Sinovi kineskog zmaja

[bigvlada]

Nisu ga testirali uzbrdo ili nizbrdo? 

[bigvlada]

Chinese state media says that the 'straddling bus' is nothing more than a big scam

 

 

 

The idea of having a bus that can safely glide above the traffic was first introduced back in 2010, but most never thought it would actually happen. Even when designers revealed the bus model and began production earlier this year, people still refused to believe that the thing could really work. Finally, to prove all the doubters wrong, developers built the damn thing and conducted an actual "test run" in a controlled setting. Yet, still, pretty much everyone sees the Transit Elevated Bus (TEB) as unfeasible.

But after conducting the test, developers apparently have even bigger problems to worry about than public opinion. Several state media outlets have published articles alleging that the company in charge of developing the TEB crowdfunded their project illegally and misled investors.

Despite the hype surrounding the trial run, both domestic and abroad, it seems that the company may have blown the occassion out of proportion. Not only was the test run just 300 meters long and completely failed to mimic real-life traffic conditions, but authorities in Qinhuangdao city also were not aware of it even happening,People's Daily reports. The firm later verified that it wasn't a "road test," but simply part of "internal testing."

Furthermore, netizens, as well as state media, have questioned how the TEB would actually operate on the road. First of all, the height of vehicles going under the "straddling bus" seems to be a bit of an issue. The height limit for vehicles on the road is 4.5 meters or 4.2 meters, depending on what type of road the vehicle is driving on. However, the maximum height for vehicles passing under the TEB is just 2.1 meters. So, either there has to be an effective method of preventing tall vehicles from driving on certain roads, or chaos will reign.

 

Secondly, how will the massive bus interact with other cars on the road? Will it be able to safely make turns? Can it go on bridges? Would it go under or over traffic lights? Moreover, Chinese drivers are not exactly known for their safe driving skills. An aggressive person driving a normal-sized car is scary enough -- imagine one driving a vehicle that is 54 meters long, almost 5 meters tall and 8 meters wide. Developers should really think about hiring this guy.

Finally, as Wired points out, the Transit Elevated Bus is not a bus, it runs on tracks and therefore, it is clearly a train.

These problems will only be answered (or not) next year, when developers conduct a full test run.

 

However, that's not even half of developers' problems right now. Global Times and Sina have both claimed that the TEB is a fraudulent peer to peer (P2P) investment project aimed at scamming investors. The TEB is funded by P2P financing, which the government has already been cracking down on recently.

Last December, police shut down Ezubao, a P2P broker, that cheated around 900,000 investors out of 50 billion RMB. A Global Times editorial published yesterday lamented that "Despite what happened, we still haven't learned our lesson and are praising what could be the next 'Ezubao.'"

The editorial then goes on argue that though the concept was first brought up in 2010, it has remained only an idea for around 6 years and the "straddling bus" still fails to consider real world traffic problems. The Global Times also attacks Song Youzhou, the designer of TEB, for only having an elementary school education.

Many government departments have refused to acknowledge their relationship with the project, including the municipal development and reform commission in Qinhuangdao and Shanghai Jiaotong University. In the past, developers have stated that both organizations are working closely with them on the TEB.

Also, surprisingly, the "straddling bus" idea is far from new. It was first proposed by Architect Craig Hodgetts, who referred to it as "the Landliner" and intended it to be built in New York city.

 

Hayao Miyazaki seems to have had the same idea in the 1980s.

 

Song has denied all these allegations, insisting that his team has nothing to apologize for. “We haven’t done anything wrong at all,” he told Sixth Tone. “The latest tests show that the bus design is entirely possible.”

 

Netizens were divided on the issue and were particularly shocked to see the sudden change in rhetoric regarding the long-praised "straddling bus."

"Is this a joke? A couple days ago, [the media] was talking about how great it is, now they're criticizing it?" @炫妻晒娃专属号 wrote.

"Wow, people have gotten much better at using peer to peer investing to trick money from others," @福尔不打摩丝 wrote.

"This design is completely unfeasible. There is absolutely zero safety measure," @改个名是不是你就不认识我了 wrote.

So, do you think it has any shot at success? Would you be one of the 1,200 brave souls aboard the TEB? Or would you rather drive under it?

 

We for one look forward to a future where anything is possible.

 

 

By Sarah Lin

http://shanghaiist.com/2016/08/05/straddling_bus_scam.php

 

 

[bigvlada]

Exclusive: Vietnam moves new rocket launchers into disputed South China Sea - sources

 

By Greg Torode | HONG KONG

 

Vietnam has discreetly fortified several of its islands in the disputed South China Sea with new mobile rocket launchers capable of striking China's runways and military installations across the vital trade route, according to Western officials.

 

Diplomats and military officers told Reuters that intelligence shows Hanoi has shipped the launchers from the Vietnamese mainland into position on five bases in the Spratly islands in recent months, a move likely to raise tensions with Beijing.

 

 

The launchers have been hidden from aerial surveillance and they have yet to be armed, but could be made operational with rocket artillery rounds within two or three days, according to the three sources.

 

Vietnam's Foreign Ministry said the information was "inaccurate", without elaborating.

 

Deputy Defence Minister, Senior Lieutenant-General Nguyen Chi Vinh, told Reuters in Singapore in June that Hanoi had no such launchers or weapons ready in the Spratlys but reserved the right to take any such measures.

 

"It is within our legitimate right to self-defense to move any of our weapons to any area at any time within our sovereign territory," he said.

 

The move is designed to counter China's build-up on its seven reclaimed islands in the Spratlys archipelago. Vietnam's military strategists fear the building runways, radars and other military installations on those holdings have left Vietnam's southern and island defenses increasingly vulnerable.

 

Military analysts say it is the most significant defensive move Vietnam has made on its holdings in the South China Sea in decades.

 

Hanoi wanted to have the launchers in place as it expected tensions to rise in the wake of the landmark international court ruling against China in an arbitration case brought by the Philippines, foreign envoys said.

 

The ruling last month, stridently rejected by Beijing, found no legal basis to China's sweeping historic claims to much of the South China Sea.

 

Vietnam, China and Taiwan claim all of the Spratlys while the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei claim some of the area.

 

 

"China has indisputable sovereignty over the Spratly islands and nearby waters," China’s Foreign Ministry said in a faxed statement on Wednesday. "China resolutely opposes the relevant country illegally occupying parts of China’s Spratly islands and reefs and on these illegally occupied Spratly islands and reefs belonging to China carrying out illegal construction and military deployments.”

 

The United States is also monitoring developments closely.

 

"We continue to call on all South China Sea claimants to avoid actions that raise tensions, take practical steps to build confidence, and intensify efforts to find peaceful, diplomatic solutions to disputes," a State Department official said.

 

STATE-OF-THE-ART SYSTEM

 

 

Foreign officials and military analysts believe the launchers form part of Vietnam's state-of-art EXTRA rocket artillery system recently acquired from Israel.

 

EXTRA rounds are highly accurate up to a range of 150 km (93 miles), with different 150 kg (330 lb) warheads that can carry high explosives or bomblets to attack multiple targets simultaneously. Operated with targeting drones, they could strike both ships and land targets.

 

That puts China's 3,000-metre runways and installations on Subi, Fiery Cross and Mischief Reef within range of many of Vietnam's tightly clustered holdings on 21 islands and reefs.

 

While Vietnam has larger and longer range Russian coastal defense missiles, the EXTRA is considered highly mobile and effective against amphibious landings. It uses compact radars, so does not require a large operational footprint - also suitable for deployment on islets and reefs.

 

"When Vietnam acquired the EXTRA system, it was always thought that it would be deployed on the Spratlys...it is the perfect weapon for that," said Siemon Wezeman, a senior arms researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

 

There is no sign the launchers have been recently test fired or moved.

 

China took its first Spratlys possessions after a sea battle against Vietnam's then weak navy in 1988. After the battle, Vietnam said 64 soldiers with little protection were killed as they tried to protect a flag on South Johnson reef - an incident still acutely felt in Hanoi.

 

In recent years, Vietnam has significantly improved its naval capabilities as part of a broader military modernization, including buying six advanced Kilo submarines from Russia.

 

Carl Thayer, an expert on Vietnam's military at the Australian Defence Force Academy, said the deployment showed the seriousness of Vietnam's determination to militarily deter China as far as possible.

 

"China's runways and military installations in the Spratlys are a direct challenge to Vietnam, particularly in their southern waters and skies, and they are showing they are prepared to respond to that threat," he said. "China is unlikely to see this as purely defensive, and it could mark a new stage of militarization of the Spratlys."

 

Trevor Hollingsbee, a former naval intelligence analyst with the British defense ministry, said he believed the deployment also had a political factor, partly undermining the fear created by the prospect of large Chinese bases deep in maritime Southeast Asia.

 

"It introduces a potential vulnerability where they was none before - it is a sudden new complication in an arena that China was dominating," he said.

 

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-southchinasea-vietnam-exclusive-idUSKCN10K2NE?il=0

 

Očekujemo pojačane pomorske i vazdušne patrole SAD oko tog otočja u cilju održanja slobode kretanja.  

[Eraserhead]

Ko se s Vijetnamom kaci najebo je

[Prospero]

Ma to sa SAD je bilo drugo Montijevo pravilo rata:

 

2. Don’t go fighting with your land army on the mainland of Asia.

[Prospero]

B-1s, B-2s and B-52s at Andersen Air Force Base on Guam on Aug. 10, 2016. Air Force photo

 

 

 

 

 

B-1, B-2 and B-52 Bombers All Descend on Guam in a Huge Show of Force

This is not something you see every day

by JOSEPH TREVITHICK

Talk about unusual. On Aug. 10, the U.S. Air Force announced it had sent its B-2 Spirit stealth bombers to join older, non-stealthy B-52 Stratofortresses and B-1 Lancers on Guam.
It’s an extraordinary show of force in the Pacific region, because for the first time ever, America has based all three heavy bomber types on the island at once.

Deborah Lee James, the Air Force secretary, described the deployments as providing a “valuable opportunity for our bomber crews to integrate and train together, as well as with our allies and partners through the region in a variety of missions.”

But James did not elaborate on just how unusual the arrangement actually is, nor did she expand on any deeper possible reasons for basing Spirits, Lancers and Stratofortresses at the same base at same time — all within striking distance of China and North Korea.

To be sure, the Pentagon regularly deploys far-reaching bombers to Andersen Air Force Base. However, North Korean nuclear and missile tests, Beijing’s expansionism in the South China Sea and the U.S. Air Force’s own plans to buy new, long-range weapons have given new weight to these deployments.

The latest deployment began on Aug. 6 when a group of B-1s arrived at Guam to take over from the B-52s. These aircraft were part of what the Pentagon calls the “Continuous Bomber Presence” mission, or CBP. The B-52s will head back to the continental United States at the end of August.

On Aug. 10, the B-2s landed for a separate but similar “bomber assurance and deterrence deployment,” or BAAD. We don’t know when the stealth bombers and their crews will return home to their base in Missouri.
Each bomber is considerably different from each other. The sleek B-1 can fly faster than the speed of sound while lugging nearly 40 tons of bombs in three internal weapons bays. The jet has a maximum range of nearly 6,000 miles.
The massive B-52 Stratofortress, however, flies much slower with a slightly smaller bomb load, but can travel almost 3,000 miles farther before needing to land. The B-2 Spirit holds much less ordnance, but the unique flying wing shape and other stealth features makes it virtually invisible to enemy radar.

...
 

Separately, BAAD was supposed to provide similar shows of force on world-wide level. Still, the Pacific theater seemed to present some of the most likely potential threats.
However, Washington did send bombers on routine trips to the Middle East to show their displeasure of Iran’s nuclear program. After Russia invaded Ukraine’s Crimea region in February 2014, the flying branch began sending more and more B-52s for practice sessions in Europe.

But fast forward to the present and the Air Force clearly sees the Pacific as one of the most important domain for bombers. During an Aug. 10 press conference at the Pentagon, Gen. David Goldfein — the Air Force chief of staff — told a reporter he couldn’t imagine a similar situation happening at a base in the Middle East or Central Asia.

“I say that only based on what the bomber contributes to the joint fight,” said Goldfein, who previously ran the Air Force’s top command in the Middle East from 2011 to 2013. “I don’t see in the current operational tempo the requirement for more than one bomber squadron to be there at one time."

In the past, B-52s and B-1s in the Middle East have flown only a handful missions against the most common enemies in the region such as the Islamic State. The huge aircraft otherwise sit on call for potential strikes on a nation-state opponent.

In contrast, the Pentagon’s top command in the Pacific must contend with North Korean provocations and Chinese ambitions. In 2016 alone, Pyongyang has tested more than 10 missiles that might be able to carry an atomic bomb.
In July, Beijing sent one of its own H-6K bombers to fly over the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea. That month, among a host of other rulings, a U.N. tribunal declared Chinese ships had illegally blocked Philippine fisherman from entering the area.

China’s nominally civilian maritime police force has routinely blocked foreign activities around Scarborough and other small islands to help reinforce Beijing’s claims. Chinese officials have also recently boasted about a slew of new, deadly surface to air and ballistic missiles that could challenge American planes and ships.

But sending three different types of heavy bomber to a single base thousands of miles from home is something only the Pentagon can do. Given recent events, it’s unlikely this impressive show of military power was merely a coincidence.
With the help of aerial refueling tankers, long-range bombers have an ability to reach hot spots that shorter-range planes or other weapons simply can’t go … at least at a moment’s notice.

The Air Force also wants to buy expensive new stealth bombers, cruise missiles and other advanced weapons, and to pressure Congress, has been quick to point out its ability to fly long-distance missions from strategic outposts such as — hint hint — Guam.
Earlier in 2016, the flying branch found itself in a major squabble with members of Congress over the total cost of its upcoming and still super-secret B-21 bomber.

“Air Force leaders have claimed that disclosing the total contract award value would make it easier for America’s adversaries to decipher sensitive information about the B-21,” Arizona senator John McCain, an outspoken critic of the contract, wrote in an op-ed for War Is Boring. “Nonsense.” 

So, perhaps the Air Force hopes the confluence of bombers in the Pacific might send an equally powerful message to American lawmakers in Washington.

Speaking with Gen. Goldfein on Aug. 10, Secretary James asked legislators to fund the full annual defense budget rather than provide funds through so-called “continuing resolutions” that only set aside money for short periods.
James specifically pointed out how this process could stall development of the B-21. Another short-term resolution “would slow everything down and risk a long-term deterrent capability, which we hope to have in the 2020 decade time-frame.”

If the Air Force can convince Congress, it’s possible that yet another type of American bomber might be showing off in Guam sometime in the next 15 years.

 

[bigvlada]

The US is considering placing mobile land artillery systems in the South China Sea

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/us-land-artillery-systems-south-china-sea-2016-8

 

 Howitzers or Paladins could be used as a mobile, direct countermeasures to incoming rockets, he said.  A key advantage to using a Paladin is that it is a mobile platform which could adjust to moving or fast-changing approaching enemy fire. 

 

 

Čekam detalje da vidim kako dotični misli da sa haubicom i radarom obori raketu.  :D

[namenski]

The US is considering placing mobile land artillery systems in the South China Sea

 

 

 

Čekam detalje da vidim kako dotični misli da sa haubicom i radarom obori raketu.  :D

Zacudo, relativno lako, sve lakse i - moguce.

Obaska sto se cela prica vrti i inicirana je malo-malo pa vestima o neverovatnim dostignucima ruskih/kineskih/indijskih trudbenika koji su upravo smislili oruzje koje ce Ameriku da sabije u misju rupu i konacno je postavi na mesto i natera da u staro gvozdje baci sve svoje avione i ostale andrmolje.

Ne ide to tako i nije to prica samo o savremenom trenutku i stanju u razvoju naoruzanja i slicne mu gvozdjurije.

Na delu je stara, proverena i toliko puta dokazana prica o trci izmedju zrna i oklopa, ili - nema savrsenog oruzija :hazardmod:, dakle oruzja cija pojava na nekoj drugoj strani ne dovede do razvoja odgovarajuceg protivsredstva.

I to je aksiom, toliko aksiomatican da izuzetak ne predstavlja ni nuklearno oruzje koje je (samo) dovelo u pitanje i ogoljeno postavilo pred potencijalne korisnike pitanje cene, odnosno spremnosti da se ista plati.

Apsurdno je da je demokratizacija^tm nuklearnog oruzja enormno povecala mogucnost eventualne upotrebe istog: svi americki atomski^tm predsednici, od Trumana do Regana i svi sovjetski gerontoPolitbiroi danas izgledaju kao olicenje odgovornosti i mudrosti, narocito kad se uporede sa modernim posednicima istog...

A sto se tice radara, haubica i novih korkijanskih rusko/indijsko/kineskih raketa, sistema i ostale gvozdjurije, onako metodom slucajnog izbora:

USAF Three-Dimensional Expeditionary Long-Range Radar (3DELRR)

Dalekometni radar nove generacije, 360 stepenast, zamena za TPS-75 iz 80-ih, komada 35 za fiskalnu 2017. godinu.

Gomila novih tehnologija i materijala, ali i gomila novih mogucnosti i povecane efikasnosti.

 

Rafael/Raytheon Stunner

Stunner presretac raketa, razvijen od strane izraelskog Rafael-a i Raytheon-a za potrebe izraelskog Davidova праћка antiraketnog sistema, dopuna takodje zajednickom programu Arrow, ponosi se, izmedju ostalog 'do sada nevidjenom jeftinocom po jedinici mere' i do sada nenadmasenom kinematics, maneuverability and lethality...

Predvidja mu se i sjajna komercijalna buducnost: bice nasiroko nudjen svim zainteresovanim.

Osim Kine.

I Rusije  -_-

 

Dynetics Small Glide Munition

Rodjen u Dynetics-u, firmi koja je porodila GBU-3B, Mother of all Bombs, cirka 10 tona, ova naprava je nesto upravo suprotno: verovatno trenutni vrh precizno vodjene aj da kazemo municije, 'ladno moze da se klasifikuje kao minijatura, sa svega^tm nepunih 10 kila eksploziva u takozvanoj bojevoj glavi, razvijana izmedju ostalog i da bude kompatibilna sa BAE Systems Advanced Precision Kill Weapons System, gomila senzora najnovije generacije i zadatak da posao obavi laserski u poslednjem momentu, ono sto se zove Laser Terminal Guidance...

 

Boeing Defense, Space & Security Phantom Eye UAV

Visokoletac i dugoprugas, najverovatniji izbor za Missile Defense Agency izbor zvezde Low-Power Laser Demonstrator programa, predvidjen da leti 4 dana na visinama i do 20,000 metaram i prvenstvenim zadatkom da identifikuje takozvane rane faze necijeg^tm lansiranja...

 

Ima i tezih kategorija, na primer:

Orbital ATK Air-Launched Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missile Target...

Sa sve americki trapavom oznakom MRBM T3c2 sto mu dodje Medium-Range Ballistic Missile Type 3 Configuration 2...

 

I tako, ukratko koliko se moze, americka tehnoloska prednost se mozda smanjuje ali jos ni izdaleka nije naceta, a kamoli dostignuta, na stranu cinjenica da Amerika poslednjih godina radi sa pola snage i preko volje, obaska mogucnost da gleda na pogresnu stranu, ali ni govora o opravdanosti nadanja onih koji nosace aviona, na primer, vide kao bespomocne i beskorisne plovece naprave, koji seire nad promasenoscu^tm F-35, borbenog aviona 21. veka, danas u to vise sumnje nema, superiornoscu Suhoja i kineskih konstrukcija koje su na vezbama^tm bez problema i ocas posla izmanevrisale, itd, itd...

 

 

Edit, umesto zakljucka: opasno je potcenjivati Ameriku  -_-

Edited August 24, 2016 by namenski

[bigvlada]

Od svih tih slika ja nisam video kombinaciju haubice i radara sposobnih da pogode nešto što ide brzinom od više maha, što je i bio razlog za smeh u prošlom postu. Nije vredelo 1944. godine, ne vredi ni sada. 

[namenski]

Od svih tih slika ja nisam video kombinaciju haubice i radara sposobnih da pogode nešto što ide brzinom od više maha, što je i bio razlog za smeh u prošlom postu. 

Onda nije trebalo da gledas samo slike  ;)

 

Nije vredelo 1944. godine, ne vredi ni sada.

 

A ovo je Vlado, tehnicko/tehnoloski argument poznat od davnina, obaska sto, posteno receno, nisam ga od tebe ocekivao.

Ravan onom koji je predvidjao da ce putnici prve Stivensonove lokomotive da pocrkaju od prevelike brzine...

 

 2016

-1944

---------

=  72 (godine)

[bigvlada]

Jedino SAD i Rusija imaju kakve-takve sisteme za odbranu od ICBM-ova, i to posle 50+ godina istraživanja i razvoja. I nijedan ne obuhvata haubice kao deo standardne opreme. 1944. godine su pokušavali da pvo topovima i radarom obaraju A4. I jedno i drugo je sada savršenije ali ima smisla koliko i avion na ugalj.  

Edited August 26, 2016 by bigvlada

[namenski]

Dobro.

[Lord Protector]

Uvređena mlada gleda druge prosioce

 

Duterte ide u Rusiju i Kinu da sklopi savez protiv SAD

Manila -- Predsednik Filipina Rodrigo Duterte rekao je da će posetiti Rusiju i Kinu ove godine kako bi predstavio nezavisnu spoljnu politiku, javlja Rojters.

IZVOR: TANJUG  PONEDELJAK, 26.09.2016. | 14:22

 

On je naglasio da u Rusiju i Kinu ide da bi sklopio savezništva sa dvema silama koje su istorijski rivali Sjedinjenim Američkim Državama.

Duterte je rekao da su Filipini "na tački bez povratka" u svojim odnosima sa bivšim kolonijalnim vladarom, SAD, te da želi da ojača veze sa drugima, a izabrao je dve globalne sile sa kojima se Vašington nadmeće na međunarodnoj političkoj sceni. 

 

Filipinski predsednik je prošle nedelje najavio da će uskoro posetiti Kinu, sa kojom su Filipini ostali u hladnim odnosima zbog odluke o Južnom kineskom moru koju je međunarodni Arbitražni sud u julu doneo u korist Filipina. 

 

Takođe je rekao da ga u Moskvi očekuje ruski premijer Dmitrij Medvedev. 

 

"Spreman sam ne baš da raskinem veze sa SAD, ali svakako da sklopim savezništva sa Kinom i Medvedev očekuje moju posetu", rekao je Duterte novinarima, dodavši da će otvoriti "drugu stranu ideološke barijere".

Edited September 26, 2016 by slow

[Lord Protector]

 

U.S. warships make landmark visit to strategic Vietnam port

Two U.S. warships made port calls at Vietnam's strategic naval base at Cam Ranh Bay, the U.S. navy said on Tuesday, in a brief but symbolic return for U.S. combat vessels to what was a crucial logistics complex during the Vietnam War.

Submarine tender USS Frank Cable and guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain made the visit on Sunday to the deep-water naval base, marking an important step in fast-growing defense ties between the two former enemies.

The visit came after the full lifting of a U.S. embargo on trade in lethal arms with Vietnam in May as part of President Barack Obama's strategic "rebalance" toward Asia.

At the same time, tension has been rising over rival territorial claims in the South China Sea, straining ties between Vietnam and its giant neighbor China.

Vietnam has been intensifying efforts to diversify relations in Europe and Asia and engage more with the United States.

Cam Ranh is the jewel in the crown of Vietnam's military, with an air base once used by the U.S. and Soviet forces and a deep water bay home to its modern, Russian-built submarines.

Visits by foreign ships are rare and usually reserved for maintenance. Japanese and French warships have recently made port calls at Cam Ranh.

Established as a base by the United States during the Vietnam War, Cam Ranh Bay had been used largely by Russian forces since then.

The John S. McCain visited nearby Danang city before sailing to Cam Ranh Bay, the U.S. Navy said.

 

 

Edited October 5, 2016 by slow

[bigvlada]

UN peacekeepers refused to help as aid workers were raped in South Sudan – report

 

Chinese troops abandoned their posts rather than engage in fighting and protect civilians, says US-based rights group

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/oct/06/un-peacekeepers-refused-to-help-south-sudan-rebels-raped-aid-workers-report

 

Izgleda da im niko nije objasnio funkciju plavih šlemova.