Retired North Pole
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 Dept 56 North Pole PEPPERMINT PETES Retired 2010 $64.95 Time Remaining: 19d 10h 7m Buy It Now for only: $64.95 |
 PHOTO WITH SANTA Set of 3 Dept 56 North Pole Series Retired $3.00 (1 Bid) Time Remaining: 4h 24m |
 MITTEN MANOR Dept 56 North Pole Series Retired $27.00 Time Remaining: 4h 29m |
 DEPT 56 NORTH POLE BOARD GAMES FUN RETIRED $17.97 Time Remaining: 1d 10h 17m Buy It Now for only: $17.97 |
 DEPT 56 NORTH POLE TINKER BELLS LIGHTHOUSE NRFB MINT RETIRED $21.75 (6 Bids) Time Remaining: 5h 11m |
 Department 56 MICKEYS NORTH POLE HOLIDAY HOUSE Artist Signed Retired DISNEY $99.99 Time Remaining: 27d 13h 32m Buy It Now for only: $99.99 |
 DEPARTMENT 56 NORTH POLE ICE BREAKERS LOUNGE NRFB MINT RETIRED $20.50 (8 Bids) Time Remaining: 5h 13m |
 NORTH POLE THE REINDEER STABLES DASHER DANCER NRFB RETIRED $11.05 (2 Bids) Time Remaining: 5h 14m |
 Department 56 CHRITMAS TANGLED IN TINSEL North Pole Series Dept 56 Retired $34.99 Time Remaining: 27d 13h 31m Buy It Now for only: $34.99 |
 Dept 56 Tin Soldier Shop North Pole Series Item 56383 RETIRED $20.00 Time Remaining: 5h 40m Buy It Now for only: $35.00 |
 Department 56 COCA COLA FIZZ FACTORY North Pole Series Retired $99.99 Time Remaining: 27d 13h 32m Buy It Now for only: $99.99 |
 Dept 56 Real Plastic Snow Factory North Pole Series Item 56403 RETIRED $35.00 Time Remaining: 5h 40m Buy It Now for only: $50.00 |
 Dept 56 ACME Toy Factory North Pole Series Item 56729 RETIRED $45.00 Time Remaining: 5h 41m Buy It Now for only: $60.00 |
 DEPT 56 NORTH POLE WE DONT NEED INSTRUSTIONS RETIRED $24.97 Time Remaining: 1d 10h 17m Buy It Now for only: $24.97 |
 Dept 56 Santas Light Shop North Pole Series Item 56397 RETIRED $30.00 Time Remaining: 5h 41m Buy It Now for only: $40.00 |
 Department 56 VILLAGE ACCESSORIES PEPPERMINT SIGN North Pole Dept 56 Retired $23.99 Time Remaining: 27d 13h 31m Buy It Now for only: $23.99 |
 Dept 56 The Peanut Brittle Factory North Pole Series Item 56701 RETIRED $50.00 Time Remaining: 5h 42m Buy It Now for only: $70.00 |
 Dept 56 Weather Time Observatory North Pole Series Item 56385 RETIRED $25.00 Time Remaining: 5h 42m Buy It Now for only: $40.00 |
 Department 56 POLAR POWER COMPANY North Pole Series Retired $99.99 Time Remaining: 27d 13h 32m Buy It Now for only: $99.99 |
 Dept 56 Maries Doll Museum North Pole Series Item 56408 RETIRED $25.00 Time Remaining: 5h 42m Buy It Now for only: $40.00 |
 Department 56 CHRISTMAS CAROL REHERSAL North Pole Series Dept 56 Retired $34.99 Time Remaining: 27d 13h 31m Buy It Now for only: $34.99 |
 Dept 56 North Pole Chapel North Pole Series Item 56260 RETIRED $25.00 Time Remaining: 5h 43m Buy It Now for only: $40.00 |
 Dept 56 Santas Reindeer Rides North Pole Series Item 56748 RETIRED $30.00 Time Remaining: 5h 43m Buy It Now for only: $45.00 |
 Department 56 A PUZZLING SIGN North Pole Series Dept 56 Retired $29.99 Time Remaining: 27d 13h 31m Buy It Now for only: $29.99 |
 Dept 56 Santas Lookout Tower North Pole Series Item 56294 RETIRED $30.00 Time Remaining: 5h 45m Buy It Now for only: $45.00 |
 Dept 56 NORTH POLE CHAPEL 5626 0 NP Retired $36.99 Time Remaining: 28d 14h 2m Buy It Now for only: $36.99 |
 Dept 56 Santas Workshop North Pole Series Item 56006 RETIRED $180.00 Time Remaining: 5h 46m Buy It Now for only: $250.00 |
 Dept 56 Santas Rooming House North Pole Series Item 56386 RETIRED $40.00 Time Remaining: 5h 46m Buy It Now for only: $55.00 |
 DEPT 56 NORTH POLE SERIES BAKER ELVES SET 3 RETIRED 56030 FREE SHIPPING $19.99 Time Remaining: 27d 3h 28m Buy It Now for only: $19.99 |
 Dept 56 Reindeer Barn North Pole Series Item 56015 RETIRED $30.00 Time Remaining: 5h 47m Buy It Now for only: $45.00 |
 Department 56 FLURRYS SNOWGLOBE MAKER North Pole Series Retired $109.99 Time Remaining: 27d 13h 32m Buy It Now for only: $109.99 |
 Tassys Mittens North Pole Dept 56 Hassels Mufflers Woolies 1991 Retired $40.00 Time Remaining: 13h 15m |
 Department Dept 56 An Irish Cheer for Santa set of 2 Retired 5656848 $9.99 (1 Bid) Time Remaining: 14h 3m |
 Department 56 MMs STAMP OF APPROVAL North Pole Series Dept 56 Retired $39.99 Time Remaining: 27d 13h 31m Buy It Now for only: $39.99 |
 Department Dept 56 Hot Wheels Lets Give it a Spin Retired 5656441 $9.99 Time Remaining: 14h 5m |
 Department 56 SANTAS FLIGHT PLANNING TEAM North Pole Series Dept 56 Retired $34.99 Time Remaining: 27d 13h 31m Buy It Now for only: $34.99 |
 Department Dept 56 North Pole More yarn for your stockings Mrs Claus retired $9.99 (1 Bid) Time Remaining: 14h 8m |
 Department Dept 56 North Pole Series Elf Land School Sleigh Express Retired $10.99 (2 Bids) Time Remaining: 14h 8m |
 Department 56 LIGHT THE WAY SANTAS BEACON North Pole Series Retired $89.99 Time Remaining: 27d 13h 32m Buy It Now for only: $89.99 |
 Department Dept 56 North Pole Series One Choo Choo burger coming up Retired $9.99 Time Remaining: 14h 11m |
 DEPT 56 NORTH POLE WOODS BALANCING ACT NEW SET OF 3 RETIRED 56932 $27.99 Time Remaining: 9d 16h 50m Buy It Now for only: $27.99 |
 Department Dept 56 North Pole Series Dash away Delivery Hot air Balloon Retired $10.49 (2 Bids) Time Remaining: 14h 12m |
 Department Dept 56 North Pole Series Glitter Detail set of 2 Retired $10.49 (2 Bids) Time Remaining: 14h 15m |
 Dept56 North Pole Village Last Minute Delivery retired 1998 MIB $9.00 Time Remaining: 25d 11h 6m Buy It Now for only: $9.00 |
 Department Dept 56 North Pole Series Cruisin Crayola Elves set of 2 Retired $9.99 (1 Bid) Time Remaining: 14h 18m |
 Department 56 COCA COLA SLIDING HILL North Pole Series Retired $89.99 Time Remaining: 27d 13h 32m Buy It Now for only: $89.99 |
 Department Dept 56 North Pole Series This Looks Like A Good Spot RETIRED $9.99 Time Remaining: 14h 19m |
 Toots Model Train Mfg Dept 56 56728 Retired Animated Limited Edition $109.95 Time Remaining: 1d 41m Buy It Now for only: $150.00 |
 Dept 56 North Pole SKI BUMS 56710 NIB Retired 01 NP Acc Elf Mountain Ski Resort $23.95 Time Remaining: 27d 18h 1m Buy It Now for only: $23.95 |
 Department 56 North Pole Series Tangled in Tinsel 56708 Retired $17.99 Time Remaining: 1d 5h 55m |
 DEPT 56 NORTH POLE CANDY CANE CORNER RETIRED $111.97 Time Remaining: 1d 17h 24m Buy It Now for only: $111.97 |
 Department 56 North Pole Woods Elves 56922 Retired $15.99 Time Remaining: 1d 5h 59m |
 Reindeer Barn Retired North Pole Series Department 56 Collectible $35.00 Time Remaining: 1d 9h 58m |
 Department 56 HOLIDAY CARD PHOTO HUT Dept 56 Retired $34.99 Time Remaining: 27d 13h 31m Buy It Now for only: $34.99 |
 DEPT 56 NORTH POLE SANTAS BELL REPAIR BRAND NEW RETIREDBIG DEPT 56 SALE $10.00 Time Remaining: 1d 11h 43m |
 Dept 56 North Pole POLAR PIZZA NEVER COLD Retired $18.50 Time Remaining: 24d 17h 23m Buy It Now for only: $18.50 |
 DEPT 56 NORTH POLE CHECKING IT TWICE WIND UP TOYS IN BOX RETIRED $44.00 Time Remaining: 1d 11h 51m Buy It Now for only: $49.00 |
 BUSTIN A MOVE Set of 2 North Pole Series Retired $9.00 Time Remaining: 1d 13h |
 Dept 56 WOODSMEN ELVES Set of 3 56308 NP Retired $26.99 Time Remaining: 22d 14h 2m Buy It Now for only: $26.99 |
 All Aboard Dept 56 North Pole 56803 Retired $13.95 Time Remaining: 2d 36m Buy It Now for only: $15.70 |
 24 North Pole Retired buildings from dept 56 $1,000.00 Time Remaining: 6d 9h 53m Buy It Now for only: $1,000.00 |
 Scrooge McDuck the Ghosts of Christmas Dept 56 North Pole 56940 Retired $19.99 Time Remaining: 2d 52m Buy It Now for only: $23.95 |
 DEPT 56 NORTH POLE WOODS ELVES TRIM A TREE FACTORY 56884 RETIRED IN BOX $12.99 Time Remaining: 2d 5h 46m |
 Department 56 MMs FUN ON ICE Dept 56 Animated North Pole Series Retired $82.50 Time Remaining: 27d 13h 31m Buy It Now for only: $82.50 |
 COCA COLA FIZZ FACTORY Dept 56 North Pole Series Retired $20.50 (2 Bids) Time Remaining: 2d 6h 18m |
 Department 56 North Pole Running The Loom Retired $12.49 Time Remaining: 4d 8h 58m Buy It Now for only: $12.49 |
 Toymaker Elves Set of 3 Heritage Village North Pole Series Retired 56022 Mint $14.99 Time Remaining: 2d 12h 8m |
 Baker Elves Dept 56 Heritage Village North Pole Retired 56030 Set of 3 Nib $14.99 Time Remaining: 2d 12h 16m |
 DEPT 56 SLEIGH EIGHT TINY REINDEER 56111 RETIRED NORTH POLE VILLAGE MIB $20.99 Time Remaining: 16d 12h 9m Buy It Now for only: $20.99 |
 CUTTUNG THE TRAIL Dept 56 North Pole Series Retired $5.75 Time Remaining: 2d 18h 12m |
 Department 56 SANTAS SLEIGH MAKER Set of 2 North Pole Series Dept 56 Retired $109.99 Time Remaining: 27d 13h 32m Buy It Now for only: $109.99 |
 Christmas Critters Pet Store Dept 56 North Pole ElfLand 56772 Retired $59.95 Time Remaining: 3d 13m Buy It Now for only: $69.57 |
 Can I Keep Them Dept 56 North Pole ElfLand Accessory 56864 Retired $9.79 Time Remaining: 3d 19m Buy It Now for only: $11.50 |
 DEPT 56 SING A SONG FOR SANTA 56316 RETIRED NORTH POLE VILLAGE MIB $14.99 Time Remaining: 22d 13h 17m Buy It Now for only: $14.99 |
 DEPT 56 TWINKLE BRIGHT GLITTER FACTORY IN BOX AND RETIRED NORTH POLE SERIES $34.99 Time Remaining: 3d 1h 53m Buy It Now for only: $39.00 |
| Account limit of 2114 requests per hour exceeded. |
Many nations in the world are turning to the Russian made Su27 in the present period as the fighter aircraft of choice for their military air force. Is the Su-27 a superior fighter to lets say the F-15 Eagle? No, not even close, but realize that indeed it is available to all nations as Russia does not discriminate to hostile or rogue nations in their arms deals; you got the cash, they got the planes and they are building more. So, why is everyone buying these aircraft and what is it that makes it so great anyway?
Well the story of the SU-27 is much like many of the fighters made by Russia's top aeronautical scientists from 1968 to 1975;
http://ma.hit.bg/su27history/history1.html
http://membres.lycos.fr/cbonnet/sukhoi.htm
There have been many modifications and refinements and today it is really not a player anymore. The new generation of aircraft are so much better. The Su-27 was much in response to the F-15 and it was competing with the Mig 29 Fulcrum in Russia at the time too. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MiG-29 .
Interestingly enough in the near future the US will not even have pilots in their aircraft and with morphing wings, 18 "G" UAVs and speed of light transmissions, target identification and hypersonic speeds the battles will be over before they begin. Increased range and Artificial Intelligence, laser firing, the game will be all but over for a piloted aircraft interceptor. Send them up, only to be blown into a million pieces, vaporized or melted into thin air.
That is basically the reality and really it is only physics, simple stuff really, that is where the US is at in technology? It is not like the old days out producing the Germans better technology with 10's of thousands of B-17s, B-24s, P-51s, or the Japanese light weight maneuverable Zero's made of plywood or Kate Torpedo Bombers with Hellcats, Corsairs, SBDs and Avengers.
You need to pick a much better technology if you want to be taken seriously. Like the SU-33 that China is buying 50 of. Because even as Venezuela talks of buying Mig 29s, that is not really a threat to the USA.
Now remember that Russian Lt. Gen. Igor Khvorov, the commander of Russian long-range aviation crossed over the North Pole undetected to prove it has something to sell China besides just the Russian Su-33. A recent exercise involved 70 Tu-160, Tu-95 and Tu-22M3 bombers, which test-fired 18 cruise missiles and some of these bombers crossed the Arctic Ocean and flew over the North Pole and also reached Alaska, while others crossed the Aleutian Islands and Japan's western coast without entering any country's airspace. If you want to scare people, you need to use different aircraft and more plausible scenarios, Still all in all, USA is a lot better than you think with micro-tethered satellites and getting into the kill zone of a battle group or US controlled airspace? Well you are really going to have to work on it or you are toast you see? Perhaps of interest in considering the Su-27 and Russian military aircraft for sale to the highest bidder in 2007.
"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/. Lance is an online writer in retirement.