kscarbel2

A former Senate Intelligence Committee chairman.........do you think he'd know something? http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/14/world/middleeast/florida-ex-senator-pursues-claims-of-saudi-ties-to-sept-11-attacks.html http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/bob-grahams-push-for-disclosure-on-saudoi-arabia-and-911-enters/2240999 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- US embassy cables: Hillary Clinton says Saudi Arabia 'a critical source of terrorist funding' http://www.theguardian.com/world/us-embassy-cables-documents/242073 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alastair-crooke/isis-wahhabism-saudi-arabia_b_5717157.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-yousaf-butt-/saudi-wahhabism-islam-terrorism_b_6501916.html

The wealthy GCC countries of the Arab League don’t want to take in their Muslim brothers in need, considering them to be undesirables. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ On September 2, Kuwaiti official Fahad al-Shalami explained why the Gulf Cooperation Council countries* refuse to accept refugees. * Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates “Kuwait and the other Gulf Cooperation Council countries are too valuable to accept any refugees. Our countries are only fit for [migrant] workers. It's too costly to relocate them [the refugees] here. Kuwait is too expensive for them anyway, as opposed to Lebanon and Turkey, which are cheap. They are better suited for the Syrian refugees. In the end, it is not right for us to accept a people that are different from us. We don't want people that suffer from internal stress and trauma in our country.” Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZbCK95Zu_0

Want to be a big Syria supporter and raise that country’s flag? Then go back to Syria. While you’re there, you can help fight for that country which apparently still holds your unwavering patriotism. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Allentown's Syrian community asks why city rejected Syrian flag-raising permit Lehigh Valley Live / April 2, 2015 Members of Allentown's Syrian community filled city council chambers Wednesday wanting to know why their Syrian flag-raising permit has been denied for a second year. Aziz Wehbey, president of the American Amarian Syrian Charity Society in Catasauqua, said members of the city's Syrian community have been holding an annual flag raising ceremony since 1974 to honor Syria's independence from France. The flag raising is held April 17, and organizers asked the city to hold the ceremony in the plaza outside city hall at Fourth and Hamilton streets. The city has denied the permit the last two years, which Wehbey argues is discriminatory against the Syrian community, considering the city allows other similar ceremonies. The brief ceremony was instead held in Catasauqua last year, and Whitehall Township officials said this year they would welcome the ceremony, Wehbey said. City officials reportedly denied the permit last year after a stabbing occurred during a protest against the Syrian government, according to Wehbey. He said many local Syrians support President Bashar al-Assad. Wehbey and Tino Babayn, who said he contacted the mayor's office after the permit was denied this year, said the administration rejected the permit this year, citing a list maintained by the U.S. State Department. City Managing Director Fran Dougherty declined comment, deferring to a statement from city spokesman Mike Moore. "Syria has been designated a state sponsor of terrorism by the U.S. State Department," Moore said in the statement, adding flag-raising ceremonies have not been held in recent years at city hall. "The city of Allentown does not raise flags of countries that are on that list at city hall." The other countries on the list cited by city hall include Cuba, Iran and Sudan. Babayn noted Syria has been on the list since 1979 and that city mayors, including Mayor Ed Pawlowski, have attended previous Syrian flag-raising ceremonies. Nidal Yacoub, of Whitehall Township, said those in attendance Wednesday were not there to talk about politics. The Syrian flag represents Syria, which the local community has been celebrating for years before the current regime was in power, he said. Ernie Atiyeh said Wednesday was the first time he heard about the permit being denied and that he was appalled by a decision that segregates the Syrian community. "God rest his soul, I'm glad my father's not here to hear this," Atiyeh said. City council did not comment on the issue. City council President Ray O'Connell said after the meeting that he respected everyone's concerns, but doubted there was little city council could do about the permit. "The administration has made a decision and it's their decision to make," he said.

Scania Group Press Release / November 23, 2015 The reigning Young European Truck Driver, Denmark’s Lars Søndergård, has received his prize – a Scania R 580 V8 specified to his requirements with a special focus on road safety and fuel efficiency. In April, Lars Søndergård, from Tørring on Jutland in Denmark, was crowned Young European Truck Driver 2014/2015 and was awarded a truck of his choice at a value of 100,000 euros. He was quick to decide on a Scania V8. First-hand experience In October, Søndergård visited Scania’s production facilities in Södertälje, Sweden, to follow his prize, an R 580 V8, through production. At the production site he got to be the first person to start the engine. Finally, on 13 November, he picked up his V8 truck equipped to his own detailed specifications, including the YETD logotype painted on the cab. Road safety features When specifying his new truck, Søndergård paid special attention to safety features, such as a rear-view camera on the vehicle’s right-hand side. He also decided on an Ecolution by Scania contract to reduce its environmental impact and fuel consumption. The truck is the first V8 and the third vehicle in the fleet of Søndergård’s company, Aale Vognmandsforretning (Aale Transport Company). Trained service technician The truck was handed over at a ceremony at Scania’s dealership in Vejle, Denmark, attended by some 50 people, including family, friends, press and media. Søndergård is a trained service technician with 11 years of experience driving trucks.

You are exactly right. They are meeting the new demand for "low cost trucks". (http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/index.php?/topic/42789-china-india-africa-and-indonesia-expected-to-boost-sales-of-mid-market-value-trucks/)

Pregnant mother gunned down by thieves Associated Press / November 23, 2015 Authorities charged two young men with murder on Monday in the fatal shooting of a pastor's pregnant wife during a home invasion in Indianapolis. Amanda Blackburn, 28, was found partially nude, with her underwear nearby and her shirt pulled up, lying in a pool of blood on her living room floor. She died the next day. Her husband, Pastor Davey Blackburn, told police he had left the home's front door unlocked when he departed about 6 a.m. that morning to go to the gym and work out and returned home about 8:20 a.m. to find his wounded wife. The couple's 15-month-old son, Weston, was at home upstairs in a crib but was not harmed in the attack. Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry identified the two men charged with murder as Larry Jo Taylor Jr., 18, and Jalen E. Watson, 21, both of Indianapolis, who face murder, burglary, theft and several other charges. Taylor shot Blackburn three times, including once in the back of the head. Watson also faces a murder charge because Blackburn was killed during a burglary in which prosecutors allege that he was involved. Authorities have not confirmed whether Blackburn, who was 13 weeks pregnant, had been sexually assaulted even though she was found partially nude. The two men entered the house that morning after they had robbed two other homes, including one in the same neighborhood. A third man involved in the burglaries remained outside in a Chrysler Sebring stolen from the first home burglarized that day. That man has [oddly] not yet been charged in the crimes, but Curry said he is being held on a parole violation in an unrelated case. After the pair entered the Blackburn home, Watson left Taylor behind and drove away to ATMs in the stolen Sebring to try to use Blackburn's debit card to withdraw money. Taylor told Watson and others that he had killed Blackburn, and shot her the first time after she charged at him. He said he shot her in the upper body "so he would not be scratched" as she approached. The first significant break in the case came when DNA on a pink sweater stolen from a home near the Blackburn residence was found to match Watson's genetic profile in a national DNA database called CODIS. That sweater was found in the Sebring, which authorities said was used to move items taken during the burglaries. Watson was released from prison August 6 after completing his second sentence for burglary within the past three years. Taylor also faces misdemeanor public nudity and public indecency charges stemming from an unrelated June incident where he allegedly exposed himself to a woman in a parking lot. .

U.S. issues global travel warning, sees 'increased terrorist threats' Reuters / November 23, 2015 The U.S. State Department issued a worldwide travel alert on Monday warning U.S. citizens of the risks of traveling because of what it described as "increased terrorist threats." "Current information suggests that (Islamic State), al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, and other terrorist groups continue to plan terrorist attacks in multiple regions," the department said in a warning posted on its website. http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/alertswarnings/worldwide-caution.html

Reuters / November 23, 2015 Big Business-controlled government is all politically-correct talk and no action U.S. politicians condemned Pfizer Inc's deal with Allergan Plc as a tax dodge on Monday, bringing another round of hand-wringing in Washington over the corporate tax code, though legislative action before 2017 is unlikely. Democrats heaped the most criticism on the New York-based drug maker, with Hillary Clinton accusing Pfizer of using legal loopholes to avoid its "fair share" of taxes in a deal that she said "will leave U.S. taxpayers holding the bag." The front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination said she will propose steps to prevent more inversions, but she did not provide details. "We cannot delay in cracking down on inversions that erode our tax base," said Clinton. Republican front-runner Donald Trump, who has called for a corporate tax overhaul, called the deal "disgusting." Pfizer is doing the largest inversion deal of all time. In a $160-billion transaction, it plans to move its tax address from the United States to Ireland, if only on paper, by buying and merging into Allergan, a smaller, Dublin-based competitor. The combined company will be called Pfizer and will be run by Pfizer's CEO, with executive management staying in New York and extensive operations across the United States, but it will no longer be taxed as a U.S. company. More than 50 similar deals have been done over three decades by well-known companies such as Medtronic Plc, Fruit of the Loom and Ingersoll Rand Plc. Congressional researchers have estimated inversions, left unchecked, will cost the U.S. Treasury nearly $20 billion in the next 10 years. The White House declined to comment on Pfizer's deal, but a spokesman told reporters in a briefing that Congress should take action to prevent more such transactions. The U.S. Treasury Department last week unveiled new rules to clamp down on inversions, its second attempt to do so since a wave of deals peaked in September 2014. But, the latest rules amounted to tweaks of existing law and will not impede the Pfizer-Allergan transaction. Senator Bernie Sanders, Clinton's chief rival for the Democratic nomination, said the deal "would allow another major American corporation to hide its profits overseas." Perhaps anticipating the deal would draw fire, Pfizer CEO Ian Read sent a letter on Monday to senior senators. The letter said, "We will maintain our global operational headquarters in New York City. At the time we close the transaction, we will have over 40,000 employees across 25 states ... We will be gaining greater access to resources that will enable us to make significant investments in the U.S." TAPING OFFSHORE ABROAD Pfizer holds about $74 billion in profits offshore that, thanks to another loophole, it has not brought into the United States to avoid paying the taxes due under America's worldwide corporate tax system. As an Irish-domiciled company, it will have less costly access to those funds. Representative Tom Price, one of few congressional Republicans to comment on Monday, said more Treasury regulations will not solve the inversions problem. "The only real solution to curbing inversions is tax reform," he said. But Congress, divided over fiscal issues, is widely seen as unlikely to tackle a tax overhaul before the 2016 elections. “Pfizer built their business on the back of our research and development tax incentives, our federally supported medical research, our skilled workforce, and our infrastructure," said Democratic Representative Rosa DeLauro. "We cannot continue to allow Pfizer and other corporations to pretend that they are American while reaping the benefits this country has to offer, yet claiming to be another nationality when the tax bill comes," she said. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Related reading: US hands foreign companies tax advantage The Financial Times / September 25, 2014 Now the Obama administration is making it easier for foreign companies to takeover U.S. companies. The U.S. government has handed foreign companies an advantage over American rivals because they will not be caught by new rules governing access to offshore cash. U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew went so far as to praise cross-border mergers done for business reasons for “encouraging foreign investment to flow into the United States”. Mr. Lew is thrilled that U.S. companies are being acquired by overseas aggressors, resulting in the ongoing demise of America’s once world-leading industrial base, so long as foreign investment flows into the U.S. The US has proposed new rules to discourage controversial mergers known as “inversions”, which American companies have used in part to gain tax-free access to earnings parked outside the U.S. The US Treasury, referring to measures that make it harder to access offshore cash, says their actions are specifically targeted to inverted companies. They will not apply to foreign companies that acquire a U.S. business and its cash pile. As a result of the measures, a US company’s offshore cash would become cheaper to access if it were acquired by a European rival than if the US company did an inversion. Obviously, it shouldn’t matter whether the new corporate structure comes in the form of a new foreign acquirer or an inverted transaction. The fact is, there is attempted avoidance of US tax on the offshore earnings either way. It’s no wonder the Treasury’s targeted steps have been praised by the Organization for International Investment, a trade group for foreign businesses in the US. US companies are asking: “If we invert, why should we be at a competitive disadvantage to a foreign multinational that acquires a US company and is not subject to these inversion rules?”

Ahmed Mohamed: 'Clock boy' seeks $15 million from city and school BBC / November 23, 2015 A boy who was arrested for taking a homemade clock to class is seeking $15 million from his city and school. Ahmed Mohamed, 14, was held by police and suspended from his school in Texas because his teacher mistook the clock for a bomb. His lawyer said that the incident sparked threats against the teenager and left him deeply traumatized. The Muslim teenager and his family have since moved to Qatar, having accepted a full scholarship from the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development. His lawyers are asking for $10 million from the city of Irving, Texas and $5 million from the Irving Independent School District, saying that Ahmed was "publically mistreated" and remains scarred. In addition to the compensation they want an apology, saying that in the aftermath of the arrest, he received threatening emails and feared for his safety, causing "severe psychological trauma". The lawyers will file a civil action suit if the school does not comply within 60 days, they said. "Irving Police officials immediately determined that the clock was harmless. The only reason for the overreaction was that the responsible adults involved irrationally assumed that Ahmed was dangerous because of his race, national origin and religion," the lawyers wrote in a letter to the City of Irving. Ahmed told reporters at the time it was "very sad" that his teacher thought his clock was a threat. His arrest was sharply criticized, and he received an outpouring of support including an invitation to the White House. He also met Google co-founder Sergey Brin and officials from Turkey, Sudan and Jordan. Officials defended their decision, saying they were only concerned with the safety of students. TIME Magazine named Ahmed among its "30 Most Influential Teens of 2015" list. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- “The people at the school thought it might be a bomb, perhaps because it looks exactly like a ......bomb.”

Some good info that can further enlighten the average American, who otherwise, is unaware, The White House feels the Muslim Brotherhood is a tolerable entity it can deal with, as opposed to the more violent. Good luck with that. Saudi Arabia is against any other Muslim entity that could unseat their control in the region.

Through decontenting, the North American market truck has been evolving into a value truck. Aside from the prerequisite EPA2010-required powertrain, they have become a much cheaper truck. The new cheaper-for-Paccar shared cab is one example.

Vlad, we feel the individual cylinder head design of our V-8 makes it far easier, faster and cheaper to service. And, the current V-8 shares many common parts with our in-line engine.

http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/index.php?/topic/40316-mack-introduces-new-lr-refuse-chassis/?hl=lr

Florida man executes his 5-month-old twin babies Associated Press / November 18, 2015 On Friday, police say, 28-year old Gawain Rushane Wilson shot Megan Hiatt, 22, their five-month-old twins, Hayden Rose and Kayden Reese Hiatt, and Hiatt’s father, Travis James Hiatt, before turning the gun on himself at his home in Jacksonville, Florida. Wilson forced Hiatt to hold their twin babies while he shot them. Megan Hiatt, who is currently in critical but stable condition, was the only survivor. Hiatt was shot and lost part of a breast. Police were called about 4 p.m. Friday and said they found bodies throughout the home on Shirley Oaks Drive in Oceanway. On Saturday, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office identified those killed as twin babies Hayden and Kayden Hiatt, 49-year-old Travis James Hiatt (pictured below), and the gunman, 28-year-old Gawain Rushane Wilson. Wilson had a criminal history of domestic violence. He pleaded no contest to domestic battery charges in 2013 and was sentenced to one year of probation and was ordered to take a batterer’s intervention program. The victim in that case said Wilson choked her and threw her on a bed. Last year, Wilson was accused of domestic violence in another incident with a different woman. He was served with a domestic violence injunction ordering him to keep away from that victim.

Texas man murders 6 people Reuters / November 19, 2015 A Texas man was charged on Thursday with killing six people, including a child, at an east Texas campsite over the weekend, prosecutors said. William Hudson, 33, was charged with six counts of capital murder. No motive has been released for the killings. Carl Johnson, 76, and his daughter Hannah Johnson, 40, were found shot to death in a travel trailer on private property in Palestine, 100 miles (160 km) southeast of Dallas. Police said the land belonged to Hannah's boyfriend Thomas Kamp, 46, whose body was found submerged in a pond behind Hudson's residence along with Hannah's 6-year-old son, Kade, and Kamp's two sons, Austin, 21, and Nathan, 23. Hudson, whose family owns the property adjacent to the campsite, befriended the group during the weekend and helped pull a vehicle out of the mud with his tractor, according to police. The tractor was later found with blood stains on it. Johnson's wife, Cynthia, survived the killings by hiding in the woods for several hours before she was able to call for help and describe the suspect to officers, police said. Hudson's bond is currently set at $2.5 million, according to jail records. .

Houston mother stabs 2-month-old baby to death Associated Press / November 17, 2015 Police have charged Rochelle Brown, 28, with capital murder in the stabbing death of her 2-month-old son Levi Thornton-Smith. She is being held without bond. Brown threw the baby on the bed and returned with a knife. The baby was stabbed several times in the torso. According to court documents, Brown's sister tried to stop her from stabbing the child but was overpowered. Houston police arrived at her apartment in the 10100 block of Windmill Lakes Blvd around 2 a.m. Tuesday. Police say they found knives and the infant boy in the living room with multiple stab wounds. Brown is the mother of two other children aged 5 and 8 years old. .

Missouri 8th-graders stab woman to death at car wash, prop her body up for joyride Associated Press / November 13, 2015 Two Missouri teenagers fatally stabbed a woman while she was vacuuming her car and then went on a joyride with her dead body propped up in the front seat. The two boys, 13 and 14, stabbed 43-year-old Tanya Chamberlain in the face, neck, chest and hands on November 1 while she was at a local car wash vacuuming her vehicle. The teens then took off in the vehicle with Chamberlain's dead body propped up in the front seat with her feet on the dashboard. Police pulled over the swerving vehicle about 20 minutes later for what seemed like intoxicated driving. The boys fled from the vehicle and police lost sight of both of them after a brief foot pursuit. Inside the car, cops found a blood-covered pocket knife, possibly wrapped in Chamberlain's hair, in the backseat. Surveillance video shows the eighth-graders exiting Quick Clean Car Wash wearing distinct hoodies that would later help police identify them as suspects. After police released the surveillance footage, neighbors and parents of classmates were able to identify the boys as students at Bernard C. Campbell Middle School in Lee's Summit, a suburb of Kansas City. It has not been determined if the boys will be charged as adults or juveniles. .

Boy, 8, beat baby to death to stop her crying AFP / November 11, 2015 An eight-year-old boy beat a baby girl to death to stop her crying while her mother was out partying at a nightclub, US police said Wednesday, charging him with murder. The boy was one of several children left alone for hours in a Birmingham, Alabama home last month, in what experts said was a rare case of a child so young being prosecuted. "Since becoming a police officer over 22 years ago, this is by far one of the saddest cases I have witnessed in my career," said Birmingham police spokesman Lieutenant Sean Edwards. The incident happened at the home of a friend of the baby's mother, whom police have identified as 26-year-old Katerra Lewis. She has been charged with manslaughter over what Edwards called "reckless" actions. Police said Lewis left her one-year-old, Kelci, together with several children aged two to eight, while she and her friend went out to a nightclub. The children -- six in total, were left unsupervised while Lewis and the friend were gone from roughly 11:00 pm until 2:00 am. "It is believed that while the mother and friend were at the club, the eight-year-old viciously attacked the one-year-old because the one-year-old would not stop crying," police said. "The one-year-old suffered from severe head trauma as well as major internal organ damage which ultimately led to her death." The mother told police on the morning of October 11, a Sunday, that she found the baby unresponsive in her crib. The girl was treated at the scene by first responders and was later pronounced dead at a children's hospital. "This type of behavior, this type of irresponsibility on behalf of a parent is totally unacceptable," Edwards said of Lewis. "No education, no school, no degree, no training can really prepare you for an eight-year-old committing a heinous crime like this." The mother was released on $15,000 bail.. .

7-year-old girl raped and murdered at Kentucky football game Associated Press / November 21, 2015 Police in Kentucky arrested on Friday a married father of five in the death of 7-year-old Gabriella Doolin whose body was found in a creek during a football game. Doolin was reported missing around 7.40pm Saturday by her mother while they were at a football game at Allen County-Scottsville High School in south-central Kentucky. A search began, and Gabriella's lifeless body was found about 25 minutes later in a creek in a wooded area behind the high school. Timothy Madden, a 38-year-old construction worker, was arrested by Kentucky State Police Friday morning. He was charged with kidnapping resulting in the victim’s death, rape, sodomy and murder of Gabriella "Gabbi" Doolin, and is being held in lieu of a $1 million bond. The Associated Press reported that Gabriella Doolin became separated from her mother in a crowd at a football game on Saturday evening (November 14). Her mother immediately reported the 7-year-old child missing. After calling the child's name over the facility loudspeakers several times without results, the football game was suspended and a search was conducted by everyone in attendance. The child's body was found within 25 minutes. A police report lists Gabriella Doolin's cause of death was strangulation and drowning. Timothy Madden's DNA collected during the investigation matched that recovered from the child during the autopsy. Update: The oldest son of child murderer Timothy Madden has been arrested for making threats to police after his father was taken into custody. Bradley Madden, 20, warned Scottsville, Kentucky, police that he was "coming for you" — among the private messages he sent to the department's Facebook page, Scottsville Police Chief Jeff Pearson said Tuesday. The messages started last Saturday, the day after his father, Timothy Madden, 38, of Scottsville, was arrested by Kentucky State Police on murder, kidnapping, first-degree rape and first-degree sodomy charges in the death of Gabriella Doolin. The messages with obscene comments and threats continued until Monday, Pearson said. Another message from Bradley Madden said: "If u book my dad in and he does life u will do life watching ur back." .

California man crushes baby to death Associated Press / November 21, 2015 A California man has been found guilty of murdering a baby girl by stepping on her. He told prosecutors that he felt a sense of relief after murdering the baby. Daniel Ruiz of Hesperia killed one-year-old Scarlett by placing his foot on her chest and crushing her with the force of his 230-pound bulk while the baby's mother was out buying milk. After crushing the baby, Ruiz flipped through channels on the television while Scarlett struggled desperately to breathe. “The defendant stated that he actually felt better after stepping on the victim, as he sat there watching television,” Lead Deputy District Attorney Kathleen DiDonato said in a statement. “The whole time, Scarlett was behind him, lying on the floor trying to catch her breath. Fighting for her life.” Ruiz had just gotten home from work on Aug. 28, 2013 when Scarlett's mother and Ruiz's girlfriend asked him to watch the baby. Scarlett was propped up on a pillow on the floor when Ruiz committed the act that would end her life. “Scarlett began gasping for breath," the statement reads. She then had what appeared to be a seizure. When the mother returned home, Ruiz told her the child was having a seizure but that he didn't know why. The women were gone no longer than 45 minutes. Ruiz later told police what he'd done. The 25-year-old was convicted Thursday on one count each of Second Degree Murder and Assault on a Child Causing Death. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Jan. 15, 2016 in Victorville Superior Court. He faces 25 years to life in prison. .

Pregnant New York woman murdered, baby cut from womb Associated Press / November 21, 2015 A baby was cut from the womb of a 22-year-old woman who was nearly nine months pregnant by a childhood friend with a knife, and the suspect was arrested on a murder charge. Angelikque Sutton was found in a pool of blood on Friday at an apartment in the Wakefield section of the Bronx. The suspect, 22-year-old Ashleigh Wade, was taken into custody while screaming that the baby was hers. She was being held on murder, manslaughter and weapons charges. The bloody crime scene baffled investigators, who ordered blood tests to confirm that the baby girl, named Genesis, belonged to Sutton, not the suspect. Detectives discovered a knife and placenta in the blood-spattered apartment building when they responded to an emergency call from the Wade's boyfriend, who had been called to the scene. The newborn was in good condition Saturday at a hospital, however Sutton died Friday evening. Her boyfriend said the couple was supposed to be married on Friday and had been together for eight years, according to the Daily News of New York. Briefed on the case by investigators, City Councilman Andy King said the victim had been strangled then stabbed.

The U.S. media is now shining a big spotlight on the Syrian refugee debate. Supposedly, U.S.-bound Syrians are actual refugees, and not economic migrants the likes of what’s showing up on Europe’s door from countries other than Syria (4 out of 5 are not from Syria). Much of the debate is over why the U.S. should take refugees when Middle East countries for the most part are not. Arab League (and Gulf Cooperation Council) members Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and the UAE have reportedly not taken in any refugees. These Gulf States elected not to sign the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_relating_to_the_Status_of_Refugees). Per Amnesty International, the six Gulf countries - Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain - have offered zero resettlement facilities for Syrian refugees. The fact is that Gulf countries don't accept refugees for resettlement because none of their governments officially recognize the legal concept. Even in Jordan, Syrians fleeing the civil war are called "guests," the expectation being that they won't stay. (http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2015/09/20/441457924/gulf-states-fend-off-criticism-about-doing-little-for-syrian-refugees) “I’m most indignant over the Arab countries who are rolling in money and who only take very few refugees,” Danish Finance Minister Claus Hjort Frederiksen said in an interview this week at his office in Copenhagen. “Countries like Saudi Arabia. It’s completely scandalous. (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-04/syria-s-refugees-feel-more-welcome-in-europe-than-in-the-gulf) However, Saudi Arabia last week offered to pay for the construction of 200 new Mosques in Germany (http://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/fluechtlingskrise/die-golfstaaten-schotten-sich-gegenueber-fluechtlingen-ab-13789932.html). The United Nations expects one million “refugees” to arrive in Europe by the end of 2015, The European Commission expects 3 million to arrive in Europe by the end of 2016. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has 100,000 (air-conditioned) tents, sitting empty and available, that could perfectly house some 3 million Syrian refugees. Located in the city of Mina, they’re only used a few days a year for pilgrims heading to Mecca (http://www.sbs.com.au/news/gallery/which-arab-country-has-room-three-million-refugees-and-has-so-far-taken-zero-according-un). There are millions of people around the world who have been waiting in line to legally immigrate into the United States. Should any Syrian refugees wish to immigrate to the United States as well, they can apply through the normal process at the U.S. embassy of their Arab League host country. With the highest GDP Arab countries unwilling to take in refugees, fellow Muslims in distress, why should the U.S. accept any? The U.S. is by a wide margin the highest financial contributor to Syrian relief efforts at $4.5 billion - http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-to-boost-contribution-for-humanitarian-aid-to-syrian-war-refugees-1442858302 (so don’t expect our crumbling interstate system rebuilt anytime soon) The U.S. already contributes FAR more to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) than any other country. (http://i100.independent.co.uk/article/the-countries-that-contribute-the-most-to-the-uns-refugee-agency--by90QvX64l) This on top of the White House’s decision to increase the cap on [alleged] refugees to 85,000 in 2016 and 100,000 in 2017. (http://www.wsj.com/articles/john-kerry-says-u-s-to-admit-30-000-more-refugees-in-next-2-years-1442768498?tesla=y) In the minds of many Americans, refugees are people that would return home after the conflict in their homeland has ended. However these people have no intention of returning home, and that makes them immigrants rather than refugees. With millions of people around the world already waiting in line to legally immigrate into the U.S., the only proper course is for these Syrian (and other) immigrants to apply via the normal process at U.S. embassies abroad and wait their turn in line. On top of free U.S. money ($4.5 billion) for Syrian relief efforts alone, the other issues are the costs to U.S. taxpayers to support incoming “refugees” for an unknown number of years (welfare), and the loss of U.S. citizen jobs. .

Commercial Motor TV - sponsored by DAF Trucks / November 20, 2015

Detroit ‘completes the hat trick’ with DT12 production brought to Michigan Truck News / November 21, 2015 In a hockey-themed plant inauguration, Daimler Trucks’ Detroit brand celebrated the start of production of its DT12 automated manual transmission and announced the launch of its mid-range engine line here Friday. The hot-selling DT12 was previously built in Gagenau, Germany and shipped to North America for installation in Freightliner and Western Star trucks. Daimler pumped US$100 million into its Redford, Mich. plant to bring production to these shores. “More than 40% of our Freightliner Cascadia and Western Star trucks are sold with an automated transmission and the take rate is still climbing,” said Dr. Wolfgang Bernhard, head of Daimler trucks globally. “It is a huge success and it makes us really proud. It is now time to make the next step; it’s my pleasure today to announce the start of production of our DT12 right here in the US, right here in Detroit, right here in Redford.” Production at the plant was momentarily halted to celebrate the milestone and about 2,000 employees, media and dignitaries gathered to hear Bernhard’s remarks. The plant inauguration was emceed by former Detroit Red Wing Micky Redmond. It was also attended by a beaming Roger Penske, who bought the company in 1988, saved it from potential bankruptcy, turned it around on the success of the Series 60 and then sold it to Daimler. “I didn’t know what I was getting into but it was an opportunity,” Penske said, noting at the time the company had lost $600 million in three years, languished with 3% market share and was suffering strained relations with employees. “I’m proud to see what is taking place today.” Martin Daum, CEO of Daimler Trucks North America, said the company has “completed the hat trick” by bringing DT12 production to Redford, where it also builds its heavy-duty engines and axles. “We now manufacture the entire powertrain lineup – engines, axles and transmission – right here in Detroit and that means we can integrate, synchronize, make it perfect,” said Bernhard. “We can offer the most powerful powertrain in the country and it gives our customers more reason to demand Detroit.” Daimler also announced the launch of its medium-duty DD5 and DD8 engines, which will also be built in Redford, eventually. Configuring the plant for the mid-range engines represents another US$375-million investment into the facility. “Today, we complete our lineup,” said Bernhard. “We launch our new medium-duty engines, the DD5 and DD8 into the US market and what’s more, we’re not only going to sell them in the US, but by 2018 we will also build them right here in Detroit, right here in Redford.” With the new engine launch, Daimler says it will bring the benefits of vertical integration seen on the heavy-duty side to the medium-duty market. “Detroit medium-duty engines will provide what no other manufacturer in North America can offer – a total vehicle solution that matches Daimler’s global engineering prowess with the most complete lineup bar none in the industry,” said Daum. “I am pleased to announce that select Daimler Truck North America vehicles will be available with medium-duty power by the end of 2016, and full production will take place in Detroit by the end of 2018.” In a press conference following the plant inauguration, Daum said Daimler will continue with its two-supplier strategy, offering Cummins engines as well in its medium-duty trucks. “This won’t change our business with Cummins because we have in every segment a two-supplier strategy. We want to give our customers choice and ultimately it’s the customers that are going to decide,” Daum said. When medium-duty engine production is brought to Michigan in 2018, it will add about 160 new jobs. Until then, they’ll be produced in Mannheim, Germany. The new engines will be available for order in 2016 in the Freightliner M2. Details regarding engine ratings and other specific features of the new mid-range engines were not yet revealed. Daimler Trucks North America has in recent years become a stronger player in the medium-duty market, capturing about 40% of the US Classes 6/7 segments in each of the past few years. Daimler also announced its entire lineup will comply with impending 2017 greenhouse gas emissions requirements early. Daum said he expects the truck market to remain strong in 2016, though orders will likely land somewhere between an excellent 2015 and a very good 2014. “We will finish the year strong and the start of the year will be strong through the first quarter,” Daum said. “We’ll see how the rest of the year unfolds. We don’t have that security we had a year ago where we were sold out at the beginning of the year but this is not normal for business, you should every day worry for your business and fight for it.”

Truck OEMs Aim for New Breed of ‘Low-Cost’ Models Trailer/Body Builders / January 18, 2011 Research firm Frost & Sullivan has unveiled a detailed analysis of what it calls the “low cost truck” movement, a strategic initiative by truck manufacturers either individually or through joint ventures that will completely reshape the types of commercial vehicles used around the world. “What we’re seeing is a determined effort to build trucks that cost 20% to 25% less in any given global market – from North America to Brazil, Russia, and Europe,” Sandeep Kar, global program manager--commercial vehicle research for Frost & Sullivan, told Fleet Owner. “And this effort will cover the entire commercial vehicle spectrum, from light- to medium- and heavy-duty models.” For the study – titled Strategic Analysis of the Global Low Cost Truck Market – Frost & Sullivan interviewed OEMs and suppliers from around the world, conducted its own research, and then made near-term projections for the low-cost strategy spanning 2010 to 2016. Kar said the firm’s research indicates new low-cost price ranges will develop as follows: $4,000 to $20,000 for a light commercial vehicle (LCV); $15,000 to $40,000 for a medium commercial vehicle (MCV); and $30,000 to $70,000 for a heavy commercial vehicle (HCV). According to Kar, the impetus for this strategy on the part of truck builders is that commercial fleets are simply under far too much bottom-line pressure today – paying for higher fuel prices, the cost of regulatory compliance, higher pay to compete for workers – to afford ever-higher sticker prices on new equipment. Dahlman Rose transportation economist Jason Siedl noted at FTR Associates’ annual freight outlook conference last September that the average cost for a new Class 8 tractor is up to $120,000 in the U.S. One fleet at that meeting said that its Class 8 tractor costs increased $25,000 per unit from 2002 to 2010. It’s the financial pressure those high prices put on U.S. fleet owners that in turn is driving the effort to create low cost trucks, said Frost & Sullivan’s Kar. “We expect to see phenomenal growth in the North American market for low cost trucks,” Kar pointed out. “Our research indicates the average base price point for a heavy-duty truck in North America is about $104,000. Now say some $10,000 to $15,000 worth of emission control and safety systems need to be added to the low-cost truck platform to bring it into regulatory compliance. You’d still be looking at a truck that is $80,000 to $95,000-- still cheaper than current prices today.” Of course, such low- cost trucks would not contain the same amenities found on many of today’s commercial vehicles – especially in terms of driver-comfort specs. For that reason, Frost & Sullivan contends the North American truck market will become two-tiered, having a low-cost and a premium segment, with mid-priced models disappearing. We would also not see the low-cost model challenge the long-haul Class 8 sleeper segment,” he noted. “Rather, we’d see the low-cost Class 8 model dominate the short-haul daycab segment.” The key to making these low-cost trucks a reality, however, will rest on creating a far larger global manufacturing scale than exists now-- along with a global supplier network. “Making a low-cost truck means cutting costs throughout the vehicle,” Kar observed. Per Frost & Sullivan, areas where costs will be cut include: 5% to 8% from powertrains 3% to 4% from chassis 3% to 4% from driver comfort and amenities 3% to 4% from engines 1% to 2% from marketing efforts Overall, total production costs for a low- cost truck platform should fall anywhere from 19% to 29%, Kar said. Yet can the low-cost trucks find willing fleet buyers in the U.S.? Kar definitely thinks so. “Total cost of ownership or ‘TCO’ is now the most critical metric within most fleets,” he explained. “Access to financing is still limited and after the recent economic downturn, fleets still have little cash to spend,” Kar added. “In a way, fleets will almost be forced to look at low-cost truck models due to the operating conditions they will continue to face.”