Posted on 10/10/2006 2:50:36 PM PDT by GretchenM
President Bush held a panel on school safety, in the wake of recent school shootings (murders) in US public schools.
He met with Peru's president, Alan Garcia, in the Oval, and flew to Macon, GA, for a fundraiser.
QUOTES: (The president) "I asked Margaret [Spellings] and Al [Gonzales] to host a gathering of concerned citizens, the purpose of which is to come up with best practices and just shared experiences so that others might know how to react to prevent and react to inexplicable and -- violence that is hard to imagine.
"All of us in this country want our classrooms to be gentle places of learning, places where people not only learn the basics -- basic skills necessary to become productive citizens, but learn to relate to one another. And our parents I know want to be able send their child or children to schools that are safe places."
Craig Scott, whose sister, Rachel, was murdered at Columbine: "I was in the school library during the shooting. I had 10 classmates that were killed around me. I lost two friends underneath a table, and then later that same day learned that my sister, Rachel Joy Scott, was the first one that was killed.
"To the lawmakers and politicians who want to slap those band-aids on deep, gaping wounds, I'm simply going to repeat a poem that my dad read to the House Judiciary of Congress several months after the Columbine shooting where he said:
"Your laws ignore our deepest needs
Your words are empty air.
You've stripped away our heritage
You've outlawed simple prayer.
Now gunshots fill our classrooms
and precious children die.
You seek for answers everywhere
and ask the question why.
You regulate restrictive law
through legislative creed,
and yet you failed to understand
that God is what we need."
With Columbine massacre survivor, Craig Scott
With Peru's president, Alan Garcia
“We talked about world issues, we talked about issues regarding South America and Central America, and we talked about our bilateral relations,” said President Bush. “The central issue facing us right now is the passage of a free trade agreement.”
Dose going up.
Please wait to post or repost photos till the all clear.
hello
During school safety summit
;-)
Craig Scott
with Columbine High School massacre survivor Craig Scott after the summit on school violence
bttt
The conference was in Chevy Chase, MD
Chiarasay Perkins, of DeFuniak Springs, Fla., with first lady Laura Bush and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales during a conference on school safety
Good evening everyone.
Rumsfeld receives a salute as he arrives for the christening ceremony of the USS George H.W. Bush
(Is there any truth to the rumor that the president uses his dog, Barney, to "send signals" to the radical nations of the world?)
Barney strolls the pathway along the Rose Garden at the White House Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2006.
Miss Beazley plays with a volleyball along the White House Colonnade Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2006.
Shucks..I was hoping for a two-fer...lol
Lock up the psychologists and sociologists. They promised us enlightened compassion and social justice though their care. They have given us more chaos. They are the advanced arm of Marxism.
At this link
http://www.whitehouse.gov/#
there is a webcast of Bush and Garcia talking with the press in the Oval today.
Nimitz Class
Nimitz Class Nuclear Powered Aircraft Carriers, USA
The Nimitz Class aircraft carriers are the largest warships ever built. With over 6,000 personnel (crew and aircrew), the carrier has a displacement of 102,000t, and a flight deck length of 332.9m. All nuclear-powered Nimitz class carriers have been built by Newport News Shipbuilding (now Northrop Grumman Ship Systems), based in Virginia.
Tasked with a multi-mission attack/ASW role, the first of class, USS Nimitz, was commissioned in 1975. The ... USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), was commissioned in July 2003. Other hulls are: USS Dwight D Eisenhower (CVN 69), Oct 1977; USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), Mar 1982; USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), Oct 1986; USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), Nov 1989; USS George Washington (CVN 73), Jul 1992; USS John C Stennis (CVN 74), Dec 1995; USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) July 1998.
The keel for the tenth and last Nimitz Class, USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77), was laid in September 2003 and the carrier will enter service in 2009. The vessel will have a modernised island house with new radar tower and transparent armour windows as well as upgraded navigation and communications systems. It will also have a new aircraft launch and recovery system and JP-5 fuel system for improved storage and handling of aircraft fuel. This will be the first transition ship to a new class of carriers, CVN 78 (formerly known as CVN 21 and CVNX), planned for construction start in 2007 and delivery in 2014. Northrop Grumman Newport News will be the prime contractor for the program and Raytheon will be responsible for weapons system integration. CVN 78 will incorporate new technologies including a new multi-function radar system, volume search radar and open architecture information network, providing a significantly reduced crew requirement, and a new nuclear power plant.
DESIGN
They have a length of 317m and beam of 40.8m. The carrier reaches a maximum speed of over 30 knots, and accommodates a complement of 3,184 personnel (with 203 officers); 2,800 aircrew (with 366 officers); and 70 flag (with 25 officers).
AIRCRAFT
The 50 TACAIR air wing includes up to 82 aircraft. Typically this would be: 12 F/A-18E/F Hornets, 36 F/A-18 Hornets, 4 E-2C Hawkeyes, and 4 EA-6B Prowlers fixed-wing; and the following helicopters: 4 SH-60F and 2 HH-60H Seahawks. ...
Air wings can be varied according to the nature of the operation: for example, in 1994, 50 army helicopters replaced the usual air wing on the USS Dwight D Eisenhower during operations off Haiti.
The flight deck measures 333 x 77m and is equipped with four lifts, four steam-driven catapults and four arrester wires. The carrier is capable of launching one aircraft every 20 seconds.
MISSILES
The more recently built carriers are armed with three Raytheon GMLS Mk 29 eight-cell launchers for Nato Seasparrow surface-to-air missiles. Seasparrow has a range of 14.5km and semi-active radar terminal guidance. The carriers are also being fitted with the Raytheon RAM (Rolling Airframe) missile system, which provides short-range defence against incoming anti-ship missiles, including sea-skimming missiles.
GUNS
There are four Raytheon/General Dynamics 20mm Phalanx 6-barrelled Mk 15 close-in weapon systems which have a firing rate of 3,000 rounds/min and a range of 1.5km.
COUNTERMEASURES
Decoys include four Sippican SRBOC (Super Rapid Bloom Off-Board Chaff) 6-barrelled Mk 36 decoy launchers, which deploy infrared flares and chaff, SSTDS torpedo defence system and AN/SLQ-25 Nixie torpedo countermeasures system, from Sensytech Inc of Newington, Virginia.
The Raytheon AN/SLQ-32(V) electronic warfare system detects hostile radar emissions by two sets of antennae and the system analyses the pulse repetition rate, the scan mode, the scan period, and the frequency. The system identifies the threat and direction, provides a warning signal and interfaces to the ship's countermeasures systems.
COMBAT SYSTEMS
The carriers’ combat data systems are based around the Block 0 or 1 naval tactical and advanced combat direction system (ACDS) with communications Links 4A, 11, 14, and 16. Weapons control is managed by three Mk 91 Mod 1 MFCS directors for the Seasparrow missile. USS Nimitz and USS Ronald Reagan have been fitted with the SSDS Mk2 Mod 0 ship self defense system, developed by Raytheon. The SSDS will provide automated self-defence against anti-ship cruise missiles (ASCMs) by integrating and co-ordinating the ship’s weapon and electronic warfare systems.
USS Nimitz has also been fitted with the Lockheed Martin TIS (Tactical Input Segment) digital reconnaissance processing system, which can receive real-time imagery from airborne sensors.
PROPULSION
The nuclear-powered carrier has two General Electric pressurised water reactors driving four turbines of 260,000hp (194MW) and four shafts. There are four emergency diesels of 10,720hp (8MW).
F/A-18 Hornet on the flight deck.
USS Theodore Roosevelt – Nimitz class.
A Nimitz class aircraft carrier carrying a full complement of aircraft.
USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) launches a RIM-7 NATO Sea Sparrow System (NSSM) missile.
Aircraft Carriers enable the USA to carry out actions without the need for foreign bases.
F/A-18F Touchdown with tail-hook deployed.
USS George Washington – Nimitz class.
Aviation ordnancemen load an AIM-Sidewinder air-to-air missile.
From another site, this is the Stennis during high speed trials. (There's something mighty impressive about seeing a ship that size maneuvering with such grace.)
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