The F-35 in the News Again

Two pieces of news dealing with the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

With China's increased military buildup, countries are looking harder at the progress being made with the F-35 test program. And in light of the recent release of information covering China's new J-20 "Fifth Generation" jet fighter. A stealthy, radar-eluding high end fighter aircraft. (F-35B picture shows aircraft in SVTOL mode. Smaller picture shows the J-20 in flight).

Lochkeed Martin's Tom Burbage, the general manager of the F-35 program; said that China's J-20 progress has created a "Stronger sense of urgency" throughout the Asian-Pacific region about air force modernization. Japan, South Korea, Singapore are indiscussions with U.S. government over the future of the F-35 and their purchase of the F-35.

The other bit of news was the progress the F-35B was finally making in the SVTOL flight test program. The F-35A and C models test flight program has been making better progress than the Marine's Harrier replacment. Test between January 6 and the 13th are among the 42 expected test flights that must be completed before the F-35B can be tested at sea on a amphibious assault ship.

Problem with the verticle fan lift doors have forced the delay of the F-35B part of the JSF program.

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1. ELP Defens(c)e Blog. "In the wrong league–the F-35 won’t handle growing Pacific Rim threats" by Eric Palmer. January 18, 2011. (http://ericpalmer.wordpress.com/2011/01/18/in-the-wrong-league-the-f-35-wont-handle-growing-pacific-rim-threats/).

2. "F-35B Shows Progress With 5 Vertical Landings: Analysts" by Dave Majumdar. January 18, 2011.(http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=5475628&c=AIR&s=TOP).

Miyuki Hatoyama - Politics of Alien Abduction

There is a lot of electrons burning over the internet about the wife of Japan's new Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama. Miyuki Hatoyama is better known now than he is because of the news reports that she had been abducted by aliens when she was younger.

Or that she knew Tom Cruise in another life when he was Japanese.

Both Hatoyama's are now 62 years old each (According to Right Pundits). Other blogs are saying she is 66 years old. The blog Right Pundit says that she is a lifestyle guru, cookbook author, retired dancer and actress, a clothes designer, and several other things. And now Miyuki Hatoyama the First Lady of Japan.

The abduction took place one night 20 years ago. "Her soul was taken onboard a triangle-shaped craft and they headed off to the planet Venus."

Being a good husband, he probably just rolls his eyes at this stuff. Quote, "I feel relieved when I get home. She is like an energy refueling base." But Ms. Hatoyama says, "My current husband has a different way of thinking. He would surely say 'Oh, that's great'."

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama will assum his office on September 16, 2009.

My observations have been that those blogs who deal with the subject matter of UFOs, et, al, have treated her pretty fairly. A few regular news reports make the usual wink and a nudge type of report about her. I actually thought that Right Pundit might do more of a hatchet job on her than they actually did.

I am going to cross post this on my other blog, The Shanks Dimension (http://www.theshanksdimension.com/2009/09/miyuki-hatoyama-politics-of-alien-abduction/).

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Ref. Right Pundits.com (http://www.rightpundits.com/?p=4697)

World UFo News blog (http://worldufonews.blogspot.com/2009/09/japanese-prime-ministers-wife-claimed.html).

Japan Gets on the Space Elevator Band Wagon

In another article that I found on the TimesOnLine from England, Japan is pouring lots of money into the research program for a elevator to space (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article4799369.ece). Please check it out.

First envisioned by famed science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke in his 1979 work The Fountains of Paradise, the idea of a cable 22,000 miles high along which platforms can cheaply transport people and supplies up out of the gravity well of planet earth and on out to the rest of the solar system. One end of the cable is anchored on the earth, the other end is anchored on a asteroid. Carbon Nanotube Fibre is the leading candidate for fulfilling the role of bringing the space elevator to reality from the pages of science fiction.