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Scania has used centrifugal oil filtration for decades. Recall that the Scania-sourced 7.9-liter mid-range engines featured this technology which Mack Trucks later adopted. Spinning at 5000 rpm, the centrifugal oil cleaner removes smaller particles than are trapped by spin-on filters. The ability to scrutinize residue makes the centrifugal cleaner a window to the inside of the engine -- an early warning to excessive engine wear. They can immensely extended engine life. Did you know that all Scania drive axle carriers (differentials) feature a spin-on oil filter?

Two teenage girls face trial in Colorado for planning mass school shooting The Guardian / January 14, 2016 Two 16-year-olds have been charged with plotting a mass shooting at their suburban Denver high school. Brooke Higgins, who was charged on Thursday, and Sienna Johnson, who was charged last week, will both be tried as adults on two counts of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, in a district court in Castle Rock, Colorado. The girls took what the prosecution called “overt acts” towards purchasing firearms in order to carry out their plan, assistant district attorney Jason Siers told the court on Thursday. Prosecutors said the two girls worshipped the Columbine shooters, and the movie Natural Born Killers. They had specific targets, the prosecution said, but everyone at the school was a potential victim. Entries on social networking sites show moody pictures of blood-spattered walls, and hand-scrawled journal entries filled with anguished prose. On Thursday, district court judge Paul King set her bond at $1m, as he had for Johnson. The cases are currently under seal, and a motion filed by a consortium of media to remove that seal from the case file was denied by King, though he did allow the trials to take place in open court. Highlands Ranch, Colorado, is a satellite suburban town about 25 miles south of Denver. Nestled among snowy brush-covered hillocks, its skyline is dominated by the distant Rockies and little else. It is a town of cookie-cutter houses in uniform blue-grey and beige. Columbine, probably America’s most infamous school shooting, is a quarter-hour drive north-west. Aurora, where 12 people were murdered at a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises three years ago, is about a half-hour north-east. Colorado Springs, site of two shootings in as many months in October and November 2015, is an hour south. It was through an anonymous text hotline begun after the 1999 Columbine shooting that the Mountain Vista high school plot was supposedly uncovered. In fact, Columbine looms large over the whole alleged plot. On 10 December, Higgins took a picture of the road outside Columbine high school, and Googled the names of the shooters. She also wrote about how she wished she had done Columbine with them. In setting the strict bond conditions for Higgins on Thursday, Judge King addressed the issue of the cult of Columbine directly. “The idea that the incident at Columbine is to be admired, that the people who did that are gods or heroes …” he paused. “There are parents in this city that want to make sure their kids are protected.” The sheriff’s office and the district attorney say the girls had planned their attack in the days running up to Christmas, and that Johnson had practised shooting with BB guns. When she was arrested that, Johnson said were she released, she would go back to plotting a shooting. Referring to Higgins, Johnson had written in her diary in 2015 about meeting someone “who’s got what it takes to … make this school a living [expletive] nightmare”. “God, Brooke and me will be unstoppable,” Johnson wrote. .

You so so right Tim.

The Wall Street Journal / January 13, 2016 FBI Director James Comey says his department is investigating the shooting of a Philadelphia police officer last week as a suspected act of terrorism. Philadelphia police arrested 30-year-old Edward Archer for shooting police officer Jesse Hartnett three times in a late-night ambush as the officer was in his patrol car. Mr. Hartnett, who was shot in the arm, is being treated at a hospital. 'This is absolutely one of the scariest things I've ever seen,' said Police Commissioner Richard Ross. 'This guy tried to execute the police officer. The police officer had no idea he was coming.' Ross said Hartnett was in his patrol car in West Philadelphia when the shooter approached from the sidewalk. He then began firing, eventually shooting through the driver's-side window as he got closer. Archer told detectives he was inspired by ISIS. Investigators are closely scrutinizing Mr. Archer’s background, including his trip to Saudi Arabia in late 2011 and another to Egypt in 2012. Police arrested Archer shortly after the shooting and recovered a 9mm pistol they believe was used in the incident. The gun was reported stolen in 2013 from the home of a police officer, but it is unclear how Archer obtained the weapon. Archer has been charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault and gun crimes. Archer has a criminal history. In November, he was convicted of forgery, driving without a valid license and four other charges in Delaware County outside Philadelphia. .

KrAZ Trucks Press Release / January 12, 2016 Kraz Trucks (aka AutoKrAZ), the only manufacturer of heavy trucks in Ukraine, is the largest employer in the City of Kremenchug, with tax payments amounting to over UAH 74m (US$3.2 million) in 2015. Income tax paid was UAH 18m (US$772,200), military levy was UAH 2m (US$85,800), and unified social tax was UAH 54m (US$2.3 million). KrAZ Trucks is known as one of the most socially responsible companies in Kremenchug and the Poltava region. Despite political and economic crisis in the country, the truckmaker maintained the stable performance and raised the wages of its employees. Since the beginning of 2015, KrAZ was able to raise wages 15 percent over the previous year. KrAZ’s Kremenchug truck plant currently employs over 3,500 full-time workers, with production staff accounting for 97 percent of that total. Throughout 2015, the company hired 277 new workers, 87 of them graduated from vocational schools. The average employee age is 45 years. There were no personnel cuts in 2015. Rather, the company continued to hire in support of growth. The company’s focus was on developing its social sphere in 2015. KrAZ Trucks contributed UAH 5,5m (US$235,950) to fund the construction of new facilities including a cafeteria, social hall and employee homes. We also renovated our KrAZ truck museum. In addition, we spend UAH 1m (US$42,900) over year 2015 on employee training. In 2016, KrAZ Trucks plans to continue reinvesting a sizable portion of our rising profitability in employee-related areas, in support of optimized working conditions and quality of life. .

Owner/Driver / January 14, 2016 A convoy of more than 100 trucks hauled bales of hay to drought-affected farmers in Queensland. Burrumbuttock Hay Runners founder Brendan Farrell has dismissed the praise heaped on him after the 125-truck convoy he organised delivered more than 5,000 bales of hay to drought-stricken farmers in Queensland. Requiring trucks, drivers, catering, donations, hay, and months of planning, the Burrumbuttock Hay Runners convoy travelled 1860km from New South Wales to provide about 270 cattle farmers with the much-needed feed. Speaking in a video posted to the Burrumbuttock Hay Runners Facebook page, Farrell says it was a "fantastic, successful hay run" taking "a couple of big days", but downplayed any personal credit. "Social media is putting a lot of pressure on me, saying I’m famous and all this other type of thing – but people need to realise I’m just a bloke with a truck," he says. "You don’t have to be famous to help people. "You don’t need to have a million dollars to help people. "You put your hand up and you just get on and do it." Some calls have come for the Riverina local to be crowned Australian of the Year, an honour Farrell has also dismissed. "All the stuff about Australian of the Year…nah, I don’t have time for that," he says. A number of thankful farmers took to the Facebook page to show their gratitude for all the drivers, contributors and Farrell. "My family were one of the grateful recipients of the hay and it was not just the hay, it was the fact that that amazing group cared enough to make the long trek up here," Jo Thomas says. "Everyone had a smile, there were tears and cheers and everyone went home feeling a whole lot lighter and more positive." Truck drivers also took to the page, including Trevor Vale who left a heartfelt video message. "I want to congratulate those truckies out there that took part in the Burrumbuttock hay run…you’ve done everything you could to help those farmers," Vale says. "A lot of people in the city sit back and don’t take much notice of what’s going on out there, but those truck drivers know exactly what’s going on out there." Pitching in to help with the run was Freightliner Racing transporter driver Paul ‘Stax’ Eddy, who swapped his regular load of two V8 Supercars and race equipment for 32 bales of donated hay. "The farmers are really doing it tough up there," Eddy says. "They have had no rain for so long that they could really do with a little help." The run was the biggest in the convoy’s two-year history and marks the 10th Farrell has organised since February 2014, when 20 trucks travelled from Burrumbuttock to Bourke. Farrell originally planned to cart the hay to Aramac but changed the destination to Ilfracombe due to concerns the roads would not handle the large number of trucks, especially if it rained. Aramac is about 100km north-east of Ilfracombe. More than 20,500 bales of hay have been donated in the last two years by the Burrumbuttock Hay Runners. While he was unwilling to accept any praise in the wake of the latest convoy, the thankfulness of the farmers has not gone unacknowledged. "You go to a small country town and you’ve got 100 and 200 people on the side of the road waving, saying thank you," Farrell explained last year. "I get very satisfied when I know that I’ve helped the community, just to let them know that someone gives a damn. "Australia has lost its way on how to give. "I’m just trying to put the message out there that there are still people that want to help." Details on future runs and how to donate are available on the Burrumbuttock Hay Runners Facebook page. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzZ5_iRF8Xo

Trucks Show Their Mettle Off-Piste and on Dunes in Looped Course Hino Trucks Press Release / January 13, 2016 Car 2 finishes at 9th overall, marking its spot in the top 10. January 12: Teams raced on a looped course this day that started and finished at Belén, Argentina with a special coursing through the southeastern part of Belén on the opposite side of Fiambala desert. Most of the course was off-piste (off-road wastelands), and was reminiscent of northern Africa with its fluffy grass-covered dunes and dried riverbeds. With the temperature soaring above 40ºC and road surface resistance keeping the vehicles from picking up speed, this was a stage where overheating became a major risk. The SS for the day was scheduled to be 285km long, but was cut short at CP (checkpoint) 2 due to the extreme heat. The cars and trucks headed for the bivouac in Belén on a 5km liaison, and motorbikes set out for their special marathon bivouac on another route. Teruhito Sugawara and Hiroyuki Sugiura on Car 2 took full advantage of the mobility of their HINO500 Series truck to deliver outstanding performance. The crew finished at 9th in the overall Trucks category and top in the Under 10-litre Class, making their first foray into the top 10 this year. Meanwhile, the Yoshimasa Sugawara and Mitsugu Takahashi crew on Car 1 maintained a brisk pace―all the while paying close attention to their coolant temperature―finishing the special at 30th overall and 2nd in the class. Based on these results, Car 2 now climbs to 15th place, and Car 1 to 35th place in the overall Trucks category. The two trucks continue to maintain their one-two lead in the Under 10-litre Class. The SS for tomorrow, January 13, is set to make one round through the notoriously challenging Fiambala Desert on its way from Belén to La Rioja. Yoshimasa Sugawara: The coolant temperature got quite high so we turned on the heater to let the engine release as much of its heat as possible. As you can imagine, it got very hot in the cabin. We kept pouring drinking water over our bodies so our racing suits are drenched. Mitsugu Takahashi: This was a brutal stage, so you can’t blame the organizers for cutting it short at CP2. The majority of the course was off-piste and it was another day of mostly CAP (compass bearing) navigation. I was a bit anxious of the rather big intervals between the block drawings in the road book, but that didn’t end up being a problem. Teruhito Sugawara: The fact that many vehicles had to stop on the side of the course is surely one of the reasons for our good finish position, but we also did make good time. This was another confirmation that the directions we set for the trucks’ construction were spot on. I can’t blame the organizers for canceling the race at CP2. Hiroyuki Sugiura: The sand was soft in today’s stage, so I think it must have been tough for cars running behind trucks. On these types of terrain, road surface conditions can vary dramatically depending on how soon or late you cross any given point. Photo gallery - http://www.hino-global.com/dakar/latest_news/PD16-21.html

Truckers may pay more to haul in Indiana CNHI / January 12, 2016 In a state known as the “Crossroads of America,” the number of overweight trucks has tripled in less than a decade, accelerating damage to aging roads and bridges. More than 380,000 trucks that exceed federal weight and size standards were permitted to travel in Indiana last year, up from about 135,000 in 2007. Those numbers are part of the reason why some lawmakers want the trucking industry to pay more for infrastructure. Under a plan proposed Monday by House Republican leaders, private carriers would pay about 7 percent more for diesel fuel - in taxes and a surcharge - than what they pay now. The measure is getting surprising support from the Indiana Motor Truck Association, which represents truckers who carry goods from about 80 percent of Indiana manufacturers. “We’ve been saying at the federal and state level that we need to raise taxes on fuel and fix the roads,” said Gary Langston, association president. “We’ve been saying that for a long time. “Bad roads and congested highways cost us money,” he said. The House Republican plan would automatically adjust the state’s fuel tax for inflation, resulting this year in a 4-cent hike on a gallon of gasoline for all motorists, including truckers who use diesel fuel. It also raises the motor-carrier surcharge, paid quarterly by trucking companies, by another 3 cents per gallon. Those increases combined are expected to raise $60 million a year for road and bridge repair. It’s just a fraction of the $1 billion needed in for infrastructure, but supporters say it will make a dent. In addition, the measure allows local governments to charge a higher “wheel tax” on buses, trailers and trucks that are licensed in their counties. Under current law, truck-owners pay the same as car-owners. House Ways and Means Chairman Tim Brown, R-Crawfordsville, said the plan acknowledges that trucks create more wear on roads than cars. A Purdue University study found a single, 40-ton truck can do as much damage to roadway pavement as 9,600 cars. Last week, an overweight truck broke a one-lane, 133-year-old bridge in small town Paoli. Police said the driver, carrying 43,000 pounds of bottled water, tried to cross a bridge with a weight limit of 6,000 pounds. The broken bridge, costing about $1 million to repair, is an extreme example of truck damage, said Rep. Steve Davisson, R-Salem, whose district includes Paoli. “But, every day, heavy trucks are beating the dickens out of highways and bridges,” he said. “So the question is, ‘Are they paying enough for maintenance of our roads?’ “ Under current law, Indiana requires any vehicle over 40 tons to acquire a special permit that certifies the load is properly configured to minimize roadway damage. The state charges $55 for an overweight permit, plus up to $1 per mile for loads that exceed the 40-ton weight. Those fees won’t change under the proposed plan. What may lie ahead, though, is a crackdown on trucks that fail to pay. Since January 2013, State Police have issued 13,000 tickets to drivers of illegally overweight trucks and another 11,000 warnings. Police worry they may only be catching a fraction of offenders. In response, transportation officials are launching a pilot project this spring to determine how many illegally overweight trucks are passing through the state. The project will use cameras, and a weight-and-motion sensor embedded in a section of busy Interstate 94 in northern Indiana, to track heavy trucks and capture their license plate numbers. If successful, the technology could be used throughout the state to issue fines for violators, transportation officials say.

Port Authority drops plan for banning older trucks at ports The Washington Times / January 12, 2016 The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has reversed plans to ban older trucks that fail to meet emission standards from hauling cargo at the Newark and Elizabeth seaports. The agency and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced five years ago they would deny entry to all trucks that didn’t meet 2007 federal emission standards beginning next year to help improve air quality, but officials said they underestimated the cost. Port Authority spokesman Steve Coleman told The Record (bit.ly/1ULH56u) newspaper it would have cost more than $150 million in grants to drivers to help replace 6,300 trucks built before 2007. “Nobody realized the scope of the issue then compared to today,” Coleman said. The agency is instead committing $1.2 million to help drivers who own their own vehicles to replace about 400 trucks, along with $9 million from federal agencies. Trucks that are older than 2007 and already registered at the ports will still be able to pick up and drop off cargo. Older trucks that aren’t registered will be banned. Clean-air advocates, upset by the move, said the Port Authority had detailed numbers in 2010 on how many trucks they would have to deal with by 2017. “For them to say they didn’t know the scope of the problem is absurd,” said Amy Goldsmith, chairwoman of the Coalition for Healthy Ports. Coleman said that of the 9,000 trucks that regularly serve the ports, about 2,700 have newer, cleaner engines. “We’re stopping the bleeding,” Coleman said. “Older trucks won’t be added to the registry.”

Scania Group Press Release / January 13, 2016 From horses to the modular system. Join us on a historic journey through decades of fire fighting from all around the world.

Tatra Trucks Press Release / January 13, 2016 The long-distance Rally Africa Eco Race 2016, following in the footsteps of the original Dakar Rally through Morocco, Mauritania and Senegal, is now history. Tomas Tomeček took the silver in the truck category with the TATRA 815! The three-time winner of the rally, in 2011, 2012 and 2014, joined his navigator Ladislav Lala and a team of two other accompanying Tatra trucks, to give their fans a wonderful gift on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the first start of TATRA vehicles in the Dakar Rally. Thirty years ago, two company teams led by Karel Loprais and Zdenek Kahanek competed there. Neither of them finished the race at that time, but one year later Karel Loprais won the silver for the Paris – Dakar Rally. In a race that symbolically started on December 27 in Monaco, with the real start taking place on December 29 in Morocco, Tomas Tomeček suffered a lot of bad luck at the very beginning when his Promet/Excalibur Team had three punctures in the 4th stage and thus were way back of the pack. But Tomeček's TATRA 815 was able to catch up in the Sahara dunes, where they won 2 stage victories and one stage silver. Thank to this "surge", Tomas Tomeček managed to reach 2nd place, which he held until the 11th stage, which ended on September 1, 2016. The only Czech representative at the Africa Eco Race was thirteenth overall in the car classification, while in the truck category he lost out only to Russian Anton Shibalov and his Kamaz, who defended his last year's victory. For more about Tomas Tomeček at Africa Eco Race 2016, please visit the website www.tomastomecek.cz. Our congratulations to Tomas Tomeček and thanks for representing us! Photo gallery - http://www.tatratrucks.com/about-the-company/press-and-media/news/tomecek-celebrates-the-30th-anniversary-of-tatra-at-the-dakar-rally-with-a-second-place-finish/

Scania Group Press Release / January 13, 2016 In the late 60's and early 70's a few daring men drove what became a legendary truck route with The Bandar Abbas Express, from Norway to Iran.

1/13/2016 Dakar 2016: new stage victory for Iveco and double podium in the General ​ Gerard de Rooy solidified his first-place position in the 2016 Dakar after his second consecutive win in a shortened race, due to the high temperatures in the dunes of Catamarca. ASO had scheduled a special for all four categories that would begin and end in the city of Belén, located in northeastern Argentina, and that would cover 285 timed kilometers. However, temperatures exceeding 50°C (122°F) forced the ASO to cancel the stretch beyond CP2, so the course was shortened to 178 kilometers. In stage 9, Iveco was once again proclaimed the day's winner thanks to Gerard de Rooy, who –along with his teammates, Moi Tarrollardona and Darek Rodewald– is proving to be the best in the navigation stages. With yesterday's victory, the winner of the 2012 Dakar claimed his third triumph in this edition and put plenty of distance between himself and the current runner-up, the Russian pilot Eduard Nikolaev. The Kamaz pilot is now 27 minutes and 12 seconds behind De Rooy in the general after coming in 5th in Stage 9. "Brilliant victory, but it wasn't easy. It was really hot and the sand was very soft. Cutting the race short at CP2 was the right decision," said Gerard de Rooy, who added: "Everyone got stuck and got flat tires. The pressure in our tires was carefully managed by Darek and Moi didn't make any navigational mistakes". Iveco also took second place in the Belén-Belén loop, with the Trakker piloted by Ton van Genugten. The other Dutchman in the fleet crossed the finish line just 3 minutes and 59 seconds behind Gerard de Rooy and climbed to 5th place in the general after nine stages in this 2016 Dakar. Federico Villagra and his Iveco Powerstar finished the day in 4th place, 16 minutes and 45 seconds behind the winner, and thanks to the delays suffered by Hans Stacey, Pieter Versluis and Ariat Mardeev, he rose to 3rd place on the podium in overall time. The Argentine pilot had to stop a couple of times to help his co-pilot Jorge Pérez Companc deal with breakdowns caused by the conditions of this stage. After stage 9, Iveco now has two pilots in the Top 3 and three trucks in the Top 5 in the general. Pep Vila had a more complicated day and lost start-up time before the first WP. The Spaniard was 40 minutes behind the leader at the first checkpoint and ended the day in 23rd place, more than an hour behind the leaders. This also led him to fall in the general classification, where he is now in 13th place but still has a good chance of making it into the Top 10. Stage 9 Trucks 1. GERARD DE ROOY (NLD), IVECO − 2:41:20 2. TON VAN GENUGTEN (NLD), IVECO – plus 3 minutes 59 seconds 3. Karginov (RUS), Kamaz – plus 16 minutes 04 seconds 4. FEDERICO VILLAGRA (ARG), IVECO – plus 16 minutes 45 seconds 5. Nikolaev (RUS), Kamaz – plus 19 minutes 14 seconds 23. PEP VILA (SPA), IVECO – plus 1:13:35 General Classification − Trucks 28:30:46-1. GERARD DE ROOY (NLD), IVECO 2. Nikolaev (RUS), Kamaz – plus 27 minutes 12 seconds 3. FEDERICO VILLAGRA (ARG), IVECO – plus 41 minutes 24 seconds 4. Versluis (NLD), MAN – plus 44 minutes 0 seconds 5. TON VAN GENUGTEN (NLD), IVECO – plus 45 minutes 2 seconds 13. PEP VILA (SPA), IVECO – plus 3 hours 3 minutes 26 seconds To learn more about Iveco's teams and vehicles and to follow Iveco day-by-day throughout the race, visit www.iveco.com/dakar

Nikkei Asian Review / January 14, 2016 While the lowest crude oil prices in more than a decade should be a good thing for the U.S. and other energy-hungry nations, fears are growing that the global economy will be left worse off. West Texas Intermediate was trading back above $30 a barrel Wednesday morning after slipping under that level for the first time in 12 years the day before. Even so, the U.S. benchmark remains well below the mid-$50 range that many companies and economists had been predicting. This bear market could hurt the global economy in three ways. First, the pain that oil-producing nations now feel could spread to advanced economies. Steelmakers are voicing anxiety over the prospect of oil field project delays or suspensions. Demand for the steel pipe used in well drilling is already down, and executives fear that it may worsen. We can't simply rejoice over lower energy costs. There will be a negative impact on business in resource-producing nations. The second way oil could slow global growth is through the financial markets. Falling share prices, rising developed-nation currencies and increased risk avoidance pose risks to real economic activity. So far, the disquiet in the markets has not spread. But it may yet depress consumer sentiment or make banks less eager to lend. The third vector runs through the Middle East, where plunging oil revenues threaten to deepen the region's turmoil. In oil-consuming nations, corporate earnings may get a boost, but amid slowing economic growth, the bulk of the savings will be banked rather than channeled into capital or consumer spending. A 10% fall in the price of crude translates to a 0.76% drop in global industrial output six months later. Cheap crude looks to be here to stay for a while. The U.S. Energy Information Administration on Tuesday lowered its forecast for the average WTI price this year to $38.54 from $50.89. It sees the average price rebounding to only $47 next year. Chinese demand for crude may have further to fall. American inventories of petroleum products are on the rise. On the supply side, some fiscally hard-pressed oil-producing nations have been forced to devalue their currencies as the dollar gains strength. This could end up discouraging production cutbacks by improving the profitability of their oil exports, analysts say. Companies involved in the oil business naturally have greater reason to worry than others. Japanese trading house Mitsui & Co.'s fiscal 2015 forecasts assume an oil price of $56 a barrel in the October-March half. Every $1 shortfall cuts $22.7 million a year off its profit.

Fleet Owner / January 13, 2016 Australia is in the process of eliminating pay by the mile for many of its truck drivers, and replacing it with guaranteed minimum hourly wages, a program the government is calling “safe rates.” The program was approved last month by that government’s Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal and will go into effect on April 4 for owner-operators who are in the long-haul and food services market sectors. Two speakers at a panel session at the Transportation Research Board’s 95th annual meeting here this week provided details of the program. Glenn Sterle, a member of the Australian senate and a supporter of the program, said the safe rates program is the culmination “of 20 years of hard work” by a bipartisan coalition of legislators who were looking to improve highway safety in the country. The first fruit of that effort, he said, was the national legislature’s 2012 creation of the RSRT as a tripartite panel comprised of government, fleet and labor representatives. The agency said it is also currently at work at extending the hourly-wage requirement to drivers who work in drayage, waste management and fuel sectors. Tony Sheldon, national secretary of Australia’s Transport Workers’ Union, said his country records an average of 330 heavy-truck-related fatalities a year and that trucking is by far the most dangerous occupation in the land, “11 times higher than any other industry.” He said a union survey found that 33% of drivers surveyed admitted that they had used stimulants in the past year in order to keep driving when fatigued. Sheldon said the survey might well have understated the actual percentage of drivers who take the drugs. Sheldon said Australian law now permits owner-operators to bargain collectively with fleets, and that as a result about 23% of all drivers are union members. Union membership at American fleets is about 8% by comparison, according to Michael H. Belzer, a professor at Wayne State University who has written extensively about trucking and chaired the TRB panel where the Australians spoke. The annual meeting of TRB, which is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, attracted more than 12,000 attendees here for the five days of panels and workshops that run through Thursday. Sheldon said “supply-chain pressures” led to the demand for more speed and lower costs, which “causes drivers to engage in unsafe practices.” The safe-rates program is designed to ensure drivers that they will be paid for their labors, despite loading delays or congestion and would remove the incentives for engaging in those unsafe practices, he said. According to the union, the RSRP’s wage ruling for the first time requires fleets to pay drivers for all waiting time to load and unload, all time lost to road congestion and the time it takes to service, clean and inspect trucks and trailers. The Australian legislature created the RSRT tribunal in 2012 specifically to examine truck safety issues and to propose solutions. The trucking market in Australia is much smaller than North America’s, but does have things in common, including long distances between major cities and the use of similar equipment. Sheldon said the adoption of hourly pay has led to some dramatic changes, including one port where average loading delays faced by drivers have fallen to 23 minutes from more than seven hours when drivers were paid by the kilometer. Sterle, who identified himself as a former truck driver and the son and father of truck drivers, said, “If we save one, two, three or four lives … “the safe rates program will be worthwhile. The initial safe rates program will run for four years, until April 3, 2020. Sheldon said the Japanese government and safety groups in Europe have expressed interest in Australia’s safe-rates program. The two Australian speakers were part of a four-hour, three-panel session entitled “Economic Competition, Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety and Driver Health” that was moderated by Belzer.

Brent Crude Oil Dips Below $30 a Barrel for First Time Since 2004 Transport Topics / January 13. 2016 Brent oil dropped below $30 a barrel for the first time since April 2004 on speculation Iranian shipments will soon climb. Crude fell 1.8% in London, and West Texas Intermediate oil was little changed in New York. A nuclear deal between Iran and world powers may be implemented by the time markets open Jan. 18, triggering sanctions relief for the Islamic Republic that paves the way for a surge in oil exports. Fuel prices tumbled after Energy Information Administration data showed U.S. gasoline supplies capped the biggest two-week gain on record. "The spread between Brent and WTI is coming in because Iranian sanctions could be lifted as early as [Jan. 18]," said Bob Yawger, director of the futures division at Mizuho Securities USA in New York. "Additional Iranian barrels will have a much bigger impact on seaborne Brent than on WTI." Futures in London have lost 19% this year as volatility in Chinese markets fueled a rout in global equities and on speculation that growing Iranian shipments will add to the global glut. Brent oil slipped 55 cents, or 1.8%, to $30.31 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange Jan. 12. It was the lowest close since April 2004. The contract touched $29.96. Total volume traded was 89% above the 100-day average at 3:18 p.m. West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery rose 4 cents to settle at $30.48 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract sank to $29.93 on Jan. 12, the lowest since 2003. The U.S. benchmark crude closed at a 17-cent premium to Brent, up from a 42-cent discount at Jan. 12's close.

Like I said, it's a double-edged sword. That mankind seems unable (or unwilling) to evolve forward and live together in peace, is indescribably sad. We're on this earth but a short while.........life's too short for violence. After thousands of years, the "7 deadly sins" continue to rear their ugly heads. They sadly exercise control over mankind, rather than mankind taking control and banishing these incalculably costly vices to the pages of history. Lust Wrath (the uncontrolled hatred for someone or something, and the unquenchable desire to exact revenge on said object/person) Greed Sloth (Extreme laziness, people who feel that everything should be done for them, and will refuse to do anything for themselves) Envy (jealousy) Gluttony (the consumption of something to excess) Vanity (over exaggerating of one's abilities or accomplishments)

That's my gut feeling as well. When Austria's AVL designed the 6.7L for Ford (outsourced contract design work), I believe it was only intended for applications up to the F-550, and not medium truck work.

Casual gun ownership in America is a double-edged sword. The tragic events below are just since the beginning of the New Year. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Twelve-year-old Ciara Meyer was standing behind her father when a constable came to the door. The officer was serving an eviction notice Monday morning at their apartment near Duncannon, Pa., when police said the girl’s father pointed a rifle at the constable’s chest. The officer drew his gun in self-defense and fired one round. The bullet went though the man’s arm and struck his daughter. The girl was pronounced dead at the scene. Pennsylvania State Constable Clarke Steele went to the apartment about 10 a.m. Monday to serve a court-ordered eviction notice. The girl, Ciara Meyer, was sick and had stayed home from school. Her father, Donald Meyer, 57, opened the door and then shut it, said Constable Bill Stoeffler. Meyer opened the door again, Stoeffler said, and then raised a rifle that was slung across his body. “The constable had no place to retreat to,” said Stoeffler. “He had to respond immediately.” Stoeffler said Steele “managed to get his gun out and fire one round.” Then, he took cover and called for backup. Upon arriving, authorities learned that the constable had shot Meyer and “tragically, the little girl,” Stoeffler said. Donald Meyer, who was transported to Penn State Hershey Medical Center to be treated for his injuries, has been charged with simple assault, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and terroristic threats. He will be held without bail. A preliminary court hearing is set for Jan. 15. Stoeffler said Constable Steele is “devastated” about the incident. “He’s absolutely heartbroken over the outcome of this.” --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A Cincinnati man, believing his 14-year-old son was at school, fatally shot the boy when he mistook him for an intruder at their home Tuesday morning. The shooting occurred around 6:30 a.m. The father’s name has not been released. The 73-year-old father of 14-year-old Georta Mack dropped his son off at a school bus stop Tuesday morning, but Cincinnati police say he the teen went back to his basement around 6:30 a.m. After hearing a noise in the basement, the father grabbed a handgun to investigate. The son startled the man, according to the frantic 911 call, and the father shot. Throughout the call Georta's father begs police to hurry, asking God why this has happened. He tells police his son is struggling to breathe as he held a cloth to his neck to slow the bleeding. Shortly after, he exclaimed that his son stopped breathing. Georta was taken to Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. Shortly after 8:15 a.m., the boy was pronounced dead at Children's Hospital. Hamilton County is investigating whether to bring charges against the father. Cincinnati Police Chief Eliot Isaac said that gun ownership was an “individual choice” but that those with firearms need to be trained to use them properly.

New Jersey father murders 3-year-old toddler son Associated Press / January 13, 2016 David "D.J." Creato Jr., 22, murdered his 3-year-old son Brendan Creato because the child was an impediment to his relationship with a teenage girlfriend. Creato is also charged with child endangerment and faces a possible life sentence if he's convicted on the murder charge. Brendan vanished from his father's home in the pre-dawn hours of October 13th on the 100 block of Cooper Street in Haddon Township. The 3-year-old todder was later found by a K-9 unit partially submerged in the water in a wooded section of nearby Cooper River Park. He was still wearing his pajamas. Investigators do not believe the child went to that area on his own because his socks were clean despite the muddy surroundings, and family members say Brendan was afraid of the dark making it unlikely that he would have gone into the wooded area in the pre-dawn hours. Also, there were no signs of forced entry at the home and Brendan slept on a love seat just nine feet from his father's bedroom door. D.J. Creato began dating a 17-year-old girl, Julie Spensky, in June of 2015 who had a dislike of children. In September, the girl became upset that Creato had custody of his son every other weekend, limiting their time together. Around 6 a.m., Creato called 911 to report his son missing. Brendan would be found dead just a few hours later. Medical examiners say the toddler’s brain showed a lack of oxygen before his death, indicating homicidal violence such as drowning, smothering or asphyxiation. He also had a fresh bruise near his collarbone. Creato’s bail was set at $750,000 and he cannot leave the state if he posts bail. .

The Washington Post / January 13, 2016 Gerrymander – To manipulate the boundaries of (an electoral constituency) so as to favor one political party. In his State of the Union speech, President Obama called on lawmakers and the public to take a number of steps "to change the system to reflect our better selves" for "a better politics." The top item on that list was to end partisan gerrymandering: "we have to end the practice of drawing our congressional districts so that politicians can pick their voters, and not the other way around," Obama said. In most states, state legislatures draw the district boundaries that determine how many delegates the state sends to the U.S. Congress, as well as the general partisan make-up of that delegation. State legislatures are partisan beasts, and if one party is in control of the process they can draw boundaries to give themselves a numeric advantage over their opponents in Congress. This process is called gerrymandering. Some state legislatures are more brazen about the process than others. Maryland's districts, drawn by Democrats, are one particularly egregious example. North Carolina's, drawn by Republicans, are another. Advocates of reform have proposed various solutions to the problem over the years. In some states, redistricting is put in the hands of an independent commission. In others, lengthy court battles are playing out to draw the districts more fairly. But a fundamental problem with district-drawing still remains: as long as humans are drawing the lines, there's a danger of bias and self-interest to creep into the process. There is another way, however: we could simply let computers do the drawing for us. From a technological standpoint it's fairly straightforward -- a software engineer in Massachusetts named Brian Olson wrote an algorithm to do it in his spare time. As I described it in 2014, Olson's algorithm creates "optimally compact" equal-population congressional districts in each state, based on 2010 census data. It draws districts that respect the boundaries of census blocks, which are the smallest geographic units used by the Census Bureau. This ensures that the district boundaries reflect actual neighborhoods and don't, say, cut an arbitrary line through somebody's house." To see what this looks like in practice, compare the upper map of our current congressional districts with one we stitched together from Olson's output (bottom). Big difference, isn't it? You can check out a larger version of the compacted map here. Rather than a confusing snarl of interlocked districts, you have neat, trim boundaries that make intuitive sense. Below are some individual state comparisons I made back in 2014 that let you see some more of the detail. Algorithms like this one prioritize compactness -- that is, ensuring that voters are geographically close together. One of the telltale signs of gerrymandering is dramatically non-compact districts that squiggle and squirm out in all different directions -- evidence of lawmakers trying to bring far-flung voters into a single district in order to achieve the partisan mix that best favors their party. Or, as Obama said: districts that let politicians pick their voters, rather than the other way around. Many political scientists are skeptical about the merits of drawing districts based on compactness. Their general argument is that districts are ideally based on communities of interest -- people who share a common demography, culture, class, etc. There's no particular reason, they say, that grouping voters by geographic proximity ensures this coherent community any more than drawing lines according to any other metric. Moreover, algorithms can be biased too. It's a point well-taken. But "community of interest" is an incredibly squishy term. You can define it pretty much however you want. As I wrote in 2014, if you're a politician in search of a figleaf justification for putting voters from disparate corners of the state into the same congressional district, you can always find one. Communities of interest are a great ideal, but in practice they're so fuzzy that they open the door to all manner of redistricting shenanigans, as we've seen. The main obstacles to automated redistricting are legal. For starters, the Voting Rights Act mandates that in some states, race needs to be a factor in redistricting to ensure that minority voters are represented in Congress. Again: a nice idea. But there's a tradeoff: packing all your minority voters into one district diminishes their clout everywhere else. We've seen this in the real world in Florida: the 5th District was originally drawn as a majority-minority district by Democrats. But Republicans saw fit to keep it that way in subsequent years, because it gave black voters less power in the surrounding districts. In the end, the prospect of an open, transparent algorithm drawing districts based on population and compactness may be an improvement upon the status quo, where politicians draw the boundaries that best serve their interests. Of course, the chances of this ever becoming reality are slim: doing so would require state legislators to voluntarily cede their redistricting powers to a computer program. And if there's anything lawmakers dislike, it's giving up power. .

Reuters / January 13, 2016 A Palestinian born in Iraq who entered the United States as a refugee was an ISIS sympathizer planning to set off bombs at two Houston malls, a federal investigator told a U.S. court on Wednesday. Federal investigators began looking into Omar Faraj Saeed Al-Hardan in 2014 and found that he was buying components on eBay to detonate homemade bombs, according to Herman Wittliff, a Department of Homeland Security special agent. Al-Hardan, 24, pleaded not guilty at the court in Houston to charges he supplied support to Islamic State and lied to U.S. officials. He was charged with offering his services and material support to ISIS. Al-Hardan also faces two charges about giving false information to U.S. officials over his ties to ISIS and being provided weapons training. The most serious charge carries up to 25 years in prison. Al-Hardan was granted legal permanent residency [green card] status in the United States in August 2011. He is not yet a U.S. citizen. In a second related case last week in Sacramento, the U.S. Department of Justice said Aws Mohammed Younis Al-Jayab, 23, who came to the United States in 2012 as a refugee from Syria, was arrested on a federal charge of making a false statement involving international terrorism. Over 75 U.S. residents radicalized by Muslim militants have been arrested since 2014. .

Florida couple kept adopted daughter in cage The Washington Post / January 9, 2016 A husband and wife in Sarasota, Fla., have been accused of child abuse after they admitted to authorities they routinely tied up and locked their 12-year-old daughter inside a playhouse. In an affidavit, the 5-by-7 foot playhouse was described by a detective as a “glorified cage.” “She wasn’t allowed to leave the playhouse to use the restroom,” said Sheriff’s Lt. Joe Giasone told WTSP. “She’d have to do all that inside.” Police say Eugenio Erquiaga, a doctor, and his wife, Victoria, a lawyer, used zip ties to restrain the girl’s ankles and wrists before locking her inside the cramped enclosure for hours on end. The playhouse could be barred shut with a piece of wood, had most of its windows screwed shut and smelled of urine Police said the couple — who were arrested Wednesday — told investigators that their daughter was prone to violent outbursts and the restraints were used to protect the family’s six other children. Police said the couple came up with the method of restraint recently, after seeing zip ties used in a television show featuring police. The pair is facing aggravated child abuse charges The alleged abuse may have escaped authorities’ attention if the victim hadn’t fled her family’s house, finding her way to a neighbor’s home. When the little girl with zip ties on her ankles and wrists arrived Sean Macindoe’s front door, the 19-year-old neighbor told authorities that the girl said: “My parents abandoned me. I was left and ran away.” The 12-year-old girl, who was adopted, was part of a large group of a biological and adopted children in the Erquiaga household, according to CBS News. In addition to two other adopted children, the family also includes four biological children from five to 13 years old. The couple’s other children are in custody of the Florida Department of Children and Families. .