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1/11/2016 Dakar 2016: a day of rest ​The first half of the 2016 Dakar Rally is over. Gerard de Rooy put Iveco in second place in the general, and now the crews are getting ready for the second week, which promises to be even tougher than the first. On Sunday a day of rest in Salta for the Dakar pilots. The majority of the mechanics and pilots spent the day in their work spaces, getting their vehicles in shape for another week of racing on the most difficult roads in Argentina. At this point, 83% of the vehicles that left from Buenos Aires remain in the competition, including 51 of the 55 trucks that started the race. The 2016 Dakar has already travelled through Bolivia, with the Iveco trucks very well positioned in the general classification. Gerard de Rooy, of the Team PETRONAS De Rooy Iveco, is currently in 2nd place, just 5 minutes and 31 seconds behind the Dutchman, Pieter Versluis. After more than seven stages and 21 hours of competition, that difference is tiny and everything can change in the second part of the rally. "We have a lot of faith in our vehicles, things have been going smoothly for us. We think the Kamazes are going to put up a fight next week, no one expected them to have problems." said Gerard de Rooy, referring to the Russian trucks that always battle it out for the top spots in the Dakar and whose star pilots, Mardeev and Nikolaev, are now in 3rd and 4th place, 10 minutes behind the leader" said Gerard de Rooy, referring to the Russian trucks that always battle it out for the top spots in the Dakar and whose star pilots, Mardeev and Nikolaev, are now in 3rd and 4th place, 10 minutes behind the leader. Federico Villagra has been the surprise of the season in the first half of the Dakar in the Trucks category. The Argentine, at the wheel of the La Gloriosa Team De Rooy's Iveco Powerstar, has demonstrated a great ability to manage and adapt to large vehicles, taking the lead in the general classification after Stage 5. Because of a flat tire in the last few kilometers of yesterday's race, he is now in 6th place, 15 minutes behind the leader, Versluis. Ton van Genugten is getting the job done aboard Iveco Trakker #516 and is currently in 7th place in the classification, behind Villagra. The Dutchman also lost time yesterday when he stopped to help his teammate, Villagra, with his flat tire. Had he not stopped, he would likely have won the stage. Pep Vila is aiming to make it into the Top 10 by the end of the competition and still has one week ahead. He's in 12th place but is just 32 minutes from the 10th position. Unfortunately, the Czech pilot Aleš Loprais had to drop out of the race, because of mechanical failures in a connecting stretch, just when the Powerstar was in a strong position within the Top 10 in the race. General Classification − Trucks 1. Versluis (NLD), MAN – 17:05:09 2. GERARD DE ROOY (NLD), IVECO − plus 5 minutes 31 seconds 3. Mardeev (RUS), Kamaz – plus 10 minutes 48 seconds 4. Nikolaev (RUS), Kamaz – plus 10 minutes 54 seconds 5. Stacey (NLD), MAN – plus 11 minutes 28 seconds 6. FEDERICO VILLAGRA (ARG), IVECO – plus 15 minutes 35 seconds 7. TON VAN GENUGTEN (NLD), IVECO – plus 29 minutes 0 seconds 12. PEP VILA (SPA), IVECO – plus 1 hour 26 minutes 7 seconds - ALEŠ LOPRAIS (CZE), IVECO – dropped out To learn more about Iveco's teams and vehicles and to follow Iveco day-by-day throughout the race, visit www.iveco.com/dakar

Sergio Marchionne is the sharpest automaking CEO in the world today. Listening to his views is always educational.

That picture keeps reminding me of this brochure photograph (taken at the former Mack Trucks Engineering Development & Test Center in Allentown). .

If the day comes when crime levels are such that we all have to carry guns on our person, a sad and pathetic day indeed............then the United States of America will have lost all that once made it the greatest country in the world. I am a citizen. I don’t own a gun, and have no desire to carry one in daily, ordinary life. I would not locate myself in a vicinity that required me to carry a gun for protection. Life’s too short......I’m not going to live that way.

Business Insider / January 11, 2016 Germany's leading newspaper Bild has published an exclusive interview with Russia's president Vladimir Putin. In partnership with Bild, Business Insider has published an English translation below. BILD publisher Kai Diekmann and senior politics editor Nikolaus Blome conducted the interview at Putin's residence in Sochi on January 5th. It was translated from German to English by BILD. This is Part 1... BILD: Mr President, 25 years ago, we celebrated the end of the Cold War. Now we have just had a year of more crises and wars than ever before. What went so horribly wrong in the relationship between Russia and the West? Vladimir Putin: That is the big question. We have done everything wrong. BILD: Everything? Putin: From the beginning, we failed to overcome Europe’s division. 25 years ago, the Berlin Wall fell, but invisible walls were moved to the East of Europe. This has led to mutual misunderstandings and assignments of guilt. They are the cause of all crises ever since. BILD: What do you mean? When did this development escalate? Putin: Back in 2007, many people criticized me for my talk at the Munich Security Conference. But what did I say there? I merely pointed out that the former NATO Secretary General Manfred Wörner had guaranteed that NATO would not expand eastwards after the fall of the Wall. Many German politicians had also warned about such a step, for instance Egon Bahr. (Putin has his spokesperson hand him a thin folder. It contains transcripts of talks that, among others, Bahr led in Moscow back then. “This had never been published,” Putin says.) BILD: What kind of talks were these? Putin: Over the course of the year 1990, the then Chancellor Helmut Kohl and Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher had many conversations with President Gorbachev and other Soviet officials. (Now Putin reads out, in Russian, the transcript of an exchange with Egon Bahr. His index finger follows each line on the paper.) Putin: This, for instance, is what Egon Bahr said on June 26, 1990: “If we do not now undertake clear steps to prevent a division of Europe, this will lead to Russia’s isolation.” Bahr, a wise man, had a very concrete suggestion as to how this danger could be averted: the USA, the then Soviet Union and the concerned states themselves should redefine a zone in Central Europe that would not be accessible to NATO with its military structures. Bahr even said: If Russia agreed to the NATO expansion, he would never come to Moscow again. (Putin laughs quietly.) BILD: Did he ever come back to Moscow? Putin (still laughing): To be honest, I don’t know. BILD: But seriously: the central European states wanted to become NATO members by their own volition. They expected security for themselves from this step. Putin: I have heard this a thousand times. Of course every state has the right to organize its security the way it deems appropriate. But the states that were already in NATO, the member states, could also have followed their own interests – and abstained from an expansion to the east. BILD: Should NATO just have said no? It wouldn’t have survived that, because … (Putin asks back, suddenly in German, ignoring the interpreter): Why not? BILD: Because it is part of NATO’s rules and self-understanding to accept free countries as members if they want to and if they fulfill certain conditions. Putin (still in German): Who has written these rules? The politicians, right? (The President then switches back to Russian.) Putin: Nowhere is it written that NATO had to accept certain countries. All that would have been required to refrain from doing so was the political will. But people didn’t want to. BILD: Why, do you think, was this the case? Putin: NATO and the USA wanted a complete victory over the Soviet Union. They wanted to sit on the throne in Europe alone. But now they are sitting there, and we are talking about all these crises we would otherwise not have. You can also see this striving for an absolute triumph in the American missile defense plans. BILD: But the USA’s missile defense shield – should it ever be installed – is merely defensive, isn’t it? Putin: In 2009, US President Obama said that the missile defense only serves as protection from Iranian nuclear missiles. But now there is an international treaty with Iran that bans Tehran from developing a potential military nuclear project. The International Atomic Energy Agency is controlling this, the sanctions against Iran are lifted – but still the US is working on their missile defense system. Only recently a treaty with Spain was signed, a deployment in Romania is being prepared, the same will happen in Poland in 2018, and in Turkey, a radar unit is being installed. What is the point of this? BILD: You have now explained, in detail, the mistakes that, from Russia’s perspective, the West has made. Has Russia itself not made any mistakes? Putin: Yes, we have made mistakes! We were too late. If we had presented our national interests more clearly from the beginning, the world would still be in balance today. After the demise of the Soviet Union, we had many problems of our own for which no one was responsible but ourselves: the economic downfall, the collapse of the welfare system, the separatism, and of course the terror attacks that shook our country. In this respect, we do not have to look for guilty parties abroad. BILD: In your last interview with BILD, ten years ago, you said that Germany and Russia had never been as close as in 2005. What is left today of this special relationship? Putin: The mutual sympathy of our peoples is and will remain the foundation of our relations. BILD: And nothing has changed? (Before speaking the next sentence, the President starts to sneer.) Putin: Even with the help of anti-Russian propaganda in the mass media, Germany has not succeeded in damaging this sympathy … BILD: Do you mean BILD? Putin: I do not mean you personally. But of course Germany’s media are heavily influenced by the country on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. BILD: That’s news to us. So what is the state of the German-Russian relationship today? Putin: We had a very good situation in 2005. The trade volume was US$80 billion annually. Thousands of jobs were created in Germany by Russian investments. At the same time, a large number of German companies invested in Russia. There were countless cultural and social contacts. And today? The trade volume is half as much, only about US$40 billion. BILD: Would the Munich Security Conference be a good opportunity to improve the mood? Putin: I will not come to Munich. BILD: What do you think about the theory that there are two Vladimir Putins? One, until 2007, the friend of the West, close friends with Chancellor Schröder. And the other one after that: the cold warrior. Putin: I have never changed. I feel as young as I always did and remain close friends with Gerhard Schröder. But things are different in the international relations between states. In this respect, I am neither a friend, nor bride or groom. I am the president of 146 million Russians. I have to represent their interests. We are willing to settle this without any conflicts and to search for compromises on the basis of international law. BILD: In the year 2000, you said that the most important lesson from the Cold War is that there should never be any confrontation in Europe again. Today this confrontation is back. When will we get the first Putin back, the friend of the West? Putin: Once again, I’m still the same. Take the fight against terrorism: after the attacks of September 11, I was the first to side with US President Bush. And now, after the attacks in Paris, I have done the same with the President of France, Hollande. Terrorism threatens us all. BILD: Does the threat posed by Islamist terrorism not create a new commonality between Russia and the West? Putin: Yes, we should cooperate much more closely in fighting terrorism, which is a great challenge. Even if we do not always agree on every aspect, nobody should take this as an excuse to declare us as enemies. BILD: Since you are talking about a great challenge: is Crimea, by comparison, really worth damaging Russia’s relationship with the West that severely? Putin: What do you mean by “Crimea”? BILD: The one-sided movement of borders in a Europe that is based, in particular, on respecting state borders. Putin: For me, it means: human beings. BILD: Human beings? Putin: The nationalists’ coup in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev in February 2014 has hugely scared 2.5 million Russian people living on Crimea. So what did we do? We have not gone to war, we have not fired, not a single person was killed. Our soldiers have merely prevented the Ukrainian troops on Crimea from impeding the freedom of expression of the people. In the referendum – which was still decided to take place by the Crimea’s old parliament – the majority of citizens voted for belonging to Russia. This is democracy, the people’s will. BILD: But one cannot simply challenge European state borders. Putin: For me, it is not borders and state territories that matter, but people’s fortunes. BILD: What about international law? Putin: Of course one always has to follow international law. This was also the case in Crimea. According to the Charter of the United Nations, every people has the right to self-determination. Just take Kosovo: back then, UN bodies decided that Kosovo should become independent of Serbia and that the interests of Serbia’s central government had to be subordinated. You can read that in all the records, also in the German ones. BILD: But prior to that, the Serbian central government had waged war against the Kosovo Albanians and had driven thousands of them away. That’s a difference. Putin: The fact is that there was a long war in which Serbia and its capital Belgrade were bombarded and attacked with missiles. It was a military intervention of the West and NATO against the then rump Yugoslavia. Now I’m asking you: if the Kosovars have the right to self-determination, why should people on Crimea not have it? I would say: everyone should comply with uniform international rules and not want to change them any time one feels like it. BILD: If, in your view, there has been no violation of international law on Crimea, how do you explain to the citizens of Russia the severe economic sanctions of the West and the European Union? Putin: The Russian population is absolutely clear about the situation. Napoleon once said that justice is the incarnation of God on Earth. I’m telling you: the reunification of Crimea and Russia is just. The West’s sanctions are not aimed at helping Ukraine, but at geo-politically pushing Russia back. They are foolish and are merely harming both sides. BILD: How difficult are the sanctions for Russia? Putin: Concerning our possibilities on the international financial markets, the sanctions are severely harming Russia. But the biggest harm is currently caused by the decline of the prices for energy. We suffer dangerous revenue losses in our export of oil and gas, which we can partly compensate for elsewhere. But the whole thing also has a positive side: if you earn so many petrodollars – as we once did – that you can buy anything abroad, this slows down developments in your own country. BILD: It is claimed that the Russian economy has suffered severely. Putin: We are currently gradually stabilizing our economy. Last year, the gross domestic product had dropped by 3.8 per cent. Inflation is approximately 12.7 per cent. The trade balance, however, is still positive. For the first time in many years, we are exporting significantly more goods with a high added value, and we have more than 300 billion dollars in gold reserves. Several programs for modernizing the economy are being carried out. BILD: In 2015, you talked extensively about Crimea and the crisis in eastern Ukraine with Chancellor Angela Merkel. What is your relationship like today? Putin: We have a professional relationship. I have met her seven times last year, and we were calling each other on the phone at least 20 times. 2016 is the year of the German-Russian youth exchange, so the relations are moving on. BILD: Do you trust Angela Merkel? Putin: Yes, I trust her, she is a very open person. She is also subject to certain constraints and limitations. But she is honestly trying to settle the crisis, also in the south-east of Ukraine. However, what the European Union is doing with those sanctions is nothing but a theatre of the absurd. BILD: Theatre of the absurd? In eastern Ukraine, not everything is as it should be before the sanctions are lifted. Putin: Anything that is missing in the implementation of the Minsk Agreement is – without any exception – up to the Kiev central government of Ukraine. You cannot demand something of Moscow that, in fact, the rulers in Kiev have to deliver. The most important aspect is the constitutional reform, Point 11 of the Minsk Agreement. (Putin asks for another small file und reads out Point 11 of the agreement in Russian. His index finger is close to the narrowly printed paper. Then he continues to talk.) Putin: The constitutional reform is supposed to give autonomy to eastern Ukraine and to be adopted by the end of 2015. This has not happened, and the year is over. That’s not Russia’s fault. BILD: Was the constitutional reform not supposed to be carried out once the separatists supported by Russia and the central government’s troops in eastern Ukraine have stopped shooting at each other? Putin: No. It does not say so here. First, the constitution has to be reformed. Only then can confidence building and border security follow. Look at this. (Putin passes the tacked papers over the table. “It’s all in English, you can keep it,” he says. “Thank you,” the BILD editors reply. Putin, now in German: “Nichts zu danken” [“You’re welcome”]). BILD: Do you think that Angela Merkel has also not properly read and understood the Minsk Agreement? She has just supported the idea of extending the sanctions against Russia. Putin: The Chancellor and the European partners would be well-advised to address the problems in eastern Ukraine more thoroughly. Maybe they have too many domestic problems of their own at the moment. At least Germany and France have recently criticized that the Ukrainian central government has limited certain parts of the autonomy regulations to three years. They were supposed to last permanently.

This is an extremely good read, providing volumes of understanding that you won’t gather from CNN. I had thought.......hoped.......that the threat posed by ISIS would finally force the U.S. and Russia to work together, an action which would reveal that both countries can understand and respect each other’s differing priorities. Like any two people, these two countries are never going to agree on everything. However, at the end of the day, they can exist together on the same street, and work together effectively to keep our ever-smaller world at peace. The U.S. and Russia - with evil in the world including ISIS and other radicalized Islamic groups, these two countries can’t afford not to work together. The basis for sanctions against Russia is highly arguable, and obviously divisive. A joint U.S.-Russian operation in the Middle East could annihilate the ISIS threat once and for all. But the sanctions obviously prevent such an operation from taking form. Putin is a sharp individual, with a strong and helpful understanding of the Middle East situation. A straight talker, he calls a spade a spade. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PUTIN: The deterioration of Russia's relationship with the West is the result of many 'mistakes' Business Insider / January 11, 2016 Russian President Vladimir Putin told the German daily newspaper BILD that he believes Russia's deteriorating relationship with the West was the result of many "mistakes" made by NATO, the US and Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union. "We have done everything wrong," Putin told BILD publisher Kai Diekmann and BILD politics editor Nikolaus Blome last week. "From the beginning, we failed to overcome Europe’s division. Twenty-five years ago, the Berlin Wall fell, but invisible walls were moved to the East of Europe. This has led to mutual misunderstandings and assignments of guilt. They are the cause of all crises ever since," he said. The US, the former Soviet Union and the post-soviet states who wanted to join NATO should have "redefine[d] a zone in Central Europe that would not be accessible to NATO with its military structures," Putin said. Instead, NATO embarked on an "expansion to the east," allowing the post-Soviet Baltic states — Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania — to join the organization. This resulted from the US' desire for "complete victory over the Soviet Union" after the Cold War ended in 1991, Putin claimed. Putin has recently been upping his rhetoric toward the West. Significantly, the Russian leader — who is currently juggling Moscow's intervention in both Syria and eastern Ukraine — began 2016 by designating NATO a "threat" in an updated paper on Russia’s national-security strategy. "They wanted to sit on the throne in Europe alone. ... You can also see this striving for an absolute triumph in the American missile defense plans," Putin said in the interview, referring to the US' plans to construct a missile-defense shield that Russia has staunchly opposed. Russia's annexation of Crimea in March of 2014, Putin told BILD, was simply the Kremlin's way of protecting the people of Crimea from being confined within the borders imposed upon them by the US and Europe after the West claimed victory in the Cold War. "Our soldiers have merely prevented the Ukrainian troops on Crimea from impeding the freedom of expression of the people," Putin said. "For me, it is not borders and state territories that matter, but people’s fortunes." "If the Kosovars have the right to self-determination, why should people in Crimea not have it?" Putin asked, referring to the UN's determination in 2008 that Kosovo should become independent of Serbia. Putin, however, conceded that Russia has made its own mistakes since the end of the Cold War. "We were too late," he said. "If we had presented our national interests more clearly from the beginning, the world would still be in balance today." "After the demise of the Soviet Union, we had many problems of our own for which no one was responsible but ourselves: the economic downfall, the collapse of the welfare system, the separatism, and of course the terror attacks that shook our country," he continued. "In this respect, we do not have to look for guilty parties abroad." Russia launched a military intervention in Syria last September, and has reportedly been bolstering the pro-Russia rebels in eastern Ukraine since the crisis erupted there in 2014. Putin continues to deny that the Kremlin ever sent ground troops to fight in Ukraine, stating recently that any Russian soldiers there are either volunteers or advisers.

I respect your opinions..........please respect mine. My understanding is, the National Guard is a state's primary militia force, i.e. the "organized" militia......per Sec 311 Title 10 of the US Code (that is what I intended to express). It is the only federally recognized militia, for both federal and state missions. Other so-called "unorganized" state militias like the Illinois State Militia are not federally recognized (even though they may perform a military function). The unorganized state militias, in theory, includes every able-bodied man from age 17 to 45 who is not already in the National Guard. But good luck with that one. In the event of an emergency, the National Guard is the one single force with state-wide capability (and of course can be mobilized to support federal requirements).

Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgxbKc0Br2o#t=58

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fye1dj0Q38Q#t=193

Car 2 Finishes the First Week at 18th Place in the Overall Trucks Category Hino Trucks Press Release / January 8, 2016 Contestants race a long 817km stage between Uyuni and Salta. Car 1 was stuck partially through the race, but is now heading for the goal. January 9: The last day of the first week took contestants from Uyuni, Bolivia to Salta, Argentina on a long 817km stage, including a total of 366 kilometers of Specials. Starting out from the bivouac in Uyuni, the day's course first took contestants on a 33km liaison, and then on to a 230km SS. This was followed by a 116km neutral zone which straddled the Bolivian-Argentine border, after which contestants were met with another 106km SS in Argentina. This day again, the course consisted primarily of mountain roads and pistes on hilly terrain at altitudes in the 3500-4000m range. Midway through the day, the area was met with intense thundershowers and hail, which forced organizers to cancel the latter portion of the SS for motorbikes, while cars and trucks were given the green light to race on. The Teruhito Sugawara and Hiroyuki Sugiura crew put up a daring yet solid fight this stage to bring Car 2 to an 18th place finish in the overall Trucks category, and top in the Under 10-litre Class. The 332km liaison segment that came after the SS was flooded in a number of areas, delaying the trucks' arrival at Salta. Car 1 piloted by Yoshimasa Sugawara and Mitsugu Takahashi got stuck earlier in the day and is now en route on the latter half of the SS. They have yet to finish the SS as of this writing, but are in good shape and heading for the finish line. The assistance crew also had to travel 1050km this day, and it was already past 10pm by the time the advance party arrived. At the bivouac that was set up in the convention center, team mechanics were seen carrying out preparatory work for the intense inspections and servicing work that they will be performing on the trucks on January 10, a day of rest for the driving crews. * Neither of the trucks have arrived as of this writing, so we are including this report now as it is getting late. Photo gallery - http://www.hino-global.com/dakar/latest_news/PD16-18.html

Contestants Face Another SS in Extreme Highlands Based Out of Uyuni Hino Trucks Press Release / January 8, 2016 Car 2 delivers stellar performance finishing at 20th overall. January 8: This day's course consisted of a loop based out of Uyuni, Bolivia. While the Cars and Motorbikes category raced one counter-clockwise lap around the huge 10,000km2 Uyuni sand flats, the Trucks branched off midway and head out for Lake Poopó west of Uyuni. As a result, the Trucks drove on a 295km SS and a 300km liaison this day. Road surfaces for the day's stage consisted of wide open pistes on hilly territory, and road conditions were bad in some areas. Today again, the SS was set in highlands that ranged in elevation between 3700 and 3900 meters. HINO TEAM SUGAWARA's HINO500 Series trucks did very well on the SS this day again. Car 2 piloted by Teruhito Sugawara and Hiroyuki Sugiura finished in great form at 20th place in the overall Trucks category and top in the Under 10-litre Class. Car 1, despite of running out of gas at one point in the day, the Yoshimasa Sugawara and Mitsugu Takahashi crew finished the SS at 35th place overall and 2nd in the class. This brought the latest accumulated rankings for Car 2 to 17th overall and 1st in the class, and Car 1 to 34th overall and 2nd in the class, giving the team one-two positions in rankings. Driving a 300km liaison after the SS, Car 2 arrived at the bivouac safely after 9 pm, as did Car 1 after 10 pm. The mechanics, who had been eagerly awaiting their arrival, wasted no time inspecting and servicing the trucks. Tomorrow marks the final day for the first half of the rally, and the itinerary has contestants traveling back to Argentina and then on to Salta. The day will feature a 336km SS spanning from Bolivia into Argentina with a 133km neutral zone sandwiched midway. Coupled with a liaison of 481km, this will be a long stage extending for a total of 817km. It will be a long day for assistance crews as well who will be traveling 1059km southward on the same road that they traveled on the way to Bolivia. Once at the bivouac the following day, January 10, the crews will have a day of rest, but the mechanics have no such luxury. True to the spirit of Dakar Rally, teams continue to face one grueling stage after the other. Yoshimasa Sugawara: Mitsugu Takahashi, my navigator, forgot to switch the fuel tank and we ran out of gas. I was surprised when the engine suddenly stopped revving. Our time loss amounted to only about 5 minutes including the time it took to purge air, so we are doing fine. Mitsugu Takahashi: I regret this mistake because navigation was going fine until I forgot to switch the tank. I couldn't see the Uyuni sand flats during the SS. Teruhito Sugawara: The wide open pistes were relatively flat so we were able to drive fast, but there were also areas with fesh-fesh, and dirt roads that were very dusty, so it ended up being a relatively challenging stage. Hiroyuki Sugiura: I was feeling fine physically today even at high elevations. Road surfaces in the first part of the course were hard, but the areas we raced after we split with the Motorbikes and Cars resembled typical off-road terrain. Seiichi Suzuki: Tonight, we will be replacing the rear leaves and tires on Car 2 as we have been planning to do. Since we haven't encountered any major issues so far, we spend most of our time performing daily inspections, in addition to replacing parts that need to be replaced periodically. But even at that, it usually ends up being 4 or 5am by the time we're done. Photo gallery - http://www.hino-global.com/dakar/latest_news/PD16-17.html

Dakar Rally 2016 Crosses Over Into Bolivia Hino Trucks Press Release / January 8, 2016 Car 2 finishes the SS in good form at 17th overall. January 7: Dakar Rally 2016 crossed the border into Bolivia where teams competed on a 327km SS between Jujuy and Uyuni. The itinerary for the day had contestants travel on a 281km liaison segment starting off from Jujuy in northern Argentina, before crossing the Argentine-Bolivian border. This was followed by a highland SS where the average elevation went as high as 4000m. The road surfaces this day were dramatically diverse, transitioning from piste (unpaved road) weaving around barren hilly areas to wadis (dry riverbeds) and mountain pass crossings. Due to thundershowers, the terrain was dotted with puddles, and the road surfaces in numerous areas were wet and slippery. In the latter half of the day, contestants passed an area at an elevation of 4700m during a mountain pass crossing, the highest point in this year’s rally. Since this was the second day of a marathon segment, contestants had to race the SS without having received any servicing in Jujuy. Other than Car 2 experiencing a slow-leaking puncture the previous day, HINO TEAM SUGAWARA’s two HINO500 Series trucks encountered no problems at all, and delivered great performance again this day. Driving Car 2 in an aggressive but controlled fashion, the Teruhito Sugawara and Hiroyuki Sugiura crew finished at 17th overall and top in the Under 10-litre Class. While Car 1 would not arrive at the bivouac before sundown, the Yoshimasa Sugawara and Mitsugu Takahashi crew finished at 38th overall and 3rd in the class. The SS was followed by a 33km liaison to the bivouac in Uyuni, which was set up on the premises of a military camp. This was the third time Dakar Rally used this bivouac, but the first time for the Trucks category. The site was situated at an elevation of 3500m, so although the sunlight was intense, the winds were cold even during the day. After sundown, light rain started to fall along with strong winds, and the temperature dropped precipitously. This turned out to be another challenging night of work for the mechanics. Yoshimasa Sugawara: Today’s course was full of places that were scary for trucks such as narrow roads on the sides of cliffs and bends that we couldn’t get around without doing a K-turn. I didn’t get a headache at high elevations, and felt completely fine for some reason. Mitsugu Takahashi: We were surprised when the SS’s finish line appeared 5km nearer than we expected. We learned that the organizers had to relocate it due to the huge crowd gathered at the original finish line. I had a lot of fun today as we drove through some areas with amazing sights. Teruhito Sugawara: Although there was a vast diversity of terrain today, we made a point of going at full speed as much as we could. This year’s suspension gives us excellent handleability and riding comfort regardless of terrain or speed, so we’ve been able to drive the truck quite comfortably. Hiroyuki Sugiura: I wasn’t feeling very well at high elevations. I seem to start to feel the effects above 4000m. Photo gallery - http://www.hino-global.com/dakar/latest_news/PD16-16.html

Highland Stages Kickoff Midway Through the Rally Hino Trucks Press Release / January 7, 2016 Car 2 finishes the loop SS―set at an average elevation of 3500m―in 19th place. January 6: This day, contestants raced on a 419km loop course that was based out of San Salvador Jujuy in northern Argentina. This SS, which was set in the intermountain areas near the Bolivian border, has been used a number of times in previous races. At an average elevation of 3500m and peaking out at 4100m, this was the first full-blown highland stage for this year’s race. For the next several days, contestants will be racing at high elevations, and on January 7, when teams travel to Uyuni in Bolivia, they will be passing through the highest point in this year’s rally at 4700m. On this day, contestants traveled on a 100km liaison from the bivouac in Jujuy to the start/finish point of the day’s SS which was situated at an elevation of 3800m. From there, they raced one clockwise lap on the loop course. Trucks were designated a different route from that of Bikes and Cars in the mountain road section in the first part of the SS for a total driving distance of 419km which was 10km shorter than that for Bikes and Cars. Midway through the SS, the course opened up to an expansive piste, setting the stage for high-speed racing where contestants were able to hold their top speeds for long periods of time. HINO TEAM SUGAWARA’s HINO500 Series trucks leveraged their excellent mobility and did very well in this SS. Car 2 piloted by Teruhito Sugawara and Hiroyuki Sugiura finished at 19th overall and top in the Under 10-litre Class. Car 1 crewed by Yoshimasa Sugawara and Mitsugu Takahashi also did very well finishing at 30th overall and 2nd in the class. This marked the team’s first one-two class finish in this year’s rally. This day was designated a marathon stage, which meant that vehicles were not allowed to receive servicing from their assistance crews at the bivouac (Assistance crews had already departed for Bolivia, and will be spending the night of the 6th at a special bivouac set up in Tarija, Bolivia). This year’s marathon stage came with a new twist where the vehicles were placed in the Parc-Fermes after the day’s competition and even their crews were not allowed touch them. So all vehicles will be starting the race the following day on the 7th in the condition that they were when they arrived at Jujuy. As for the HINO500 Series trucks, although a slow-leaking puncture was found on Car 2’s left front tire just before the day’s start which the team promptly replaced, neither of the trucks had any problems at the end of the day’s competition, and both will be heading out for Bolivia in good shape. Yoshimasa Sugawara: There was a river crossing today where a number of trucks were stuck, and we did very well as we were able to find an alternate crossing point. This was thanks to our experience in Mongolia, so I’m very proud of that. Mitsugu Takahashi: I’m starting to get a hang of navigating, but I’ve still got more to learn. I seem to be fine with high altitudes as I didn’t feel any discomfort. Teruhito Sugawara: Today’s course was one that we’ve raced on many times. There were areas where everyone could just keep going at full speed, and even in these areas, we were able to catch up with trucks ahead of us. This was another confirmation for me of the engine’s upgraded performance. We used oxygen supplementing equipment at high elevations. This worked very well and kept us comfortable. Hiroyuki Sugiura: Navigation wasn’t that busy today, but again, the speed limit markings at the villages were complicated so I had to be very careful. We noticed the slow-leaking puncture before we left the bivouac so we replaced the tire just in case. Photo gallery - http://www.hino-global.com/dakar/latest_news/PD16-15.html

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How did the two lawbreakers become victims? Based on the information below, they belong in jail. As for the militias, the only one I recognize in the year 2016 is the National Guard. Though we don't live in a perfect world, the task of "keeping the peace" in the United States of America belongs to state and local police, and sheriff's departments. The assistance of "colorful" gun-wielding self-proclaimed militias is not required (unless........they want to head over to Detroit and take a crack at peacekeeping there). (http://www.justice.gov/usao-or/pr/eastern-oregon-ranchers-convicted-arson-resentenced-five-years-prison) The jury convicted both of the Hammonds of using fire to destroy federal property for a 2001 arson known as the Hardie-Hammond Fire, located in the Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Area. Witnesses at trial, including a relative of the Hammonds, testified the arson occurred shortly after Steven Hammond and his hunting party illegally slaughtered several deer on BLM property. Jurors were told that Steven Hammond handed out “Strike Anywhere” matches with instructions that they be lit and dropped on the ground because they were going to “light up the whole country on fire.” One witness testified that he barely escaped the eight to ten foot high flames caused by the arson. The fire consumed 139 acres of public land and destroyed all evidence of the game violations. After committing the arson, Steven Hammond called the BLM office in Burns, Oregon and claimed the fire was started on Hammond property to burn off invasive species and had inadvertently burned onto public lands. Dwight and Steven Hammond told one of their relatives to keep his mouth shut and that nobody needed to know about the fire.

1/10/2016 Dakar 2016, stage 7: Iveco closes in on the lead in the general classification Federico Villagra's flat tire at the end of the stage and Ton Van Genugten’s decision to help replace it, left Iveco without a victory in the special. However, the brand moved up to 2nd place in the general thanks to the team's leader, the Dutchman Gerard de Rooy. The Dakar Rally returned to Argentine soil in Stage 7, which ended on Saturday afternoon, prior to the day of rest in the city of Salta this Sunday. Part of the route was altered and cut short for Bikes and Quads due to heavy storms and a swell in the river at kilometer 350, but, fortunately, the Cars and Trucks were able to complete the entire timed special. Federico Villagra once again appeared to be one of the top competitors, with great times in the first parts of yesterday’s special, which left from Uyuni, crossed the border to Argentina and ended in the city of Salta. The local pilot was in first or second place during almost the entire day, exchanging the lead with his teammate Ton van Genugten. Everything made it look as though they would take 1st and 2nd place for Iveco in this stage, but with just a few kilometers to go, Federico Villagra's Iveco Powerstar got a flat tire and he had to stop. With great team spirit and sacrificing an almost sure win, Ton van Genugten stopped his Iveco Trakker to help Villagra and both were eventually able to reach the finish line. The Dutchman came in 9 minutes behind Eduard Nikolaev, the winner of the day, while the Argentine finished 13 minutes behind the leader and was bumped out of the Top 5 of a general classification for trucks that is very close. Gerard de Rooy was Iveco's top pilot in stage 7, coming in 4th place with his Powerstar. He managed to cross the finish line 2 minutes and 11 seconds after Nikolaev, even though he made a navigational error that cost him between 40 and 50 seconds. Thanks also to Stacey and Villagra's delays, the winner of the 2012 edition now holds 2nd place in the general, just 5 minutes and 31 seconds behind the leader, Pieter Versluis. "It's great to finish the first week like this, especially since the first week included a lot of WRC sections, which aren't my strong point. I hope to have a good second week, with the dune stretches. I have a lot of faith in my truck," said Gerard de Rooy, the pilot of Iveco Powerstar #501. Pep Vila had another good day in his ongoing fight to place within the Top 10. He completed today's stage 9 minutes and 16 seconds after the winner, putting him in 12th place in the general. He is now 1 hour 26 minutes and 7 seconds behind the leader, Versluis, but just 32 seconds from the Top 10. Stage 7 – Trucks 1. Nikolaev (RUS), Kamaz – 3:54:31 2. Mardeev (RUS), Kamaz – plus 58 seconds 3. Versluis (NLD), MAN – plus 1 minute 17 seconds 4. GERARD DE ROOY (NLD), IVECO – plus 2 minutes 11 seconds 5. Mardeev (RUS), Kamaz – plus 6 minutes 44 seconds 6. VAN GENUGTEN (NLD), IVECO – plus 9 minutes 8 seconds 10. FEDERICO VILLAGRA (ARG), IVECO – plus 13 minutes 46 seconds 13. PEP VILA (SPA), IVECO – plus 18 minutes 16 seconds - ALEŠ LOPRAIS (CZE), IVECO – dropped out General Classification – Trucks 1. Versluis (NLD), MAN – 17:05:09 2. GERARD DE ROOY (NLD), IVECO – plus 5 minutes 31 seconds 3. Mardeev (RUS), Kamaz – plus 10 minutes 48 seconds 4. Nikolaev (RUS), Kamaz – plus 10 minutes 54 seconds 5. Stacey (NLD), MAN – plus 11 minutes 28 seconds 6. FEDERICO VILLAGRA (ARG), IVECO – plus 15 minutes 35 seconds 7. VAN GENUGTEN (NLD), IVECO – plus 29 minutes 0 seconds 12. PEP VILA (SPA), IVECO – plus 1 hour 26 minutes 7 seconds - ALEŠ LOPRAIS (CZE), IVECO – dropped out To learn more about Iveco's teams and vehicles and to follow Iveco day-by-day throughout the race, visit www.iveco.com/dakar​

1/9/2016 Dakar 2016: Gerard De Rooy second in stage sixth just 7 seconds behind winner The Dakar Blazed Past the Uyuni Salt Flats. The sixth stage of the world's toughest rally race included very dangerous stretches near the Uyuni Salt Flats, in Bolivia. Gerard de Rooy was Iveco's strongest competitor today, coming in just 7 seconds behind the winner, Hans Stacey. According to the pilots, yesterday's special was the most complex so far in the 2016 edition of the competition. There were falls, fractures, fires and drop-outs, but Iveco's fleet went unscathed and reached the finish line without any problems. Gerard de Rooy was in the lead at 4 out of 5 waypoints, but victory slipped out of his hands near the end, when Hans Stacey, snatched the lead away from him with just a few kilometers to go and won by just 7 seconds. The Iveco Powerstar proved to be up to the challenges presented by the toughest roads it has traveled up to this point. Thanks to de Rooy's performance, Iveco made it to the podium once again, for the fifth time in a row, having made it into the Top 3 in every special with at least one of its trucks. Federico Villagra, who was the leader at the beginning of the sixth stage, soon drifted into the background, coming in 4 minutes and 26 seconds behind the leader and ending the day in 9th place. The top spots in the general classification now belong to the MAN pilots Stacey and Versluis. They are ahead of the Iveco Powerstar pilots Federico Villagra and Gerard de Rooy by 4 minutes and 5 seconds and 5 minutes and 36 seconds, respectively. However, more than half the race still lies ahead. The crews of the Iveco Trakkers were a bit further behind today, with the Dutchman Ton van Genugten and the Spaniard Pep Vila crossing the finish line more than 10 minutes behind the leaders for 13th and 15th place. The sixth stage of the 2016 Dakar Rally was the first and only to be held exclusively on Bolivian soil. There were two roads around the Uyuni Salt Flats: one for Cars, Bikes and Quads that consisted of 542 timed kilometers, and another special for Trucks that was just 295 kilometers. The routes were very complicated, with the additional challenge of altitude, which caused several pilots to get dizzy, faint and resort to using oxygen. The route never dipped below an altitude of 3,500 meters and, at some points, it reached peaks of up to 4,200 meters. Today, the Dakar caravan will head south again towards the Republic of Argentina. Stage 7 will include 469 timed kilometers, with a race section in Bolivia, a neutralization zone up to La Quiaca, Argentina, and a final competitive section before the last day in Salta, where the pilots will rest on Sunday. Stage 6 Trucks 1. Stacey (NLD), MAN – 2:55:35 2. GERARD DE ROOY (NLD), IVECO – plus 7 seconds 3. Versluis (NLD), MAN – plus 1 minute 15 seconds 4. Nikolaev (RUS), Kamaz – plus 2 minutes 11 seconds 5. Sotnikov (RUS), Kamaz – plus 2 minutes 21 seconds 9. FEDERICO VILLAGRA (ARG), IVECO – plus 4 minute 26 seconds 13. TON VAN GENUGTEN (NLD), IVECO – plus 1 minute 1 second 15. PEP VILA (SPA), IVECO – plus 11 minutes 59 seconds - ALEŠ LOPRAIS (CZE), IVECO – dropped out General Classification Trucks 1. Stacey (NLD), MAN – 17:05:09 2. Versluis (NLD), MAN – plus 59 seconds 3. FEDERICO VILLAGRA (ARG), IVECO – plus 4 minutes 5 seconds 4. GERARD DE ROOY (NLD), IVECO – plus 5 minutes 36 seconds 5. Mardeev (RUS), Kamaz – plus 12 minutes 6 seconds 8. TON VAN GENUGTEN (NLD), IVECO – plus 22 minute 08 second 12. PEP VILA (SPA), IVECO – plus 1 hour 10 minutes 7 seconds - ALEŠ LOPRAIS (CZE), IVECO – dropped out To learn more about Iveco's teams and vehicles and to follow Iveco day-by-day throughout the race, visit www.iveco.com/dakar ​

1/8/2016 Dakar 2016: Villagra, with the Iveco Powerstar, lead the general classification ​The fifth stage of the Rally led the caravan to Bolivia and close to the Uyuni Salt Flats, after dueling it out over 327 kilometers. Federico Villagra and his Iveco Powerstar finished in 3rd place and were moved up to first place for overall time. The Iveco fleet is performing at an impressive level on the most difficult roads in Argentina and Bolivia after five days of competition. After Gerard de Rooy's victory in stage four, which almost put him on the podium in the general, yesterday it was Federico Villagra who, once again, proved to be the star behind the wheel of an Iveco truck and jumped to the top spot in the Dakar Rally in the general classification. The day got started just after 1:00 PM local time, when the first truck kicked off the special after crossing the La Quiaca (Argentina) - Villazón (Bolivia) border. The Iveco Trakker driven by the Dutchman Ton van Genugten put up a good fight in the beginning against the Kamazes, Tatras and MANs that fought for the first spots in a stage that took them up to 4,600 meters above sea level and presented a challenge for the pilots and their vehicles. Federico Villagra, in the La Gloriosa De Rooy Iveco Team’s Powerstar, gradually edged towards the top spot, until he came neck and neck with his teammate Ton van Genugten, tying for 3rd place. With Pieter Versluis and Hans Stacey falling a bit behind in this stage, Villagra took advantage of the opportunity to snag the lead in the general by just 5 seconds and put Iveco in the number 1 spot in the Dakar Rally. In this stage, which was won by Eduard Nikolaev behind the wheel of a Kamaz, the Dutchman Gerard De Rooy, winner of the 2012 edition of The Dakar, reached the 8th place, but is holding steady in 4th in the general. The overall balance is positive for him because he was able to finish the marathon stage and now he will be able to attack in the second part of The Dakar to try to bring home another victory. Pep Vila took advantage of his strong pace, and the fact that his competitors were lagging, to secure 15th place today, which puts him in a very commendable 10th place in the general aboard his Iveco Trakker. Unfortunately, the Czech pilot Aleš Loprais, who was in the top 10 of The Dakar with Iveco Powerstar #503, had to drop out of the race. Loprais had to stop his truck in the connecting stretch because of a mechanical problem. And, since this was part of the marathon stage, his teammates were not allowed to come to his aid or help him with his vehicle. Today, the Dakar Rally participants will compete in the 542-kilometer special (with one stretch that is exclusively for Trucks), starting in the city of Uyuni and returning to the same point, but not before circling the entire Salt Flats on a course that will present difficulties such as sand, rocks and, of course, a lot of salt. Stage 5 – Trucks 1. Nikolaev (RUS), Kamaz – 4:00:03 2. Kolomy (CZE), Tatra – plus 2 minutes 32 seconds 3. FEDERICO VILLAGRA (ARG), IVECO – plus 4 minute 32 seconds 4. TON VAN GENUGTEN (NLD), IVECO – plus 4 minutes 32 seconds 5. Nikolaev (RUS), Kamaz – plus 3 minutes 32 seconds 8. GERARD DE ROOY (NLD), IVECO – plus 7 minutes 27 seconds 15. PEP VILA (SPA), IVECO – plus 29 minutes 21 seconds - ALEŠ LOPRAIS (CZE), IVECO – dropped out General Classification – Trucks 1. FEDERICO VILLAGRA (ARG), IVECO – 14:09:13 2. Versluis (NLD), MAN – plus 5 seconds 3. Stacey (NLD), MAN – plus 21 seconds 4. GERARD DE ROOY (NLD), IVECO – plus 5 minutes 50 seconds 5. Mardeev (RUS), Kamaz – plus 8 minutes 49 seconds 8. TON VAN GENUGTEN (NLD), IVECO – plus 11 minutes 28 seconds 10. PEP VILA (SPA), IVECO – plus 58 minutes 29 seconds - ALEŠ LOPRAIS (CZE), IVECO – dropped out