Nov 17 2014 - Leave a Comment

This is how Italian Tornado jets and Predator drones will contribute to the war on ISIS

By David Cenciotti

Along with the KC-767s, already supporting the coalition forces with an aerial refueling capability, Rome has committed four Tornado IDS and two Predator drones to the war on ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

The Italian Air Force is about to move four Tornado IDS attack planes, belong to the 6° Stormo, from Ghedi airbase, to Kuwait, to join the US-led coalition that is fighting ISIS in Iraq and Syria. According to DefenseNews, the aircraft are going to be based at Ahmed Al Jaber air base in Kuwait, the same country where Rome has deployed one of its brand new KC-767 tankers.

The aircraft will not be used to perform air strikes (although they could join the raids at a later stage as happened to the AMX in Afghanistan), but will perform reconnaissance mission: a role the Tornados have already undertook in Libya andAfghanistan.

For this kind of mission, the aircraft usually carry a Rafael Reccelite reconnaissance pod: the Reccelite is a Day/Night electro-optical pod able to provide real-time imagery collection. It is made of a stabilized turret, solid-state on board recorder that provides image collections in all directions, from high, medium and low altitudes.

The Reccelite reconnaissance pod is used to broadcast live video imagery via datalink to ground stations and to ROVER (Remote Operations Video Enhanced Receiver) tactical receivers in a range of about 100 miles.

The pod can also be carried by the AMX ACOL, the light tactical jet that has performed close air support/air interdiction and ISR missions in support of ISAF from 2009 until the summer of 2014.

Also based in Kuwait are two MQ-1C Predator A+ from Amendola airbase, that are tasked with ISR (Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance) missions in Iraq.

The Italian Air Force operates a mixed force of 6 MQ-9 Reaper and 6 MQ-1C Predator both assigned to the 28° Gruppo (Squadron) of the 32° Stormo (Wing).

The Italian UAS (Unmanned Aerial Systems) have already operated in Iraq between January 2005 and 2006 when the first RQ-1 Predator A was deployed to Tallil airbase, in Iraq.
Later, two Predator A+ (designated MQ-1C A+ a standard to which all the former RQ-1 were upgraded) were deployed to Herat, in Afghanistan, to perform a wide array of missions: mainly MEDEVAC (Medical Evacuation), support to TIC (Troops In Contact), IED (Improvised Explosive Devices) monitoring and Convoy Escort.

The Italian unarmed drones will probably be involved in High Value Target surveillance and Reconnaissance (and, maybe special ops support).

Although it was not disclosed, most probably Predators will be employed in Iraq as they were employed in Afghanistan: in accordance with the so-called Remote Split Operations (RSO). During RSO, aircraft is launched from a local, in theater airbase, under direct line-of-sight control of the local MGCS (Mobile Ground Control Station).

Then, by means of satellite data link, it is taken on charge and guided from Amendola. When the assigned mission is completed, it is once again handed over to a pilot in Afghanistan, who lands it back to Herat airbase. The 1-second delay introduced by the satellite link is not compatible with the most delicate phases of flight; hence, aircraft are launched and recovered in line-of-sight by the deployed MCGS (US drones use the same kind of remote control).

BAE submits proposal for US Army's CIRCM programme

18 November 2014

BAE Systems has submitted its proposal for the US Army's next-generation common infrared countermeasure (CIRCM) programme.

The CIRCM programme aims to develop a laser-based, infrared countermeasures solution to protect US helicopters and light fixed-wing aircraft against infrared guided missiles or man-portable air defence systems.

Tested and evaluated at Worrell / Weeks Aircrew Protection Center in New Hampshire, US, BAE's CIRCM offering received the handoff from the US Army's existing common-missile warning system (CMWS) to provide appropriate countermeasures to defeat threats.

BAE Systems threat management solutions director Bill Staib said: "The submission of our CIRCM proposal is the latest offering in our more than 40 years of experience with infrared countermeasures, delivering critical aviation survivability equipment to our armed forces.

"We are leveraging the company's extensive expertise to submit a proposal for a next-generation aircraft survivability solution, which would protect US military aircraft and troops from existing and evolving infrared-guided threats."

In February 2012, BAE received an initial $38m contract from the army to compete in the CIRCM technology demonstration phase, and then delivered initial units, in addition to completing lab testing, design reviews and flight testing.

"The submission of our CIRCM proposal is the latest offering in our more than 40 years of experience with infrared countermeasures."

The company offered its Boldstroke laser countermeasure system, which is a lightweight, low-cost jamming device designed to defend helicopters against infrared-guided missiles and other evolving threats.

Initially valued at a minimum of $1.1bn, the cost of the CIRCM programme is expected to rise to as much as $5bn, if the US Navy and US Air Force, as well as allied militaries, decide to equip their helicopters with the systems.

The army plans to equip 1,076 helicopters, including the Sikorsky UH-60 Blackhawk, Apache, Chinook, C-20, V-22 Osprey, Super Cobra and Super Huey.

The US intends to award a 26-month contract for the engineering, manufacturing, development and delivery of 21 CIRCM systems in early 2015.

Northrop Grumman, along with its industry team, is also bidding for the contract.

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Image: The common infrared countermeasure programme aims to protect US rotary and fixed-wing aircraft from infrared guided missiles. Photo: courtesy of BAE Systems.

Visiting the National Archaeological Museum of Athens

by Mark Cartwright November 17, 2014 Exhibitions, Photos, Travel0 Comments

The National Archaeological Museum of Athens can effortlessly lay claim to being one of the very greatest museums in the world. It can do that because it is literally jam-packed with most of the most famous art objects from ancient Greece, so much so, a first-time visit here is a strangely familiar experience. From the towering bronze Poseidon to the shimmering gold mask of Agamemnon, the antiquities on display here provide the staple images of ancient Greece; adorning guidebooks, calendars, and travel agents’ windows around the world. Familiar many of these works might be but the wow-factor is certainly no less for it. Wandering around the museum one has a constant urge to re-trace one’s steps for just one more glimpse of a stunning piece before moving on. As everything is arranged in chronological order, your tour of the museum gives you a perfect vision of the evolution of Greek art and there is even an Egyptian section as an added bonus if your senses have not already been blown away by everything on the ground floor.

The bronze Antikythera Youth c. 340 BCE.

Located an easy 10 minute walk from Omonia metro stop, the museum is itself an impressive nod to classical architecture and is a listed building. Four massive statues of Greek gods peer down at you from the roof as if daring you not to be awestruck in the first few minutes of your visit. Once you’ve got your ticket, got rid of any large bags in the cloakroom (obligatory), and picked up your free map, you are immediately presented with the grinning mask of Agamemnon before you have even got through the first doorway. Don’t be drawn in here though by all that flashing gold but take a side-step to the room on your immediate right as here are the artefacts from the Cyclades which should come first in your odyssey through the Greek world. Pieces to look out for are the distinctive minimalist figures sculpted in marble, especially the two musical figures, one playing a harp and another an aulos (pipes), the earliest known depictions from the Greek world.

Once you have finished with the Cyclades you will find yourself back where you started and that famous mask. After you make it around the first cabinet you will be presented by an astonishing array ofMycenaean gold. On the left, on the right, and in the middle are glass cases stuffed with masks, jewellery, weapons, and cups all shimmering in the museum spotlights. Then, when you finally pull yourself away and move along, you are presented with yet more cabinets left, right, and centre, again, gold flashing everywhere in every conceivable shape from rosettes to octopuses. It is right about now that you start thinking you have already got your money’s worth and how can the museum possibly top such splendour?

An interior view of the National Archaeological Museum, Athens.

 Then you turn a corner and are presented with a massive stone kouros statue – another wow moment. The male figure presented in this way was the beginning of Greek art’s successful attempt to break the conventions of Egyptian statue figures. The arms are rigid by the sides and bring a tension to the upper body but the left leg steps forward slightly hinting at captured movement. As you walk through this section the figures become more and more life-like and dynamic as Greek sculptors became ever more daring in their efforts to render in stone the supple movement of human muscle. The best is yet to come though and the first hint is the two-metre high bronze statue of Poseidon (or maybe Zeus) rescued from the sea near Artemision. With his arms outstretched and legs braced apart he seems about to launch a trident or thunderbolt and he totally dominates the view down the hall.

Bronze was the material of choice for Greek sculptors and two more outstanding examples are the Antikythera Youth (another find from the sea) and the child jockey riding a massive horse that is captured in full gallop, so much so, it seems about to take off from its pedestal at any second. In amongst all these star pieces there are other, equally fine, marble statues of Greek gods and heroes and one of the greatest collections of funeral sculpture anywhere. As in each room, all the pieces are well-presented and each has a small info panel in Greek and English. Given their own space and unconfined by glass or barriers, the visitor can certainly get up close and personal with these 2,500 year old pieces. The sculpture continues through the Hellenistic and into the Roman period with some very familiar Roman emperors, most famously the bronze statue of a youthful Augustus.

The Room of the Diadoumenos.

This is the moment when probably most visitors are feeling a bit of art-fatigue so it might be worth a break in the coffee bar in the basement where you can also buy light snacks. There is a little outside courtyard too where you can sip a Greek coffee sitting amongst ancient sculptures not deemed top drawer enough to make it into the museum proper. It is well worth pushing on though as the museum has a stupendous pottery section. As you bought your ticket you probably caught a glimpse of the huge geometric vase from the Dipylon on your left and now is the time to take a closer look. Used for funeral purposes you can see at eye-level black stick figures in mourning and burying one of their own. The amphora is perhaps the most famous example of geometric pottery design and another one of those star pieces any museum curator in the world would sell their mother for. Then there are case after case ofback-figure pottery in all shapes and sizes from miniature votive vessels to huge kraters used for mixing wine and water. Next comes red-figure pottery and both of these styles are one of the most important sources of information on Greek cultural practices and mythology.

The cafe in the National Museum, Athens

 Three more must-see sections are those on Thera, Egypt, and the Stathatos Collection. The first, from the Bronze Age site on Santorini, has the super-famous boxing boys fresco and three sides of a room where the fresco shows scenes of spring; there are also pottery vessels and a bed miraculously preserved in the ash following the eruption of the volcano on the island. The Egyptian section is, understandably, more modest in scope than the rest of the museum but there are still enough sarcophagi, amulets, jewellery pieces, reconstruction models, and even a mummy or two, to be of interest. Finally, the Stathatos Collection has almost a thousand exhibits and is particularly big on jewellery, including examples from the Byzantine period.

Having seen all those wonders you might fancy a keep-sake of your own and the museum shop next to the cafe has a good stock of Greek-inspired jewellery, museum-grade copies of sculpture and reliefs to suit all wallets (you can even buy life-size bronze statues, although quite how you’d get that one home…), replica coins, posters, mugs and all the other stuff anyone might want as a souvenir. There is a small collection of books on different aspects of the ancient Greeks (including plenty for children) and even some guides to other sites such as Dodona and Delphi, mostly in English or Greek.

In summary, then, even if you have visited many of the great Greek sites like the Parthenon, Knossos, and Mycenae, you cannot miss this museum for the full picture of the ancient Greeks. It really is an embarrassment of riches and one is left feeling a little sorry for some of the other Greek cities which have lost out on displaying these treasures. It is one of those museums you really should visit twice, once with your camera and once again without or just so that, on your second visit, you can keep a lid on your excitement a little better each time you see a world-famous art object around the next corner. As said above, you can get close to the art but the down-side of that is large tour groups can easily clog up the rooms so it is best to go early morning or late in the day, or even better, out of season when you pretty much get entire rooms to yourself. A wonderful, wonderful museum.

AULOS PLAYER

An aulos player in Parian marble, from Keros, Cyclades, 2800-2300 BCE.

GOLD OCTOPUSES

Gold cut-out octopuses, probably for textile decoration. Mycenae, 16th century BCE.

ATTIC KORE

A kore from Attica, Parian marble, 550-540 BCE.

WRESTLERS

A detail of a marble funerary kouros base showing two wrestlers, 510-500 BCE.

ARTEMISION JOCKEY

The bronze Artemision Jockey, 140 BCE.

APHRODITE

Aphrodite, Parian marble, 2nd century CE copy of a 4th century BCE original.

BRONZE ATHLETE

A bronze athlete, Attica, 340-330 BCE.

EMPEROR AUGUSTUS

A detail of a bronze staute of Roman emperor Augustus, 12-10 BCE.

EROS AND PAN

A detail of a group sculpture of Aphrodite, Eros and Pan, Parian marble, Delos, c. 100 BCE.

THERA BOXER FRESCO

The Bronze Age Boxer Fresco from Thera.

Ο καλύτερος δάσκαλος είναι η ίδια η ζωή,θεολογικες προσεγγισεις και θεματα

Ο καλύτερος δάσκαλος είναι η ίδια η ζωή

Posted: Νοεμβρίου 17, 2014 at 10:33 πμ, Last Updated: Νοεμβρίου 16, 2014 at 4:14 μμ

Ο καλύτερος δάσκαλος είναι η ίδια η ζωή. Δε χρειάζονται κηρύγματα, δε χρειάζονται διδάσκαλοι, δε χρειάζονται ιεραποστολικές φλυαρίες. Ήδη η πρόνοια του Θεού μέσα απ ‘την προσωπική ζωή του καθενός μας μάς ανοίγει την πόρτα γι’ αυτό… για το μυστήριο της ζωής. Εκατό κηρύγματα να κάνεις, χιλιάδες βιβλία να διαβάσεις δεν είναι τίποτα μπροστά στον τρόπο που βρίσκει ο Θεός να μιλήσει σε κάθε άνθρωπο. Κι ο πιο συγκλονιστικός τρόπος που μιλά ο Θεός στον άνθρωπο είναι τα δικά μας αδιέξοδα, οι δικές μας απογοητεύσεις, οι δικές μας αποτυχίες. Μ’ αυτό τον τρόπο καταλαβαίνουμε το μέτρο μας. Καταλαβαίνουμε τις πραγματικές μας διαστάσεις. Ο άνθρωπος ωριμάζει απ την εμπειρία της ζωής και αυτό του γεννά τη διάκριση: να διακρίνει και να αξιολογήσει τα πράγματα, τη ζωή και τις σχέσεις του.

Όσο αυτό δεν γίνεται είμαστε εγκλωβισμένοι στους λογισμούς μας, στις αγωνίες μας, στις φαντασιώσεις μας, στο άγχος μας.

Ισως εδω  πρεπη να αλαξη μια εξωτερικη πολιτικη της ελλαδος εναντι των ΗΠΑ ,ισως κατι θελουνε κατι ζητανε,ποιος ξερη τι,διοτι κανεις σημερα δεν χαριζη(δωρεαν προμηθειες για τον ελληνικο στρατο),θα μπορουσε να τα δωση και αλλου ανετα, λατινικη αμερικη ισως  ακομα ευρωπη ουκρανια κ.λ.π.,αλλα αυτο που εχει σημασια ειναι να αλαξουμε τις θεσεις μας εναντι των αμερικανων και να τους φερουμε πιο κοντα,γιατι απο τοτε που τους εδιωξαν, ελληνικο,σουδα κ.λπ. εχουνε παη τουρκια,αφηνουνε εκει το δολαριο,και ενισχυουν τις σχεσεις τους και αυτο δεν μας συμφερη,θελουμε και εμεις τον νταβατζη μας,να τους δωσουμε καμια βασουλα κ.λ.π. Μην ξεχναμε σημερα ο πολεμος ειναι,και που θα γινη με τουρκια ειναι ΟΙΚΟΝΟΜΙΚΟΣ...Φανταστητε μια ελλαδα με τα πλουτη της πετρελεα υδρογοναθρακες κ.λ.π. με ιονιο για ευρωπαικη ενωση,αιγαιο πρινος για αμερικη,ν.αιγαιο κρητη κ.λ.π. για ρωσια (εχουμε και για κινα) με κυριαρχο παντα το ελληνικο κρατος(51--49) με τις αντιστοιχες βασουλες τους(θα φτασουμε σιγουρα σε μισθους ελβτιας,για τον κατωτερο 2500+)γιατι οπως και να το κανουμε αυτα δεν μπορουμε να τα εκμεταλευθουμε μονοι μας,και δεν μας ΣΥΜΦΕΡΗ κιολας,τοτε για ποια τουρκια να μιλαμε,και τι λεφτα να χαλαμε για εξοπλισμους,αυτο ειναι το συμφερον μας...Πολλα ειπα ε?

ᴴᴰ Tank with GoPro™ gets multiple Hits in Jobar Syria ** Subtitles **

Δημοσιεύτηκε στις 25 Οκτ 2014

A T-72 Tank get damaged and another survives multiple hits while protecting an infantry sweep
through the encircled ruins of Jobar Damascus
♦ Oᴘᴇɴ ɪɴ Gᴏᴏɢʟᴇ Eᴀʀᴛʜ ► http://goo.gl/pGUxUr . . . ... . ..... .► Mᴏʀᴇ ►►

Cape Town In-Port Race | Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15

New Islamic State video shows beheading of US hostage Kassig

New Islamic State video shows beheading of US hostage Kassig 

Abdul-Rahman Kassig converted to Islam. It didn’t save him. He had fought in Iraq in the U.S. military, and so for the Islamic State he was a “Crusader” and had to die. His parents’ and friends’ appeals to the Islamic State’s leaders, appeals based on his conversion, were fruitless, and if they had known Islamic law and its death penalty for those who war against Islam, the people making the appeals would have known they would come to naught.

How many more videos like this are we going to see before the media and government ban on speaking the truth about who these killers are and why they are killing is lifted?

“US army veteran Peter Kassig ‘murdered by Isil,'” by Andrew Marszal, Rob Crilly and Louisa Loveluck, the Telegraph, November 16, 2014:

Islamic State fighters have issued a new video apparently showing the murder of US hostage Peter Kassig and threatening “slaughter” on Western streets.

The 15-minute long grisly video shows the horrific beheading a group of Syrian military prisoners and then the decapitated head of Mr Kassig at the feet of a masked man.

The man, who appears to be the same militant known as Jihadi John who has appeared in other beheading videos, says: “This is Peter Edward Kassig, a US citizen.”

He also denounces David Cameron as a puppet of the United States president:

He says: “To Obama, the dog of Rome. Today we are slaughtering the soldiers of Bashar and tomorrow we will be slaughtering your soldiers and with Allah’s permission we will break this final and last crusade and the Islamic State will soon, like your puppet David Cameron said, begin to slaughter your people on your streets.”

The chilling video, titled ‘Although the disbelievers dislike it’, shows the brutal murders of around 16 Syrian soldiers in graphic detail.

Mr Kassig’s death would be the fifth beheading of a Westerner apparently carried out by violent extremists of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil).

Mr Kassig, 26, served in the American military and was deployed to Iraq in 2007 with the US Army Rangers, developing a deep interest in the Middle East.

After an honourable discharge, he moved to Beirut and set up a medical charity, which specialised in delivering aid to refugee camps.

He was taken hostage in October last year during a trip to deliver food and medical supplies to Deir Ezzour in eastern Syria

Like other families, his parents initially observed a media silence.

But when video emerged last month showing Mr Kassig wearing an orange jumpsuit in the Isil murder video of Alan Henning, a British taxi driver, they launched a very public campaign to persuade his captors to release him.

Ed and Paula Kassig, from Indianapolis, issued their own video message describing how their son had converted to Islam – taking the name Abdul Rahman Kassig – and that other captives had told them his faith brought him comfort.

Mrs Kassig said: “Our hearts ache for you to be granted your freedom so that we can hug you again and then set you free to continue the life you have chosen, the life of service to those in gravest [need].”

They also set up a Twitter account to send messages to his captors.

“I am an old woman, and Abdul Rahman is my only child. My husband and I are on our own, with no help from the government,” wrote Mrs Kassig. “We would like to talk to you. How can we reach you?”

Their campaign included releasing a letter sent by their son, describing his terrifying ordeal.

“I am obviously pretty scared to die but the hardest part is not knowing, wondering, hoping, and wondering if I should even hope at all,” he wrote. “If I do die, I figure that at least you and I can seek refuge and comfort in knowing that I went out as a result of trying to alleviate suffering and helping those in need.”

The video is here — be warned, it is extremely graphic. - See more at: http://pamelageller.com/2014/11/new-islamic-state-video-shows-beheading-of-us-hostage-kassig.html/#sthash.E7rBHASf.dpuf

U.S. Navy Deploys Its First Laser Weapon in the Persian Gulf

By Tony Capaccio  Nov 14, 2014 6:17 PM GMT+0200  

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June 30 (Bloomberg) –- The U.S Navy has developed a brand new weapon that could become the norm for taking down enemy drones and other small vessels. The Laser Weapon System, or LaWS, is the Navy’s next line of defense against anything from Iranian unmanned drones to Somali pirate boats. The system will be installed on the USS Ponce and get tested across the Persian Gulf this summer. While the program is only in the prototype phase now, the weapon could be deployed across the Navy’s fleet by 2017. (Source: Bloomberg)

The U.S. Navy has deployed on a command ship in the Persian Gulf its first laser weapon capable of destroying a target.

The amphibious transport ship USS Ponce has been patrolling with a prototype 30-kilowatt-class Laser Weapon System since late August, according to officials. The laser is mounted facing the bow, and can be fired in several modes -- from a dazzling warning flash to a destructive beam -- and can set a drone or small boat on fire.

The Ponce “provides a unique platform” to deploy the new capability “in an operationally relevant region,” Vice Admiral John Miller, the 5th Fleet commander, said in an e-mailed statement. The ship is the 5th Fleet’s primary command and control afloat staging base for operations

Since 2011, the Navy has boosted its presence in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil flows. Equipped with naval mines and small vessels that practice swarming tactics to attack larger warships, Iranian officials have periodically threatened to close the waterway.

The Navy laser wasn’t specifically designed or deployed to counter Iran’s arsenal of small armed vessels, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Jonathan Greenert said in an interview earlier this year.

Source: John F. Williams/U.S. Navy

The prototype weapon is an improved version of the Laser Weapon System (LaWS) pictured...Read More

“I wouldn’t target a country for a weapon, nor would I preclude putting together a weapons system for a country by itself,” he said.

The laser deployment is “a worthwhile experiment” because “it’ll help us feel out the operational limitations” such as power constraints, Frank Kendall, the Pentagon’s top weapons buyer said at a Bloomberg Government breakfast in April.

Testing the Weapon

However, he said, “I still think we have some work to do on the technology side.”

“What am I looking for? How does it operate in that environment -- heat, humidity, dust and at sea,” Greenert said in the interview. “It’s got to roll, move around, how much power does it take to sustain it?”

“I have to take it out and get it wet, and the Arabian Gulf’s a pretty tough environment,” he said.

Naval Sea Systems Command technicians developed the prototype over seven years at a cost of about $40 million. The Ponce crew was authorized to deploy the weapon after it passed a series of at-sea tests, including lasing static surface targets, the 5th Fleet spokesman Commander Kevin Stephens said in an e-mail statement.

The prototype focuses the light from six solid-state commercial welding lasers on a single spot, according to a July 31 Congressional Research Service report. It “can effectively counter surface and airborne threats, to include small boats” and drones, Miller said, and firing it costs about a dollar a shot, according to the Navy.

Source: U.S. Navy, Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Daniel M. Young via Bloomberg

The amphibious transport ship USS Ponce in the Arabian Gulf on Sept. 25, 2014.

Adjustable Strength

The device can emit progressively stronger beams, first to warn an adversary, and then destroy it if necessary, Chief of Naval Research Rear Admiral Matthew Klunder said at a Bloomberg Government session this year.

The laser can be adjusted to fire a non-lethal dazzling flash at an incoming vessel so they know it’s there “all the way to lethal,” Klunder said. The laser’s range is classified.

New York-based L-3 Communications Holdings LLC (LLL) and Pennsylvania State University’s Electro Optics Center have provided components and engineering support.

The lessons from the one-year Ponce deployment will feed Navy laser development by industry teams led by BAE Systems Plc (BAESY), Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC) and Raytheon Co. (RTN), to field a more powerful weapon, possibly by 2021.

Those efforts are separate from military laser designators to guide precision munitions, non-lethal crowd control devices or discontinued instruments intended to blind enemy electro-optical sensors.

Source: U.S. Navy, Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Daniel M. Young via Bloomberg

USS Ponce has been patrolling with a prototype 30-kilowatt-class Laser Weapon System...Read More

To contact the reporter on this story: Tony Capaccio in Washington atacapaccio@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: John Walcott atjwalcott9@bloomberg.net Terry Atlas