Free Republic

It’s the “Hangover” — in real life. A Connecticut doctor allegedly kidnapped outside the troubled Brooklyn Mirage music venue described how he was taken on a wild ride by his possibly gun-wielding captor — including on a more than $6,000 shopping spree, The Post has learned. Michael Bautista, a 32-year-old ophthalmologist and cataract surgeon from Norwalk, claimed he was taken hostage by a Bronx man going by the name “Tony G’s,” who threatened to shoot him if he tried “anything funny,” police said. The suspect, Anthony Benjamin, 42, allegedly forced Bautista to traipse with him through the Bronx on July...

Now it’s Glen Youngkin. Virginia Governor Youngkin said in a release on Tuesday that he will lead a Virginia delegation to Taipei City, Taiwan, Tokyo, and Seoul, South Korea, from April 24-29.Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, John Bolton, Asa Hutchinson, Glen Youngkin… The Republican wing of the UniParty is throwing everything possible and pulling every level within their control, including last night’s outcome in Wisconsin, in order to retain the illusion of political parties as the source/solution within a nation collapsing.None of what DC Democrats, Republicans, the RNC or DNC presents is true or real within the landscape of the conflict...

Captain Disillusion explains the secret “Floating city” over China...

Serge Dassault, who died on 28 May at the age of 93, is credited with having spearheaded Dassault's drive into the combat aircraft market, and for closing export sales of types from within the hugely successful Mirage series. Having managed its flight-test department from 1955 – during the development of types including the Mirage III, Mirage IV and maritime-strike Étendard – as head of export, Serge Dassault "led the negotiations that resulted in the sale of Mirage III aircraft to Switzerland and Australia" (pictured below), the company notes. Commonwealth of Australia Flight Fleets Analyzer shows that there are currently 863...

KAMRA, PAKISTAN: The sprawling complex at Kamra, west of Islamabad, reverbates at the thundering take-off of a Mirage Rose-1, the latest ageing fighter jet to have been gutted and reassembled by the Pakistani Air Force. Fifty years after Pakistan bought its first Mirages, many planes in the venerable fleet are still being patched up, overhauled and upgraded for use in combat, years after conventional wisdom dictates they should be grounded. That includes one of the first two planes originally purchased from France's Dassault in 1967, which was in a hangar at Kamra after its record fifth overhaul when AFP visited...

Fifty years ago, on May 19, 1967, the Mirage V made its first flight from Melun-Villaroche airfield in France. Within context of events that were to follow ever the next few weeks, this date marked the birth not only of the modern-day French military aviation sector, but also what can be considered the birthday of the Israeli Aircraft Industries. The Mirage V was a result of close cooperation between France and Israel in the 1950s and 1960s. Its story could be traced back in time to the days when what was then officially designated the Israel Defense Force/Air Force was...

It is only a matter of time before Pakistan can launch short-range missiles to counter conventional attacksNew Delhi - A study of Google satellite images and information from other intelligence sources by US nuclear scientists Hans Kristensen and Robert Norris released earlier this week contains startling revelations: contrary to the conditions laid down by the US when it sold Pakistan F-16 fighters, the US jets, along with the Pak air force's French Mirages, are now nuclear-enabled.Speaking exclusively to DNA, Hans Kristensen, co-author of the 'Nuclear Notebook on Pakistani Nuclear Forces' released November 16 acknowledged that despite the study, US strategic...

Although it was recently phased out by France and Spain, its two European operators, the Dassault Mirage F-1C fighter remains an effective fighter, but its in-flight refueling capability could be seen as a potential threat to UK sovereignty over the Falkland Islands. (French AF photo) PARIS --- Argentina is negotiating with France to purchase 12 Mirage F-1 combat aircraft, and possibly Mirage 2000s, as well as engines to equip the twenty Pucarás that are currently grounded, Argentine Defense Minister Julio Martinez told La Nacion. Passing through Paris, where he came to attend the Eurosatory armaments exhibition, Martinez was today received...

Argentina said farewell to its remaining fleet of French built Mirage fighter bombers which have been operational since 1972 and played a crucial role during the South Atlantic conflict when they clashed with the British Task Force sent to recover the invaded and occupied Falkland Islands in 1982. The ceremony took place last Sunday at the VI Air Brigade stationed in Tandil, Buenos Aires province, with the attendance of active and retired pilots, Malvinas war veterans, members of Air Force families, officials from the three services and security forces, and locals. The event under the heading of 'Argentina farewells its...

Gay couples in Kentucky are questioning the validity of altered marriage licenses issued by a defiant county clerk and have asked a federal judge to order her to reissue the licenses or put the office in receivership and have someone else do it.

When the F-15 was created, it was created to be a pure air-to-air fighter, with the philosophy of “not a pound for air-to-ground” guiding designers. So how did Israel end up turning their F-15s into deadly long-range multi-role strike aircraft well before the F-15E Strike Eagle became a reality? Here’s how. In Need Of A Game Changing Fighter Israel’s love affair with the F-15 began out of the need to procure a fighter that could trump the increasingly complex fighters that surrounding Arab states were amassing from Russian and French sources. Both the F-14 Tomcat and the F-15 Eagle were...

A group of around 30 protesters lined up outside of the Mirage today to call on the casino to release the dolphins from Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat. Decked out with colorful signs, activists gathered at around 5 p.m. near the casino’s main entrance off of Las Vegas Boulevard to support the Free the Mojave Dolphins campaign, which argues that keeping the dolphins at the resort amounts to trapping them unnaturally in the middle of the Mojave desert.

The Pakistani Air Force (PAF) has acquired a squadron of F-16 multi-role fighter aircraft from Jordan. The early production Block-15 fighter jets will be inducted inducted into the service in March 2014, next month, Pakistan’s TheNews reports. Two Royal Jordanian Air Force F-16s fly alongside a U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft while waiting to connect for fuel over Jordan. Photo: US Air Force Of the fighters acquired from the Royal Jordanian Air Force, 12 of the aircraft are single seaters A models and one is a twin-seat F-16B. Jordan has recently acquired 15 similar aircraft – F-16A/B MLU from...

Upgrading military aircraft – fixed wing and rotary – is a common operation performed all over the world. You take an old platform, reinforce the fuselage and wings, install some new systems and it can fly for many more years. But what Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) is currently doing with its old Kfir fighter aircraft is an exception. The Kfir (Lion Cub) fighter is a single-seat multitask fighter built by IAI. The aircraft was first built for the Israeli air force (IAF). The first Kfir was delivered to the IAF in 1975, and entered into service in 1976. The fighter...

Explanation: Did this mirage help sink the Titanic? The optical phenomenon called Fata Morgana can make strange shapes or a false wall of water appear above a watery horizon. When conditions are right, light reflecting off of cold water will be bent by an unusual layer of warm air above to arrive at the observer from several different angles. A conceptually comparable mirage can make a setting Sun appear strangely distorted or a distant pavement appear wet. One hundred years ago today, such a Fata Morgana mirage might have obscured real icebergs from the clear view of crew onboard the...

VALLETTA (Reuters) – Two Libyan fighter jets and two civilian helicopters landed unexpectedly in Malta Monday, witnesses said.

France has proposed to sell 18 Mirage fighters to Iraq, which is already negotiating a deal for US F-16s to protect its skies after US forces pull out at the end of this year, the French ambassador said on Thursday. "France has proposed to sell 18 Mirage F1 retrofitted aircraft that can be delivered from late 2011 and immediately operational because many Iraqi pilots were trained in the past on this type of plane," Boris Boillon told AFP. He said France was offering the multi-role planes for $1 billion (733 million euros). Baghdad has been negotiating to buy 18 US-made...

A force to be reckoned with Posted on 9 August 2010 in Defence The Egyptian Air Force (EAF) or Al Quwwat Al Jawwiya Il Misriya, is one of the largest air arms in the region and is also one of the longest established. Formed in 1930 as the Egyptian Army Air Force, it became fully independent in 1937. Initially it had close links with the British Royal Air Force and was primarily equipped with British-supplied aircraft. Spitfires gave way to Meteors and Vampires before the 1952 revolution, after which the new president, General Gamal Abdel Nasser, turned to the Soviet...

The French government plans to postpone $888 million worth of upgrades to its Mirage 2000D fighter-bombers as part of an effort to cut back spending. Defense Minister Herve Morin, speaking at a hearing this week of the Parliamentary Defense Committee, also said the government plans to delay acquisition of Multi Role Tanker Transport aircraft and level-four of the SCCOA national air command-and-control system, according to a report from DefenseNews. According to defense sources, Morin told the committee that some elements of the Scorpion land systems modernization program also would be postponed but major programs, such as the Barracuda nuclear attack...

California’s experiment with global warming regulations reminds me of a story about a foolish, old dog who lost his bone in the water when he tried to grab its reflection. Similarly, California’s leaders risk sacrificing the jobs and industries we have today on a hope and a prayer that the “green jobs” and “green industries” of the future will be better and more plentiful than those we already have. When Governor Schwarzenegger signed AB 32, California’s Global Warming Solutions Act, into law more than three years ago, he declared that the sweeping new regulations imposed by the measure would be...