Personality Test

August 22nd, 2007 by Scott Kirwin

Recently I had to take a personality test after what I thought was a successful job interview that I later learned by the failure of my phone to ring wasn’t as successful as I had thought. So I’ve been curious about these things, and recently found a freebie that’s worth trying.

During the test I was presented with words like “deferant,” “delabate,” and “implective” which according to Merriam-Webster don’t exist as well as scores that do. I then had to rate myself on a scale of 1-5 to decide whether the word applied to me or not.

I received the results and was immediately stunned. The site claims to be based on the scores of 14000 business people, but I couldn’t believe the results applied to me: “You were generally consistent, but you may not have understood the meanings of some of the
words,” - like “deferant,” “delabate,” and “implective” I suppose. “While you can take an independent stand, you may be hesitant to buck popular opinion.”

‘Scuse me? Mr. Question-Global-Warming and Support-the-Iraq-War-at-all-costs? Mr. Get-beat-up-for-listening-to-New-Wave?

“You’re likely to be sensitive to social censure. Consequently, you may not share your opinions and ideas openly.”

That’s me! Mr. Keep-my-opinions-to-myself! Suffer in silence!

There was about two pages of psychobabble that described somebody I didn’t know. If that was me, I was surely in deep trouble and probably would never be hired by anyone who subscribed to these tests.

The testing session was still open, and just out of curiosity I scrolled back to see my answers.

The directions stated “Rate yourself on a scale from 1 (Agree) to 5 (Disagree) being careful to use the middle options only 20% of the time.”

I realized I had misread the directions - giving myself “5″ for words that I agreed described me.

No wonder that person didn’t exist: He was the mirror image of me - at least according to this test.

I considered taking the test again but decided it wasn’t worth it. I know what my strengths and weaknesses are and don’t need a “free” personality quiz to tell me - especially one that uses words that don’t exist.

Posted in Economics | No Comments »

Iranian Meddling In Iraq - A Parent’s Fear

August 20th, 2007 by Scott Kirwin

My stepson - a Master Sergeant in the Marine Corps - will be shipping out of Camp Pendleton much sooner than we thought. It’s a secret where ‘out’ is at this point, but I doubt he’s deploying to the Bahamas. As a consistent supporter of the Global War on Terror, his mother and I are rightfully proud and support his mission whatever it is.

He has a wife and children. In my eyes he is full of untapped potential that the Marine Corps has missed. He is a soldier intellectual without knowing it, an avid historian who remembers long-forgotten wars and draws his own, unique conclusions. He would excel in an academic setting, especially one with a strong military bearing like the Navy Academy or West Point.

He was one of the first Marines into Afghanistan in 2001. He served in East Timor as a peacekeeper. He has been to Iraq and holds his own controversial opinions. He has a sense of duty that I admire, and a sense of humor that I envy. He is strong, self-assured, handsome and brave - all the things necessary to make women swoon and men follow him without hesitation into battle. If your son is a Marine, my stepson is the man you want leading him.

When discussing death he is nonchalant, stating simply that he wishes to be buried in Arlington so that his service to our nation isn’t forgotten. He reminds us that he has willfully chosen this path, and that he did not join the Corps for its safety and security. He’s also looking forward to going.

Hearing him talk so casually about his own death frightens his mother and me. However, one of the things that scares me more is a President promising ‘consequences’ to an Iranian regime that supplies munitions to kill American soldiers - and doesn’t deliver on that threat.

According to the New York Times, Iranian-made explosively formed penetrators (EFPs) accounted for a third of the combat deaths suffered by U.S.-led forces last month. This is nothing new. In August 2005 then Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld claimed that captured munitions from insurgents came ‘clearly, unambiguously from Iran.’ In March 2006 ABC News reported US military and intelligence sources had caught shipments of EFPs at the Iran-Iraq border.

What has the Bush Administration done? On February 14, 2007 President Bush insisted he was ‘going to do something about’ the Iranian arms flow into Iraq. Soon after he authorized face-to-face negotiations with the Iranians. These negotiations have done nothing to stem the flow of munitions into Iraq from Iran, while at the same time handed the Iranians a propaganda victory by forcing the ‘Great Satan’ to the negotiating table.

Iraq is not Vietnam - contrary to what some believe. However there may be another analogy between the two conflicts that holds. Consider the flow of arms into North Vietnam from the USSR through China during the 1960’s and 1970’s. At the same time the Soviet Union supplied technicians and advisors to North Vietnam, many of whom manned anti-aircraft batteries that shot down American aircraft. How many of those munitions and advisors carved the names of American soldiers into the wall at the Vietnam Memorial in Washington DC?

What were the consequences for the Chinese and Soviets? Nixon’s visit to Peking in 1972 and ‘detente’ with the Soviets. Republican that I am I never bought the rehabilitation of Nixon and still hold him more responsible for our failure in Vietnam than Democratic President Lyndon Johnson.

Coalition forces have captured members of the Iranian Quds Force in Iraq, something that President Bush acknowledged back in February. The presence of this Iranian Special Ops unit, the use of Iranian munitions, and the recent video captured by US intelligence showing Iraqi insurgents firing Iranian rockets at coalition bases provides overwhelming evidence that the Iranian regime has American blood on its hands.

Will the ‘consequences’ be the same for them as it was the Chinese and Soviets?

It’s one thing to send men like my stepson into battle; it’s another to expose him to danger because our leader lacks the will to take the fight to his true enemy.

And that frightens me more than anything.

Scott Kirwin is a freelance writer living in Wilmington Delaware.

Posted in Heroes, Columns | 1 Comment »

Glenn Reynolds Quote on a Bumpersticker

August 19th, 2007 by Scott Kirwin

After all the writing and arguing I’ve done about global warming, Glenn Reynolds sums up my feelings in a single sentence.

I’ll believe it’s a crisis when the people who say it’s a crisis start acting like it’s a crisis.

That inspired me to add this at the Ministry of Propaganda:

Hat tip: Dave Price, Dean’s World

Posted in America, Economics | 12 Comments »

Flowcharts And Software Development

August 16th, 2007 by Scott Kirwin

Will make you cry:

My colleague operated a dual coping strategy to deal with this monster: during working hours she wept delicately and persistently; during the lunch break she scanned the job ads. I don’t believe the port was ever completed.

Note the state transitions and UML.

I’ll have to remember this the next time I have to do a functional spec.

Posted in Economics | No Comments »

Honey I Fried the Planet

August 14th, 2007 by Scott Kirwin

Check out my first post at RedState.com, Honey I Fried the Planet.

Changes to a complex system will always have unintended consequences. In computer programming these “unintended outputs” are often called “bugs.” While these bugs can down a system, they are rarely fatal. However by attempting to intervene in our planet’s climate, the consequences could be catastrophic.

Take for example Al Gore’s attempts to compensate for his huge carbon footprint by planting trees. It turns out that if these trees are planted in the northern hemisphere, they decrease the earth’s reflectance (albedo) and absorb heat. While planting trees seems so logical to most environmentalists, the consequences of this action in a complex system undermine its rationale. Had Gore been president and used the power of the government to plant millions of hectares of trees in the northern hemisphere, the “inconvenient truth” would have been that he would have made global warming worse.

UPDATE: Here’s my 2nd post at RedState:
Burn Them Alive (Then Plant Trees to Make the Execution Carbon Neutral)

UPDATE AGAIN: And Freeman Dyson isn’t big on AGW either:

British-born physicist Freeman Dyson has revealed three “heresies”, two of which challenge the current scientific orthodoxy that anthropogenic carbon causes climate change.

“The fuss about global warming is grossly exaggerated,” writes Dyson in his new book Many Colored Glass: Reflections on the Place of Life in the Universe, published on Wednesday.

He pours scorn on “the holy brotherhood of climate model experts and the crowd of deluded citizens who believe the numbers predicted by the computer models”.

Posted in America, Democrats, Economics | 2 Comments »

Once More Unto the Breach…

August 9th, 2007 by Scott Kirwin

As a consistent hawk on the Global War on Terror I have often heard “Well if you’re so gung ho about the war why don’t you go fight it yourself?” The truth be told I have given serious consideration to doing just that several times. Unfortunately each time I come to the conclusion that at my age and with my doughy physique I wouldn’t cut it in the Service. Even the lowliest Marine, the weakest airman, sailor or grunt could easily wipe the floor with me. It’s not something I’m proud of, but Truth trumps Pride - or at least it should at my age.

I’ve also come to realize that there is something much worse than putting yourself in danger: it’s putting a loved one there.

According to his girlfriend, my stepson - a Master Sergeant in the Corps - will be shipping “out” of Pendleton much sooner than we thought. It’s a secret where “out” is at this point, but I doubt he’s deploying to Canada or Japan.

He has a girlfriend and children. In my eyes he is full of untapped potential that the Corps has missed. He is a soldier intellectual without knowing it, an avid historian who remembers long-forgotten wars and draws his own, unique conclusions. He would excel in an academic setting, especially one with a strong military bearing like the Navy Academy or West Point.

He was one of the first Marines into Afghanistan in 2001. He has been to Iraq and holds opinions about the locals that are so politically incorrect that I shudder to hear them. He has a sense of duty that I admire, and a sense of humor that I envy. He is strong, self-assured, handsome and brave - all the things necessary to make women swoon and men follow him without hesitation into battle. If your son is a Marine, my stepson is the man you want leading him.

When discussing death he is nonchalant, stating that he wishes to be buried in Arlington so that his service to our nation isn’t forgotten. He reminds us that he has willfully chosen this path, and that he did not join the Corps for its safety and security.

But I don’t think he understand that his comments are blows to the gut for his mother and me. In fact, he’s excited about going. It’s easier to make the choices for a child than watch him make his own, and suffer the consequences. But we’re proud of him all the same.

Posted in Heroes | 2 Comments »

Good hands? Try deep do-do…

August 6th, 2007 by Scott Kirwin

Property-casualty insurers, which cover damage to homes and cars, reported their highest-ever profit of $73 billion last year, up 49 percent from $49 billion in 2005, according to Highline Data LLC, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based firm that compiles insurance industry data.

The 60 million U.S. homeowners who pay more than $50 billion a year in insurance premiums are often disappointed when they discover insurers won’t pay the full cost of rebuilding their damaged or destroyed homes.

Property insurers systematically deny and reduce their policyholders’ claims, according to court records in California, Florida, Illinois, Mississippi, New Hampshire and Tennessee.

The insurance companies routinely refuse to pay market prices for homes and replacement contents, they use computer programs to cut payouts, they change policy coverage with no clear explanation, they ignore or alter engineering reports, and they sometimes ask their adjusters to lie to customers, court records and interviews with former employees and state regulators show.

Is the source Mother Jones? New Republic? Try Bloomberg. When the insurance industry showers Capitol Hill with $98 million in lobbying money, then turns around and screws Sen. Trent Lott, you know the industry needs to be taken down a peg or two.

Posted in America, Economics | No Comments »

Google Cures Earworms

August 4th, 2007 by Scott Kirwin

Had a song in my head this morning from a band that I didn’t know. The only lyrics I could remember were “…collapsing new people. Watch them. Collapsing.”

So I turned to Google, typed in lyrics “collapsing new people”. Immediately I learned the song was by Fad Gadget. Even better there was a link to a site that allowed me to listen to the song. Typing in “Fad Gadget” at Wikipedia and I learned that the band was really one man, Frank Tovey, who signed to Mute records, the same label as Depeche Mode.

Tovey influenced the Goth and Industrial genres of rock, and died in 2002 of a heart attack after touring with Depeche Mode in ‘01.

I recall flipping past Fad Gadget records looking for Front 242, but I guess one of Tovey’s songs stuck. Although dated, the song isn’t half bad even 24 years after its release.

Posted in General | No Comments »

The Echo Chamber Myth

July 30th, 2007 by Scott Kirwin

The blogosphere, for all its virtues, too often mirrors Sunstein’s image of large groups of people engaging in mutual intellectual back-scratching, rather than challenging their own convictions.” - Chris Mooney, author of The Republican War on Science in New Scientist

I find it ironic to read such attacks on the blogosphere in publications like the New Scientist that rarely if ever present opinions that differ from the editorial agenda of the magazine. Invariably the attacks charge the blogosphere with being an “echo chamber” of ideas instead of a place that challenges participants convictions.The New Scientist is primarily a science magazine, which is why I read it. However it regularly expresses political opinions that invariably attack Conservatives and glorify Liberals - as in this review of Al Gore’s The Assault on Reason. Think I’m exaggerating? Here’s how the book review ended:

The Assault on Reason isn’t the kind of volume that ought to be judged by standard norms of literary criticism; it’s far too historic for that. Reading it, your mind is very much elsewhere: on the catastrophic failed presidency of George W. Bush, and - if only Gore had taken office instead - what might have been.

That’s from a book review - in a science magazine.

You want an echo chamber, pick up the New York Times and try to find a positive story about the Bush Administration. Watch CNN and try to find a positive story about Iraq. How about your local newspaper or favorite news magazine. All these sources invariably offer the same opinions, the same tired cliches, quote the same sources, and offer the same opinions. Even the New Scientist ignores arguments and evidence that challenges the belief that global warming is NOT caused by humans.

I mention this today because one of the posters on this thread thought I had banned him because I disagreed with his take on the JFK assassination. I hadn’t. Hell, I welcomed his opinion because it showed that someone reads my writing (always a good thing for a writer’s ego) and it challenged my beliefs.

A healthy immune system is one that requires regular challenges by pathogens. In fact there is some evidence that the rise of autoimmune diseases like Lupus, asthma and others may be caused by modern living in a relatively clean environment. I believe that the body of one’s opinions needs regular challenges in order to become stronger. However, the analogy ends there because there are times when the idea that you accept the idea challenging you, and your opinion changes. That has happened to me on ideas such as Israel, gun control, capital punishment and recently, global warming.

In the case of the poster on the JFK thread, it turns out the Spam Killer that protects this site decided his comments were spam and pulled them. I’ve re-added his comments and will continue to watch the program to see if the program begins pulling others. However, the only time I will pull a comment is one that takes an ad hominem attack on me or one of the other posters. I do this for fun, and will not tolerate abuse of any sort.

Does this make my site an echo chamber? How about Dean’s World - where I post along with such people as Aziz Poonwalla, Michael Demmons, Ali Eteraz, and Kevin D - all of whom I regularly disagree with on nearly every topic imaginable?

The blogosphere is much more vibrant than the printed media. It isn’t perfect but it isn’t the echo chamber that writers in true echo chambers like New Scientist thinks.

Posted in General, Politics | 4 Comments »

Terrorist Dry Runs: Read Between the Lines

July 25th, 2007 by Scott Kirwin

Fox News is squawking in this report about suspicious items turning up in searches by the TSA. However they aren’t mentioning in their newscast what to me is the most obvious question:

Who are the people carrying this stuff?

The story has this tidbit:

The bulletin said the passengers carrying the suspicious items seized since September included men and women and that initial investigation had not linked them with criminal or terrorist organizations. But it added that most of their explanations for carrying the items were suspicious and some were still under investigation.

One of the items was two freezer packs wrapped with duct tape with the gel inside removed and replaced with clay.

I don’t know about you but I would love to hear that guy’s explanation…

“Play-doh is illegal in my country, and I am smuggling it in for my sister’s children.”

“That Ebay! I bought this to keep my American Coca-Cola drinks cold and the seller ripped me off. I’m must leave him bad feedback now!”

However the most likely explanation is:

“My civil rights are being violated. I am calling CAIR immediately.”

Posted in War | 1 Comment »

The Lure of the Conspiracy Theory

July 23rd, 2007 by Scott Kirwin

When I began the online journal I wanted to name it Occam’s Razor. This is the principle that in layman’s terms says that if you have two theories with the same evidence, the simpler is the one most likely to be true. Occam’s Razor is one of the must useful tools one has at one’s disposal. I think of it as the Swiss Army knife of logic that can be used to pry the Truth from fiction in most situations.

Occam’s Razor is particularly useful against conspiracy theories. In fact conspiracy theories are pretty much the opposite of Occam’s Razor. Where the razor cuts away the superfluous, conspiracy theories add it in order to protect the kernel of truth they rest upon. Once the razor exposes that truth, the conspiracy theory tends to fall apart under its own weight.

Unfortunately when I set this journal up in October 2001 all the domain names having the word “Occam” or “Ockham” were taken, so I had to make due with therazor.org.

Anyhow, here’s an interesting story from a recent issue of New Scientist which discusses why conspiracy theories tend to thrive in our culture.

Source: New Scientist: The lure of the conspiracy theory (subscription necessary)

Was Princess Diana the victim of drunk driving or a plot by the British royal family? Did Neil Armstrong really walk on the moon or just across a film set in Nevada? And who killed President John F. Kennedy - the Russians, the Cubans, the CIA, the mafia… aliens? Almost every big event has a conspiracy theory attached to it. The truth, they say, is out there - but where exactly? Perhaps psychology can help us find at least some of the answers.

Article removed at request of copyright owner. See New Scientist, “Lure of the Conspiracy Theory.”

Posted in General | 26 Comments »

Hatshepsut Discovered

July 15th, 2007 by Scott Kirwin

I love archeology, and little fascinates me as much as Ancient Egypt.

So the discovery of the mummy of Hatshepsut, an 18th Dynasty queen turned Pharaoh, is big news.

And the Discovery Channel has done it, and broadcasts the quest in the Secrets of Egypt’s Lost Queen. It’s a quest that brings together history, forensic science, and good old fashioned detective work.

They even discovered the cause of death: poor dental hygiene.

So why did the next ruler, Tuthmosis III, attempt to erase her from history?

It wasn’t personal. Tuthmosis III replaced Hatshepsut’s cartouche with her half-brother and husband Tuthmosis II - who also happened to be Thuthmosis III’s father. It was his way of insuring the succession was patrilineal, and that it would not go to Hatshepsut’s daughter, Neferure, who apparently became his queen and bore his eldest son, Amenemhat.

It’s a fascinating program and one definitely worth watching.

Posted in General | No Comments »

A Mexican Aviator Remembered in New Jersey’s Pinebarrens

July 13th, 2007 by Scott Kirwin

Link to story

“It’s so quiet and so calm; it gets kinda spooky,” said Carranza’s cousin, Capt. Ismael Carranza, 72, a retired pilot for Continental Airlines who has made several pilgrimages to the site from his home in Grapevine, Texas.

But the scene in Wharton State Forest will be very different Saturday when Ismael Carranza joins Legionnaires from Mount Holly Post 11 of the American Legion for the 78th annual commemoration of the young pilot’s death. The solemn event, held every year on the second Saturday in July, draws about 400 people to New Jersey’s Pine Barrens — a more than 1 million-acre natural preserve with unique history, folklore, flora and fauna. Mexican and U.S. dignitaries, Carranza family members and Latino-Americans have attended over the years.

Guests have been known to weep at the story of Mexico’s “Lone Eagle,” just 22 when he crashed on July 12, 1928, and died. Under orders from his commanding officer, Carranza was attempting to fly home after a much heralded goodwill mission during the early days of aviation in the United States.

Posted in Heroes | No Comments »

Comcast Digital Cable - A Digital Nightmare

July 12th, 2007 by Scott Kirwin

I am not a big fan of cable companies. I don’t trust any monopoly - especially one that is as loosely regulated as the cable TV one. However Comcast has provided me a decent analog TV service and high-speed internet, albeit for a steep price. But once you get hooked on high-speed, it becomes a necessity.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am waiting for FIOS. I have resisted getting sucked in to a long contract through Comcast over the past year while I wait. Every two or three weeks, Comcast calls me up and dangles a FREE digital upgrade. While I’m a sucker for “free” just like anyone else, I have resisted it in this case because it comes with an extended contract as well as this:

Take a careful look at this remote. Note the placement of buttons, their sizes as well as their apparent functions.

Now put that remote into the hands of your 80 year old mother-in-law as Comcast did recently. She upgraded because one of the handful of channels she liked, the Gameshow Network, was moved from analog to digital cable, and she needed the digital box in order to see it.

So she went from having 2 remotes - one each for TV and VCR - to three. It wasn’t long before I received a call.

The power had gone out briefly and her TV no longer worked. I went over, assessed the situation i.e. determined which remote went where then punched a few buttons seeing what turned on or off, and figured out that the digital box - which had 2 lights, a red and a yellow, nothing else - was not powered up. So I hit the “All On” button and sure enough, the TV worked.

A week later I got a call again. The TV hadn’t worked for several days. She had called Comcast numerous times to no avail. She couldn’t understand a few of the customer service reps, and others hadn’t been able to solve her problem. So she had done what any elderly woman would do in her situation: she stopped watching TV in her favorite room and instead, watched it downstairs. However her legs were bothering her, so she contacted me in the hope that I could help her again and keep her from having to climb the stairs unless she had to.

Take a look at that remote again.

While she was downstairs it took me about 10 minutes to figure out what had been turned off. Consider: You have a box with two lights controlled by that remote. Plus you have a “cable ready TV” - an analog cable ready TV that isn’t cable ready anymore. Therefore I had to figure out if it received the signal from the box on channel 3 or one of the A/V channels.

Using the power of deduction I determined that the digital cable came through on channel 4 - and the red light on the box meant “power” - which was off. So which button do I press to turn it on? I press “All On” and nothing happens. I try it again, adjusting my angle, and still nothing. Finally I stand up and realize that the infrared sensor was being blocked by the top of the TV because the digital box was pushed back.

And there was a half-second delay that meant that pressing it quickly twice apparently did nothing. So I slowed down, and got the TV on.

The TV defaulted to CN8 - a channel that Comcast advertises heavily on all of its channels but no one watches. So I pressed 65 to switch to Fox News. Two tiny black letters appeared at the top of the screen, but the channel didn’t change. I’m still not sure what that meant.

So I hit the channel + button and slowly made my way to channel 65 - again with a slight delay between pressing a button and seeing its effect.

I then discovered that when you turned off the digital cable, it defaulted back to CN8 regardless of the channel you selected. I tried entering the channel number again, and nothing happened.

Soon the mother-in-law came upstairs, wanting to see how I was doing with the TV. She claimed that a customer service rep had told her to press 00 and then the number. However when I pressed 0065 it failed. I tried 004 and the channel changed to Fox, so I tried 065 and sure enough the channel changed to Fox News.

She wanted me to show her what to do. I looked at her. Here was an elderly woman, a technophobe who had trouble answering a flipphone (she opens it to answer and inevitably presses the green button - often resulting in one hearing “BEEP! Hello?”). And there I was, a technophile who seriously wanted to take that remote and digital cable box and personally fire it from a cannon at the beautiful, mirrored skyscraper Comcast is building in Center City Philadelphia.

I shook my head. “One of the people on the phone said he had a woman break down and cry trying to get it to work,” she said.

I didn’t doubt it in the least. Comcast Digital Cable is an ergonomic disaster. From a box without a switch but with two glowing lights, to an incomprehensible remote with a time delay between button pressings, to pressing 0 or 00 plus the number of the channel you want to watch fast enough to accurately get channel 60 instead of channel 6. In between you have the usual tangle of TV and VCR idiosyncrasies that seem to be particular every household - and usually understood by a single member of that household.

I build my own PCs for fun. I can program in several different computer languages and can troubleshoot complex technical problems and business challenges. However Comcast Digital Cable nearly kicked my butt.

My mother-in-law drives me crazy at times. She is high maintenance and neurotic to an unbelievable degree. However she was completely justified in her frustration over Comcast Digital Cable. This is a technology that needs to be euthanized, destroyed, smashed by a million steam rollers, or boxed and sent to the same warehouse holding the Ark of the Covenant and Moon Landing set.

Posted in Economics | 2 Comments »

The Myth of America’s Friend - Saddam

July 12th, 2007 by Scott Kirwin

The following is a comment posted at Dean’s World by denizen and all-around cool dude Martin Shoemaker that refutes the myth of Saddam, America’s best-buddy. Dean himself is pretty livid about the legs this myth has.

Martin writes:

Here’s the chart.

Here’s the original from the Frogman.

And here, courtesy of that notorious buncha neocons at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, is the source data.

Their other insidious propaganda tool is even more informative: the trade register. It lets you track arms deals by country and type. For the pre-Gulf War Saddam era, the USA supplied:

* 30 Hughes-300/TH-55 Light helicopters.

* 30 MD-500MD Defender Light helicopters.

* (31) Bell-214ST Helicopters.

* 26 MD-530F Light helicopters.

As best I can tell, a number in parens means the exact number is unclear.

For that same period, the USSR supplied:

* (184) SON-9/Fire Can Fire control radars.

* (250) BRDM-2 Reconnaissance vehicles.

* (250) BTR-50 APCs.

* (250) BTR-60PB APCs.

* (100) T-12 100mm/2A19 Towed guns.

* (100) ZSU-57-2 AAV(G)s.

* (550) 5V27/SA-3B Goa SAMs.

* (6) Osa/Type-205 FAC(M)s.

* (6) P-12/Spoon Rest Air surv radars.

* (48) P-15U/SS-N-2B Styx Anti-ship missiles.

* (30) S-125M/SA-3B SAM systems.

* (15) Mi-6T/Hook-A Helicopters.

* (90) Mi-8T/Hip-C Helicopters.

* (60) Su-7B/Fitter-A FGA aircraft.

* 12 Tu-22/Blinder-A Bomber aircraft.

* (250) 3M11/AT-2a Swatter Anti-tank missiles.

* (20000) 9M14M/AT-3 Sagger Anti-tank missiles.

* (200) BMP-1 IFVs.

* (100) BRDM-2 Tank destroyers.

* (60) MiG-21MF/Fishbed-J Fighter aircraft.

* 8 Osa/Type-205 FAC(M)s.

* (64) P-15/SS-N-2A Styx Anti-ship missiles.

* (1260) R-13R/AA-2C Atoll-C SRAAMs.

* (80) Su-20/Fitter-C/F FGA aircraft.

* (300) T-55 Tanks.

* (100) T-62 Tanks.

* (200) ZSU-23-4 Shilka AAV(G)s.

* (12) 9P117/SS-1 Scud TEL SSM launchers.

* (20) MiG-23MF/Flogger-B Fighter aircraft.

* (48) R-17/SS-1c Scud-B SSMs.

* (20) 2K12 Kvadrat/SA-6A SAM systems.

* (840) 3M9/SA-6 Gainful SAMs.

* (50) D-20 152mm Towed guns.

* (100) R-23R/T/AA-7 Apex BVRAAMs.

* (6500) Strela-2/SA-7 Grail Portable SAMs.

* 2 An-26/Curl Transport aircraft.

* 70 MiG-23BN/Flogger-H FGA aircraft.

* (600) T-62 Tanks.

* (24) 9K52 Luna-M/FROG-7 SSM launchers.

* (100) BM-21 Grad 122mm MRLs.

* (33) Il-76M/Candid-B Transport aircraft.

* (40) Mi-24D/Mi-25/Hind-D Combat helicopters.

* (5) P-14/Tall King Air surv radar.

* (50) 2S1 122mm Self-propelled guns.

* (50) 2S3 152mm Self-propelled guns.

* 10 Long Track Air surv radars.

* (25) MiG-25P/Foxbat-A Fighter aircraft.

* (8) MiG-25RB/Foxbat-B Reconnaissance ac.

* 5 PRV-9/Thin Skin Height-finding radar.

* (450) R-40/AA-6 Acrid BVRAAMs.

* 50 T-72 Tanks.

* (160) 9K31/SA-9 Gaskin Mobile SAM systems.

* (10) BMD-1 IFVs.

* (25) M-240 240mm Mortars.

* (2500) Strela-1/SA-9 Gaskin SAMs.

* (750) BMP-1 IFVs.

* (576) M-46 130mm Towed guns.

* (400) T-55 Tanks.

* (10) 2S4 240mm Self-propelled mortars.

* (50) 9K33 Osa/SA-8 Mobile SAM systems.

* (1300) 9M33/SA-8 Gecko SAMs.

* (10) 9P117/SS-1 Scud TEL SSM launchers.

* (200) BM-21 Grad 122mm MRLs.

* (576) D-30 122mm Towed guns.

* (250) Kh-28/AS-9 Kyle Anti-radar missiles.

* (750) MT-LB APCs.

* (40) R-17/SS-1c Scud-B SSMs.

* (2150) T-62 Tanks.

* (500) T-72 Tanks.

* (36) KSR-5/AS-6 Kingfish Anti-ship missiles.

* (12) Mi-24D/Mi-25/Hind-D Combat helicopters.

* (30) Mi-8/Mi-17/Hip-H Helicopters.

* (61) MiG-21bis/Fishbed-N Fighter aircraft.

* (50) MiG-23BN/Flogger-H FGA aircraft.

* (30) MiG-25P/Foxbat-A Fighter aircraft.

* (200) PT-76 Light tanks.

* (1080) R-13S/AA-2S Atoll SRAAMs.

* (60) 9K35 ZREB-BD/SA-13 Mobile SAM systems.

* 15 Mi-2/Hoplite Helicopters.

* (1500) Strela-10/SA-13 Gopher SAMs.

* (37) Mi-8/Mi-17/Hip-H Helicopters.

* (41) MiG-29/Fulcrum-A Fighter aircraft.

* (800) R-17/SS-1c Scud-B SSMs.

* (175) R-27/AA-10 Alamo BVRAAMs.

* (582) R-60/AA-8 Aphid SRAAMs.

* (500) Strela-3/SA-14 Gremlin Portable SAMs.

* (46) Su-22/Fitter-H/J/K FGA aircraft.

* 84 Su-25/Frogfoot-A Ground attack ac.

* (180) 2A36 Hyacinth 152mm Towed guns.

* (100) 2S1 122mm Self-propelled guns.

* (100) 2S3 152mm Self-propelled guns.

* (3000) 9M111/AT-4 Spigot Anti-tank missiles.

* (360) BM-21 Grad 122mm MRLs.

* (200) BMP-2 IFVs.

* (40) Kh-29/AS-14 Kedge ASMs.

* (25) Su-24MK/Fencer-D Bomber aircraft.

* (1000) Igla-1/SA-16 Gimlet Portable SAMs.

So we supplied around 117 helicopters. The USSR supplied 239 helicopters, a little more than twice as many. Oh, yeah, and four pages of other kinds of arms and materiel.

By USSR standards, France was a relative piker:

* 64 AS-12 ASMs.

* 365 SS-11/AS-11 Anti-tank missiles.

* (62) AML-60/90 Armoured cars.

* 600 AS-12 ASMs.

* 2050 HOT Anti-tank missiles.

* 25 M-3 VTT APCs.

* 3750 MILAN Anti-tank missiles.

* 31 SA-316B Alouette-3 Light helicopters.

* 1000 SS-11/AS-11 Anti-tank missiles.

* 3 SA-330 Puma Helicopters.

* 40 SA-342K/L Gazelle Light helicopters.

* (25) AML-60/90 Armoured cars.

* (2) AML-60/90 Armoured cars.

* 10 SA-321G Super Frelon ASW helicopters.

* 600 HOT Anti-tank missiles.

* 700 MILAN Anti-tank missiles.

* 36 Mirage F-1E FGA aircraft.

* (534) R-550 Magic-1 SRAAMs.

* (200) Super-530F BVRAAMs.

* (72) AM-39 Exocet Anti-ship missiles.

* (100) AMX-10P IFVs.

* 50 ERC-90 Armoured cars.

* 20 SA-342K/L Gazelle Light helicopters.

* 100 VCR-TH Tank destroyer.

* 1000 HOT Anti-tank missiles.

* 23 Mirage F-1C Fighter aircraft.

* 30 Mirage F-1C Fighter aircraft.

* 20 SA-330 Puma Helicopters.

* (5) AMX-30D ARVs.

* (6) SA-321H Super Frelon Helicopters.

* (6) TRS-2215/2230 Air surv radars.

* (5) Volex Air surv radars.

* (150) ERC-90 Armoured cars.

* 13 Roland Mobile SAM systems.

* (100) Roland Mobile SAM systems.

* (2260) Roland-2 SAMs.

* 85 AMX-GCT/AU-F1 Self-propelled guns.

* (115) M-3 VTT APCs.

* (280) AM-39 Exocet Anti-ship missiles.

* (450) ARMAT Anti-radar missiles.

* 5 Super Etendard FGA aircraft.

* (240) AS-30L ASMs.

* (2) Rasit Ground surv radars.

* 19 Mirage F-1C Fighter aircraft.

* 18 SA-342K/L Gazelle Light helicopters.

* (5) TRS-2100 Tiger Air surv radars.

* (1) TRS-2100 Tiger Air surv radars.

* 36 AM-39 Exocet Anti-ship missiles.

Though not up to Soviet standards, they sold about the same number of helicopters as us (124) — and far exceeded us in things that shoot or explode.

Some around here have foolishly derided Poland as a military power; but for the period in question, Poland’s sales to Saddam were four timers ours in dollar amounts. And as for destructive potential:

* 4 Type-771/Polnocny Landing ships.

* (400) T-55 Tanks.

I have to say that 400 tanks sound a bit more destructive than 117 helicopters.

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