Slashdot Mirror
Hellfire Missile Mistakenly Shipped To Cuba
HughPickens.com writes: NPR reports that a Hellfire missile that was supposedly shipped to Europe for military exercises in 2014 somehow ended up in Cuba. It's still a mystery as to how the missile reached Cuba but the incident has "confounded investigators and experts who work in a regulatory system designed to prevent precisely such equipment from falling into the wrong hands." According to sources, Lockheed Martin sent the missile to Europe for a NATO training exercise — and on its return, it ended up on a plane to Havana, where it was impounded. A US government official familiar with the situation calls it a "dummy" missile that lacks a warhead or guidance system. Originally designed to be launched from helicopters, Hellfire missiles have also been used to arm drone aircraft in recent years — one was credited with killing "Jihadi John" in a US operation. Since the missile arrived in Cuba in 2014, U.S. requests for its return have gone unheeded.
"Says 'Hell' does it not? ship it to Cuba."
and so it goes
if this is supposed to be a new economy, how come they still want my old fashioned money?
It'd still be quite interesting to have a look at that missile. Even really basic things like hinges and reinforcement hull struts might give you ideas how to improve other missiles.
Not that they necessarily are better but being able to look at how other people solved problems and compare them with your own solution has always been one of my favorite ways to gain knowledge.
"Since the missile arrived in Cuba in 2014, U.S. requests for its return have gone unheeded."
But boy do they giggle like school girls every time the next request comes in.
Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
No warhead. No guidance system. So basically we shipped them a big paperweight.
Or so the Pentagon says. But that's the same pentagon that lost the missile in the first place, so I wouldn't assume that they really know how inert it is.
Seriously.. I ordered an open source Smoothieboard (for a 3D printer) from the US to Canada. It left Idaho, went to Los Angels and then went to Tokyo where it sat for two weeks.
https://tools.usps.com/go/Trac...
Doesn't surprise me anymore when shit ends up going to the wrong place.
It's still a mystery as to how the missile reached Cuba
On a plane. Says so in the summary.
Why it went to Cuba is the mystery.
systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
I suspect it was not a mistake. You have to remember that our "Dear Leader" is not playing for the home team.
Alex Jones called - He wants you to come back because this is a comspiracy that needs looking into.
I heard it was Oblama, Helllary, Michael Moore, and Barny Frank, broke into the warehouse this missile was housed in, killed all the medal of honor winners who were peaceably having their Thursday night prayer meeting for the unborn babies and the second amendment, then held a satanic mooslim death mass, before shipping the missile off as a tribute payment to their leader, Fidel (God of the Democrats) Castroil.
You can use that as part of your conspiracy, reboot. Alex will love ya for it.
The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
Talk about overkill. A hellfire has a 20 lb high explosive warhead that can take out a main battle tank. They must have wanted Jihadi John killed really really dead.
None of them can see the clouds; The polished wings don't care.
That's way too fucking paranoid.
Lets pretend that Obama somehow, for some reason, wanted to get a missile to Cuba. Would this be a smart way to do it? One where it's on record and looks ridiculous? Especially the conspiracy-theory version of Obama you are implying exists- that guy would have all manner of crazy ways to do things.
It's just like... man, can't you be real? You know it's not on purpose, and you know it's not some crazy plot. Can't you stick to calling out politicians for the shit they actually do, instead of making up batshit insane nonsense?
> It'd still be quite interesting to have a look at that missile. Even really basic things like hinges and reinforcement hull struts might give you ideas how to improve other missiles.
No way they'd do that and risk violating the DMCA.
Pull my finger for my public key.
What's sad is there are people who think Cuba is a legitimate threat. I am not a qualified political scientist but I have been to Cuba twice and enjoyed my visits. I'm also fairly familiar with Cuban history - as mentioned in a previous post, I'm quasi-fluent in Spanish which means I do well enough when I go. I'm also probably going to go back if I can get the missus her passport before I end up going back home - probably just for a week visit. I like it there.
There is zero chance, in my non-professional opinion, of Cuba doing fuck-all with this. I'd trust Cuba with nukes. Seriously, I'd trust them with nukes. All they want, from what I can tell, is to be mostly left alone and to get fair prices for their sugar and cigars as well as being able to access some modern media more easily. They know where they live. They know what the world is like. There's no major underground rebellion forming/formed to oust Raul, Fidel has to be near 90 now, and they don't live in the Hermit Kingdom of North Korea - they know what the world is like and are seemingly pretty damned happy where they are.
There is, literally, not one iota of worry about this. I'd expect them, if they have it, to simply offer the damned thing back. Just giving it back would be great diplomacy and be a rather nice gesture to make. Kind of like being the bigger man type of deal. It's Cuba... They're not dangerous or anything. If you get the chance to visit then go. Jump on it, don't wait to be asked twice. Just go. It's absolutely fantastic and the people there are some of the most realistic, genuine, decent folks on the planet.
I've been all over the place and, really, I'd probably consider moving there if they'd have me. I never looked into it as I assume they don't want me. I'm retired and all and I've got plenty of money but I think that would be why they wouldn't want me. I can understand and respect that. Still, it's one of the most enjoyable places that I've ever gone to, and that's saying something because the agent lied (or was mistaken) and I did not, in fact, have any 'net access at all at the hotel and absolutely no connectivity with my phone the last time I went. Yeah, I had no 'net and still enjoyed myself immensely.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
Show is over.
Everybody is tearing down and packing up; there is equipment and boxes everywhere; everyone wants to get home; no one is paying attention.
Wander by a stack of your competitor's boxes, slap your shipping label on top of theirs; wander off.
A week later you have their box on your loading dock.
Reverse-engineer at your leisure.
When you are done, call them up, tell them one of their boxes got misdirected, and where would they like it shipped to?
It's not like he's Bush or Reagan, presidents who did actually sell arms, and lots of them, to actual enemies.
Learn to love Alaska
What's sad is there are people who think Cuba is a legitimate threat. I am not a qualified political scientist but I have been to Cuba twice and enjoyed my visits.
The whole Cuban issue was just a weird sideshow, and teh Cuban expats were one of the few minority groups who would support Republicans, So they held enormous sway despit their few numbers. And they hated Castro, so the Republicans did their bidding.
It even got the Republicans to try to do an end run around their famous family values in the Elian Gonzalez incident, where Republicans opposed reuniting a child with his remaining parent. (we have found out since then that that the rights they champion end at birth) Obviously a child should be with their loving parent - I remember feeling badly for Marisleysis Gonzalez, who menatlally adopted the boy then fell apart continuously during the whole charade. But I digress.
I'm also fairly familiar with Cuban history - as mentioned in a previous post, I'm quasi-fluent in Spanish which means I do well enough when I go. I'm also probably going to go back if I can get the missus her passport before I end up going back home - probably just for a week visit. I like it there.
I'm going to go at some point, and have a bottle of fine cuban rum, and smake a cuban cigar - you know, the ones the politicians have all the time. Que Bill Clinton joke. I digress again...
I'd also love to see all the old cars they maintained since 1959.
Love to see old Havana.
Ohh - moving to Cuba. 99 percent of the time, it's probably damn near heaven. But it seems to get hit by a lot of hurricanes. My guess it would probably be like Key west. A bit cheaper place for all us parrot heads to live. Summers might be a bit hot for some though.
The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
I typed you out a giant wall of text and then I realized you probably wouldn't read it all. It was about the culture and the value of the automobiles as well as some details on how to get there before it is too late to bother going.
So, I'll redo it instead of sending you a reply that you won't read (and I don't blame you - I probably wouldn't read it all either.
However, right now you still can't go there strictly as a tourist. You can go, with permission, with some various regulations and anything can be considered "educational." The first time you go, get a guide. After that, guide yourself when you get back. That latter is only realistically possible if you are fluent in Spanish or willing to show that you're working really hard to learn it.
Basically, go to Mexico or Canada and fly from those destinations to Cuba. Put a piece of paper in your passport and have them stamp that (they don't care). Going to Cuba without permission is technically illegal still. Then just put the piece of paper away somewhere handy or discard it just before leaving. Cuba only stamps once per visit (or that's all they've ever stamped mine) but it's better to wait until the last moment - in case they should change their policy.
Cuban cigars are overrated. They are sweet and inconsistent. They are very well made. They are the best cigar at those prices.
Cuban rum is very underrated. It's what a Jamaican rum wants to be. It's nice enough to drink neat but fine with a splash of Coke or an ice cube.
You can only bring back $400 worth of stuff and that might seem like a problem. However, out of that $400 that you can bring back, only $100 worth of cigars can be brought home with you. They can only be used for personal use. Personal use, in this case, is pretty broad. Do not sell or barter any. It's not like they are able to effectively afford to everyone but I'd still recommend just sharing them unless you want to risk prison.
That might seem bad but you will be quite happy once you find out what $100 of Cuban cigars, purchased while in Cuba, is a whole bunch of cigars. I mean, that's a lot of cigars. The exchange rate is, as near as I can tell, pretty damned good. I expect this to change rapidly, in the middle of this year they'll start allowing plain old tourism. count as a reason for visiting. That's bound to beat up the exchange rate pretty hard.
Finally, the cars won't be worth a hell of a lot. You'll find mismatching body panels, wrong engine in the wrong car, a LADA bumper welded to the front, and a tractor engine from 1948. There is not one single vehicle that has even 70% of its original material. They might have a novelty value but that's going to get old quickly. There might be some value to the parts but it's going to be tough to actually figure out what those parts went to originally unless you're *very* skilled and can retain a huge amount of cars. They're not pristine cars or anything like that. Look a bit more carefully.
I think the first cruise to Cuba, from the US, in like 50 years means that gets to Cuba sometime in May or June. I'd not be surprised to see it all changed within a year and a half from that day. That's why I've been so seriously considering going to Mexico and flying out. I'd like to see it one more time before it changes too much.
Ah well, that's as concise as I can make it. I'm exhausted so I'm gonna snuggle up with the missus and the dog and see if I can't get some sleep. Sorry for typos or completely out of place words or punctuation.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."