America’s Monopoly Crisis Hits the Military

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Early this year, U.S. authorities filed criminal charges—including bank fraud, obstruction of justice, and theft of technology—against the largest maker of telecommunications equipment in the world, a Chinese giant named Huawei. Chinese dominance in telecom equipment has created a crisis among Western espionage agencies, who, fearful of Chinese spying, are attempting to prevent the spread of Huawei equipment worldwide, especially in the critical 5G next-generation mobile networking space. 

In response to the campaign to block the purchase of Huawei equipment, the company has engaged in a public relations offensive. The company’s CEO, Ren Zhengfei, portrayed Western fears as an advertisement for its products, which are, he said, “so good that the U.S. government is scared.” There’s little question the Chinese government is interested in using equipment to spy. What is surprising is Zhengfei is right about the products. Huawei, a relatively new company in the telecom equipment space, has amassed top market share because its equipment—espionage vulnerabilities aside—is the best value on the market. 

In historical terms, this is a shocking turnaround. Americans invented the telephone business and until recently dominated production and research. But in the last 20 years, every single American producer of key telecommunication equipment sectors is gone. Today, only two European makers—Ericsson and Nokia—are left to compete with Huawei and another Chinese competitor, ZTE. 

This story of lost American leadership and production is not unique. In fact, the destruction

Article source: https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/americas-monopoly-crisis-hits-the-military/

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Boeing Reports Up to 148 Parts for Its Aircraft Were ‘Improperly Manufactured’

A Boeing 737 MAX 8 jetliner being built for Turkish Airlines takes off on a test flight, Wednesday, May 8, 2019, in Renton, Wash. Passenger flights using the plane remain grounded worldwide as investigations into two fatal crashes involving the airplane continue.
A Boeing 737 MAX 8 jetliner being built for Turkish Airlines takes off on a test flight, Wednesday, May 8, 2019, in Renton, Wash. Passenger flights using the plane remain grounded worldwide as investigations into two fatal crashes involving the airplane continue.
Photo: Ted S. Warren (AP)

Adding to an ever-growing list of Boeing public relations issues, the aircraft manufacturer has informed the Federal Aviation Administration that some of its 737 jets may have “improperly manufactured” wing parts that don’t meet strength and durability standards.

The FAA said Sunday that the issue affects some of the slat tracks in Boeing’s Next Generation (NG) and Max aircraft, including 32 NG and 33 Max jets in the U.S. The FAA said that the issue may affect as many as 148 parts manufactured by a Boeing supplier, adding that the faulty parts “may be susceptible to premature failure or cracks.”

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“Although a complete failure of a leading edge slat track would not result in the loss of the aircraft, a risk remains that a failed part

Article source: https://gizmodo.com/boeing-reports-up-to-148-parts-for-its-aircraft-were-im-1835203890

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Tails from the hardstand: 100th Bomb Group veteran shares ‘Bloody Hundredth’ memories

Dewey Christopher, now a retired master sergeant and veteran of World War II and the 100th Bombardment Group and 351st Bomb Squadron, poses for his official photo in his Class A uniform in 1942. Christopher was a crew chief with the 100th Bombardment Group and 351st Bomb Squadron at Thorpe Abbotts, Diss, England, during World War II. He visited RAF Mildenhall in June 2019, when the Professional Development Center was renamed in his honor, and while here shared stories from his military days. (Courtesy photograph)

“It was right after Pearl Harbor happened that my best friend and I decided to join up with the U.S. Army Air Corps,” recalled retired Master Sgt. Dewey Christopher, a former 351st Bomb Squadron crew chief, 100th Bombardment Group and World War II veteran. “We went to Oklahoma City to sign up and by Dec. 17, 1941, I was in the service.”

Christopher recently visited RAF Mildenhall as guest of honor at

Article source: http://www.aerotechnews.com/blog/2019/07/17/tails-from-the-hardstand-100th-bomb-group-veteran-shares-bloody-hundredth-memories/

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Boeing MAX Problems Put European Vacations in Jeopardy

Ireland’s Ryanair has made a hugely successful business model out of jetting holidaymakers around Europe—to places as farflung as Aalborg and Zaragosa—by sticking to a ruthlessly efficient cost-cutting playbook. Key to keeping operating costs in check came down to a decision made long ago to fly only the Boeing 737 class of jets.

That cozy commitment is beginning to rattle markets in the wake of Boeing’s ongoing travails over the downed MAX aircrafts—its most modern and fuel-efficient 737, one that Ryanair made a big bet on. Earlier this week Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O’Leary warned investors that the uncertainty about the availability of the 737 Max would cut into its growth projections and that it would be forced to scale back operations at unspecified airports and abandon whole markets in the interim.

Regulators around the world have forced Boeing to ground the737 MAX following two deadly air crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia. It’s unclearwhen Boeing will get the green light to fly the planes again. Boeing CEO DennisMuilenburg saidlast month there was no timetable on the plane’s return, adding “this isthe most trying of times.”

That uncertainty is beginning to hit carriers such as Ryanair,Norwegian Air and American Airlines, which are particularly reliant on the narrow-bodyaircraft for their lucrative mid-haul markets.

Shares of Ryanair Holdings are down nearly 10 percent,year-to-date, and have nearly sunk 16% since the March crash of Ethiopian AirlinesFlight 302.

Ryanair, which has gone neck and neck with Lufthansa as Europe’s largest airline by

Article source: https://fortune.com/2019/07/17/boeing-max-problems-put-european-vacations-in-jeopardy/

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Aging Tesla Designs Still Have Spark

“There is no “refreshed” Model X or Model S coming, only a series of minor ongoing changes.”

That short sentence from Elon Musk touched off a storm of gloomy predictions from internet soothsayers. But the crisis is merely a perceived one. It’s simply not a big deal that Tesla does not have a replacement for the Model S or X on the drawing board. 

Still viable. 

“It’s like airplanes,” says Rebecca Lindland of rebeccadrives.com. “You don’t really care when your airplane was redesigned, necessarily, a refresh is fine.” The Model S and X have been around a while, but they continue to be the EV benchmark. The automobile may not be capturing our hearts and minds as it has in the past, either, Lindland explained. “In the brave new world where a car is a commodity and not a personal expression, we will start to see longer and longer gaps between redesigns.” Especially if we wind up with fleets of self-driving cars owned by corporations instead of people, it’s likely that cars will no longer be fashion. In that case, how they work will matter more than how they look. 

But we’re not there

Article source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/danroth/2019/07/17/aging-tesla-designs-still-have-spark/

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Childhood friends, neighbors, former co-workers reminisce about Armstrong

WAPAKONETA — Those who knew Wapakoneta native Neil Armstrong growing up described him as a boy who had a fascination with space that grew even stronger into his adult years.

Dudley Schuler, 88, of St. Marys and formerly of Wapakoneta, said he and Armstrong were both born in 1930, but Armstrong was a year ahead of him in school because he was so smart.

“In the second grade, Neil’s family went to St. Marys, and he went to school there, but I met him when he came to Wapakoneta schools when I was in eighth grade, and he was a year ahead of me,” Schuler said.

They were in Boy Scouts together, and Armstrong worked his way up to Eagle Scout status.

The friends were in the school band, orchestra and Glee club together, with Armstrong playing the baritone horn and Schuler playing cymbals and the violin.

“Neil was interested in almost everything he studied,” Schuler said. “He was one of those people who couldn’t get enough of learning.”

Schuler worked at Zofkie’s Clothing Store in downtown Wapakoneta, and Armstrong worked at Rhinebrading Pharmacy and did odd jobs where he would use the money he earned to get flying lessons.

He said Armstrong was interested in airplanes at a young age. Schuler recalled making model airplanes with Armstrong, and they would fly them together. They would ride bicycles around town, and Armstrong would ride his bike out to the airport for flying lessons.

There was a farm two miles north of Wapakoneta. A man who lived there who

Article source: https://www.delgazette.com/news/77375/childhood-friends-neighbors-former-co-workers-reminisce-about-armstrong

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The 33 Best Remaining Amazon Prime Day Deals

Prime Day 2019 has come and gone, but some deals remain. After studying spreadsheets and combing the Internet until our screens blurred before our eyes, we found a considerable number of great deals this year. Hopefully you were able to grab the noise-canceling headphones or Instant Pot of your dreams at a much more reasonable price. If not, have no fear. Prime Day is officially over, but many of deals we found still exist.

Rival sales from Walmart and other stores will continue through July 17, and we’ve rounded up all the remaining deals from all our 2019 Prime Day coverage below. In some cases the discounts are not quite as steep, but a surprising number of the (roughly) 167 Prime deals we covered have just kept on going. We’ve pulled together our favorites and added a few more items you might want to consider.

Amazon Device Deals

Echo Dot (3rd Generation)

Read our WIRED Best Echo Alexa Speakers guide for recommendations on which Amazon Echos we think are worth your money. Amazon’s tablets are so cheap it’s almost suspicious. We do have some reservations, but overall they’re a good deal, especially for kids. Be sure to check out our updated guide to deciphering which Amazon Fire tablet is best for you.

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