The Museveni regime is under sustained pressure with local media in both English and local languages defying and braving the repressive and suppressive laws and actions of the dictatorial regime to publish crucial liberation communication and guidance from Free Uganda leadership and other comrades in the struggle. The People are rising up and joining the Struggle on a daily basis - soldiers, youths, politicians, civil society activists, and even NRM supporters are helping to break the regime from within. Museveni's days in State House are numbered. The people's day of Victory is fast approaching. The Struggle continues.

The Museveni regime is under sustained pressure with local media in both English and local languages defying and braving the repressive and suppressive laws and actions of the dictatorial regime to publish crucial liberation communication and guidance from Free Uganda leadership and other comrades in the struggle. The People are rising up and joining the Struggle on a daily basis - soldiers, youths, politicians, civil society activists, and even NRM supporters are helping to break the regime from within. Museveni's days in State House are numbered. The people's day of Victory is fast approaching. The Struggle continues.

Ethiopian Airlines chooses single aisle Boeing 737 Max aircraft

Ethiopian Airlines has chosen the single aisle Boeing 737 Max aircraft as its future regional jet fleet, reports Ethiosports.

The decision comes after the airline invited companies to present their proposals for the supply of narrow-body aircraft. Six aircraft manufacturers have submitted their proposals. 

Analyst Saj Ahmad commented: “Given that the Boeing 737 family is the incumbent at Ethiopian Airlines, it makes sense for the rapidly growing African carrier to stick with the 737MAX since the commonality, cost of operation and ease of network integration would be far easier to absorb. 

“While the A320neo too would have been a good selection, that model has fewer open delivery slots and this will have been a key facet in Ethiopian Airlines' decision making. While the Bombardier CSeries was also mooted as a contender, the reality is that the CSeries is beset with flight test woes, it has been slow in terms of sales and there is widespread consensus that the CSeries will not be as competitive as the A320neo or 737MAX because its smaller and has less range and its operating costs and lifecycle/utilisation rate could never match the Airbus and Boeing products - notwithstanding the fact that the bulk of its order book is held aloft with shaky, junk credit rated customers.” 

Ahmad added: “Ethiopian Airlines however has made a smart decision to stay with Boeing and the 737 MAX family - after early woes with Boeing on the 787, the airline is also eyeing up a sizeable order for the new 777-9X to complement its long haul growth strategy.”

Emirates adds second service to Dar es Salaam

Emirates will be able to connect even more people and cargo with Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, with the start of a second service to the east African coastal city from 26th October.

The new five times weekly service will complement Emirates’ existing daily operation, and further boost inbound and outbound passenger traffic and cargo flows between Tanzania and Dubai, and Emirates’ worldwide network.

Emirates started a twice weekly service between Dubai and Dar es Salaam linked with Nairobi on 28th October 1997 using an Airbus A310-300. Following steady growth and demand on the route over the years, the frequency and capacity was increased and the flight was delinked from Nairobi, becoming a daily non-stop service between Dubai and Dar es Salaam in 2006.

The new flight will be operated with an Emirates A330-200, in a three class configuration with 12 seats in First Class, 42 in Business Class and 183 in Economy Class, adding a total of 2,370 seats and up to 170 tons of cargo capacity a week on the route. 

“Dar es Salaam is an important destination in our east African network. In our last financial year we carried over 180,000 customers on the route, and we are expecting further growth with the introduction of the second service, which will offer our customers more choice and convenience from Tanzania to Dubai and onward to Europe, the Middle East, the United States, India and the Far East. Dar es Salaam will now become the second destination in east Africa, after Nairobi, to have more than a daily frequency, said Orhan Abbas, Emirates senior vice-president, commercial operations, Latin America, Central and Southern Africa. 

Emirates’ customers on the route will have the opportunity to enjoy cuisine prepared by gourmet chefs and world famous service from Emirates’ multi-national cabin crew, including Tanzanian nationals. Customers in all three classes enjoy generous baggage allowances, with 50kg in First Class, 40kg in Business Class and 30kg in Economy Class. 

The new frequency is also expected to boost trade between Tanzania and various markets around Emirates SkyCargo’s global network. About 75% of the cargo exported from Tanzania are perishables, consisting of fresh, frozen and chilled fruit, vegetables, meat and seafood. The remainder of the exports are mainly household goods, jewellery, dry foods and automotive spare parts, while major imports are pharmaceuticals, automotive spare parts, electrical and electronic products and construction equipment and machinery. 

The new service will operate on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. It will depart Dubai as EK727 at 1655hrs and arrive in Dar es Salaam at 2150hrs. The return flight EK728 will depart Dar es Salaam at 2330hrs and arrive in Dubai at 0620hrs the next day.

AAR to provide airlift support across central Africa

The United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) has contracted AAR to set up a dedicated rotary-wing operation to provide airlift for its Africa Command across four central African countries beginning next month.

 

Under the contract, AAR will perform rotary-wing passenger and cargo transportation services and logistics support for Allied Forces. The operation will be based in the Central African Republic and also service the Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of South Sudan and Uganda. The total value of the contract is approximately $34 million, inclusive of all optional task orders.

“AAR Airlift is pleased to announce the addition of another new Africa-based operation to our portfolio,” said Randy J. Martinez, President and CEO, AAR Airlift Group. “We are proud to support our

national service

 members and allies in this important region.”

USTRANSCOM is the Department of Defense’s (DoD) single entity for transportation, sustainment and distribution to the nation’s warfighters. Its responsibilities include the procurement of commercial transportation services for U.S. military forces. USAFRICOM is one of six of the DoD’s geographic combatant commands and is responsible for military relations with African nations, the African Union and African regional security organizations.

Ethiopian Airways to be official Aviation Africa 2015 airline -

Ethiopian Airlines has been named as the official carrier of

Aviation

 Africa 2015 Summit to be held in Dubai from May 10-11, 2015.

Ethiopian will be offering special discounted fares for all participants traveling on Ethiopian online destinations from Africa and Middle East. Ethiopian Airlines, a global Pan-African carrier, operates to 5 continents; Africa, Europe, North America, South America and Asia, serving 83 international and 20 domestic destinations.

At the two day summit, an overview of Ethiopian’s success story whilst operating in a challenging environment and concerns that hampered African carriers from sharing a ‘level playing field, will be discussed among participants.

Mr. Henok Woubshet, Director Distributions of Ethiopian said, ‘’ As a Pan-African airline, we are very pleased to be an official carrier of the 2015 Aviation Africa Summit. It is a testimony of our commitment to further strengthen cooperation among African carriers to create a single African aviation market and I believe this will foster future prospects of African Aviation”.

Mark Brown, Publisher of African & Arabian Aerospace magazines and organizer of Aviation Africa 2015 said “I am delighted to welcome Ethiopian Airlines as Official Airline to Aviation Africa 2015. With the African region poised for huge growth in the aviation industry it is appropriate that we have one of the largest carriers supporting this important event which will be tackling the issues surrounding handling, financing and supporting this growth area”.

Africa’s Demand For Business Aviation Is On The Rise

VENTURES AFRICA – Booming sectors in sub-Saharan Africa, including oil and gas and agriculture, have expanded demand for business aviation, French aircraft maker, Dassault Aviation has said.

“Sub-Saharan Africa is an area of fast growth and industries such as mining, oil and gas and agriculture are booming which provides expanding demand for business aviation,” said Gilles Gautier, Vice President, Falcon Sales for Dassault Aviation.

The company will present its large cabin, 

long range

 Falcon 7X at the Africa Aerospace & Defence Expo, which will hold in Gauteng, South Africa on 17-21 September 2014.

“Falcons, with their exceptional short field and hot-and-high performance and low operating economics, are ideal for the tough conditions and vast expanses of this market,” Gautier added.

South Africa, venue of the Expo, which is regarded as the foremost exhibition of aviation technology on the continent, is home to a third of Africa’s business jets and some of its biggest operators. Angola and Nigeria are also two of its fastest growing markets.

Falcon 7X interior

The aircraft maker said Falcons can access challenging airports where competitors are unable to operate – a strong selling point in Africa, where the average age of business aircraft is higher than elsewhere. Features like this, Dassault said have won it 33 percent share of the African market and a quarter of the large cabin segment. The French company also said government users operate 30 percent of the Falcons on the continent.

The newly introduced very large cabin Falcon 5X and ultra long range Falcon 8X are expected to further boost African demand.

With the 6,450nm 8X, an extended version of the 7X featuring an unparalleled selection of cabin configurations, customers will be able to fly non-stop from Cape Town to London or Johannesburg to Moscow while benefiting from the outstanding operating economy and flexibility offered by the 7X.

Aviation contributed $34.5 billion to the GDP of Africa in 2012, which could increase to $168.7 billion in 2032, according to data from the Air Transport Action Group (ATAG). Dassault Aviation’s new offering is expected to boost the growth of the sector on the continent.

Zimbabwe's First Lady Grace Mugabe, awarded PhD, two months after enrollment

By May Jesaro (@KiptuiMay) You will never guess what is buzzing in the worldwide media let alone with Zimbabweans about their ‘oh so Grace-ful’ First Lady. 

The First Lady of Zimbabwe, Grace Mugabe, seems to be drawing attention from everywhere on her recently acquired PhD. But what’s the big deal you would wonder? Grace, who is now dubbed ‘DisGrace’, was awarded a PhD in Sociology after two months of enrollment into the University of Zimbabwe. President Robert Mugabe, her husband, who happened to be the chancellor of the university, capped his ‘hard working’ wife on her graduation last week. This would go on to add on her academic list having completed her first degree in Chinese language in 2011. According to the state owned Herald Newspaper, her thesis was on the changing social structure and functions of the family which involved a study in a children’s home. Many Zimbabweans, especially the university students, seemed who have recently acquired a degree of outrage on social media but what can you do? Unless your one of the Mugabe's, your books will be your 'spouse' till you graduate.

WCW– Lupita Nyong'o

By this time most Kenyan must have heard of Lupita, the beautiful Kenyan lass who conquered Hollywood thanks to her role as Patsey in 12 Years a Slave, and won the hearts of many prominent personalities including Oprah Winfrey and Barrack Obama. What perplexed many Kenyans however was news that she was born in Mexico. Uproar by her Kenyan fans led her to candidly explain, with the help of her father Professor Anyang’ Nyong’o how she was born in Mexico but raised in Kenya.

Her immense talent coupled up with an education from the finest schools saw her graduate with a degree in Film and Theatre studies, after which worked as a production assistant on several films. Lupita’s prowess in film and theatre has seen her produce and direct her own film, “In my genes” and feature in popular Mtv Africa series “Shuga”. It was soon after completing her Master’s degree from the Yale School of drama, that she landed a role in Steve McQueen’s drama “12 Years a slave”. This has seen her scoop nominations and bag numerous awards with the most prestigious being the “Oscar Academy Award” for “Best Supporting actress”. Besides being immensely talented, Lupita’s beauty and fashion sense has seen her inspire many “colored girls” especially those from Africa to confidently love their complexions and believe in their beauty with one even saying that. “I was about to buy the “Whitenicious” Cream to lighten my complexion when you appeared on the world map and saved me.” To further appraise her beauty, Lupita was voted “People’s most beautiful woman”, has graced numerous magazine covers and is a worldwide heartthrob with other celebrities looking up to her. Evidently endowed with talent and beauty, what’s not to love about this shining star Lupita?     GO TO PAGE 1 2 Next » inShare The Right Way To Seduce Girls Easily Girls Go Crazy When Men Do This... This Video Reveals The Truth About Girls... Any Girl Will Fall In Love With You In 15 Seconds! NEXT STORY » MCM: David Mathenge aka Nameless Read More... Comment Policy 

Robert Gates: ISIS Can't Be Defeated Without US Ground Troops

President Barack Obama forcefully reaffirmed that he won’t send American troops into combat in Iraq amid fresh questions about whether the U.S. can avoid sliding deeper into an escalating conflict.
“This is not and will not be America’s fight alone,” Obama told troops at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, referring to the battle against the Islamic State extremist group. “I will not commit you and the rest of our armed forces to fighting another ground war in Iraq.”
Obama spoke after meeting with Central Command Commander General Lloyd Austin, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and representatives of more than 40 countries that are part of the coalition the U.S. is building to counter Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria.
Obama is trying to rally an American public weary of war for a battle against the Sunni extremists who’ve seized territory across Iraq and Syria with a brutal campaign of terror against religious minorities and the beheadings of western hostages.
Vote Now: Should Congress Back Obama War Plan? Vote Here
While the president vowed that he won’t deploy U.S. ground troops in the battle, Army General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Obama’s former defense secretary raised the prospect that American troops ultimately may be needed for his strategy to succeed.
Military Advisers
In testimony to a Senate committee yesterday, Dempsey said he would recommend U.S. military advisers accompany Iraqi troops into battle if necessary to defeat Islamic State, which also is known by the acronyms ISIS and ISIL.
Dempsey added that such a step isn’t needed now. He said Obama has told him to come back on a “case-by-case basis” with questions about using American personnel.
Obama didn’t directly address Dempsey’s remarks. He said that while the U.S. has a responsibility to lead the fight, it can’t do “what Iraqis must do for themselves.” The U.S. will be more effective providing intelligence, logistics and air power than it would be sending in troops. A U.S. troop commitment also won’t help the cause of long-term stability and self-sufficiency in the region, he said.
“One thing we have learned is that when we do things alone and the people of those countries aren’t doing it for themselves, as soon as we leave, they start getting into the same problems,” Obama said.
‘Hypothetical Scenario’
Administration officials yesterday sought to turn aside any questions about escalating U.S. involvement.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Dempsey was referring to “a hypothetical scenario” and that the administration’s strategy was clear.
“The president does not believe that it would be in the best interest of our

national

 security to deploy American ground troops in a combat role in Iraq and Syria,” Earnest told reporters yesterday. “That policy has not changed.”

Dempsey’s spokesman, Air Force Colonel Ed Thomas, said such advisers might include personnel calling in airstrikes for Iraqi forces.
“The context of this discussion was focused on how our forces advise the Iraqis and was not a discussion of employing U.S. ground combat units in Iraq,” he said.
The U.S. is set to have about 1,600 military personnel in Iraq to protect American diplomatic missions and to assess and advise the Iraqi military.
U.S. Airstrikes
Obama’s strategy is based on a campaign of airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Iraq to back Iraqi and Kurdish units on the ground.
Robert Gates, who served under both Obama and his predecessor, George W. Bush, said he doubted that an air campaign alone or relying only on Iraqi and Kurdish forces would be enough.
“There will be boots on the ground if there’s to be any hope of success in the strategy,” Gates said today on “CBS This Morning.” By repeatedly pledging that the U.S. won’t put troops into combat, “the president, in effect, traps himself.”
Gates, who took over the defense job in the Bush administration in 2006 following setbacks for U.S. forces in Iraq, said Obama’s stated goal of destroying the extremist group may be unrealistic. He said the U.S. has been at war with al-Qaeda for 13 years, and while “we have dealt them some terrible blows,” the terrorist group hasn’t been fully defeated.
‘Realistic Goals’
The U.S. should continue to strike Islamic State to degrade the organization and prevent it from holding territory, he said. “Those are probably realistic goals.”
Obama also has asked Congress for authority to train and equip vetted Syrian rebels who are rivals to Islamic State in that country’s civil war. A vote on that authority was approved in the House today 273-156.
While some Republicans are pushing for a more robust military operation against Islamic State, many of Obama’s fellow Democrats in Congress say they won’t support deeper involvement.
“We are not there to support combat troops in any engagement,” House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said at a news conference today. “The American people are very burned by what happened in Iraq” with the 2003 invasion.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar Al-Abadi said his county neither needs nor wants foreign ground troops. In an interview with the Associated Press, he urged the U.S. and other nations to expand the campaign against Islamic State into neighboring Syria.
Coalition Aid
More than 40 countries have offered assistance in a global coalition to fight Islamic militants, Obama said. France and the U.K. are conducting airstrikes over Iraq, “with others committed to join this effort,” he said.
On the ground, Saudi Arabia will host U.S. efforts to train and equip Syrian opposition forces. Australia and Canada are sending military advisers to Iraq, German paratroopers are offering training and other, unspecified nations are offering to resupply arms and equipment to forces in Iraq.
Arab nations “have agreed to strengthen their support for Iraq’s new government,” and help to cut off Islamic State funding, collect intelligence and stem the flow of foreign fighters.

Steve Jobs Didn’t Let His Kids Use iPhones Or iPads: Here’s Why Read more at http://www.inquisitr.com/1468612/steve-jobs-didnt-let-his-kids-use-iphones-or-ipads-heres-why/#g031Fq50iozvww9A.99

Steve Jobs is a name which is synonymous with cutting edge, innovative and groundbreaking technology.

So it may come as something as a surprise to learn Apple’s former CEO didn’t believe in letting his kids use some of his company’s greatest products – the 

iPhone

 and the iPad.

And it’s not because the Apple godhead was a closet 

Samsung

 fan either.

Jobs, who died in 2011, may have had an instinctive flair for technology but he was a low tech parent who firmly believed in restricting his children’s access to electronic devices.

“We limit how much technology our kids use at home,” said Jobs way back in 2010, expressing growing concerns about his children’s gadget use.

As all modern parents know, iPhones and iPads are extremely appealing to children. These little hand-held devices are state-of-the-art toys. Surrogate parents almost, capable of entertaining, distracting, and pacifying children during school holidays and on long car journeys when mom and dad’s attentions are focused elsewhere.

Yet instead of thanking Apple for these extremely convenient parent assistants, should we actually be concerned about the potential harm they may be inflicting upon our youngsters?

Steve Jobs certainly appeared to think so. In a New York Times article published this week, journalist Nick Bilton recalls how he once put it to Jobs that his kids must love the iPod, but to his surprise Jobs replied, “They haven’t used it. We limit how much technology our kids use at home.”

“I’m sure I responded with a gasp and dumbfounded silence. I had imagined the Jobs’s household was like a nerd’s paradise: that the walls were giant touch screens, the dining table was made from tiles of iPads and that iPods were handed out to guests like chocolates on a pillow. Nope, Mr. Jobs told me, not even close.”

And Jobs wasn’t the only technological guru who had substantial concerns about the long-term effects of kids engaging with touch-screen technology for hours on end.

Chris Anderson, former editor of Wired, also believes in setting strict time limits and parental controls on every device at home.

“My kids accuse me and my wife of being fascists. They say that none of their friends have the same rules. That’s because we have seen the dangers of technology first hand. I’ve seen it in myself, I don’t want to see that happen to my kids.”

Researchers at the University of California Los Angeles recently published a study which demonstrated that just a few days after abstaining from using electronic gadgets, children’s social skills improved immediately.

Which is definitely food for thought considering recent research showed that an average American child spends more than seven and a half hours a day using smart-phones and other electronic screens.

Jobs was undoubtedly a genius but he didn’t get that way through staring at screens and playing Angry Birds until the early hours or constantly updating his 

Facebook

 account.

Walter Isaacson, the author of Steve Jobs, spent a lot of time at the Apple co-founder’s home and confirmed that face-to-face family interaction always came before screentime for Jobs.

“Every evening Steve made a point of having dinner at the big long table in their kitchen, discussing books and history and a variety of things. No one ever pulled out an iPad or computer. The kids did not seem addicted at all to devices.”

So the next time the advertising department at Apple, Samsung, or any other major technological corporation attempt to sublimely convince you that life is somehow lacking without their latest little device, remember that the man who started it all, believed somewhat differently.

Read more at http://www.inquisitr.com/1468612/steve-jobs-didnt-let-his-kids-use-iphones-or-ipads-heres-why/#g031Fq50iozvww9A.99

S. Sudan government orders all foreign workers out by October 15th 2014

www.noisehead.com/mypage/jimboy

www.noisehead.com/mypage/jimboy

Very proud +Virgin Money #LondonMarathon runners raised £1/4 billion for #charity in last 5 years. A force for good, as well as an incredible #sporting event - priceless! http://virg.in/mmw

#QatarAirways yesterday took delivery of its first two #A380 aircraft in a ceremony at the Airbus Hamburg factory.

wow!!!!

Feeling supersonic: What does the future hold for air travel?

Electric cars: the benefits and the barriers lin;virg.in/hiZC1

Could “magic mushrooms” treat depression? Leading scientists think so

 http://cnn.it/1r8SK3v 

Emirates and Jetstar expand codeshare on more routes

Emirates and Jetstar have announced the expansion of their codeshare and frequent flyer relationship, to 30 routes across the Asia Pacific region providing more choice to Emirates customers.

From 26 October 2014*, Emirates will grow its codeshare on Jetstar to include Jetstar Airways services between Melbourne and Ayers Rock (Uluru), Christchurch to Wellington in New Zealand and three new destinations in south-east Asia from Jetstar Asia’s hub in Singapore.

The new codeshare services from Singapore will connect Emirates passengers to Penang in Malaysia, Yangon in Myanmar and Medan in Indonesia.

The additional destinations complement the current 25 routes announced in February this year.

Effective immediately, Skywards members can now also earn Skywards Miles when they book economy Starter Plus, economy Starter Max or Business Max fares on international routes with Jetstar Airways, Jetstar Asia, Jetstar Japan and Valuair, as well as domestic routes within Australia and New Zealand if they connect to an international flight. .

“The expansion of the codeshare with Jetstar is an important milestone as we continue to expand the destinations available to Emirates’ passengers. On Emirates alone we offer 145 destinations and with our partnership with Jetstar we are adding a further 30 routes across the Far East & Australasia region,” said Thierry Antinori, Emirates’ Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer.

“Today’s announcement also benefits our Emirates Skywards members who will now see their miles go even further, be it a holiday in Penang or extra sightseeing in New Zealand,” commented Mr Antinori.

“We are delighted to add Emirates Skywards as a loyalty option for Jetstar customers while also adding more routes to our codeshare partnership,” Jetstar Group Chief Commercial Officer Lisa Brock said.

Emirates customers travelling on Jetstar will enjoy a range of full service fare features such as food and beverage options and the same luggage allowance they would have on Emirates.

All Emirates’ passengers on Jetstar flights will receive boarding passes on check-in at their first international departure point for connecting international service

Members must enter their Emirates Skywards membership number during the booking process and Skywards Miles will be awarded within two weeks of completing the journey.

Jetstar and Emirates Codeshare Flights

Jetstar Airways	Sydney	Ayers Rock (Uluru)
	Sydney	Ballina/Byron Bay
	Sydney	Hamilton Island
	Brisbane	Proserpine
NEW	Melbourne	Ayers Rock (Uluru)
	Melbourne	Ballina/Byron Bay
	Melbourne	Hamilton Island
	Auckland	Christchurch
	Auckland	Dunedin
	Auckland	Wellington
	Auckland	Queenstown
	Auckland	Adelaide
	Auckland	Gold Coast
	Christchurch	Melbourne
	Christchurch	Gold Coast
NEW	Christchurch	Wellington
	Queenstown	Melbourne
	Queenstown	Sydney
	Denpasar	Singapore
Jetstar Asia/Valuair	Singapore	Darwin
	Singapore	Bangkok
	Singapore	Phuket
	Siem Reap	Singapore
	Phnom Penh	Singapore
	Ho Chi Minh	Singapore
NEW	Penang	Singapore
	Jakarta	Singapore
	Kuala Lumpur	Singapore
NEW	Medan	Singapore
NEW	Yangon	Singapore

Emirates press release

Bombardier First to Deliver Honeywell’s High-Speed “Jetwave” Connectivity Hardware for Business Jets

Bombardier to offer consistent, fast in-flight internet virtually anywhere in the world via Honeywell’s Ka-Band-based GX hardware and Inmarsat’s Jet ConneX service Bombardier Business Aircraft will be the launch business aircraft manufacturer for Honeywell Aerospace’s (NYSE: HON) JetWave Ka-Band satellite connectivity system.  Honeywell’s JetWave hardware exclusively supports Inmarsat’s forthcoming Jet ConneX* (JX) service which, when it goes live in 2015, will provide business jet passengers with high-speed, in-flight connectivity virtually anywhere in the world.
Bombardier will be the first business aviation manufacturer to equip JetWave and plans to offer the technology across the Global 5000, Global 6000,Global 7000 and Global 8000 platforms. A retrofit offering will also be available for all Global aircraft currently in service.

“With JetWave securing the backing of a leading business jet manufacturer in Bombardier, we celebrate a major milestone in the evolution of business aircraft connectivity,” said Brian Sill, president, Business and General Aviation, Honeywell Aerospace. “The industry is showing a clear desire for high speed, global, consistent in-flight connectivity and is turning to Honeywell and Inmarsat to deliver it.”

“Our customers want to be online everywhere they go. They will now experience the same level of connectivity in the air that they have come to expect on the ground without a drop in connectivity performance once they leave their homes or offices,” said Eric Martel, president, Bombardier Business Aircraft. “The introduction of this technology allows us to further strengthen the industry-leading cabin experience that we are offering to our customers.”

Honeywell’s JetWave hardware will allow passengers to video-conference, send and receive large files and access streaming content while on the move by enabling them to access Inmarsat’s JX service. A range of service packages will be available to Bombardier customers, enabling them to select the speed that is right for their operations. In an industry first, each service package will be covered by a minimum service guarantee ensuring passengers experience a remarkable step forward in connectivity when compared to currently available technologies.

In 2012, Honeywell signed an agreement with Inmarsat to be the exclusive hardware provider for its Ka-Band GX Aviation connectivity service, branded Jet ConneX for the business aircraft market. Honeywell is also the master distributor of airtime for the business aviation market, working alongside channel partners Satcom1, Aircell, ARINC Direct, Satcom Direct and OnAir.

Airbus says in final stages of A320neo ground tests

(Reuters) – Airbus is conducting the final stage of ground trials as it edges towards the keenly-awaited first flight of its revamped A320neo aircraft, the planemaker said on Tuesday.

The first test aircraft is on the “final run-in” towards its maiden flight, a spokesman said in answer to a query, but added it was too early to predict an exact date.

Airbus is sticking to its target for a first flight in the third quarter, or by the end of September, the spokesman said.

Maiden flights need 

good weather

 and are usually announced just a few days before they are expected to happen.

Industry sources have said the flight was tentatively planned in early September, but had to be pushed back because of a problem with engine testing, raising some concerns that the flight could slip to October.

Airbus and its engine maker Pratt & Whitney have declined to comment on the precise schedule, but analysts are paying close attention because the success of the new fuel-saving version of Airbus’s best-selling A320 jet depends in part on new engine technology to fulfil a backlog of 3,000 orders from airlines.

Another person familiar with the matter said preparations had been disrupted by a problem with a bird strike test.

The test, in which bird carcasses are fired at an engine to test its ability to withstand a potentially dangerous bird strike, is one of several key steps towards certification.

Pratt & Whitney declined to comment on the test.

SOURCE REUTERS, 

Boeing CST-100 Selected as Next American Spacecraft

Boeing will receive an award of $4.2 billion from NASA to build and fly the United States’ next passenger spacecraft.

Boeing’s Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100 is being developed as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which aims to resume U.S.-based flights to space by 2017. The CST-100 will transport up to seven passengers or a mix of crew and cargo to the International Space Station (ISS) and other low-Earth orbit destinations.

“Boeing has been part of every American human space flight program, and we’re honored that NASA has chosen us to continue that legacy,” said John Elbon, Boeing vice president and general manager, Space Exploration. “The CST-100 offers NASA the most cost-effective, safe and innovative solution to U.S.-based access to low-Earth orbit.”

Under the Commercial Crew Transportation (CCtCap) phase of the program, Boeing will build three CST-100s at the company’s Commercial Crew Processing Facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The spacecraft will undergo a pad-abort test in 2016 and an uncrewed flight in early 2017, leading up to the first crewed flight to the ISS in mid-2017.

Boeing recently completed the Critical Design Review (CDR) and Phase Two Spacecraft Safety Review of its Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100 spacecraft, becoming the only competitor for NASA’s Commercial Crew program to pass a CDR as well as complete all CCiCap milestones on time and on budget.

“The challenge of a CDR is to ensure all the pieces and sub-systems are working together,” said John Mulholland, Boeing Commercial Crew program manager. “Integration of these systems is key. Now we look forward to bringing the CST-100 to life.”

Boeing press release

dj nakumatt uses his mouth to mix;;;;;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBTK5Nl2Z0Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBTK5Nl2Z0Q

Russia: We warned the Americans about Islamic State

A joke making the rounds among Russian officials and hacks who take a keen interest in what is going on in the Middle East these days goes something like this: How will the Yanks deal with the Islamic State group? They will create "Islamic State 2", a bigger and better armed group, and let it deal with the original Islamic State group. And what happens when "Islamic State 2" turns against them as it happened with the original Islamic State? They will create "Islamic State 3", and so on.

But seriously, the rise and spread of the Islamic State group is no laughing matter. Now that the US and its allies have finally woken up to the dangers of the spread of the extremist group, the worry in Moscow is that the hotheads in the Pentagon and at Nato headquarters in Brussels will decide to start hitting Islamic State positions in Syria along with "other targets" there as well - for instance, Syrian army positions.

US President Barack Obama has already announced his plan to deal with the group, promising to lead a "broad coalition" that will "roll back this terrorist threat". In Moscow, the fear is that the US will seize this opportunity to intervene in Syria.

The Libyan scenario

According to Valeriy Fenenko from the Moscow Centre for International Security, the US can actually use the presence of the Islamic State group in Syria as a pretext to implement the "Libyan scenario".

"The Americans are bound to try to compensate for their failure last fall," he says. "At first, it will be air strikes against terrorists and then, in parallel, it may amount to helping the moderate opposition. The US may start a creeping interference, like it happened in Bosnia," he said.

The feeling in Moscow is that the recent Nato summit in Newport in Wales missed out on a great opportunity to involve Russia in finding a solution to the spread of the Islamic State group and other militant groups associated with it across Iraq and the Middle East generally.

In any event, Russian diplomatic efforts are in full swing. According to one Russian source, Moscow is trying to prevent possible air strikes in Syria by the US, UK and others, in the same way it did last year when the danger of air strikes was growing by the day.

"Our people in Arab and European capitals were desperately trying to find some sort of solution last year," he said. "The threat of a regional war that could escalate into a world war was taken very seriously by the Kremlin. And this scenario is in the cards again."

The feeling in Moscow is that the recent Nato summit in Newport, Wales, missed out on a great opportunity to involve Russia in finding a solution to the spread of the Islamic State group and other militant groups associated with it across Iraq and the Middle East generally. Not to mention, the very real threat of these violent men entering European countries, and even reaching the US.

"The Russians have been warning the Americans ever since the civil war broke out in Syria that it was very dangerous to arm the opposition there," one former Russian general who was in charge of anti-terrorist operation told me. "There was no chance that the arms destined for the so-called moderate opposition would not end up with the likes of the Islamic State. Not to mention that lots of it was coming as well from 'liberated' Libya."

The same bandits

What worries Russian officials is the stubborn refusal of the Obama administration to talk to President Bashar al-Assad's government about a possible joint effort in defeating the Islamic State group in Syria. As Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov said recently, it doesn't make sense for the West to help the Iraqi government to fight the Islamic State group but deny cooperation to Assad who is fighting "the same bandits".

Some Russian analysts are saying that the bigger problem of the current crisis is that the Islamic State group runs its recruitment campaigns not just in the Middle East but in Europe as well. Different figures are cited over the number of Europeans who have joined the ranks of the group in the past several months, but if you consider that the number of fighters has risen - according to Russian estimates, from about 6,000 in June to over 30,000 at present - it can be assumed that we are talking about thousands of young Muslims travelling from Europe to fight in what they believe is a holy war.

The senseless war in Gaza has probably indirectly boosted the Islamic State group's recruitment campaign, making it easier to claim that the West and Israel are hellbent on wiping out the Muslims in the Middle East. It remains unclear as to why Israel's armed forces attacked Gaza during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and conducted blanket air strikes that were bound to take a heavy toll on the civilian population.

In the opinion of Russian experts, this looked more like a smokescreen for US failures in Iraq and Libya rather than an attempt to wipe out Hamas' arsenal and top commanders. From a military point of view, Benjamin Netanyahu's war achieved absolutely nothing, except perhaps giving Hamas a boost in popularity. 

The danger for Russia from the Islamic State group is that some of its members come from Chechnya and Dagestan, the two Muslim republics in the south of Russia, and there is a risk that the group can find sympathisers and supporters there and even start to build a network across the Caucasus. That is why Moscow is now calling on all parties to make a joint effort to destroy the Islamic State group before it becomes truly international.

However, as the president of the Academy of Geopolitical Problems Konstantin Sivkov points out, the military option is only part of the solution in tackling the Islamic State group. He says that air strikes would not be enough and that it's crucial to also fight its ideology and cut off its finances that are now flowing through perfectly legal banking channels.    

The war against the Islamic State group is fraught with dangers. It might get out of control and drag the whole region into a much wider conflict.

Alexander Nekrassov is a former Kremlin and government adviser.

The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial policy.

Wow! Worlds longest bridge ‪#‎26miles‬: LINK

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=894450380580913&set=vb.115278481831444&type=2&theater

Jaji Masipa atishiwa baada ya uamuzi

Mashirika ya kisheria nchini Afrika Kusini, yameelezea wasiwasi kuhusu vitisho dhidi ya jaji aliyetoa uamuzi katika kesi inayomkabili mwanariadha mlemavu wa Afrika Kusini Oscar Pistorius.

Jaji Thokozile Masipa alimpata Pistorius na hatia ya kuua bila kukusudia wala sio mauaji ya kusudi.

Jaji huyo amekuwa akikosolewa tangu kutoa uamuzi wake kuwa Pistorius alimuua mpenzi wake kwa bahati mbaya.

Baadhi ya matamshi yaliyotolewa ni ya chuki , kumlimbikizia lawama na hata kwenda kinyume na mahakama.

Bi Masipa amewekewa ulinzi tangu kutoa uamuzi wake, kwa mujibu wa jarida la City Press.

Maafisa wa polisi wamekuwa wakishika doria nje ya nyumba yake na pia wamekuwa wakimsindikiza kila anapokwenda.

Pistorius alikana kosa la kumuua mpenzi wake Reeva Steenkamp kwa kukusudia.

Wataalamu wa maswala ya kisheria wamekosoa uamuzi wa jaji Masipa ambaye alichukua wadhifa wake mwaka 1998 na kuwa mwanamke wa pili mweusi kuwahi kushikilia wadhifa huo.

Taarifa ya wanasheria hao ilisema kuwa uamuzi wa jaji Masipa ilikuwa sawa kuambatana na sheria na pia kulingana na ushahidi uliotolewa Masipa.

Viongozi wa mashitaka walilaani uamuzi wa jaji Masipa wakisema kuwa Pistorius alipaswa kupataikana na hatia ya kumuua mpenzi wake kwa kukusudia.

Iconic scene from Kai Tak International Airport

Iconic scene from Kai Tak International Airport -- a Cathay Pacific jet between apartment buildings in Kowloon City. "This photo was taken in To Kwa Wan just at the entrance of the airport tunnel (now Kai Tak tunnel)," recalls photographer Daryl Chapman. 
Some 15 years after it closed down, Kai Tak is reopening this week as Kai Tak Cruise Terminal

Can airliners really fly upside down?

Searchers investigate wreckage from United Airlines Flight 232 after it crash landed in Sioux City, Iowa, in 1989.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Aviation buffs question authenticity of Denzel Washington movie "Flight"
• Film's pilot consultant: Director Robert Zemeckis claimed artistic license
• United Flight 232 pilot Al Haynes describes losing flight control
• 1989 Sioux City, Iowa, disaster among aviation's most remarkable crash landings

(CNN) -- The pilot turned his airliner upside down. On purpose. And it saved nearly a hundred lives.

That's the idea behind one of the most intense movie moments of the holiday season: the core scene of "Flight," starring Denzel Washington as pilot Whip Whitaker. Hollywood sure likes Washington's performance. The role earned him an Oscar nomination Thursday on the heels of a Golden Globe nod in December. The film also received a nod for best original screenplay.

Spinning movie sets combine with CGI to make the scene "more than gut-wrenching," wrote CNN's Tom Charity. Hitflix ranks it among the "most harrowing plane crashes ever seen."

(By the way, no spoilers here.)

Thanks to masterful editing, we see a series of jerky, split-second glimpses of an "engine failure" panel light and then an uncontrolled dive and a plunging altimeter. In a stunning command decision, Washington's character rolls the plane over on its back. We see tumbling passengers and tossed luggage and finally a smoky crash landing in an empty field.

The scene stands as a breathtaking masterpiece of Hollywood's dream machine, but it pales in comparison with United Flight 232, a deadly real-life airline disaster that -- like the movie --- could have been much worse if not for remarkable efforts by heroic crew members.

Movie Pass: 'Flight'

Kelly Reilly talks working with Denzel

Denzel Washington hails real heroes

Movies not to show on a plane

But first, is it possible to fly a commercial airliner upside down? Would excessive G-forces destroy it? That debate is raging right now on aviation Twitter feeds and websites.

In the film, the pilot rolls the plane over to keep it flying longer. He avoids crashing into a neighborhood, saving countless lives.

"Flight" director Robert Zemeckis, creator of the "Back to the Future" series, enjoyed a bit of artistic license here, said Larry Goodrich, the film's pilot consultant.

Goodrich, a 32-year pilot -- first with the Air Force, then with Delta Air Lines -- trained pilots to fly MD-88s, which the movie's plane most resembles.

During production, Goodrich said he reminded Zemeckis and Washington that "you can turn an airplane like this over, but it's not going to fly like this very long. It's gonna go down."

"He looked at me and he said, 'Can it fly upside down for a little bit?' I said, 'Yeah a little bit, but eventually you're gonna lose lift in the wings and you won't have the power to keep the airplane up.'"

"It's hard to do and the planes aren't built for it," said another veteran commercial airline pilot. "But when you're in that situation you'll do anything you can to save the airplane," said the pilot, who asked not to be named because he's not authorized by his airline to speak with the news media.

When asked about flying upside down, Boeing, which inherited the MD-80 series after its 1997 merger with McDonnell Douglas, issued a no-nonsense statement.

"The MD-80 cannot sustain inverted flight," the statement said. "The MD-80, as with all commercial airliners, was designed to fly upright. Commercial airliners are only tested and certified for upright flight."

Another thing that didn't ring true with Goodrich was the pilot leaving the cockpit during an emergency, as Washington's character did. Goodrich said he advised Zemeckis this scenario wasn't likely.

The interaction between Washington's character and the co-pilot rubbed commercial airline pilot and blogger Patrick Smith the wrong way.

"Washington's character is arrogant and flip and condescending and his co-pilot's character is meek and weak and at times even scared and clueless," said Smith. "This isn't how pilots behave. It reinforces the myth that the co-pilot is some sort of apprentice pilot."

The real deal

But as we all know, there's Hollywood -- and then there's the real deal.

As one commenter on airspacemag.com put it, "Hollywood could learn a lot from true life, i.e., United 232." That's because when it comes to a real life loss of airliner flight control, situations don't get much worse than Flight 232.

Al Haynes commanded the DC-10 that hot July day in 1989. The plane was about 75 miles north of Sioux City, Iowa, en route from Denver to Chicago with 11 crew and 285 passengers, when one of the plane's three engines failed. "There was a loud BANG," Haynes said. The bang, he said, "was followed by a large vibration lasting a few seconds."

There was a loud BANG.
Capt. Al Haynes, United Airlines Flight 232

The noise was the sound of a cracked engine fan disk shooting out of the tail engine and freakishly hitting in the worst possible spot. The disk severed all the plane's hydraulic lines, virtually cutting off all steering and speed control.

Read federal investigators' report on the crash (PDF)

For the next 45 minutes, Haynes, First Officer Bill Records, engineer Dudley Dvorak and instructor Dennis Fitch would need all their strength and good ideas to re-invent how to fly the DC-10.

But unlike the movie, flying upside down was not the solution to escaping this emergency.

"When the engine failed, the airplane started to turn to the right and started to roll," said Haynes. "If we had not stopped that and it had rolled over on its back, I'm sure the nose falling down would have increased the airspeed so fast that there's no way we could have controlled it."

"If we had gotten upside down, the party was over."

They learned how to steer the plane by adjusting the power in the aircraft's two remaining engines. It was like trying to drive a car without power steering, said Haynes, only harder.

The captain and Records struggled with the control wheel circling it steadily in right turn circles toward Sioux City airport. "It was very tiring," Haynes said. At the same time, Fitch struggled on his knees as he was forced to use both hands to muscle the plane's throttle levers, which also had become hard to move.

"I'll tell you what, we'll have a beer when this is all done," Fitch told Haynes, according to the flight recorder transcript. "Well, I don't drink," the captain replied, "but I'll sure as hell have one."

In the cabin, flight attendants worked to calm passengers and prepare them for a crash landing. "One passenger thought she was having a heart attack and the flight attendants calmed her down, and it turned out she wasn't having a heart attack, she was just very nervous," Haynes said.

As the plane neared the ground at a much-too-fast speed, passengers were warned to brace for impact. Video of the DC-10's fiery cartwheel landing was plastered across TV news channels for months after the disaster.

"The minute we hit the ground, I was knocked out," Haynes recalls. "I woke up in the cockpit talking to Dudley, I only remember bits and pieces of the conversation. I remember when the rescuers found us, someone asked, 'Are there really four of you in there?'"

One-hundred-ten passengers and one crew member -- flight attendant Rene Le Beau -- died in the crash. One-hundred-eighty-five passengers and crew survived.

In the months after the disaster, authorities recreated the emergency in flight simulators. But the simulator pilots were unable to maintain control of the plane all the way through to landing.

Sometimes life produces real events that rival Hollywood's wildest imaginations. That's what happened in 1989, when the crew of United Airlines Flight 232 achieved the nearly impossible.