Honored by FDR, JFK and Ronald Reagan: A Statesman’s Heartless Burial

Earlier, I had explained late Admiral Rickover's scholarly connection to the cruiser USS Maine, and his nuclear program connection to Maine's submarine namesake, SSBN-741. The mast of the cruiser Maine has been displayed in Arlington National Cemetery since its mysterious, 1898 sinking.

When a Polish patriot (and American benefactor) died in 1941, President Roosevelt wanted him buried in Arlington National Cemetery, but was advised by his Secretary of War that only U.S. citizens may be buried there. Roosevelt directed the burial in a crypt beneath the Maine's Mast Memorial, where it had rested unmarked until President Kennedy learned about it through the Washington Post.

JFK ordered a marker placed at the crypt's entrance to acknowledge the patriot, statesman, composer, first president of the Republic of Poland, and its Prime Minister, I. J. Paderewski.

In June 27, 1992, after Lech Walesa became president of Poland and the country became robust, Ronald Reagan followed up on his own promise to return Paderweski to his native land.

Paderewski (1860-1941), who had been awarded the American Legion’s Distinguished Service Medal (1926), had wanted his heart to remain in America, and that wish which had first been honored in Brooklyn, was reconsecrated at a Pennsylvania cemetery in 1986, where it remains today.

The Heart of a Patriot (American Legion Magazine, December 2005) details some rather amazing accounts of Paderewski’s life in America from his great musical and humanitarian successes to befriending future presidents Hoover and Wilson.

Was Paderewski the only foreign national ever buried at Arlington? Certainly not; America has honored other deserving souls, here and here.

Sampling Clandestine Ops: Which Submarines?

(June 1940) "The number 'O-13' is clearly visible on the conning tower in the photograph in Watts’ book, but may later have been painted out. (For some reason which is not clear to me at the moment, O-13 had her pennant number changed to N-13, and this is the number she was displaying when she left Dundee for her last patrol)." -Miltiades Varvounis

( 1960) "We welded straps over each hatch except for the conning tower hatch. We painted out our hull numbers and we loaded the showers with garbage weights, cut up electrical conduit, and removed the fuses from all the heaters. We filled the torpedo rooms with eggs and potatoes and all the rest of what ever we could pack in... I saw a Russian soldier with a gun over his shoulder marching along in the snow and thought how dumb we both were, him doing what he was doing and me out here looking at him freezing my ass off too. GEE, were we inside the “three” mile limit to be able to see something that close? " -Art Clement TMCS SS DV, USN RET

(December 1966) "When a submarine is commissioned it has the hull number painted on either side of the sail and the bow. The ship name is on either side of the stern (drawing at left). These look nice but are not practical. As soon as possible, the bow and stern markings are painted out. If the sub is not going to be on operations for a while or for special occasions the hull numbers are painted on the sail. When on operations there are no hull markings. The older location on the sail were on the lower aft sides. The newer location is the top center of each side." - Jerry Uffelman, former IC1(SS)

(December 2005) "Anyway, I'm sure she and her crew did a great job, but I will offer them one piece of advice: next time, don't bother with those things that appear to be some sort of two-sided-stickie-tape-held-up numbers on the sail -- they look kinda tacky." -Bubblehead retired submarine officer

Why Ramsey Clark Defends Saddam, Nazi's, etc.

Today, BBC (Baghdad courtroom) - The prosecution began producing evidence as the trial of Saddam Hussein and his 7 co-defendants resumed briefly.

A former US attorney general is a key member of Saddam's defence team. Ramsey Clark has defended many high profile clients in his controversial career since leaving LBJ's Whitehouse after only two years in 1969. His client list has included former Yugoslav strongman Slobodan Milosevic, American activist Leonard Peltier, 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 would a man of Clark's stature stoop so low cannot be explained in the usual manner for lawyers; that is, everyone, regardless of guilt deserves the best possible defense. There is more to Clark's motivation than noble cause. You need to know how Clark ended his own father's (Tom Clark) career on the U.S. Supreme Court:

Tom Campbell Clark (1899-1977), an associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, 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. Ramsey, however, agreed to sacrifice his father. Thurgood Marshall was appointed in his stead.

To many lawyers being a Supreme Court Justice is the pinnacle of their profession. Some would argue that the prestige is better than a President's due to the lifetime term the comes with the appointment.

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 foolish, as well. He needed to demonstrate the validity of his temporary ascendancy with personal achievement greater even than that of his Supreme Court Justice father. But how? After a failed bid for the Senate in 1976, Clark abandoned government service and set out to provide legal defense to victims of oppression.

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 and their wealth would often be essential. The more unsavory the accusations against Clark's clients, the more his reputation was boosted abroad. This assured more unsavory client's and wealth. The private career of this guilt-ridden, decidedly liberal, eminently qualified lawyer prospered.

So began the career of a very guilt-ridden, decidedly liberal, eminently qualified lawyer to his gutter stature. Even Senators Kennedy and Kerry would not stoop as low, or would they?

What's wrong with this picture? Voice of the Caliphate

When was the last time a bunch of sissies sent shivers down your spine? Me, either.

When was the last time a bunch of masked sissies upset you? Me, either.

How can that be? According to Daniel Johnson, "Presumably the intention behind Al Qaeda's new Internet TV channel is to send shivers down our spine."

Take a look at the video frame (above) from the SITE Institute: The 7:57 minute video, includes a sit-down discussion with the “head of the public relations office” of the Global Islamic Media Front, Sayf al-Deen al-Kinani, who expounds on the urgency for those Muslims capable of providing services to the group to do so, and he denies Voice of the Caliphate is affiliated with al-Qaeda.

Okay, why are the VOC journalists masked, then? Perhaps this media channel is a front for coalition intelligence gathering wishing to protect their identities. That is not to say VOC was not originally affiliated with al Qaeda. If these wimpy slouches can pay for their operations with funding from "the new generation" of "ferocious jihad fighters", by all means let them collect as much as possible. Do not forget to give receipts to all the donors, please, especially foreign contributors.

Shiver me timbers.

Space UFOs Further Apart

Idle Fantasy:

The man Paul Hellyer is an actual former Canadian Minister of Defence and had also been Deputy Prime Minister under Pierre Trudeau. In early September of 2005, Hellyer publicly announced that he believed in UFOs. Now, he has gone a bit further: Asks Canadian Parliament Asked To Hold Hearings On Relations With Alien "Et" Civilizations.

What is wrong with this? "Paul Hellyer stated on May 15, 2003, in Toronto’s Globe & Mail newspaper, “Canada should accept the long-standing invitation of U.S. Congressman Dennis Kucinich of Ohio to launch a conference to seek approval of an international treaty to ban weapons in space."

Answer: Folks, Mr. Hellyer and Congressman Kucinich, although none have been found in Iraq recently, there are currently weapons of mass destruction on every continent of and almost certainly every ocean of our planet. Since Earth is a component of a galaxy that exists in space -- it is too late to ban weapons in space.

Arduous Reality:

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) - November 25, 2005, Company Set to Launch Low-Cost Rocket
The Falcon 1 is the first in what is intended to be a family of launch vehicles from the El Segundo-based SpaceX. The rocket's payload is a satellite for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the Air Force Academy. FalconSat-2 will measure space plasma phenomena, which can impair space-based communications.

Falcon 1 competes with small launchers such as the Pegasus from Orbital Sciences and Falcon 5 competes with medium lift launchers, such as Boeing’s Delta II. Falcon 9 is an EELV class vehicle and competes with Boeing’s Delta IV- Heavy and Lockheed’s Atlas V.

The company is the latest enterprise of Elon Musk, co-founder of PayPal, the world’s leading electronic payment system now owned by Ebay. Musk created SpaceX to help make humanity a space faring civilization.

Note: Extraterrestrial civilisations and space travel are certainly possible, in my opinion. UFOs are largely a fiction of Hollywood and ...

Sen. John Kerry's Wife Has Spoken

According to The Washington Times, Teresa Heinz, has stopped using the last name of her husband, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, last year's Democrat presidential nominee.

In preparation for its Women Who Make a Difference Awards dinner next month, the National Council for Research on Women taped "a conversation with Teresa Heinz." The council failed to mention the final half of the Fox Chapel ketchup heiress' formerly elongated last name in several other references. It is intentional.

Conjecture you can believe: Kerry has been advised by the DNC that it will not support his running again in the 2008 presidential race. Obviously, the senator is not eager to confide this bit of priveleged news with the hoi polloi (common people not in the U.S. Senate).

Always an officer and a gentleman, however, the good senator has shared the news with his wife (required by prenups?). Obviously, the Mrs. has never been enthusiastic to mire her lineage with Kerry's.

"I just checked and she no longer uses her (entire) last name; only during the (presidential) campaign did she use Kerry," campaign spokeswoman Tamara Rodriguez Reichberg said. Not entirely true, of course. The name was dropped more recently.

Prediction #1: John Kerry will not run in the 2008 race to become president.
Prediction #2: He will see a new challenger for his senate seat, also.

Molten Eagle

UPDATED: USS Scranton (SSN 756) Whereabouts

This is curious. Bubblehead jovially posted USS Scranton At The Pole this morning, and says: Obviously, USS Scranton (SSN 756) isn't at the North Pole; she's currently hosting Good Morning America off Norfolk.

Okay, we all know subs are stealth objects that often have their identifying numbers painted out to thwart foreign intelligence. Moreover, other measures are taken routinely to assure operating areas are undisclosed. (One might even paint inaccurate numbers on a fairwater to confuse foreign intelligence about two subs in the same class just as easily, right?). Well, the Scranton and the Oklahoma City (SSN 723) are both Los Angeles class subs, but not in the same league. USS Scranton, one of the 688I (for improved class), is quieter, incorporates advanced BSY-1 sonar suite, and ostensibly has torpedo tube mine laying capability. Configured for under-ice operations, its forward diving planes have been moved from the sail structure to the bow and the sail has been strengthened for breaking through ice. Are you with me so far?

From Los Angeles came this report: (Excerpts) Maritime Telecommunications Network (MTN) of Miramar, Florida, has equipped the USS Oklahoma City with cellular phones installed below deck. The ship will also be outfitted with a CDMA PICO Cell and cellular telephones provided by Wireless Maritime Services, a joint venture between MTN and Cingular Wireless....In addition to the cellular services that are provided aboard the submarine, the USS Oklahoma City was part of a live, real-time broadcast this morning when American Broadcasting Company’s (ABC) Good Morning America broadcast from the emerged submarine. This was the first broadcast of its kind.

Here's part of the corrected report: ABC's Good Morning America segment "Run Silent, Run Deep" was broadcast today from aboard a US Navy submarine while the sub was under water, and under way. This was the first broadcast of its kind and--like other broadcast firsts--it took MTN to make it happen.
The nuclear submarine, USS Scranton, and the US Navy support vessel USNS Dolores Chouest, which followed the sub, were each equipped with a 1900 MHz high-gain CDMA antenna and microwave communications equipment. The sub had cellular telephones installed below deck and the ship was equipped with a CDMA PICO Cell and cellular telephones outfitted by Wireless Maritime Services, a joint venture between MTN and Cingular Wireless.

Good Morning America's host Robin Roberts goes "live on air" from the Damage Control Wet Trainer at Submarine Learning Facility on board Naval Station Norfolk.

Here's an official photo of Good Morning America's (GMA )host Robin Roberts from the Damage Control Wet Trainer at Submarine Learning Facility on board Naval Station Norfolk, yeterday.
Obviously a dated photo of her beside the sail of the actual sub would be more convincing (say at the end of her submerged broadcast, when the sub returns to Norfolk).

Is the Navy's GMA broadcast really for PR purposes? What positive capability does it hype, underwater cell phone capability relay via a nearby US Navy support vessel USNS Dolores Chouest? Hmmm.

There have been an alarming number of sub commanders who have lost their commands lately.
Wonder if this confusion could somehow be connected? For all we know, the Scranton might be at the pole. Submarines, Always Silent, Always Strange!

THIS STORY WAS UPDATED Jan. 6, 2005, here.

Curious Bits You May Have Missed

>>
Allies doubt U.S. could win war with China - Repercussions of Loose Lips:
Most Asian officials have expressed their views privately. Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara has gone public, warning that the United States would lose any war with China.

The governor said the U.S. military could not counter a wave of millions of Chinese soldiers prepared to die in any onslaught against U.S. forces. After 2,000 casualties, he said, the U.S. military would be forced to withdraw. Hat tip: Noble Eagle, thanks.

>>
If you got 'em, light 'em? What does Alpha-Whiskey-Romeos mean to troops in Iraq? -
These hole-ups are referred to as "Alpha Whiskey Romeos" ("Allah's Waiting Room"). We have the laser-guided ground-air thing down to a science. Hat tip: Gus Van Horn, thanks.

>>
Epidemic Rule Seeks Report of Travelers' Flu Symptoms -
Nov. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Travelers entering the U.S. with fever and other flu-like symptoms would be reported by the airline or ship that brought them, under new rules proposed today, a U.S. public-health official said. ...The CDC has 18 quarantine stations nationwide. The public has 60 days to comment on the proposed regulations.

>>
Is muslin worn by radical Muslims? Do mosquitoes frequent radical mosques? Source:

muslin 1609, "delicately woven cotton fabric," from Fr. mousseline, from It. mussolina, from Mussolo "Mosul," city in northern Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) where muslin was made, from Arabic Mawsil. Like many fabric names, it has changed meaning over the years, in this case from luxurious to commonplace. In 13c. O.Fr., mosulin meant "cloth of silk and gold." The meaning "everyday cotton fabric for shirts, bedding, etc." is U.S., 1872

Muslim 1615 (n.), 1777 (adj.), from Arabic muslim "one who submits" (to the faith), from root of alsama "he resigned." Related to Islam (q.v.).

mosquito c.1583, from Sp. mosquito "little gnat," dim. of mosca "fly," from L. musca "fly," from PIE base *mu-, perhaps imitative of the sound of humming insects. Colloquial form skeeter is attested from 1839.

mosque c.1400, moseak, probably from M.Fr. mosquée, from It. moschea, from Sp. mesquita (modern mezquita), from Arabic masjid "temple, place of worship," from sajada "he worshipped" + prefix ma- denoting "place." In M.E. as muskey, moseache, etc.

The Good Tidings: The Calculus for War in Iraq Is Working

Good News, the war on Iraq has been working:

+ elimination of a dictator who had scoffed at the U.N. (misappropriated its resources) and marked the U.S. military as an impotent force since it was wielded by wimps. Saddam, had already survived and prospered in his earlier Gulf War "defeat." (see below)
+ confrontation of the growing, organizing terrorist threat in Iraq and elsewhere; but not on home soil. (so far, so good)
+ prevention of WMD falling into AQ's hands and denial of friendly nation comfort and aid to terrorists+ (so far, so good)
+demonstration of will to pre-emptively strike as necessary to deter aid and comfort at the national level (so far, Libya and Syria)
+ world's chief terrorists are cornered and impotent, bin Laden by forces in Afghanistan - not the war in Iraq.

How do we know the news is good? Review the changing of the tide.

May 20, 2005: Muslims dismiss religious justification for killing given by Al-Qaeda’s in Iraq.

Sept. 29, 2005: Abu Musab al-Zarqawi Already Foresees His Own Demise

Nov. 09, 2005: Zarqawi Moves His Headquarters to Baghdad - In order to make it impossible to hold parliamentary elections as scheduled on December 15, the al Qaeda commander has tied himself down to Baghdad restricting his freedom of movement, which had been unfettered in the wide open Anbar province. He is more vulnerable to capture or being killed. ...mounting international pressure on Bashar Assad’s regime may remove Syria as al Qaeda’s rear base and escape hatch. In Anbar near the Syrian border, he would have laid himself open to a collaborative Syrian-American turned against him.

Nov. 20, 2005: Officials Probing Whether Raid in Mosul Killed Zarqawi

Nov. 20, 2005: Saddam lawyers ready to attend Nov. 28 hearing

Nov. 21, 2005: Zarqawi's 'days are numbered' headline

Nov. 21, 2005: Zarqawi's close family publicly denounces him

Nov, 28, 2005: crimes against humanities hearing (Saddam and seven senior associates) scheduled (not interrupted by Zarqawi, yet)

Critics call for an end to the war in Iraq. Borrowing from General Norman Schwarzkopf of Saddam Hussein, it is obvious that:

As far as these critics being great military strategists, they are neither strategists, nor are they schooled in the operational arts, nor are they tacticians, nor are they generals, nor are they soldiers. Other than that, they are great military people. I
want you to know that.

note: Stormin' Norman was right about this, too: Don't rush into war 29 January 2003.

Connection? You Decide

One of my favorite blogs is the masked Lone Ranger, a writer for an international news agency based in Washington, DC. Read him daily and you will be enlightened with a daily fact in the area of U.S. Black History. Democrats have a lot of explaining to do, because facts are stubborn things.

Yesterday, Lone Ranger also raised this proposition:

"Coincidence? I Think Not!
Detroit has now earned two honors. After being listed as the most liberal city in the country some weeks ago, it has now taken second place on the list of the most dangerous cities in the United States. Nothing more to say. No need to elaborate."

I checked his facts for you, and he is correct about Detroit (2nd most dangerous U.S. city) reported here and again as the most liberal of U.S. cities reported here. Where does your city rank?

Freedom's Real Stake in Iraq May Well Be Its Longevity Elsewhere

Submandave makes some great points in his Pre-Invasion Intelligence: the Questions that Should be Asked, which I recommend. Lost in the one-sided, political propaganda that now monopolizes the media are two truths (among others Dave recalls) that get overlooked:

+ Materials that would be useful in biological and nuclear weapons programs were discovered hidden at the homes of important scientists alledgedly involved in these efforts.

+ Iraq had plans to reconstitute all WMD programs (including nuclear weapons development) once UN restrictions and inspections had been lifted

And there is an even larger truth we all seem to have forgotten: excerpts from the Boston Globe 3/16/2003

How can the man in the cross hairs of the most fearsome force on earth talk about victory, much less seem so sure of it, when the leaders of the world's sole superpower have expressed that... ....in Iraq, Hussein did win. He faced a mighty US-led coalition and came away not only still in charge, but also with a population even more under his control.

--------------------------------- Molten Eagle ---------------------------------
The stakes are huge that Hussein be sentenced for his crimes before the U.S. even considers departing Iraq. If our military, which accomplished a model victory in its rapid rout of the Baathist regime is not allowed to fulfill the rest of its mission, it will become as useless as U.N. peacekeepers. We should no longer maintain a military, if Democrats sabotage its mission, undermine its morale and ask for high-level planning documents that reveal to the world the timing of our intentions. That information helps our enemies and kills our brave warriors.
If the grandstanding politicians were privy to an actual pull-out date, they could be bound by rules of secrecy not to make it public, anyway. The current Bush-bashing is not about lying or misdeeds, it is about the relevancy of the Democrat party today (very little).

Islamic immigrants are infiltrating every country on earth, their fundamentalist sects growing faster than the general population as Wahhabism is being spread and financed by Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam. Saudi Arabia strictly upholds Wahhabi Islam and bases its constitution on the Koran and the sayings of Islam's prophet, Mohammad.

Should this threat or even regular Islam come into power, your grandchildren would live (if they adopt Islam) under austerity, intolerance and non-freedoms of Islamic law. Visiting your grave (headstones are forebidden, too; how would anyone find it -think mass burials) would be a problem.

If you are a Democrat, you will not feel threatened by the truths I speak, even if you read them, because, you feel nuclear weapons are the free world's ultimate saviour. Well, such weapons require targets that Democrats would not complain about later (innocent civilian lives lost, etc.). Can you think of a target that satisfies Democrats? As an Independent, I doubt we have targets that would satisfy you. Nuclear weapons are truly a last resort (forget it). Pay attention now to what is being accomplished in Iraq - it is very, very important (even if Bush could have done better than he has).

Powerful Video Cuts Legs from Iraq War Critics

I am an independent voter (have been for decades). Although solicited by both the Democrats and Republicans, I join no political party and attempt to vote only for the most appropriate candidates, regardless of party.

One of my regular reads, Far East Cynic's, commentors in Wir fahren auf Deutschland!linked to a video that demolishes the anti-Iraq-war propaganda spouted by the chorus of loudmouths we have heard since 1998, and as recently as 2003.

If you are an independent, too, I urge you to watch the short (less than 2 minute) video , and see for yourself.

Chinese "Voted" to Go to Hawaii

Consider a few news snippets that are neither plausible at face value nor exhaustive of the subject (diplomatic games and wholesale spying) :

April 2, 2001 - Chinese authorities held the crew of a US surveillance plane who voted to make an emergency landing on the southern Chinese island of Hainan after colliding with a Chinese fighter jet.

March 2002 - A Taiwanese fishing boat's Chinese cook has been convicted of killing its captain and first mate before taking control of the vessel. Crew members (30 of them) subdued the cook two days after the murders, tied him up, and voted to go to Hawaii.

Aug. 19, 2005 - China detained an American on suspicion of spying for Beijing's archrival, Taiwan. Several Chinese-born businesspeople and academics with U.S. ties have been arrested by China in recent years on espionage charges. Most were accused of working for rival Taiwan. China and Taiwan split in 1949 amid civil war and are believed to spy actively against each other.

November 4, 2005 - The federal government wants to seize the Maui home of a man accused of selling secrets to foreign countries about the B-2 stealth bomber.

November 5, 2005 - Four persons have been arrested in Los Angeles as part of a Chinese intelligence-gathering ring, federal investigators said. The suspects caused serious compromises for 15 years to major U.S. weapons systems, including submarines and warships.

November 17, 2005 - Although prosecutors have not disclosed the identity of the foreign interests involved, US media reports named China as among those countries that acquired the Stealth secrets.

Submariners Only: Porter, Stout and Ales Updates

Last week, we were happy to learn of scientific studies showing Xanthohumol (found mostly in the hops of Porter, Stouts and Ales) inhibits cancer-causing enzymes. That was certainly exceptional news.

Out of ensuing comments and discussions, more good news has come to light for beer enthusiasts: Brew your own! Homebrewing is legal in the U.S. as long as it's for private consumption and not for sale. There is a federal 200-gallon limit per year and West Virginia requires the beer to be less than 6% alcohol. For starters, check out the 10-gallon apparatus in Gus Van Horn's posting here. Be sure to read the last couple of comments regarding Man Caves. Why are submariners interested in man caves? Rooted in the pre-paleolithic abodes of mankind, man caves are a submariner's dream (the opportunity for solitude we never had at sea). Here is how the modern man cave was recently described:

-- a hideaway where the television screen can never be too big, the beverages can never be too cold and the home team can never score too many points. Some Man Caves have high-tech electronics and rare sports memorabilia. Others are simply odd collections of manly items picked up over the years. They are all designed with the express purpose of creating a comfort zone for their owners.

But the good news does not seem to stop. Are you getting on in years (at one time, even peacetime submarine service was said to decrease one's life span by 1 year for every 5 served -not the radiation, just actuarial statistics)? The good news? Well, its a hope really: An Irish nursing home is keeping spirits up with its own pub! The pub opens at 11 a.m. and closes at 9 p.m.

Real Submarine Pirate Hunter: SEAWOLF SSN-575

For months now, EagleSpeak has shared his professional updates of ocean pirate activity with his readers. His latest Keep News On Hijacked Ships Private is the UN's opinion. Now, many submariners including Chapomatic, and Lubber's Line, aviator Skippy-san, and amphibian CDR Salamander have also expressed valuable insights.

An actual historical precedent has already been documented, however, for using a U.S. nuclear submarine to subdue ocean pirates.

On 25 January 1961, USS Seawolf (SSN-575) was ordered to locate and track the Portuguese passenger liner Santa Maria which had been seized by pirates two days earlier. Seawolf made contact with the liner off the coast of Brazil on 1 February. After Santa Maria surrendered in Recife, the Seawolf returned to San Juan and continued east coast operations. The New York Times (and almost everyone else) carried headlines. Other units of the Navy and Marines were involved, as well.

17 Nov. UPDATE: Mexico and Venezuela Posture, Recall Ambassadors

Molten Eagle believes that Chavez has been encouraged by growing Venezuelan ties with China. While the story below is reported as a minor, diplomatic quarrel, the proximity of the two nations to a superpower suggests more serious implications that clearly threaten hemisheric tranquilty later. Raising the stakes is Taiwan, whose autonomy the USA supports to China's intense irritation. Were China to garner a foothold in Mexico, Canada, or South America, the current Taiwan standoff could become weakened in China's favor. More: Venezuela, The 51st State? - Why Chavez Suspects U.S. Invasion

UPDATES (17 NOV): Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is shrugging aside calls to end a war of words. Also, here, (14 NOV) Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro lay a trap for Mexico
A Mexico in a state of incremental instability has direct geopolitical implications for the national security of the United States. This is the real objective of Chavez’s extraordinarily personal attack against Fox. If Mexico destabilizes politically, the U.S. government’s focus in Latin America would shift decisively to Mexico, where an unstable political environment or unfriendly government would affect sensitive bilateral economic, migration and security issues that concern Washington very much.


In another episode of blustering to cement popular support in Venezuela, Hugo Chavez used his Sunday radio and TV show to warn Mexico's President, Vicente Fox: "Don't mess with me, sir, because you'll get stung." President Hugo Chavez accused Mexican leader Vicente Fox of being a "puppy" of President Bush. Fox backed a U.S.-backed proposal for free trade, which Chavez pronounced dead.

Threatening Mexico would expel the ambassador if Venezuela didn't apologize by midnight Monday, Fox spokesman Ruben Aguilar later offered that Venezuela could win over Mexico with conciliatory gestures and statements. Fox, however, told CNN an apology would be necessary, "because (Chavez) used very strong words."

Both countries have now recalled their ambassadors, rather than apologize. Business and cultural relations still remain intact. Mexican Foreign Secretary Luis Ernesto D. described Chavez's statements as "truly infuriating," but insisted that, "the historical friendship between our country and the nation of Venezuela continues unaltered."

Her Husband Forgot to Say "Simon Says, Blow Up Now"

There were four suicide stooges involved in recent Jordanian hotel bombings. Sajida Mubarak Atrous al-Rishawi, 35, (pictured) says she and her husband, Ali Hussein Ali al-Shamari, 35, were wearing explosive-laden belts when they strolled into a Radisson ballroom where hundreds of guests, including children, were attending a Jordanian-Palestinian wedding reception. "My husband wore a belt and put one on me. He taught me how to use it, how to pull the (primer cord) and operate it," she said.

Did she outwit her husband?
(1) My husband detonated (his bomb).
(2) I tried to explode (my belt) but it wouldn't. I left, people fled running and I left running with them.
(3) Ali (husband) noticed my struggle and pushed me out of the ballroom in order not to attract attention before blowing himself up.

Jordanian security was tipped off to her presence by al-Qaida's claim of a female bomber! Reasons for this al-Qaida blunder:
(a) Zarqawi assumed she died in a successful, 4th explosion; (b) al-Qaida has been watching Three Stooges DVDs for entertainment; (c) Zarqawi is trying to counter suspicions that he and his merry followers are really a gay cult (has not seen his wife in 5 years); (d) Zarqawi hopes to be caught and martyred; (e) all of the above.

Counterterrorism officials believe al-Rishawi could provide significant leads into al-Zarqawi's whereabouts and his terrorist operations in Iraq. She said they rode across the border in a white car with a driver and another passenger. Police are still interrogating 12 suspects believed linked to Wednesday's attacks on the Grand Hyatt, Radisson SAS and Days Inn hotels. (Thanks for the tips, Zarqawi)!

Jordanian authorities identified the three, dead suicide bombers as Rawad Jassem Mohammed Abed and Safaa Mohammed Ali, both 23, and Sajida's husband, Ali Hussein Ali al-Shamari, 35.
Compare those names with those given authorities by al-Qaida in Iraq:
Abu Khabib, Abu Muaz and Abu Omaira and his wife, Umm Omaira, according to an earlier claim by fugitive Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a drug user who once ran a video store.

Related News: AL ZARQAWI'S FAMILY PREPARING HIS EPITAPH
Nuclear Link Alleged in Australia Arrests

Area 51: Phantom Works Old News or No News? Photo Updates

What is Area 51, anyway? Does it have a monopoly on weird research? The balloon, at left, is fabricated from HY-30 steel and that is not a propane burner in the gondola, it is a portable anti-gravity device.

Thank heavens fanciful projects like this are not being funded by the Navy. What would be the purpose? (Hint: estimate total weight is 4.2 tons).

I recognize none of the technicians in the photo, although they may look familiar. (Don't worry Bubblehead, it is not you, it is Beavis).

Does anyone recognize the class of this "balloon"? More, here (from The Sub Report).

Phantom Works in Seattle, the part of the Boeing company which handles top secretive programs, collaborated in an experiment by Yevgeny Podkletnov, who claims to have developed a device which can shield objects from the Earth's pull.

The head of the Phantom Works, George Muellner, told the security analysis journal Jane's Defence Weekly that the science appeared to be valid and plausible.
Dr Podkletnov claims to have countered the effects of gravity in an experiment at the Tampere University of Technology in Finland in 1992.

UPDATE: "Burn in hell, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi!"

A Report filed in AMMAN, Jordan (CNN) -- Calling the al Qaeda in Iraq leader a "lowlife," Jordanians on Thursday flooded the nation's capital in bitter protest of the triple suicide bombings that shook the city a day earlier and killed at least 56 people, most of Arab descent.

"Burn in hell, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi!" hundreds of Jordanian protesters shouted, denouncing the terrorist network's leader -- a Jordan native -- after an Internet posting stated his group was responsible for the attacks. Molten Eagle: 29 September 2005: Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has planned his own death at the hands of an ally, knowing the U.S. will not martyr him and he will endure a noose if constitutionally appointed Iraqi authorities capture and try him. The cowardly death he plans will not martyr him, either. He will share not a single day of eternity with anyone truly deserving of paradise. Zarqawi is not only doomed, he is now a short-timer (about 116 days) . Allah speed, villain.

Are Submariners Superstitious?

originally posted at Ultraquiet No More

The first USS Maine was a "Second Class Battleship” designated an Armored Cruiser (ACR-1). The next two Maines were battleships BB-10 and the BB-69 (never built).

The third, commissioned USS Maine is the SSBN-741 an Ohio-class, Trident ballistic missile nuclear submarine. This USS Maine played a part in Tom Clancy's techno-thriller The Sum of All Fears. In the book, the Maine is destroyed by a Soviet submarine. Clancy used an author’s gimmick to inject realism, knowing some people were already familiar with the destruction of the first Maine, ACR-1.

In fact, the mast of the ACR-1 is displayed at the Arlington National Cemetery memorial honoring those lost when that ship mysteriously exploded in 1898, in Havana Harbor. The explosion and loss of life lead to the Spanish-American War. In 1976, Admiral Hyman G. Rickover published his research, How the Battleship Maine Was Destroyed. The admiral applied modern science to determine the actual cause of Maine’s explosion. Using documentation from original courts of inquiry, as well as information on the construction and ammunition of Maine, his research concluded that damage caused was inconsistent with an explosion due to an external mine. The most likely cause, was spontaneous combustion of coal in the bunker next to the magazine.

Rickover is historically connected to the Maine disaster through his book, and to the submarine Maine as Father of the Nuclear Submarine Navy.

By necessity and selection, submariners are among the least superstitious and most cerebral of any branch in the armed forces. As Juan Caruso says in the first line of his poem Extreme Creatures, “... (they) Who suffer no attrition upon news their kind are sunk”.

The fact is reinforced too often during war, but sufficiently even in "peace." Ask those assigned to subs named the same as an earlier, sunk one or even earlier sunk two. Ask the nonquals in sub school when Thresher or Scorpion were lost with no convincing explanations forthcoming for months or years. Ask those who have transited the Bermuda Triangle submerged and often, who have slept under tons of thick ice and crushing water. Ask those who heard their ship creak under deep dives, and watch deck plates buckle. Ask those who fought real fires, leaks and vital system failures in near total darkness. You either remember these or get the picture.

We had one crewman need a sedative when a practice, MK 45 ASTOR dented our superstructure (in a friendly 'attack' exercise) just inches from the rack where he had been sleeping. A nuclear torpedo hit that close and personal was an alarm clock from hell for him. As you might imagine, we found humor and thought what our own reactions would have been.

Women and Submarines - WWII

WRNSs - Women's Royal Naval Service
were some 74,000 strong by war's end. They performed a variety of jobs previously done by men. Unlike women in other services, WRNS did not receive equal pay and status.

Women were not allowed on ships in active service, but they commanded and crewed 'powerful harbour launches' in foul weather. They were involved in loading torpedoes onto, but not into submarines. More here.

The British had reason to keep women off their warships. One was a pirate, Grace O'Malley, and Gráinne O'Malley was not alone. We know what would happen if Al Qaeda suicide sissies dressed up like the ladies above and tried to load one of those onto a sub, but the plot in Mission Complete is much better than even that. (No, I do not already know the author, but would certainly like to meet this one, someday).

Now, I must take my dose of Xanthohumol.

USS Philadelphia Damage Worse Than Thought

We recall that USS Philadelphia (SSN-690) collided with a 625-foot, 52,000-ton Turk freighter, M/V YASO AYSEN, September 5th and that the Persian Gulf collision has been widely reported, with updated coverage detailed by our own Bubblehead, including theories of why one of the periscopes was damaged in a scraping collision and why sub radar may have been ineffective.

Then I read this, "After further inspection it was discovered that more damage occurred than originally thought." So decided to share with all of you, just in case any of it was new to you, as well:

+ The worst damage included a large hole in the rudder, scoring of at least one propeller blade,
(and the damage to periscope and fairwater planes).
+ The hull incurred a small dent (fortunately, the SEAL attachment was not aboard at the time)
+ The housing for towed array was 'crumpled'.
+ Some sound absorbing tiles were naturally strewn asunder.
+ The rest of the damage listing is described as 'fairly long'. (source: Baxter's Column, USCS Log, November 2005.)

Attention Submariners: Why Porter, Stout and Ales Could Be Good Us!

Research at Oregon State University shows that beer contains a micronutrient that inhibits cancer-causing enzymes: Beer's hops seen to inhibit tumor growth

Fred Stevens, an assistant professor of medicinal chemistry at Oregon State's College of Pharmacy. A chemical compound, Xanthohumol, was first isolated by Oregon State 10 years ago and now laboratories across the world are increasingly studying the compound which comes from the hops plant used to give beer its aroma and flavor. "It clearly has some interesting chemo-preventive properties, and the only way people are getting any of it right now is through beer consumption," Stevens said.

Most beers made today are low on hops, however, and so don't contain much xanthohumol. But beers such as porter, stout and ales have much higher levels of the compound. Xanthohumol was actually first discovered in 1913, isolated as a yellow substance found in hops. Xanthohumol also appears to have a role as a fairly powerful antioxidant - even more than vitamin E. And it has shown the ability to reduce the oxidation of LDL, or bad cholesterol.

Stevens and toxicologist Don Buhler, began to look at the compound from another perspective - its anti-cancer properties. It showed toxicity to human breast, colon and ovarian cancer cells, and most recently has shown some activity against prostate cancer in OSU studies. Read more here and at Cancer Chemopreventive Activity of Xanthohumol, a Natural Product Derived from Hop here.

Paris Job Opportunity for Muslim Youths?

Disneyland® Resort Paris (Parc Disneyland) now includes five lands: Main Street U.S.A., Frontierland, Adventureland, Fantasyland, and Discoveryland. In response to street riots by underemployed Muslim youth, leaders are considering the addition of a new theme, Caliphateland. Park Disneyland is owned by the French company Euro Disney SCA, a public corporation of which 39.781% of the stock belongs to The Walt Disney Company, 10% is held by Saudi Prince Alwaleed and other shareholders own 50.22%.

As now envisioned, employment in Caliphateland would be restricted to Muslim clerics and youth required to wear traditional garb, attend religious classes and services at authentic mosques to be built there, and to entertain tourists with displays of the fun side of Islam. The roles of females, if any, is also uncertain at this time. Attendance fees for Caliphateland would be separate from the general admission to the resort, and for at least the first 5 years of operation any and all profit would go toward creation of external employment opportunities for muslim youth. Although managed under Muslim custom and law, the theme must meet or exceed Disney resort standards and disposition of proceeds would be subject to regular park audits.

If at the end of 5 years Caliphateland did not become self-sustaining, it would revert to other park uses under the resort's conventional management regime. If, on the otherhand, Caliphateland did become a success, a modest royalty would be due to Euro Disney SCA from the 6th year ownward. Thus, the theme would also be a modern social experiment.

Will this concept pass muster by the government and clerics, and still be acceptable to shareholders?

Energy Breakthrough: Dr. Mills's 'Hydrinos'?

If it's wrong, it will be proven wrong, said Kert Davies, research director of Greenpeace USA. But if it's right, it is so important that all else falls away.

Researchers at well-known government labs say they are afraid to speak on record about their interest in Mills's work. One said that he plans to visit BlackLight Power on his vacation time. Jacox says his team found in the materials 'an anomaly that we could not explain with conventional theory but that we could explain with Randy Mills's theory. That does not necessarily validate the Mills theory, but gosh, He said.

From the Guardian Unlimited comes energy like Cold Fusion, in yet another interesting connection to the IEEE.

Dr. Randell Mills, a Harvard University medic, also studied electrical engineering at M.I.T.
Now, Dr. Mills's company, Blacklight Power, Inc. claims to have built a prototype power source generating about 1,000 times more heat than conventional fuel. We've got 50 independent validation reports, we've got 65 peer-reviewed journal articles," he said. "We ran into this theoretical resistance and there are some vested interests here. The hydrino-based process has many doubters (except apparently, governments).

In a recent economic forecast, Prof Rick Maas, chemist at the University of North Carolina at Asheville (UNC), calculated that hydrino energy would cost around 1.2 cents per kilowatt hour. This compares to an average of 5 cents per kWh for coal and 6 cents for nuclear energy.

Dr Mills will not reveal who is investing in his research, but rumours suggest several US power companies. According to the Guardian, it is well known that Nasa's institute of advanced concepts has funded research into finding a way of using Blacklight's technology to power rockets. The company has a 53,000-square-foot chemical operation in Cranbury, NJ. with 25 full-time employees and 10 consultants. The majority of the employees are scientists, including 9 Ph.D.s. The Company expects to employ 75 scientists and technicians, as well as 25 management and support staff within the next one - two years.

Power Out Until Monday

Starting Friday will be installing electrical upgrades. Please pardon the absence until Monday (provided shock does not intervene). Vigilis

Is Wholesale Compassion Really Compassionate? France, Canada, and the U.S.

Ongoing riots in France (Muslim population 5-10%) the BBC's headline reports has its roots in French Muslims face job discrimination. Unemployment among people of French origin is 9.2%. Among those of foreign origin, the figure is 14% - even after adjusting for educational qualifications. Racial discrimination is banned in France, but language discrimination has long been en force.

from National Center for Scientific Research:
In the immediate postwar period, France was the only country in Europe to encourage permanent immigration. ............France is the only country to have witnessed a large-scale migrant social movement in each of the past three decades: the migrant workers? rent strikes in the 1970s, the "second generation" movement in the 1980s, and the sans papiers (those without documents) mobilization in the 1990s. ............Thus today, in spite of a partial regularization of undocumented aliens in 1997, there are still many people living in France known as inexpulsables-irrégularisables. This group—including rejected asylum-seekers from countries to which it is not safe to return, and foreign parents of French children—cannot be expelled, yet is not eligible for residency permits. Virginie Guiraudon, (Emphasis added)

Canada to Start Accepting More Immigrants - Canada's government unveiled changes to its immigration policy Monday, including up to 300,000 new immigrants annually within the next five years. More than 220,000 people have obtained permanent Canadian residency annually since 2000. Canada (Muslim population 1.9%), slightly larger than the United States, has only 33 million people, compared with the U.S. Census's last estimate of 297 million people.
Canada is often criticized for attracting highly educated immigrants, who then complain that their professional credentials are not accepted.

Conclusion: Obviously, the problem today, unlike in periods of early U.S. immigration, is an unmet expectation of immigrants to achieve par with natural populations. The expectation is not only unreasonable (even for professionals, due to differences in licensing requirements), but we can see how dangerous it will become. Early U.S. immigrants from all countries aculturated as fast as possible (language, education, accepting menial jobs as necessary).

Unlike yesteryear's hard working, but legal immigrants, content to struggle patiently just to remain in lands of greater opportunity and lesser repression, the children of today's legal and illegal immigrants consider themselves consumers who see a way of life they are entitled to possess, regardless. Unrealistic expectations must be tempered immediately.

Apprenticeships and internships of predetermined length must be mandated for laborers and professionals alike. As with union trade and professional occupations, entry requirements must be uniform for everyone. This is already done in the professions and to some extent in the trades. While little is taken for granted, people outside of the professions are not well-aquainted with detailed prerequisites beyond mandatory education, successful examinations and internships. The daunting difficulty of attaining minimum job requirements must be as well-advertised to foreignors as the attractiveness of the country has been and taught to immigrant school children.

An adult child of an illegal immigrant should rarely have anyone else to blame for poor references, poor scholarship, lassitude, dishonetsy, poor language skills and unrealistic employment goals.

La France

Sunday, October 30th (below):
Perhaps the French are America's best friends afterall. Thanks to them for the help of the Marquis de Lafayette in 1781, Liberte in 1886, superlative achievements in science, philosophy, and the arts and selfless magnanimity ever since. May the insidious Muslim menace not eat your national heritage for lunch.

As if any proof or even reminders were needed, the news soon demonstrated the significance of both the scientific success that France routinely delivers and the serious challenges to its very heritage that France now confronts daily:

"This is sensational," said Dr. Dieter Hossfeld, a professor of oncology at the University of Hamburg, Germany, who was not involved with the research. PARIS (AP) - New research suggests that infection with bacteria from the Chlamydia family may play a role in the development of a type of lymphoma that affects the tissue around the eye, raising hopes that antibiotics may one day prove to be an alternative to chemotherapy or radiation. Study Links Bacteria, Lymphoma Around Eye

Second night of rioting in Paris "There's a civil war underway in Clichy-Sous-Bois at the moment," Michel Thooris, an official of police trade union Action Police CFTC, said. For background, note the photo at left, then try Fallujah, France from CDR Salamander.