Saturday, March 26, 2005

Fleet Response Plan

The US Navy has been reorganized.

Joe Katzman of Winds of Change sent me this link discussing the change in the way our operational Navy is organized.

The Cold War model designed in response to the needs of the Cold War and the lessons learned from the Pearl Harbor attack was to have 1/3 of the ships deployed, 1/3 being refitted, and 1/3 training for deployment. This was designed to prevent a sneak attack from destroying our Navy while at the same time giving the sailors enough time at home to maintain a semblance of family life for career officers and enlisted.

For some time since this war started I have been saying that given the Cold War deployment schedules we would need at least two and possibly three more CBGs (Carrier Battle Groups). Well we have them without increasing the size of our Navy.

The Navy League reports on how this is being done:

Developing upon the lessons learned during Operation Iraqi Freedom and the global war on terrorism, the Navy has enacted substantial revisions of its force structure. One of those revisions includes Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Vern Clark’s Fleet Response Plan (FRP), a new way of planning and organizing fleet assets for deployment.

The FRP provides the nation six aircraft carrier strike groups deployed or ready to deploy within 30 days and another two aircraft carrier strike groups ready to deploy within 90 days. Commander Fleet Forces Command, based at Norfolk, Va., is leading the implementation of FRP across the Navy.

U.S. Fleet Forces Command leads the implementation of the FRP, which has replaced the Cold War-era 18-month interdeployment training cycle and deployment schedule with a flexible training and deployment schedule lashed to “real world” events and requirements.
What does that mean in terms of war fighting capability? The Navy League explains:
As the Navy evolves to adapt to the demands of the global war on terrorism, Secretary of the Navy Gordon R. England has called upon the service to maintain its relevance by providing more immediate, persistent combat power, “to seize the initiative rapidly in joint operations as we will not have the luxury of time to prepare in advance.”

England is committed to leading the service in alignment with a National Defense Strategy that measures success based on the “10-30-30” metric. That measurement defines the goal for closing forces within 10 days, defeating an adversary within 30 days and resetting the force for additional action within another 30 days.
That means the Navy is comitted to fighing a major war every 30 to 40 days. No other Navy in the world has ever been capable of such planned sustained effort.
During the exercise Summer Pulse ’04, the Navy proved it could employ forces based on the FRP. With no more than 30 days notice, the Navy deployed seven aircraft carrier strike groups.

“The national strategy that has evolved over the course of the last couple of years is all about quick response,” Clark told a Current Strategy Forum at the Naval War College in June. “Speed of response is almost more important than anything else we deal with. Together with the U.S. Marine Corps, we are going to be able to provide twice the combat power in one-half the time.”

Clark is a champion of the Sea Basing concept, through which the Navy and Marine Corps will exploit their maritime maneuver space. A new generation of transport and logistics vessels, aircraft and fleet formations is in the offing to make sea basing a reality.

The change in embracing sea basing and other new concepts will come at the expense of old paradigms, Clark notes, arguing that the proposed fleet force structure goal of 375 vessels no longer is relevant.

“We have learned to run this company a lot more efficiently, we have become a lean and mean organization,” Clark told Navy League leadership at the conclusion of the 2004 Winter Meetings Nov. 6 in Arlington, Va. “We are getting more utility out of the platforms and we are more ready to go and more responsive than any time in our history.

“My 375 number is going to change; it is going to come down,” he added. “The number of ships is not relevant, and our task is to be relevant.”
What will be required is an unprecidented effort from those who repair and maintain our ships in port - similar to what was done for the Yorktown before the battle of Midway on a regular basis. Surge has become the norm.

I'm sure Rumsfield has had a hand in this since the changes started in 2001 - before 9/11. In those days Rummy was roundly criticized for upsetting established norms. Well he seems to have done a pretty good job of that.

Welcome Instapundit readers.

Supply side economics

Dave Borden over at Stop the Drug War points out some interesting things about opium and Afghanistan.

He says there is a fatal economics problem with the drug war. Let me start with the theory. If prices for drugs are raised in the home market fewer people will buy them. If prices for drugs in the production countries are lowered fewer will be produced.

So let me ask you what system is known for increasing prices to consumers while lowering prices for producers? Obviously it cannot be a market based system. Market based systems tend to reduce prices to the consumer and paradoxically due to the desire for increased efficiency also increase the return to producers.

There is only one system in the world that can produce the desired results.

Socialism.

However due to the ubiquity of markets socialism can't produce its effects for very long. Supply meets demand at a price.

So how is the drug war doing economically?

Producers are still producing enough supply to meet the demand. And guess what? Over the last 30 years the cost for a given quality/quantity of drugs has fallen. In addition quality has gone up over time. The only drug market where this may not be true is marijuana. This is because it is a bulky commodity, relatively easy to interdict. But the marijuana market still follows the iron law of prohibition. - The harder the enforcement the harder the drugs. Price is up but quality is improving as well. Cross border importation has given way to hydroponic homegrown. Ever notice how many hydroponic stores are in your town? Our small town just added another a year ago. Prices will start to fall in time even in the marijuana market.

The free market in action.

Friday, March 25, 2005

And all the ships at sea

Walter Winchell used to open his broadcast with: "Hello Mr. and Mrs. America and all the ships at sea." I like that phrase. Especially the way Walter used to deliver it.

It looks like a lot of the ships are at sea. Out of 12 Carrier Battle Groups 6 are currently deployed or under way.

Look at the list:

USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) - Sea of Japan
USS Nimitz (CVN 68) - Pacific Ocean
USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) - Atlantic Ocean
USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) - Persian Gulf
USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) - Atlantic Ocean
USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) - Red Sea

Normal rotation is to have 8 in port refitting and training with 4 CBGs deployed. Last summer the Navy did a seven CBG surge. For training. This year it looks like the real thing. Note 2 of the 6 are in Arabian waters with 2 more possibly headed in that direction.

And that is not all.

The Marines have the Bonhomme Richard Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) [15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) (SOC)] near Iran.

USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) - Persian Gulf
USS Duluth (LPD 6) - Persian Gulf
USS Rushmore (LSD 47) - Persian Gulf

And the following amphibious assault ships with their compliments of Marines are at sea:

USS Nassau (LHA 4) - Atlantic Ocean
USS Peleliu (LHA 5) - Pacific Ocean
USS Bataan (LHD 5) - Atlantic Ocean
USS Austin (LPD 4) - Atlantic Ocean
USS Cleveland (LPD 7) - Pacific Ocean
USS Shreveport (LPD 12) - Atlantic Ocean
USS Gunston Hall (LSD 44) - Atlantic Ocean
USS Comstock (LSD 45) - Pacific Ocean

Could be a feint. Could be preparation for action.

Verrrry interesting.

Tuesday, March 22, 2005

Drug War Revealed

A new blog about the drug war opened up 21 March. It is called Drug War Revealed.

It is written by my friend nephalim.

I will probably be doing guest blogging there from time to time. Links and stuff will be posted here when that happens.

Monday, March 21, 2005

Belmont club has moved

I've updated my blog roll to show the new address.

http://www.wretchard.com/blogs/the_belmont_club/default.aspx

Belmont Club

Cold Fusion - its back

I came across this interesting scientific bit while doing some research on pain, morphine, and the placebo effect suggested to me by my old friend triticale.. It covers what I think is the most interesting possibility on the energy horizon.

I will admit I have been a sceptic. However, let us look at what real professionals in the field have to say:

AFTER 16 years, it's back. In fact, cold fusion never really went away. Over a 10-year period from 1989, US navy labs ran more than 200 experiments to investigate whether nuclear reactions generating more energy than they consume - supposedly only possible inside stars - can occur at room temperature. Numerous researchers have since pronounced themselves believers.

With controllable cold fusion, many of the world's energy problems would melt away: no wonder the US Department of Energy is interested. In December, after a lengthy review of the evidence, it said it was open to receiving proposals for new cold fusion experiments.

That's quite a turnaround. The DoE's first report on the subject, published 15 years ago, concluded that the original cold fusion results, produced by Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons of the University of Utah and unveiled at a press conference in 1989, were impossible to reproduce, and thus probably false.

The basic claim of cold fusion is that dunking palladium electrodes into heavy water - in which oxygen is combined with the hydrogen isotope deuterium - can release a large amount of energy. Placing a voltage across the electrodes supposedly allows deuterium nuclei to move into palladium's molecular lattice, enabling them to overcome their natural repulsion and fuse together, releasing a blast of energy. The snag is that fusion at room temperature is deemed impossible by every accepted scientific theory.

That doesn't matter, according to David Nagel, an engineer at George Washington University in Washington DC. Superconductors took 40 years to explain, he points out, so there's no reason to dismiss cold fusion. "The experimental case is bulletproof," he says. "You can't make it go away."
You can find more interesting stuff including the bit on morphine, brain receptors, and the placebo effect at this page of the New Scientist

Friday, March 18, 2005

Zoroastrian Customs : The New Year's Revolution

Here is an interesting article on Zoroastrian customs practiced for the coming new year.

On the same day, people try to foresee the future. The omens are read in various ways. Women who want a child, girls who have not yet found a husband, men who are hoping to conclude a successful business deal or even to get married, go out into the streets or stay behind closed doors eavesdropping on conversations between people they do not know. They interpret the words they overhear as omens of the future and make wishes and pray to try to ward off misfortune.
Say that is just the way I try to predict next what is about to happen in American politics. And boy, do I ever pray to avoid political misfortune.

Well so much for culture and predicting the future. Let us get to the important part:
In all the rites of Now Rouz [New Year- ED.], whatever their origin, there is one constantly recurring feature: the conflict between light and darkness, in keeping with the old Zoroastrian dualism. It is no coincidence that legend should attribute the invention of this feast to Jamshid or Feridun, legendary kings and divine heroes who triumphed over the forces of darkness.

But if Islam has kept up this Zoroastrian feast, it is because of the role it plays in the stabilization of the fiscal year and also because of its jovial and lively ceremonies which were highly esteemed at the courts of the caliphs and the sultans.

The singing and music which always mark Now Rouz explain why the sufis are interested in this festival. ENDS NO ROUZ 17305
But the mullahs don't like it. It represents the opposition in the way that Catholocism in Poland represented the opposition. It may be that the force of an old religion, thought dead for at least a thousand years, will rise and defeat political Islam.

Zoroastrianism: A Long Time Coming

In a previous post I had written that Iran was shaking. I think it is more than that.

In one of those strage twists of history a reawakening of a very old religion may lead to the demise of a newer one. The old religion is Zoroastrianism. What is classified as a pagan religion.

I wrote some about it here a while back. And guess what as I search mymeager archives I find that the reports from last October say that Iran is more stable than ever. Well, I didn't believe it then. I don't believe it now.

Well any way in this piece there are some links about Iran and what Zoroastianism is about. And a link between Judaism and Zoroastrianism. Very interesting. There is more here.

So any way it looks like fighting died down for the winter and is coming back renewed for the spring.

So what we saw on Wednesday was the Spring purifying ritual prepratory to the start of the pagan new year on 21 March: the spring equinox. Expect more demos and larger. There are even unconfirmed reports of the mullahs packing up their ermines.

**- According to a caller from Tehran airport around 200 people some of the Clerical Mullahs ruling class are using women Chador cover and they are planning to escape from Tehran. The caller said the Mullahs with Chador coverage are identified by the shape of their shoes

In past 50 years Iran has not seen such fighting spirit against Islam and Mullahs in Iran.

**- Chahar Shanbeh Soori is the voice of Freedom, voice of Iranian people against Mullahs.

**- Predict this Chahar Shanbeh Soori is considered as inflection point for Regime Fall.

Please post your reports , photo and sound of Iranian people Shock and Awe against Mullahs in this thread.
Shanbeh Soori means Fire Festival. It is an ancient cIn a previous post I had written that Iran was shaking. I think it is more than that.

In one of those strage twists of history a reawakening of a very old religion may lead to the demise of a newer one. The old religion is Zoroastrianism. What is classified as a pagan religion.

I wrote some about it here a while back. And guess what as I search mymeager archives I find that the reports from last October say that Iran is more stable than ever. Well, I didn't believe it then. I don't believe it now.

Well any way in this piece there are some links about Iran and what Zoroastianism is about. And a link between Judaism and Zoroastrianism. Very interesting. There is more here.

So any way it looks like fighting died down for the winter and is coming back renewed for the spring.

So what we saw on Wednesday was the Zoroastrian Spring purifying ritual prepratory to the start of the pagan new year on 21 March: the spring equinox. Expect more demos and larger. There are even unconfirmed reports of the mullahs packing up their ermines.
**- According to a caller from Tehran airport around 200 people some of the Clerical Mullahs ruling class are using women Chador cover and they are planning to escape from Tehran. The caller said the Mullahs with Chador coverage are identified by the shape of their shoes

In past 50 years Iran has not seen such fighting spirit against Islam and Mullahs in Iran.

**- Chahar Shanbeh Soori is the voice of Freedom, voice of Iranian people against Mullahs.

**- Predict this Chahar Shanbeh Soori is considered as inflection point for Regime Fall.

Please post your reports , photo and sound of Iranian people Shock and Awe against Mullahs in this thread.
Shanbeh Soori means Fire Festival. It is an ancient Zoroastrian festival. Next comes the Zoroastrian New Year.

There was music in the cafe's at night and revolution in the air. - Tangled Up in Blue. Dylan.

Thursday, March 17, 2005

The Spell is Broken

Once the spell of government power is broken it is quite hard to mend.

Think Sun Tzu. "Kill one, scare ten thousand". What happens when the 10,000 don't scare? What happens when they just get mad?

This is what happens.

Iran is shaking. Very hard.

Other slogans stating about a dangerous level of the popular exasperation, such as, "Bush, Bush, kush? Kush?" (Bush, Bush, Were's He? Were's He?) were also shouted along with some unprecedented public attacks against EU members, such as, France and Germany.

Pictures of regime's leaders and Islamist books, even at some occasion, Mandatory veils and copies of the Koran along with some EU symbols, such as, French and German flags were thrown into fire by some protesters. France and Germany are the closet collaborators of the illegitimate regime in Iran.

In some areas, like in the center of Mahabad and Sannandaj, overwhelmed official forces had to pull back at several occasions while some streets' initiative felt into residents hands. The regime forces were deployed massively around strategic buildings and facilities, such as, the Governmental TV and Radio by fear of a popular take over.
Scenes like this usually fortell the end of a regime.

Interesting how the opressed are calling for Bush and the opressors are joined telling him to stay away. France and Germany are not the upholders of moral standards in a fallen world. They are supporters of tyrants.

Wednesday, March 16, 2005

Ignore the IRS?

Well that is what a Federal Court says [pdf]:

absent an effort to seek enforcement through a federal court, IRS summonses apply no force to taxpayers, and no consequence whatever can befall a taxpayer who refuses, ignores, or otherwise does not comply with an IRS summons until that summons is backed by a federal court order.
So there you have it. The summons you get from the IRS does not have the force of law. Bob Schultz the defendant in this case is losing his point in court. He wishes to be protected from IRS enforcement efforts. The court will not grant him such protection based on the Government's own case. Bob is losing - he is happy. The IRS is winning - they are not happy campers at all. Go figure.

Bob says that the Department of Justice thinks the "Court's Opinion Threatens Tax System". It very well might. In fact more and more people think so every day.
The IRS chastised the Court for “creating a false impression,” and “misapprehending” and “misunderstanding” and “misstating” and being “inaccurate,” regarding the “consequences that flow from the issuance of an IRS summons.”

Schulz, however, was able to establish that the Court’s opinion is not only true to the related due process rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court, but is entirely consistent with the government’s written and oral arguments before the Court in this instant case.

In other words, the Court hung the IRS on its own petard.
There are some folks who call themselves 861evidence.com who think the Constitution does not allow for a tax on incomes and that the 16th Amendment does not mean what most people think it means. Suprisingly a number of Supreme Court rulings on the subject agree with the 861 folks and not with the govrernment.

Another of the so called "861 folks", Larkin Rose, has been indicted by the government and he couldn't be happier. He has a site called Theft by Deception where he calls the income tax as applied the greatest swindle ever pulled off in the history of the world. Larkin goes on to give what he calls the Truth.
The federal income tax statutes and regulations were designed to be confusing and deceptive. Due to the intentionally complex web woven by the architects of this deception, even after the "legalese" had been fully deciphered (which occurred only a few short years ago), it was still a challenge to make the truth widely accessible and understandable.

Getting the public to pay attention to a message this unconventional is nearly impossible if it cannot be explained—and proven—in a short "sound bite." So even after proof and extensive supporting evidence were publicly available (for example, in Larken Rose’s "Taxable Income" report, which can be downloaded here), the truth was still in a form that took significant time and effort to digest and comprehend. Because of that, until now only a very small percentage of the population has had a glimpse at the truth.

At last the truth has been put into a form that is not only thoroughly documented and solidly reasoned, but is also readily understandable to the average citizen. Using the medium of video, concepts can be explained in a way that is far more understandable than is possible using the written word alone.
Well do some research of your own and then decide. If the folks saying this stuff are right I'd expect a financial panic of huge proportions as the money flows get realigned. Now if we could only get the drug war straightened out as well I'd be one very happy camper.

Hat tip: Reason Magazine

Patriotism ain't what it used to be

Well it probably never was.

First it turns out that our sacred Pledge to follow the flag was written by a communist. Well at the very least he was a socialist.

Well that is not so bad. Until today. I just found out the tune to the Star Spangled Banner was originally a British drinking song written to praise a Greek poet who wrote a lot of love songs about little boys.

At least Maurice Chevalier liked little girls.

Well I think this fits in with what Winston Churchill said were the premier traditions of the British Navy, "Rum, sodomy, and the lash." And now you know the real reason for the War of 1812.

Saturday, March 05, 2005

Interview with a Police Officer

I did this one first about 7 March 03. I got this version from the Declarer. It is also available a few other places on the net. It is an interview with a Canadian Police Officer on the drug war. I think given the shootings in Canada it is worth a second look.

--==--

I have been discussing the ramifications of the War On Drugs (WOD) with a Canadian police officer, John A. Gayder. He has started a group called Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP). It's most prominent American member is Sheriff Bill Masters of San Miguel County, Colorado who has been an elected Libertarian Sheriff since 1980.

John, tell me a little about your police career?

I am a currently serving Constable with the Niagara Parks Police Service in Niagara Falls, Canada. Having said that, I need to tell you right off that the opinions I express regarding drug policy reform are strictly my own! They may or may not reflect the official position of my employer.

The policing profession has always been a central part of my life. My late father was a career police officer who rose through the ranks to eventually become a Chief of Police. My sister was a police matron for a time. I grew up in a policing household. I was hired in June of 1989 and have almost exclusively worked uniform patrol, which I consider to be the best job in the whole field of policing. I am also a certified health and safety worker representative and am the services rope rescue team instructor and coordinator. A partial c.v. is viewable on the web.

What is your opinion on the war on drugs? What made you come to that conclusion?

The war on drugs is classic proof that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. It is a noble idea to not want people to ruin their lives through drug abuse. Unfortunately, the way society continues to go about achieving that aim via the WOD is not working. In fact it is making things worse. Almost everything we hate about drugs is a result of them being illegal.

I came to this conclusion via a lot of different evidence. I had seen people take drugs in public and high school and they didn't go nuts and start killing or raping folks. When I was about 8 yrs-old a very close family member of mine was arrested for international trafficking in narcotics. Naturally his actions were very unpopular within the family. It was a bad time - lots of anguish and embarrassment. Yet to me he was still someone who I loved unconditionally. I couldn't understand why he was in trouble for buying the oil of a plant. He hadn't hurt anybody or stole something. I had another relative who became addicted to FDA approved, Doctor prescribed happy pills that ruined her life - yet the Doctor worked out a full career and then retired to Miami. After I became a police officer, I saw more first hand examples that confirmed the laws weren't working.

What do you think about drugs being used as self medication?

This speaks to the heart of the very important question; why do people take drugs. The situation of people in chronic physical pain through injury or disease using drugs to relieve it speaks for itself and is a no brainer. We desperately need to stop interfering with these people. We are not helping them by arresting them.

The deeper question involves recreational drug use by seemingly otherwise healthy individuals. I'm no scientist, but I believe many people use drugs and alcohol to alleviate a whole host of what are widely referred to as anxiety problems. Whether the severity of these anxieties warrants drug use versus cognitive therapy, or better yet prevention, is a valid question. Another thing I wish I knew more about was whether or not these anxieties are part of a self-perpetuating cycle caused by drug addiction itself, or whether people are masking over a mental trauma or pathology. It may be a chicken or the egg scenario. I guess looking at it on a case by case basis would be the best approach, but our current response involves helping all the case subjects by arresting and then fining or imprisoning them. I wish there was more research in this area, although the point is kind of moot as far I am concerned& who the hell is society to tell people what they can or cant do to themselves, so long as they don't hurt others?

If you could say anything to all the children who have broken families due to non violent, drug related, law violating, what would you tell them?

Been there and done it. If its a case involving a hopeless addict who is unable to care for themselves and has sold everything in the house to buy drugs, I tell the kids that the person is ill. I tell them that their sickness has made them do crazy things. In some ways, that is the easiest situation to deal with.

The worse situation occurs when you are partnered with a gung-ho officer who insists on arresting a mom or dad in front of their children after he finds a small bit of marijuana or blow. What the hell can you say to a kid then? It is beyond hollow to tell them that their folks arent really bad people, its just that they've broken the law. What does that tell a kid about their parents? What does it tell them about the law? Its the police that are breaking the home up in that case. What a mess.

Tell a bit about LEAP. What is your member base?

We started up in March of 2002. We recruit current and former members of law enforcement who believe the current drug policies have failed in their intended goals of addressing the problems of crime, drug abuse, addiction, juvenile drug use, stopping the flow of illegal drugs and the internal sale and use of illegal drugs.

The mission of LEAP is:

(1) To educate the public, the media, and policy makers, to the failure of current drug policy by presenting a true picture of the history, causes and effects of drug abuse and the crimes related to drug prohibition;

(2) To create a speakers bureau staffed with knowledgeable and articulate former drug-warriors who describe the impact of current drug policies on: police/community relations; the safety of law enforcement officers and suspects; police corruption and misconduct; and the financial and human costs associated with current drug policies;

(3) To restore the publics respect for law enforcement that has been diminished by its involvement in imposing drug prohibition;

(4) To reduce the multitude of harms resulting from fighting the war on drugs and to lessen the incidence of death, disease, crime and addiction by ultimately ending drug prohibition.

We went public with www.leap.cc in July and in eight months have gained over three hundred members. LEAP has twenty-five speakers scattered among 15 states of the U.S., and in Canada Australia, Colombia, and England. Concerned citizens who have no law enforcement background have also joined us as Friends of LEAP. We have had little time to recruit members because our directors and speakers were immediately invited to speak at international drug policy conferences in Albania, Austria, Belgium, Costa Rica, Italy, Mexico, Russia, and the United States. By the end of May 2003, we will have also conducted at least 82 speaking appearances at business, civic, benevolent, and religious organizations, as well as at universities and colleges.

What is the biggest obstacle preventing officers from changing their minds about the drug war?

Except for the most ardent drug warriors, a large percentage of officers will privately admit that the war on drugs is flop. Their minds don't need changing, they just need motivation and an outlet to do something about it enter LEAP.

For those who understand the failure of the WOD, there are a few factors at play that keeps them from admitting it publicly or doing anything about it.

Firstly, the policing profession is a paramilitary environment. There is a rank structure. Those wanting to climb the rank ladder require the approval of those above them on the ladder before they are allowed onto the next rung. Achieving and maintaining each position on the ladder is somewhat dependent upon toeing the line. (As an aside, I feel this requirement for conformity is a major, though hidden cause of work related stress for officers: knowing something is one way but having to say it is another is not good for your psycho-emotional health.)

Anyway, I guess the biggest obstacle to be overcome is to get officers to think about the consequences of the WOD in relation to the way it negatively affects their profession. Like Ben Franklin said, logic is often not the best persuader self interest is. Unconvinced officers need to see the harms to their image and profession that the inherently contrary nature of the WOD is creating.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Friday, March 04, 2005

Marijuana Kills Four Mounties

The news is bad from Canada. Marijuana which according to the The Province is said by Canadian hippies to be harmless fun has killed four RCMPs. The worst catastrophe of this magnitude since 1885.

Canada's illegal marijuana industry is too often portrayed in the popular imagination as a benign cottage industry run by a bunch of benevolent hippies.
Well evidently the hippies were not running this grow op.

And of course what is required is to start taking marijuana "seriously". Another paper goes on to state:
The deaths may be what it finally takes to get the Canadian public to take the dangers of marijuana grow operations seriously, said a Calgary police officer.

''There is some apathy out there, and unfortunately maybe it takes incidents like this to wake people up,'' said Staff Sgt. Birnie Smith of the Southern Alberta Marijuana Investigative Team.

''It's a danger to everyone.''
Yep them drugs is dangerous all right. They can kill. For sure.The Provincegoes on to say:
The lenient court sentences handed out by our province's liberal judges reflect that fact. They tend to amount to little more than an inconvenience to hardened traffickers, who treat them as a minor cost of doing business.

But the fact is drug-trafficking is a lethal, organized, criminal enterprise that corrupts the young and spreads like a noxious weed through law-abiding communities, slowly poisoning and strangling them.

And it's run by thugs, gang members and other desperate, armed losers who too often are prepared to shoot first and ask questions afterward.

That much is evident from the tragic slaying of four Mounties yesterday during a police raid on a grow-op at a farmhouse northwest of Edmonton.
The drugs did it, the drugs did it, the drugs did it, the drugs did it, the drugs did it, the drugs did it, the drugs did it. Yadda yadda.

Now you have to wonder why some 80 years ago in America scenes like this were regularly played out over beer and alcohol? What could the connection be? Could it be that it is not the drugs but prohibition that is dangerous?

What are the odds that any one in authority will ever come to that conclusion?

Is your PID tuned?

As you can see I have been busy (or is it lazy) lately. Press of work and all that.

What I have done is figure out a more scientific way to tune motor control PID loops than the current hit or miss system.

I did the work (an a very nice piece it was too) for a customer who couldn't see the advantages of making the work of his customers easier. The same old refrain - "well we do it the way it has always been done". Or "its traditional".

So if any motor control guys out there are interested in making things easier for themselves or their customers give me a holler. On top of that there is no need for an immediate redesign from the traditional methods. A few experiments and a calculator could put you into the future.

Contact me if you have an interest.