’s advice to America: “Just f*cking get over it. It’s a sad time in history”. This country, he said, is plagued by what he derided as “a pussy generation”, and he wasn’t talking about all those cute videos your mom posts on FaceBook. Trump, the actor fumed, is “onto something, because secretly everybody’s getting tired of political correctness, kissing up. That’s the kiss-ass generation we’re in right now. We’re really in a pussy generation. Everybody’s walking on eggshells. “We see people accusing people of being racist and all kinds of stuff”, Eastwood continued. “When I grew up, those things weren’t called racist”. He knows a thing or two about racial slurs, as anyone who has watched the movie Gran Torino can attest. In it, he plays Walt Kowalski, a retired auto worker and Korean War veteran who hates the Asian, Latino and black families that move into his changing neighborhood. Before he gets a change of heart and becomes heartwarmingly friendly with an Asian teen who was pushed by gang members to steal his eponymous car, Eastwood/Kowalski lets loose with pretty much any slur you can think of – “chinks”, “zipperheads”, “jabbering gooks”. In a bar scene when he’s surrounded by his old, white guy friends, he lets loose with a joke that sets them all off laughing: “I’ve got one”, he starts, waving his half-full pint glass. “A Mexican, a Jew and a colored guy go into a bar. The bartender looks up and says, ‘get the f*ck out of here’.” Ba dum bum. “And then when I did Gran Torino”, Eastwood told Esquire, “even my associate said, ‘This is a really good script, but it’s politically incorrect’. And I said, ‘Good. Let me read it tonight’. The next morning, I came in and I threw it on his desk and I said, ‘We’re starting this immediately’.” On Trump’s deriding Indiana-born US district judge Gonzalo Curiel for being unfair because of his Mexican heritage, Eastwood was dismissive. “Yeah,” he said, “It’s a dumb thing.” Eastwood has not endorsed his rhetorical soulmate, he said, but given a choice between the billionaire real estate mogul and the former US secretary of state, he’ll vote for Trump in a heartbeat. After all, Hillary Clinton said she’d carry on Obama’s legacy, which is anathema to a man who was once the mayor of an upscale seaside town in California. Besides, he said, Clinton’s is “a tough voice to listen to for four years”. The worst thing about politics today, says the man who describes himself as part of the “anti-pussy generation. Not to be confused with pussy” – is that politicians basically put him to sleep. “They’re boring everybody,” he said. “Chesty Puller, a great Marine general, once said, ‘You can run me, and you can starve me, and you can beat me, and you can kill me, but don’t bore me.’ And that’s exactly what’s happening now: Everybody is boring everybody. It’s boring to listen to all this shit. It’s boring to listen to these candidates.” If he were writing a stump speech today, Eastwood said, it would be, “Knock it off. Knock everything off.” If only.

“We don’t know who these individuals are. Any idea (that) you can do a background check of someone that’s been living in Syria is absolutely ridiculous. These are dangerous times, whether people want to admit it or not. We want to keep the war out of Mississippi, here on the homefront.” Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant "It is irresponsible and severely disconcerting to place individuals, who may have ties to ISIS, in a state without the state's knowledge or involvement." Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal "There is virtually no vetting because there are no databases in Syria, there are no government records. We don't know who these people are." New York Rep. Peter King "It's not that we don't want to -- it's that we can't, because there's no way to background check someone that's coming from Syria." Florida Senator Marco Rubio. "The governor doesn't believe the U.S. should accept additional Syrian refugees because security and safety issues cannot be adequately addressed. The governor is writing to the President to ask him to stop, and to ask him to stop resettling them in Ohio. We are also looking at what additional steps Ohio can take to stop resettlement of these refugees." Ohio Governor John Kasich spokesman Jim Lynch ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- States whose governors oppose refugees (unvetted economic migrants): Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin, Wyoming -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Italy suspects ISIS is sending thousands of migrants across the Mediterranean Business Insider / August 3, 2016 Italy is investigating whether ISIS is involved in organizing the passage of tens of thousands of migrants across the Mediterranean. The Turkey to Greece migration route has been largely shut down since a repatriation deal was struck between the European Union and Ankara in March, but hundreds of people are arriving in Italy every day, mostly from Libya. Criminal gangs have taken advantage of chaos in Libya to charge mainly sub-Saharan Africans, looking for a better life in Europe [economic migrants], hundreds of dollars to make the voyage. "There is an investigation underway focused on whether ISIS has crucial roles in controlling and managing migrant flows to Italy," Justice Minister Andrea Orlando told a parliamentary committee. He told the hearing on immigration, Europe's border-free Schengen accord and the activity of European police agency Europol that details of the investigation were secret. "The risks we have to take on are high," he said, adding there was also a suspicion the militants were trying to influence where in Italy migrants were eventually placed. The militant group has made money by selling oil from fields it seized in the Middle East and North Africa and from plundering weapons and ammunition. Militant groups have smuggled members into Europe among the migrants, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said. More than 257,000 migrants and refugees have entered Europe by sea this year, it said. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Italy: ISIS Fighters Are Posing as Refugees in Our Camps Associated Press / May 10, 2016 A string of arrests suggest that ISIS recruiters have infiltrated the asylum centers full of desperate migrants. The Bari-Palese CARA Refugee Reception Center in Italy’s southern province of Puglia was built to host 850 refugees. These days, it’s overflowing with 1,389—mostly men from Nigeria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh who wait behind high walls and spirals of barbed wire for their political-asylum applications to be heard. The refugee center is a hotbed of discontent, and most of the men who stay there would rather be just about anywhere else. In 2013, a Kurdish refugee was killed there in a violent riot that started as a protest against maltreatment. Since then, the camp gates are left open so the refugees and migrants can come and go as they please. Early Tuesday, Italian anti-mafia police (also responsible for anti-terrorism) entered the camp and arrested Hakim Nasiri, a 23-year-old from Afghanistan, on international terrorism charges. He had been granted provisional political asylum on May 5, despite the fact that undercover detectives posing as refugees inside the camp had been trailing his suspicious movements since December. Among the pictures found on his cellphone was one with the mayor of Bari, Antonio Decaro, taken at a rally in support of integrating Italy’s growing immigrant communities. Other photos confiscated by police show Nasiri brandishing semi-automatic weapons in unidentifiable gun shops. At the same time across town, police also arrested Gulistan Ahmadzai, 29, also from Afghanistan, on charges he abetted illegal immigration specifically related to the alleged recruitment of jihadi fighters who he helped bring into Europe as well as a connection to “Islamic fundamentalists associated with attacks in Paris and Belgium.” On his computer, police said they found propaganda material for “jihadi fighters sympathetic to the Islamic State” and instruction manuals for building explosives. According to the arrest warrant, he represented the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, an ISIS splinter group that broke off from the Taliban. Ahmadzai had been given full political asylum in September 2011 and may have helped Nasiri reach Italy. Police said three other men— Ahmadzai Qari Khesta, Ahmadzai Surgul, and Amjad Zulfiqar—are affiliated with the alleged terrorist cell, and are still at large. Italian investigators first discovered the network last December when they stopped four foreigners who were capturing video of a large commercial center in Bari with a cellphone. They sequestered the phone, which they said led them to the rest of the suspects arrested Tuesday. Several of the suspects had apparently taken low-cost flights from Bari to Paris in December 2015. They are also accused of playing an integral role in a human-trafficking ring that facilitates the illegal travel of migrants from southern Italy to Calais, France, and Hungary. Roberto Rossi, Puglia’s anti-mafia district director, said the men in custody had photos and videos on their cellphones of the Coliseum and Circus Maximus in Rome and the tourist cruise ship port and a large shopping center in Bari that were of “no tourist value,” he said. “They were inspections by the cell to carry out attacks.” The men also had a number of photos and videos of hotels, shopping centers, and apartment blocks in suburban London, including the Sunborn Yacht Hotel, which is permanently docked in the East London Royal Docks, as well as the South Quay Foot drawbridge to Canary Wharf and the entrances of the Premier Inn London Stratford and the Ibis Styles London Excel, which are uninspiring moderate-for-London hotels in the area. “This was an organization planning an attack through the preliminary inspection of the locations, including photographic and video documentation,” Rossi said. “They were clearly planning terrorist attacks at airports, ports, law-enforcement buildings, commercial centers, hotels, as well as other unspecified terrorist attacks in Italy and England." Rossi said the men also had images of weapons and “star” Taliban militants as well as audio files of “prayers and proselytization chants relating to the indoctrination of radical Islam.” He said the men also had collected video tributes to apparent relatives and friends who were being held at the U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay, as well as a computer in Ahmadzai’s apartment with radical-Islam recruitment propaganda and manuals for building explosives. Before the arrests, European counterterrorism forces had come under scrutiny by aid agencies for effectively “terrorist-hunting” in refugee camps in Italy and Greece. There has been a fierce debate about whether or not terrorists could come into Italy and Greece through the migrant trails. Nearly 29,000 migrants and refugees have arrived in Italy from Libya since the beginning of 2016, compared to more than 155,000 who have arrived in Greece via Turkey, though there have been no Greek arrivals “documented” yet in May, after a contentious agreement that includes sending refugees back to Turkey. Out of fears that terrorists have infiltrated the refugees, Europol said it recently sent some 150 agents into the camps in Italy and Greece to screen suspect refugees who might be sympathetic to ISIS.

Georgia teens executed Associated Press / August 3, 2016 Georgia police have arrested a 20-year-old man for the murders of two teenagers shot execution-style whose bodies were found behind a grocery store. Jeffrey A. Hazelwood, of Roswell, Georgia, has been charged with the murders of Natalie Henderson and Carter Davis, both age 17. The bodies of Henderson and Davis were found behind the Publix store in Roswell near Atlanta, Georgia, by a delivery driver before dawn on Monday. The Fulton County medical examiner's office says the two teenagers died from a single gunshot to the head. Parents of both victims told officers they thought their children were still at home in bed. Roswell police chief Rusty Grant said he could not discuss the motive, but police believe Hazelwood acted alone. Hazelwood was arrested at 5am this morning is being held at the Roswell Detention Center and will be transferred to Fulton County Jail, police said. .

Zachary Chesser of Bristow, Virginia was an acquaintance of Nicholas Young. In 2010, then age 20, Chesser pleaded guilty to providing material support to the group al-Shabab. The muslim convert also told the creators of the television show “South Park” that they risked death for mocking the Prophet Muhammad in an episode. Court papers stated that Chesser tried to join the join the al-Shabab terror group in Somalia in early 2010 and that he posted online propaganda on their behalf. Chesser also took his infant son with him to the airport to make his travel appear more innocuous. Prosecutors also charged him with communicating threats and soliciting crimes of violence. .

DC police officer tried to support ISIS Associated Press / August 3, 2016 A Washington, D.C.-area transit police officer has been charged in an FBI sting with attempting to support ISIS. Nicholas Young, 36, of Fairfax, Virginia, was arrested at the Metropolitan Police Headquarters on Wednesday morning. Young, a 12-year veteran of the transit police force, was charged with attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. The FBI says he is the first law enforcement officer in the United States to be charged with a terror-related crime. Young bought nearly $250 in gift cards he intended for the Islamic State's fighters to use to purchase mobile apps that would facilitate communication. Young believed the informant he was messaging was an acquaintance who was working with the militant group, but he actually gave the gift cards to an undercover FBI source. Young has been under surveillance since 2010. He traveled to Libya twice in 2011, where he said he joined rebel forces seeking to oust dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Young traveled with body armor, a kevlar helmet, and several other military-style items. Officials say Young did not pose any threat to the Metro system in the US capital. He has been with the Metro Transit Police Department since 2003. Young had converted to Islam. Police first interviewed Young in connection with his acquaintance, Zachary Chesser in 2010. A month later, Chesser pleaded guilty to providing material support to terrorists. Over the next several years, Young had a number of interactions with undercover officers and a cooperating witness regarding his knowledge or interest of terrorist-related activity. In one conversation with an undercover officer in March 2011, Young said that he hated the FBI and was skilled enough to attack the agency. Young said that although firearms are not permitted in Alexandria's federal courthouse, he went on to desscribea way to bring multiple guns inside undetected in order to distribute to others. Young met an FBI source on 20 separate occasions in 2014. The source posed as a U.S. military reservist of Middle Eastern descent who was becoming more religious and eager to leave the U.S. military as a result of having had to fight against Muslims during his deployment to Iraq. Young advised the source on how to evade detection by law enforcement by using specific travel methods and advised the man to watch out for informants and not discuss his plans with others. In the fall of 2014, the source led Young to believe that he had successfully left the United States and had joined ISIS - but in reality, he had no further contact with the source. All further communications between Young and the source's email account were actually between Young and FBI undercover personnel posing as him. In January last year, Young 'proudly' referenced the Charlie Hebdo terror attacks in an email. 'Not sure if you got the news there yet,' he said in a message days after the massacre in Paris. 'A couple brothers... were named in an assault on a french newspaper... Hopefully now people understand there are some lines you don't cross.' In June last year, Young emailed him asking for advice from ISIS commanders on how to send his money overseas. 'Unfortunately I have enough flags on my name that I can't even buy a plane ticket without little alerts ending up in someone's hands, so I imagine banking transactions are automatically monitored and will flag depending on what is going on,' Young wrote. In an interview with the police who responded to a report of domestic violence on June 1, Young revealed he had dressed up as 'Jihadi John' - the ISIS fighter who beheaded numerous people in propaganda videos - for Halloween in 2014. As part of his costume, Young said that he had stuffed an orange jumpsuit with paper to portray a headless hostage, which he carried with him throughout the party. In that interview, Young also revealed that he had dressed up as a Nazi before and collects Nazi memorabilia. He also showed officers a tattoo of a German eagle on his neck. In December last year, the FBI interviewed Young, ostensibly in connection to an investigation into the whereabouts of the source. Young told agents that he had left the United States to go on a vacation tour in Turkey around one year ago, but said that he knew of no one who helped the man cross the Turkish border into Syria. On July 18, Young sent a message intended for the source regarding purchasing of gift cards for mobile messaging accounts which the terror group uses for recruitment purposes. On July 28, Young sent 22 16-digit gift card codes to the undercover FBI agents with a message that said: 'Respond to verify receipt... may not answer depending on when as this device will be destroyed after all are sent to prevent the data being possibly seen on this end in the case of something unfortunate.' Young sent the gift card codes after the informant told him that the group needed help setting up mobile messaging accounts, according to the affidavit, and then promised to cover his tracks: 'Gonna eat the SIM card. Have a good day.' The codes were ultimately redeemed by the FBI for $245. Several meetings Young had with an undercover officer in 2011 included another of Young's acquaintances, Amine El Khalifi, who later pleaded guilty to charges relating to attempting a suicide bombing at the U.S. Capitol Building in 2012. The investigation into Young was initiated by the transit police [not the FBI ?], Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority CEO Paul Wiedefeld said. Young is scheduled to make his first appearance in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, at 2pm on Wednesday. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison if convicted. .

Ford threw all the latest technology into a pot and stirred. The result is the Ecoboost range. They proved a smaller engine can equate to a larger engine (Though one can expect shorter engine life from the busier smaller engine, a point Ford never comments on). Though the 3.5L Ecoboost V-6 engine, for example, has the power of the 5.0L V-8, they also have the fuel consumption of the V-8 as well, rather than that of a V-6. Performance is better, under certain conditions, thanks of course to turbocharging. But unless you drive an Ecoboost fitted truck as if there were a Faberge egg under the accelerator pedal, you want discover a world of "eco".

For Bosnia and Herzegowina, you can find local Mercedes-Benz after-sales support here. http://www.mercedes-benz.rs/content/serbia/mpc/mpc_serbia_website/rsng/home_mpc/passengercars.html

The Iranians paid a hefty deposit for additional Grumman F-14s. They didn't get them. They wanted the airplanes, or their money back. The U.S. side provided neither. The international tribunal in The Hague ruled that Iran should get their money back. Interestingly, Iran was the F-14's only foreign customer, and they used it, very successfully, as a land-based air force fighter (as opposed to our US Navy). During the Iran-Iraq war, the Iranian F-14s were so successful that Iraq's pilots were finally told to avoid them. Approached by military arms superstore Pentagon Inc., Iran compared the F-14 head-to-head with the F-15. It was no contest......the F-14 was far superior (Everyone knows the US Navy has the best planes and pilots.)

F-35 ready for service, says US Air Force, as Australia and Britain await delivery The Guardian / August 2, 2016 Doubts remain over Pentagon’s biggest ever weapons project after long delays, cost overruns and technical problems The US air force has declared an initial squadron of F-35 fighters jets ready for combat, marking a major milestone for a program dogged by serious cost overruns and delays that have infuriated US lawmakers and governments around the world that are buying the planes. The $379 billion program is the Pentagon’s largest weapons project. The air force’s decision follows one by the US marines in July 2015 declaring a first squadron of the Lockheed Martin planes ready for combat. The air force plans to buy a total of 1,763 F-35A conventional takeoff and landing jets in coming years, and to operate the largest F-35 fleet in the world. Lockheed is building three models of the F-35 Lightning II for the US military and 10 countries that have ordered them: Britain, Australia, Norway, Italy, Turkey, Denmark, the Netherlands, Israel, South Korea and Japan. But the program, launched in 2001, has been dogged by huge cost overruns and technical problems that blew out its budget by nearly 70%. Britain slashed its orders and the decision of Australia’s Howard government in 2002 to buy the jet fighter has been heavily criticised as hasty and ill-judged as cost increases, delays and doubts about its capability have mounted up. Problems with the fighter jet have included issues with the radar software and increased risk of neck injury to lower-weight pilots when they ejected from the aircraft. The F-35 was also reportedly out-performed by the ageing F-16 fighter in a mock dogfight. Industry and US defence officials have said they are working hard to continue driving down the cost of the new warplanes to $85 million per plane by 2019, as well as the cost of operating them. “The U.S. Air Force decision to make the 15 F-35As ... combat-ready sends a simple and powerful message to America’s friends and foes alike – the F-35 can do its mission,” said the program’s chief, Lieutenant General Chris Bogdan. But Dan Grazier, a fellow of the US-based Project On Government Oversight, said the declaration of combat readiness was “nothing but a public relations stunt”. He added that it would not be possible to know if the F-35 jets were ready for combat until after initial operational testing. Todd Harrison, a defence analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said: “The program is not doing everything they wanted it to do ... But they’re at a point now where it is stabilising and so it is progress.” Air Force General Herbert Carlisle, commander of Air Combat Command, said work to upgrade the jet would continue in areas such as software, making the displays more intuitive and boosting the ability to share information between aircraft. The aircraft could provide basic air support at this point but did not have everything the final version would, Carlisle said, adding that he would try to get the jets deployed to Europe and the Pacific within 18 months. The Pentagon’s F-35 program office said it remained in negotiations with Lockheed over long-delayed contracts for the next two batches of F-35 jets – deals worth about $15bn. “We’re seeking a fair deal for the F-35 enterprise and industry,” said F-35 program spokesman Joe DellaVedova. Senator John McCain, the Republican chairman of the armed services committee, said he welcomed the announcement but made clear he intended to keep a close eye on the hugely expensive program. “The Senate Armed Services Committee will continue to exercise rigorous oversight of the Joint Strike Fighter program’s long-delayed system development and demonstration phase as well as the start of the operational test and evaluation phase,” McCain said.

U.S. Sent Cash to Iran as Americans Were Freed The Wall Street Journal / August 3, 2016 Obama administration insists there was no quid pro quo, but critics charge payment amounted to ransom The Obama administration secretly organized an airlift of $400 million worth of cash to Iran that coincided with the January release of four Americans detained in Tehran, according to U.S. and European officials and congressional staff briefed on the operation afterward. Wooden pallets stacked with euros, Swiss francs and other currencies were flown into Iran on an unmarked cargo plane, according to these officials. The U.S. procured the money from the central banks of the Netherlands and Switzerland, they said. The money represented the first installment of a $1.7 billion settlement the Obama administration reached with Iran to resolve a decades-old dispute over a failed arms deal signed just before the 1979 fall of Iran’s last monarch, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The settlement, which resolved claims before an international tribunal in The Hague, also coincided with the formal implementation that same weekend of the landmark nuclear agreement reached between Tehran, the U.S. and other global powers the summer before. “With the nuclear deal done, prisoners released, the time was right to resolve this dispute as well,” President Barack Obama said at the White House on January 17—without disclosing the $400 million cash payment. Senior U.S. officials denied any link between the payment and the prisoner exchange. They say the way the various strands came together simultaneously was coincidental, not the result of any quid pro quo. “As we’ve made clear, the negotiations over the settlement of an outstanding claim…were completely separate from the discussions about returning our American citizens home,” State Department spokesman John Kirby said. “Not only were the two negotiations separate, they were conducted by different teams on each side, including, in the case of The Hague claims, by technical experts involved in these negotiations for many years.” But U.S. officials also acknowledge that Iranian negotiators on the prisoner exchange said they wanted the cash to show they had gained something tangible. Sen. Tom Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas and a fierce foe of the Iran nuclear deal, accused President Barack Obama of paying “a $1.7 billion ransom to the ayatollahs for U.S. hostages.” “This break with longstanding U.S. policy put a price on the head of Americans, and has led Iran to continue its illegal seizures” of Americans, he said. Since the cash shipment, the intelligence arm of the Revolutionary Guard has arrested two more Iranian-Americans. Tehran has also detained dual-nationals from France, Canada and the U.K. in recent months. At the time of the prisoner release, Secretary of State John Kerry and the White House portrayed it as a diplomatic breakthrough. Mr. Kerry cited the importance of “the relationships forged and the diplomatic channels unlocked over the course of the nuclear talks.” Meanwhile, U.S. officials have said they were certain Washington was going to lose the arbitration in The Hague, where Iran was seeking more than $10 billion, and described the settlement as a bargain for taxpayers. Iranian press reports have quoted senior Iranian defense officials describing the cash as a ransom payment. The Iranian foreign ministry didn’t respond to a request for comment. The $400 million was paid in foreign currency because any transaction with Iran in U.S. dollars is illegal under U.S. law. Sanctions also complicate Tehran’s access to global banks. “Sometimes the Iranians want cash because it’s so hard for them to access things in the international financial system,” said a senior U.S. official briefed on the January cash delivery. “They know it can take months just to figure out how to wire money from one place to another.” The Obama administration has refused to disclose how it paid any of the $1.7 billion, despite congressional queries, outside of saying that it wasn’t paid in dollars. Lawmakers have expressed concern that the cash would be used by Iran to fund regional allies, including the Assad regime in Syria and the Lebanese militia Hezbollah, which the U.S. designates as a terrorist organization. The U.S. and United Nations believe Tehran is subsidizing the Assad regime’s war in Syria through cash and energy shipments. Iran has acknowledged providing both financial and military aid to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and deploying Iranian soldiers there. But John Brennan, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, said last week that there was evidence much of the money Iran has received from sanctions relief was being used for development projects. “The money, the revenue that’s flowing into Iran is being used to support its currency, to provide moneys to the departments and agencies, build up its infrastructure,” Mr. Brennan said at a conference in Aspen, Colo. The U.S. and Iran entered into secret negotiations to secure the release of Americans imprisoned in Iran in November 2014, according to U.S. and European officials. Switzerland’s foreign minister, Didier Burkhalter, offered to host the discussions. The Swiss have represented the U.S.’s diplomatic interests in Iran since Washington closed its embassy in Tehran following the 1979 hostage crisis. Iranian security services arrested two Iranian-Americans during President Obama’s first term. In July 2014, the intelligence arm of Iran’s elite military unit, the Revolutionary Guard, detained the Washington Post’s Tehran bureau chief, Jason Rezaian, and charged him with espionage. A fourth Iranian-American was arrested last year. A former FBI agent, Robert Levinson, disappeared on the Iranian island of Kish in 2007. His whereabouts remain unknown. The Swiss channel initially saw little activity, according to these officials. But momentum shifted after Tehran and world powers forged a final agreement in July 2015 to constrain Iran’s nuclear program in return for the lifting of most international sanctions. A surge of meetings then took place in the Swiss lakeside city of Geneva in November and December. The U.S. delegation was led by a special State Department envoy, Brett McGurk, and included representatives from the CIA and FBI. The Iranian team was largely staffed by members of its domestic spy service, according to U.S. officials. The discussions, held at the InterContinental Hotel, initially focused solely on a formula whereby Iran would swap the Americans detained in Tehran for Iranian nationals held in U.S. jails, U.S. officials said. But around Christmas, the discussions dovetailed with the arbitration in The Hague concerning the old arms deal. The Iranians were demanding the return of $400 million the Shah’s regime deposited into a Pentagon trust fund in 1979 to purchase [Grumman F-14] U.S. fighter jets, U.S. officials said. They also wanted billions of dollars as interest accrued since then. President Obama approved the shipment of the $400 million. But accumulating so much cash presented a logistical and security challenge, said U.S. and European officials. One person briefed on the operation joked: “You can’t just withdraw that much money from ATMs.” Mr. Kerry and the State and Treasury departments sought the cooperation of the Swiss and Dutch governments. Ultimately, the Obama administration transferred the equivalent of $400 million to their central banks. It was then converted into Euros, Swiss francs and other currencies, stacked onto wooden pallets and sent to Iran aboard an unmarked cargo plane. On the morning of Jan. 17, Iran released the four Americans: Three of them boarded a Swiss Air Force jet and flew off to Geneva, with the fourth returning to the U.S. on his own. In return, the U.S. freed seven Iranian citizens and dropped extradition requests for 14 others. U.S. and European officials wouldn’t disclose exactly when the plane carrying the $400 million landed in Iran. But Iranian news said the cash arrived in Tehran’s Mehrabad airport on the same day the Americans departed. Revolutionary Guard commanders boasted at the time that the Americans had succumbed to Iranian pressure. “Taking this much money back was in return for the release of the American spies,” said Gen. Mohammad Reza Naghdi, commander of the Guard’s Basij militia. Among the Americans currently being held are an energy executive named Siamak Namazi and his 80-year old father, Baqer, according to U.S. and Iranian officials. Iran’s judiciary spokesman last month confirmed Tehran had arrested the third American, believed to be a San Diego resident named Reza “Robin” Shahini. Friends and family of the Namazis believe the Iranians are seeking to increase their leverage to force another prisoner exchange or cash payment in the final six months of the Obama administration. Mr. Kerry and other U.S. officials have been raising their case with Iranian diplomats, U.S. officials say. Iranian officials have demanded in recent weeks the U.S. return $2 billion in Iranian funds that were frozen in New York in 2009. The Supreme Court recently ruled that the money should be given to victims of Iranian-sponsored terror attacks. Members of Congress are seeking to pass legislation preventing the Obama administration from making any further cash payments to Iran. One of the bills requires for the White House to make public the details of its $1.7 billion transfer to Iran. “President Obama’s…payment to Iran in January, which we now know will fund Iran’s military expansion, is an appalling example of executive branch governance,” said Sen. James Lankford (R., Okla.), who co-wrote the bill. “Subsidizing Iran’s military is perhaps the worst use of taxpayer dollars ever by an American president.”

Truckstop TV / August 2, 2016 .

Owner/Driver / August 3, 2016 With no time for the hassle of B-double work, this second-generation owner-driver is still behind the wheel of an award-winning 1998 International Transtar with great family sentimental value Not many truckies get to operate the same truck their father drove. Chris Penfold is one of those. And with his 1998 International Transtar’s win in the Best Owner-Driver category at this year’s Penrith Working Truck Show in NSW, it’s needless to say he is extremely proud of his hard-working steed. But, while the 500hp Transtar 4700 is B-double rated, Chris says he hardly ever uses that rating. Chris is a single-trailer man. "I’ve always had the opinion that B-doubles are the thing that killed us, really," he laments. "If you’ve got the job to do it, especially running west across to Adelaide or Perth, or if you’re running right up north and you’ve got the freight for it coming back, by all means. "But 90 per cent of the work I do is single. A B-double is a pain in the arse for me, unhooking, re-hooking, watching where you go, all your limits, all the bullshit. "You’re running 12 extra tyres and six extra brakes; you’re getting 4-500,000 kilometres out of a rebuild as opposed to six, eight, a million kilometres out of it; and then you’re down on fuel. "You’re pulling the guts out of the truck, you’re wearing the truck out. There’s so much more you have to factor in cost-wise with a B-double – I think that you’re pulling that front trailer around for free." Chris also has strong views on the recent remuneration debate. He says he tries to achieve about $2.50 a kilometre for his truck and trailer with himself as the driver – and that’s both ways, or at least to where he’s picking up the next load. He shakes his head at the ridiculous undercutting and backload rates that are going on. "Whatever gets thrown at me, I put a price on it. If I win it, I win it – if I don’t, I don’t," Chris says philosophically. "If I don’t win that job and someone takes it off me, best of British luck to them. "I own the gear, so I’m not compelled to be out every night of the week to pay a truck off." Chris saves a lot of money by doing "90 per cent" of the truck’s maintenance with his 16-year-old son Hayden, including bearings, brake linings and tyre rotations: "He’s been my grease monkey since he was about six years old, and my spanner man." Hayden is an apprentice diesel mechanic in the pair’s home region of Newcastle, and Chris reckons becoming an owner driver "is all he wants to do" one day. Hayden, who is shaping up as the third generation of Penfolds to drive the International, was driving around Australia in trucks with Chris as a toddler, and his two older sisters also enjoyed plenty of road trips with their dad when they were younger. .

Arkansas Business / August 1, 2016 Construction of a new Tri-State Mack dealership at 8901 Diamond Drive in North Little Rock is expected to begin this week and wrap up in about a year, according to co-owner Jim Maddox. Maddox said the project is estimated to cost about $13 million, and that the new dealership would be the largest in size of the Memphis-based Mack and Volvo truck dealer's nine locations in four states — Tennessee, Mississippi, Missouri and Arkansas. Maddox said the company hopes it will also do the most business once it opens. Maddox said Tri-State is moving from its present 30,000 square foot Little Rock location at 4614 Thibault Road to an industrial park south of Interstate 440 in the adjacent City of North Little Rock. The new location will be between 85,000 and 90,000 square feet in size, more than double the current facility. The present Little Rock location has about 40 employees, and Maddox said the new dealership could employ 50-55. Century Construction of Tupelo, Mississippi, is the contractor for the project. "In our business, it's important to build good visibility and be close to truck stops, so we're right there at that Galloway exit where there's two truck stops," Maddox said. "There's good visibility. It's just a great location…We are very excited, very excited." Tri-State Mack was founded in 1945 by F.A. Maddox, Senior. His son, the legendary F.A. "Judge" Maddox, Junior, made their Mack distributorship one of the most successful in the nation. His sons, Rod and Jim Maddox, operate the company today, a.k.a. Tri-State Truck Center (www.tristatetruck.com). It’s nine dealer locations in Tennessee, Mississippi, Missouri and Arkansas employ over 250 people. .

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette / August 2, 2016 The trucking industry is not only experiencing a driver shortage -- it also is dealing with a shortage of the diesel technicians who keep its trucks up and running. Arkansas trucking companies are working to address the shortage, such as partnering with a technical school. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the diesel service technicians and mechanics occupation is projected to grow about 12 percent from 2014 to 2024. It predicts the industry will add 31,600 jobs before 2024, but because of a storm of factors, it has proven difficult to fill those jobs. "It is hard. Last I checked there are around 275 jobs within a 50-mile radius of Northwest Arkansas and only 25 active applications," Matt Berner, operations manager for Peterbilt Trucks in Lowell, said of hiring technicians. An Internet search turned up an array of diesel technician jobs available in the region. "The need is in skilled labor. I mean, we have five or six positions open we're trying to fill," Berner said, pointing out that 24 of his 28 employees are skilled laborers. Berner blamed the problem on a decreasing interest in vocational schools, as young people are pushed more and more toward four-year degrees. "There are some 30,000 college students in the area. Everyone seems to push college, but honestly how many doctors and lawyers can you have?" "It's a growing industry; people are relying more and more on trucks to haul freight," said Jake Wright, a Peterbilt technician, echoing Berner. "It's just constantly growing, and we're looking at a shortage of technicians. Honestly, kids going to school are thinking they want to be doctors and scientists. I don't think anyone thinks, 'I want to be a mechanic.' It's hard work." Kent Chambers, department chairman for Diesel Truck Technology at Springdale's Northwest Technical Institute, blames the shortage on an aging workforce and the rapidly changing profession. "We're going to have a lack of technicians for quite a while because of the average age of technicians and the technological level of expertise that's already needed." Chambers said that half of the job now involves computer work. "Older technicians don't want to work with the software," Chambers said. "It's a full-time job just to keep up with new training." Wright agreed that computer work is a huge part of the job, but he sees the benefits of the new technology. "The computers have really helped the industry," Wright said. "They have made it a lot easier to diagnose and work on problems." Several companies and entities -- including Tyson Foods, J.B. Hunt Transport, the city of Fayetteville, Peterbilt and University of Arkansas' Razorback Transit -- have partnered with Northwest Technical. The institute's program requires three credit hours of "on the job training" -- or internships -- so students work shifts as mechanics while attending classes. These internships are technically full-employment positions but function as a way for students to learn their chosen field and for companies to learn about a potential long-term employee. There is no commitment from either side after the internship. Wright, a graduate of the the program, said, while some students take jobs elsewhere, "the majority of my friends ended up where they had their internship." He interned with Peterbilt and continues to work there. Representatives of Wal-Mart recently visited Northwest Technical to explore how to get involved. "We're currently analyzing how best to build a technician internship program with NTI," said Wal-Mart spokesman Scott Markley. "The possible internship program is one aspect of a much larger initiative." Bobby Jones, chairman of the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith Department of Automotive, Electronics, General and Welding Technologies, said some companies are developing in-house training. "Places like Caterpillar and John Deere are now teaching mechanics on their equipment specifically," Jones said. "It's getting more specialized to different companies." UAFS has a similar internship relationship with nearby USA Truck, but practical training is not a program requirement. Both Jones and Chambers said the cost of constantly updating equipment for students to learn on is the biggest challenge facing their programs and an obstacle to expansion. "We have a very hard time keeping up with it," Chambers said. "We are probably behind technology as it goes forward every day, even though we go to training classes every year." Others are catching on to the opportunity to train technicians. After a successful spring pilot program, Gentry High School will offer a diesel technology program this fall that will award college credit through Arkansas State University. Designed after a study of labor market data and input from local companies about employee shortages, the program will be the only diesel technology-specific one in the region. McKee Foods has partnered with the Gentry program to provide the instructor and has already donated a truck for the students to work on. J.B. Hunt donated a few old motors. A bond proposal on the September school board election ballot would fund, among other things, the construction of a new diesel mechanic lab. "The industry has really acknowledged that there is a need, and they're stepping up to help us," said Judy Winslett, assistant superintendent of Gentry Public Schools. Some local shops have expressed interest in taking high school students on as interns over the weekends in the future. "Only 35 to 37 percent of our students go on to college," Winslett explained. "We realized we needed to do a better job of providing them with the skills that will help them find stable employment out of high school above the minimum wage." The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median hourly wage of $21.40 for the occupation in 2015. Berner is optimistic about the high school-level training, particularly because it would allow employers to come in and "help these kids understand from a young age, down to driving records, what they do in high school affects them long-term. For example, if they get too many speeding tickets we can't insure them." He says that the earlier they can reach potential technicians, the more they can "maximize their potential." As Berner summed it up, "We're all trying to increase the flow of technicians in this area. Everybody's shorthanded with the growth here."

Note: Political correctness is a method used to control speech and stifle debate. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Black Lives Matter Quashes Free Speech at the University of Houston The National Interest / August 2, 2016 Woe unto those who publicly disagree with Black Lives Matter. After the Dallas shooting, Rohini Sethi, an incoming senior and the University of Houston's vice president of the Student Government association, took to her Facebook to express her disgust after the Dallas shootings. “Forget #Black Lives Matter,” she wrote. “More like All Lives Matter.” The reaction was swift. The president of the University of Houston student body both publicly denounced her actions and suspended her. In the ensuing days, minority student organizations would call for her to resign or be ousted from office. A hashtag was born: #RemoveRohini. As a condition of her suspension, Sethi was required to attend three days of sensitivity training. Sethi disagreed, but complied. Compliance was not enough, however, since it was clear that she still held her personal views. Black students at the University of Houston no longer felt that she was suited to represent them, and made this view known. Minority student organizations denounced the post as hateful and inflammatory [???], unbecoming of a student leader elected to represent the entire student body and who receives a stipend from student fees. Shane Smith, student body president (who is white) went on record with the Washington Post to articulate the students’ displeasure: “Her post and subsequent actions were very divisive [???],” Smith said. “It caused some in our student body to be upset with her. They lost their faith in her ability to represent them because they felt she did not understand or respect the struggle in their lives.” Note that Smith said some. Not a majority. Perhaps he understands that part of his role is to keep a small but vocal group satisfied lest his own position be threatened. If so, he’s well on his way to a luminous political career in Washington. Rohini did not use the university’s social media or other official university portals of communication. It was on her private Facebook account. Her own private views and displeasure at police officers being killed should not automatically disqualify her from her position. Sethi was disturbed by the events in Dallas and felt disillusioned by a political movement. Her opinions were harmless, but the student body president and black students did not feel the same way. They immediately perceived her as a threat and treated her as a liability. Her stipend, funded by student fees, hung in the balance. This campaign against her was a clear vote of no confidence, intended to force her to step down. It would be no surprise if she resigns before the end of the week. Black Lives Matter did not simply wish to censure her speech; they threatened her. Public humiliation, shaming someone in authority who does not agree with what you say is more than abusing your position of power to curtail free speech. It’s potentially destroying someone’s life and future. It’s not like kicking someone out of the debate club. But high on new power, Black Lives Matter has sent a message to potential adversaries: disagree publicly, and we will throw you under the bus. For now, they have the resources and enough public sympathy to make good on their promise. . .

“From today, 15 September, in Hungary, crossing the border illegally is a crime." . .

Cummins revenue down 10% for Q2 Today's Trucking / August 2, 2016 Cummins Inc. has posted second quarter revenues of $4.5 billion, down 10% from the same quarter in 2015. The company predicts that its full year revenue for 2016 will be down 8% to 10%, lower than previous estimates. “We made strong progress in our cost reduction initiatives in the second quarter, while continuing to invest in and launch new products that will drive profitable growth in the future,” announced Tom Linebarger, Cummins chairman and CEO. “Benefits from restructuring actions, material cost reduction initiatives, and improvements in product quality helped to mitigate the impact of weak demand in a number of our largest markets and will position the company for stronger performance when markets improve.” Cummins identified lower truck production in North America and weak global demand for off-highway and power generation equipment as the most significant drivers of declining sales. Despite the poor market, Cummins returned more than $1 billion to shareholders year to date through dividends and share repurchases. To read the company’s full Q2 statement, please click here.

Diesel and gasoline prices keep declining Fleet Owner / August 2, 2016 EIA also expects gasoline prices to keep falling due to rising production and inventories. National average retail pump prices for both diesel and gasoline continued falling this week, according to data tracked by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), mirroring price declines for both fuels on a regional basis across the U.S. Diesel dropped 3.1 cents to a national average of $2.348 per gallon, the agency said, which is 32 cents per gallon cheaper compared to the same week in 2015. Prices for diesel declined in every region of the country as well, EIA pointed out, with the biggest declines occurring in: The West Coast (when not including California): down 4.4 cents to $2.492 per gallon. With California’s prices included, that changes to a 3.3 cent decline to $2.63. The Central Atlantic: down 4 cents to $2.441. New England: down 3.8 cents to $2.396. The Midwest: down 3.7 cents to $2.304. Gasoline fell as well this week, dipping 2.3 cents to a national average of $2.159 per gallon, which is 53 cents per gallon cheaper compared to the same week last year. Prices for gasoline declined across the board on a regional basis in the U.S. as well this week, EIA said, with the biggest declines occurring in: The West Coast (when including California’s prices): down 5.6 cents to $2.614 per gallon. When not including California, prices on the West Coast dropped 3.8 cents to $2.421 this week. New England: down 4.1 cents to $2.168. The Gulf Coast: down 3.6 cents to $1.944 per gallon. EIA also emphasized that gasoline prices may enjoy further declines in the near future. The agency said the U.S. gasoline front-month futures crack spread has declined in recent months due to increased U.S. gasoline production and inventories. In June, the reformulated “blend stock” for oxygenate blending (RBOB)-Brent crack spread hit 37 cents per gallon, which is 18 cents per gallon below the June 2015 level and slightly lower than the five-year average. The recent trend of declining gasoline crack spreads extends beyond the U.S., as unlike in 2015 when gasoline crack spreads in some regions worldwide rose to match or set new recent record highs, spreads in 2016 are now significantly below last year’s levels and are generally closer to their respective five-year averages. For although gasoline consumption is “robust” in countries such as the U.S., China, and India, EIA stressed that gasoline crack spreads reflect supply conditions – and growth in gasoline supply has exceeded the increase in gasoline consumption since last summer. Refineries in the U.S., Europe, and Asia all increased production of gasoline compared with distillate to take advantage of the high gasoline crack spreads that occurred back in 2015 and in early 2016. That means this shift toward increased gasoline production is resulting in high gasoline inventory levels globally, according to the agency; levels that remain consistently above the five-year average, it said. In the U.S., for example, gasoline inventories in Petroleum Administration for Defense District (PADD) 1 – the location of the New York Harbor trading hub – were 14.3 million barrels higher than the five-year average level as of July 22. Thus based on projections for U.S. gasoline and distillate production in the EIA’s Short-Term Energy Outlook, the U.S. gasoline-to-distillate production ratio is expected to remain elevated through the summer, the agency emphasized – which could keep inventory levels high and put further downward pressure on domestic gasoline crack spreads for next few months.

Trump Says He’ll Spend More Than $500 Billion on Infrastructure Transport Topics / August 2, 2016 Donald Trump on August 2 proposed a plan to rebuild U.S. infrastructure that costs “at least double” the amount that Hillary Clinton has floated, in what would amount to a massive new government program. Asked by media how much he'd spend, the Republican presidential nominee said, “Well, I would say at least double her numbers, and you're going to really need more than that. We have bridges that are falling down. I don't know if you've seen the warning charts, but we have many, many bridges that are in danger of falling.” Clinton's plan, which is estimated to cost $275 billion over five years, calls for setting up a national infrastructure bank to help fund large-scale projects, an idea that President Barack Obama advanced only to see it stall for lack of Republican support. Trump was vague when asked how he'd pay for his much larger plan. “We'll get a fund. We'll make a phenomenal deal with the low interest rates,” he said. Who would provide the money? “People, investors. People would put money into the fund. The citizens would put money into the fund,” he said, adding that he'd use “infrastructure bonds from the country, from the United States.” The financial practicality of such a proposal is highly doubtful, particularly when considering that Trump, who tends to be slippery on policy details, said in the same interview that unlike his opponent, he wouldn't raise taxes. “I'm doing the biggest tax decrease,” he said. U.S. spending is projected to fall about $1.4 trillion short of the $3.3 trillion needed through 2025 for airports, highways and other infrastructure, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers. While Obama spurred spending on public works by helping cover the interest on about $188 billion of state and local debt, the program lapsed in 2010. Democrats have been unable to revive it because of Republican opposition in Congress. The political viability of a massive new infrastructure plan is also doubtful, as Republicans have spent years battling new taxes and government spending. Trump's remarks received immediate pushback on the right. House Speaker Paul Ryan's office said he was more focused on his policy plans than Trump's. “The Speaker is focused on the House GOP’s ‘Better Way’ agenda,” said Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong. Rory Cooper, a Republican strategist who opposes Trump, called his proposal “essentially the Obama stimulus argument” and added, “Half trillion tax dollars toward mythical projects to ‘create jobs.’ Nearly every Republican member of Congress voted against this in 2009.” On financing infrastructure, “everyone agrees we need to do it,” said Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo, a Democrat. “But nobody wants to pay for it."

Transport Topics / August 2, 2016 Engine maker Cummins Inc. said the slumping North American truck market pulled down second quarter earnings and revenue but it partially offset that with restructuring, quality and cost-cutting initiatives. Net income in the quarter ended June 30 was $406 million, or $2.40 per share, down 14% compared with $471 million, or $2.62 a year earlier. Cummins is the only independent engine manufacturer supplying the North American medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicle market. The earnings per share beat the street estimate of $2.16, analyst Jamie Cook with Credit Suisse wrote in an email. “Overall, CMI's operating performance is fairly impressive considering the challenging end-market outlook.” Second-quarter revenue of $4.5 billion decreased 10% from the same quarter in 2015. Lower truck production in North America and weak global demand for off-highway and power generation equipment were the most significant drivers of the decline in sales, the company said. “We made strong progress in our cost reduction initiatives in the second quarter, while continuing to invest in and launch new products that will drive profitable growth in the future,” Tom Linebarger, Cummins chairman and CEO, said in a statement. Cummins said sales dropped 14% in its engine segment, while on-highway revenues declined 15% primarily due to weaker truck production in North America. “Benefits from restructuring actions, material cost reduction initiatives and improvements in product quality helped to mitigate the impact of weak demand in a number of our largest markets and will position the company for stronger performance when markets improve,” Linebarger said. But the company does not see that happening this year. Cummins lowered its full-year guidance by 8% to 10%, compared with its previous guidance of down 5% to 9% due mostly to a lower outlook for North America truck production and weaker demand in global off-highway markets. Also, Linebarger said, “We have returned more than $1 billion to shareholders so far this year, through a combination of dividends and share repurchases. Our board of directors recently approved an increase in our quarterly dividend of 5.1%, consistent with our plans to return 75% of operating cash flow to shareholders in 2016.” “Investors look to CMI as a proxy for emerging markets, especially China, which we estimate contributes about 10% of CMI’s earnings before interest and taxes; China’s HD truck industry sales are up 15% year-to-date versus CMI’s outlook for down 4% in this market for 2016,” said JP Morgan analyst Ann Duignan. Cummins 10-Q filing with the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission, containing year-to-date results, was not immediately available.

Transport Topics / August 2, 2016 Freightliner will be laying off 115 workers at a plant in Gastonia, North Carolina, two months after the company reduced the workforce at the same location. The layoffs at the components and logistics facility will be effective August 12, according to parent company Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA). "DTNA’s workforce adjustments are in response to a sustained reduction in orders and a diminished build rate, and are expected to be temporary. DTNA anticipates a 15% decrease in Class 6-8 retail sales over the extremely robust NAFTA Class 6-8 market of 425,000 units in 2015," said David Giroux, director of corporate communications. "These workforce adjustments are expected to be temporary, and workers will have first rights to be recalled when production is able to sustain a higher build rate." In June, Freightliner laid off approximately 600 employees at a plant in Mount Holly, North Carolina, and about 180 in Gastonia. In January, 936 workers were laid off at the Freightliner plant in Cleveland, North Carolina. Related reading: http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/43388-freightliner-to-cut-almost-1000-jobs-at-cleveland-nc-truck-plant/?hl=daimler http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/44027-daimler-to-lay-off-more-than-1200-at-north-carolina-truck-plants/#comment-324532 http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/45554-dtna-to-cut-us-workforce-by-1240/#comment-335791 http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/46129-freightliner-ousts-general-manager-of-north-carolina-plant/#comment-339889

Car & Driver / August 2016 The smartest, most capable leviathan. For now. First Drive Review The Ford GT’s golden-anniversary class win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race may be Dearborn’s highlight in 2016, but an arguably bigger effort has been brewing as Ford prepares to release the 2017 F-series Super Duty later this year. Heavy-duty trucks are big business, like supercars, and trade on equally big numbers. Witness the latest Super Duty’s 925 lb-ft of torque from its optional diesel engine and a maximum towing capacity of 32,500 pounds, both of which currently backstop the all-important “class-leading” title. While the segment’s continual one-upmanship among Ford, General Motors, and Ram usually ensures that no player can claim that mantle for long, the first all-new Super Duty in 18 years also is one smart and impressive beast. Lighter, Stronger, Better The buildup to the 2017 Super Duty started nearly a year ago with Ford’s release of preliminary details, followed by trickles of pricing and equipment info for F-250 and F-350 models, along with their immense towing and hauling ratings. Our first real-world experience, however, took us to Denver, Colorado, where Ford schooled us in the tech that went into updating virtually every facet of its big rigs, including a stronger frame, new aluminum bodywork, and a bevy of clever, real-world engineering solutions. These commanding vehicles tower over most humans—and lesser pickups—with fortified underpinnings that wouldn’t look out of place on a Peterbilt. Depending on the model, overall dimensions remain much as before, save for a few extra inches of wheelbase and overall length. The Super Duty’s bold and purposeful design more closely resembles the latest F-150 than did last year’s model. For the first time, the big trucks offer regular, extended, and full crew cabs comparable to their light-duty brethren, which translates to about 4.0, 6.0, and 3.0 inches of additional length, respectively, versus the already cavernous cabs of the outgoing trucks. Most of the Super Duty’s stretch job translates into increased storage space and generous amounts of rear legroom on four-door trucks. The biggest adjustment for traditionalists may be the fender badges, which now render model designations vertically instead of horizontally. All of the primary body panels are now made of high-strength aluminum yet are more robust than those on the F-150. Although the switch to aluminum from steel reduces mass by as much as 350 pounds, some of the weight saved has been offset by a stiffer frame, stronger axles and suspension components, added features, and bigger fuel tanks—now as large as 48 gallons on some versions. We’ll have to wait to get a new Super Duty on our scales to confirm the true extent of Ford’s diet. The Powerhouse Our first drive on the open road in a near-$80,000 F-250 Platinum crew cab was somewhat surreal, so refined was the truck’s behavior. The Super Duty’s optional, turbocharged 6.7-liter PowerStroke diesel V-8 ($8595) makes up 60 percent of sales and is even more eerily quiet than before. Revised with fresh control software, a new fuel-injection pump and injectors, and a larger turbo, it now produces 440 horsepower at 2800 rpm and 925 lb-ft of torque at 1800 rpm; Ford’s TorqShift six-speed automatic with updated tuning is the only transmission choice. Some compression-ignition clatter remains, but it stays in the background, and you can carry on a casual conversation without shouting while standing next to the engine bay with the truck running. Those harboring 18-wheeler fantasies with old-school diesel-engine growls should visit a Ram dealer. The PowerStroke’s power builds lazily before coming on in a hearty surge of thrust. (Ford electronically limits the torque in first, second, and third gears to prevent overloading the traction-control system.) Shifts from the automatic gearbox are appropriately firm yet nicely modulated to keep the boost flowing and the engine pulling. Along with the engine brake (which now has automatic and full-on settings), activating the tow/haul function on the column shifter sharpens the transmission’s programming to maximize towing power, as well as downshifting and holding gears longer to better manage loads while descending hills. A diesel F-350 4x4 crew-cab dualie we drove felt only slightly taxed by a 10,000-pound horse trailer, and even a similar F-450 dragging a 15-ton gooseneck flatbed could accelerate up a decent grade with ease. Unburdened, the F-250 Platinum felt as swift as some family sedans but with the bonus of a seemingly endless amount of grunt available at any speed. A truck like the one we drove should be just as quick at the test track as the current hot rods in the diesel heavy-duty class: the smaller, lighter Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD and GMC Sierra 2500 HD, which sprint to 60 mph in just over seven seconds. While we had minimal exposure to Ford’s standard 6.2-liter V-8, it’s a capable engine with 385 ponies and 430 lb-ft, well suited to the lighter—and off-road—side of the big truck’s duty cycle. General fuel economy should improve slightly for both engines, but the EPA doesn’t require fuel-economy testing for vehicles with a GVWR over 8500 pounds, and real-world returns vary widely depending on a truck’s configuration and usage. Regardless, these are still thirsty rigs. Polish My Wagon Along with its mile-high seating position and copious amounts of sound insulation, the F-250’s on-road ambiance is surprisingly serene, which allowed us to better focus on the optional massage feature from the Platinum’s plush leather seats. Ride quality on smooth mountain roads was quite good for a truck sporting live axles, one that can haul literal tons in its pickup bed (certain F-350s have a max payload of 7630 pounds). There’s some bounciness and head toss over bumps, but the revised coil-spring front and leaf-spring rear suspensions quickly smooth out jolts from uneven surfaces. Load a long-wheelbase F-250’s bed with a few hundred pounds and it does an admirable impression of a really tall SUV. Along with beefier axles and linkages, the new Super Duty’s massive, fully boxed frame—95 percent of which is made of high-strength steel—provides the structural integrity of a bridge abutment, even when bounding over off-road obstacles and crossing frame-twisting ditches. The Super Duty’s sheer size and overall refinement diminish its sensation of speed, often resulting in velocities much greater than expected. Fortunately, a firm brake pedal and massive vented disc brakes (14.3 inches in diameter both front and rear) shed even loaded-down momentum with confidence. Simple physics plays a major role when placing a truck this large on the road and in curves, but the stiffer frame permits a greater sense of composure and stability in turns. And any advantage in front-end feel attributable to GM’s exclusive independent front suspension on four-wheel-drive trucks is greatly diminished by Ford’s new variable-ratio setup for the hydraulically assisted steering system, which was fitted to every Super Duty we drove on the street (it’s a $685 option on XLT trims and above, standard on the Platinum). Steering responses felt precise and direct, with some actual road feel transmitted through the steering wheel. More important, low-speed maneuverability is greatly improved, requiring fewer twirls of the wheel to position the truck on a tight trail, wind through a narrow parking lot, or reverse a 30-foot enclosed trailer. The system increases the steering ratio at higher speeds for greater stability, and it does so even further when the tow/haul mode is activated so as not to upset a heavy load. Back Me Up A host of available safety and convenience features includes full LED lighting, lane-departure warning, and adaptive cruise control that can automatically brake to maintain following distance with traffic ahead even when the truck is fully loaded. Blind-spot monitoring also is offered and doesn’t activate erroneously when towing trailers up to 33 feet long. Because towing is of such importance, at least to marketing claims, Ford redesigned the Super Duty’s conventional hitch to handle its maximum of 21,000 pounds without needing a fussy, weight-distributing attachment. What’s more, its Russian-nesting-doll setup of sleeves allows it to receive 2.0-, 2.5-, and 3.0-inch ball mounts, making virtually any receiver hitch a plug-and-play job. Other smart touches include available LED spotlights in the mirrors, bed, and tailgate, as well as up to six cameras scattered about the exterior—seven if you include the optional rearview trailer-camera module. In trucks so equipped, the Super Duty driver can scan the exterior from almost every angle via the 8.0-inch central touchscreen, which—along with the remote tailgate release and highly adjustable exterior mirrors—allows for solo hookups to most trailers. While the Super Duty’s hydraulic-assist steering isn’t compatible with the F-150’s secondary trailer-reversing knob, the big trucks do feature a clever guidance system that overlays a virtual steering wheel on the rearview-camera image and recommends inputs for dead-straight backing of the trailer. The Mobile Office The Super Duty’s updated interior is functional above all else, with lots of storage options, simple ergonomics, and large buttons and knobs easily operated while wearing gloves. All of the trucks we drove were higher-trim models, topped by the Platinum and its faux metallic and wood accents, plentiful soft-touch surfaces, and leather upholstery. You definitely won’t mistake it for the cabin of an $80,000 Mercedes-Benz, but the execution is attractive, comfortable, and feels solidly made. A newly optional 8.0-inch color display in the instrument cluster provides a plethora of gauge options and information readouts within a simplified menu layout. We particularly like the addition of Ford’s Sync 3 interface; the convertible two-into-four cupholders in the center console; multiple 110-volt power outlets with up to 400 watts of juice; and a central storage compartment large enough for laptops or a full case of refreshing beverages. For those whose work takes them into sloppy environs, Ford also now offers on all trims a premium rubber floor covering for easy cleanup. As in the F-150, the crew cab brings ample rear-seat space and a completely flat floor, which can be optioned with a full-width, locking storage compartment that collapses when not needed. The Super Duty’s plethora of options and configurations means there is a setup for just about any need, with prices increasing slightly across the board. Basic, rear-wheel drive, regular-cab gasoline F-250s and F-350s start at $33,730 and $34,900, respectively, with the big-dog F-450 (diesel, crew cab, and 4x4 only) opening at $55,140. Plan on spending about $50K for a mid-level crew-cab four-by-four, but go crazy with the extras and an F-450 can approach $90,000. Ford says it put more development into the 2017 F-series Super Duty—more than 12 million test miles—than any other vehicle it’s ever created, which may give the new truck an edge over its crosstown rivals in pretty much every way. Of course, only a comparison test can verify such claims, and those accolades mean little to GM and Ram loyalists who simply don’t want a Super Duty no matter how sophisticated it is. Ram’s heavy-duty trucks are currently closest to Ford’s in terms of ratings (900 lb-ft of torque, 31,210 pounds of towing), and GM has yet to release details on its updated 2017 models with their ram-air hoods. But for now, Ford’s new Super Duty is the ultimate workhorse. Photo gallery - http://www.caranddriver.com/photo-gallery/2017-ford-f-series-super-duty-first-drive-review

Dozens of French towns to arm local police as mayor says non-lethal weapons not enough RT / August 2, 2016 The terrorist attack in Nice which killed 84 people when a truck plowed through crowds celebrating Bastille Day has prompted several French mayors to arm local police. Non-lethal weapons are incapable of stopping a “crazed attacker,” one mayor said. "Along the Promenade des Anglais [in Nice] the municipal police and the national police had the same mission – to stop a crazed vehicle or murderer,” said Francois Bayrou, the mayor of Pau. “Our weapons against incivility, such as the Taser or the flash-ball, are obviously worthless in stopping a vehicle," he added. The Pau mayor has decided to give guns to some 35 municipal police officers. Bayrou noted that 75 percent of those who will be given the arms “were either in the police or in the national police or in the army, and are therefore trained in handling the weapons.” All the officers are required to undergo 57 hours of training to obtain authorization. The mayors of the small French towns of Belfort and Thonon-les-Bains also earlier decided to allow local law enforcers to carry guns – joining municipal police officers in the towns of Romilly-sur-Seine, Saint-Quentin and Puy-en-Velay, who were previously authorized to carry arms. The law allows for the municipal police in France to carry arms, but the decision has to be taken individually by each mayor. The mayors of Nantes and Besancon have decided against arming local police. As things stand, of the approximately 20,000 municipal French police, "fewer than half are armed," Cedric Michel, the national president of the municipal police defence union (SDPM), told Le Figaro last month. In June, France relaxed gun rules for its police force, allowing officers to carry firearms while off-duty. The policy change came just days after a police couple was murdered by a jihadist in a Paris suburb. France is currently under a state of emergency, first declared by President Francois Hollande hours after the Paris attacks in November last year. It was renewed for the fourth time following the Nice attack last month.

Not a dumb question at all. Only the aristocracy of the rigged Wall Street system know the answer to that. However, the common person can, at rare moments, follow them in the door and buy a good company at a ridiculously cheap price. With Navistar, one could well justify to start accumulating from $7, and on down to $6. I thought it might hit $5 before recovering, but it bottomed at $5.78 The aristocracy has for decades enhanced their wealth by luring the masses to buy stocks at ridiculous prices. They made a killing with Enron. Don't allow them to play you. Why should you finance their multi-million dollar homes at Sea Island and the Ocean Reef Club? The 2008 stock market crash was a common man's bonanza. Since we're truck people, look at Oshkosh. A perfectly sound company whose stock went down solely because of the market. The stock had been in the $50s, and market crash sent it down to $3.85. If you had bought 5,000 to 10,000 share (it was soooo cheap), you'd have a great investment. It's in the $50 range again.