Input: What did the decision to base the water rates on usage reflect?

Context:
Time to clean house in Paso Robles Home
Front Page » Time to clean house in Paso Robles
September 5, 2010 Opinion By JIM REED
I’d like to give you an update on the issue of our civil servants cramming hundreds of millions of dollars in spending down our throats after the people of Paso Robles voted down the water rate increase last November. The rate increase is being hung up in the courts by the City Attorney. What was supposed to be a quick issue to get in front of a judge, has been drug out as long as possible by the City Attorney.
Even if the courts throw out the current rate increase, I expect that our civil servants will just change a couple of words in the rate increase notice and force the same old plan on us again.
There is a real problem with the people we have hired to work for us in Paso Robles. It seems that decisions are made based on some agenda, even if it is contrary to citizens’ wishes.
City Councilmen Ed Steinbeck, Nick Gilman and Mayor Duane Picanco, on August 19th, voted unanimously to hire the same law firm employed by the City of Bell. You may have heard the recent news story about the City of Bell’s corrupt city representatives.
This law firm allowed the elected officials and City employees to pillage the General Fund for their own benefit, contrary to the rights and interests of the citizens. We are already paying several City employees $12,000 per month with equally ridiculous benefits and pensions. What does this say about our elected representatives?
I believe most residents are like me. We elect people we believe have our best interest in mind. Over the last few years I have seen that nothing is farther from the truth. The people we have elected have lost track of the fact that “the City” exists to protect and deliver services to the citizens. To them it is some all-important ideal they strive to cultivate and improve according to their agenda. They have forgotten that they are elected to represent the citizens.
We have an election coming up in November. We have the opportunity to elect some responsible, principled people to represent us. If we elect more people from within this system, we will get more of the same type of government. We need to look at where the new candidates stand. Will they lawfully represent the citizens of the city? Or, are they happy with the way things are being run?
We have stood together in the past and have made real significant changes in important matters that are going to affect our lives for years to come. There are several thousand citizens that made their voice heard on the water issue, more than enough votes to make a change in our city government.
Please come out and vote for a democratic representative governing body for Paso Robles instead of the tyrannical leadership that exists now.
Jim Reed is a longtime resident of Paso Robles.
Subjects: Opinion Paso Robles Paso Robles City Council Vote	Related:
<- Previous Next ->	Endless Summer Nights at Edna Valley, event photos Trial postponed for Paso Robles woman accused of forgery The comments below represent the opinion of the writer and do not represent the views or policies of CalCoastNews.com. (moderator@calcoastnews.com Comment Guidelines )
2 whatisup says:	09/13/2010 at 9:27 pm
pasoobserver – Here is something to observe and get you going in the right direction:
California Government Code Section 65584
(a) (1) For the fourth and subsequent revisions of the
housing element pursuant to Section 65588, the department shall
determine the existing and projected need for housing for each region
pursuant to this article. For purposes of subdivision (a) of Section
65583, the share of a city or county of the regional housing need
shall include that share of the housing need of persons at all income
levels within the area significantly affected by the general plan of
(2) While it is the intent of the Legislature that cities,
counties, and cities and counties should undertake all necessary
actions to encourage, promote, and facilitate the development of
housing to accommodate the entire regional housing need, it is
recognized, however, that future housing production may not equal the
regional housing need established for planning purposes.
(b) The department, in consultation with each council of
governments, shall determine each region’s existing and projected
housing need pursuant to Section 65584.01 at least two years prior to
the scheduled revision required pursuant to Section 65588. The
appropriate council of governments, or for cities and counties
without a council of governments, the department, shall adopt a final
regional housing need plan that allocates a share of the regional
housing need to each city, county, or city and county at least one
year prior to the scheduled revision for the region required by
Section 65588. The allocation plan prepared by a council of
governments shall be prepared pursuant to Sections 65584.04 and
65584.05 with the advice of the department.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the due dates for
the determinations of the department or for the council of
governments, respectively, regarding the regional housing need may be
extended by the department by not more than 60 days if the extension
will enable access to more recent critical population or housing
data from a pending or recent release of the United States Census
Bureau or the Department of Finance. If the due date for the
determination of the department or the council of governments is
extended for this reason, the department shall extend the
corresponding housing element revision deadline pursuant to Section
65588 by not more than 60 days.
(d) The regional housing needs allocation plan shall be consistent
with all of the following objectives:
(1) Increasing the housing supply and the mix of housing types,
tenure, and affordability in all cities and counties within the
region in an equitable manner, which shall result in each
jurisdiction receiving an allocation of units for low- and very low
(2) Promoting infill development and socioeconomic equity, the
protection of environmental and agricultural resources, and the
encouragement of efficient development patterns.
(3) Promoting an improved intraregional relationship between jobs
(4) Allocating a lower proportion of housing need to an income
category when a jurisdiction already has a disproportionately high
share of households in that income category, as compared to the
countywide distribution of households in that category from the most
recent decennial United States census.
(e) For purposes of this section, “household income levels” are as
determined by the department as of the most recent decennial census
pursuant to the following code sections:
(1) Very low incomes as defined by Section 50105 of the Health and
(2) Lower incomes, as defined by Section 50079.5 of the Health and
(3) Moderate incomes, as defined by Section 50093 of the Health
and Safety Code.
(4) Above moderate incomes are those exceeding the moderate-income
level of Section 50093 of the Health and Safety Code.
(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, determinations
made by the department, a council of governments, or a city or county
pursuant to this section or Section 65584.01, 65584.02, 65584.03,
65584.04, 65584.05, 65584.06, 65584.07, or 65584.08 are exempt from
the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing
with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code).
pasoobserver says:	09/13/2010 at 6:52 pm
To whatisup —- First of all, I reviewed AB 602 Assembly Bill. Thanks. I am sorry to inform you but AB 602 is not the LAW as you so stated in your blog. I contacted the Deputy Chief Council’s office in Sacramento handling AB 602 to confirm your misstatement of facts. You know,in the English language, It shouldn’t be so difficult to answer some simple questions with a “YES” or “NO” answer. Yet, you are reluctant to do so, but you go on and on with a thesis along with some rhetoric. I never talked about a court suit over the “water issue”, I asked YOU, not about waiting for a court decision. Maybe, you did with some other people. Also, I was not ranting about the wineries usage of water. My response to you on your vague question about “there are people not paying their fair share for their use of water”. I related, are you talking about the wineries? I am well aware that most of the wineries are outside the city limits using the same aquifer. You took my question out of context., nice try! You are just being a popinjay and rhetorical. Also, you didn’t answer another question about “what is the unit cost of water” in Templeton? as compared to Paso Robles.
whatisup says:	09/13/2010 at 8:54 pm
I am on a well. I am sure you are capable of doing your own homework. I also am quite sure if you really contacted the Deputy Chief Counsel’s Office you have been set straight. What I gave you is a proposed small adjustment in the wide range of laws that make up the California Housing element. I assumed you could stumble onto the facts based on what I gave you. By the way, I believe you can review the Paso Robles Housing element plan on the City’s website or at the Library. The California Housing Element Laws that all cities and counties have to follow have been in place for almost 25 years. I realize you don’t actually have a clue how to look the laws up. Either educate yourself or keep making a fool of yourself, your choice. A simple Google search of California Housing Element Laws will get you going. Good Luck!
TO WHATISUP — I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT LAW YOU ARE REFERRING TO THAT SAYS “WE” THE PEOPLE HAVE TO SUBSIDIZE NEW DEVELOPMENT? AGAIN, FOR THE THIRD TIME, YOU FAILED TO ANSWER MY QUESTIONS POSED TO YOU IN MY PRIOR RESPONSES TO YOU ON SEPT.10TH &11TH. IS THERE A REASON WHY YOU DON’T WANT TO ANSWER THEM? YOU DO WHAT OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS DO SO WELL, AND THAT IS “IN ONE EAR AND OUT OF THE OTHER EAR” IT SEEMS TO ME THAT YOU ARE EITHER EMPLOYED BY THE CITY OR YOU HAVE OTHER DEALING WITH THE CITY, SO BE IT. IT APPEARS TO ME THAT YOU THINK THE CITY DOES EVERYTHING RIGHT. APPARENTLY, YOU PRESENT YOURSELF AS BEING VERY BIAS ON CITY DECISIONS. IT LIKE THEY CAN’T DO ANYTHING WRONG ACCORDING TO YOUR LOGIC. THEY KNOW WHAT IS BEST FOR THE CITIZENS OF PASO,THAT IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF ARROGANCE ALONG WITH NARCISSISM.
WHAT PEOPLE ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT THAT DOESN’T PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE OF WATER? ARE YOU REFERRING TO THE WINERIES USING THE SAME AQUIFER?
I BELIEVE YOU RELATED THAT YOU RESIDE IN TEMPLETON, BUT YOU OWN PROPERTY IN PASO. BY THE WAY, WHAT IS THE COST PER UNIT OF WATER USAGE IN TEMPLETON COMPARED TO PASO? OF COURSE, TEMPLETON IS IN AN UNINCORPORATED AREA (COUNTY JURISDICTION).
WELL, I GAVE YOU SOME SUGGESTIONS ON HOW TO PAY FOR THE NACIMIENTO WATER PIPELINE AND SEWER TREATMENT PLANT. ALSO, REMEMBER IT’S THE CITIZENS’ MONEY THAT IS BEING SPENT. WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL, IS LET THE CITIZENS OF PASO DECIDE WITH THEIR VOTE ON HOW TO FINANCE THIS HUGE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT EXPENDITURE. JUST BE IN COMPLIANCE WITH STATE PROPOSITION 218 AND STOP CIRCUMVENTING THE LAW.
WOULD YOU OBJECT TO HAVING TO FINANCE SOME NEW BONDS ON YOUR PROPERTY TAX BILL AS A ” SPECIAL TAX” OR AN ASSESSMENT TAX” TO PAY FOR THE NACIMIENTO WATER PIPELINE AND SEWER TREATMENT PLANT? A PERCENTAGE OF PASO CITIZENS FINANCE LOCAL SCHOOL BONDS ON THEIR PROPERTY TAX BILL AND DON’T HAVE ANY KIDS GOING TO SCHOOL. HOW ABOUT THAT COMPARISON FOR YOU TO THINK ABOUT? WHAT SAY YOU?
I say less CapsLock, please.
whatisup says:	09/12/2010 at 11:41 pm
I have answered your questions. I have been quite detailed in my answers and I am sorry if you can’t deal with the detail. I guess it is your inconvenient truth. You do seem to like to deflect and go around in circles. Another example, now you are ranting about the wineries using the same aquaifier as the City. Let me be clear for you, I don’t like the amount of water the wineries are using. However, the wineries are in the County, not in the City and the City can’t do anything about it. They wineries are allowed to take the water they are taking even if it drops the City’s water levels in their wells. You need to complain to Sacramento. It sounds like you just don’t want to pay anything for the infrastructure because you really just don’t want it built.
Several of your observations of my opinions are bizarre considering I have stated several times I believe the Courts need to decide if Paso Robles has, or has not followed the rules as to funding the infrastucture. Obviously, as I have stated before, if the City loses the lawsuit the infrastructure will have to be paid out of the City’s General Fund until a new method of payment is voted on by the Citizens of Paso Robles. Pretty clear.
Your idea of charging based on a special assesment rather than the amount of water a property uses means that people who use little water, but live on a more expensive property will pay more than their share, based on their water usage. In addition, how do you deal with a rental unit where the renter is supposed to pay the water bill? Your idea is inherantly unfair, but my guess is it will favor you, so you don’t care if it is unfair and other people would pay part of your share. You also have decided that since I have alternative ideas to yours I must work for, or have business with the City of Paso Robles, another attempt to deflect from the issue. However, once again, I have never worked for the City or have ever done business with the City and don’t expect to ever do business with the City. I do own property in the City which is why I pay attention. Finally, it turns out there needs to be a fix to the housing element laws, the existance of which you are questioning. As I understand it the fix to the housing elemnt laws is because of some lawsuit. This should give you all the information you need to educate yourself on the California Housing Element laws that every city and county in California has to follow:
BILL ANALYSIS ————————————————————
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 602|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
———————————————————— THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 602
Author: Feuer (D), et al
Amended: 8/20/10 in Senate
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMM : 6-3, 6/29/10
AYES: Lowenthal, DeSaulnier, Kehoe, Pavley, Simitian, Wolk
NOES: Huff, Ashburn, Harman
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Not relevant
SUBJECT : Statute of limitations on housing element
SOURCE : California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
Housing California DIGEST : This bill states the intent of the Legislature
in enacting this bill to modify the courts opinion in Urban
Habitat Program v. City of Pleasanton (2008) 164
Cal.App.4th 1561, with respect to the interpretation of
Section 65009 of the Government Code, and revises and
clarifies statute of limitations and remedies for specified
housing related challenges.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/20/10 revise the statute of
limitations and remedies for specified housing-related
ANALYSIS : The Planning and Zoning Law requires cities
and counties to prepare and adopt a general plan, including
a housing element, to guide the future growth of a
community. Following a staggered statutory schedule,
cities and counties located within the territory of a
metropolitan planning organization (MPO) must revise their
housing elements every eight years, and cities and counties
in rural non-MPO regions must revise their housing elements
every five years. These five- and eight-year periods are
known as the housing element planning period.
Before each revision, each community is assigned its fair
share of housing for each income category through the
regional housing needs assessment (RHNA) process. A
housing element must identify and analyze existing and
projected housing needs, identify adequate sites with
appropriate zoning to meet its share of the RHNA, and
ensure that regulatory systems provide opportunities for,
and do not unduly constrain, housing development. The
reviews both draft and adopted housing elements to
determine whether or not they are in substantial compliance
with the law. The Planning and Zoning Law and the Subdivision Map Act
also includes a number of sections governing zoning and
entitlements specifically related to housing, including:
? The Housing Accountability Act, which requires a city or
county to make one or more specified findings in order to
disapprove a particular housing development.
? A provision requiring cities and counties, when adopting
an ordinance which limits the number of housing units
which may be constructed on an annual basis, to make
findings as to the public health, safety, and welfare
benefits that justify reducing the housing opportunities
of the region. ? Density bonus law, which requires cities and counties to
grant a developer a density bonus, incentives, and
concessions when the developer proposes to include
specified percentages of affordable housing within a
development. ? The Least Cost Zoning Law, which requires cities and AB 602
counties to designate and zone sufficient vacant land for
residential use with appropriate standards to meet
housing needs for all income categories and to contribute
to producing housing at the lowest possible cost.
? A requirement that, when determining whether to approve a
tentative subdivision map, a city or county shall apply
only those ordinances, policies, and standards in effect
as of the date the developer’s application is deemed
Prior to a recent court decision, it was understood that
current law allowed a party to challenge the adequacy of a
city’s or county’s housing element at any time during a
planning period, provided that the challenger brought the
action “in support of or to encourage or facilitate the
development of housing that would increase the community’s
supply of [affordable] housing.” The challenging party was
required first to serve the city or county with a notice
identifying the deficiencies in the housing element. After
60 days or the date on which the city or county took final
action in response to the notice, whichever occurred first,
the challenging party had one year to file the action in
court. This process and statute of limitations also
applied to actions brought pursuant to the housing-related
statutes listed above. In 2006 Urban Habitat Program brought suit to challenge the
City of Pleasanton’s housing policies, including the city’s
annual cap on housing permits and the city’s cap on the
aggregate number of permissible housing units, both of
which Urban Habitat claimed were insufficient to allow the
city to meet its RHNA obligation. In 2008, the First
District California Court of Appeals issued an unpublished
decision in the case of Urban Habitat Program v. City of
Pleasanton allowing the case to proceed with respect to
some causes of action, but ruling that the challenge to the
housing element itself was time-barred. The court stated:
Although the statute does not specify the time within
which [a deficiency] notice must be given, it is our
conclusion that the statute must be interpreted as
containing a time limit within which this requirement
must be met? In sum, a party bringing a challenge AB 602
governed by section 65009, subdivision (d), has 90
days from the date a legislative action is taken or
approval is given to notify the local land use
authority of any claimed deficiencies in such an
action or approval. Its claim then accrues 60 days
after it gives this notice.
In other words, instead of being able to initiate a
challenge to a deficient housing element at any time during
the planning period, housing advocates and other interested
parties may now only initiate such a challenge by
submitting a deficiency notice within 90 days of the
housing element’s adoption.
1.Removes from the current list of city or county actions
which may be challenged pursuant to Government Code 65009
notice and accrual provisions those actions related to
the Housing Accountability Act, the Subdivision Map Act,
and the application of a Density Bonus ordinance to a
particular project, all of which are project-specific
actions. The bill maintains the ability to use these
notice and accrual provisions to challenge the adequacy
of a city’s or county’s density bonus ordinance
2.Extends lengthening the time in which a deficiency notice
may be served to cover all remaining city or county
actions described in this section of law, as opposed to
just housing element challenges. In other words, the
amendments apply the longer timeframe to serve the
deficiency notice to actions relating to the Least Cost
Zoning Law, annual limits on housing permits, and the
adequacy of a density bonus ordinance, in addition to
housing element law. 3.Provides that an entity challenging such an action in
support of affordable housing may serve the deficiency
notice up to five years after the city’s or county’s
action. After 60 days or the date on which the city or
county takes final action in response to the notice,
whichever occurs first, the challenging party has one
year to file an action in court, except that the lawsuit AB 602
may not be filed more than five years after the city’s or
county’s action. In other words, the entity must file
the lawsuit within one year of the expiration of the
deficiency notice or within five years of the city’s or
county’s action, whichever occurs first.
4.Provides that a housing element from a prior planning
period may not be challenged if the city or county has
adopted a revised housing element for the new planning
Government Code 65755 . Current law requires a court, if it
finds any portion of a general plan, including a housing
element, out of compliance with the law, to include within
its order or judgment one or more of the following remedies
for any or all types of developments or any or all
geographic segments of the city or county until the city or
county has complied with the law:
? Suspend the authority of the city or county to
issue building permits.
grant zoning changes and/or variances.
grant subdivision map approvals.
? Mandate the approval of building permits for
residential housing that meet specified criteria.
? Mandate the approval of final subdivision maps for
housing projects that meet specified criteria.
? Mandate the approval of tentative subdivision maps
for residential housing projects that meet specified
This bill clarifies that in any action or proceeding
brought pursuant to the notice and accrual provisions of
Government Code Section 65009 described above, neither the
court remedies described above nor any injunction against
the development of a housing project shall abrogate,
impair, or otherwise interfere with the full exercise of
the rights and protections granted to an applicant for a
tentative map or a vesting tentative map under specified
provisions of the Subdivision Map Act or to a developer
under a specified provision relating to development AB 602
Under current law, HCD operates a number of grant programs
to which cities and counties may apply. In many cases, the
law requires a city or county to have an HCD-approved
housing element in order to be eligible for funding. This bill provides that if a third-party challenges the
adequacy of a housing element in court and the court finds
that the housing element substantially complies with all of
the requirements of housing element law, the element shall
be deemed to be in compliance for purposes of state housing
The statutory language interpreted by the court and at
issue in this bill was added to statute by AB 998 (Waters),
Chapter 1138, Statutes of 1983, a bill sponsored by the
League of California Cities and the California Building
Industry Association. AB 998 created a short statute of
limitations period for land use decisions generally but
provided a specific exception to protect the ability to
challenge deficient housing elements. The Senate Housing
and Land Use Committee and the Senate Third Reading
analysis of the bill stated that the bill:
Specifies that for challenges in support of low- and
moderate-income housing requirements, the petitioner
shall notice local government 60 days prior to filing
action. The [one-year] statute of limitations then
begins on the first day the legislative body fails to
In the intervening 25 years prior to the Urban Habitat
ruling, housing advocates filed and successfully settled at
least ten cases in which the 60-day deficiency notice was
sent more than 90 days after adoption of the city’s or
county’s housing element. In none of these cases was the
timeliness on the advocates’ suit contested. Likewise, six
bills amended other portions of this statute during those
intervening years, and there was never any controversy
surrounding the lack of a deadline for housing advocates to
serve a deficiency notice nor any attempt to change the AB 602
statute in this regard. Current level of housing element compliance . According to
HCD’s website as of June 7, 2010, only 46 percent of cities
and counties have adopted an HCD-approved housing element
for the current planning period that began in 2005 for the
San Diego region, 2008 for the Southern California, Fresno,
Kern, and Sacramento regions, and the summer of 2009 for
the remaining areas of the state. Unlocking the private market . The purpose of housing
element law is to create opportunities for the private
housing market to function. Builders cannot build without
access to appropriately zoned land, and current land use
plans in many cities and counties in California fail to
provide sufficient opportunities to accommodate projected
population growth. The San Diego Association of
Governments’ Regional Comprehensive Plan describes this
typical California paradox in the following way:
Under current plans and policies, more than 90 percent
of [the San Diego region’s] remaining vacant land
designated for housing is planned for densities of
less than one home per acre, and most is in the rural
back country areas dependent upon scarce groundwater
supplies. And of the remaining vacant land planned for
housing in the 18 incorporated cities, only about
seven percent is planned for multifamily housing. When
taken together, the current land use plans of the 19
local jurisdictions do not accommodate the amount of
growth anticipated in our region. SANDAG’s population
forecast, which reflects the current adopted local
land use plans in the region, projects that while
population will increase by 37 percent by 2030,
housing will grow by just 30 percent. The forecast
shows that if local plans are not changed, demand for
housing will continue to outpace the supply, just as
Housing element law addresses this problem directly by
requiring cities and counties to zone land at appropriate
densities to accommodate the projected housing needs of all
income groups and to remove constraints that prevent such
sites from being developed at the allowed densities. AB 602
Cities and counties, however, are not required to build
housing because that is the role of private developers.
The law holds cities and counties accountable only for that
which they control: zoning and land use entitlements.
Without the ability to enforce housing element law, the
market’s ability to meet housing demand may well remain
locked up.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/23/10)
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation (co-source)
Housing California (co-source)
Advocates for Affordable Homes in Fremont
California Coalition for Rural Housing
Community Housing Improvement Program
Community Housing Works
Eden Housing
Fair Housing of Marin
Grassroots Leadership Network of Marin
Kennedy Commission
Public Advocates, Inc
San Diego Housing Federation
Self-Help Enterprises
Sierra Club of California
American Planning Association, California Chapter
JA:nl 8/23/10 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
pasoobserver says:	09/11/2010 at 11:17 pm
To whatisup — Thank you for your response to my comments. However, you failed to answer some of my questions that I mentioned to you. It’s almost like dealing with some City officials. They just let the public vent at their bimonthly council meetings. In my opinion, it’s difficult to deal with narcissism and arrogance. Over the years, there has been some very good input to our elected officials on how to proceed on the Nacimiento water pipeline,but it fell on deaf ears. You wanted me to answer some of your questions,but you did not answer some of my questions. Again, are you willing to subsidize new development?,Yes?or No?, are you willing to pay for a commodity that you are not receiving? Yes?or No? and another question for you. Are you willing to pay over 300% on your water bills within the five (5) year plan that the City has proposed? Also, the water rates will be subject to later increases too. By the way, I do concur with the city’s plan of “you pay for the amount of water units you use”. (748 gal=one unit). However, the higher water rates are not good for our senior citizens on fixed incomes and other struggling families in our community. My first suggestion years ago was desalination. The response was it was too expensive. Of course, now it is more expensive. I would suggest that our elected officials recall the existing bonds (The bonds can be recalled early). The City council can explain to the citizens in detail with financing of new bonds at a lower interest rate as of now for the sewer plant and Nacimiento water pipeline and present their new proposal in compliance with Proposition 218. Let the citizens of Paso VOTE on the financing bonds for their approval. Most of the citizens,that I had spoken to were not happy with the way our City Council handled the Nacimiento water pipeline project. The citizens of Paso didn’t give our City Council a “BLANK CHECK” for $176 million to spend without voter approval. I would suggest that it be a “special tax” or “an assessment” be levied on our property taxes. A percentage of those bonds can be deducted on Federal Income taxes. As it is now, a” fee” on a capital funding project is not deductible. Of course, there are homeowners would not go for this suggestion due to our poor economy. My analogy mentioned above would be, you would get something back on a “special tax” or an “assessment” verses nothing on a “fee”. What say you?
whatisup says:	09/12/2010 at 9:02 am
Unfortunately the law says we have to subsidize new development in California. I don’t like it, but it is the law. I know paying using the property taxes was bandied about. The argument against it was it would mean some would be paying for water they aren’t using and others could be big water users, but pay a small special assessment on their property taxes. I think the decision that was made to base it on usage was out of fairness. It seems to me if people are using water and not paying their share of the costs it is not fair. The Senior issue is very difficult. If someone is retired for twenty years is it realistic to think prices don’t go up during the 20 years of retirement. Think what prices were in 1990 compared to today. Should Seniors never have to pay for capital improvements? Paso Robles also had very low water rates. Rates that are no longer possible given the circumstances. Desalination will happen eventually. California is out of water. If you want to pay $1,000,000 a gallon there is no more allotable water of any consequence in California. The expense will be tremendous — still have to build a desalination plant, still have to build a pipeline. I don’t know if the plant has to be built along the ocean or if the salt water could be piped over to Paso Robles. If it has to be built along the ocean, Paso Robles doesn’t own land on the ocean and, in any case, the environmentalists will keep it in courts for years as they have done so for other proposed desalination plants in Southern California. Eventually necessity will force desalination past the environmentalists, but not yet.
pasojim says:	09/13/2010 at 7:46 am
Whatisup – On one of your previous post you made the comment you haven’t heard any of the legal suggestions for the water issue, But you obviously have. That is a good thing. So we can move the discussion ahead.
Once, again this was handled incorrectly by our city custodians from the beginning. And now here we are. The public is not supporting this very expensive, very limited benefit project. As you said, until a plan is developed that the public can support, things don’t look good.
All this discussion about the water issue has only reinforced my opinion the issue hasn’t been about water, only how the plan should be paid for. Or more specifically, to what extent do we allow our elected custodians and our un-elected GOD tzar decide which laws they will follow and which laws they will ignore. When the City GOD tzar tell citizens at a council meeting if we don’t agree with the City’s plan, then we should just sue him, and when the City Attorney explains to a citizen at a City Council meeting that she does have to respond to their questions because she does NOT work for them. When the project is voted down by the citizens and the council brings it right back up, it is clear that our elected representatives are not doing their job providing direction to their employees and listening to and representing the CITIZENS.
The subject of the original post was the need to elect different representation. I think with all the conversation made on this post, as well as the post on Cal Coast about the hiring of the new legal firm you were involved in, Supports my original opinion.

Answer: Fairness.


Input: Besides the Boeing C-17, what other transport aircraft is the IAF considering for acquisition?

Context:
Transport Aircraft for IAF - Page 67 - Bharat Rakshak
Transport Aircraft for IAF
Re: Transport Aircraft for IAF
Postby abhik » 17 Nov 2014 05:55
+1, Air India recently sold their entire fleet of Boeing 777s.
afaik the A330 MRTT does not make any structural mods or add anything internally in cargo or passenger cabin. it just relies on the intrinsic 110 tons of fuel. external refueling pods are added and internally the control station and cameras for the operator i guess.
so its a easy conversion from a passenger layout to the AAR mode - mostly ripping out the passenger cabin of all extra stuff and retuning the FCS for any changes in COG.
this should have been pursued years ago
the IL78 adds a palletized drum tank system inside its cargo bay due to paucity of intrinsic fuel but it can be removed and a/c converted back to cargo hauling or send off to russia for Phalcon structural mods if we want it that way. they will however need to change engines to PS90 as they have the old engines
http://www.airplane-pictures.net/images ... 7/5616.jpg
the RAF is already gone that route in 2011
http://www.defensenews.com/article/2011 ... -Refuelers
LONDON - Airbus Military has delivered the first of 12 A330-200 airliners due to be converted into in-flight refueling planes for the British Royal Air Force by Cobham Aviation Services.
The aircraft, part of an order of 14 jets, will be modified with aerial refueling pods and other equipment at Cobham's newly refurbished facility in Bournemouth, England. The first two aircraft have already been converted by Airbus in Spain.
The multirole tanker aircraft are being provided to the RAF under a private finance initiative service deal led by Airbus parent EADS.
Seven of the planes will be operated full time by the RAF. The remainder will be available for lease in the third-party market, with the proviso that they can be returned to British military service to meet any surge in demand.
All of the aircraft, to be known as the Voyager in RAF service, will be fitted with two wing-mounted refueling pods, while half the fleet will also be fitted for, but not necessarily with, a center-line mounted unit. The refueling units are being supplied by Cobham.
The first aircraft will become operational in a passenger and freight transport role by the end of this year to start relieving pressure on the RAF's hard-pressed assets.
Despite the increasing fragility of current RAF in-flight refueling operations, the new capability is not contracted to start being used in this role until 2015.
All 14 Voyagers are scheduled to be available for RAF operations by the middle of the decade. The A330 will replace the increasingly ancient Tristar and VC-10 refuelers now in service.
Push the 6 Il-476 from refueler to AEW duty. Phalcon them up
Not sure if that is a good path to follow. For one they all should be sent to pasture in about 8 years. Then if the are to be phalconed up - the requires major structural changes. Not worth that cost.
Whatever happened ot the two new ones that were supposed ot be ordered?
the IL78 can be easily converted back to IL76 cargo hauling. only the fuel tank inside cargo bay needs removal...infact that was even mentioned in initial days as swing role fuel/cargo.
Postby Cybaru » 17 Nov 2014 07:55
I am talking about the new il78 that we ordered recently in refueling role. Sorry for the mix up. They are the same platform, that I why i used 476 or 76 to identify it.
777 carries more internal fuel than the A330. We suck!
From the KC-777 program.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ ... kc-777.htm
"the KC-777 would be 209 feet long with a wingspan of 212 feet, 7 inches. That's the same size as the 777-200LR commercial jet. The KC-777 would be able to carry far more fuel, cargo and passengers than either the KC-767 or the Airbus A330 tanker. The KC-767 offers more operational flexibility, while the KC-777 would be better suited for long-range strategic missions in which more cargo needs to be delivered. The KC-777 would be able to carry more than 350,000 pounds (160,000 kilograms) of fuel and offload more than 220,000 pounds (100,000 kg) of it on a mission of 500 nautical miles (900 kilometers). On the other hand, the KC-767 can lift off with more than 200,000 pounds (90,000 kg) of fuel and offload more than 130,000 pounds (60,000 kg) in a similar mission. The KC-777 would be able to deliver 200 percent more fuel after flying 1,000 nautical miles than older Air Force KC-135s. The KC-777 could carry up to 37 pallets of cargo, compared to the 19 pallets for the KC-767."
Postby Cosmo_R » 18 Nov 2014 04:31
Viv S wrote: From Ajai Shukla's article -
HAL points out that, since each Avro flies barely 350 hours every year, most of them have a residual life of about 80,000 hours. In a request for information (RFI) released on August 15, HAL has proposed replacing the aircraft’s engines (Rolls Royce Dart) with “modern fuel efficient engines”.
So, the IAF's Avros have a residual life of 228 years at the current rate of usage. Ain't life grand?
At zero up time, it could reach infinity.
Relax Cy. Kc777 has no client. Usaf is going with kc767 and almost everyone else with a330.
We don't have the number of heavies and long missions of usaf else I would say convert an124.
KC777 will be extremely expensive given the demand/backlog for the 777 and the 777x. Any buyer would have to virtually pay for the increase in capacity.
I think the 767 production line is closed. so the proposed KC767 Boeing is supposed to deliver 18 by 2017..that can be managed from mothballed and cargo hauler airframes on the market.
but to meet the final order of around 180 will they not have to open the production line unless such a huge number were available on the market?
I do get the spider feel this program again will be cancelled in favour of a in-production plane like the 777X ?
I wasn't suggesting we get the KC777. All I was doing was comparing what possibly the 777 could offload compared to A330. It carries 171000 liters of fuel versus 130000 liters that the A330 carries. If we had older 777s in stock, we could have quite easily converted them to this config. The cost to us would be miniscule just the refurbishing cost vs acquiring a new type.
Singha wrote: I think the 767 production line is closed. so the proposed KC767 Boeing is supposed to deliver 18 by 2017..that can be managed from mothballed and cargo hauler airframes on the market.
The Line is open, they have a backlog of around 50 (All Fed ex), with Fed Ex placing a small order this year. The Pegasus order is for all new builds, and so will the follow on order. The only reason for any nation to buy the 767 tanker is going to be because of the ability to hard bargain with Boeing given that the commercial future of the 767 is dead. This also allows a potential buyer to purchase cheap spares from the open market, or club its logistical and inventory purchase with that of the USAF. Other than that and perhaps availability (which would be doubtful once USAF pushes through a larger order) there is really no technical reason to purchase the this tanker over the A330 which by all accounts is a superior tanker in addition to being a much much better airliner in general.
IAI is doing conversations for the 767 and its called the 767 MMTT
http://www.iai.co.il/sip_storage/FILES/1/38471.pdf
Cybaru wrote: I wasn't suggesting we get the KC777. All I was doing was comparing what possibly the 777 could offload compared to A330. It carries 171000 liters of fuel versus 130000 liters that the A330 carries. If we had older 777s in stock, we could have quite easily converted them to this config. The cost to us would be miniscule just the refurbishing cost vs acquiring a new type.
The cost of converting a commercial airliner to a tanker, certifying it and running a full fledged test program is by no means small. There is absolutely no justification for that sort of cost over and above the capability that that A330 provides. If it were a certified and tested conversion, that would be a different matter.
Postby Kartik » 21 Nov 2014 12:27
Cybaru wrote:
Why? If the airframe can handle more flight hours, why not?
because it is a very very old airframe as is. Maintenance spares won't be available easily even as of now, then imagine how it'll be 20-30 years from now.. and as things stood anyway, the HS-748 offered very little in terms of payload and range versus a C-295 class aircraft. The C-295 offers a very credible light transport, whereas the HS-748's role in the IAF was more akin to a transport trainer and for communication duties with little operational use. Having seen a dozen or so HS-748s parked at Vadodara airport all through my childhood, I never once saw one in the air. They just seemed to be stored out in the open. Upon asking an IAF transport pilot who was my friend's father, he remarked "zyaada kaam ke nahi hain yeh".
Why would you expend more capital on what is essentially an obsolete airframe, even if theoretically it had not yet reached its service life? You'd have to re-engine it, put new avionics on board and even that wouldn't suffice for para dropping requirements..it was operationally never suitable for para dropping, which is an important mission for transport aircraft and had deficiencies in hot and high climes as well.
Unfortunately, the 748 was never meant to be a military transport. At the request of IAF, its door was enlarged to enable larger cargo items to be loaded and to allow para dropping without hitting the tail plane. However, to load a jeep in it, a 30-ft long ramp was required. The jeep would drive in and insert its front wheels into the aircraft. Then it had to be manually lifted and turned to get it in. Unloading it was just as difficult. Para dropping of troops or cargo even from the aircraft with the enlarged door was considered too dangerous with the risk of hitting the tail plane. The aircraft's performance at hot and high airfields was hopelessly inadequate. Eventually IAF acquired the tail-loading An-32s which were powered specifically for IAF's need for operating in the Himalayas.
BRF article -Avro in IAF service
Now unless you want to overcome all these through a costly, time consuming engineering re-design program, that too without access to original documents since this airplane was designed in the 1960s, there is no question of keeping them going for another 40 years. By which time the original design would be over 80 years old and with no one on earth but the IAF as an operator and HAL as the agency supporting it. Hardly a situation anyone would want.
abhik wrote: +1, Air India recently sold their entire fleet of Boeing 777s.
Only 5 of the Boeing 777-200LR, to Etihad Airways, which IMO was a bad decision..they could have reconfigured the airplanes with just 2 classes and continued to fly them to the US, non-stop.
The remaining 3 777-200LR were offered for lease but are still a part of AI's fleet since they didn't find any takers. This particular model hardly sold much and was developed for ultra-long range flights..it was the least successful 777 model and clearly AI goofed up on the configuration by going for these in place of the 300ER. The economics however didn't make too much sense for AI eventually.
there are 13 777-300ER as a part of their fleet ahd their economics is much better.
Govt. to decide tomorrow on whether to go ahead and allow the IAF to verify the technical details of the C-295 bid by Tata-Airbus instead of scrapping the tender due to single vendor situation.
The government will decide on Saturday whether to press ahead with the Rs 13,000 crore mega project for the private sector to supply 56 medium transport aircraft to the IAF despite only a single bidder, the Tata-Airbus consortium, being in the fray.
Though the defence acquisitions council (DAC) chaired by Manohar Parrikar will take the final decision, MoD sources on Tuesday said the "emerging dominant view" is that green signal should be given to the crucial project designed to promote Indian private sector's entry into the domestic aerospace arena with foreign collaboration.
"The Tata-Airbus technical and commercial bid is a credible offer submitted in a competitive environment. The other seven contenders backed out for one reason or the other," said a source.
IAF has now sought the clearance of the DAC -- the first such meeting to be chaired by Parrikar after becoming defence minister on November 10 -- to begin technical evaluation of the C-295 aircraft offered by Airbus Defence & Space and Tata Advanced Systems.
Though it has become a single-vendor situation, the DAC can approve it if it wants as per existing procurement procedures. Of the eight foreign aviation majors that got the global tender, American Boeing and Lockheed-Martin as well as Brazilian Embraer said they did not manufacture the class of aircraft being sought by IAF.
Refusing to take part in the tender, Russian Rosoboronexport said it wanted a fresh design and development project. Antonov of Ukraine wanted yet another extension of the bid submission deadline due to the ongoing conflict in Crimea. Swedish Saab said it had shut down its assembly line for such aircraft.
Then, Alenia Aermacchi was linked to Italian conglomerate Finmeccanica, which has been slapped with "a partial ban" after the infamous VVIP helicopter scandal. "All this left only the European consortium Airbus. The DAC will have to take a call since re-tendering may lead to the same situation," said the source.
Incidentally, it was the Modi government's first DAC in July -- then headed by Arun Jaitley - which revived the Avro replacement project after it was put on hold by the UPA-2 regime last year due to strong opposition from the powerful PSU lobby and ministers like Praful Patel, as reported by TOI earlier.
Apart from the critical need to encourage the private sector to enter defence production in a big way, especially in the aerospace arena where Hindustan Aeronautics enjoys a monopoly, its felt the defence PSU's order books are already overflowing with projects.
Fingers crossed. Hopefully sense will prevail.
Why was lr got? Er is capable of Dubai to sfo nonstop.
Lr is overkill unless we want Delhi to Peru .
Singha wrote: Why was lr got? Er is capable of Dubai to sfo nonstop.
they wanted it for non-stop routes from India to the west coast of the US. But with fuel prices going higher and with the lower seat count on the 777-200LR, the seat mile costs grew too high. A 3 class configuration only made matters worse. A higher density configuration with more economy class seats and just 12-15 Business class seats would have been better perhaps, especially if they didn't have very high First Class load factors.
LR and ER is better if you want to have a better payload down below for long haul. Ultimately, the best bet is going to come form the 787's that take a fewer people (so you can do the longer routes) with still a competitive CASM, and the B and F class folks will pay good money for newer aircraft.
Postby Kartik » 04 Dec 2014 12:55
Lets see if there is any forward movement on the stalled MTA project once Putin arrives in New Delhi
Major defence deals to be signed during Putin-Modi summit
In this connection, it is expected that during the summit, Russia and India may ultimately resolve several long-delayed agreements on military-technical cooperation projects between the two countries and sign them finally for their implementation. These agreements, above all, include joint Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) project and joint development of Multi-role Transport Aircraft (MTA).
A final deal on FGFA for production has been delayed because the Indian Air Force (IAF) did not approve the design and work-share. Now Russia has reportedly agreed that the jet would be a two-seat design, not a one-seater. India’s work-share would also be increased from18 percent to 25 percent, and even up to 40-50 percent in the near future, in view of the steady development of the Indian aviation industry.
Defence and SecurityAccording to the agreement, India’s stealth air-to-air missile “Astra” along with Indo-Russian BrahMos supersonic cruise missile will be mounted on the FGFA.
The preliminary design agreement on FGFA had been signed in 2010 between Indian HAL and Russian Sukhoi Design Bureau to build the jet for the use by both countries. The final design contract was to be signed in July-August 2012. But the deadline has already passed. According to the Indian media reports, under the programme, India is expected to build 200 fighter jets at the cost of $30 billion.
FGFA is not the only Indo-Russia joint project. The two countries also signed an agreement on the joint development of MTA in 2007, based on Il-214 Russian plane. The cost of the $600 million project is being equally shared by the two countries. The MTA, when developed, will have ready market for 205 aircraft - 45 for the Indian Air Force, 100 for the Russian Air Force, and 60 more for exporting to friendly countries. The international market for MTA is estimated at 390 planes. Under the agreement, thirty percent of the annual production of planes could be exported to third countries.
The MTA was expected to go in service with the Russian and Indian Air Forces in 2015. But the project faced a number of problems, delaying the development of the MTA. The project got into rough weather after India felt there was nothing much for Indian engineers and scientists to do in the design and development of the MTA.
However, all the issues related to the project were resolved with the Russians when the HAL undertook to carry out design and development of its work-share of MTA at Aircraft R&D Centre at Bangalore. Russian Ilyushin Design Bureau and the Irkut Corporation and HAL are participating in the project. The first flight is expected to take place in 2017-18.
The MTA would replace the AN- 32 aircraft being used by the IAF. It will be used for both cargo and troop transportation, para-drop and air drop of supplies, including low-altitude parachute extraction system.
BrahMos missile exports a challenging proposition
Another key deal expected to be signed during the summit, is for the development of “BrahMos mini missile” by the Indo-Russian joint venture BrahMos Aerospace which manufactures supersonic cruise missile. BrahMos’ new CEO Sudhir Mishra recently said he was hopeful that a deal to develop the mini version of the missile will be signed during Putin’s summit with Modi.
“We are hoping to sign a tripartite agreement between DRDO, NPOM lab and BrahMos Aerospace during the planned visit of Russian President in December,” Mishra said.
He said that the new missile will have a speed of 3.5 mach and carry a payload of 300 km up to a range of 290 km. In size, it will be about half of the present missile, which is around 10 metres long. The missile can be integrated with different platforms, including submarines and FGFA. It is planned to be inducted into service by 2017.
Modi-Abbott to upgrade defence ties
A new dimension:
In a first, India and Australia will also set up a mechanism to discuss “synergies in integrating defence system”, including research and development cooperation on integrating defence equipment that both countries currently purchase, for example, U.S’s C-17 Globemaster III, according to officials.
^^That report about MTA is fishy. First it says that India has nothing to learn from an existing design (duh) and then says the issue has been resolved. How? Next it says India's need is 45 planes to replace over 100 An-32s. It also speculates about the export potential which may be nonexistent unless we sell it for peanuts.
This is a scam which only aims to create screwdriver jobs at HAL, stall any attempt to introduce private players into the aviation market and continue the Russian gravy train. My fear is the Russkies have our testiments in a firm grip with key components of Brahmos, nuke subs, Su30mki etc and we may be jerked around.
(They need to be more definitive about "MTA" - Multirole vs. Medium)
The Indians had not selected an engine (among other things) for the MTA with the Russians. Perhaps that has been resolved now.
On export numbers, IIRC, it was the responsibility of Rosoboronexport. ?????
Kartik wrote: The MTA would replace the AN- 32 aircraft being used by the IAF. It will be used for both cargo and troop transportation, para-drop and air drop of supplies, including low-altitude parachute extraction system.
Pardon my ignorance. The Avro and An-32 have different upgrade paths. How are the replacements for these venerable aircraft different in terms of use cases in IAF. Cannot one platform replace both these types? (Either MTA or C-295)
In this case, I feel they should have just gone with screwdrivergiri (production tech) and got to market first. There is no jet-powered transporter in this range! Just license produce the IL-214 with the PD-14M, glass cockpit and a state-of-the-art COTS avionics computer.
In my view, it was a low hanging fruit, which they completely messed up! They could have learnt on how to adopt the plane for the 160-200 seater.
indranilroy wrote: They could have learnt on how to adopt the plane for the 160-200 seater.
Yes, the MTA project should fold the Avro, An-32 and the regional transport role and become a conversion project rather a development one. The driving numbers will come from the regional transport (thousands in India itself) rather than the Avro or medium transport roles (max 300 between them). This changes the ball game and introduces all kinds of possibilities. But I'm pretty sure that the Il-214/MTA is not the way to go because it will take a decade or more to arrive. A good possibility was another Antonov, the An-148 but it has some mechanical glitches apparently besides being bogged down in the Ukraine mess. Maybe the Russians can "relocate" the aircraft to Russia? The other possibility is the BAe-146 which is ironically another Avro. We should remember that both the HS-748 "Avro" and An-32 were regional airliners that were converted to military use, not the other way around. HAL or a private firm will pick up a lot of experience in the conversion process itself.
The Sukhoi Superjet is already in production/orders,with over 100+ for Russian and intl. customers. It is ideal for regional transport,perfect for flights to smaller Tier-2/3 cities from metros. If we really want a regional jet this is the fastest way toi go,we can set up a manufacturing unti here for the same at an HAL unit.
Postby shaun » 05 Dec 2014 15:24
Its an international projects, with components outsourced from different international vendors . Over 30 foreign partnership companies are involved in the project and partly financed by Italy.
Sukhoi is good for passenger use but wont be suitable for military, rough field use. The shoulder wing jets like the An-148 have slower speeds and better ground clearance. The Bae-146 was usedby Druk Air in Bhutan so it should do OK in the ALGs. If we don't fold our requirements then we should go with something like the Superjet which we will at least be able to make in India and also modify to stretched versions. Unless we have a clear path to operational clearance within 10 yrs for the RTA project vetted by our top industrial houses, it is pie-in-the-sky and should be dropped. The RTA will be big enough to keep 2-3 factories humming and leapfrog our capabilities. If we don't get our act together almost immediately, we will miss the boat, just like our trainer fiascos.
I don't think Superjet fits into our scheme of things. We should think as a country and see to it that our programs don't trample on each other.
First, the more certain ones:
1. Mahindras NM5 and Airvans can care of the low-cost but sturdy 5,8,10 and 18-seater section.
2. Saras had such great potential for being the high performance 14-18 seater. But I have almost given up on it. This section will most probably be taken up by the Tata-built Do-228 NG.
3. We should standardize the C-295 as the Avro/An-32 replacement and create a 70-80 seater variant out of it.
And then the more wishful ones:
1. If the RTA is going to be a jet, then make it a 100-130 seater. I don't expect the first prototype to take the sky before 2025. I feel it is too big of a jump where we don't even have a base. With LCA, at least we were at least license producing other fighters.
4. Building on the IL-214, the MTA was on a more sure footing. But, I can't see how the first prototype can to take to the sky before 2019(more than 10 years since MTAL was formed)! If the transport plane materializes, then one can imagine making a civilian 150-200 seater version of the same. But this program needs a push. Will Putin's visit be able to galvanize this into the next symbol of Indo-Russian cooperation. Probably not!
Postby GeorgeWelch » 12 Dec 2014 23:39
http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/defence-de ... -1.2144472
The Defence Department intends to purchase a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III, a large military transport plane that comes with a price tag of just under $200 million, CTV News has learned
It's difficult to get a good count, but by some sources, if this and the 4 Australia planes go through, there will only be 5 left.
X-Posting from FGFA thread.
Despite Putin’s visit, two pacts on military aircraft still in doldrums
President Vladimir Putin may have come and gone but stalemate largely persists over two key long-pending India-Russian defence projects, the fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) and military multirole transport aircraft (MTA).
The deadlock over the MTA, which were initially envisaged to gradually replace IAF's ageing fleet of the medium-lift AN-32 aircraft, seems to be much more serious. India now wants to ascertain the cost viability of the twin-engine transport aircraft in comparison to similar planes available in the market.
There are also questions about the MTA's "predicted timelines for delivery" as well as its failure to meet the high-altitude requirements, which need to be answered before India even thinks of inking the full-scale contract for the project, said sources.
Postby Gyan » 13 Dec 2014 12:29
indranilroy wrote: I don't think Superjet fits into our scheme of things. We should think as a country and see to it that our programs don't trample on each other.
1. Mahindras NM5 and Airvans can care of the low-cost but sturdy 5,8,10 and 18-seater section. Righto
2. Saras had such great potential for being the high performance 14-18 seater. But I have almost given up on it. This section will most probably be taken up by the Tata-built Do-228 NG. We need future extended variants of presurrized aircraft like 30 seater Saras and say 30 seater unpressurized Do-328 NG.
3. We should standardize the C-295 as the Avro/An-32 replacement and create a Civilian turboprop pressurized cabin 70-80 seater variant out of it.
1. If the RTA is going to be a jet, then make it a 100-130 seater. Agreeeeeed I don't expect the first prototype to take the sky before 2025. I feel it is too big of a jump where we don't even have a base. With LCA, at least we were at least license producing other fighters. Though I think that we should participate in Russian MS-21 and also the wide body follow on.
4. Building on the IL-214, the MTA was on a more sure footing. But, I can't see how the first prototype can to take to the sky before 2019(more than 10 years since MTAL was formed)! If the transport plane materializes, then one can imagine making a civilian 150-200 seater version of the same. Though I think that we should participate in Russian MS-21 and also the wide body follow on. But this program needs a push. Will Putin's visit be able to galvanize this into the next symbol of Indo-Russian cooperation. Probably not!
Absence of any specifics on Sukhoi Superjet, MS-21, Wide body aircraft, Mi-38, MRTA, FGFA, even after Putin visit is very disappointing.
FlightGlobal- Boeing sitting on 8 unsold C-17s
By: Dan ParsonsWashington DCSource: Flightglobal.com
This story is sourced from Flightglobal.com 12 hours agoBoeing has sold two more C-17 transports to an undisclosed customer, but it will likely end the year with eight unsold white tails.
There are 10 Boeing C-17 airlifters in various stages of assembly at the company’s Long Beach, California, production facility.
Two of the aircraft are spoken for by an unnamed customer, Boeing says. Boeing is trying to sell off the other eight white tails, which will be the last produced before the factory is shuttered sometime in the summer of 2015.
The 279th – and final – C-17 fuselage will be mated to its wings in January or February, programme spokeswoman Tiffany Pitts tells Flightglobal. The operation is California’s last remaining aircraft production line and the lone widebody military aircraft production line in the USA, according to Boeing.
At least two countries – Australia and Canada – have publicly announced an intention to purchase a C-17, though neither factor into Boeing’s future planning, Pitts says. Until contracts are finalised, the number available remains eight, she says. The Royal Canadian Air Force already has four C-17As, according to Flightglobal’s World Air Forces 2014 directory.
Canadian news outlets reported earlier in December that the air force would buy one C-17 with money left over at the end of 2015.
Australia is further along with its bid to purchase C-17s. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency in November announced Australia was approved to buy up to four C-17s and support equipment for $1.6 billion.
Boeing has plans to store any unsold C-17s following closure of its production line, Pitts says.
“I’m hoping they all will be sold before then, but we’ve had plans in place for a very long time to store and maintain the aircraft if that doesn’t happen,” she says.
the IAF will need to factor in the demand vs availability of C-17s and stock up with a follow-on order quickly. The initial plan to have 16 C-17s may not fructify, considering that there are just 8 left now, with Australia having announced plans to buy 4 more.
why are they closing the line if it has demands ???
Real estate sales tactics probably. Buy now last 8 3bhk flats Saar.
krishnan wrote: why are they closing the line if it has demands ???
It requires 3 years lead time to order raw materials/parts from all of its sub-vendors. All current firm orders have been fulfilled, and no new orders have come. Anticipating a need for a few more aircrafts, they produced 10 extra (self-funded) units before production winded down. Bottom line is they don't make money keeping an idle plant around with all its employees and infrastructure. At most what they will likely do is keep a limited infrastructure around for a few more years in case a bunch of new orders come. They can then see if it makes business sense to re-open the plant.
Postby Aditya_V » 17 Dec 2014 12:19
Wish this can be brought to the notice of Journos/ Poster when slamming LCA/ Arjun and other indigenous projects. If there are no orders there will be no efficiency.
Dec 10, 2014 :: Russia launches Il-76MDM upgrade programme
Russia's Ilyushin has started to upgrade a first Russian Air Force (VVS) Ilyushin Il-76MD 'Candid' military transport aircraft to Il-76MDM standard, company officials have told IHS Jane's . The main features of the upgrade include refurbished engines and upgraded avionics.
The modernisation is being conducted at the VVS's Military Transport Aviation (MTA) maintenance facility based at the Ilyushin division in Zhukovsky city near Moscow.
A senior Ilyushin official told IHS Jane's that the upgrade of the first aircraft will be finished in 18 months. Subsequent aircraft will take less time to complete the process, however. When the modernisation is finished the initial Il-76MDM will undergo state trials. The upgrade process for subsequent aircraft will begin when the trials programme is completed.
IHS Jane's was previously told by a VVS senior official that the modernisation of 41 MTA Il-76MDs is planned by 2020. While the Il-76MDM upgrade retains the old D-30KP engine (compared with the PS-90A engine equipping the new Il-76MD-90A/Il-476), the modernisation effort should match the aircraft's onboard electronics with those of the newbuild Il-76MD-90A. This and other efforts mean the cost of modernising the Il-76MD to Il-76MDM is only a third of that of a newbuild Il-76MD-90A.
The existing D-30KP engines are to be enhanced to increase their service life. The overall aircraft's service life will be extended by 15 years.
The upgrade works are planned to be conducted in an aviation repair factory or in the MTA's aircraft maintenance facility. As a result, the Ulyanovsk-based Aviastar-SP plant, which is building the Il-76MD-90A, is not involved in the Il-76MD to Il-76MDM modernisation programme.
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Answer: The IAF is considering the acquisition of the Airbus A330 MRTT (Multi-Role Tanker Transport) besides the Boeing C-17.


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Ann's Mega Dub: 12/19/10 - 12/26/10
Got o have a penis to be an expert
Thursday on NPR's Fresh Air, Terry Gross wanted to talk film and music. Since women don't know a thing about either and aren't interested in either, Terry had to find men who were 'experts.'This is C.I.'s " Iraq snapshot Friday, December 24, 2010. Chaos and violence continue, Nouri's incomplete Cabinet continues to receive criticism, a father offers an 'excuse' for killing his own daughter, and more.Marci Stone (US Headlines Examiner) reports, "Friday afternoon, Santa is currently in Baghdad, Iraq and on his next stop is Moscow, Russia, according to the 2010 NORAD Santa Tracker. The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has been tracking Santa as he makes his annual journey throughout the world." Gerald Skoning (Palm Beach Post) quotes Santa saying, "We send our special wishes for peace and goodwill to all. That includes the people of Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran and North Korea." Please note that this is Santa's seventh trip to Iraq since the start of the Iraq War and, as usual, his journey was known in advance. No waiting until he hit the ground to announce he was going to Iraq -- the way George The Bully Boy Bush had to and the way US President Barack Obama still has to. In the lead up to Santa's yearly visit, many 'authorities' in Iraq began insisting that Christmas couldn't be celebrated publicly, that even Santa was banned. Gabriel Gatehouse (BBC News) quotes Shemmi Hanna stating, "I wasn't hurt but I wish that I had been killed. I wish I had become a martyr for this church, but God kept me alive for my daughters." Shemmi Hanna was in Our Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdad when it was assaulted October 31st and she lost her husband, her son, her daughter-in-law and her infant grandson in the attack. The October 31st attack marks the latest wave of violence targeting Iraqi Christians. The violence has led many to flee to northern Iraq (KRG) or to other countries. Zvi Bar'el (Haaretz) notes, "This week the Iraqi legislature discussed the Christians' situation and passed a resolution in principle to help families who fled. However, the parliament does not know where the Christians are, how many are still in Iraq, in their homes, and how many have found asylum in Iraqi Kurdistan." John Leland (New York Times) reports:The congregants on Friday night were fewer than 100, in a sanctuary built for four or five times as many. But they were determined. This year, even more than in the past, Iraqi's dwindling Christian minority had reasons to stay home for Christmas. "Yes, we are threatened, but we will not stop praying," the Rev. Meyassr al-Qaspotros told the Christmas Eve crowd at the Sacred Church of Jesus, a Chaldean Catholic church. "We do not want to leave the country because we will leave an empty space." Raheem Salman (Los Angeles Times) reports, "Rimon Metti's family will go to Christian services on Christmas Day, but his relatives will be praying for their own survival and wondering whether this is their last holiday season in Baghdad. If they had any grounds for optimism about the future of their faith in Iraq, it vanished this year amid repeated attacks on fellow believers." Shahsank Bengali (McClatchy Newspapers) adds, "Nearly two months after a shocking assault by Islamist militants, Our Lady of Salvation Catholic Church will commemorate Christmas quietly, with daytime mass and prayers for the dead, under security fit more for a prison than a house of worship. It is the same at Christian churches across Baghdad and northern Iraq, where what's left of one of the world's oldest Christian communities prepares to mark perhaps the most somber Christmas since the start of the Iraq war."Meanwhile Taylor Luck (Jordan Times) reports on Iraqi refugees in Jordan:Although the calendar will say December 25, for Theresa, Saturday will not be Christmas. There will be no cinnamon klecha cooling on the dining room table, no outdoor ceramic nativity scene, no readings of hymns with relatives. The 63-year-old Iraqi woman has even refused to put up Christmas lights in the crowded two-room Amman hotel apartment she has called home since fleeing Baghdad last month."There is no holiday spirit. All we have is fear," she said.This holiday will instead mark another year without news from her 46-year-old son, who was kidnapped outside Baghdad in late 2006.From Turkey, Sebnem Arsu (New York Times -- link has text and video) notes the increase in Iraq refugees to the country since October 31st and quotes Father Emlek stating, "I've never seen as many people coming here as I have in the last few weeks. They also go to Lebanon, Jordan and Syria but it seems that Turkey is the most popular despite the fact that they do not speak the language." Jeff Karoub (AP) reports on the small number of Iraqi refugees who have made it to the US and how some of them "struggle with insomnia, depression and anxiety."One group in Iraq who can openly celebrate Christmas are US service members who elect to. Barbara Surk (AP) reports that tomorrow Chief Warrant Officer Archie Morgan will celebrate his fourth Christmas in Iraq and Captain Diana Crane is celebrating her second Christmas in Iraq: "Crane was among several dozen troops attending a Christmas Eve mass in a chapel in Camp Victory, an American military base just outside Baghdad." Marc Hansen (Des Moines Reigster) speaks with six service members from Iowa who are stationed in Iraq. Sgt 1st Class Dennis Crosser tells Hansen, "I certainly understand from reading the paper what's going on in Afghanistan and the attention definitely needs to be on the troops there. But everyone serving here in Operation New Dawn appreciates a little bit of attention as we finish this up."Today Jiang Yu, China's Foreign Minister, issued the following statement, "We welcome and congratulate Iraq on forming a new government. We hope that the Iraqi Government unite all its people, stabilize the security situation, accelerate economic reconstruction and make new progress in building its country." James Cogan (WSWS) reports:US State Department official Philip Crowley declared on Wednesday that Washington had not "dictated the terms of the government". In reality, constant American pressure was applied to Maliki, Allawi, Kurdish leaders and other prominent Iraqi politicians throughout the entire nine-month process to form a cabinet. The US intervention included numerous personal phone calls and visits to Baghdad by both President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.The key objective of the Obama administration has been to ensure that the next Iraqi government will "request" a long-term military partnership with the US when the current Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) expires at the end of 2011. The SOFA is the legal basis upon which some 50,000 American troops remain in Iraq, operating from large strategic air bases such as Balad and Tallil and Al Asad. US imperialism spent billions of dollars establishing these advanced bases as part of its wider strategic plans and has no intention of abandoning them.Cogan's only the second person to include the SOFA in his report. Some are impressed with the 'feat' of taking nearly ten months to form a government, stringing the country along for ten months while no decisions could go through. The editorial board of the Washington Post, for example, was full of praise yesterday. Today they're joined by Iran's Ambassador to Iraq, Hassan Danaiifar. The Tehran Times reports that Danaiifar was full of praise today hailing the "positive and final step which ended the 10-month political limbo in Iraq." However, Danaiifar was less pie-in-the-sky than the Post editorial board because he can foresee future problems as evidenced by his statement, "We may witness the emergence of some problems after one and half of a year -- for example, some ministers may be impeached." Of course, there are already many clouds on the horizon, even if Iranian diplomats and Post editorial boards can't suss them out. For example, Ben Bendig (Epoch Times) noted the objection of Iraq's female politicians to Nouri al-Maliki's decision to nominate only one woman (so far) to his Cabinet: "Some 50 female lawmakers went to the country's top leadership, the United Nations and the Arab League to voice their concern and desire for increased representation." BNO notes that protest and also that a group of Iraqi MPs are alleging that Iraqiya bought seats in the Cabinet via money exchanged in Jordan. UPI adds, "Maliki, a Shiite who has a long history of working with Tehran, has named himself acting minister of defense, interior and national security, three most powerful and sensitive posts in the government he is stitching together. Although Maliki appears to be bending over backward to accommodate rivals among Iraq's Shiite majority as well as minority Sunnis and Kurds in his administration in a spirit of reconciliation, he is unlikely to relinquish those ministries that dominate the security sector." DPA reports, "Sheikh Abdel-Mahdi al-Karbalaei, a confident of influential Shiite spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, said that the new cabinet is 'below the standards' Iraqi citizens had hoped for and suggested it could prove to be weaker than the previous government." Ranj Alaaldin (Guardian) also spots clouds on the horizon:Lasting peace and stability depends on resolving outstanding disputes with the Kurds on oil, revenue-sharing, security and the disputed territories (Kirkuk in particular). The Kurds, rather than exploiting their kingmaker position to take a stronger proportion of ministries in Baghdad (they are taking just one major portfolio – the foreign ministry), are instead banking on guarantees from Maliki to implement their list of 19 demands that includes resolving the above disputes in their favour.They may have been naive, though. With their historical and federalist partners, the Islamic supreme council of Iraq in decline, the Kurds may be isolated in the new government – a government dominated by the nationalistic and centrist characteristics of the INM, the Sadrists and indeed State of Law.Maliki may, therefore, turn out to be unable to grant concessions even if he wanted to and could use Osama Nujayfi, the new ultra-nationalist speaker of parliament and Kurdish foe, to absorb the Kurdish criticism and insulate himself from any attacks.AP reports that Iraqi police sought out a 19-year-old woman because of rumors that she was working with al Qaida in Mesopotamia only to be greeted with the news that her father allegedly killed her and the father showed the police where he buried the woman . . . last month. The story begs for more than it offers. The most obvious observation is: what does it say that a woman's allegedly killed by her father and no one says a word for over a month? After that, it should probably be noted that there are many men in Iraq killing women who, no doubt, would love to also be able to pin the blame on al Qaida. In other violence, Reuters notes a house bombing in Haswa which claimed the life of Mohammed al-Karrafi, "his wife, two sons and a nephew" -- as well as injuring four more people, and a Samarra roadside bombing which claimed the lives of 2 police officers. DPA notes it was two homes bombed in Haswa and that the Samarra roadside bombing also injured four Iraqi soldiers. Jomana Karadsheh (CNN) reports, "Another policeman was wounded in Baghdad Friday night when a roadside bomb detonated by a police patrol, an Interior Ministry official told CNN."And we'll close with this from Peace Mom Cindy Sheehan's latest Al Jazeera column:The recent repeal of the US military policy of "Don't ask, don't tell" is far from being the human rights advancement some are touting it to be. I find it intellectually dishonest, in fact, illogical on any level to associate human rights with any military, let alone one that is currently dehumanising two populations as well as numerous other victims of it's clandestine "security" policies.Placing this major contention aside, the enactment of the bill might be an institutional step forward in the fight for "equality"; however institutions rarely reflect reality.Do we really think that the US congress vote to repeal the act and Obama signing the bill is going to stop the current systemic harassment of gays in the military?While I am a staunch advocate for equality of marriage and same-sex partnership, I cannot - as a peace activist - rejoice in the fact that now homosexuals can openly serve next to heterosexuals in one of the least socially responsible organisations that currently exists on earth: The US military.It is an organisation tainted with a history of intolerance towards anyone who isn't a Caucasian male from the Mid-West. Even then I'm sure plenty fitting that description have faced the terror and torment enshrined into an institution that transforms the pride and enthusiasm of youth into a narrow zeal for dominating power relations.And we'll close with this from Francis A. Boyle's "2011: Prospects for Humanity?" (Global Research):Historically, this latest eruption of American militarism at the start of the 21st Century is akin to that of America opening the 20th Century by means of the U.S.-instigated Spanish-American War in 1898. Then the Republican administration of President William McKinley stole their colonial empire from Spain in Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines; inflicted a near genocidal war against the Filipino people; while at the same time illegally annexing the Kingdom of Hawaii and subjecting the Native Hawaiian people (who call themselves the Kanaka Maoli) to near genocidal conditions. Additionally, McKinley's military and colonial expansion into the Pacific was also designed to secure America's economic exploitation of China pursuant to the euphemistic rubric of the "open door" policy. But over the next four decades America's aggressive presence, policies, and practices in the "Pacific" would ineluctably pave the way for Japan's attack at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 194l, and thus America's precipitation into the ongoing Second World War. Today a century later the serial imperial aggressions launched and menaced by the Republican Bush Jr. administration and now the Democratic Obama administration are threatening to set off World War III. By shamelessly exploiting the terrible tragedy of 11 September 2001, the Bush Jr. administration set forth to steal a hydrocarbon empire from the Muslim states and peoples living in Central Asia and the Persian Gulf under the bogus pretexts of (1) fighting a war against international terrorism; and/or (2) eliminating weapons of mass destruction; and/or (3) the promotion of democracy; and/or (4) self-styled "humanitarian intervention." Only this time the geopolitical stakes are infinitely greater than they were a century ago: control and domination of two-thirds of the world's hydrocarbon resources and thus the very fundament and energizer of the global economic system – oil and gas. The Bush Jr./ Obama administrations have already targeted the remaining hydrocarbon reserves of Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia for further conquest or domination, together with the strategic choke-points at sea and on land required for their transportation. In this regard, the Bush Jr. administration announced the establishment of the U.S. Pentagon's Africa Command (AFRICOM) in order to better control, dominate, and exploit both the natural resources and the variegated peoples of the continent of Africa, the very cradle of our human species. This current bout of U.S. imperialism is what Hans Morgenthau denominated "unlimited imperialism" in his seminal work Politics Among Nations (4th ed. 1968, at 52-53): The outstanding historic examples of unlimited imperialism are the expansionist policies of Alexander the Great, Rome, the Arabs in the seventh and eighth centuries, Napoleon I, and Hitler. They all have in common an urge toward expansion which knows no rational limits, feeds on its own successes and, if not stopped by a superior force, will go on to the confines of the political world. This urge will not be satisfied so long as there remains anywhere a possible object of domination--a politically organized group of men which by its very independence challenges the conqueror's lust for power. It is, as we shall see, exactly the lack of moderation, the aspiration to conquer all that lends itself to conquest, characteristic of unlimited imperialism, which in the past has been the undoing of the imperialistic policies of this kind…. On 10 November 1979 I visited with Hans Morgenthau at his home in Manhattan. It proved to be our last conversation before he died on 19 July 1980. Given his weakened physical but not mental condition and his serious heart problem, at the end of our necessarily abbreviated one-hour meeting I purposefully asked him what he thought about the future of international relations. iraqbbc newsgabriel gatehousethe new york timesjohn lelandhaaretzzvi bar'elthe jordan timestaylor luckthe associated pressjeff karoubthe los angeles timesraheem salmancnnjomana karadsheh
Terry thinks she's a man
Yesterday on NPR's Fresh Air the hour went to a male TV critic. It's always a man with Terry. Always. And somebody tell her that a snotty, snooty TV critic really doesn't make for good programming.This is C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:" Thursday, December 23, 2010. Chaos and violence continue, Iraqi women make clear their displeasure over the Cabinet make up, Daniel Ellsberg and Veterans for Peace get some recognition, and more. Last Thursday a protest held outside the White House. One of the organizers was Veterans for Peace and Pentagon Papers whistle blower Daniel Ellsberg participated and spoke. Juana Bordas (Washington Post) advocates for both of them to be named persons of the year: Veterans for Peace and Daniel Ellsberg should be this year's person of the year because of their courage and bravery to stand up for all of us who believe that "war is not the answer." Moreover in a time of economic recession, the war machine is bankrupting our country. As John Amidon, a Marine Corps veteran from Albany asked at the White House protest, "How is the war economy working for you?"While unemployment rates hover near 10 percent, there is no doubt that the U.S. economy and quality of life is faltering. Worldwide we are 14th in education, 37th in the World Health Organization's ranking on medical systems, and 23rd in the U.N. Environmental Sustainability Index on being most livable and greenest benefits. There is one place we take the undeniable world lead. The US military spending accounts for a whopping 46.5 percent of world military spending--the next ten countries combined come in at only 20.7 percent. Linda Pershing (Truthout) reports, "Responding to a call from the leaders of Stop These Wars(1) - a new coalition of Veterans for Peace and other activists - participants came together in a large-scale performance of civil resistance. A group of veterans under the leadership of Veterans for Peace members Tarak Kauff, Will Covert and Elaine Brower, mother of a Marine who has served three tours of duty in Iraq, sponsored the event with the explicit purpose of putting their bodies on the line. Many participants were Vietnam War veterans; others ranged from Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans in their 20s and 30s to World War II vets in their 80s and older. They were predominately white; men outnumbered women by at least three to one. After a short rally in Lafayette Park, they formed a single-file procession, walking across Pennsylvania Avenue to the solemn beat of a drum. As they reached the police barricade (erected to prevent them from chaining themselves to the gate, a plan they announced on their web site), the activists stood shoulder to shoulder, their bodies forming a human link across the 'picture postcard' tableau in front of the White House." Maria Chutchian (Arlington Advocate) quotes, participant Nate Goldshlag (Vietnam veteran) stating, ""There was a silent, single file march around Lafayette Park to a drum beat. Then we went in front of the White House,. There were barricades set up in front of white house fence. So when we got there, we jumped over barricades and were able to get right next to the White House fence." Participant Linda LeTendre (Daily Gazette) reports: At the end of the rally, before the silent, solemn procession to the White House fence, in honor of those killed in Iraq and Afghan wars of lies and deceptions, the VFP played taps and folded an American flag that had been left behind at a recent funeral for the veteran of one of those wars. Two attendees in full dress uniform held and folded the flag. I had the image of all of the people who stood along the roads and bridges when the bodies of the two local men, Benjamin Osborn and David Miller, were returned to the Capital District. I thought if all of those people were here now or spoke out against war these two fine young men might still be with us.I was blessed enough to be held in custody with one of those in uniform; a wonderful young man who had to move from his hometown in Georgia because no one understood why as a veteran he was against these wars. Even his family did not understand. (He remains in my prayers.)Our plan was to attach ourselves to the White House fence until President Obama came out and talked to us or until we were arrested and dragged away. I don't have to tell you how it ended.Mr. Ellsberg was one of 139 people arrested at that action. We've noted the protest in pretty much every snapshot since last Thursday. If something else comes out that's worth noting on the protest, we'll include it. We will not include people who don't have their facts and it's really sad when they link to, for example, Guardian articles and the links don't even back them up. It's real sad, for example, when they're trashing Hillary (big strong men that they are) and ripping her apart and yet Barack? "Obama's inaccurate statements"??? What the hell is that? You're inferring he lied, say so. Don't be such a little chicken s**t. It's especially embarrasing when you're grandstanding on 'truth.' Especially when you're the little s**t that clogged up the public e-mail account here in the summer of 2008 whining that you were holding Barack to a standard, then admitting that you weren't, then whining that if you did people would be mean to you. Oh, that's sooooooo sad. Someone might say something bad about you. The horror. You must suffer more than all the people in Iraq and Afghanistan combined. While the action took place in DC, actions also took place in other cities. We've already noted NYC's action this week, Doug Kaufmann (Party for Socialism & Liberation) reports on the Los Angeles action: Despite heavy rain, over 100 people gathered in Los Angeles on the corner of Hollywood and Highland to demand an end to the U.S. wars on Afghanistan and Iraq. People came from as far as Riverside to protest, braving what Southern California media outlets have dubbed the "storm of the decade." The demonstration, initiated and led by the ANSWER Coalition, broke the routine of holiday shopping and garnered support from activists and even passers by, who joined in chanting "Money for jobs and education -- not for war and occupation!" and "Occupation is a crime -- Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine!" Protesters held banners reading, "U.S./NATO Out of Afghanistan!" and "Yes to jobs, housing and education -- no to war, racism and occupation!"Speakers at the demonstration included representatives of Korean Americans for Peace, ANSWER Coalition, KmB Pro-People Youth, Veterans for Peace, Party for Socialism and Liberation and National Lawyers Guild. Tuesday, Nouri al-Maliki managed to put away the political stalemate thanks to a lot of Scotch -- tape to hold the deal together and booze to keep your eyes so crossed you don't question how someone can claim to have formed a Cabinet when they've left over ten positions to be filled at a later date. One group speaking out is women. Bushra Juhi and Qassmi Abdul-Zahra (AP) report, "Iraq's female lawmakers are furious that only one member of the country's new Cabinet is a woman and are demanding better representation in a government that otherwise has been praised by the international community for bringing together the country's religious sects and political parties." As noted Tuesday, though represenation in Parliament is addressed in Iraq's Constitution, there is nothing to address women serving in the Cabinet. Aseel Kami (Reuters) notes one of the most damning aspects of Nouri's chosen men -- a man is heaing the Ministry of Women's Affairs. Iraqiya's spokesperson Maysoon Damluji states, "There are really good women who could do wel . . . they cannot be neglected and marginalized." Al-Amal's Hanaa Edwar states, "They call it a national (power) sharing government. So where is the sharing? Do they want to take us back to the era of the harem? Do they want to take us back to the dark ages, when women were used only for pleasure." Deborah Amos (NPR's All Things Considered) reports that a struggle is going on between secular impulses and fundamentalist ones. Gallery owner Qasim Sabti states, "We know it's fighting between the religious foolish man and the civilization man. We know we are fighting like Gandhi, and this is a new language in Iraqi life. We have no guns. We do not believe in this kind of fighting." Deborah Amos is the author of Eclipse of the Sunnis: Power, Exile, and Upheaval in the Middle East. Meanwhile Nizar Latif (The National) reports that distrust is a common reaction to the new government in Baghdad and quotes high school teacher Hussein Abed Mohammad stating, "Promises were made that trustworthy, competent people would be ministers this time around, but it looks as if everything has just been divided out according to sectarian itnerests. No attention has been paid to forming a functioning government, it is just a political settlement of vested interests. I'm sure al Maliki will have the same problems in his next four years as he had in the last four years." Days away from the ten months mark, Nouri managed to finally end the stalemate. Some try to make sense of it and that must have been some office party that the editorial board of the Washington Post is still coming down from judging by "A good year in Iraq." First up, meet the new Iraqi Body Count -- an organization that provides cover for the war and allows supporters of the illegal war to point to it and insist/slur "Things aren't so bad!" Sure enough, the editorial board of the Post does just that noting the laughable "civilian deaths" count at iCasualities. As we noted -- long, long before we walked away from that crap ass website, they're not doing a civilian count.

Answer: It provides cover for the war and allows supporters of the illegal war to point to it.