TonyGuitar

BP Oil Spill Sad but a Boost to EVs

2010-06-03T18:01:00.000-07:00

The BP oil spill is a major blow to the rich wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico and a true disaster. The only possible bright side to this is that it will be a boost for Electric Vehicles and other energy sources like bloomboxes and fuel cells.

Technorati Token... 7YUWFBM5ZXH4

Big firms like Fedex, Google, Walmart Ebay are already using Bloomboxes on their property. They don't have to worry about downed power lines any more.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6228923n

A recent investor's news letter sees this power trend coming. Here is a little copy from their newsletter.....

[Qute]

The "Smart Grid" is NOT the BIG Story.
To see how much energy pundits don’t know, just watch how many times they bring up the "smart grid," or the "energy internet."

That’s all the pundits talk about, because that’s all the power companies want you to know about.
Their futures depend on our 100-year old system of centralized power.
A switch to localized power generation would destroy them, and even they know it!

In fact, asked confidentially about their prospects, one in seven utility industry professionals expect their industry to disappear by 2050.
It’s no wonder they feel that way.

In the next 20 years alone the world will need about 75% more electricity. In the next 50 years we’ll need 350% more.
NENE's motion power technology could help solve that problem.
Our electric grid is already maxed out and ready to fail at any minute.

Duke Energy, PG&E, SoCalEd and all the other power industry companies are heavily invested in those huge and crumbling power plants and their 10,000 miles of transmission lines.

And making the grid "smart" is just a band-aid.
They’re not about to make room for new technologies like New Energy Technologies.
[/Quote]

We can all look forward to local power and most importantly, no downed power lines. In fact no power lines at all!

UK Reva Electric Car co. [G-Wiz] Award Winner

2008-06-03T00:07:00.000-07:00

**LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The 2008 Frost & Sullivan European Automotive Powertrain Company of the Year Award is presented to Reva Electric Car Company (RECC) for demonstrating excellence in sales volumes, superior market penetration and high levels of customer satisfaction within the electric vehicle (EV) industry. In 2007, on average one REVA electric car was sold per day in the United Kingdom.

RECC is the world's best selling developer and manufacturer of electric cars and a pioneer of EV technologies. It is the first company to break through the price-performance barrier with an EV, the first to successfully commercialise EVs and, the first to volume sell EVs with AC motor drives.

**Technology leadership has enabled RECC to break the price-performance barrier and consistently develop and commercialise new mobility solutions,** notes Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Anjan Hemanth Kumar. **In 2007, RECC achieved milestones in terms of battery and electric motor technology.**

Research and development on lithium ion batteries reached new heights when RECC successfully tested and evaluated lithium ion batteries for the REVA quadricycle. The newly developed lithium ion batteries provide a driving range of more than 140 kilometers compared to 60-80 km from the existing lead acid battery pack.

http://tinyurl.com/5nghy6
======================== AutoblogGreen.com
= TG

Oil Gas & diesel prices flying higher

2008-05-19T14:30:00.000-07:00

Can the CRUNCH be far off??

Another twist to our dubious affair with gasoline. . .

Mexican crude oil supplies to U.S. to be cut back by 184,000 bpd

** Pemex PMI Comercio Internacional, has some bad news for U.S. oil consumers. Mexico will be sending America less oil this year - to the tune of 184,000 barrels per day.

The cuts will continue for at least the next two years because production of crude in Mexico has been falling. **

http://tinyurl.com/5uk4ky
======================== [interesting comments]
= TG

GM Volt E-flex test lithium-ion from A123Systems and LG Chem

2008-05-06T08:26:00.000-07:00

Big news out of General Motors, where Vice Chairman Bob Lutz says engineers have started road-testing Chevrolet Volt test mules with lithium-ion batteries and the company has "growing confidence" the car will be in showrooms before the end of 2010.

Maximum Bob let the battery tidbit slip during an interview with the Detroit News where he told automotive editor Manny Lopez, "We've got the first car running (with lithium-ion batteries) ... and what the guys get on 'sightings' is a picture of an old Malibu with black wheels and a very long extension cord."

We're not sure what he meant by the sightings crack but figure it must be reference to the excitement generated by spy-shots that supposedly showed a Volt test mule testing the E-Flex battery-electric powertrain. GM tells us those pictures, snapped by a photographer for Brenda Priddy and Company, actually showed a chassis development mule.

We've known for awhile that GM is testing lithium-ion battery packs from LG Chem and A123Systems and has put some E-Flex drivetrain components in test mules, but this is the first report that the engineers have li-ion batteries in a road-going car (even if it is a three-year-old Malibu). GM spokesman Robert Peterson said he couldn't comment on the batteries, so we'll take Maximum Bob at his word.

Lutz is cracking the whip hard to get the Volt built by 2010, and CEO Rick Wagoner told reporters at the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition that GM will go "down to the wire" meeting that deadline. Still, Lutz told the Wall Street Journal (subscription required) GM should begin production of the Volt by November, 2010. He says the Volt has a "pretty good shot of getting over 100 mpg" but GM doesn't plan to use the E-Flex powertrain technology in a compact car, although it could be placed in a "small pickup truck" if tightening fuel economy rules require it.

Lutz also dropped this bomb in the Detroit News interview, and it's sure to hack off EV 1 fanatics:

"The only things that were wrong with the EV1 (GM's first electric car) was that it was way too expensive to make; it was only a two-passenger; and the battery technology was not ready," Lutz said. "It was a noble effort, but it was a technological force job and at a time when nobody cared. We could not find more than 800 buyers for that thing no matter how hard we tried or no matter how much we dropped the price. Finally we had to lease them out."

Let the flaming begin.

http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/04/gms-road-testin.html

Thanks to Lyle Dennis, editor of GM-Volt.com, for the pic he snapped of the Volt test mule. He's got more pictures and details

Canada US Dollar inflation loss closing fast?

2008-05-05T20:52:00.000-07:00

Meet Honda *Insight*. THE top efficiency car you can*t find or buy used.

Another twist to our dubious affair with gasoline. . .

Mexican crude oil supplies to U.S. to be cut back by 184,000 bpd

** Pemex PMI Comercio Internacional, has some bad news for U.S. oil consumers. Mexico will be sending America less oil this year - to the tune of 184,000 barrels per day. The cuts will continue for at least the next two years because production of crude in Mexico has been falling. **

http://tinyurl.com/5uk4ky
======================== [interesting comments]

As fuel costs rise, so too do foods and everything else. Time for an Electric Car, EV, and a back garden.
= TG

2500 Euros for no gas vehicle and $299 for laptop

2008-01-05T11:35:00.000-08:00

Things are looking up for us ** Poor Boys**

To go along with the new modern Asustek laptop bargain at $299,

http://tinyurl.com/2zt7et

you will soon be able to buy a car that uses no gas or diesel for 2,500 Euros.

There is a BBC video waiting for you at:
AutoBlogGreen.com

French designed, India made at Tata Motors and a new plant going up in Melbourn Au.

Soon, a car and a great laptop for 9K. = TG

GM CEO Bob Lutz and $3000 China Patag

2007-12-11T01:32:00.000-08:00

I lifted this image from Part 2 [youtube video], of GM CEO Bob Lutz and his talk to the GM troops about new trends and new models.

GM is heavily invested in China and this set of wheels sells for about $3K.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RH0zUS-WGWo&feature=related

That*s what you will hear Lutz say in the video. He also says the designers in China have caught up and the example he shows proves he is correct. He says he is glad GM is part of the China output.

MiniCooper lithium 65k hybrid on Sams cover

2007-12-11T00:54:00.000-08:00

A fun set of wheels for the ** Cashed up Greenies ** trend setters.

Click on the Photo once and get a full sized view.=TG

EVs in Canada - red tape -CBC News

2007-11-11T17:19:00.000-08:00

Exxon, Chevron and Alberta Govt. lobbies don*t hate the Electric Car, do they?

Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers Association [Debunked]

2007-11-03T13:11:00.000-07:00

[ [This modern Paris Taxi runs on compressed air = clean! ]

Debunking Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers Assn. 4/5 propaganda ad ; Page A7 National Post October 30th 2007

*We Have a Plan to Do More*
*New Technologies. We*ve introduced 70 new green technologies since 2005.

[Nice claim, but no list or examples.]

*Better fuels. We need more choice in renewable bio-fuels.

[Sure, anything to keep Internal combustion engines on the highways, practicality be dammed.]
[Only two (2) multi-mix E85 bio-fuel stations in Canada, so far.]

*Getting old polluting vehicles off the road. Government programs need to be expanded to replace older vehicles sooner.

[ A ploy to sell more cars by Government law. No mention that there are quick cures for engines that burn oil. Longer service of properly serviced oil burning vehicles is better for the ecology than scrapping and buying new.]

* Government leadership. Governments can continue to lead by purchasing new green technology vehicles for fleets.

[ Or Governments can lead buy converting hybrid fleet vehicles to (PEVs), Plug-in electric vehicles.] [No need to burn fossil fuels at all in daily service work.]

* Changes in driving behaviour. We must work together to help drivers reduce emissions. We can all make a difference.

[ Nonsense! Driving behaviour is a fixed value, is never likely to change and the CVMA knows it!

* Starting in 2011, we will be working toward more strigent efficiency standards with available most advanced technologies.[ Gonna play golf until 2011? Hogwash!]

Let me simplify the obvious cure for the Cdn. Vehicle Manufacturers Assn. Simply supply the 1993 EV-1 (Electric Vehicle) technology that was withdrawn and crushed in a secure GM compound in Arizona and then watch the poison smog that envelopes all cities vanish. Not to mention the freedom from paying a fortune to pump volatile gasoline for the excessive profits of Exxon, Chevron and the general club of oily carpetbaggers.]

The Propaganda on page A7 National Post speaks loudest by omission. There is not a mention of EV or PEV or battery. [Electric vehicle - Plug-in Electric vehicle.]

Understandable; The sale of electric vehicles with one motor moving part, ( the motor armature ), is not profit laden when compared to all the moving parts and attached systems for the old oil burning or bio-fuel motor.

Exxon, of Valdez oil spill fame, were court ordered to pay a penalty of 4 Billion$. Exxon appealed and had that reduced by half to two Billion$. Exxon is appealing the 2 Billion$ penalty for a reduction to zero$. Exxon is the worlds largest and most profitable corporation with profits in the Billion$. You would think they would pay some penalty just for political public relations reasons.

The CVMA begins with saying * We have a plan to do more* but notice that most points following seem to suggest that Government and the public must do more.

This post is meant to be constructive, CVMA. Back to the drawing board, and this time show us how YOU plan to do more!= TG

Green Your Car or Truck - Stop Blue Oil Smoke

2007-10-04T07:31:00.000-07:00

Change of plan. Keeping the Jeep for now. It stopped burning oil. I really like the Wagoneer. Everything works well in this tough well built vehicle, it was only the oil burning that caused me to consider a newer Jeep. Now that the blue is cured, I can keep an old but good jeep out of the bone yard. This is how you can reduce or stop burning oil in your engine..

The old mechanic came over to the pumps and began conversation with;
"Nice looking’ truck,"
"Saw your blue smoke,'" he added. "Thinkin’ of rebuilding the engine?”
I replaced the hose in the pump and turned around. "Maybe later," I shrugged,
figuring he was trying to drum up some business. "Costs too damn much."

He grinned. "Twenty bucks sit favorable?"

"For what?" I said.

"For fixin’ what's wrong. Go get a cup of coffee. It'll be in good shape when you get back."

"You've got to be kidding!"

He wasn't. Told me he had been a mechanic for nearly 40 years and had rebuilt countless engines. But, for the past year or so, since learning of a new product and devising his own technique for using it, he wasn't doing much rebuilding. "Getting’ too old," he complained, "to keep tearing engines down and putting ‘em back together."

Twenty minutes later, I drove out "memorizing" some instructions. My smoke plume soon disappeared and the engine ran progressively better. Almost immediately oil consumption and plug fouling stopped. Today, nearly 15,000 miles later, I still don't add oil between changes and you never heard a better running old truck! Now, here's the "Secret Technique" that venerable master mechanic revealed to me, which you can easily do yourself:-

First, check for and correct any oil leaks around valve covers and oil pan. Tightening bolts may do the trick. If not, install new gaskets or have the work done. (This procedure won't stop leaks.) If front or rear engine-bearing seals leak, add a can of "Bearing Seal Additive" after Step #2. Chances are it will stop or vastly minimize the problem at low cost. (It did for me.) Okay, here are the 3 Steps:-

1. Drain engine oil and replace oil filter. You've probably been using a multi-grade 10-30 or 10-40 weight oil. Or a straight 30 weight oil. Regardless, replace that oil with one grade heavier, single-weight of oil. During warm months, use 40 weight; in the winter (depending on how far the mercury dips in your part of the country) use 20 or 30 weight. Slightly thicker oil won't hurt that worn engine. A good battery will still turn over fast.

2. Add two cans (30 ounces) of Alemite CD 2 for Oil Burning, which replaces one quart of the oil you normally use during an oil change. (If capacity with new filter is less than 5 quarts, use one can of the Alemite.)

3. Drive vehicle at town-speed, 20 to 35 miles per hour, for at least 50 miles (a 100 mile distance is better), before opening it up to expressway speeds. That's all there is to it!

Steps #1 and #3 are the real secret, assuring success when the "usual" additive treatment helps little if at all. Here's why, as my mechanic friend explained it to me:-

The Alemite contains a substance that builds-up between ring and cylinder wall, forming a tough, long-lasting seal. Problem is, standard 30 weight (in moderate clime) and multi-grade oils are too thin; they don't have sufficient "body" to prevent most of the sealer from blowing past rings BEFORE it can do its job. A heavier, single weight oil retards the blow-by and speeds-up the seal formation.

Driving at moderate speed for the first 50 miles or so, also helps accomplish fast seal build-up. Use a heavy foot on the accelerator immediately after treatment, and the fast-moving pistons pump much of the oil and sealer out the tail pipe.

The sealing compound, after setting-up, isn't as hard as steel. So, to prevent seal from deteriorating, add one can of the Alemite when changing oil thereafter. You might get away with going back to a thinner or multi-grade oil. But, why change a winning plan!

My success wasn't a "fluke" or something possible only with my type or make of vehicle! I was so delighted with results that I talked a friend into trying the same remedy. He owned a 1976 Pontiac Grand Prix, a real "Oilcoholic" with more than 120,000 miles of hard driving and lousy maintenance. He dropped from an oil consumption of a quart every 300 miles, to zero oil burning. One of his co-workers, impressed with the "born-again behemoth", bought a clean classic - a '65 Mustang Fastback with a real tired engine - for very little money. Using this procedure, he sold it at a handsome profit!

Soon, as the good news spread, I received reports of many successful applications - on foreign and domestic four-bangers, boats, even a couple of diesel-powered farm tractors. That's when I decided to advertise this "know-how" in a small way.

Incidentally, I have no connection with the Alemite company, nor is this report based on any "lab tests". All I know is that this method worked great for me, my friends, their friends, and a bunch of others. I can't see that there's any "risk" involved, but my lawyer insists I put this in:- The Seller of this information assumes no liability or responsibility for any vehicle damage resulting from the use of this information. “Use at your own risk."

Look at it this way. You invested a small amount for information that can save you hundreds of dollars. Your present car or truck can now provide you with many months, or even years, of additional service... postpone the need to buy a new vehicle, for a long time to come. Not to mention keeping blue smoke from the environment.

Alemite CD 2 for Oil Burning usually retails for around $2.25 per 15 ounce can; Engine Bearing Seal, for about $2.50 for 15 ounces. Both products are widely sold at supermarkets and of course, auto supply stores. [Thanks to: HowToAdvice.com]

PS: Zellers sells a one litre of oil for older cars, [in the RED plastic container for $5.99]. It may contain the same material as Alemite. I*m guessing Molybdinum.= TG

Phoenix EV SUT Best Electric Vehicle so far ?

2007-07-16T11:15:00.000-07:00

These are the two most promising EVs, unless you can suggest a better candidate. To me the EV SUT [ sport utility vehicle ], is the most ideal so far. I am aware of the $90K Tesla Roadster, but we are speaking practical choice for the moment.

The Phoenix SUT goes for about $45K, yet what other Useful EV can you suggest that is available today? If you come up with a winner, I*ll post the description and photo here. = TG

EV battery pack conversion complex? Yes and No

2007-06-25T15:28:00.000-07:00

Check this simple diagram and ask yourself, ** Can I do this? **

http://www.docdockdocuments.com/conversion/Conversion51.htm

http://www.docdockdocuments.com/conversion/ConversionIndex.htm

http://www.driveev.com/jeepev/photos/pgallery20.php

The basic simplicity of the Electric Vehicle can make one wonder at the needless complexity and inflated prices * Big Auto * likes us to believe are warranted for simple transportation.

This is an excellent EV conversion project by Nick = http://DriveEV.com

http://www.docdockdocuments.com/conversion/ConversionIndex.htm

The converter :
Even the 400v to 12v DC to DC converter need not be connected to the drive current supply.

For accessory lights and battery charging. I would prefer an independent charger system because the converter needs to throw off a lot of wasted heat.

The function of the main breaker is the obvious safety device. Not so obvious is the inertia breaker in case of a collision accident. One more safety feature is the dash mount pull to open the main breaker via mechanical cable tripping.

Batteries
10 deep-cycle gellCell batteries = 120Vdc @ $120 each = $1200
[ Heavy, should do until light, Hi-density batteries are reasonable in price. ]

400 Amp DC motor
Used DC9 400 amp DC motor Model FB-1 - 4001A = $
[Surplus auction or used military airfield supply]

Controller
These are the main elements to consider before getting started. You can get full conversion kits and they generally start at $9K , [ without batteries], so if you go this route it will be a month or two before you break even on gas savings.

Ken, gets his conversion supplies from Canadian Electric Vehicles Ltd Errington B.C. here on Vancouver Island just inland from Parksvill up from Nanaimo.

http://www.canev.com/

http://www.docdockdocuments.com/conversion/ConversionIndex.htm

http://www.driveev.com/jeepev/photos/pgallery.php

Temptation, . . . Eh? = TG

Phoenix battery EV SUV

2007-06-12T20:13:00.000-07:00

. . . . [Owe them plenty . . Visit; AutoBlogGreen.com = Just the Best!]
Last week at their annual shareholders meeting battery developer Altairnano Technologies showed off the SUV version of the Phoenix Motor Cars truck. The fully enclosed version of the vehicle was available for meeting attendees to drive and most came away fairly impressed. In the Reno Gazette-Journal article, Phoenix's Bryon Bliss acknowledges that the vehicle itself is made by an Korean company he won't name.

For the record the Phoenix SUV is a Ssangyong Actyon. Ssangyong has been best known in markets where they sell for what can charitably be described as quirky styling. Fortunately the Actyon is among the most normal looking of their lineup. As for the battery powered variants from Phoenix there is really nothing new to report.

As for Altairnano, one of the main stumbling blocks that is probably preventing big carmakers from adopting their batteries is the issue of producing the batteries in large quantities at an affordable price. General Motors in particular is trying to create a vehicle based on the Volt by 2010 at 100,000+ unit volumes for a price of around $30,000 or less. At this point, that may not be possible with the Altairnano battery.

*87 Jeep Wagoneer still looks good

2007-05-28T20:40:00.001-07:00

This is a great 4 cyl. about town jeep with 238K. Just the thing for ease in the snow and the odd 4x4 venture on logging roads. The economical 4 cyl is not designed for freeway passing but you can stay in the right lane. I like the looks and did have the chance to sell it a couple of times when I was*nt in the mood, but now I am in the mood and have reduced it from $2900 to $2400 OBO.

I really want an Electric Vehicle, but like most people, just can not afford it right now. The Phoenix is $45,000. A bit rich but the EV motorbike is only $900 to $1400 and that may do for a short time. = TG
PS: The gas money saved will be a good down payment.

Prius Hybrid 52 MPG battery assist

2007-05-21T21:22:00.000-07:00

Prices for a good used Prius are quite reasonable. Using one of the auto shopping finder service sites, you can use 98401 for a zip code and see what is selling from 11K to 22K in the WA area not too far south of Vancouver. BC.

Ideally, Evs like the Phoenix SUT [ Sport Utility Truck ], [Scroll down a few], are perfect since they allow you to remain mobile even when gas at the pumps is reserved, during a crisis, for police and emergency only.

A newer used Prius is an excellent interim choice. The money you save on gas can go toward a new EV, [ Electric Vehicle ] when they are easier to get.

Balkan Vehicle by Armet. . Weak?

2007-05-20T11:25:00.000-07:00

This is a real shell of safety, yet it could be made more secure if you think about it*s weak points.

[1] Blocking the exhaust = failure

[2] Intake air [ oxygen], substitute inert gas = failure

[3] Damage to cooling radiator = failure

[4] No gas or diesel = failure

There are more, but the point is BatteryPack operation avoids all these security weaknesses.

An on board biofuel 3 cyl 4 stroke genplant can extend the range anytime. . . . . Here are two Gurkhas by Armet.

Government t Gas or Hybrid compare pages

2007-05-16T18:22:00.000-07:00

For your next new car . . .
Canada Government Gives you great Info Value Free!

oee.nrcan.gc.ca/transportation/personal/pdfs/most-efficient-vehicles-2006.pdf
http://tinyurl.com/2cmz24
There are 12 car photos per page for each year from 1999 to 2007. Each photo and specs in order of gas efficiency.
============ Check the year page for your car
[Photo]
Honda Insight
1.0 L, 3 cylinder hybrid
5 speed manual
Annual Fuel Cost: $504
Annual Fuel Use: 720 L
CO2 Emissions/Year: 1728 kgTwo-
Fuel Consumption City: 3.9 L/100 km (72 mi./gal.) Hwy: 3.3 L/100 km (86 mi./gal.)

[Photo]
Volkswagen Jetta
TDI Diesel Wagon
1.9 L, 4 cylinder
5 speed manual
Annual Fuel Cost: $791
Annual Fuel Use: 1180 L
CO2 Emissions/Year: 3186 kg
Fuel Consumption City: 6.6 L/100 km (43 mi./gal.) Hwy: 5.2 L/100 km (54 mi./gal.)

[Photo]
Volkswagen New Beetle
TDI Diesel
1.9 L, 4 cylinder
5 speed manual
Annual Fuel Cost: $737
Annual Fuel Use: 1100 L
CO2 Emissions/Year: 2970 kg
Fuel Consumption City: 6.2 L/100 km (46 mi./gal.) Hwy: 4.6 L/100 km (61 mi./gal.)

[Photo]
Pontiac Vibe [When 35MPG standard arrives, all below this disqualified]
1.8 L, 4 cylinder
5 speed manual
Annual Fuel Cost: $980
Annual Fuel Use: 1400 L
CO2 Emissions/Year: 3360 kg
Fuel Consumption City: 7.9 L/100 km (36 mi./gal.) Hwy: 5.9 L/100 km (48 mi./gal.)

No need for hybrid unless you want bigger car w/ lower MPG. Most Hybrids are no gas = no go. To be free of gas pumps and sudden gas outs, you need an Electric Vehicle. [EV]

I like the Phoenix short box p/u EV.. Scroll down to white p/u photo. =TG

Toyota hybrid sport power Demon

2007-05-12T15:34:00.000-07:00

The June '07 print edition of Automobile casually drops a bit of a bombshell in page 30. They report that Toyota has given the FT-HS hybrid sports car the green light for production. You should remember the FT-HS concept from this year's Detroit Auto Show, where it was one of the most significant unveilings. The Calty-designed production version will make its debut in 2009.

[Photo credit..thanks AutoBlogGreen. com ]

Battery powered EV enriches Pizza Guy

2007-05-12T10:45:00.000-07:00

Domino's Pizza (The Official Pizza of NASCAR, btw) delivers piles of pizzas every day and probably burns several gallons of fuel, or at least pays their drivers to burn it. So going electric probably sounds pretty good to both the bean counters and the environmentalists.

We usually give a good size tip to the Pizza Guy. How much can he be making,.. right?
Well think again. If his vehicle never stops at the gas pump, he makes a decent income.

Further more, if he has shares in his EV maker*s company or in the AltairNanosafe Battery firm, then the Pizza Guy is likely to buy the apartment building he delivers to eventually.
Battery powered EVs do save you from financial abuse at the pumps.

Photo Credit & some copy = Thanks to AutoblogGreen.com
[Visit this Website!]

EV Battery Charge Range Compared

2007-05-11T13:13:00.000-07:00

Remember, that while 250 miles can seem limited at first glance, every last owner of the 135 mile range EV1 loved their EV and would have bought it from GM if GM had allowed sales instead of reclaiming them all back off lease.

EV - Altairnano lithium titinate battery talk

2007-05-07T11:28:00.000-07:00

This is the new Phoenix SUT, [Sport Utility Truck], using the quick-charge AltairNanoSafe battery pack.

Charging forward in Exponential times with the latest battery talk . .

Between AltairNanosafe battery and AutoBlogGreen

AG: we have developed a new class of electrode materials that are used in lithium ion batteries. And it's analogous to what was done with the nickel-based batteries 20 or so years ago when metal hydride electrode materials replaced cadmium in nickel cadmium batteries to produce what's called nickel metal hydride batteries. And we're doing something similar with our nano structure ceramic materials where we produce a lithium titanate material that's used to replace graphite that's conventionally used in conventional lithium ion batteries and as a result we have a new class of batteries that we call nanotitanate to reflect the new electrode material.

Now, these batteries have almost unbelievable performance in that they can be recharged very rapidly. Depending upon the power supply, we can recharge these batteries in less than a minute.

In large format that would power, say, a full sized all electric vehicle that carries five adults. Those battery packs can be recharged in less than ten minutes.

These are not souped-up golf carts. These vehicles can break loose the tires from a standing start, accelerate to speeds in excess of 100 miles an hour, even though that's higher than the speed limits of American roads.

The batteries have tremendous life, estimated to be in the range of 12 to 15 years, or about the design life of the vehicle. And importantly, these batteries can operate at minus 50 Centigrade to plus 75 Centigrade, or 165 Fahrenheit. It's unusual battery technology and the technology's been validated by third parties.

AG: We have been talking with Zap and Lotus and yes, Zap has, aspirations to use the Altair technology in their vehicle. And we're in discussion around the commercial terms of that agreement. Just a comment if I may, Sam. I'm not aware of anyone who has battery technology similar to Altairnano's NanoSafe battery performance.

ABG: Right. That's why I asked the question the way I did. Essentially your company are the only ones that would fit into the description of what Zap has given for what they expect their vehicle to do.

AG: Well, I'm sure that Steven is, Steven Schneider, the CEO of Zap, he's been quite interested in the Altairnano technology for some time. we've had extensive discussions with Steven and his team and I think he's quite excited about the Altair nanotechnology and what it can do for the Zap vehicle.

ABG: Well, it's definitely very exciting technology, and I'm looking forward to actually seeing it in, in real vehicles in the real world. speaking of which, are you also, working with any other car makers besides Phoenix and potentially Zap, at this point?

AG: Yes, we are. We have several programs, the one that we've talked the most about is our program with Alcoa where we're working on a joint program to provide hybrid electric battery packs that would be used in medium duty hybrid electric trucks.

These are parcel delivery trucks and route trucks. We do have some other programs with other automotive OEMs and truck manufacturers, but we've not really disclose those yet, but we'll be saying something about that the second quarter of 2007.
================ AutoBlogGreen.com
=TG

Tesla EV auto Stores coming

2007-05-01T10:16:00.000-07:00

Since initial sales volumes will be relatively low, and very little maintenance is required with an electric car, they won't need as many stores at first.

Initially there will be five customer centers opening up in 2007 in the strongest markets for the Roadster. After that, more will be added over the next two years in preparation for the launch of WhiteStar.

Tesla Marketing VP Darryl Siry confirmed that they have selected a location in Los Angeles and are scouting locations in the Bay Area, Chicago and New York. The Miami area is another likely launch location for the Roadster, since it's a natural market for sports cars. After launching the Roadster, they will move into other secondary markets like Seattle, Boston and Atlanta.
============= Borrowed under kindness and tolerance of: AutoBlogGreen.com
= TG

EV Electric Vehicle vs Hydrogen

2007-04-30T18:13:00.000-07:00

GM Flex EV $30K to $60K ? and no fuel to buy.

[Both photo credits: AutoBlog.com]

GM Flex Hydrogen One Million Dollars and what does fuel cost?

This seems like a no brainer. Looks like the EV is a shoe-in. One has to wonder about hydrogen when storage is such a challenge at 5000 psi.= TG

Hybrid vehicle, Battery plug-in [EV] or Bio-fuel car?

2007-04-29T09:43:00.000-07:00

Hybrid vehicle, Battery plug-in [EV] or Corn gas car?

With an EV, you will be able to drive scott-free for a limited time. Governments are devising ways to extract road taxes from highways users who do not buy gas or diesel. The following 10 comments debate should quickly bring you up to speed and help you decide what to drive.

I foresee a time when EV owners may be required to drive through a kiosk and pay a mileage tax in order to support highways the way fossil car owners do.

Do not miss your gas tax holiday. Try to enjoy that EV or even a compromise hybrid soon. The following may help you choose your next ride.

This exchange from the comments at: Autobloggreen.com [ A Great Blogsite BTW ]

(Page 1)
1. Corn...does a car good. I wish all cars would go green.
Posted at 11:58PM on Apr 27th 2007 by Steve Shickles

2. Well,
now that the public understands the difference between corn and cellulosic ethanol, it's time to complicate it again. There's two forms of cellulosic ethanol: 1)Enzyme, which you just mentioned and 2) Gasification, such as what the DOE just funded and you covered.

Gasification involves burning the biomass in the absence of oxygen, and taking the resulting "syngas" and converting it into liquid through the Fischer Tropsch process. Gasification will produce much more ethanol because it is more flexible. MIT claims they can convert Municipal Solid Waste into ethanolwith that process for $.10-.95/gallon. They further state that there is enough MSW to replace 25% of the gasoline we consume today. This is the technology that will truly take ethanol to the nest level.

http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/18084/

http://www.energy.gov/news/4827.htm
Posted at 8:44AM on Apr 28th 2007 by Rick

3. Once an EV battery pack is made, it requires only charging for its 10 year life, or 12 year life. [ AltairNano Ca.]

Biofuel, on the other hand requires ...

Land and cultivation
Labour for processing
BTUs for processing
Trucking of crop
Trucking of waste
Trucking of finished fuel product
Blending and pumping of product
All this on a daily basis

Not to mention the required ICEngine and all the cooling, ignition and exhaust systems that requires.

Biofuels must be a short term stop gap measure. = TG
Posted at 12:31PM on Apr 28th 2007 by TG

4. Corn derived biofuels are vastly more expensive than we may realize.

How practical is a fuel source that creates dietary and financial hardship for millions of Mexicans and South Americans who rely on the corn tortilla staple food?

What is the true price of corn based fuel when it pushes up the price of beef and hogs?

Fools rush in.. eh? = TG

Posted at 12:58PM on Apr 28th 2007 by TG

5. TG,
2 points.

I agree with your assessment of Altair. I am a stockholder and major advocat. And the nanosafe could displace 80% of the gasoline mileage today. I hope a major battery manufacturer buys them out soon, for, maybe $10/share. ;-) But there will be a need for ethanol for years because of heavy transport, trucks, etc even if all cars become electric only.

However, the jobs, labor, land, etc that you talk about for biofuels as a negative is actually a positive. Up until now, it has been impossible for small farms to compete with commercial farms in the production of food crops. Now, with prices at this level, farmers all over the world are back tilling the soil and growing much more food than they consume and the rest will be sold for fuel. Net effect? Jobs, jobs, and more jobs in countries all around the world for farms and all the products in that commercial chain such as tractors, fertilizer, etc, etc.

This is only the first crop year since prices have gone up. The Agriculture Dept released crop figures in late March and 16% more cropland went for corn than last year. Even more, the "setaside acreage", the land the govt has been paying farmers not to produce, is going back into production now, slowly. There were something like 30 million of those acreas last year. Fewer subsidies, more crops, more money flowing in the economy, everybody benefits.

Trust the free market system a little more. The laws of supply and demand really do work. We are just spoiled by cheap energy and food prices. In fact, the corn crop i mentioned, which was up 16%, only takes us back up to WWII levels of production. The gov't has been trying to slow down production of crops for decades because they were driving prices through the floor with excess production. Farmers are revving up and it is very good for the economy. Worldwide.

Do you really believe all those people in S America are going to starve when all they have to do is plant some corn, eat well and sell the excess for some extra jingle?
Posted at 3:57PM on Apr 28th 2007 by Rick

6. TG,
Go back to my original post and factor in 1)the MIT MSW-to-ethanol scenario along with the 2)AltairNanoSafe battery(or any other battery that will get the consumer 60miles/day of gasoline free driving) and:

1)The MIT proposal displaces 25% of gasoline consumed today with ethanol from garbage.

2) Since 80% of all drivers go less than 60 miles/day, the Nanosafe(or any other equal battery) would eliminate a corresponding amount of gasoline consumed.

If this country set out to implement ONLY THESE TWO EFFORTS, you could make a case for an American economy that eliminates the purchase of all offshore oil. And since we import about 20m bbls/day, that is a $1.2Billion/day impact on this economy!

The terrorists have a window of only about 5-7 years to disrupt our economy by taking out Saudi Arabian oil or other significant sources.

Now, we only replace about 6% of all automobiles each year so my outlook is optomistic, admittedly, but i believe it is an accurate prescription of what COULD BE DONE, it we set about it.

Posted at 4:59PM on Apr 28th 2007 by Rick

7. Rick,

There are always two sides to every debate and you filled out the picture in excellent form.

There are conditions in flux having to do with agra-corporations, and manipulative wholesalers, where some of the good things you outline may fade somewhat.

In any case the people in the stands here will make their own conclusions shaded by our input.
Posted at 6:15PM on Apr 28th 2007 by TG

8. Our underlying motives are the same.

To make North America able to function without the need for very much ME oil.

To devalue oil to a more realistic level and deprive Acmahdinejad of the means to build a nuclear reserve. [ The Russians are annoyed with his *Slow pay* policy now]

To enable the good people of Iran to take back their country from extremest Islamofascists. [ unemployment is high - economy is rough.]

=========== That part so we live a bit longer.

To free ourselves from the gas pump and it*s uncertainties.

To free ourselves from the old fashioned ICEngine and all the attached energy wasting systems.
[No anti-freeze. Fewer animals will die.]

To free ourselves from the stench of gasoline, the exhaust poisons and the volatile risk.

To breath cleaner air. [ Clean coal tech for gen plants in China, India, Asia and North America would do vastly more, however.]

Full steam.. er. NanoSafe batteries ahead. I can*t wait. = TG
Posted at 6:23PM on Apr 28th 2007 by TG

9. #3
TG, you fail to mention that to charge the EV battery pack someone needs to mine coal, uranium or drill for natural gas. Also, recall that coal and nuclear power plants are far less efficient than combined cycle plants fueled by natural gas. Natural gas which is in short supply in North America.

While a handful of persons may charge an EV with solar power, that is far from economically viable or practical in large numbers. I think it will be far easier to have biofuels meet most of our transportation needs than to generate trillions of kWh from renewable sources.

#4
Ethanol production from yellow field corn does not impact tortilla production from white corn. This myth has been discussed extensively.
Posted at 12:27AM on Apr 29th 2007 by Jimmy

10. Even though some grid power is provided by coal plant generation, it is far more efficient to tap the grid rather than have millions of power plants scooting about on four wheels.

There is capacity in the NA grid to support the overnight charging of 180 million EVs without stressing the system.

Air conditioners are far more demanding. That*s why there can be brown-outs during a heat wave.

Posted at 2:49AM on Apr 29th 2007 by TG

EVs Hybrid Electric Vehicles and the Grid

2007-04-25T11:48:00.000-07:00

[Photo Credit = Autoblog.com photo gallery]

Tony...just what is being used to produce all that electricity to recharge these wonderful electric cars? The Good Fairy?
Posted by: Justthinkin at April 25, 2007 6:08 AM

We'll need nuclear power for the extra electricity.
Posted by: Belisarius at April 25, 2007 10:12 AM

[ Discussion from SmallDeadAnimals blogsite ]

Justthinkin and Belisarius,

Too easy.

There is overnight recharge capacity in the grid for 180,000,000 electric vehicles without stress to the grid.

Air conditioners are far more demanding. That*s why there are brown outs in a heat wave.
Air conditioners are becoming much more energy efficient, much as the new refrigerators are.

Some hybrids like the new Ford Escape may not require plug-in at all. The battery pack is kept up through braking and downhill, or coasting.

The solar panel auto roof will be practical soon. Plug-in demand will become minimal or not required at all.

Just think. You go to work or the beach and your EV battery reserve is down to 25%. When its time to go home, the solar roof has you back up to 75%. Ain*t tech great?= TG
Posted by: TonyGuitar at April 25, 2007 12:49 PM

Escape Hybrid is HARD, saves $250,000 in gas

2007-04-25T10:12:00.000-07:00

[Credit = Autoblog.com photo gallery]

Ford is killing off the * Fix or repair daily* curse.

One of the concerns people have about hybrid vehicles is the durability of the complex drivetrains. Ford is helping to put some of that concern to rest. Less than two years ago a fleet of eighteen Escape Hybrids joined the ranks of New York City taxis. In that short span of time each one of them has now completed over 175,000 miles of service and saved an estimated $250,000 in fuel costs.

If a vehicle can survive the constant stop and go traffic of New York city streets while accumulating the same mileage as an average driver collects in 11 years, it's probably doing okay.
============ Thank you, Autoblog.com

Prius Escape Accord Hylander Civic Camry Hybrid

2007-04-22T22:58:00.000-07:00

[Credit = Autoblog.com photo gallery]

This is the first diagram you see when you go to GreenHybrid.com

BMW CS nice but needs batteries

2007-04-19T10:48:00.000-07:00

Here is the new Audi Quattro for some stiff comparison.

[Credit = Autoblog.com photo gallery]

The CS looks great and would be a run-away best seller if it didn*t need to run on gas.

BMW surprised everyone with their Shanghai antics today. Showing that they can play the four-door coupe game as well as Mercedes, Aston and Porsche, the Bavarians unveiled their Concept CS.

Expected to become BMW's new flagship model (8-series, perhaps?), the CS is believed to be almost production-ready. It sits on the newest 7-series platform under development, extending the length and width of the current 7 by a couple of inches, while dropping the roof line by a good five inches. it measures in at 200.8 inches long, 78 inches wide, and just 53.5-inches high. Even with the extra acreage, the CS is a four-seater only, with two sculpted seats in back.
======== Autoblog.com

Now that sure is one swanky looking car. = TG
BTW, Have you seen the Ford Hybrid Escape 8 year warranty? Scroll down.

Electric Zap EV plug-ins 8,000 and 10,000

2007-04-19T10:16:00.000-07:00

Fwance not completely hopeless.
10,000 EVs for postal service. When Iran pulls the next stunt in straits of Hormuz and there*s no gas. You still get your mail.

How many electric vehicles does $79 million buy? If you're buying from Zap! (maker of the Xebra, the car above, but solid black), it's probably around 8,000.

Zap! isn't saying how many vehicles exactly are involved in the massive deal they announced yesterday, but suffice it to say it's pretty big news.

Just as big - or perhaps a bit bigger - was the announcement of 10,000 EVs that will soon join the French postal service fleet. The electric car revolution is coming.
===== Autoblog.com

And just in time too! = TG

75 Phoenix EV SUTs battery electric selling well

2007-04-17T16:29:00.000-07:00

See? We told you Phoenix had a good thing with it's all-electric SUT. Phoenix says it's taken orders from several utility companies and municipalities for 75 of its battery-powered sport utility trucks. The Ontario-based company doesn't mention any buyers by name, though.

Phoenix has only to sell 425 more SUTs before December to reach its goal. Their next trick? A full-sized SUV capable of carrying seven passengers on not one drop of gas.

[Source: EV World]
Autoblog.com

Phoenix Motorcars Takes First Fleet Pre-sales Orders
for its All-Electric, Sports Utility Truck

Company on Track to Sell 500 Zero-Emission Vehicles in 2007

ONTARIO, Calif. - January 12, 2007 - Phoenix Motorcars has announced the receipt of 75 fleet orders from
several municipalities and an utility company for its new zero-emission, all-electric, freeway-ready sports utility truck. The company, which is on target to manufacture and sell 500 fleet-ready vehicles by year's end, will produce 16 pilot-build vehicles next month.

The company also confirmed that in consideration for a three-year exclusivity agreement within the U.S., Altair Nanotechnologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALTI), a leading supplier of nanomaterials and high-power battery systems technology, received a 16.6 percent ownership in the company. The three-year exclusivity agreement provides Phoenix with limited, exclusive use of Altairnano's NanoSafe™ battery packs in four-wheel, all-electric vehicles having a gross weight up to 6,000 pounds. Phoenix must meet minimum battery pack purchases, annually, to maintain the limited exclusivity agreement.

The minimum commitment to maintain exclusivity for 2007 would provide $16 Million in battery pack sales to Altairnano.
The Phoenix Motorcars sport utility truck can cruise on the freeway at up to 95 m.p.h. while carrying five passengers and a full payload, a capability that has caught the attention of fleet dealers, consumers, Hollywood and the media.

It exceeds all specifications for a Type III ZEV and has a driving range of 130 miles. Its battery can be recharged in less than 10 minutes and has a life-span of 12 years or more.
================== PhoenixMotorcars and AutoBlog.com

This is too much. Pass me a chair, I gotta sit down. = TG

Ford Hybrid Escape tries harder

2007-04-16T13:41:00.000-07:00

[Credit = Autoblog.com photo gallery]

Introducing another reason to love city life. Escape Hybrid delivers an impressive 34 mpg in stop-and-go driving situations.* It actually uses no fuel when you're stopped in traffic or driving at low speeds when running in pure electric mode.

Escape Hybrid's innovative nickel-metal-hydride (NiMH) battery is completely sealed and securely encased. It's stored neatly at the flat load floor of the spacious cargo area. What's more, the regenerative braking system recharges the NiMH battery each time you brake, so there is never any need to plug it in.

In a conventional vehicle when you brake, the energy is lost as heat. During braking in the Escape Hybrid, the electric motor captures this energy that is normally lost and sends it back to the battery pack to be stored for later use. Whenever you apply the brakes, you are, in effect, recharging the battery pack. Engineers call this regenerative braking and it represents a major part of the Escape Hybrid's fuel efficiency advantage over conventional vehicles.

[Credit = Autoblog.com photo gallery]

When it comes to warranty, Escape Hybrid has you covered - and then some. In addition to the standard 3 year/36,000 mile limited bumper-to-bumper plan, Escape Hybrid comes with an extended 8 year/100,000 mile limited warranty covering Hybrid components, bringing you solid peace of mind for the road ahead.*

*Unique Hybrid components covered under the 8 year/100,000 mile limited warranty are: High voltage battery (non-California emissions states) eCVT and DC/DC Converter. 10 year/150,000 mile limited hybrid battery warranty in CA, ME, MA, NY and VT.
============ Ford website

I have not been a Ford man but clearly Ford seems to be trying harder with this new Escape, the 500mile gas tank range and the 8 or 10 year warrany. Hummm = TG

GM and lithium-ion battery begging

2007-04-15T12:04:00.000-07:00

[Credit = Autoblog.com photo gallery]

By NORIHIKO SHIROUZU
April 13, 2007; Page B1

Wall Street Journal

General Motors Corp. executives -- blue over their company's less-than-green reputation and envious of eco-darling Toyota Prius -- began searching the world for advanced batteries they hoped would power a new generation of gas-electric hybrid cars.

Most roads led them to Japan, the leader in battery technology and #HYPERLINK *http://online.wsj.com/quotes/main.html?type=djn&symbol=tm*

WSJournal

Toyota Motor Corp.'s home turf. Several GM engineers and executives describe their experience at Panasonic EV Energy Co. Ltd., one of the top makers of hybrid-car batteries, as typical of the reception they received there: When GM team members asked for detailed information about the company's most sophisticated automotive lithium-ion batteries, Panasonic EV refused.

A Panasonic EV spokesman says that as a matter of company policy it only discloses that kind of information to its parent company, Toyota.

Facing growing pressure to curtail greenhouse-gas emissions, U.S. auto makers are increasingly worried that the critical battery technology they'll need to compete is getting locked up by Japanese rivals who moved more quickly to develop gas-electric hybrid vehicles.

*It's important to have the knowledge base on advanced automotive battery technology and manufacturing capacity right here locally in the U.S.* says Beth Lowery, GM vice president of Environment and Energy.
======== Wall Street Journal

Guess crunching the EV-1 in 1993-95 was not too smart.
Now GM is worried about Toyota killing off the new GM Volt with an EV that will go twice as far for less money. = TG

Escape, Prius, Honda Civic Hybrid winners

2007-04-15T11:48:00.000-07:00

[Credit = Autoblog.com photo gallery]

The 2007 Escape Hybrid in front-wheel drive form is the most fuel-efficient SUV on the market. As such, it is one of just three current model-year vehicles to qualify for the federal government's maximum $2,000 EcoAuto incentive.

Toyota's Prius and Honda's Civic hybrid also qualify.

The 2008 Escape Hybrid is even more fuel-frugal.

That improvement should qualify the new 4WD model for the full $2,000 rebate as well. Its 2007 counterpart is eligible for a $1,500 incentive.

Those incentives should help offset the price of the Escape Hyrbid, which is listed as $31,499 for the FWD version and $33,899 for the 4WD version.

For those who may worry about the longevity of such relatively new technology, the Hybrid's CVT, battery pack, and electronic power controller are covered by a special eight-year, 160,000 km warranty. More at TheStar.com = TG

Zap-X Dream Car

2007-04-09T11:18:00.000-07:00

An advanced battery system will enable the car to travel a range up to 350 miles between charges, with a rapid charge technology that can recharge the batteries in as little as 10 minutes.

The drive system alone is enough to excite driving fanatics, featuring an innovative all-wheel drive option with revolutionary electric motors inside each of the wheels, potentially delivering 644 horsepower and speeds up to 155mph.

ZAP and Lotus are utilizing the award-winning APX lightweight aluminum architecture design to achieve unprecedented levels of performance and utility for electric cars.
= = = = = = = = = = =

OK, this is not the bargain basement model. They do have other models at..
ZapWorld.com

= TG

Al Gore warming guilt

2007-04-07T14:36:00.000-07:00

Looking at the picture and AlGoreWarm*s oratory, we hear his sermon. . .

Suspect ye not the GM of auto who were shocked that their rudimentary electic car of 1993, the EV1, was a wild and addictive public success. Indicating the death of the ICE engine. So much so, that they gathered every last one and crushed them in a secure GM compound.

Suspect ye not the Chevron / Esso / Texaco of oil who gained control of patents for the large format NiMH battery. The ideaL BATTERY FOR AUTO-MOTION. For nay, they have no wish to keep us dependent upon products of their 8 to 12 Billion$ refineries and distribution networks.

Suspect ye not the governments who, [at the moment], have no idea how to bring in tractor trailer loads of money on the 8 to 16 cents of charge demanded by EVs that can plug in anywhere anytime.

No, ye sinners. Look within thyne own black souls, guilty of tossing tetra-packs and disposable razors with no sense of guilt.= TG
Graphics H/T SmallDeadAnimals.com

GM and Cobasys sign Battery Contract

2007-03-18T11:20:00.000-07:00

Cobasys Confirms Production Contract for 2008 Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid Sedan

Orion, MI, March 13, 2007–Cobasys, a leading supplier of advanced integrated energy storage solutions, today confirmed that they have been chosen to provide their NiMHax® Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) battery system for General Motors’ redesigned 2008 Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid Sedan unveiled at the 2007 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

The Chevrolet Malibu arrives in showrooms in fall, 2007 and will feature the same hybrid system that powers the Saturn Vue Green Line SUV and 2007 Saturn Aura Green Line mid-size sedan. The Malibu hybrid combines sophisticated controls and a unique electric motor / generator mated to their 2.4L Ecotec four-cylinder engine and the Cobasys NiMHax®battery system, leading to substantial fuel economy gains.

Coabasys website

Toyota NiMH Nickel Metal Hydride Battery

2007-02-08T17:41:00.000-08:00

Newly developed modular metal casing for compact packaging and improved cooling
The Ni-MH battery used in Highlander Hybrid is packaged in the newly developed metal battery casing.

Although it is only 0.014? (240 cells) in volume, it can deliver high voltage of 288 V. The improved cooling performance reduces loss of efficiency due to heat generation, ensuring that the battery can supply required electric power to the motors at all times.

The battery Monitoring Unit manages discharge and recharging by the generator and motors to keep the charge level constant while the car is running.

Toyota Prius Toyota Highlander and more . . . .

Gas engine vs Electric Motor or EV [vehicle]

2007-02-02T12:04:00.000-08:00

Gas engines lose efficiency at every junction from drilling crude, pumping, refining, storage, tanker loading, transport, unloading , pumping at retail sales points and it burns at about 22% energy efficiency. [Ethanol has much lower efficieny and costs more, but does help displace some barrels of crude imports.]

Not so with electric engines:

[ Hydro power is derived from gravity pull of water through a turbine spinning a generator and fed directly by wire to your wall plug. Battery charging normally occurs from 1 to 6 am during off peak demand.]

When the power gets flipped on, the engine goes. Delivery of power to the engine is not as big of an issue. Most electrics also only have two gears, forward and reverse, so drivers don't get stumped by a mis-shift. Additionally, very little of the energy gets lost.

Mr. Wright, engineer of the X1-EV said . .
*Of the energy you take out of the wall, almost all of it ends up on the road,* he said. *They are so close to nearly perfect that there is no point in inventing anything else.*

This is the link

Electricity is also comparatively cheap. The X1 consumes about 220 watt-hours per mile in city driving. That's the equivalent of 170 miles per gallon: The vehicle's vanity license plate reads 170 MPGE.[+-42 MPl.]

It can be charged from a 110-volt wall socket and will be compatible with the faster chargers Tesla will bring to market.

The problem is the batteries, which effectively serve as the gas tank on an electric car. The 538-pound battery in the X1 can hold about the same amount of energy as three liters of gas.
As a result, electric cars can only travel so far without recharging. The EV1 from General Motors could only go 130 miles before it needed a recharge, and it needed a special charger. [ All drivers LOVED their EV-1s in spite of the short range. =TG]

The all-electric Xebra from ZAP doesn't go on the freeway. The Tesla Roadster, an electric sports car coming from Tesla Motors, can go 200 miles before its 6,831-cell lithium ion battery peters out.
The X1 can go around 100 miles under regular conditions and might only go 25 miles in racing conditions before it needs a recharge.

*Batteries are also intrinsically expensive things,* Wright said. *There's a lot of R&D involved.*

The *Better Battery* could come from Chevron , as they hold the patents [from Ovonics], for the *Large Format NiMH battery*. But, I suspect Chevron bought the rights in order to keep the efficient battery from cutting into fuel sales.

Rumours mention that the secretive German based firm, Eestor is onto a *Super Battery*. Question is; will the designer of the better new battery sell the rights to Exxon or Chevron for quick profits, or will they actually go into production? = TG

GM volt EV plug-in

2007-01-27T22:50:00.000-08:00

General Motors will roll out its new Chevrolet Volt Concept later today. The sedan is powered by GM’s new E-flex hybrid system. The plug-in four-seater has a brace of lithium-ion cells that can be fully charged in six hours using a standard 110-volt outlet, giving the Volt a range of 40 city miles.

When the batteries are depleted, it then employs its turbocharged, 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine to replenish the cells, theoretically giving the Volt up to 150 miles-per-gallon. According to GM’s car czar Bob Lutz, “More than half of all Americans live within 20 miles of where they work (40 miles round trip). In that case, you might never burn a drop of gas during the life of the car.” Like seemingly every new GM car these days, the Volt’s tri-banger is also amiable to running on E85, giving it even greater credibility among the environmentalists.

http://news.windingroad.com/concept-cars/naias-gm-rolling-out
-volt-plug-in-hybrid-concept-today/

Winding Road Mag

=== Winding Road Magazine = TG

Oil Gas - Battery Electric Vehicle conspiracy scam

2006-12-09T18:32:00.000-08:00

I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!
Big Oil, [ Chevron] and Big Auto are not eager about Electric Cars.
[ Click photo for full size Tesla ]

During the development of the EV1, General Motors made a controlling investment in Ovonics's battery development and manufacturing, with particular interest in the patents and trade secrets controlling the manufacturing of large nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries.

This interest was subsequently sold to the oil company Texaco,[5] which was acquired in its entirety by another oil company, Chevron. The * large format * NiMH batteries are no longer available to U.S. electric vehicle converters or BEV manufactures. The manufacturing unit, * COBASYS *, is currently declining to manufacture and market these batteries for battery electric automotive use in the US and has shut down (through patent control) Panasonic's large format battery importation to the US.

The COBASYS web page concerning transportation applications addresses only large multi-passenger hybrid vehicles, vehicles not comprising a substantial threat to the largest market of the oil industry. In order to use NiMH batteries without violating Chevron's patents, hybrid automobile manufacturers are required to design vehicles which are at least 50% powered by gasoline; otherwise, they are limited to the use of * D * cell-sized NiMH (* small format *) batteries.[citation needed]

Answers.com

========== Answers.com === TG

Switzerland smart on Oil and Gas

2006-12-09T18:24:00.000-08:00

In Switzerland,

battery-electric vehicles are popular with private users. There is a national network of publicly accessible charging points, called Park & Charge, which also covers part of Germany and Austria.

The Swiss and Austrians will be free of Islamofascist dihminitude long before we in North America will. = TG

Electric / Battery car vs Porsh, Ferrari

2006-12-09T18:17:00.000-08:00

While we are having fun . . .

A little drag between the electric Wright X1 vs. Porsh and Ferrari costing 4X$ more.
. . . . . [Click for Big Photo]

Not advisable viewing for owners of expensive speed demons mentioned due to possible mood swing towards a suicidal funk.

Be patient. Its a big video file, but well worth the wait.
After a few moments, the player appears upper left and plays the video.

Grumpy Bear.org

= TG

War on Terror Consequences George Soros

2006-12-04T14:46:00.000-08:00

The Age of Fallibility: The Consequences of the War on Terror
by George Soros. Public Affairs, 259 pp., $24.00
John Gray

http://www.georgesoros.com/review-johngrey

George Soros dot com

**No doubt part of the answer is in the trauma induced by the terrorist attacks, which the administration exploited to stifle criticism of its policies. Yet this can hardly be the whole story. Soros tells us that he *watched events unfold after 9/11 with a bias rooted in my adolescent experience of Nazism and communism. My conceptual framework was also based on that experience.* He is far from claiming that the United States is becoming a totalitarian regime—it remains *a functioning democracy with an independent judiciary and the rule of law.*

He suggests that there are some *similarities in propaganda methods* between totalitarian propaganda and opinion management by the Bush administration, and refers to the work of George Lakoff, whose work in cognitive science has enabled the manipulation of public opinion to be better understood. 9 But he remains bemused by the success with which the administration has been able to impose its interpretation of reality: *How is that possible? It is almost as if people were clamoring to be deceived.**
===============: Review:

I agree with George Soros that these world scale crises as they arise through time are always unique and there is no fixed law or formula for solving them.

Opinion management by the Bush or any administration is not likely to work very well when news is so mixed with entertainment, oddities, and MSM spin.

It is difficult to make the public aware of the well organized threat to democracy, free trade and our way of life, when the threat is so complex and many faceted.

We have an open and free press yet, there are many pressures, like political correctness, that shape, diffuse, and confuse the news so a clear understanding of today*s world conditions is hidden from a majority of the public.

A large sector of the public do not have the energy to try to understand today*s news. Another large sector is fully engaged with Playstation3, entertainment television, and chat internet. With such large public sectors so distracted and uninformed, it is no wonder that getting any clear government message to the population is so very difficult to do in these times. = TG

The missing element here is the pivotal political role of millennialist religion. The attacks activated apocalyptic beliefs widely current in sections of the American population, which the Bush administration has been able to mobilize in support of its agenda. This was not simply cynical manipulation, for there seems little doubt that Bush shares these beliefs. Millenarian belief systems of the kind found on the Christian right are not explanatory theories that can be overturned by contrary evidence. They are myths, which serve a need for meaning rather than truth. The worldview of the Christian right embodies a view of history that is framed in eschatological concepts, according to which American power can be used to rid the world of evil. In theological terms the belief that human action can eradicate evil is decidedly heterodox. Judged by empirical standards it can only be termed irrational.
============: Review:

Theories are many and some have merit but the simple truth is that Iran mullahs, Amhadinejad, Al Qaeda, Osama and the Taliban and Hizbullah continue to train and organize in order to cripple the Western democracies.

Fortunately or unfortunately, the Shiia and the Sunni are at each others throats but if the Mullahs do manage to get some cooperation there, the threat will be all the more immediate.

Billion$ dollar pipelines are being completed across Pakistan to supply oil directly to China.

Russia suffers rampant crime and members of the Mafia have made their way into government there. Russia continues to operate identity theft and internet crime servers while refusing to cooperate with Western law enforcement, thus condoning the crime.

This simplified partial picture tends to make the timing of Iran*s threatening motions more understandable.

What percentage of the North American / Canadian population [or EU] has this thumbnail picture, however flawed, in their mind*s eye? Withdraw troops? Send more troops? No brainer. = TG

E-Bike no DL insurance or Registration?

2006-10-12T23:24:00.000-07:00

I really do want an EV. [ Electric Vehicle ][car]

Remember that monthly car payments will not even phase you.
Why? Simple; you are not paying $300 per month for gas so your budget remains about the same.

[E-Bike]Amazing, but true. In B.C. Canada, where I live, [Vancouver Island], you can buy an E-bike, [looks like a motorcycle], new for only $900 to $1300, but aside from no gas to buy get this:

[1] An E-Bike does not require a driver*s license.

[2] An E-Bike does not require registration.

[3] An E-Bike does not require INSURANCE.
- - [ I would get some PL insurance . in case you flatten somebody]

This miracle of economy may be due to government wanting to encourage a move away from gas dependency and air pollution.

Check your state or province regulations to see if an E-Bike could save you a bundle of green backs.

The world is weird. E-Bikes are sold through our local computer dealer.

With no gas, no oil, and few moving parts, EVs are virtually maintenance free so there is not much service work for a bike shop to look forward to. Maybe that*s why they don*t sell E-Bikes.
Service work pays their $90 shop hour rate after all.

I couldn*t believe all this good stuff until October 11th/06 when I read all these facts in our sydicated local paper.

The new 2007 models are even more comfortable to ride, have a longer range and new features like motor lock-out and wireless remote security alarm.

The Canadian version comes with a big maple leaf on the front. Optional is a suspension feature making the E-Bike ride more like a motorcycle. Takes the rough stuff better.

Improved high torque motors and batteries allows 50 miles between recharging. [plugs in at home or work]. Many Box stores have pugins for senior*s electric EVs.

A re-charge will add a featherweight 6 cents to your hydro bill. If you get caught out of charge, you can pedal it like a normal bike.

There are several EV posts and good links at:

ElectricInMotion.com

ScooterTeq.com

= TG

Electric car firm Tesla a winner

2006-10-10T18:11:00.000-07:00

Electric sports car maker sells out its first round of cars
August 15, 2006 11:35 AM PDT

Will people $100,000 to plunk down on an electric sports car? Yes, says Tesla Motors.
Tesla, which has created an all-electric sports car, has already booked deposits for its first 100 cars, according to Martin Eberhard, Tesla's CEO. The $100,000 deposits guarantee that the buyers will get the cars, which will come out next year.
"All 100 are gone," he said.

The company unveiled its Tesla Roadster on July 19 in a glitzy event in Santa Monica. At the time, around 37 people had already plunked down deposits. Many early buyers, such as Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin and Ebay co-founder Jeff Skoll, are investors in Tesla. So far, only a few cars have been fully completed.

The Tesla Roadster goes from zero to sixty in about four seconds, about as fast as a Ferrari. But, unlike a Ferrari, it doesn't make a vrooming noise or smell like gas. It sort of makes an eerie hum, like those cars in the 70s cult classic Death Race 2000.

They are fun to ride in. See the video here.

href= is not working on Blogger just now, so use: http://tinyurl.com/lkj52

From the excellent Cnet News ** = TG

Pipeline to China?

2006-10-09T23:17:00.000-07:00

Pipeline to nowhere
Originally uploaded by Slugger O'Toole.

This pipeline is something of a mystery. Yet it is a very easy target from the air. Any fighter - bomber, or even a small drone could disrupt the line. So while China says they prefer to avoid shipment by sea for security reasons. Pipeline delivery seems no more secure. Delivery is more eficient and less prone to ocean spills however. = TG

China and multi - billion$ pipelines

2006-10-09T16:43:00.000-07:00

China to build Billion-Dollar Pipeline

China has approved the construction of a multi-billion dollar pipeline to carry gas imported from Turkmenistan to China's southern business city of Guangzhou.

The pipeline will carry 30 billion cubic metres of natural gas a year from the Central Asian nation, Dow Jones Newswires reported on Wednesday.

The source said the pipeline's cost would run into tens of billions of dollars.

The report said the project would also double the capacity of an existing pipeline that carries gas from the Xinjiang region of China's northwest to Shanghai on the east coast.

The pipeline would have to go through either Kazakhstan or a combination of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgystan.

Eng. Al Jazeera

http://tinyurl.com/kjjyk

== From: Aljazeera.net ===================

English AlJzeera

US analysts say there is an expectation among Chinese strategists that the US will use its naval leverage to disrupt its energy imports should any conflict over the status of Taiwan arise.

The Chinese are reinforcing their navy, concerned with the insecurity of the maritime routes upon which almost all of China's energy imports travel.

But "it will not be a threat to the US unless China has a very large modern and capable navy which it has not remotely done to this point", Carpenter said.

Hoping to avert a new war of the Pacific, Beijing is developing alternative oil delivery routes that are meant to avoid US naval control.

China has bankrolled more than 80% of a $248 million project to develop a deep-sea port in Gwadar, Pakistan. This would lessen its reliance on sea routes by allowing oil to be transported overland through Pakistan to western China.

China also recently opened a 1000-km link carrying 190,000 barrels per day of Kazakh oil, providing its first direct access to potentially rich central Asian fields.
== Aljazeera.net ======================

No wonder Musharraf is playing both sides of the fence. He has no choice. Pakistan walks a tight-rope.

Taliban hit? - OK. = = = = China Pipeline hit? No - never! =TG

Troops, soldiers, military and our support

2006-09-19T14:06:00.000-07:00

Are you anywhere near Ottawa?

Support our troops: Rally in Toronto, Friday, Sept. 29; God bless CFRA, Ottawa.
http://www.cfra.com/red-fridays/index.asp?id=8

"News Talk Radio 580 CFRA is proud to support the grassroots effort brought to Petawawa by the wives of two men serving in the Canadian Forces.

BE SURE TO WEAR SOMETHING RED ON FRIDAY!

Sept 25th - RESULTS= Great turnout and the hill was a sea of RED In our troops honour.

== UPDATE;=====================================
Toronto is the next centre for another troops Friday support meet and be
sure to WEAR RED AGAIN IN TORONTO NEXT FRIDAY!.

For more information on supporting our troops, visit http://www.marriedtothecanadianforces.com

Mark in Ottawa / TG in Courtenay

EV Retrofit ? Battery Heaven !

2006-09-17T11:15:00.000-07:00

Tesla Roadster vs BMW

2006-09-15T10:28:00.000-07:00

MUNICH, Germany Sep 12, 2006 (AP)— German automaker BMW AG said Tuesday it will introduce the world's first hydrogen-powered luxury performance car.

Known as the Hydrogen 7, the car will be built in a limited edition in Europe and will eventually be sold in the U.S. market, the company said in a statement. No date has been set for U.S. sales.

The car is equipped with an internal combustion engine capable of running on either hydrogen or gasoline and is based on BMW's 7 Series. If run on gasoline, the car's gas milage will be 15 miles per gallon in the city and 22 mpg on the highway.

Hydrogen technology minimizes emissions of carbon dioxide. Running in the hydrogen mode, the Hydrogen 7 essentially emits nothing but vapor, BMW said.

The car's engine is powered by a 260-horsepower, 12-cylinder engine and accelerates from zero to 62.1 mph in 9.5 seconds. The top speed is limited electronically to 143 mph.

And more about Volkwagon and Porsch at . . .

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/Autos/wireStory?id=2425652

Rav4 - EV Battery - Gas Free

2006-08-29T14:49:00.000-07:00

Problem with EV1 or GM ?... GM !

2006-07-31T23:26:00.000-07:00

An Electric Vehicle's Shocking Problem
by Chris Yoder
From Cranky Customer
http://www.crankycustomer.com/an_electric_vehicles_shocking_problem.html

CrankyCustomer.com

Hello, my name is Chris, and I am addicted to oil. But there was a
time I tried to do something about it: I had the opportunity to drive
a much more environmentally friendly vehicle.

For six glorious years my wife and I had an electric car -- a General
Motors EV1. Driving the EV1 always put a smile on my face. It always
felt fresh and 'new'. It was fast and fun to drive (a little too
fast -- I managed to get my only speeding ticket of the last 20 years
having fun in it).

Driving the EV1 was like flying some kind of space ship: With no
shifting transmission, and a faint jet-like whine in the gearset,
when you dropped the accelerator peddle to the floor it felt like you
were about to take off. The gauges were all digital, the glass
radically curved, and you were seated low next to a tall center
console.

It got more attention than anything else on the road, even in car
crazy Los Angeles where I live. I was constantly being stopped and
asked about it. Once somebody actually rear-ended me because they
were "so busy looking at the car."

But there were a few problems -- not with the car, but with GM.

First, getting one was not easy. You couldn't just go down to the
local Saturn Dealer and say: "I'll take the red one." Instead, you
had to go to the local Saturn Dealer and ask them to send the EV1
specialist over. A week or more later, the specialist would come over
to tell you everything wrong about the car and "pre-qualify" you and
the place you lived. If you still wanted one, and you were lucky,
several weeks later, after a special charger box was installed at
your home, you would get your car. It was like they were doing their
level best to keep you from it!

Second, in December of 2002 I had to give it up! I wanted to keep it,
as did a very high percentage of the people who got to drive one, but
GM refused to sell them -- you could only lease them. We tried to
extend our leases, but GM refused to extend any of the leases. They
insisted that we give the car back and even threatened to charge us
with Grand Theft Auto if we didn't.

What were they doing with the cars? Crushing them! Really. We wanted
them, but they wanted to destroy them. And they did.

But what really makes me a Cranky Customer is that a few weeks after
turning it in, we got a call from GMAC saying that we owed $430 in
damages for the car that they were going to crush! Over several
months we had the following conversation: "But wait, there was no
visible damage!" I claimed. They said that the underside of the front
fascia was cracked. (The front end was pretty low and easy to hook on
a parking stone when you backed out of a space.) "OK, then let me buy
the lease out." Nope, can't do that. "You're just going to crush
it!!!!" No answer.

We weren't alone in this, just about every other EV1 turned in during
this period was hit with these damages (usually the front fascia
being cracked on the underside), nor did we get the largest bill (I
know one person who was billed over $1,600!)

I could go on, but there's actually a movie called Who Killed the
Electric Car? that tells the story quite well (and it's entertaining!)

These days my wife drives a RAV4 EV -- Toyota actually sold their
RAV4 EVs to the public in 2002-2003. New, they were $45,000, with
$9,000 of incentives for a net cost of $36,000. Just over three
months ago a used RAV4 EV sold on EBAY for $67,300 -- double
the "new" price for a vehicle with 60,000 miles on it! I replaced my
EV1 with a "gas-guzzling" Prius hybrid -- and feel the angst every
time it goes into pure EV mode and every time I have to pull into the
toxic waste dump on the corner to fill it up.

Chris Yoder is an I.T. professional. He works for the California
Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California.

Hezbollah funding plot?

2006-07-27T12:32:00.000-07:00

In order to finance the training of these *volunteers,* as well as the seemingly endless barrage of rockets that have rained down on Israeli cities, Hezbollah has established an extensive fundraising infrastructure in the United States, as well as in Canada, South America, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

Supplementing the nearly $100 million Hezbollah reportedly receives from Iran, Hezbollah operatives in the U.S. have engaged in a litany of criminal activities, including credit card fraud, cigarette smuggling, counterfeiting, drug running, and organized retail theft, that provide millions to the Shiite terrorist organization.

*snip*
Despite Al-Mabarrat-USA’s direct link to a Fadlallah-controlled organization, to date, the U.S. branch continues to operate unfettered.

In fact, the organization appears to have gained a level of credibility in the U.S. as the Detroit Free Press reported earlier this month that *many Muslims in the region have donated to Al-Mabarrat.*

MyRepublicanBlog

= TG

Who killed the electric car?

2006-07-20T01:37:00.000-07:00

Toyota RAV4-EV
More my style.
Jeep-EV, where are you?

Electric Car Wins in Speed Race Against Ferrari & Porsche
Watch TV coverage by Bay Area KRON4 of the Wrightspeed showdown
Low resolution for Real Player (1MB) or High resolution for Windows Media Player (11MB)
[ Find this at ... PluginAmerica.com

Finally, a website where all my bros live. Where all my arguments are made. Where all my wishful statements turned out to be true.

How is it that so few of us are aware of the many choices of Electric Drive vehicles... ?

Look at the see-through drawing of the RAV4 EV and ask yourself why this SIMPLE machine should cost more than 50% of the stupidly complex oil burners we still drive today?

No engine block, valves, lifters, cam shaft, pistons, rods and the machining they require. No water jacket and radiator, no gas pump, oil pump or water pump. No transmission, tourque converter or power train.
No ignition timing. No fuel mixing. No fuel injection. No air filter. No oil filter. No muffler, No catalytic converter. No anti-freeze, no waterpump lubrication. No poisionous monoxide gas and no noise.

There is more of this troublesome junk you don*t have to pay for or repair with an Electric Vehicle, but you get the idea. = TG
PS > What are you going to do with the $75 a week you do not spend on gas?
=
Very Fast Black EV
The Tesla Roadster You can buy one but you can*t *floor it* unless you get LeMans training and take time off to visit the Arizona salt flats.
Tesla Roadster
640HP surprise

EV-1 Electric Car GM elegance

2006-07-18T23:31:00.000-07:00

This is a link to more photos / info about the**The Electric Car Movie**
And the

**Very Fast EV**

Who killed the electric car ?

2006-07-14T10:11:00.000-07:00

Ok, this is my old Jeep Wagoneer and not the EV-1, but it could be an electric car. There is no need for an electric car to look ugly unless the maker wants it to fail. TG
[ Like Ford and Volvo for example ]

Why did GM kill the EV-1

2006-07-14T09:59:00.000-07:00

CBC Radio One 8:30 am Friday July 14th/06 on **The Current**

Who Killed the Electric Car ?– Film Director
No gas, no oil, no tune-ups, no problems. It's the story of the EV-1, General Motor's ill-fated electric car.The EV-1 cruised the California roads in 1990, when 800 of the cars were leased to customers eager to drive a zero-emission automobile.
But despite rave reviews from the few who drove it, GM shut down the production line in 2003 and recalled every single one of them. Most of the fleet was shredded, crushing consumers' hopes that the electric car was here to stay.

========= TG
You could only lease the car, never buy it.. Every last car was re-claimed by GM.. Drivers loved it, yet GM claimed only 800 were in use and demand was too low to warrant production. I think they saw it would eclipse all other auto products and snuffed it out before it could be discovered by the public
========= TG.

One of its fans was filmmaker Chris Paine, who was once a proud driver of an EV-1. And now, the story of why General Motors decided to short-circuit the production of the electric car is what powers his documentary, appropriately titled, Who Killed the Electric Car? We reached Chris Paine by telephone in Los Angeles, California.

GM Response
While there may be plenty of blame to go around in Chris Paine's documentary, in the end, it was General Motors's decision to discontinue production of the EV-1 electric car.
To find out why, we contacted Dave Barthmuss. He's the manager for public policy, environment and energy for General Motors North America, and he was also in California.

http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/2006/200607/20060714.html

==[ UPDATE ]==
Excellent full info at =CBEV.org

**The Huffington Post**

============ TG
**Very Fast EV**

Good News not via MSM

2006-07-09T09:58:00.000-07:00

Theft without permission of DrD*s comment:

One must stoop to low grade theft to bring wider focus on the fact that educated minorities in countries like Iran and Afghanistan want to be free of fundamentalist oppression.

In this case the Ayatollah Khomeini*s own grandson!

===DrD says===
How unpopular is the United States in the Middle East--especially Iran?
Maybe not as unpopular as the MSM might lead us to believe.

It seems Hossein Khomeini,
the Ayatollah Khomeini's grandson
==================
is calling upon the United States to invade Iran and free the country from the theocracy created by his grandfather. Google his name and follow the Daily Telegraph and BBC links among others.
Posted by: DrD at July 9, 2006 09:42 AM
==================

OK, here, I*ll do it for you…
http://www.slate.com/id/2089329/

**This is a historic question in the strict sense, because we will not know the true answer for some considerable time. But that does not deprive us of some responsibility to make judgments in the meanwhile, and we have good reason to know that the region can't be left to fester as it is.
=========== [ Exactly! TG ] =======
On my own recent visit to Baghdad, Karbala, and Najaf, as well as to Basra and then Kurdistan, I would say that I saw persuasive evidence of the unleashing of real politics in Iraq and of the highly positive effect of same. Conversation with Khomeini suggests to me that in at least one other highly important neighboring country, the United States has also managed to get on the right side of history, as we used to say.

http://www.mirrashidi.com/sfdays/archives/000068.html

TG

Willows Douglas and Cedars

2006-07-07T00:30:00.000-07:00

The property is larger than it seems. It extends from the corner back to the cedar tree behind the power pole.

Trees 12th and Fitzgerad

2006-07-07T00:10:00.000-07:00

Renovations underway, but still very park like and the cool is priceless during these hot summer days.

Pretty property and low price in Courtenay B.C.

2006-06-25T22:40:00.000-07:00

It occurred to me that While I am giving some casual help to a friend who is refurbishing a beautiful property in Courtenay here on Vancouver Island, to try and preserve the beautiful mature trees I should mention it in the hopes of saving the place and it*s beauty.

This location is only a block away from commercial zoned property where Dentist and Notary Public type offices are encouraged. I was hoping someone would buy it for residential use and thus save the beautiful park like setting.

This place is the prettiest of only three similar type lots along the whole length of Fitzgerald Avenue. A main cross town avenue with some traffic noise to be sure but the front trees on the large lot tend to reduce that noise.

The older house now being refurbished sits well back from the road and there is room for more building if the owner wishes.

This property is in the low 200k zone and seems like a great buy considering the near future. I would buy it if I could but have always been a renter and now retired, prefer renting.

Still, a friend lived there for years and it would be a shame if the beauty were cut down for a commercial venture.

The owner, Neil, said, *sure, mention the property on your website if you like*, TG

Cobalt22 Electric or CS* s Cobalt?

2006-06-22T01:38:00.000-07:00

One wonders if this is CS*s new Cobalt or a Cobalt22 Electric model. Nice looking lines in any case. TG

Electric car? There must be a plot!

2006-06-21T16:26:00.000-07:00

Posted: Sun Jan 12, 2003 1:33 am ....[Long time ago]
By: CougTek of Montreal Quebec

http://storageforum.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=24932#24932

The best idea I ever saw for powering a car was the electric motor-wheel developed by Hydro-Québec some 8 years ago. But something screwed up during the development and although it worked perfectly fine (only two wheels could pushed a big Chrysler Intrepid from 0-60mph in 8 sec, imagine four), they apparently dropped the project.

Many people are still revolted that Hydro-Québec decided to cancel the motor-wheel, since it was the only electric-based motorization that was powerful enough to bring decent performances for average-sized cars.

I'm pretty sure some big oil company put pressure on Hydro-Québec in a way or another, (wouldn't be surprised if it was Esso, bunch of bastards), to put the motor-wheel in the grave.

The principle of the motor-wheel was, at large, to make the wheel spinning by injecting an electrical current in coils placed inside the wheel. They were able to apply 3 times more pressure on the wheel with their prototype than a Ferrari of the mid nineties.

Hydro-Québec still owns the patent for a few years, but nothing good will come out of it. It would have been so great. I have no words to describe the idiocy of the manager who decided to cancel the project.
================

Posted: Sun Jan 12, 2003 2:04 am
By: jtr1962 of Flushing New York

I'm guessing it was pressure from some oil company to drop the project since it would have greatly decreased demand for fossil fuels. The idiot that dropped it should be made to suck on an exhaust pipe until he croaks.

I too have often wondered why we don't just do away with the mechanical transmission in road vehicles and power cars via electric motors in the wheels powered by either a battery, an engine powered generator, or solar cells (or some combination of all three). The battery will provide stored power upon demand for quick bursts of acceleration, the gas engine power for steady cruising (and to recharge the battery), and solar panels will supplement the output of the gas engine.

I'd guess that you could run the car at moderate cruising speeds entirely on solar power on bright days, and at highway speeds you would still get perhaps a third of your power via the sun. Other times the engine will supply the power, but it can be a much smaller engine, and since it will run at it's most efficient RPM rather than constantly speeding up/slowing down, it will be smaller as well as run more efficiently.

100 mpg is not unrealistic from such a setup, and perhaps 150 to 200 mpg once ultra-efficient solar cells are available. Small wonder the oil companies likely killed it as it eventually would bring the demand for gas to 10 to 15% of what it is now.

Electric motors are the best way to power vehicles. Some commuter trains I used to take had a 250 HP electric motor on each axle(1000 HP per car). These were able to accelerate a train of cars of 61 tons (plus passenger load) each up to 80 mph from a dead stop in under a minute(0 to 60 took about 35 seconds).

Now imagine what 100 HP of electric motors on a 1 ton car can do. My best estimate is 0 to 60 mph in about 6 seconds. Electric motors can also be overloaded at twice or more of their rated capacity for a few minutes so you can easily cut that figure in half if you can hit the battery for the extra juice. I don't think you can do better than about 3 seconds due to the limits of tire-road adhesion. For the same reasons it is difficult to get a train up to 60 mph in much less than about 25 seconds, even if power is unlimited (which it never is).
=================
http://www.techspot.com/vb/showthread.php?p=295610#post295610

These observations are 3 ½ years old….

Where is our electric car? TG

Electric Car.... Conspiracy?

2006-06-18T09:59:00.000-07:00

Who is holding back my electric car? The electric car that I should be able to buy at reasonable cost is no challenge to produce with today*s technology.

The car has two banks of light weight battery on either side of the centered motor under the front hood.

The roof mounted high output solar panels charge the battery opposite the battery under drain.

There could be a small propane bottle fueled motor for emergency side of the road battery refresh, but efficiency advances would soon make that requirement obsolete.

I want to plug my car in at night and get clear of the noise, the poison stink, the volatility of gas, the cost of gas, the need to find a gas seller, muffler and exhaust problems, fuel mix problems, anti-freeze problems, radiator problems, water pump problems, air filter problems, oil filter problems, gasket leaks and faulty seals. Failing rubber hoses and clamps.

Crude oil is for making plastics and paints, not for burning. We are no longer cave dwellers.

Where is my modern trouble free electric car? Seniors who run about on their electric carts with that smug look have an unfair monopoly!

Even electric fork lift drivers have that, *I know something*, smug look. TG

Laser toner $$ Savings

2006-06-14T10:41:00.000-07:00

Laser Toner Running Low?

HP and Lexmark will hate me for telling you this. You can often get your laser printer back to printing BLACK again if you tap the cartridge from end to end with a heavy pen or small ruler.

Tapping frees a lot of toner stuck to the inside of the cartridge and so allows your printer to print many more good copies before exchanging for a new one.

Low overhead and living frugally keeps money in your wallet longer. Now where the heck can I get a good electric jeep. TG

Wanted solid reliable software programs

2006-05-23T11:54:00.000-07:00

Wanted 4-wheel drive suite

Require some smaller and cleaner apps that do what is expected without 200 plug-ins or patches one can never use, much less remember.

[1] No need for twice daily malware scans.

[2] No need to trust your HDD to Microsoft.

[3] No need to waste time downloading endless patches,
fixes, add-ons, up-dates and bug fixes.

[4] No need to pay $45 or $100 per incident to Microsoft
when pressed for time.

[5] No need to accept crashes by other software that
Microsoft resents and can*t extort a compatibility license from.

Please give us a suite of tight well written apps that will
be resistant to internet threats.

Software that need only be renewed bi-monthly at the most. Software not requiring attention and patches twice per week.

Software that does not require the authors to have unprotected access to your computer where they run around in the background slowing your machine.

Mac may be the current answer. Not sure.

Mozilla could provide a suite in Linux Unbuntu, Redhat or whatever is most solid. Firefox and Thunderbird are a good start. Core basics…

Browser
Email Agent
Word Processor Graphics Photo Laser & Inkjet

Must now avoid Bloatware, windows always under attack.
http://TonyGuitar.blogspot.com

Israel to bomb Iran?

2006-05-14T10:05:00.000-07:00

Israel will hit Iran in the next few months: Israeli official

By Khalid Hasan

WASHINGTON: Israel will strike Iran’s nuclear facilities in the next “month or two or three,” an Israeli official has been quoted here as saying.

The unnamed official told Arnaud de Borchgrave, editor-in-chief of the United Press International (UPI), at the recently held national day reception at the Israeli Embassy that he believed Israel would strike Iran first in the next two or three months and that fighter bombers would not be involved as they had been to take out Iraq’s Osirak nuclear reactor before it went critical in 1981. For Osirak, Israel had used 14 F-15s and F-16s. This time, the Israeli said, it would be missiles. Asked if Israel would employ Cruise missiles, he replied, “with a gesture of his hand that went up and down again”, which meant that it would be the weapon of choice.

Asked if tunnel entrances to widely scattered Iranian nuclear facilities would be targeted, he responded that Israel had its own geo-stationary spy-in-the-sky satellite taking constant pictures of Iran with a resolution down to 70 centimetres. “We know far more than anyone realises,” he added.==== TG

Cuba nuke number 2?

2006-05-10T15:13:00.000-07:00

Diplomacy?

I imagine the mix of peace negotiations and Arafat had much to do with the US / French pull-out at the time. Too bad that crumbled. [Us and France back out of Lebanon]
[I know, hindsight is so unfair.]

Now we are faced with *Madmud*s* grievance manifesto issued to Bush;

And the question of precision bombing underground nuke equipment while keeping in mind that Iran*s new subs with nuke missals could be sitting within US target range.

Is this Cuba Number 2?
Will *MadMud* be slamming his shoe on the table like Kruschev? TG

Hizbullah Victory ... Wha..?

2006-05-10T12:09:00.000-07:00

France and Hizbullah: The End of the Affair
U.S.-Europe Analysis Series, November 2005

http://www.brookings.edu/printme.wbs?page=/fp/cuse/analysis/guitta20051103.htm

Brookings Institute

Olivier Guitta, Consultant, Middle Eastern and European Affairs

In 1960, during a joint press conference with then French President Charles De Gaulle, David Ben Gurion, Israel's then prime minister stated that France was Israel's greatest friend. At that moment, De Gaulle interrupted him abruptly, asserting that *France has no friends, just interests.*

This statement summarizes much of French foreign policy. It certainly applies to the French relationship with Hizbullah. Indeed, there has been a noticeable recent change in France's attitudes vis-à-vis Hizbullah to such an extent that France's stance on the Lebanese Shia organization now seems almost identical to the American one. Nonetheless, it remains to be seen whether France and the United States can work together effectively on the problem of Hizbullah.

The French and American experiences in Lebanon have been quite similar in many ways, particularly when it comes to Hizbullah. The *Party of God*.

(Hizbullah) is considered a terrorist group by much of the Western world, though not by France or by any Arab country. It was created in 1982, (in part) to expel foreign forces from Lebanon—i.e. the Israeli forces then occupying southern Lebanon and the Italian, French and American forces present in Beirut under a UN peacekeeping mandate.

As a result, relations between France, the U.S. and Hizbullah got off to a very bad start.

In April 1983, Hizbullah targeted French soldiers with a rocket attack, although they did not cause any casualties and attacked the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, killing 63 people and injuring more than 120. In October 1983, things got even worse when Hizbullah bombed nearly simultaneously, the French and U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut in Beirut in October 1983, killing 241 U.S. Marines and 58 French soldiers.

In November 1983, in retaliation for the deadly October attack on its soldiers, France sent fighter jets to bomb Hizbullah's camp in Baalbek. The U.S. response to Hizbullah's attack was more timid: some shelling from the battleship USS New Jersey at hostile positions beyond Beirut. It appears that then Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger scrapped a mission to hit Hizbullah's positions with more force.

In December 1983, Hizbullah attacked French soldiers in South Lebanon, killing ten. This time the French did not retaliate and in 1984 French and U.S. troops left Lebanon for good—undoubtedly to Hizbullah's great satisfaction.

This is a snippet, View Full Paper (PDF—81kb) TG

Brookings Institute

© Copyright 2005, The Brookings Institution

Opera dot com web surf browser

2006-04-27T10:01:00.000-07:00

Notice the icons along the top? Makes jumping from one site to another a breeze.
That*s my TGsPlace web page. I use Mozilla Firefox as well and I like them both.

The bar graph on top is an independant pgm called *cool beans*. The bars are CPU use, page memory and virtual disc memory. When the middle bar,[page memory] gets into red,as shown, then it*s time to close the browser and bring it up fresh again. The page memory bar will be way down and thus more memory for pages. Full View- Click Image.

ABS Zulu worm virus nailed by Avast

2006-04-26T15:06:00.000-07:00

This one is making the rounds 4/26/06. Click Imgage to enlarge. Turned on the screen after being away and this is what I saw. Incoming message nabbed before it could climb on board and start being nasty.

Looks like Avast wins this round. I wonder if the more elaborate AVG would have grabbed it? Same question for MS security. TG

Canada Coat of Arms and maple leaf

2006-04-15T17:29:00.000-07:00

The golden maple leaf is a litle more appealing than the solid liberal red. Conservatives and Canadiana acknowledged in this version.

New Canada flag Arms & Leaf

2006-04-15T12:47:00.000-07:00

The flag is the upper part. Canada and the symbol are more of a caption. Yet the design is still quite complex, I admit.

Canada Flag fleur de lis

2006-04-15T11:06:00.000-07:00

By the way, the lettering and the leaf are a caption and not meant to be part of the flag.

Flags of Canada

2006-04-15T11:05:00.000-07:00

Canada flag maple leaf round

2006-04-14T22:26:00.000-07:00

Canada maple leaf flag theme

2006-04-14T22:17:00.000-07:00

Canada Coat of arms theme

2006-04-14T22:13:00.000-07:00

Canada flag themes

2006-04-14T21:58:00.000-07:00

Flag Canada

2006-04-14T12:46:00.000-07:00

Two wars not just terrorism

2006-04-13T12:36:00.000-07:00

Two wars not just terrorism
and Latins from Mexico are not involved.

The MSM provides selective sanitized reporting on Shiite, Suni, and Hamas, Jewish struggles.

The MSM fails to cover the drug, sex and extortion war that goes on here in North America every day. Overall picture that is.

It takes the shooting deaths of eight biker soldiers for the MSM to cover our local corporate crime wars.

We should be more aware of, and alarmed at the expansion of drug addiction and the tremendous fast growing strain that puts on our health care and the economy in social support costs.

A sick foster child, nurtured back to good health by a home based care giver, was returned, by children*s services, to it*s eighteen year old drug addicted pregnant mom. Soon after, that mom vanished to parts unknown.

The population of young drug addicted sex and porn workers is growing. Yes they do have and raise kids.

Strip clubs have professional web sites that interlink to all cities and towns across the country. They offer exotic dancer services for conventions and stag parties. What kinds of income from CEOs and executives could digital photos from those events generate ?

There are groups of darkened buildings in many cities where commerce has died out. The buildings are occupied by crack-heads. Heads move in, business dies and business moves out.

E-mail in boxes and comment enabled websites are swamped with drug and sex explicit offerings. The majority of which carry reporting and data- mining malware.

The Banks are suffering losses they hope to keep hidden from public awareness. Credit card data is being compromised at an alarming rate. Notice, there is no mention of the buying and selling of drugs or grow ops or Afghanistan opium trade. No wonder the Hells Angels Corporation wants to keep a low profile. Like any corporation, public relations are important.

Seems to me like the MSM is helping them to maintain that Low key profile. TG

Ps The usual Car & home B&E s, car thefts, pawnshopped stolen goods...are just too much to list.

Soldiers Heroes Military

2006-03-20T14:31:00.000-08:00

The Canadian Heroes blogroll is for any blogger who wants to show support for our troops. No particular political affiliation is necessary, just a heartfelt respect for the dangerous and vital work our men and women in uniform do for us, and for the rest of the world.

Click on the motif and get get one for your site.

2006-03-10T16:18:00.000-08:00

Similar to this but with a pick guard

ComoxValley - Comox100.typepad.com

2006-03-10T15:31:00.000-08:00

Hey, I just remembered!

You can place your wordy ad in the comments for free at:
Comox100.Typepad.com

The local [syndicate] paper wanted $94.00 for two small want ads,4X, so Voila! Now we have this free bulletin board, free want ad site. [Local area only however.]

This may fill the vacancy left by the missing board at the Driftwood mall and Teleshop. Boy, do I miss Teleshop. TG

Steven Vincent WWW.Redzoneblog.com

2006-03-07T08:55:00.000-08:00

Care to know a little more about respected author Steven Vincent who lived in and wrote about Basra? Steven who had a blogsite called RedzoneBlog and was suddenly whisked away by police in a white Toyota, then found later by the roadside dead?

The two paragraphs that led to his demise, [I think], and the Iran connection named Moqtada al-Sadr, a name now becoming more familiar TG
====================================================

Everyone, it seems, except the religious parties themselves, which always seem to know what to think, do, and say, especially compared to the city's frightened intellectual class. Consider, for example, Professor M. and his run-in with renegade Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. An expert in radical Shiite movements, Professor M. wrote a well-researched, politically neutral history of the Sadrist phenomenon, which ran on the front page of a daily newspaper. Unfortunately, the periodical accompanied the piece with a photograph of a Basran crowd that included women who were not wearing hejab!

Reaction was swift. Sadrists claimed that M. and the newspaper had conspired to defame them — a charge, of course, both parties vehemently denied. No matter. M. began receiving increasingly disturbing death threats, which climaxed when someone fired a bullet through his front window. Despite his innocence, he published an open-letter apology to the Sadrists in the newspaper, which, to mollify the populist thugs, reprinted the article with a more acceptable photo of women bundled in their Islamic-sanctioned fabric prisons.
============================================

More of Steven's eye - opening copy can be read at:
http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/vincent200506210821.asp
NationalReview.com

TG

For a better Flag

2006-02-14T03:36:00.000-08:00

There are many good graphics people on the web. I would like to see a better design for the Flag of Canada TG

Duke of Duks Place is a good graphics and photo shop graphics twister. Maybe he will come up with some better flag designs. We can sure do better than the single liberal red leaf on white.

Canada & the new Flag

2006-02-14T03:24:00.000-08:00

This is only a start of sorts. The maple leaf is a great theme for Canadian flags however the pure Trudeau Liberal red must be improved on with the addition of blue for balance.

The maple leaf is most impressive in the fall when it is often a warm orange and gold colour. The maple leaf is seldom pure red at any time.

Website, for sale- $5000 - Why?

2006-02-12T00:09:00.000-08:00

Website for sale
This 16 cylinder gem that is not for sale just now. 10Words.ca is though.

[1] Short [2] memorable [3] top of alpha sort [4] No one enters 0 in a search but the numeral 10 is a human natural [5] 10words dot com and org are owned by a religious group and inactive... fill out your full suite at reasonable cost.

10Words.ca is fully registered with Canadian Internet Registry Authority. This natural and easy to remember Alpha-topper Website looks like a Blogsite at the moment, but can be made to serve the most effective of commercial purposes, limited only by your website choices of design.

Your serious offer for [ 10Words.ca ] is welcome at Tone.robinson at Gmail.com. The ideal website for business on the web. Go ahead, have a look at the site http://10Words.ca

There is a Plot

2006-02-09T17:56:00.000-08:00

The Qatar Emir, who owns Al Jazeera helps to spread it.

February 09, 2006
The cartoon intifada, continued
http://powerlineblog.com/archives/013089.php

In *Rent-a-riot ABCs,* Emir Taheri shows how *the whole rigmarole was launched by Sunni-Salafi [Wahhabi] groups in Europe and Asia, with Ahmadinejad and his Syrian vassal, President Bashar al-Assad, belatedly playing catch-up.* Taheri writes:
The [traveling group of Danish Muslim militants] found a more sympathetic audience in Qatar — where the satellite-TV channel Al Jazeera (owned by the emir) specializes in inciting Muslims against the West and democracy in general. The channel*s chief Islamist televangelist, Yussuf al-Qaradawi (an Egyptian preacher who is also a friend of Ken Livingstone, the mayor of London), was all too keen to issue a "fatwa" to light the fuse. He then mobilized his network of Muslim Brotherhood militants in Europe to attack the cartoons and claim, falsely, that images were not allowed in Islam and that the Danish paper had violated "an absolute principle of The Only True Faith.*

Thus the call for Jihad received its supposed *theological* green light. (Ironically, the section of the brotherhood headed by al-Qaradawi is financed by the European Union as a non-governmental organization.)

As the first rent-a-mob crowds appeared on global TV screens, Ahmadinejad realized that here was a cow worth milking.

For Denmark is set to assume the rotating presidency of the U.N. Security Council — at the very time that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is expected to refer Iran to the Security Council and demand sanctions. What better, for Tehran*s purposes, than to portray Denmark as *an enemy of Islam* and mobilize Muslim sympathy against the Security Council?
MEMRI has just released a dispatch on al-Qaradawi:
In a February 3, 2006 Friday sermon, Sheikh Yousef Al-Qaradhawi, who is head of the European Council for Fatwa and Research, president of the International Association of Muslim Scholars (IAMS), and the spiritual guide of many other Islamist organizations across the world (including the Muslim Brotherhood), exhorted worshippers to show rage to the world over the Danish paper Jylland Posten's publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad. The sermon was aired on Qatar TV on February 3, 2006.
Read MEMRI's translation of excerpts of the sermon here.

Austin Bay begins his analysis of the cartoon intifada with Ayatollah Khomeni*s condemnation of The Satanic Verses and concludes that the uproar over the cartoons results from *information warfare.*

Minneapolis Star Tribune metro columnist Katherine Kersten covers the local angles on the cartoons. Kersten writes:
[M]any newspapers[] insist that the cartoons violate their standards. The Star Tribune described them as *purposefully sacrilegious* and has declined to reprint them. Many Christian readers will be watching to see if standards differ the next time a cartoonist turns his sights on evangelical Christians or the Catholic Church.
Let's just say that the appearance of Kersten*s column in the Star Tribune is the paper*s gesture toward the free-speech aspect of the cartoon intifada.

Finally, reader Paul Hornsleth, *a grandson of Grenå (in Jyland, of course),* alerts us to the English-language international version of the Jyllands-Posten .

[Peace and democracy are the arch enemy of any Emir*s absolute rule. Planned mass demonstrations that fuel hatred to destabilize Afghanistan and Iraq are a logical weapon for their purpose.

Silence and more troops are our best means to advance peace and freedom.

Time for crybabies who shout freedom of speech at any price to stop pouting like spoiled brats and stop feeding the Jihadist fatwa frenzy. TG]

Renewl or Death for Liberal Party?

2006-01-30T17:17:00.000-08:00

Renewal of the Liberal Party?
First, the question of facing the courts. A minimum of 10 $billion of our money has been syphoned off. Liberals should pay fair penalties for that.

Also add a one $billion penalty they should pay for renegging on Agusta-Westland and the EH-101 helicopter. Liberals mess, we taxpayers pay? Criminal negligence!

Starving health care and education to create a surplus does not imply the right to stuff your pockets with some of that budget surplus.

If our justice system were not stuffed with Liberal shills, I may have had hopes for fair justice. 34$million in debt and who knows how much in penalties and fines that may also become due. One has to wonder just how little or how much of our missing revenues may be recovered.

Another way to penalize and minimize the Librals is to throw support to the Greens.

20 seats for the Green party in the next election at Liberal and NDP expense would be very good for Canada.

Message to Liberals: You are infested with crooks. Those crooks must be seen to walk the plank, otherwise you can not expect to regain Canadian voter respect.

Liberal popularity is still spiraling downward and that will continue as the public learns of the full list of crimes.

List of 218 *Low Points*, Toronto Sun by Linda Williams
January 22nd

Different list of 200+
BendGovernment

Canadians were aware of Adscam and a scam here and there. Wait for the backlash when they learn about the much wider scope of fraud these lists represent.

When the MSM*s fear Harper trick is better understood, there should be some backlash there also.

Rocky roads ahead for Liberals. TG

Canada's shameful MSM Fraud

2006-01-25T20:20:00.000-08:00

The dishonesty of our main stream media pushing the *Fear Harper* card.

What could be more one sided and dishonest than the constant drip - drip of *fear Harper propaganda* for more than a year without ever once printing out a summary list of the $billions of dollars of scams and frauds perpetrated by the Liberal Government?

Liberal scams were covered in the media in a scattered sense, but without a summary or even a partial list, the media prevents voting Canadians from ever having any concept of the scope of 200 plus scams beginning in 1993.

These two major media frauds on Canadians can explain why the Liberal party won a miraculous 104 seats when returns of 35 to 65 seats would have been more reasonable.

Lists of 200 and 219 news media documented Liberal scams have been posted on many sites in the blogosphere. It is a media disgrace that no such lists were ever commonly available to Canadians in newspapers.

Two such *amateur* lists can be seen at:
BendGovernment

ScamsList.blog.com
There are many more editorially correct lists on the net as well.

In full color NDP literature the cost of Liberal scams is conservatively pegged at ten [10] $billion dollars.

There has been no protest or threat of lawsuit by the Liberal Party at all.

Your own arithmetic will quickly take you well beyond ten billion dollars.

The marching in lockstep of the MSM in Canada must be changed for the benefit of Canadians. TG

Calgary immigration frees Gun Runner. Why?

2006-01-22T10:14:00.000-08:00

Robert thought connecting dots this way may have been a joke.

One could read the latest Jan 23rd Kevin Steele, *Married to the Mob* at Western Standard.ca
or
Andrew Coyne *How Scary*...*Frightster*...*This is scary*. also current Jan. 22nd.

These are respected thinkers.

Calgary: Immigration review board lets US citizen handgun smuggler with known arrest warrent go free into the streets of Calgary. WHY!

BendGovt

Moving Scam fraud fund

2006-01-03T14:08:00.000-08:00

These ongoing Liberal Party uses of public funds are the reasons that our list of 200 scams can by no means be complete. t/h Conservative Life

Government Contracts for "relocation services" from November 2002 until October 2005 total:
$2,243,154,797.00

*Moving expenses or a slush fund for more undeserved perks for *Special Liberals?*

Note: It is likely that the vast majority of the money allocated for "relocation services" is used appropriately. Clearly, however, some of it is not and that appears to be a worrisome pattern with this Liberal government.

===================== some examples========

Disney World Resort, Lake Bueno Vista for $25,000 in Jan 2004

Marriott Resort and Spa, Waikiki Beach, Honolulu for $97,410.00

Laguna Brisas Resort and Spa, Laguna Beach California for $25,000 in Jan 2005

Le Meridien Resort/Spa, Cancun Mexico for $25,000 in 2004 and another $25,000 in 2005

Melia Santo Hotel and Casino, Santo Domingo for $25,000 in Jan 2005
====================================

UPDATE: It should be noted that the awarding of these Hilton
contracts was itself under controversy last year when Royal LePage was awarded the handling of relocation services...

Lucrative contract sparks charge of Liberal favouritism

And this is before anyone actually examined the contracts that were being awarded. Not only is the program used in a corrupt manner but the awarding of the lucrative contract to handle these contracts was itself mired in controversy...

The contract has been an embarrassing thorn in Ottawa's side for years -- ever since competing bidders complained that public servants handling the file were too cozy with Royal LePage executives.

You can see pictures of 10 posh resorts for the pleasure of Special Liberals at:
Conservativelife

A partial list of Liberal Party of Canada scams:

BendGovernment

This shows how any Liberal Party Scams list can never be *complete* even as scams are numbered beyond 200 or so.

Public must demand Money controls

2005-12-29T19:17:00.000-08:00

Snap election won't fix system at root of corruption
Public needs to demand money controls.
Dateline: Sunday, April 17, 2005
Linda McQuaig

A horse's head has yet to be found in anyone's bed, but in some ways the Liberal party has been doing a surprisingly good impersonation of the mob. So the desire for an immediate election is understandable.

The arrogant Liberals would taste the public's wrath. A satisfying feeling of having roughed up the bums would prevail in the land—much like it prevailed after we routed Brian Mulroney's former gang in the 1993 election.

But a snap election almost surely won't get to the root of the corruption unveiled through the Gomery inquiry. Worse, a snap election may actually create the illusion—as in 1993—that the problem is being addressed and dealt with, when it's not.

The problem runs much deeper than a particular set of characters. It has to do with a political system that places inadequate controls over politicians when it comes to money.
"Money trying to corrupt the process will always flow into secret holes," says Conacher. "And some secret holes are still legal."

Democracy, while good on paper and better than any alternative, can be rendered effectively meaningless if those with money are able to buy influence or special treatment from those in power.

Governments manage billions of dollars and make decisions affecting billions more. Getting control of that apparatus, getting a piece of that action, will always be a lure.
We can bemoan the lack of integrity of those in office.

Another solution would be to not leave it up to them to determine whether they'll behave honestly, but to put much tougher checks on their handling of the money flowing through the system.
Canada has made a few toe-in-the-water gestures in this direction, including a tightening of political financing laws by the departing Chrétien government in 2003.

But some glaring loopholes remain, notes Duff Conacher, whose group, Democracy Watch, has been pretty much a lone voice pressing for tougher accountability laws.

For instance, while our election finance laws require candidates to report donations used to fund campaigns, nothing prevents candidates from receiving secret donations in private bank accounts for personal use, says Conacher.

(In 2003, MP Tony Ianno admitted to receiving $260,000 for a personal "trust fund," and said other politicians had as well.)

"Money trying to corrupt the process will always flow into secret holes," says Conacher. "And some secret holes are still legal."

Cabinet ministers are technically not allowed to receive secret donations but, in practice, there seems to be nothing to stop them, since ethics commissioner Bernard Shapiro declines to audit their financial statements.
Last October, Shapiro told the Ottawa Citizen that auditing politicians' financial statements would create a police state.

The Conservatives are hoping to sweep to power without having to change a system that would allow them to avoid proper scrutiny as well.

And the Liberals have shown no inclination for meaningful change.

Paul Martin actually resisted Chrétien's limited political financing reforms.

The system won't change unless a furious public demands serious reform.
Simply holding a snap election won't bring that reform.
It's time we really held their feet to the fire.

Linda McQuaig is an award-winning journalist and a columnist with the Toronto Star in which this column originally appeared. She is the author of All You Can Eat: Greed, Lust and the New Capitalism (Penguin paperback, $22) and her newest book, It's the Crude, Dude: War, Big Oil, and the Fight for the Planet $35.95, published by Doubleday, in 2004.
The Sunday Delight! autos are American scupture
Dear Tony,

Yes, please feel free to post my column.

Best regards,

Linda McQuaig

-----Original Message-----
From: Tony G Robinson
Sent: Wednesday, December 28, 2005 4:53 AM
To: lmcquaig@sympatico.ca
Subject: May I post your April 17th ?

Dear Linda,

I was hoping you may allow me to post your April 17th *Snap election won't fix..* * Need to demand money controls*.

I will include your books sales and prices footer, just as in Straight Goods*

This is a good time for reflecting upon what you wrote way back in April. The snap election part may not apply now but your other points do absolutly.

I want to further your money controls points with these comments...

==================================

May I add that the most effective protection for our public monies is strong Whistle Blower Protection law. Good law means strong penalties for bosses who would harm or fire an honest Whistle Blower.

Good law not only protects our funds in Ottawa, but in Provincial governments, hospitals, corporations and the stock exchanges as well.

Harper made his public commitment to that very cause during the public televised debates.

One other major way to save millions in tax dollars is the implementation of individual accounts and audit for each government ministry and department. Paul Martin promised this exact same measure during his televised CBC grovel speech last summer. A promise he would never keep and a promise every one has forgotten now in any case.

Serious and worthwhile things to consider before one ignores all the facts and votes Liberal again. Harper may not be a showman performer, but he knows economics and can install safeguards to insure that Canada’s economy runs strong and efficiently.

I trust Harper to be diplomatic. He will not publicly offend the USA. That is a sure fire way to lose jobs for Canadians through duties, tariffs and plant closures. Diplomacy often pays huge dividends. TG

BendGovernment

TGs Place

UN Life and Politics

2005-12-25T00:06:00.000-08:00

Canada

NEW YORK, Dec. 23 (UPI) — Up to about a third of the $590 million U.N. fund spent for the Indian Ocean tsunami relief may have gone to pay for overhead.

The Financial Times says its two-month investigation showed the money appears to have been spent on administration, staff and related costs. The $590 million was part of the United Nation’s $1.1 billion disaster flash appeal.

The newspaper also found several U.N. agencies continue to refuse to disclose details of their relief expenditure in spite of earlier pledges of transparency by senior officials.
Posted by Robin Roberts | permalink
on 12/26 at 01:34 PM

That would be the same UN that was criticizing US efforts to bring relief to the region in the days following the tsunami while the UN was still waiting in their offices for their Land Rovers to be air transported to Banda Aceh before showing up.
Posted by Robin Roberts | permalink
on 12/26 at 01:36 PM

And the same UN that wanted US and Aussie troops, then the only active groups providing aid in Bande Aceh, to wear UN uniforms so as to “not scare the locals”. I interpreted that as “so the UN looks like it’s doing something.”
Posted by simplertimes | permalink
on 12/26 at 05:20 PM

I apologize to ProteinWisdom for stealing these comments.

They do expose the UN so perfectly … nest pas?

There may be an alternative to the corrupt UN.
It’s the U.D.N. United Democratic Nations.
UDN

How Martin Politics fool you.

2005-12-24T10:11:00.000-08:00

Old Friend
You may have seen it before, but
it's timely:

A political man named Paul bought a donkey from an old farmer for $100.00. The
farmer agreed to deliver the donkey the next day.

When the farmer drove up the next day, he said, "Sorry son, but I have some bad news...the donkey is on my truck, but he's dead."

Paul replied, "Well then, just give me my money back." The farmer said, "I Can't do that. I went and spent italready." Paul said, "OK then, just unload the donkey anyway".

The farmer asked, "What are ya gonna do with him?" Paul said, "I'm going to raffle him off."

To which the farmer exclaimed, "You can't raffle off a dead donkey!" But Paul, with a big smile on his face, said, "Sure I can. Watch me. I just won't tell anybody that he's dead."

A month later the farmer met up with Paul and asked, "What happened with
that dead donkey?" Paul said, "I raffled him off. I sold 500 tickets at
two dollars a piece and made a profit of $698.00."

Totally amazed, the farmer asked, "Didn't anyone complain that you had stolen their money because you lied about the donkey being dead?"

And Paul replied, "The only guy who found out about the donkey being dead was the raffle winner, when he came to claim his prize. So I gave him his $2 back plus $200 extra, which is double the going value of a donkey, so he thought I was a great
guy."

Paul grew up and eventually became the Prime Minister of Canada,
and no matter how many times he lied or how much money he stole from Canadian
voters, as long as he gave them back some of the stolen money,
most of them thought he was a great guy.

Pauls Scams

Scamslist.blog.com

Was Honest, not Conrad!

2005-11-19T14:20:00.000-08:00

Black - Robber Baron? Suspect?

2005-11-19T14:12:00.000-08:00

[ Conrad Black ]

'A corporate kleptocracy'
Black's Ravelston Corp. says report on Hollinger 'laced with outright lies'

Barbara Shecter and Wojtek Dabrowski
National Post

Wednesday, September 01, 2004

This is an exclusive 4 page story in the National Post.

[Far down in the left column of any National Post Web page is the *Search The Post* window. Use this little used out of the way window to look up this and related stories.]

Brian is currently suing Peter C Newman for Two Million dollars.

Why then has Black not sued the Post , Shecter and Dabrowski , for their story. Because Black still owns part of the National Post? Because the story is entirely true?

If Black has nothing to worry about in Canada, [ remember his problems are U.S. courts], does Black enjoy criminal immunity because he occupies boardrooms with Paul Martin?

Is there different law for the rich and the masses?

Is the Canadian legal system and it’s judges honorable?

Is the Gomery whitewash honorable?

Time for a massive house cleaning, I say. TG

Gomery , Martin , Breault , Gagliano..Guilty?

2005-11-13T00:40:00.000-08:00

Dragnet, Here are the facts, just the facts, nothing but the facts: You can hang them out to dry with this stuff. This ex-cop is now a security and public speaking consultant. His professional reputation is on the line, so I suspect most of this is gold.

Just the Facts
TG