China news

Citizens rioting over plans for a chemical plant.  Story here.

News of the day

I’ve heard little about this Israeli attack.

The UK just keeps getting a little crazier each day.  Seems to me one obvious problem with this is that there are numerous drugs that interact with pharmaceutical birth control and if the parents don’t know, how can they advise doctors in emergencies.

MMCL strikes again

MMCL member Rich Guetig had an article in a recent issue of FineScale Modeler.  I neglected to post this when it came out.  The article is also online here.

More 6th Cir. FDCPA news

The Sixth Cir. has now joined the Seventh Cir. in deciding that condo fees are debts under the FDCPA.  I believe this is the correct decision and not really a close call.

Devastating, if true

More info on the debacle in Libya.  Bing West is a respected military writer and reporter.  If what he says is true, someone needs to be punished.

More Buck Rogers

A weapon that kills only electronic systems.  Story here.

Massively stupid

Have you ever seen someone do something that was so massively dumb you were just dumbstruck?  Well, Prof. Michael Mann has decided to sue Mark Steyn and National Review Online over a blog post by Steyn.  First, it seems that Mann has no chance of succeeding in his libel claim.  Second, if he thinks he was being ridiculed before, he hasn’t seen anything yet.  Finally, the discovery in this case will open up many areas that Mr. Mann has tried very hard to avoid having exposed to the light of day. See also.

Magazine review: Scale Aviation Modeller Int’l Vol. 18 no. 9 (Sept. 2012)

I had sworn off buying SAMI a year or two ago.   There just wasn’t enough to them to justify the expense.   I picked this issue up because it has the new Eduard Me-110 on the cover.

Sadly,  nothing in this issue has changed my opinion.   The magazine continues to be a glorified advertising insert with poor,  short articles.   The one exception was a nice article on a vacform prototype of a US Navy twin engine float torpedo plane.

I won’t be getting another SAMI any time soon.

Magazine review: IPMS/USA Journal Vol. 24 #5

By now, it goes without saying that the Journal is a great modeling magazine and better than any commercial magazine.   This issue does nothing but reinforce that view.

The issue has a very nice article on the history of the XP-40Q.  The article clears up several areas of previous confusion about this aircraft.   The author has done his homework and really added to the P-40 knowledge base.   There is also a companion build article of a 72nd kit of the XP-40Q.

In addition,  there is a nice build of a resin kit of a prehistoric armadillo by Journal editor,  Chris Bucholtz.

The real gem of this issue is the build article by Roy Sutherland of a Spitfire in 48th scale using his Barracudacals decals.   The kit was a presentation model for a veteran whose aircraft the model represents.

A great issue.

An amazing story

Read this.  Think of the evils of dictatorships, large and small.