What Monster Saw

Monster Tajima is the first person to do Pikes Peak in under 10 minutes.  This is what he saw…a really scary hill climb.  Forget the ‘Ring this is absolutely the outer edge of reason for road cars:

Pikes Peak in Under Ten Minutes!

 

Pikes Peak hill climb is still one of the most challenging events in motor racing.  No one has ever done it in under 10 minutes until now.  The legendary Monster Tajima finally did it after trying for many many years;  in a  900hp beast bearing the most passing of resemblances to a Suzuki SX4.  Here’s the preamble video:

Ningaloo Coast Gets World Heritage Listing

The Ningaloo Coast in NW Australia, one of the longest near-shore reefs on Earth has acquired World Heritage Listing

Amongst the wonders of Ningaloo is the best Whale Shark viewing area in the World.

Paris Air Show

The bi-annual Paris Air show is one of the premiere aerospace events ……in the World (as Jezzer would say).  Here are its highlights in a minute courtesy of Defense News.

And here’s an F-16 beat up:

Military chiefs' clash with politicians over Libya and Afghanistan

This is a headline being trumpeted by the Telegraph.  Judging by some of the quotes in the article it’s a fairly mild clash.  Military rebellion isn’t just around the corner.  The PM can sleep comfortably in his bed without fear of a visit by the SAS or whoever is currently tasked with what the KGB used to refer to as “wet work”.

The substance of the “military chiefs” concerns is entirely reasonable but the public airing of them is not.  These disagreements should be resolved in private.  Making them public suggests that the service chiefs are entering the political arena, one they should and must keep clear of. 

Once serving generals become political our trust in their neutrality and objective reasoning withers. Unlike places like Libya we live in a democracy where war is an extension of policy by other means, not a way of  life.  The government makes the decisions and where necessary the military acts.  My country right or wrong – that is one of the facets of the Faustian Bargain entered into by all warriors. And besides generals, admirals and air marshals make great military leaders but usually lousy politicians (The Duke of Wellington notwithstanding).

Now before you dismiss me as a bleeding heart liberal I would remind you that I am one of the greatest supporters of the military having been a soldier and an airman too.  In fact my friends ridicule me for it. But I am an even fiercer democrat by instinct.

Stirling Retires

Sir Stirling Moss has finally retired

What can I say about the Greatest Living Motor Sportsman that hasn’t already been said?

Sic Transit Gloria Mundi

WWF - Illegal bear bile trade rampant in Asia

WWF - Illegal bear bile trade rampant in Asia

This WWF report highlights the illegal trade in bears and bear parts in Indochina and how vested interests are driving it out of control
This dreadful trade provides raw materials for (mainly) Chinese “traditional medicine” a euphemism for impotency treatment.
The trade which is internationally outlawed and proscribed by CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wilde Flora and Fauna) involves mostly Asian Black Bears Ursus thibetanus although any old bear will do.
It goes like this: young bear cubs are taken from their mothers in countries such as Laos, Cambodia and Malaysia and are either killed and their body parts removed and rendered or are either farmed in the country of capture or trafficked through Vietnam and Laos to China.  In China they are farmed for their bile, the key constituent in the bogus “treatment” for mainly Chinese men to improve their  erections.  Needless to say the market is almost limitless and the product extremely popular.

If you are outraged by this barbaric trade you can do something about it by joining Free the Bears, an international charity devoted to saving bears by providing rescue, shelter and where possible, reintroduction to the wild. Based in Australia Free the Bears operates worldwide and has made a significant impact on the preservation of wild bears and the stamping out of exploitation of bears such as dancing bears in India.
You can find them here http://www.freethebears.org.au/

New Look

Trying a new look called “Awesome” which seems a bit of a hyperbole.  But it fits my present mood exactly. 

The only permanence is change.