HEADLINES from GB

'Fastest man on wheels' prepares for another world record

2 Aug 06

The 'fastest man on wheels’ - RAF pilot Wing Commander Andy Green, Officer Commanding Operations Wing at RAF Wittering near Peterborough - has undertaken his final series of test runs in the UK in preparation for his attempt on yet another world land speed record.

Driving a purpose designed streamliner car – the JCB Dieselmax - Andy is hoping to achieve speeds of over 300 (483 km) miles per hour in the vehicle to become the ‘World’s fastest diesel’.

Andy, from Atherstone in Warwickshire, set the first ever supersonic world land speed record, reaching speeds of 763.035 (1,228 km) miles per hour, in the ThrustSSC in October 1997. The current diesel record, set in August 1973, at 235.756 (380 km) miles per hour is held by Virgil W Snyder and the Thermo King Streamliner.

Wing Commander Andy Green is in charge of running the airfield and other station operations. RAF Wittering is the traditional home of the Harrier and more recently the home of the RAF Logistics Hub. Andy is a trained fast-jet pilot, having flown Phantoms, F4s and Tornado F3s during his RAF career.

During the final day of preliminary trials Andy's car reached a top speed of 195 (314 km) miles per hour. Its test speed was only limited because of the length of the 1.6 mile (2.6 km) northern runway at RAF Wittering. Andy said:

"Nine years ago I drove Richard Noble’s Thrust supersonic car to 763 miles an hour. As a fast jet pilot and with that background , it wasn’t a great surprise when Richard phoned me up and said 'I’m helping JCB put this project together would you like to drive this car'.

"Nine years ago I drove Richard Noble’s Thrust supersonic car to 763 miles an hour."

Flying the flag: Wing Commander Andy Green wants to show the world just how good British engineering can be

Instrument panel on the JCB Dieselmax

RAF Wittering - Run 22, 195mph

Andy in the vehicle

"I had to think about it for nearly two seconds before I agreed to have a chat with him. It’s not just a showcase for JCB, its about showing how good British engineering is. The whole package - the Ricardo-developed JCB engines and the visionary chassis - is a fantastic product and we are going to go to the world famous Bonneville speed week to show not just the Americans but the whole world just how good British engineering is."

To reach speeds of over 300 (483 km) miles per hour, JCB in conjunction with Ricardo plc, developed the world’s most powerful automotive diesel engine – the JCB444 - at 150 brake horse power per litre. The JCB Dieselmax car, weighs four times as much as a Formula 1 car at 2,700 kilograms and twice as fast. It is powered by two 750 brake horse power two-stage turbocharged JCB444 diesel engines driving through separate six speed transmissions.

The team will depart for the United States on 9 August 2006 and take part in the Bonneville Speed Week between 12-18th August in preparation for the record attempt. The world record attempt will take place at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, USA on 21 August 2006. The record attempt will consist of two runs of nine miles (14.5 km). Each run will involve four miles (6km) of speed up, a ‘flying mile’ and four miles (6km) of slow down.

The record attempt was the brainchild of Sir Anthony Bamford, the Chairman of JCB. JCB, perhaps better known for being one of the leading companies in the design and manufacture of construction equipment, have brought in a team of experts to design the car, led by JCB Group Engineering Director Dr Tim Leverton with Richard Noble, the former land speed record holder acting as a consultant. RAF personnel were also involved in advising the design team of the deployment and operation of the parachute system to slow the vehicle down.

Sir Anthony Bamford said:

"We began this project with one basic aim. Everything always comes back to that same starting point; we are doing this to prove our engine. To power the world’s fastest diesel car with two JCB engines designed for our construction machines will be a huge achievement."

JCB Dieselmax powers down the runway at Wittering.
[Picture: Cpl Smith RAF]

http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/Defen ... daudio.htm

http://www.jcbdieselmax.com/html/home.php

I no longer see the point in risking your life for a land speed record. There doesn't seem to be any practical reasons. It's not like we live on a perfectly smooth glass marble of gargantuan proportions....

Dumb Scottish Parliament wanted to make 31st November a public holiday in Scotland......

Date 'gaffe' angers Nationalists

The Nationalists want St Andrew's Day to become a holiday

Scottish Executive staff have been accused of making a "monumental gaffe" after getting the date of St Andrew's Day wrong.

The error was discovered after Nationalists sent postcards to First Minister Jack McConnell, demanding a public holiday on 30 November.

They were stunned to receive a reply which referred to St Andrew's Day as 31 November, which does not exist.

An executive spokesman said the mistake was due to a typing error.

Scottish National Party activist Alex Orr said: "It's a monumental gaffe."

Mr Orr said he and several hundred other people had sent postcards to Mr McConnell calling for St Andrew's Day to be made a public holiday as part of the campaign organised by Young Scots for Independence.

"If everyone who sent a postcard has got one of these letters, potentially hundreds of people could have received one.

"It must be very embarrassing for the Scottish Executive."

He added: "Not only does the executive believe St Andrew's Day falls on the 31st of November, rather than the 30th, but they have chosen a day that does not even exist in the calendar."

Euan McCreath, from Young Scots for Independence, said: "It just shows how little they care about St Andrew's Day."

'Typographical error'

The letter sent to Mr Orr and Mr McCreath said the executive was committed to celebrating St Andrew's Day and added that the number of events taking place to mark it was growing.

It refers to independent MSP Dennis Canavan's St Andrew's Day (Scotland) Bill, which aims to create a public holiday, but stated: "The Scottish Parliament has no powers to create a national public holiday."

The letter also explained the bill could only allow 31 November to become a bank holiday, saying: "The only direct effect of the bill would be to allow for financial and other dealings to be suspended on 31 November."

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Executive said: "It was a typographical error and we have taken appropriate steps to make sure it does not happen again."

news.bbc.co.uk

The vid of the 50 cal was impressive,doesnt matter if was target practice or not,pretty good shooting. You cruise "youtube" like most of us,type Iraqi sniper in the top search bar to see all kinds of Juba videos.
The shot that got me though was the lad haveing a sandwich while sitting in the tank, :cry:

Dont think he even knew what hit him.

Starting to think the coalition should just leave and let them go at it. Let them create their own genocide,then they cant blame it on the states.

what surprised me about the juba vids isthat each time a shot was taken the americans had no idea at all where it came from, and especially surprising because all the shots were in urban places, not the countryside.....there's even civvies right next to the tank in some cases (looked like the iraqi was talking to the american when he got shot on the top of the tank). i have to agree with ziggy, the saddest one was of the american who got killed while eating lunch in the turret. that guy didn't stand a chance.
re: some of them not being kill shots, obviously, cuz in one of the segments u see the american running back to the hummer after getting shot, so he must have been only slightly injured if he oculd sprint back to the humvee.

He only takes one shot. All the vid's are propaganda but do the trick,they piss me off.

A British Army sniper, known only as The Man Who Never Misses... uhm isn't that most snipers more than one shot gives away your position.

http://www.snipersparadise.com/introduction.htm
great site.. if you are into the one shot world...

My personal favorite:

http://www.snipersparadise.com/history/pavlichenk.htm

Wayne Rooney got revenge on the Portuguese by scoring in last night's Amsterdam Tournament game against Lisbon team Porto.

He then got HARSHLY sent off for catching Pepe in the face as he jumped for the ball. Paul Scholes, who is returning to play for England under new England coach Steve McClaren because he refused to play under Eriksson, was also red-carded.

Manchester United covincingly won the game.

Despite the game being only yesterday, United have to play again today.
-------------------------------------------------------

Rooney's off again
Rooney sees red and Scholes goes, too

IAN LADYMAN reports from Amsterdam

5th August 2006

Amsterdam Tournament

Manchester United 3-1 Porto

Calamity on the cards: Wayne Rooney catches Pepe in the face as he jumps for the ball and is instantly dismissed by referee Ruud Bossen despite the protests of Ole Gunner Solskjaer

Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes could miss the start of the season after both were sent off on a night of drama and controversy.

Rooney was dismissed for the second time against Portuguese opposition this summer when he marred the first half of United's 3-1 "friendly" win against Porto by pushing his open palm into defender Pepe's face during an aerial challenge.

Scholes was shown a straight red card for a tackle from behind on midfielder Ricardo Quaresma in the second half.

Both players face the prospect of three-match bans if Dutch referee Ruud Bossen includes the incidents in his match report and if the Dutch FA then forward it to their counterparts in England.

Rooney said: "I thought the referee was going to give a foul for me because of the defender backing in. I can't believe he has sent me off for that."

Such incidents are often overlooked during pre-season but with Rooney being one of the most high-profile footballers in the world, it is possible that what was judged to be an act of violent conduct could see him banned for three games.

If that is the case then Scholes will inevitably be banned too, although the FA were quick to point out last night that both players would have the right of appeal if the worst came to the worst.

Rooney's sending-off seemed harsh and was particularly badly timed, coming in only his second match back in action since his dismissal against Portugal in the World Cup quarter-final on July 1 and the day after he asked new England coach Steve McClaren if he could be considered for the captaincy of his country.

The 20-year-old will certainly receive the backing of his manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who was livid on the touchline as he saw his star player sent from the field.

United won the game through goals from Scholes, Rooney and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the first two coming in the first 20 minutes when the Premiership club still had 11 players on the field.

But Ferguson said: "The possibility of suspensions is a real worry for us but we just have to hope that fairness comes in to it as Wayne, in particular, should not have been sent off. The player made more of it than he should and I'm afraid that is endemic in our game.

"Just before that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had been elbowed and the referee did nothing so I'm not sure what he was thinking when he sent Wayne off. Paul Scholes can have no excuse, though. He went through the man from behind and did not get the ball."

Rooney can also claim his red card was a result of inconsistent refereeing in the four-team Amsterdam Tournament, as an eight-man brawl in the later game between Ajax and Inter Milan, which saw far more violent conduct, resulted only in yellow cards.

United's problems are piling up with the start of the new season only two weeks away.

Ferguson revealed yesterday that defenders Gary Neville, Gabriel Heinze and Nemanja Vidic are all carrying injuries that threaten their participation in the first Premiership game against Fulham, while Rio Ferdinand was removed from the starting line-up last night after suffering an injury to his right ankle during the warm-up.

Ferguson, who gave Michael Carrick his debut following his £18.6m move from Spurs, said: "Rio went over on the ankle and it's sore. It's a worry but I hope he'll be fit for the start of the season."

United are in action again tonight as they face Ajax before completing their pre-season schedule with a game at Oxford United on Tuesday and a home game against UEFA Cup winners Sevilla a week today.

Ferguson knows that Premiership champions Chelsea will once again be the team to beat this season, even if he did have a playful dig at the London club's decision to spend £35m on centre forward Andriy Shevchenko this summer.

The United manager said: "Look at us signing Eric Cantona for £1m and then see centre forwards like Shevchenko going these days for £35m. You have to ask yourself: is Shevchenko 35 times better than Cantona?"

England manager McClaren will name his captain next week and though it is expected to be Chelsea's John Terry he revealed that Rooney has thrown his hat in to the ring.

McClaren — who was present at the Amsterdam Arena last night — spoke to Rooney during a visit to United's training ground in Manchester on Thursday and revealed last night: "I saw Wayne yesterday and, typical of him, he put himself forward to be captain.

"But I've made my choice and it was very difficult because there are so many leaders in the team. I want a good communicator who is well-respected in the dressing room and can communicate with me."
-------------------------------------

*Manchester City's Ben Thatcher was also dismissed for a second yellow card in a 1-0 victory over Shanghai Shenhua in China yesterday. Georgios Samaras scored the only goal.

Manchester United:
Van der Sar (Foster, 60), Bardsley, O’Shea (Simpson, 59), Brown, Evra, Park (Fletcher, 73), Carrick (Martin, 77), Scholes, Giggs (Richardson, 67), Rooney, Solskjaer.

Subs not used: D. Jones, Rossi, Miller.

The other result -

Ajax 1-1 Inter Milan

Today's games -

FC Porto v Inter Milan
19:00 hours CET

AFC Ajax v Manchester United
21:15 hours CET

dailymail.co.uk

Watling Street is a Roman road that runs from Wales to Dover. On this picture, the road goes through the centre of London.

The Complete Guide To: Roman Roads

When in Britain, why not do as the Romans did? From St Albans to Chester to Hadrian's Wall, follow in legionaries' footsteps, then cool off in Bath's new spa, says Fred Mawer

Published: 05 August 2006

ALL ROADS LEAD TO...

Visit Bath (Aquae Sulis) and its baths where the Romans used to bathe. Visit the newly opened baths set in a modern building that is amongst fine Georgian and more ancient architecture

Bath, at least this coming week, when, after countless delays, the Thermae Bath Spa finally opens.

The city known to the Romans as Aquae Sulis lies on the 220-mile-long Fosse Way, the Romans' cross-country link joining Exeter (Isca) to Lincoln (Lindum). The road could have marked the boundary of Roman rule in the middle of the first century AD. Fossa means ditch in Latin, and at one time, the road may have been, or run alongside, a defensive ditch.

The big attraction, then and now, was the water. In the first century AD, the Romans built a great religious spa complex at Bath around sacred hot springs. The remains of the baths and the temple to Sulis Minerva are among the most evocative and best explained Roman attractions in Britain (01225 4777 785; www.romanbaths.co.uk). To avoid long queues, visit in the evenings during August, when the complex stays open until 10pm; admission £11.

Though you can't wallow in the same baths as the Romans did, from Monday you should be able to test the restorative powers of the springs, when the massively over-budget Thermae Bath Spa (01225 331234; www.thermaebathspa.com) is due to open. The wait has been worth it - Sir Nicholas Grimshaw's brilliant design has incorporated listed 18th-century buildings to revive Britain's only hot-springs resort. The visitor centre opens daily, 9.30am-5pm; spa sessions in the main bath complex cost £19 for two hours, £29 for four; reservations are advised.

You can reach Bath on virtually the same thoroughfare as the Romans used. From Lincoln, you can follow the course of the Fosse Way if you travel on the A46 to Leicester and from there take the B4455 to the Cotswolds, where you pick up the A429 to Cirencester. This town, formerly Corinium, was a centre of mosaic production in Roman times - fine mosaics can be seen in the town's Corinium Museum (01285 655611; www.cotswold.gov.uk; open daily 10am-5pm, 2-5pm Sunday; admission £3.90); and at Chedworth Roman Villa (01242 890256; www.nationaltrust.org.uk; open daily 10am-5pm; admission £5.50), a few miles north, just off the Fosse Way.

HOW MANY ROMAN ROADS ARE KNOWN IN BRITAIN?

Even though Britannia was on the margins of the Empire, over 6,000 miles of Roman roads are known of with reasonable certainty. Historians have been able to deduce where some of Britain's main Roman roads existed not only from archaeological evidence, but also from something called the Antonine Itinerary. Probably produced in the third century AD, it listed series of place names, with distances between them, along routes. Fifteen itineraries were in Britannia. Spread across much of England, and extending into Wales and lowland Scotland, they formed our first national road network. Often, you can identify them from straight-ish sections of roads on a current road atlas.

Many modern trunk roads follow the same course as Roman ones: besides the Fosse Way south-west from Lincoln, the A2 from Canterbury to London and the A5 onwards from there to Wales (Watling Street); the A68 from Corbridge near Hadrian's Wall to Edinburgh (part of Dere Street); and many others still follow the original orientation.

WHY WERE THEY BUILT?

Prior to the Roman invasion of Britain in AD43, plenty of long-distance grass and mud thoroughfares had evolved from repeated use. The Ridgeway is the best known. The Romans' approach was different: most of their roads were carefully plotted and constructed in the 50 years following the AD43 invasion. The network was an integral part of the military campaign. Roads enabled troops and supplies to be moved long distances at high speeds, maintaining control over the territory. Over the next four centuries of occupation, the roads gradually developed into important civilian and trading routes.

Posting stations - the Roman equivalent of our motorway services - appeared at intervals along the highways. You can visit the remains of a posting station on Watling Street called Wall Roman Site, or Letocetum (0870 333 1181; www.english-heritage.org.uk), south of Lichfield, where the foundations of a mansio, or inn and bathhouse, can be seen.

ARE ROMAN ROADS ALWAYS STRAIGHT?

No; it is more accurate to say they were built in a series of straight stretches. The Romans preferred, where possible, to take a direct route. As conquerors, they would have had few concerns about who owned or used the land they wanted to build a road across. But they were prepared to deviate around natural obstacles such as hills or marshes. One of the longest, virtually ruler-straight sections of known Roman road in Britain is the 33-mile stretch of Ermine Street from Winteringham, on the southern side of the Humber, to Lincoln. The present-day B1207, and then the A15, follow its course.

HAVE ANY ROMAN ROADS SURVIVED INTACT?

Wade's Causeway

Wade's Causeway, extending more than a mile over the North York Moors, south-west of Goathland, is said to be one of the best-preserved in the country, though some experts dispute its origins.

Another example of a little-altered paved Roman road is the one that climbs over Blackstone Edge, north-east of Rochdale, near Littleborough (south of the junction of the A58 and B6138). As well as tightly packed cobbles, you can make out wheel grooves, and a central slot possibly for drainage or to assist carts with braking. However, some people question the road's Roman provenance.

TAKE ME ON A ROMAN ROAD TRIP

Start at Dover (Dubris), close to where the Romans landed in 55BC and AD43. Pause for long enough to see the ruins of a Roman lighthouse within Dover Castle (01304 205108; www.english-heritage.org.uk; open daily 9.30am-6pm, and from 10am in September; admission £9.50), and the painted plaster walls in the Roman Painted House (01304 203279; open Tuesday-Sunday 10am-5pm; admission £2), which was an inn for travellers crossing the Channel.

Take the A2 to Canterbury and on to London, entering the capital via the Old Kent Road. You're following Watling Street, an ancient Celtic track paved by the Romans and turned into one of their major thoroughfares (later used by Chaucer's pilgrims). From Marble Arch in central London, the Edgware Road, or A5, aims north-west towards St Albans (Verulamium). The name Watling Street probably derives from a Saxon tribe, the Watlingas, who lived around the town.

St Albans (Verulamium)

Verulamium was the third-largest settlement in Roman Britain. Its Roman walls and theatre are still in evidence, but most impressive is the collection of Roman artefacts in the Verulamium Museum (01727 819340; www.stalbansmuseums.org.uk; open daily 10am-5.30pm, 2pm on Sunday; admission £3.30) - mosaics, amphorae, lead coffins, wall paintings, and a newly displayed hypocaust.

From St Albans, the A5/Watling Street slices through Milton Keynes, then passes to the north of Birmingham. It then shoots due west to Wroxeter (Viroconium), just outside Shrewsbury. This was a significant town in Roman times, whose most impressive ruins are its municipal baths (01604 730320; www.roman-britain.org; open daily 10am-6pm; admission £3.10).

From here, Welsh Watling Street, sometimes called Watling Street (West) goes north to Chester (Deva), though its route cannot be detected from the current roads. Once one of three legionary bases in Britannia, Chester's centre is enclosed by walkable city walls that are Roman in origin. Other Roman attractions include the remains of the largest amphitheatre found in Britain, and a superb collection of inscribed tombstones in the Grosvenor Museum (01244 402008; www.chester.gov.uk; open daily 10.30am-5pm, 1-4pm Sunday; admission free). You can also tour the city guided by a Roman legionary (01244 324324; www.chester.gov.uk; call for departure points and times; £4.50).

DID THE ROMANS USE ROUNDABOUTS?

No, the circular road junction first appeared in Britain in 1911, in the newly built Letchworth Garden City, some way from Watling Street. Where roads met, the Romans employed T- and dogleg junctions, and especially crossroads, to marshal traffic. Towns often had regular street layouts, with aligned gates and the main streets meeting at a crossroads adjacent to the forum. This was true of York (Eboracum), whose main crossroads was the junction of Stonegate (the via praetoria) and Petergate (via principalis).

York (Eboracum)

Eboracum began its Roman life as a military outpost, but grew into a sophisticated self-governing town, or colonia, that was capital of Britannia Inferior - for more information, visit Yorkshire Museum (01904 687687; www.yorkshiremuseum.org.uk), which currently has an exhibition (until 29 October; daily 10am-5pm; admission £5.50) on Constantine the Great, who, AD306, was proclaimed Emperor in York.

When you hit the road, make it the A1079 to Market Weighton, and you'll be on Ermine Street. Another Roman equivalent of our motorways, it ran for around 200 miles between Eboracum and Londinium. South of the Humber, pick up the A15, which will take you along Ermine Street to Lincoln (Lindum). The street entered Lindum via the Newport Arch (now the city's most impressive Roman sight), then ran right through the centre of the settlement, down what is now Bailgate, which was next to the forum, and along the High Street.

You can pick up Ermine Street again south of Lincoln, on the A15. West of Sleaford, it becomes the B6403, then the A1/A1 (M) to Huntingdon. Here, stick on the Roman road by switching to the A1198 to Royston, joining the A10 into London.

HOW CAN I GET THE CHILDREN INTERESTED IN ROMAN BRITAIN?

Let them meet some Romans. English Heritage is laying on Roman festivals this weekend at Scarborough Castle (0870 333 1183; www.english-heritage.org.uk; from 11.30am; £4); and on 27/28 August at Corbridge, with drill and falconry displays.

CAN ONE WALK ALONG ANY ROMAN ROADS?

Since so many roads in our towns and cities follow Roman roads, many people do, without realising it. For example, London's Oxford Street was part of a Roman road connecting Hampshire with Suffolk. But there are more atmospheric Roman roads to follow on foot, including Wade's Causeway and the road over Blackstone Edge (see above). Invest in a copy of Exploring Roman Britain by Andrew McCloy (New Holland, £19.99) for its well-illustrated Roman-themed walks, including three based on Roman roads that are free of cars: Sarn Helen in the Brecon Beacons; Dere Street in the Cheviot Hills; and the north-Norfolk section of Peddars Way. Built by the Romans in the first century AD for troops to move through East Anglia after the revolt of Boudicca and the Iceni, Peddars Way is now a National Trail (www.nationaltrail.co.uk/peddarsway).

Easily the best Roman walking is around and along Hadrian's Wall (www.hadrians-wall.org). OK, it's not strictly a road, but the route of the wall took its lead from the Stanegate, an earlier Roman military road that ran between forts at Carlisle and Corbridge. You can walk along a section of the Stanegate, passing through Corbridge's Roman site. Thanks to the 84-mile-long Hadrian's Wall Path National Trail, you can hike between the North and Irish Seas following sections of the wall.

CAN I FIND OUT MORE?

Yes, on the Ordnance Survey Map of Roman Britain (£6.25) and the website www.romans-in-britain.org.uk.

HOW TO BUILD A ROMAN ROAD

First, decide where to build your road. Two thousand years ago, you probably wouldn't have had the use of a map to help you (though the evidence is debated). To get your road as straight as possible, employ basic surveying techniques - setting up markers on high or open ground, and aligning poles with an instrument called a groma.

To construct your road, you (or a team of Roman soldiers - the army provided the manpower for road building) need to dig a drainage ditch either side of the route, and pile the spoil up in between to create an embankment known as an agger. On that you place a foundation of large stones, then a layer of compressed smaller stones, gravel and flint.

If the road is in a town or is likely to be heavily travelled, you may want to put on a topping of paving stones, and add kerbstones. Give the surface a camber for drainage, and ensure the road is wide enough for two-wheeled vehicles to pass each other - Watling Street (the widest road) was around 10 yards across, the Fosse Way about half that.

In Roads in Roman Britain (Tempus, £16.99), the author Hugh Davies says, "the quality of construction was not bettered until the days of Telford and McAdam in the 19th century".

independent.co.uk