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The Washington Post / January 5, 2016 Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush apologized Tuesday night for conflating his gun rights record by suggesting that he received an award from the National Rifle Association that doesn't exist. The Bush campaign admitted on Monday that the former Florida governor was "mistaken and conflated multiple events unintentionally" when discussing an award he said he received from the NRA. On several occasions in the past year, Bush has said he received the group's Statesman of the Year award and was handed a rifle by former NRA president Charlton Heston at the group's annual convention. But the NRA doesn’t give out a statesman award, and Bush didn’t receive a rifle from Heston. Instead, he was given a rifle for being the keynote speaker at the NRA’s 2003 annual convention in Orlando. Asked by reporters on Tuesday why he made the mistake, Bush said: "I don’t know, I thought.......I just read it."

The Belarusians have started in Dakar 2016 MAZ Trucks Press Release / January 5, 2016 Sergey Vyazovich’s crew of MAZ-SPORTauto Team started on January, 3 in a prestigious rally-raid DAKAR-2016 at the 8th position. Alexander Vasilevskiy’s crew began the race at the 12th position, while the fast technical truck of Vladimir Vasilevskiy started at the 40th position. On the first day the racers had to overcome 600 km between two Argentinean cities – Rosario and Villa Carlos Paz, but due to the poor weather conditions the special area in 258 km including speedy areas and rough routes in a sloping area was turned down. There are 55 crews in trucks category. Earlier MAZ trucks had taken part in a traditional podium, after which they had to go for a Prolog – small spectacular route that would define crews’ start positions. But this stage was cancelled due to the tragic incident – the Chinese racer rushed the spectators crowd at her Mini Cooper. 10 people suffered, three of them are in hospital in a bad condition. Thus sport trucks began the rally-raid according to the board numbers. The Russian crew under Airat Mardeev’s piloting was the first one (the truck is under 500 board number). Belarus is represented by three sport trucks - two main crews and one “fast technical truck” to assist during the race. No. 507 is crewed by Sergey Vyazovich, Pavel Garanin and Andrey Zhigulin. The 512th truck crew includes Alexander Vasilevski, Valery Kozlowski and Anton Zaporoschenko, while the 541st “fast technical truck” is manned by Vladimir Vasilevski, Dmitrij Vihrenko and Aleksey Neverovich. The aim of the team is to be among leading crews, while the minimum task is to overcome the whole route and be among the top-10. The sport trucks have been tuned before Dakar start: the suspension, fuel tanks, transmission and steering control were improved. Besides, a new technical truck that functions as a “fast technical truck” was assembled. Truck 507 is 300 kg lighter now and equipped with 930 horsepower engine rated at 4,200 N-m of torque. .

The Belarusians became 11th at the first special area in Dakar 2016 MAZ Trucks Press Release / January 5, 2016 Sergey Vyazovich’s crew came to 11th place at the happened stage of the rally-raid DAKAR-2016. All three Belarusian trucks got to the finish. The second stage was intended to be one of the longest at this DAKAR race. But the organizers decided not to risk and reduced the special area from 510 to 387 km. The race took place along the rather speedy route with a big number of bumps and water barriers. Sergey Vyazovich’s truck overcame it in 4 hours 30 minutes. The Belarusian crew lagged behind the leader Hans Stacy (Holland) in almost 12 minutes. Three KAMAZ crews stood higher the Belarusians in a fixture table. Alexander Vasilevskiy’s truck finished the second stage at 21st place. It took him 4 hours 44 minutes to overcome the special area. Its lagging behind the winner was 25 minutes 29 sec. The technical truck of Vladimir Vasilevski finished at 33rd position – it took him more than 5 hours to overcome the distance and 45, 5 minutes of lagging behind Hans Stacy. The speedy stone route had not became a serious problem for the Belarusian crews. “Everyone had performed a good work – the racers and the trucks as well. Sergey Vyazovich went with a good speed, but tried not to risk without a clear reason. Such areas are rarely decisive for the race result, but let one silly mistake occur and the crew will pay a high price for it. There was a number of examples when the trucks have been just thrown out the race. The main stages are ahead, that’s why we have to take care of people and trucks before the forthcoming trials”, – was marked by the team. At the same time the sickness of Sergey Vyazovich somehow had affected the team’s performance. Alexader Vasilevskiy’s MAZ truck had passed the turn, and thus lost some time. Besides, while overcoming the narrow part of the road, the truck had touched the tree, and the windscreen was knocked out. The core is that competition for “golden Bedouin” began with the second stage. The first stage was cancelled by the organizers due to extreme weather conditions – heavy rain and zero visibility produced high risk for the crews. Earlier the trucks prolog had been discontinued when the Chinese female racer rushed the crowd of spectators as she failed to handle driving her Mini Cooper – 10 people suffered, 3 of them are in hospital in bad condition. The third stage includes quite small special area (only 190 km) between cities Termas de Rio Hondo and Jujuy. It will be much more speedy, but with mountains areas. As a rule such routes hide a lot of “surprises”. .

Lafayette Journal & Courier / January 1, 2016 The Indiana Department of Transportation will test license plate-tracking technology next year to monitor "unpermitted overweight vehicles," the agency said Tuesday. Officials said INDOT will pilot the technology after an overweight semi passed over Interstate 65's southbound Wildcat Creek bridge in Tippecanoe County. Crews spent three days repairing damage to the structure, finishing on July 1 — about a month before construction on the northbound bridge caused a monthlong detour from Lebanon to Lafayette. To monitor violators, a camera system will work in tandem with one of about a dozen "weight-in-motion" sensors embedded in the asphalt. The sensors weigh vehicles as they travel across Indiana's interstate system, said Scott Manning, strategic communications director for INDOT. When the sensor records an overweight load, the nearby camera — which will be installed on I-94 in LaPorte County — will snap a photo of the violator's license plate, Manning said. Since INDOT is not charged with enforcing laws and the program is only a pilot, Manning said the agency would send an "awareness letter" to rule-breakers. "The intent would be to use what we've learned from the pilot to ultimately get to a state statute standpoint, where we would be able to ... actually send a letter with an accompanying fine," Manning said. If the pilot in LaPorte County is successful, more cameras could be rolled out as INDOT may "recommend legislative changes" to state lawmakers, according to a press release. Kapsch, a company specializing in transportation technology, agreed to provide pilot equipment — which could be installed by spring 2016 — at no cost, Manning said. Once damage to the southbound Wildcat Creek bridge was discovered, the agency "inspected all bridges of similar design" across the state "and found no systemic problems" — except damage to one bridge near downtown Indianapolis, according to a timeline provided by INDOT said Ann Rearick, director of bridges. After repairs were finished, Purdue University and INDOT experts retroactively inspected weight-in-motion data from a sensor in Merrillville to determine a 58-ton truck had likely caused the damage to the bridge when it crossed sometime in May, Rearick said. Trucks weighing more than 40 tons must receive a permit from the state to ensure the load is properly configured; in this case, a single axle on the truck was bearing nearly 72,000 pounds, Rearick said. "It was definitely running illegal, and the load was distributed very poorly," she said. Manning said it's difficult to assign a number to how often overweight trucks drive on Indiana roads, saying in an email that "vehicles can cause both specific damage, like in the case of the I-65 bridge, and accelerated degradation to pavement or structures." A 40-ton truck, for example, causes as much pavement damage as 9,600 cars, according to a press release. The program could keep trucking companies honest, creating a "competitive playing field for businesses that desire to follow state permit rules," the press release states. Manning called the incident a rare occurrence, but noted "there's only going to be more trucks on our roads in the next few decades. "And trucks are carrying more and more weight, so this has the potential to be more of a challenge," he said. "It kind of behooves us to be proactive and address this early." One overweight vehicle could spell trouble for aging state bridges in Tippecanoe County, including one spanning Wildcat Creek on Indiana 26. INDOT announced in October it would replace the bridge— built in 1941 about 3 miles east of I-65 — after inspections revealed its support structure was unsatisfactory. The bridge's deck is rated a five, its superstructure a three and its substructure a four, according to inspection reports from May. Ratings below five indicate a need for repairs or replacement. The May inspections indicate the deck, superstructure and substructure of I-65's north and southbound bridges over Wildcat Creek were rated six, five and four; and six, five and five, respectively. Officials said those ratings haven't changed as of December. When I-65 was reopened in September, ending a 33-mile detour that snarled interstate traffic, the stretch of road became a focal point of efforts to secure funding for improvements to Indiana's aging transportation infrastructure. State Sen. Brandt Hershman, R-Buck Creek, proposed a bill Dec. 10 that would send $418 million now held in reserves for local governments back to those communities for road and bridge improvements. Hershman worked closely with Gov. Mike Pence's office on this bill, which is intended as a counterpart to a plan that will be authored by Sen. Carlin Yoder, R-Middlebury. Hershman's bill, however, funds local roads, where as Yoder's proposed bill would fund state roads, Hershman said. Pence unveiled his $1 billion 21st Century Crossroads plan in October, which would cobble together reserve funds, new spending, trust fund interest and new bonds for state-owned infrastructure improvement. But complicating the issue are nearly 200 recently completed pavement projects that could crumble years ahead of schedule because of critical mistakes contractors made mixing asphalt, according to an investigation by the Indianapolis Star. But Manning noted 95 percent of INDOT inventory is in "fair or better condition." "In order to improve on our metrics in terms of bridge condition and pavement condition," he said, "one of the aspects that we need to be mindful of is making sure the vehicles that use our state network are doing so in compliance."

Iveco on the Podium in Dakar 2016 Stage 2 Iveco Press Release / January 5, 2016 The Dakar Rally finally got underway with the fast-moving Villa Carlos Paz-Termas de Río Hondo section. The Iveco trucks performed very well, with four finishing in the top 10 and one just outside. The Dakar 2016 got underway after the difficulties of the first two days, and was again affected by bad weather, with 90 kilometres having to be cut out of the original route. In spite of the difficult terrain conditions, the Team PETRONAS De Rooy Iveco placed three trucks in the first 10 and one just outside, while first time pilot Team La Gloriosa De Rooy’s pilot Federico Villagra closed in 5th place. The Iveco team got off to a strong start, with Gerard De Rooy’s Iveco Powerstar quickly closing in on title defender Ayrat Mardeev and finishing with the team’s best performance, in third place just 1 minute and 51 seconds from stage winner Hans Stacey. Federico Villagra surprised everyone by dominating the race until past the halfway mark. The Argentine pilot, who was driving the Team La Gloriosa De Rooy's Iveco Powerstar, came in 5th place, followed by Aleš Loprais behind the wheel of his Iveco Powerstar, who was ahead of Ton van Genugten, who crossed the finish line 3 minutes and 40 seconds after the winner. The Spanish pilot Pep Vila stuck with the Kamaz trucks and drove his Iveco Trakker across the finish line to take 12th place, 12 minutes and 8 seconds behind the winner. ​To learn more about Iveco's teams and vehicles and to follow Iveco day-by-day throughout the race, visit www.iveco.com/dakar

From Kim Davis to Oregon, the GOP’s love affair with lawbreakers The Washington Post / January 4, 2015 Ammon Bundy and the other armed militants occupying a federal facility at a wildlife refuge in Oregon have a beef with the administration — the Teddy Roosevelt administration. “It has been provided for us to be able to come together and unite in making a hard stand against this overreach, this taking of the people’s land and resources,” proclaimed Bundy, son of Cliven Bundy, the Nevada rancher who led a similar armed rebellion against the government two years ago. “If we do not make the hard stand, then we will be in a position where we won’t be able to as a people.” But this “taking of the people’s land,” the “overreach” that moved these rebels to take up arms, occurred 108 years ago, when Roosevelt — a Republican president and a great conservationist — established the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, one of 51 such refuges he set aside, “as a preserve and breeding ground for native birds.” So why have the militants chosen this moment, more than a century after the fact, to “unwind all these unconstitutional land transactions,” as Bundy put it? Perhaps it’s because they think the political atmosphere now condones such anti-government activity. You can see why they might think so. Several of the Republican presidential candidates have been encouraging lawbreaking, winking at it or simply looking the other way. A few months ago, Ted Cruz, Mike Huckabee and others rushed to defend Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk jailed for refusing to obey federal law. A federal judge had held her in contempt of court for refusing to recognize same-sex marriages, and the Supreme Court specifically declined to give Davis relief. But Cruz identified her jailing as “judicial tyranny” and said Davis was operating “under God’s authority.” Donald Trump has put at the center of his campaign an extra-constitutional ban on admitting Muslims into the country. Marco Rubio said that if the law conflicts with the Gospel, “God’s rules always win,” and that “we are called to ignore” the government’s authority. Huckabee and Rick Santorum signed a pledge not to “respect an unjust law that directly conflicts with higher law.” Huckabee floated the notion of using federal troops to block people from getting abortions and questioned the Supreme Court’s authority. And, of course, there was the 2014 standoff in which Cliven Bundy, who refused to pay grazing fees for his use of federal land, got support or sympathy from Cruz, Trump, Huckabee, Rand Paul and Ben Carson. Cruz denounced the federal government for “using the jackboot of authoritarianism.” The rancher lost much of his support when he delivered a racist rant. But not all of it: Last summer, Paul had a private meeting with the elder Bundy that the rancher said lasted 45 minutes. As my colleagues Katie Zezima and David Weigel noted, Paul and Cruz have both campaigned to transfer federal lands in the West to private ownership. Flirting with extremists helps conservative candidates harness the prodigious anger in the electorate. A poll released this weekend by NBC, Esquire and Survey Monkey found anger is particularly intense among Republicans: Seventy-seven percent said the news makes them angry at least once a day (compared with 67 percent of Democrats). Seventy-three percent of white Americans are angered daily (vs. 66 percent of Hispanics and 56 percent of African Americans). So when some very angry people led by Ammon Bundy took over the (unoccupied) compound at the wildlife preserve over the weekend, the Republican presidential candidates reacted mostly with silence. A scan of tweets from Republican lawmakers also found nary a peep about the armed takeover of the federal facility. An admirable exception (and one whose low standing proves the rule) was John Kasich, whose strategist John Weaver suggested “a good federal compound for Bundy and his gang: a U.S. penitentiary.” Finally, in a radio interview Monday, Marco Rubio said the militants “cannot be lawless” — though he added that he agrees with their complaints about federal lands. And Cruz, responding to a question, said he hoped Bundy’s gang would “stand down peaceably” because “we don’t have a constitutional right to use force and violence.” That was mild criticism — Bundy had said he has no intention of using violence — but better than the usual wink. As it happens, Cruz also released a TV ad Monday protesting inadequate enforcement of the border. “The rule of law,” he says in the ad, “wasn’t meant to be broken.” That’s a fine sentiment. But to live under the rule of law we must follow all laws — not just those we like.

The Guardian / January 5, 2016 Bernie Sanders sought to rekindle the anger of the Occupy Wall Street movement in a major policy speech in New York on Tuesday that revealed how he would aim to dismantle much of the modern investment banking system within months of taking office. Amid a slew of new pledges were proposals ranging from seizing control of credit rating agencies to turn them into not-for-profits, capping credit card and ATM fees, and preventing banks from earning interest on deposits made at the Federal Reserve. Declaring that the “business model of Wall Street is fraud”, the Democratic presidential hopeful also fleshed out longstanding promises to jail bank executives and introduce a sweeping new transaction tax on speculation. “Greed, fraud, dishonesty and arrogance, these are the words that best describe the reality of Wall Street today,” Sanders told supporters in midtown Manhattan. “To those on Wall Street who may be listening today, let me be very clear. Greed is not good. In fact, the greed of Wall Street and corporate America is destroying the fabric of our nation.” The uncompromising language is a familiar feature of the Vermont senator’s fiery stump speech, but Tuesday’s address included detailed policy proposals for the first time, some of which suggest he would use executive actions rather than wait to achieve consensus in Congress before acting if elected to the White House. Within 100 days of taking office, Sanders said he would require the Treasury Department to compile a “Too-Big-to-Fail list of commercial banks, shadow banks and insurance companies whose failure would pose a catastrophic risk to the United States economy without a taxpayer bailout”. These, he claimed, would then be broken up within a year under existing authority granted to the president under Section 121 of the Dodd-Frank Act. The Vermont senator also stepped up his previously guarded criticism of frontrunner Hillary Clinton, ridiculing her claims to be tough on Wall Street reform and quoting the former labor secretary Rob Reich blasting the secretary of state for “finagling” on the subject. “My opponent says that, as a senator, she told bankers to ‘cut it out’ and end their destructive behavior,” teased Sanders. “But, in my view, establishment politicians are the ones who need to ‘cut it out’.” Earlier in the campaign, Sanders pulled an attack ad accusing Clinton of selling out to Wall Street donors, but his promise to avoid negative campaigning appeared further strained as he reminded the audience of her large speaking fees from bank appearances. “My opponent, Secretary Clinton says that Glass-Steagall [bank reform] would not have prevented the financial crisis because shadow banks like AIG and Lehman Brothers, not big commercial banks, were the real culprits. Secretary Clinton is wrong,” he claimed, pointing to the role of traditional banks in financing the riskiest lending. “Secretary Clinton says we just need to impose a few more fees and regulations on the financial industry. I disagree,” he added. Though Sanders has long stressed that his version of “democratic socialism” should not be seen as wanting to nationalise industries, he also pledged to turn multibillion-dollar credit rating agencies such as Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch into not-for-profit institutions that would have exclusive power to assess the health of corporate debt. “We cannot have a safe and sound financial system if we cannot trust the credit agencies to accurately rate financial products,” he said. “And, the only way we can restore that trust is to make sure credit rating agencies cannot make a profit from Wall Street.” And the senator listed half a dozen prominent cases where he says bank executives unfairly escaped prosecution, claiming it was an outrage that banks had been fined $204bn since 2009 but no one had gone to jail. Sanders also called for a national “usury law” to regulate interest rates charges by lenders. “The Bible has a term for this practice. It’s called usury. And in The Divine Comedy, Dante reserved a special place in the Seventh Circle of Hell for those who charged people usurious interest rates,” he said. “Today, we don’t need the hellfire and the pitchforks, we don’t need the rivers of boiling blood, but we do need a national usury law.” Many of these measures would cause palpations in the business community if ever enacted but mirror the demands of campaigners for financial justice who came to prominence after the 2008 banking crash in so-called Occupy protests across the world. Though Sanders continues to trail Clinton by a large margin in national opinion polls, his top advisers insisted they were “well positioned” in both the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primaries, during a separate briefing call for reporters. “If elected president, I will rein in Wall Street so they can’t crash our economy again,” concluded Sanders in his speech. “Will they like me? No. Will they begin to play by the rules if I’m president? You better believe it.”

Although Sanders is arguably too old to run, he brings a lot of important points to the table (and is clearly genuine). Wall Street.......amounts to being a government-supported scam. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reuters / January 5, 2015 U.S. Democratic presidential candidate and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders warned on Tuesday that financial-sector greed was "destroying the fabric of our nation" and said the starting point of any Wall Street reform effort is breaking up "too big to fail" banks. "If a bank is too big to fail, it is too big to exist; when it comes to Wall Street reform, that must be our bottom line," Sanders said in a blistering speech. He said allowing banks that are too big is essentially providing them with a "free insurance policy" to make risky investments knowing the U.S. government will prevent their collapse. Sanders also called for structural reforms to the Federal Reserve, making credit rating agencies nonprofit entities, and a tax on speculative investments. He urged increased penalties for financial fraud or malfeasance by institutions, calling fraud the business model of Wall Street. His remarks were laced with direct and indirect criticisms of the policies and track record of primary campaign front-runner Hillary Clinton, whose constituency when she was a U.S. senator from New York included the financial industry. The former secretary of state, however, has taken a tougher stance against Wall Street as a presidential candidate. Sanders and Clinton have tussled over the best way to curb the risky behavior on Wall Street that caused the 2008 financial crisis and triggered the worst U.S. economic slump since the Great Depression. Sanders favors breaking up too-big-to-fail banks and reinstating a version of the Glass-Steagall Act, a Depression-era law that prohibited commercial banks from engaging in investment banking activities. Clinton has endorsed an approach that would break up large banks if they take excessive risks. She also believes that reinstating Glass-Steagall, an idea popular with progressive Democrats, would not address the types of institutions that have risen since the law was written in the 1930s. Glass-Steagall's main provisions were repealed in 1999 during the presidency of her husband, Bill Clinton - a fact that Sanders highlighted in his speech. The back-and-forth between Sanders and Clinton over breaking up banks and regulating the so-called shadow banking sector intensified this week, with one of Clinton's top Wall Street advisers, former U.S. financial regulator Gary Gensler, criticizing Sanders as not focusing on regulating non-bank institutions such as hedge funds and insurance companies. Sanders said Tuesday that if elected, "Goldman Sachs and other Wall Street banks will not be represented in my administration." Gensler, before serving as chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission under President Barack Obama and a U.S. Treasury Department official under Bill Clinton, was an investment banker at Goldman Sachs. Former Treasury Secretaries Robert Rubin and Henry Paulson were also Goldman alumni. Sanders highlighted how he has pushed for legislation to reinstate Glass-Steagall alongside Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, a favorite of progressives. He also quoted another progressive icon, former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich, as criticizing Clinton's proposals to regulate Wall Street as too weak. On the Federal Reserve, Sander said it should not pay financial institutions interest for the money they keep at the Fed and that such institutions should instead pay the U.S. central bank a fee. He also said he would not put financial industry executives on the Fed's presidentially appointed board. Individual companies were also name checked by Sanders. He said that JPMorgan Chase & Co, Bank of America Corp and Wells Fargo & Co are nearly 80 percent bigger than when they accepted money from the U.S. government during the 2008 bailout.

But speaking of the museum, please don't forget Colin Chisholm. He's the career Mack man who literally made the Mack Museum......Don came later.

(Ken Burns is a superb narrator)

Relax friend, I posted this article as it covers most of the aspects of a current news event. The Pulitzer Prize-winning Guardian typically does a good job, often digging out details that the dramatics-driven CNN does not (my opinion). Here's another map of interest. Again, one has to dig back into history and read up on the era of Teddy Roosevelt (in my opinion, on of the nation's finest presidents.......and certainly the most colorful). Teddy created huge swathes of federal land (speaking of Yosemite and the Grand Canyon barely scratches the surface), and I'm forever grateful. http://www.nps.gov/thro/learn/historyculture/theodore-roosevelt-and-conservation.htm http://www.nps.gov/thrb/learn/historyculture/trandthenpsystem.htm http://www.pbs.org/nationalparks/people/historical/roosevelt/ .

C'mon, that's an easy one..........Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt. He saved the most beautiful parts of the country from being destroyed by people and companies that lacked the foresight or integrity to preserve America's richest treasures in terms of land. He can't be given enough credit.

Click on the vehicle number for detailed information. Move your pointer over "The Vehicule" for truck specs. http://www.dakar.com/dakar/2016/us/rider/starters-trucks.html#ancre

The armed takeover of a federal government building by the Mormon Bundy brothers reignites the question: Why is the federal Bureau of Land Management continuing to allow the Mormon father of Ammon and Ryan, Cliven Bundy, a million dollar grazing fee exemption? Is the BLM giving a free grazing pass on federal lands to all Mormons? Is there an FBI policy which exempts Mormons from dislodgment of federal government property? Are there any other religious of political groups which also may attack and occupy property owned by the people of the United States of America without consequence? Will government officials continue to call these armed insurrectionists “gunman” instead of “terrorists” because they are Mormon? Richard Ellmyer Portland, Oregon

The Guardian / January 4, 2016 If, in a vacuum, I told you that a bearded man with his head covered had posted a video on social media calling on his followers to leave their homes with weapons, migrate to a new area, take over government property “as long as necessary” and use violence if confronted by law enforcement, you’d probably assume that I was talking about the latest propaganda video released by Isis, filmed in Iraq or Syria and intended to recruit violent Muslim extremists. But that exact call was recently issued on Facebook by white rancher Ammon Bundy, the son of Cliven Bundy who also engaged in an armed standoff with law enforcement in 2014 and who currently owes the government more than $1 million in fees. The younger Bundy’s goal this time was to encourage his fellow American “patriots” to take up arms against the US government in protest of the arson convictions of ranchers Dwight Hammond Jr and his son, Steven. Militia leaders claim approximately 150 followers accepted Ammon Bundy’s call, although reporters on the ground are saying it’s far fewer. The armed men are currently occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Burns, Oregon to, in their words, “assist in helping the people of Harney County claim back their lands and resources”. Ammon Bundy has said that his people won’t “rule out violence” if law enforcement “tries to remove them”. But, don’t worry America: he promised everyone that “we are not terrorists”. What a relief. Of course they’re not “terrorists”: Bundy and his followers are just your average angry white “freedom fighters”, who use weapons and ammunition to protect the US constitution and American values from the government and other Americans who want them to abide by federal laws like everyone else. But if Bundy and his followers were like the 38% of Americans who aren’t white, people across America wouldn’t be watching this surreal, dangerous episode unfold and wondering what they could do to be labeled a “militia” when occupying a federal area with guns instead of “terrorists”, “thugs”, “extremists” or “gangs”. If one black man holding a plastic toy gun even walked in the direction of a federal building, let alone with 150 other black men all holding loaded rifles, he’d be shot dead by law enforcement, no questions asked. If 15 Muslims occupied a 7-Eleven with BB guns and masala Slurpees, federal law enforcement would probably roll up with six MRAPs and immediately take everyone out Waco-style (but without a congressional investigation). We don’t need to racially profile individuals who look like these armed militiamen (white men with bushy beards and beer bellies), but it’s time for mainstream politicians to at least acknowledge and confront this dangerous threat within our borders. Since 9/11, more people in America have been killed by rightwing terror attacks than violent jihadists (48 deaths to 45 deaths). America witnessed an “unprecedented rise” in radical rightwing, anti-government groups after the election of President Barack Hussein Obama. Yet, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) buried an analyst’s early 2009 warning about the growing threat of rightwing terror groups to focus solely on Muslim extremists, caving to conservative pundits who complained the DHS was demonizing rightwing speech by targeting these groups. And although the number of people involved has reduced in the past two years, it has not dampened the level of criminal extremism, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. Such groups, some of whom have been involved in armed hostilities since the report was withdrawn, are also often openly white supremacist, hostile to immigrants, Islamophobic and prone to anti-government conspiracies. In other words, they are not unlike Donald Trump’s base. And while this is the time that we would normally expect calls for all moderate militiamen to stand up and condemn the violent extremism within their midst, don’t hold your breath. Republican Senator and presidential candidate Ted Cruz will probably not ignore political correctness and ask, “How can we defeat radical white terrorism with presidential candidates who refuse to utter the words ‘radical white terrorists?’” Trump, who recently said that he’s in favor of killing the families of terrorists to defeat extremists, will assuredly not apply the same standard to white American “militia” members, even if they do employ the violence they’ve promised. The sad truth is that extremists – both at home and abroad – are often disaffected, frightened and angry people desperately searching for purpose, validation and meaning in a world they feel has left them behind. It’s a sickness that can infect almost anyone, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion or gender. It’s certainly taken hold of Jon Ritzheimer, a US marine veteran involved in the Oregon stand-off . He’s a member of the Three Percenter club, which alleges that their armed and trained members are “defenders of the constitution” willing to “protect our rights against a tyrannical government and foreign invaders”. (Like Bundy, they do not condone any threats or intimidation tactics “unless an action is warranted”.) Ritzheimer also led the armed, anti-Muslim mosque protests earlier this year in Arizona. Before taking over the wildlife refuge, Ritzheimer – like other extremists before him – posted a “goodbye” video for his family rationalizing his actions as defending freedom against a “tyrannical government”. “I didn’t come here to shoot, I came here to die,” echoed another militia member, who identified himself only as “Captain Moroni”. Extremism comes in different colors, ethnicities, beards and head coverings – which is why racial profiling cannot protect us from all extremist violence. Maybe it’s time for politicians and law enforcement to acknowledge inconvenient truths and confront the extremists with “American” names and grievances as they would any other. The security of our homeland – or at least our national wildlife refuges – might depend on it.

PacLease Press Release / January 4, 2016 PacLease Melbourne announced its latest wave of new rental equipment includes the premium Kenworth K200 B-Double rated prime mover which is available to rent on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. The K200 is the flagship B-Double rated prime mover of the rapidly expanding PacLease rental fleet. With its 2.3m sleeper cab, a 15-litre Cummins ISXe5 engine rated to 550 horsepower, mated to an Eaton UltraShift PLUS 18-speed Automated Manual Transmission (AMT), the K200 is ideal for B-Double applications up to 26 metres. Olen Hunter – Director of PacLease Australia, is thrilled to introduce the K200 to the PacLease rental fleet. “The K200 is the benchmark B-Double rated cab-over truck in Australia. With its set forward axle and low tare weight, it provides exceptional payload capacity and productivity,” explained Olen. “This truck has been designed for, and built in Australia and we’re extremely pleased to be able to offer this model to our PacLease customers,” he added. .

Heavy Rains Force Organizers to Cancel Entire Stage Hino Trucks Press Release / January 4, 2016 Hino team pulls together for the longest SS of the rally to be held tomorrow on January 4. January 3, although trucks were scheduled to race on a 258km SS between Rosario and Villa Carlos Paz, the area was met with heavy rainfall which flooded many sections of the course, creating extremely difficult driving conditions. As if that was not enough, the Cordoba Airport nearby had to cancel all arriving and departing flights for a period of time due to thick rain clouds. So at 10:00am, the organizers made the decision to cancel all competition for the day. Bikes and cars, which had already arrived at the SS start point by then, drove on the SS to CP1 and then made their way to paved road. Trucks―which departed later and were on a liaison segment leading up to the SS at the time―were rerouted and headed for the bivouac in Villa Carlos Paz. HINO TEAM SUGAWARA's two HINO500 Series were both at the bivouac by the time the 3:30pm mark had come and gone. While the trucks were dirty from splashed mud, they were―as would be expected―free of any problems. This was the second consecutive day for the Trucks category to have their racing canceled following the prologue run yesterday which was canceled due to an accident in the Cars category. This made for a highly unusual situation where the trucks had not seen any racing in the two days since the start of the race. January 4 is scheduled to feature a 510km SS, the longest SS in this year's rally, heading northward toward Termas de Río Hondo. Although weather forecasts call for possible inclement weather again tomorrow, the crews are keeping their focus, and the team's mechanics are making sure that all inspections and servicing work are completed to a tee. Yoshimasa Sugawara: The rain was unbelievably intense today. So intense that even the wipers had no effect. I think that two straight days of cancelation is quite a rare occurrence in the Dakar Rally. This rally is quite difficult unless the hosting region is stable in terms of political situation, safety, and weather. I'm hoping we can race tomorrow. Mitsugu Takahashi: Today was a disappointment as I was quite psyched as we headed out from Rosario. I am feeling a bit of nervousness as we will be running a 510km SS without much of a lead up. Teruhito Sugawara: There was nothing anybody could do about this. The course today would get very slippery when wet, perhaps due to the soil's characteristics, and can be quite dangerous. Right now, I'm focused on tomorrow. The last thing I want to do is become impatient or numb out. Hiroyuki Sugiura: Today's cancelation was a letdown. We left at 10:00 and were already at the bivouac by 3:30pm. I do feel a bit of apprehension in terms of navigation among other things for the 500km we will be running tomorrow. Related reading - http://www.hino-global.com/dakar/latest_news/PD16-12.html

David Giroux, director of corporate communication and public relations for Daimler Trucks North America, released the following statement: "Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) provided Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (“WARN”) to plant employees and Bargaining Unit representatives regarding a planned reduction in force of approximately 936 workers at the Cleveland Truck Manufacturing Plant. This workforce adjustment will be effective on March 5, 2016; however, the impacted employees’ last day of work will be Friday, January 8, 2016. Employees will receive payment in lieu of the notice period at each employee’s regular rate of pay, and employees are free to seek and accept other employment during the notice period without jeopardizing their entitlement to the WARN period payment or benefits. DTNA’s WARN Act notification is due to a sustained reduction in orders and a diminished build rate and is considered temporary. "The Cleveland Truck Manufacturing Plant is located in Cleveland, North Carolina and manufactures heavy-duty Freightliner and Western Star trucks. The facility presently employs approximately 3,100 workers, which will be reduced to approximately 2,200 after the temporary adjustment. DTNA is reducing output by one-third at the Cleveland Facility in anticipation of a softer North American truck market in 2016, which will be somewhat below the very strong market of 2015. "DTNA has no further comment on the layoffs."

Freightliner to cut nearly 1,000 jobs at NC truck plant The Charlotte Observer / January 4, 2016 Almost 1,000 workers are being laid off from a North Carolina Freightliner truck manufacturing plant in a move the company believes will be temporary until demand increases. The division of Daimler Trucks North America said Monday the layoffs of about 940 workers will leave about 2,200 employees at its Cleveland heavy-truck plant. Laid-off workers will receive pay and benefits for nearly two months after the cuts take effect Friday. Federal law requires big employers to provide a two-month notice ahead of mass layoffs. The company said in May it would add more than 600 jobs and a third production shift at its plant in nearby Mount Holly, which makes Freightliner medium-duty trucks. Daimler Trucks is a division of Stuttgart, Germany-based Daimler AG. Its U.S. corporate headquarters is in Portland, Oregon.

Charlotte Business Journal / January 4, 2016 Freightliner will lay off almost 1,000 workers from its Rowan County heavy truck factory in a move the company says is temporary. Freightliner owner Daimler Trucks North America says the layoffs will cut the 3,100-member work force at the Cleveland plant by 936. It will also reduce the plant’s output of heavy-duty Freightliner and Western Star trucks by one-third. The layoffs are due to "a sustained reduction in orders and diminished build rate," DTNA wrote in a letter delivered to the N.C. Department of Commerce. The N.C. Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice was dated Dec. 31. A news release issued Monday by DTNA says the cuts are “in anticipation of a softer North American truck market in 2016, which will be somewhat below the very strong market of 2015,” writes DTNA spokesman David Giroux. The layoffs are effective Friday, but employees will be paid for the work missed from Friday until the 60-day WARN notice deadline, which is early March, says Giroux, who is based at DTNA’s Portland, Ore., headquarters. Assemblers will be the biggest hit among the job classifications at the DTNA plant in the Rowan County town of Cleveland. The list says 666 assembler jobs will be cut. Next up for job cuts is a classification called “utility team member,” which will see 107 jobs eliminated. Combined with two other plants in the Charlotte area and a Fort Mill administrative center, DTNA employees more than 6,000 in the area. Freightliner employment has fluctuated as the company faced constraints ranging from a shortage of truck drivers to a downturn in truck sales. Before this layoff, DTNA was approaching a record number for Charlotte-area employees. See the layoff notice here.

Iveco Press Release / December 30, 2015 Team Petronas De Rooy Iveco announces its participation in the next edition of the world’s most famous off-road rally. Four Iveco vehicles will take on the extreme terrains on the South American route. Two of these will be driven by pilots new to the Iveco Teams: Aleš Loprais and Anton Van Genugten for Team Petronas De Rooy Iveco. In addition, Gerard De Rooy has prepared a truck for a local Team, La Gloriosa De Rooy Iveco. The vehicle will be driven by the Argentinean pilot Federico Villagra, well known as “El Coyote”, who will run with the support of Iveco Argentinean dealers. Iveco is back in the legendary Dakar off-road rally as official supporter of Team Petronas De Rooy Iveco. Four Iveco rally trucks – two Powerstar and two Trakker - will compete in the 2016 Dakar (3-16 January), supported by seven Iveco service vehicles. The 38th edition of the world’s most famous endurance rally will once again be hosted in South America. Starting in Argentina’s capital city of Buenos Aires on January 3rd, 9,000 km route will be raced against the clock, through Argentina and Bolivia. Team Petronas De Rooy Iveco is composed of the Dutch leader, Gerard De Rooy, Spaniard Josep Vila Roca and two new entries, the Czech pilot Aleš Loprais and Anton Van Genugten from the Netherlands. De Rooy is the designated pilot of the first Iveco Powerstar (sleeper-cab version) and leads the team. Dutch-born De Rooy is no stranger to the race, having won the truck category in 2012 driving an Iveco Powerstar, and taken a closely-fought second place two years ago. His co-pilot, Moi Torralardona, is an expert navigator and has co-piloted many important Dakar pilots. He and De Rooy tested their working relationship at the recent Rally of Morocco. A second Powerstar will be driven by Czech pilot Aleš Loprais, one of the Team’s new pilots who has a reputation for speed. Aleš, nephew of 6-time winner of the Paris-Dakar Karel Loprais, is a candidate for victory in the Dakar 2016. Marco Alcayna Ferran, a professional navigator and one of the strongest members of the team, will co-pilot. Anton van Genugten, the second new driver in the team, is a regular rally pilot. He was chosen by the team to drive the Iveco Trakker carrying spare parts throughout the race. He works as a truck driver, which makes him ideal for this transport job. Anton van Limpt, his faithful navigator for many years, will co-pilot him on this first time on an Iveco rally truck as part of a highly organized team. Josep Vila Roca, one of the most expert Dakar drivers, will pilot the second Iveco Trakker. A highly competitive, capable and reliable driver, he has participated in many Dakar races, achieving his best result in the Dakar 2011 with a 5th position. His co-pilot will be Xavi Roqeta Colome, an expert Catalan navigator. For the 2016 edition, Iveco will also support a new local team - La Gloriosa De Rooy Iveco - created by the famous Argentinean rally and car raid pilot Federico Vilagra, who is well known as “El Coyote”. He will drive an Iveco Powerstar – prepared by Gerard De Rooy - in the Dakar 2016, which will be the first time for him in the truck category. He tested the truck in Morocco last October for the first time, achieving a remarkable performance. Jorge Perez Companc, expert navigator and Argentina Rally Champion in 2005, will co-pilot. He is a regular of the Dakar Rally, having participated in all races since 2000. Also sponsors of the two teams in the Dakar 2016 are FPT Industrial, the CNH Industrial brand that designs and manufactures powertrains for on-road, off-road, marine and power generation applications, and OK Trucks, the brand of pre-owned vehicles certified by Iveco. Iveco's race vehicles – Strength - Reliable Performance – Endurance The vehicles have been purpose-built by Iveco for the 2016 Dakar: three Iveco Powerstars and two Iveco Trakker day cabs, manufactured in Spain. In addition to the rally trucks, six support and assistance Trakkers (one 4x4, four 6x6s and one 8x8) and one 7-tonne Daily Van will complete the line-up, providing transport and fulfilling logistical needs for the 20-strong team of mechanics. The Iveco Trakker, whose versions range from 18 to 70 tonnes, is a vehicle designed to cope with 3 extreme off-road conditions; its new, Stralis-based cabin, is the result of proactive input from both dealers and end-users. From the very start it was engineered to improve drivability and on-board comfort, both essential elements for productivity and safety at work. The Trakker blends strength and reliability with the comfort of new Stralis AD and AT cabs. The Trakker range is available in both left and right-hand drive, and allows for the tailoring of each version to a specific requirement, thanks to the Iveco Cursor 13 engines and 2 cabins (Hi-Land and Hi-Track). Rigid truck versions are available in 4x2, 4x4, 6x4, 6x6, 8x4 and 8x8 configurations with power ratings of 380, 420 or 440hp. Tractor versions are available in 4x2, 4x4, 6x4 and 6x6 configurations. Perfect for the most extreme off-road conditions, but equally at home with normal road use, Trakkers can be specified to optimise payload and fuel consumption. The challenging terrain and all-weather conditions that the Iveco trucks will endure during the 9,000 km South American route will suit the versatility and strength of the product. The Iveco Cursor 13 engines - specifically prepared for the race by FPT Industrial at its R&D centre in Arbon, Switzerland - known for their power and durability, will be driving Iveco’s campaign for further success in the Dakar rally. Characterized by fast load response, especially at low rpm, the 6 cylinder 13 liter units, consist of more than 70% standard Euro VI hardware, complimented with hand-picked components from FPT's industrial and marine range engines. The 2016 Dakar and Iveco ‘Live’ news 2016 is a record-breaking year for the Dakar with a total of 354 vehicles (55 trucks, 110 cars, 143 motorcycles, 46 quad bikes,), 556 competitors and 60 nationalities (including Assistance). Iveco will keep fans up-to-date throughout the rally on www.iveco.com/dakar Photo gallery - https://www.flickr.com/photos/iveco/

Fleet Owner / January 4, 2016 Engine maker says its complete lineup of on-highway diesel and natural gas engines now meet Phase II greenhouse gas (GHG) fuel-efficiency standards, which take effect in January 2017. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has certified that the complete lineup of Cummins on-highway diesel and natural gas engines meet the Phase II in greenhouse gas (GHG) and fuel-efficiency standards, which take effect in January 2017, according to the OEM. That “complete lineup” encompasses engine platforms ranging from 5.0 liters to 15 liters, noted Amy Boerger, VP-sales and support at Cummins, in a statement. "For example, efficiency improvements implemented in the 2016 ISX15 400 to 475 horsepower ratings will provide customers with fuel economy gains over the 2013 ISX15 ranging from 2.5% on the base engine up to 7.5% with a SmartAdvantage Powertrain with ADEPT features," she said. Boerger added that Cummins made a range of improvements to its engines in 2014 and 2015 to comply with the 2017 rules. That includes: - Meeting on-board diagnostics (OBD) requirements with enhanced monitors, ensuring that exhaust tailpipe emissions stay within the EPA limits; - Adding a new particulate matter (PM) sensor; - Enhanced electronic controls in order to better interact with the diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) quality sensors on DEF tanks. Boerger also noted that Cummins plans to incorporate further enhancements to improve performance, reliability and efficiency throughout 2016. Related reading - http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/index.php?/topic/41428-oems-cummins-disagree-on-separate-ghg-engine-standard/?hl=ghg