British Engineer Refuses Return to Cyprus: Crash Victims Frozen Solid

Remember that mysterious crash of the Helios Airways, Boeing 737 into a mountain near Athens August 14th? There had been no radio contact with the plane 10 minutes before the crash and
all 115 passengers and 6 crew were dead or unconscious when the Helios Airways Boeing 737 plunged to ground without survivors.

Now, this from Reuters:
Investigators must travel to London to interview an engineer, believed to be the last person having radio contact with the plane's German pilot. It is not clear when or why the engineer left Cyprus. Government officials did not know whether his contract had ended, and the airline could not comment. He is refusing to come to Cyprus for safety reasons," said Cypriot Transport Minister Harris Thrassou.

The unidentified engineer, who worked for Helios Airways, signed off the Boeing 737-300 for departure from Cyprus's Larnaca airport for Prague on Aug. 14, the day of the crash -- the worst air disaster in Greek or Cypriot history. The engineer was one of three who serviced the aircraft before takeoff. Excerpts from his final maintenance log have been leaked to the media along with a description of his final conversation with the pilot.

The same aircraft had had a decompression problem last year, and Greek crash investigators are focusing on this as a possible cause of the disaster. Helios, a subsidiary of Britain's Libra Holidays Group, has defended its maintenance record but revealed the Boeing had to descend rapidly to 11,000 feet from 34,000 feet after losing cabin pressure on a flight from Warsaw to Larnaca last December.

Remaining Mysteries:
Why did the pilot and co-pilot lose conscousness before a flight attendant?
What are the odds that this engineer is also a Muslim?

How To Keep Your Readers Inside A Vacuum

In her August 10th column Ann Coulter wrote: (T)he savages have declared war, and it's far preferable to fight them in the streets of Baghdad than in the streets of New York -- where the residents would immediately surrender.

But now, the Arizona Daily Star in Tucson has had enough of this controversial commentator. The Star's new publisher, David Stoeffler, revealed the paper would drop Coulter's syndicated column. "Many readers find her shrill, bombastic, and mean-spirited. And those are the words used by readers who identified themselves as conservatives," Stoeffler wrote.

What will Sen. McCain have to say? Nothing, hopefully, because he is currently a Republican who still values free enterprise, capitalist decisions (not to mention a career more controversial than Coulter's). Moreover, the added publicity will no doubt help Coulter's writing career.

What is the worst that could happen, then? Taking Coulter's spot is Tony Snow of "The Tony Snow Show," on Fox Radio, and "Weekend Live with Tony Snow" on the Fox News Channel. He was a speechwriter for former President George H.W. Bush (the "Read my lips, no new taxes" president who relished compromise and also left Saddam in power after 1991). Mr. Snow, though competent, is much softer than Coulter, melts faster and remains slushy, even when compacted into his offensive mode. He is more of a beltway 'insider.'

Stoeffler, a very competent guy himself, cites an estimated 100 e-mails and letters received dealing with opinion pages. That can't be very motivating. Tucson is in Pima County, however, which despite handy Republican wins elsewhere in Arizona, voted overwhelmingly (62%) for House Democrat Grijalva versus Republican Sweeney (33%). If the election were held again today, with W's unpopular (but very successful) war, District 8 and others might go Democrat, as well. That could be motivating to a young publisher.

Coulter is not afraid to learn and write the dirty, outside of the vacuum secrets that Democrats and even some Republicans wishing not to read in the first place, refuse to credit as truth. What is so offensive that it recoils audiences who another outspoken columnist, Dr. Walter E. Williams, describes now as having become feminized and turned into a nation of wimps and nervous nellies?

Look closely on this page from Deaf To Islam. You will find a video and a photo album series that prove Dr. Williams is 100% correct, but unfortunately also show what we are really dealing with outside of our lovely vacuum. I will bet Ann Coulter is fully aware of such material and knows about the full barbarism of our fanatical enemy. Her columns attempt to teach our uninitiated wimps and nellies as in more of what she wrote August 1oth:

Even if the next attack comes tomorrow, it is worth pondering that we've gone 47 months without the savages being able to mount another terrorist attack in a country virtually designed for terrorist attacks, a country where we search the purses of little old ladies so that recent immigrants from Saudi Arabia named "Mohammed" wearing massive backpacks don't get singled out.
But instead of news stories about how we must be doing something right in the war on terror, we're being carpet-bombed with news stories about how Bush doesn't have a "plan," the war was based on "lies," we're losing the war, the redcoats are coming!

Ramsey Clark Mystery Solved: Guilt Feelings?

From an original post at Vigilis's pro bono site Note: When Saddam fled to Egypt (in 1959, after being shot in an attempted assassination and sentenced to death in absentia), he attended Cairo University's School of Law.

Former United States Attorney General Ramsey Clark seems an enigma to Americans of all stripes. In April 2005, MSNBC interviewed Clark concerning Saddam's upcoming trial. (Saddam's family announced this month in Jordan that they had dismissed the entire 1,500-member Arab and Western defense team, except for Iraqi attorney Khalil al-Dulaimi).

Well, Ramsey Clark who would have defended Saddam, has defended many high profile clients in his controversial career since leaving LBJ's Whitehouse in 1969 after two years. His client list has included former Yugoslav strongman Slobodan Milosevic, Native American activist Leonard Peltier on death row, Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, Omar Abdel-Rahman (the blind Egyptian sheikh accused of masterminding a plot to collapse the World Trade Center), Elizaphan Ntakirutimana (former church head in Rwanda) sentenced to prison for aiding and abetting genocide, and Nazi concentration camp commander Karl Linnas.

Why a man of Clark's stature would stoop so low has been explained in the usual manner for lawyers; that is, everyone, regardless of guilt deserves the best possible defense. Is there more to Clark's motivation than noble cause? Only he knows for sure, but you may want to consider this and come to your own conclusion:

Tom Campbell Clark (1899-1977), the U.S. Supreme Court Justice, was forced to resign in 1967 by President Lyndon Johnson's appointment of his son, Ramsey, to the post of U.S. Attorney General. The obvious conflict of interest is thought by some to have been intended by President Johnson as a surefire method of dumping the elder Clark. Thurgood Marshall was appointed in his stead.

To many lawyers being a Supreme Court Justice represents the very pinnacle of their legal profession. Some would argue that the prestige is even better than a President's due to the lifetime term involved.

Realizing his political career had been prematurely eclipsed by LBJ's early retirement two years after agreeing to end his own father's Supreme Court career, poor Ramsey Clark may have felt obliged to prove his selfish pursuit of government office had not been in vain. He needed to demonstrate the validity of his career with personal achievements equal or greater even than Supreme Court Justice. But how?

Clark had to rise on a larger playing field than private practice in the U.S. That meant international law. His clients from then on had to be of internationally high profile. While client wealth would often be essential, savory character could be unimportant.

So began the not so mysterious, private career of this very guilt-ridden, decidedly liberal, eminently qualified lawyer to his current, worldly stature. Reasonable? You must decide.

Abel Danger Retrospective: The Hero of the 9-11 Commission Was Max Cleland

Senator Max Cleland, who served on the 9-11 Commission from late 2002 until his appointment to a position on the board of the Export-Import Bank in November of 2003, compared it to the Warren Commission in this derogatory fashion: "The Warren Commission blew it. I'm not going to be part of that. I'm not going to be part of looking at information only partially. I'm not going to be part of just coming to quick conclusions. I'm not going to be part of political pressure to do this or not do that."
After recent Able Danger revelations, Cleland was absolutely correct and appears uniquely honorable. Here is why:

The 9-11 Commission was much less powerful and much more limited than the often maligned Warren Commission, which had LBJ's Presidential mandate to conduct its own independent investigation into "all the facts and circumstances" deemed relevant. The Warren Commission not only had the power to subpoena witnesses and documents, but power to compel testimony with grants of immunity from prosecution.

Unlike the Warren Commission, however, the 9-11 Commission could only subpoena a witness or document if both Republican and Democratic Chairs concurred in writing, or six of the other eight members agreed. Even when subpoenas were used, the 9-11 Commission had no power to compel testimony with grants of immunity.

Moreover, the 9-11 Commission had no mandate to conduct an independent review of "matters relating to the intelligence community." The 9-11 Commission was required to review existing reports of the Joint Inquiry of Congress before pursuing any intelligence-related matter. Then it could proceed only if Congress's Joint Inquiry had omitted or not completed an investigation of some issue. In effect, it was little more than a library research effort.

Again, either Democrats or Republicans on the 9-11 Commission could still block the Commission from looking into any intelligence-related issue.

Conclusion: The bipartisan 9-11 Commission was created by joint resolution of the Congress for political expediency. Its sole purpose was to provde cover for Republican and clout for Democrat incumbents prior to 2006's elections. It was rigged in a manner assuring nothing except Congress's earlier conclusions would be reached or reported. It wasted over $15 million in taxpayer dollars and a golden opportunity to generate a solid report on Terrorist Attacks Upon The United States. How shameful of Commission chairmen, its members (except Sen. Cleland), their staffs and the U.S. Congress.

Remember Cindy Sheehan? Then Never Forget Herb Shugart!

More on Cindy Sheehan, with a hat tip to Noble Eagle:

If this story is so important that it must be covered continuously, then please tell me where was the wall-to-wall coverage of Herb Shugart. Shugart is the father of SFC Randy Shugart, one of two soldiers posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism in Somalia in 1993. Herb Shugart refused to shake President Clinton's hand at the award ceremony and told Clinton that he was unfit to be commander-in-chief. Had it been President Bush that he had criticized, Herb Shugart would be on the cable news channels 24/7.

Strange, isn't it, how the public forgets the facts MSM does not wish remembered?

2nd Update: Matriotic versus Patriotic

Some questionable American males have heeded militant feminine advice to "get in touch with their feminine selves." Richard Alleyne of the Telegraph Group Limited has written more in It's a woman's world, moans Michael Buerk. By the way, Michael Buerk, the veteran BBC newsreader, has launched a tirade against what he believes is the all-pervading influence of women in society, claiming that men have been reduced to little more than "sperm donors".

Why is this important now? Cindy Sheehan's movement (90% female) has attracted some, effete male supporters.

The question was never why did the U.S. declare war on Iraq, the U.N.'s chief miscreant, defiler of women, abuser of children, molester of men. The question was why did Saddam Hussein not seek to avert the promised war by acceding to the lenient terms of WMD disclosures?

Nevertheless, Buerk is right. "Life is now being lived according to women's rules," he said. "The traits that have traditionally been associated with men - reticence, stoicism, single-mindedness - have been marginalised.

The unfortunate result of this sad, gender bias is not only inadvertent destruction of male combatant morale and noble spirit, but the explanation of why Iraqis endured Sadaam so long a time. American's who proclaim the war is illegal, unjust, and based upon lies are of the same mind as Iraqis who believed resistance was futile. Less power to you, eunuchs and male castrators!

Your success will place your progeny in the hands of stone age muslim war lords. Yet your emotions do not allow you to connect the obvious dots before you. It is time for you to acknowledge your peers, the bowed head shopkeepers of Baghdad, and applaud the heroic soldiers of democracy. You have been playing wantonly with the welfare of your grandchildren.

Your emotion is nice at birthday parties; at the funerals of heroes, your misgivings and weakness are encouragement for the evildoers and thugs who would soon deny your very freedoms of expression. Your femininity should be virtuous, not this great country's flag of weakness.

Without sacrifice, what can be worthwhile?

1st UPDATE: Excerpt is from Security or Hysteria? Syndicated Column by Dr. Walter E. Williams, published Aug. 24, 2005:
During last week’s commemoration of VJ day, I thought about American responses to loss of life in Iraq compared to yesteryear’s American response to loss of life in the Pacific. Taking Iwo Jima cost 7,000 American lives and thousands wounded. Okinawa cost the lives of 5,000 sailors, 7,600 soldiers, and thousands more wounded. There were no calls to cut and run and no political attacks on Presidents Roosevelt and Truman. Instead those losses stiffened the backbone and resolve of the American people. But of course, back then common sense prevailed. We hadn’t become feminized and turned into a nation of wimps and nervous nellies.

2nd UPDATE: As OSAPian correctly points out in his comment below: There are many clear headed rational women who understand the GWOT must be won if we are to survive as a free people, and winning it will require the sacrifice of as many of our best young people as it takes. But they are in a minority among their gender.

One of the rational women in her gender's minority is Jennifer Martinez of A Collection of Thoughts.

(emphasis added)

DD(X) Destroyer Employs Submarine Stealth

Cutaway from September, 2005 Popular Science, Navy Recruiting ad.

Note how little of ship's silouhette is above surface (about 27%). Deck is relatively clean and clear. The deckhouse is low (radar) signature design.

The Navy claims "... It will be stealthy and as difficult to detect as an attack submarine;"
Also, DD(X) will carry two 155-millimeter guns to fire cheaper guided, rocket-propelled rounds, whose accuracy makes up for size. Current test versions of the gun have hit targets 68 miles. Compare that to only 3o mile range for the BB's 16" guns (1900lb unguided, shells). Best of all, the crew is about 150 instead of a battleship's 1,500+ (yes, there are those who would refurbish mothballed BBs). Submarines continue to draw fewer dollars in outyear budgets as the carrier fleet and planned surface programs, like DD(X), will absorb scarce proportionally greater funding. An interesting take on the future can be found here at ULTRAQUIET NO MORE.

Radical Islamic Utopia: Somalia After 14 Years

Cross-posted from Lawyer Kickers pro bono:

One must consider if radical extremist muslims are wannabe lawyers. How's that you say?
Lawyers, like parasites, are non-producers. Their only real service, for which they have granted themselves monoply, is a semblance of order created through just a bit less chaos.

Perpetual chaos is in their profession's best interest, so they help foster, expand and complicate everything that generates it. Ever heard of a simple contract, unregulated area, keeping recidivst criminals in prison? Didn't think so. As long as there is crime-breeding chaos and legal complexity, lawyers have excellent job security. As voters, we must watch carefully what lawyers support, particularly those in the U.S. Congress and Judiciary.

What about Somalia? The AP just reported: Rival militias in Somalia battled yesterday for control over a village with pastures and wells. Twelve combatants died, and hundreds of residents were forced to flee. Somalia has had no functioning central government since clan-based warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.

Warlords turn on each other, plunging the country of 7 million into chaos. The transitional government is now divided. The president and prime minister moved 60 miles northwest of Mogadishu, saying the capital was no longer safe. The parliamentary speaker, dozens of lawmakers and warlords in Mogadishu, however, have argued the decision was unconstitutional. Like lawyers, warlords are experts on constitutionality as well as chaos.

Crop Circles Demystified - Not Pi from the Sky

Crop circles have evolved from relatively plain shapes of the 1980s to the intricate, mathematical complexities reported at Waylands Smithy, Wiltshire, England by Linda Moulton Howe's Earthfiles this August 9th. Coincidentally, there have been vast improvements to the portability and connectivity of laptop computers in this same 25 year time span.

Perhaps you like to consider yourself open-minded about the source of such geometric oddities which mysteriously appear overnight in remote agriscapes. That is going to be tough for you to maintain in view of the hoax confessed in 1987, for the first crop circle, reported back in 1979. Here are the foremost claims and possibilities for crop circles, currently:

1 - Space alien origin-
Possible significance: attempts to communicate with Earthlings; space graffiti; equivalent of alien fraternity prank; alien experiment, with our reactions monitored and IQs guaged.
Why Not (because):
Attempt to teach / communicate with intelligent Earthlings (capitol lawns overlooked in daytime).
Space graffiti (symmetry and missing artists' tags indicate computer-generated).
Alien fraternity pranks, circle formations could be fraternity logos (but occur yearlong, not just during galactic Spring breaks).
Alien experiments to guage our intelligence (our reaction has always been the same- ignore, gawk, or take photos; pointless to continue such experiments for 25 years).

2 - Earth origin-
Possible significance: attempts to communicate drop zones to drug dealers; graffiti; fraternity pranks; university pyschology experiments; advertising for business development.
Why Not (because):
Aerial identification for drug drops (soil compression not found; drug residues only minimal).
Graffiti (symmetry and missing artists' tags indicate computer-generated).
Why (examples):
Psyhcology experiments (certainly needed; both federal grant money and immigrant landscapers are plentiful).
Fraternity pranks (yes, many additional hoaxes have been confessed since 1987).
Advertising, profit motivated: The WINNER!! (here are examples in the: tourism industry; education industry; the print publishing industry; and in the online subscription publishing industry).

Conclusion: Ignore crop circles unless one appears in your yard.

bin Laden Heading for Iraq? When Michael Jackson Goes to Boys Town

The DEBKAfile carries this Exclusive Report from Monday, August 8:
Osama bin Laden Looks Like Heading for Iraq

Based on coded signals between al Qaeda Middle elements using secret Internet sites, Osama bin Laden has emerged from hiding in Afghanistan bound for Iraq. According to DEBKAfile’s counter-terror sources, bin Laden's arrival is anticipated in late September around the time Ramadan begins. Osama's arrival is scheduled to signal the launch of the biggest offensive al Qaeda has ever launched against the US army.

DEBKAfile and DEBKA-Net-Weekly’s experts have authenticated the messages as emanating from Zarqawi. Their secret contents have begun to leak out and set up a huge flap in al Qaeda networks, cells and affiliates in many countries and talk of “a new jihad to honor the leader.”

What can this really mean? Molten Eagle's top predictions for Friday, Aug. 12th:
1) By mid-October, Osama's body will be photographed publicizing his supposed recent death.
2) Air raids will resume in Iraq in early October, including Iran's Brushehr and Natanz sites.
3) Zarqawi will be captured / killed attempting to escape into Syria or Iran.

What if Molten Eagle is wrong? If none of the above pans out, look for a catastrophic accident at Iran's Brushehr reactor within the next 12-18 months.

So much for the face value of Debka's Osama bin bowel movement story.

Uncanny For Research and Riotous Amusement

Information shown for for January 14th, which happens to be the birth anniversary for two famous celebrities you should have heard about, Benedict Arnold and Andy Rooney. (Note tendency to shirk responsibility).

This is Uncanny! Give it a try here for your own birthdate, or have a riot with other people's dates.

What celebrities share your birthdate? Hat tip to A Collection of Thoughts, Jennifer Martinez.

Russian Admiral Baltin's Priz and Kursk Comments Recall Cold War Intrigue

Admiral Baltin has consistently criticized Russia's naval command for inviting Western assistance. He has appeared more concerned for compromised security than compromised crew. The ex-admiral believes the Priz was trapped while inspecting an underwater system to detect if Americans had planted bugs on it. Baltin, himself a submariner, once commanded the Kursk. Before his retirement Baltin commanded Russia's Black Sea Fleet and became a Hero of the Soviet Union.

from Amanda Butler
...the Kommersant daily, citing its sources in the navy, reported that propellers of the submarine have special mechanisms protecting them from net fouling incidents. Moreover, the newspaper named specifically the kind of research the submarine was conducting: they were to replace a part of a hydro acoustical apparatus installed with the aim of fighting nuclear submarines from the United States.

Flashback (August 22, 2000):
TASS - Admiral insists on Kursk's collision with foreign sub. - By Sergei Ostanin - MOSCOW, August 22 - Some signs of damage of the Kursk N-submarine point to its collision with a foreign submarine when it was about to surface at a small depth, Hero of the Soviet Union, Admiral Eduard Baltin, told reporters...

As Molten Eagle stated earlier, we have already heard the official stories from several sides. It cannot change much now.

AS-28 A Russian Gaffe? A Spy Drama?

UPDATE AUG 9 Mike Hammerschlag presents more interesting facts and color to this story.
Hammerschlag mentions more than one net. That begs the obvious questions: How many nets were there and where were they made? the investigator in me shows. -Molten Eagle

Originally posted at Ultraquiet No More

To be honest, Blind Man's Bluff honest, the Russian's have been playing close to the vest with their varying descriptions, explanations and press releases, some of which appear contradictory. That is probably standard operating procedure regarding submarine operations for any country. Countries pay handsomely for submarine stealth and want to maintain it as much as possible. Retired Admiral Bruce DeMars said: The Submarine Force is important to the defense of our national interests. It has the only truly stealthy platforms in our armed services and is the heart of our strategic nuclear deterrent. By inference, the stealth would apply to Russia, or at least Russia would hope so (emphasis mine).

The reason truth seems stranger than fiction is because truth's precursor is often scenario analysis; the reason submarines are mysterious is because they are useful instruments of both stealth and deception.

The AS-28 entanglement episode may have been:
1-An intelligence gathering ploy to learn more about foreign emergency communications, equipment availabilities or capabilities, coordination plans, reaction times, etc. I agree, this does not appear at all likely, does it? Hmmm.

2-A decoy to take the world's eyes off something Russia wanted to do elsewhere.

3-An attempt to cover up the deployment of a submarine, coastal defense system anti-tamper device (the netting) that may inadvertently have snared its own sub, AS-28.

4-Something else entirely. Which countries, including China, may be in on it?

5- The latest Russian submarine gaffe.

Will we ever hear a full and accurate report? Unlikely. We have already heard the official stories from several sides. It cannot change much now. - Molten Eagle

Seals and Extreme Creatures

In his poem Extreme Creatures, the late submariner Juan Caruso D. refers to 'When the latest hazard has sprung out of its nearby bounds'.

Worldwide, there have been 102 known instances of disabled submarines sunk in noncombat conditions. Approximately 2,600 lives, including those on the Kursk, have been lost (CDR Wayne Horn, U.S. Navy 2000).

The most probable cause of a sub sinking is breach of the hull causing flooding. It is also likely that breaching the hull would cause an onboard fire. Fires produce toxic gases and particles of urgent concern to crews due to respiratory or central nervous system effects and even death. Depletion of oxygen, accumulation of CO2 and temperature drop are added concerns (U.S. Navy 1998).

Most accidents leading to submarine sinking have occurred at depths above 300 feet. At depths down to 600 feet crews may escape from submarines, but will face 6 significant risks besides drowning. To depths of around 2,000 feet the crew can be rescued (Brown 1999). Russia's AS-28 drama highlights the rescue dilemma: entanglement around 625 feet below sea level with decreasing temperature and compromised atmosphere. The world witnessed cool, calm professionalism under a prolonged period of stress, one of many characteristics that set submariners apart.

Due to significant risks of attempting escape, the Navy’s policy is that if conditions allow, crews should await rescue (U.S. Navy 1998).

Well what does this have to do with SEALS, the Navy’s elite special operations forces? Aren’t they extreme creatures? Absolutely, and they even ride subs.

Remember the policy: Disabled sub crews should await rescue when conditions allow? Well, the other SEALs, Submarine Escape Action Levels, provides info for certain chemicals to help determine IF conditions will permit crews to await rescue.

The latest, 290-page action level book is too information dense to summarize here, except to say Juan Caruso D. was absolutely correct: "There is no phoning home during silent submarining."

AS-28 the Latest Top Secret Russian Gaffe?

The press have been fed a series of coverups by Russian spokemen to protect actual events and or equipment types and location.

The submersible was trapped we were originally told by a net, its anchor, and now a large undersea antenna system weighted down by two, 60-ton anchors. For some excellent updating, see ULTRAQUIET NO MORE and track to individual blogs.

Russia's evolving information releases may be consitent with:
1) An inept attempt to cover up the existence of its new, top secret monitoring system designed to detect and track the movements of foreign submarines off the coast of its top-secret military bases near Kamchatka.
2) Using the sunken sub as an intelligence gathering ploy for monitoring foreign nation emergency communications, equipment capabilities, coordination, reaction times, plans, etc.
3) A complete decoy to take the world's eyes off something they want to do elsewhere.
4) An attempt to cover up the deployment of a new, anti- submarine, coastal defense system
(that may have inadvertently snared its own sub, AS-28).
5) Something else unknown.

Will you ever hear a full and accurate report? Unlikely. If Russia allows foreign rescue subs and divers in these waters, forget the possibilities 1) and 4).

cross-posted from UltraQuiet No More

Not Caught in Fishing Net, Afterall

Peteropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia Associated Press

Russian crews looped cables under an underwater antenna snaring a mini-submarine on the Pacific floor Saturday and would try to lift them closer to the surface before air ran out for seven trapped sailors, a navy spokesman said.

Capt. Dygalo said two ships had worked a cable beneath the sub entangled in an underwater antenna assembly that is part of Russia's coastal monitoring system. Officials initially said the sub's propeller was snarled by a fishing net as it participated in military exercises Thursday.

[Soon, we will learn Russia's veracity in regard to oxygen reserves. Hope it is positive for the sub's ENTIRE crew.]

America's Nuclear Jihad 2009

Thought Experiment

A ‘peace candidate’ has been swept into office with a different majority party in Congress to bring our valiant troops home from Iraq and undo George Bush’s other ‘mistakes’. Wasting no time, $26 billion is re-appropriated from the DOD to the DOJ to investigate and try 13,200 enemy combatants now in detention with all due dispatch and “handle” related lawsuits brought against America. The guiltier the detainee, the higher the hourly fee authorized by the court. Fees of $450 an hour are being paid, and it’s still early. Court appointed attorneys seem to come mostly from firms that donated fabulously to Trial Lawyers lobbies. The maximum individual tax rate was restored to the pre-Reagan level of 70%. The federal income tax rate for average taxpayers was raised to 48%. Corporate tax rates were increased to 60%.

Six months later, the new president informed the world that in retaliation for any great loss of life in the U.S.A. a nuclear option would be on the table. After some debate, the definition of “great loss of lives” became the 125,000 or higher, level. Non-fatal injuries were not even discussed, but word on the street was individuals would be able to sue someone for damages above expenses covered by their National Health cards. Doctors’ income had already been capped. Complaints over declining quality of healthcare could be heard with growing frequency.

For the next 30 months, America seemed at peace, although business owners were gradually moving to South America and wealthy lawyers were retiring early and moving to Europe. Unemployment, which had been rising, was offset by government service jobs paying lower wages, but great benefits.

On November 20, 2011, it happened. Three medium sized cities were devastated. No one claimed responsibility. The human toll was over 110,000 dead with at least 205,000 injured. Seven days later, without warning, Kabul, Somalia and Eritrea each received one, 15-kiloton, nuclear, USAF missile.

The world was outraged at the U.S. “retaliations”. Where was any evidence of guilt? America’s citizens were unprepared and very demoralized. Islamic candidates for federal, state and local political offices emerged in January 2012. Unlike traditional candidates, they seemed confident and very positive about their promises of peace. The public voted with great optimism, electing 33% of them, including a well-known, former Senator who said he had conscientiously converted to Islam. That was enough for a quiet coup. One by one, Islamic flags were raised throughout the land.

Your city has just come under Islamic control. Speedy conversion to Islam is being pressed. There is no tolerance for infidels. Much Sharia-type of corporal and even of capital punishments have already begun. Your children are having a tough time adjusting. There is some organized resistance by self-armed militias hiding in the mountains. Homeland defense had been dismantled and the under funded military fell to a very poor state of readiness. Already suffering from inadequate recruiting, training, fuel, and munitions, the armed services have been reduced to cores extremely loyal to the Commander-in Chief.

Initially, patriots had joined armed resistance groups. Their families were quickly and mercilessly slaughtered, however. The Hijrah year is now 1433 (corresponding to 2012-13).

What, if anything, do you wish had been done differently?

Face Lift

Notice anything different? Vigilisa insisted the cluttered garage look of my former template had been too slapdash. Her advice has usually been valuable, so biting the bullet (no posts for several days) resulted in the facelift you see. Also organized my blogroll adding several silent service types I had overlooked, thanks to Bothenook. Expecting to post again tonight. Thank you for looking.