Welcome to the Go Fast edition of the car thread.

Today we bring you some race action, a lesson well-learned, the world's fastest production car, Countrysquire writes about the new standard for hypercars, along with all the usual features you've come to expect from your Saturday car chat.

What would a car thread be without mention of the greatest event in motor sports? Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the winner of last week's Daytona 500. It was an exciting race and a fantastic win for Dale Jr, his second win at Daytona. We'll get into more detail about the race during the NASCAR thread tomorrow but, for now, here's Junior taking the checkered flag.

Congrats to Dale Earnhardt Jr. on his big win.

Speaking of NASCAR drivers, what happens when a car blogger is openly skeptical about the authenticity of a Jeff Gordon ad? This is what happens:

BTW, the blogger is standing by his original story.
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Posted by: Open Blogger at 11:32 AM | Comments (88)
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Heh. New Orleans Mardi Gras float mocks Obamacare disaster.

For those of you attending Mardi Gras, beware those dirty beads.

Beads and throws may start off in pristine condition, but by the time they are sorted, prepped, thrown, caught and many times thrown again, those beads may be carrying more than the Mardi Gras spirit.

"Germs, virus, flu virus, bacteria contamination, soil, mud, dirt, just all the usual stuff that you have worry about that comes with its own germs," listed Our Lady of the Lake Children's Hospital pediatrician Dr. Chris Funes.

Posted by: CDR M at 06:09 PM | Comments (551)
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In light of Russia's military moves in Crimea, there was quite a bit of talk about the sol called "Budapest Memo". This memo was signed in 1994 by the UK, Russia, the US and Ukraine as part of the deal the removed the nuclear weapons of the former Soviet Union from the territory of the newly independent Ukraine (aside, I bet they wish they had kept them now).

So does this memo obligate us to defend the territorial integrity of Ukraine? Nope.

Here's the memo:

1. The United States of America, the Russian Federation, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, reaffirm their commitment to Ukraine, in accordance with the principles of the CSCE Final Act, to respect the Independence and Sovereignty and the existing borders of Ukraine.

2. The United States of America, the Russian Federation, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, reaffirm their obligation to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine, and that none of their weapons will ever be used against Ukraine except in self-defense or otherwise in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.

3. The United States of America, the Russian Federation, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, reaffirm their commitment to Ukraine, in accordance with the principles of the CSCE Final Act, to refrain from economic coercion designed to subordinate to their own interest the exercise by Ukraine of the rights inherent in its sovereignty and thus to secure advantages of any kind.

4. The United States of America, the Russian Federation, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, reaffirm their commitment to seek immediate United Nations Security Council action to provide assistance to Ukraine, as a non-nuclear-weapon State Party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, if Ukraine should become a victim of an act of aggression or an object of a threat of aggression in which nuclear weapons are used.

5. The United States of America, the Russian Federation, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, reaffirm, in the case of the Ukraine, their commitment not to use nuclear weapons against any non-nuclear-weapon State Party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, except in the case of an attack on themselves, their territories or dependent territories, their armed forces, or their allies, by such a state in association or alliance with a nuclear weapon state.

6. The United States of America, the Russian Federation, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland will consult in the event a situation arises which raises a question concerning these commitments.

The relevant portions of the memo are points 1 & 6. All signatories to the agreement are "to respect the Independence and Sovereignty and the existing borders of Ukraine". Should something happen (like the Russians ignoring point 1) that upsets this agreement, we are obligated to "consult" with the rest of the parties covered by the agreement.

I'm sure the Russians will be happy to abide by point 6 and "consult" about how they have flagrantly violated point 1 and then head off to a nice lunch somewhere in Geneva, Vienna or wherever they agree to laugh at us, I mean consult with us.

Bottom line...the Russians are going to get Crimea and if they want the rest of Ukraine because no one cares enough about it to start World War III over it.

Putin is going to continue to what he's been doing for years...reconstitute as much of the old Soviet empire as he can out of the bits that weren't smart or quick enough to join NATO at the first chance they had. No US President is going to stop this and no amount of tough talk or financial sanctions is going to stop Putin.

The only real question left is what happens when he runs out of non-NATO bits to gobble up and turns to places like the Baltic states which are NATO members? That's when things get...sporty.

Below the fold, everything you need to know about Ukraine crisis courtesy of Teh Fred in The Hunt for Red October. more...

Posted by: DrewM at 08:24 AM | Comments (446)
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Incredibly, US intelligence thought Russia wouldnÂ’t occupy (or make an unopposed arrival) Crimea.

U.S. intelligence estimates conclude that Russia has no intention of invading Ukraine. This, despite the launch of a massive, new Russian military exercise near UkraineÂ’s border and moves from armed men to seize two key airports in the country's Crimea region.

The latest developments led Ukraine's interior minister Arsen Avakov Friday to accuse Russia of invading the Russian majority province of Crimea after armed militias took control of the civilian airport in Simferopol, the region's capital and the military airport in Sevastopol, where Russia's Black Sea fleet is based. Russian authorities meanwhile have denied any responsibility for the seizure of the two airports in the region.

Really? When the “cease fire” in Kiev between the Yanukovych regime and the protesters was announced, the first thing most people noticed was that it was due to expire the day the Winter Olympics ended. Smart money around the blogs was that as soon as the spotlight was off Sochi, Russian forces would intervene, in one manner or another.

Given the large ethnic Russian population in Crimea, and the critical Russian bases on the peninsula, the only question was (and still is) will the Russians be content with just Crimea, or will they attempt to retake all of Ukraine?

Actually, make no doubt, Russia will attempt to retake all of Ukraine. We doubt they will do so through military occupation (though a ginned up emergency is hardly out of the question), but though economic and political coercion. Russia (especially Putin, but a goodly percentage of the  man-on-the-street population as well) simply cannot conceive of a Ukraine that falls outside the Russian sphere of influence.

How is it that our intelligence community has such an incredibly poor grasp of history and culture that they cannot see that which is plainly before them? What was to stop Russia from entering Crimea? The Russians knew that they would be, if not welcomed with open arms, almost certainly unopposed. Heck, the Russians already occupied Crimea, with military installations shared with the Ukrainians. What possible downside did Russia see? None.

WeÂ’ve been pretty unimpressed with the Obama administrationÂ’s response, but frankly, we see little that the US could do to prevent any such Russian response. Having said that, the inability of the US intelligence community to see the obvious is deeply troubling.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 07:23 AM | Comments (249)
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I don't recall seeing this hit AoSHQ this week.

From TechDirt:

A few weeks ago, Glenn Greenwald, while working with NBC News, revealed some details of a GCHQ presentation concerning how the surveillance organization had a "dirty tricks" group known as JTRIG -- the Joint Threat Research Intelligence Group. Now, over at The Intercept, he's revealed the entire presentation and highlighted more details about how JTRIG would seek to infiltrate different groups online and destroy people's reputations -- going way, way, way beyond just targeting terrorist groups and threats to national security.

Read the rest here.

We're in the very best of hands.

Open thread.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 06:26 AM | Comments (226)
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Please direct all political discussion to the Crimea Post Below

A regular reader has graciously offered to save us from the regular Food Thread blather about CAC's favorite food (arugula) and other assorted inanities by providing an introduction to the world of craft beers.

What's better on a Saturday afternoon then a non-professional critique about beer. Not just any beer, mind you, but craft beers. I don't love craft beers because I am a beer snob; I snub the snobs! I love craft beer because of the quality of the ingredients used and the time allotted to brew the beer, resulting in a fuller styled beer, and higher alcohol content, (or drunkenness factor, herein referred to as ABV - alcohol by volume), over those consumed from macro-breweries, (herein referred to as InBev (google it slacker). more...

Posted by: Open Blogger at 07:45 AM | Comments (108)
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Stupid Gun Laws Are Stupid

It looks like many aspects of the NYSAFE Act are unenforceable.

Wojdan was accused of violating the SAFE Act's restriction concerning the number of rounds of ammunition in a magazine. Police said Wojdan had 10 rounds in a gun, which exceeded the new limit of seven in a magazine.

During a traffic stop, Watson ruled, police have a right to ensure their safety by taking the magazine out of the pistol — but they cannot see how much ammunition is in the weapon without a warrant. That's what Wojdan's attorney James Tresmond argued in court.

Dozens Of Guns Lost By The ATF

I'm sure the agents responsible will be held responsible. /sarc

The incidents were catalogued in a report Wednesday by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Internal records obtained by the newspaper reportedly show ATF agents had their guns lost or stolen at least 45 times between 2009 and 2013.

But don't worry, they've recovered some of them.

Smart Gun Owners Don't Need Smart Guns

The latest smart gun models are receiving high praise from those who most likely blanch at the thought of ever even touching an actual dumb gun. Who knows, maybe they will soon become the next must-have celebrity fashion accessory, replacing diamond-studded iPhone cases and small hairy purse-dogs that remind me of Muskie lures.

Despite the cacophony of pro-smart-gun propaganda, I wonÂ’t ever own one. My reason is simple: TheyÂ’re dangerous, unproven junk.

I’m a firm believer in the KISS principal: Keep It Simple, Stupid – especially when it comes to personal security. The more complex the plan, the more you rely on technology, the greater the likelihood it can fail.

Gun Of The Week

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Posted by: Open Blogger at 09:09 AM | Comments (240)
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Welcome to March. It's a whopping 5 degrees at my house right now, but Spring is allegedly just around the corner.

Posted by: andy at 03:10 AM | Comments (371)
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Good afternoon, morons & moronettes. Welcome to your Saturday Gardening Thread!

This thread brought to you by ”Thanks for the snack!”:

By the way, this guy was no help at all!

Everything you (n)ever wanted to know about raised beds below the jump.
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Posted by: Open Blogger at 12:55 PM | Comments (166)
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Hold on to your butts morons, even though tomorrow is the first day of March, old man Winter is bringin' some more stormage. SoCal is getting a soaking and possibly a Sharknado. And there are indications of another storm that may have a surprise for the southeast/mid-Atlantic by the end of next week.

Posted by: CDR M at 05:53 PM | Comments (863)
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