Now that China has finally commissioned Liaoning, its first aircraft carrier, the discussion has focused on whether the ship is a meaningful addition to the Chinese Navy or merely a symbol of status and prestige. Some have pointed out that the Chinese are not believed to currently have enough carrier-capable fighter aircraft to make the ship operational. On the other hand, China does have a carrier based plane under development, so the question may be simply be how long it will take to produce the planes. Regardless, it may be that simply having an aircraft carrier provides sufficient prestige at a time when Western powers are cutting back their aircraft carrier fleets.
The New York Times reports that military experts say that “China does not have planes capable of landing on the carrier and so far training for such landings has been carried out on land.”
After ten sea trials and over 25 years of construction and refitting, China has put its first aircraft carrier into service. Long rumored to be named Shi Lang, the carrier has instead been named 
Bill King
Scientists have said that global climate change will bring us severe and unusual weather. That would be a hard point to argue. Here are two recent, apparently somewhat contradictory or perhaps merely odd, news stories about the sea and the global climate. The ice on the Arctic Sea has melted to record low levels while it has reached record highs in the Antarctic.
The first word one associates with speed under sail is probably not barge. Nevertheless, Thames River barges are no slackers when the wind is blowing. Recently, the folks at 
Today is the official “
