The Americans (Tanks) Are Gone

April 10, 2013: For the first time in 69 years, there are no American tanks in Europe. On March 18th the United States shipped home 22 M-1 tanks, bringing to an end seven decades of American armor in Europe.

First appearing in combat during World War I (1914-18), the tank became a decisive weapon during World War II (1939-45) and continued to dominate battlefields to the present. The first American tank to see wide service in Europe was the 29 ton M-4 with its 75mm gun. By the end of World War II the 42 ton M-26 and its 90mm gun showed up. By the 1950s there was the 44 ton M-47, also armed with a 90mm gun. By the end of the 1950s the 46 ton M-60 and its 105mm gun showed up. While the M-60 underwent several upgrades, it was not replaced by the 60 ton M-1 and its 120mm gun until 20 years later. During that 20 years NATO tank strength reached its peak, with about 6,000 in service with the U.S. and other NATO units in Europe. Most of those are now gone, either withdrawn (as with British, Canadian, and American ones) or disposed of (sold or scrapped). Less than 2,000 remain, none of them American.

http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htarm/articles/20130410.aspx

Storm leaves extensive damage in Hazelwood, MO

UPDATED at 8 a.m. Thursday: Ameren reports that about 21,000 utility customers in Missouri and 2,800 in Illinois remain without power this morning. Nearly half of the outages in Missouri are in the Florissant and Hazelwood areas.

HAZELWOOD • Dozens of rescue workers swept into Hazelwood late Wednesday after a severe storm brought trees and power lines down onto homes and cars and left streets blocked by debris.

Like authorities in other cities where the storm caused serious damage, Hazelwood Fire Department Battalion Chief Randy Getz said he was unaware of any reports of major injuries.

Getz was among the rescue workers who converged at Howdershell Road and Lynn Haven Lane, site of what appeared to be some of the heaviest storm damage.


http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/13540449-27e1-55c1-b2be-0d3448cc3f7b.html

Hazelwood is in North St. Louis County and near St. Louis Lamber Airport which suffered extensive damage from the Good Friday Tornado a couple of years ago.

April 8th 1832 – Black Hawk War: Around 300 U.S. 6th Infantry troops leave St. Louis, MO

The Black Hawk War was a brief conflict fought in 1832 between the United States and Native Americans headed by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted soon after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis, and Kickapoos known as the "British Band" crossed the Mississippi River into the U.S. state of Illinois in April 1832. Black Hawk's motives were ambiguous, but he was apparently hoping to avoid bloodshed while resettling on land that had been ceded to the United States in a disputed 1804 treaty.

American officials, convinced that the British Band was hostile, mobilized a frontier army. With few U.S. Army soldiers in the region, most American troops were part-time, poorly trained militiamen. Hostilities began on May 14, 1832, when the militia opened fire on a delegation from the Native Americans. Black Hawk responded by attacking the militia force, soundly thrashing them at the Battle of Stillman's Run. He led his band to a secure location in what is now southern Wisconsin. As U.S. forces pursued Black Hawk's band, Native Americans conducted raids against forts and settlements. Some Ho-Chunk and Potawatomi warriors with grievances against Americans took part in these raids, although most members of those tribes tried to avoid the conflict. The Menominee and Dakota tribes, already at odds with the Sauks and Meskwakis, supported the Americans.

Commanded by General Henry Atkinson, the U.S. troops tried to track down the British Band. Militia under Colonel Henry Dodge caught up with the British Band on July 21 and defeated them at the Battle of Wisconsin Heights. Black Hawk's band, weakened by hunger, death, and desertion, retreated towards the Mississippi. On August 2, American soldiers attacked the remnants of the British Band at the Battle of Bad Axe, killing or capturing most of them. Black Hawk and other leaders escaped, but later surrendered and were imprisoned for a year.

The Black Hawk War is now often remembered as the conflict that gave young Abraham Lincoln his brief military service. Other notable American participants included Winfield Scott, Zachary Taylor, and Jefferson Davis. The war gave impetus to the US policy of Indian removal, in which Native American tribes were pressured to sell their lands and move west of the Mississippi River.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Hawk_War

Electric undergarment fights sexual assault with shocks

Amid a rising tide of rapes and sexual assaults in India, three engineering students devise an electrified undergarment they hope will help protect women from attack.

Violence against women in India has come under the worldwide spotlight following the emergence of high-profile cases such as the gang-rape of a young woman in December. She later died from her injuries. In an effort to stem the violence, the Indian government is working on developing a wristwatch that would send out alerts for help. Three Indian engineering students also have joined the cause, creating an anti-rape undergarment that could provide a layer of protection for women.

Manisha Mohan, Niladri Basu Bal, and Rimpi Tripathi attend SRM University in Chennai. Their project is called SHE (Society Harnessing Equipment). The device is like a slip, to be worn under clothes. It has sensors and an electric shock circuit board built into it. The circuit is attached near the bosom and is designed to deliver an electric shock when an assailant comes into contact with it.

The inside of SHE is lined with an insulating polymer to protect the wearer from the shock. It is also equipped with GPS and GSM modules. The students' future plans include making the design more compact and connecting it to smartphones through Bluetooth, so the garment will be able to send out a distress call when needed.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57578155-1/electric-undergarment-fights-sexual-assault-with-shocks/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=title

April 6: National Caramel Popcorn Day

April 5: National Caramel Day

Enjoy!

Walmart Strains to Keep Aisles Stocked Fresh

Michelle Obama visited a Walmart in February to extol the fresh, healthy food in the company’s grocery aisles. But Walmart, Ms. Obama’s corporate partner in a campaign to make food healthier and more affordable, has been running into problems with food that is not so fresh.

Walmart, the nation’s largest retailer and grocer, has cut so many employees that it no longer has enough workers to stock its shelves properly, according to some employees and industry analysts. Internal notes from a March meeting of top Walmart managers show the company grappling with low customer confidence in its produce and poor quality. “Lose Trust,” reads one note, “Don’t have items they are looking for — can’t find it.”

Walmart is addressing the grocery concerns with measures like a new inventory system and signs that will help employees figure out what is fresh and what is not, Jack L. Sinclair, Walmart United States executive vice president for food, said in an interview. Brooke Buchanan, a company spokeswoman, said Walmart felt its stores were fully staffed.

Before the recession, at the start of 2007, Walmart had an average of 338 employees per store at its United States stores and Sam’s Club locations. Now, it has 281 per store, having cut the number of United States employees while adding hundreds of stores.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/04/business/walmart-strains-to-keep-grocery-aisles-stocked.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

What I find especially telling are the points I have placed in bold. 1). That Wal Mart is going to use signs to help employees figure out what is fresh and what is not (I guess that is because actually taking time to train people to understand the product they sell is simply to hard) and 2). The significant reduction of employees per store, which I figure to be in the 15 to 20% range. That is a whole lot of inventory that simply cannot get to the shelf and empty shelves make for lost sales and the old saying in retail is "you can never make up lost sales."

New ‘Super Truck’ Promises Huge Fuel Savings for Big Rigs

Peterbilt and Cummins have successfully demonstrated a tractor-trailer that gets just under 10 mpg under real-world conditions.

A single-digit fuel economy rating doesn’t sound like much to brag about, but in the world of tractor-trailers, it’s a massive improvement over the status quo. In fact, it’s a full 54 percent increase in fuel economy over the average tractor-trailer on the road today. The corresponding fuel savings could save owners around $25,000 in diesel costs a year, and would reduce annual greenhouse emissions by 35 percent per truck.

The tractor-trailer was built as part of the Department of Energy’s Super Truck program, in which five manufacturers compete to improve truck freight efficiency — a measure of how much fuel is required to move a particular amount of cargo — by over 50 percent. Of those efficiency gains, 40 percent can come from engine improvements, and 60 percent must come from weight reduction, aerodynamic improvements and eliminating parasitic losses in the drivetrain.

Most of the competitors have worked on waste-heat recovery and aerodynamic improvements. Some have examined hybrid drivetrains, and others have focused solely on tweaking existing technologies and reducing weight.

http://www.wired.com/autopia/2013/04/super-truck/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wired%2Findex+%28Wired%3A+Top+Stories%29

April 4: 1968 – Martin Luther King, Jr. is assassinated by James Earl Ray at a motel in Memphis, Ten

King was booked in room 306 at the Lorraine Motel, owned by Walter Bailey, in Memphis. Abernathy, who was present at the assassination, testified to the United States House Select Committee on Assassinations that King and his entourage stayed at room 306 at the Lorraine Motel so often it was known as the "King-Abernathy suite".[148] According to Jesse Jackson, who was present, King's last words on the balcony before his assassination were spoken to musician Ben Branch, who was scheduled to perform that night at an event King was attending: "Ben, make sure you play 'Take My Hand, Precious Lord' in the meeting tonight. Play it real pretty."[149]

Then, at 6:01 p.m., April 4, 1968, a shot rang out as King stood on the motel's second-floor balcony. The bullet entered through his right cheek, smashing his jaw, then traveled down his spinal cord before lodging in his shoulder.[150][151] Abernathy heard the shot from inside the motel room and ran to the balcony to find King on the floor.[152] Jackson stated after the shooting that he cradled King's head as King lay on the balcony, but this account was disputed by other colleagues of King's; Jackson later changed his statement to say that he had "reached out" for King.[153]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr.#Assassination_and_its_aftermath

April 4:1887 – Argonia, Kansas elects Susanna M. Salter as the first female mayor in the US

Susanna Madora "Dora" Salter (March 2, 1860 – March 17, 1961) was a U.S. politician and activist. She served as mayor of Argonia, Kansas, becoming the first woman elected as mayor and the first woman elected to any political office in the United States.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susanna_M._Salter