17 Christian Medical Workers Reject NY Gov.’s Vaccine Claim, Fight Mandate

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September 30, 2021

1520 Suleiman the Magnificent succeeds his father Selam I as Ottoman Sultan (rules till 1566)

1846 Anesthetic used for 1st time by American dentist Dr William Morton who extracts a tooth

1862 Prussia Minister President Otto von Bismarck’s delivers his “Blood & Iron” speech

1938 Treaty of Munich signed by Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Édouard Daladier and Neville Chamberlain, forces Czechoslovakia to give territory to Germany. Chamberlain infamously declares “Peace for our time” on his return to London.

1946 22 Nazi leaders, including Joachim von Ribbentrop and Hermann Goering, are found guilty of war crimes and sentenced to death or prison at the Nuremberg war trials

Today in Film & TV
1950 Radio’s “Grand Ole Opry” is broadcast on TV for 1st time

Today in Music
1791 Mozart’s opera “Magic Flute” premieres in Vienna

Today in Sport
1934 Babe Ruth’s final game as a Yankee, goes 0 for 3

Do you know this fact about today? Did You Know?
Peter Stuyvesant of New Netherlands forbids tennis playing during religious services (1st mention of tennis in US), on this day in 1659

Would you believe this fact about today? Would You Believe?
“The Flintstones” the first animated sitcom created by Hanna-Barbera premieres on ABC in the US, on this day in 1960

Rolls-Royce’s Spectre To Undergo Test As Company Plans Electric Vehicle Unveiling

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September 29, 2021

Rolls-Royce is developing its first fully electric model, the luxury car maker has announced.

The firm expects the car, named Spectre, to be available by the final three months of 2023.

Chief executive, Torsten Muller-Otvos, said: “Today is a seminal moment, the most significant day in the history of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars since the company was founded in 1904.

Today we announce our first fully qelectric motor car and with it, our CEO, Torsten Müller-Ötvös, keeps his promise that “#RollsRoyce will go #electric, starting this decade”.

“This extraordinary new product will elevate the global all-electric car revolution.

“Range and charging time is important in getting this right, we were thinking about going electric for quite a while.

“We are creating the first and finest super-luxury product of its type.”

The company said Spectre will “undertake the most demanding testing programme in Rolls-Royce’s history”.

It will cover 1.6 million miles, which is equivalent to more than 400 years of typical use for a Rolls-Royce car.

Air Show: China To Showcase Drones, Moon Rocket

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September 29, 2021

A military drone whose manufacturer says it can cruise for 20 hours at 15,000 meters (50,000 feet) was among Chinese warplanes, missiles and other weapons technology shown in public for the first time at the opening of the country’s biggest air show.

The Chinese space program planned to unveil a rocket for crewed space flight capable of carrying a 25-ton payload to lunar orbit at the 13th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, an official newspaper said.

The ruling Communist Party is pouring billions of dollars into developing fighter jets, stealth technology, drones and other hardware for its military wing, the People’s Liberation Army, as it presses claims to disputed seas and other territory.

Powered by two turbofan engines, the CH-6 drone can carry early warning radar, air-to-ground missiles and other weapons, according to its manufacturer, the China Academy of Aerospace Science, a subsidiary of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp.

The newspaper Global Times, published by the ruling party, said the CH-6 is aimed at “high-end arms and dual-use markets” but gave no indication to which governments the company might try to sell it.

The China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology planned to unveil a “next-generation manned carrier rocket and a heavy-lift launch vehicle,” the Global Times said. It said the 2,000-ton, three-stage rocket would “support China’s manned lunar probes.”

Also at the air show, the PLA’s air force planned to display a J-16D electronic warfare airplane for the first time, according to the official China News Service.

China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. displayed an array of new missiles for the first time.

The China Academy of Aerospace Science also planned to show a mini-attack drone, the CH-817.

It said the 800-gram (28-ounce) drone can be used by soldiers or released from a bigger drone.

Companies To Pay New Hampshire For Excess Emissions Of Nitrogen Oxides

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September 29, 2021

Companies To Pay Town For Excess Emissions Of Nitrogen Oxides

Volkswagen Group of America and related companies are going to pay the state of New Hampshire $1.15 million in a settlement for the use of devices on some diesel vehicles that resulted in excess emissions of nitrogen oxides, the state attorney general’s office said.

Volkswagen had installed software in the vehicles that turned off emissions controls, the office said.

At times, this resulted in nitrogen oxide emissions estimated to be more than 30 times the allowed limit.

The settlement resolves the last case between Volkswagen and the state related to the devices, which were discovered in 2015.

That resulted in a settlement of about $204 million to New Hampshire in the form of an environmental trust fund, civil penalties for violations of consumer protection laws, and relief to vehicle owners and dealers, the office said in a news release Monday.

In a similar settlement, Volkswagen agreed to pay Montana over $357,000. The agreements entail no admission of liability.

“These agreements with New Hampshire and Montana fully resolve their legacy claims and put these matters behind the company as we focus on building a future of sustainable mobility,” a spokesperson for Volkswagen said in a statement.

New Hampshire and Montana are among five states, as well as Hillsborough County, Florida, and Salt Lake County, Utah, that brought such environmental claims against Volkswagen.

The other states are Illinois, Ohio and Texas, whose actions are pending, the spokesperson said.

Volkswagen has paid more than $35 billion in fines, recall costs and compensation to car owners over the diesel emissions matter.

Camden County Still Seeking Permission To Build Licensed Commercial Spaceport

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September 29, 2021

A federal agency said Wednesday it’s once again delaying a final decision on whether to permit construction of a launchpad for commercial rockets on the Georgia coast.

The Federal Aviation Administration now plans to issue a decision on Spaceport Camden by Nov. 3 “due to ongoing consultation efforts,” agency spokesman Steve Kulm said in a statement.

Previously, the FAA had said it intended to make a final determination on the project by the end of July, then shifted its target date to the end of September.

Camden County in Georgia’s coastal, southeast corner has spent nine years and $10 million seeking permission to build what would be the nation’s 13th licensed commercial spaceport.

The proposal took a big step forward in June, when the FAA issued an environmental impact study that concluded building the spaceport would be its “preferred alternative.”

The National Park Service and its parent agency, the U.S. Department of the Interior, pushed back over the summer.

They dispute the FAA’s conclusion that the spaceport poses minimal risks or adverse impacts to Cumberland Island, a federally protected wilderness that lies along the proposed flight path for rockets 5 miles (8 kilometers) east of the launch site.

In a July 22 letter to the FAA, the Interior Department said a chance of rockets exploding and raining fiery debris onto the island creates an “unacceptable risk.”

Known for wild horses and nesting sea turtles, Cumberland Island draws about 60,000 visitors each year.

Local officials say the county of 55,000 people would get a soaring economic boost by joining the commercial space race, with a private launch pad luring both supporting industries and tourists.

It’s not clear how much weight the objections will carry with the FAA, which is responsible for licensing U.S. commercial rocket launch sites.

In 2014, the agency approved SpaceX’s launch site in Texas over objections by the Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Biden Was Advised To Keep 2,500 Troops In Afghanistan, Say Generals

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September 29, 2021

Two top US generals have said they recommended keeping a force of 2,500 troops in Afghanistan, ahead of the full US withdrawal in August.

Testimony by Gen Mark Milley and Gen Frank McKenzie to Congress seemed to contradict President Joe Biden, who said he did not recall any such advice.

The two US generals were questioned by the Senate armed services committee along with Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin on Tuesday.

The hearing comes weeks after a chaotic withdrawal at Kabul airport as foreign powers sought to get their citizens home and thousands of desperate Afghans begged for rescue.

The Taliban took power in August, after rapidly advancing through the country. Gen Milley said the US had been taken by surprise by the speed of the Afghan government’s collapse.

A suicide attack killed 182 people during the withdrawal operation. Thirteen US service personnel and at least 169 Afghans were killed by the airport gate on 26 August.

Gen McKenzie, who as head of US Central Command oversaw the withdrawal from Afghanistan, said under questioning from Republican senators that he recommended keeping a small force of 2,500 troops in Afghanistan.

This appears to contradict President Joe Biden’s assertion to an ABC journalist on 19 August that he did not recall anyone giving him such advice.

Republican senators also questioned why Mr Biden had promised to keep the military in place until all US citizens were evacuated, given that there are still Americans in Afghanistan weeks after the final withdrawal.

France Vows Action Against UK, Jersey Over Fishing Rights Refusals

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September 29, 2021

France warned on Wednesday of retaliation in Brussels against the United Kingdom and Jersey over their refusal of many post-Brexit fishing licences, while French trawlermen threatened fresh protests and even an exports blockade.

Fishing rights for EU boats in UK waters was a key stumbling block to negotiations for a Brexit trade accord between London and Brussels, and threatened to sink the deal.

But the issue has come up once more after Britain on Tuesday said it would grant just 12 out of 47 applications for new licenses for small EU boats to fish in its territorial waters.

On Wednesday, the self-governing British Crown dependency of Jersey refused 75 applications from French boats, and issued 31 temporary licences: 75 bids were accepted.

French government spokesman Gabriel Attal said the decisions were unacceptable and inadmissible and “contravene the agreement that was signed in the framework of Brexit”, threatening retaliation via Brussels.

UK-French relations are already strained, with Paris accusing London of going behind its back to sign a new defence deal to provide US-built nuclear-powered submarines to Australia.

Dimitri Rogoff, president of the regional fisheries committee in Normandy, told AFP that fishermen were preparing to protest.

Olivier Lepretre, president of the regional fisheries committee in the northern Hauts-de-France region, added: “There comes a time when we must put pressure on the British side.”

He suggested the fishermen had the “port of Calais in their sights”, raising the possibility of a blockade on the key gateway for goods travelling from mainland Europe to Britain.

U.S. Bars Flight From Landing With Americans From Kabul – Activists

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September 29, 2021

The Department of Homeland Security has denied U.S. landing rights for a charter plane carrying more than 100 Americans and U.S. green card holders evacuated from Afghanistan.

Bryan Stern, a founder of non-profit group Project Dynamo, said of the department’s Customs and Border Protection agency that they would not allow a charter on an international flight into a U.S. port of entry

Stern spoke to Reuters from aboard a plane his group chartered from Kam Air, a private Afghan airline that he said had been sitting for 14 hours at Abu Dhabi airport after arriving from Kabul with 117 people, including 59 children.

His group is one of several that emerged from ad hoc networks of U.S. military veterans, current and former U.S. officials and others that formed to bolster last month’s U.S. evacuation operation they saw as chaotic and badly organized.

An administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they were unfamiliar with the matter, but that the U.S. government typically takes time to verify the manifests of charter planes before clearing them to land in the United States.

U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration has said its top priority is repatriating Americans and green card holders unable to leave Afghanistan in the U.S. evacuation operation last month.

A senior State Department official on Monday said the United States was aware of about 100 American citizens and legal permanent residents ready to leave Afghanistan.

Twenty-eight Americans, 83 green card holders and six people with U.S. Special Immigration Visas granted to Afghans who worked for the U.S. government during the 20-year war in Afghanistan were aboard the Kam Air flight, Stern said.

Int’l Community Will Stop Supporting Mali If It hires Mercenaries – France

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September 29, 2021