Submarine Space Travel Analogies - Part II: Rules for Civilian Embarkation

<<<< Nuclear submarines
Are intensely compact multi-billion dollar vessels with highly sophisticated controls and hazards lurking throughout. These submarines routinely leave and return to the Earth's atmosphere into and from a very hostile environment. Seldom are bodies recovered when a submarine is lost.

The Hunt for Red October, Tom Clancy's first novel, was published in 1984. In 1990 Paramount Pictures released the movie starring Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin. It was a triumphant success during the next ten years. Between 1999 and 2000, civilian embarkations in the Pacific Fleet alone increased from 11,644 passengers to 14,273. The late submarine commander and author Ned Beach said, "The Navy's been doing this for many years -- as many as 50 or 60. It's all been well received and everyone has been pleased. Of course, if a disaster happens, then you have to cope with it."

In 2001, the U.S. Navy opened a formal investigation into the fatal collision of the U.S.S. Greeneville and the Japanese fishing boat Ehime Maru. Sixteen civilians were aboard the submarine when the accident happened. Two were at control stations. President Bush told reporters at the White House, "I think what’s going to be necessary is for Secretary Rumsfeld and the Defense Department to review all policy regarding civilian activity during military exercises." Rear Adm. Stephen Pietropaoli, a Navy spokesman, told reporters that both the Atlantic and Pacific submarine fleets are reviewing procedures involving embarkation of civilian guests on sea maneuvers.

EMBARKATION IN U.S. NAVAL SHIPS rules for civilians on submarines (excerpts only) Detailed current information on civilian embarkation can be found in the OPNAVINST 5720.2 series, Embarkation in U.S. Naval Ships,:
1986
Psychiatric. Each individual who is to be embarkedon board a submarine should be seen by either a psychiatrist, clinical psychologist, or an undersea medical officer who will assess the motivation, elicit any fears or anxieties,and determine, if possible, the presence of any claustrophobictendencies.
Medical. Even minor chronic conditions which require continuous treatment cannot be allowed.
Endocrine Disorders. All forms of diabetes mellitus, no matter how mild, shall disqualify.
2002
Overnight embarkation of females is permissible on vessels that can provide appropriate accommodations. Appropriate accommodations are defined as those which can be identified for their exclusive use.
Navy policy concerning pregnant women is outlined in reference (b) [OPNAVINST 6000.1A]. The policy applies to service women, civilians (in an official capacity) and guests.
This instruction applies to all individuals who may occasionally embark ortake passage in U.S. naval ships, with the following exceptions:
Civilians who are accredited as U.S.Navy technicians
News correspondents who are authorizedto embark under the procedures prescribed
Members of Congress, congressional staff members, and congressional committee staff members who have been invited to embark for the purpose of orientation, or to witness certain operations or demonstrations.
OPNAVINST 5720.2
Guests will be berthed with officers if staying overnight and normally will subsist in the wardroom (with the exception of Tiger Cruise guests).
Pregnant women up to 210 days gestation maybe embarked unless medically prohibited. A medical statement signed by a doctor stating the duration of the pregnancy and fitness for embarkation must be submitted by the woman requesting the embarkation.
Women’s organizations, including those whose memberships have a high percentage of persons with Navy affiliation, may be authorized for local daylight cruises or overnight cruises by the appropriate fleet commander in chief.
Female entertainers may embark for local daylight cruises. Overnight embarkation requires the approval of the appropriate fleet commander in chief.

<<<< Spacecraft
In 2001, Californian Dennis Tito became the world's first space tourist riding a Soyuz spacecraft to the international space station. A year later, South African Mark Shuttleworth paid $20 million for his similar ride. Last year, Burt Rutan won a $10 million prize by sending SpaceShip One to the edge of space twice wihin only five days. Two months ago, Greg Olsen of New Jersey became the world's third commercial, space tourist to the international space station.

Space Tourism rules (excerpts only):
2003
Too few rules present huge safety risks for would-be space tourists and innocent bystanders situated near launch and landing sites, the experts acknowledged. Pamela Meredith (LAWYER), who co-chairs the Washington-based Space Law Practice Group, said the the government must address major consumer safety and insurance issues before opening commercial spaceflight to private citizens.
2005 (123-page proposal was published in the Federal Register)
Passengers also would have to be trained on how to respond during emergencies
Before taking a trip that literally is out of this world, companies would be required to inform the "space flight participant" known in more earthly settings as a passenger of the risks. Passengers also would be required to provide written consent before boarding a vehicle for takeoff.

Submarine Space Travel Analogies - Part I: "Virtual Wormholes"

In astrophysics, a wormhole is a theoretical feature of topology (rubber-sheet geometry) that represents a potential "shortcut" through space and spacetime.

In naval science, submarines exploit "virtual shortcuts" through seaspace and realtime. Instead of transiting many days to arrive within strike distance of a potential adversary, submarines are usually pre-deployed to potential trouble spots (e.g. North Korea) and may even be routed under polar ice as distance shortcuts.


Virtual: An artificial attribute exploited to work when needed as actual reality.

Naval Science: Body of knowledge on professional naval subjects.

Realtime: Real time denotes receipt and processing of information simultaneously with the events actually generating the descriptive data.

India: The Latest Inoculant Against Radical Islam by Al-Qaeda

In al-Qaeda's latest self-defeating, global move, Lashker e-Toyyba Kashmiri terrorists killed a professor and injured five participants of a science conference in the hi-tech capital Bangalore. Gunmen attacked the prestigious Indian Institute of Science as a conference ended and fired into departing participants. Prof. M.C. Puri of the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, was fatally wounded. DEBKA File reports India’s southern states have been placed on high alert.

Vigilis says, "Like a weakened virus, muslim thugs worldwide are helping inoculate the world, country by country, against the more potent threat of Islamic terror cells. Public reaction to the thugs has in reality been similar to production of antibodies (appropriate attitudes by freedom-loving societies) aligned against a deadly plague."

Prediction #5 means Sen. Lindsey Graham is Toast

Teflon at Molten Thought makes twenty bold and very interesting predictions for 2006.
Here's his fifth:
The nuclear option will not be exercised in 2006 (the Senate GOP will cave first).

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has promised his legitimately irate SC constituents he would actually help to invoke the so called nuclear option if qualified nominess are denied an up-and-down senate vote in the future. Conservatives failed to understand why he with John McCain, Harry Reid and nine other politicians in The Gang of 14 prevented use of the nuclear option in the first place.

In Molten Eagle's opinion, Lawyer Lindsey will be toast (ala GHW Bush after his "Read my lips..." abandonment) should he go back on that very key promise.

Teflon has some other terrific predictions you should read for entertainment value alone. Two of my favorites concern the Austrian Oaf (as Arnold Schwarzenegger is known by some of his Hollywood detractors), and the recently elected leader of Iran.

Aboubaker Akhzouri said What? France could not even say that (without uproar)!

Uplifting, I assure you:

A nation of 10 million people wedged between Libya and Algeria, Tunisia is a stalwart ally of the West and has been cracking down on Islamic militants for years. Tunisian women enjoy rights denied by many other Arab countries. Some 54 percent of its university students are female. Tunisia is 98% Muslim according to the Factbook. Aboubaker Akhzouri is Tunisia's religious affairs minister.

Criticizing Muslim women's practice of wearing head scarves, saying it does not fit with the North African country's cultural heritage, Akhzouri said the head scarf is "foreign" and "an intrusion," and recommended a traditional Tunisian Islamic tunic known as the jebbah.
He also said the government of the moderate Muslim country rejects Muslim tunics like those worn in Persian Gulf states and the practice of men wearing long beards.

In 1981, Tunisia's government banned Muslim head scarves in government offices and public schools. Akhzouri denied that increasingly more Muslim women are turning to the head scarf. "On the contrary, the phenomenon is in decline ... progressively fading away," he said.

Learn more about Tunisa's moderate Muslim heritage here, and here.

Sonar and Bubble Updates for the New Year

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Mud-trapped, methane gas occasionally bubbles to the surface from the ocean floor, according to a team of University of Maine scientists reported in Maine Ocean Floor Has Mud-Trapped Gas. Some 70 known gas fields have been identified off Maine's coast. Massive gas bubbles crater or pit the ocean floor when they rise, according to the scientists, who are publishing their findings in Marine Geology magazine. Because the gas in trapped in mud, it would cost too much to extract it for commercial energy purposes.

The largest crater is the size of a football stadium. Most of the craters are between 32 feet and 260 feet in diameter. The largest, in Belfast Bay, is more than 650 feet wide and 100 feet deep.

Through the years fishermen have reported seeing bubbles and plumes of mud. Charles Paull, lead scientist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in California, however, said he has yet to see evidence that the craters are produced by gas.

Possible reason for methane bubbles: Decaying whale carcasses? Submarine garbage ejectors? ...We weighted the bags so that they went directly to the bottom and did not give away our position.

Suppose whales swim over a crater as a large gas bubble erupts? Would we get a disorientated mammals? Probably unrelated to whale beaching deaths as waters are much too shallow.

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Brutal Bubbles: Collapsing orbs rip apart atoms Fill a flask with liquid, rattle it with ultrasonic waves, and hellish conditions can form in the resulting fluid. Tiny gas bubbles swell before imploding with a fury extreme enough to strip electrons from atoms trapped in the collapse. Illinois chemists who have detected such atomic destruction have also directly measured temperatures of the imploding bubbles this year. Some temperatures have been on the order of at least 15,000 kelvins (about three times as hot as the Sun's surface).

Researchers have known for years that ultrasonically generated bubbles emit light flashes when they collapse —a phenomenon named sonoluminescence. While some scientists claim that thermonuclear fusion may occur in such implosions, others had suggested a plasma—a vapor of electrons and ions—forms in imploding bubbles. No one, however, had evidence of such a condition until David J. Flannigan and Kenneth S. Suslick of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign reported light emissions suggestive of a plasma.

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Bubbles and Ambient Noise Sonar (ANS)
Detection in the littorals: the increased levels due to boat traffic increase 25 dB, up to 97 dB re 1mPa at 1.5kHz. (note: MUX refers to multiplexer)

and, here: The data set should help us to assess the ways in which bubble clouds are formed and move about in the near surf zone. ...The results should provide a useful basis for comparison with models that include the surf zone dynamics.

(There is much more a clever searcher will find)

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Snapping Shrimp Drown Out Sonar With Cavitation The oceans' shallow waters are noisy places with the waves, rain, and biologicals. Loudest of all are colonies of snapping shrimp, the bane of military and scientific efforts to "see" through the ocean using sonar: here
Scientists had assumed that the snapping noise occurred when the two parts of the claw banged shut. Now, however, a team of physicists and a biologist have discovered that the noise, in fact, comes from the collapsing of small bubbles generated by the claw's closing motion. The bubbles form through a process called cavitation.

A Good Start

After the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003, Frans Van Anraat returned to the Netherlands only to become the first man convicted in connection with war crimes in Iraq and Iran.

The Dutch chemicals merchant who had ties to Saddam Hussein's regime must now serve 15 years in prison for supplying Iraq with five million litres of thiodyglycol for chemical weapons of mass destruction (see DETAILS below). Resulting weapons were allegedly (so far) used in the 1988 bombing of Halabja in northern Iraq, which annihilated around 5,000 civilians in a single day.

Van Anraat, 63, was not in the courtroom when the judges found him guilty of war crimes but acquitted him of genocide charges. Outside the courtroom, more than 100 Kurds sang, banged drums and danced in celebration.

DETAILS: Soldiers in the First World War called mustard gas "the Devil's breath." It is one of the most terrible weapons ever devised. It leaves its victims blind and covered with agonizing blisters. Inhaled, mustard gas can cause a slow, painful death by suffocation. For decades, its use has been banned by international conventions.

Iranian Kurdish day laborer Gader Molanpoor told the court he lost his pregnant wife and three children in the attack on the town of Sardasht. He was in a neighbouring village but his family was in Sardasht when the attack occurred. "I saw my children, they could not stand up, they were dizzy, throwing up," he said. In the days following the attack Molanpoor tried desperately to get medical help for his three children and heavily pregnant wife. "They had eye problems and their skin burned ... nobody dared to touch them and I had to put them in the ambulance myself," he told the court, fighting back tears. Eventually in the days after the attack he watched his whole family die one by one. Molanpoor also got blisters on his hands as he tried to wash the chemicals off his children and still suffers from health problems as a result.

California's Preemptive Strike -One More for the Gipper

You will recall that California's Gov. Schwarzenegger declined to commute the death penalty for notorious Crips gang founder Stanley 'Tookie' Williams, executed recently for a few of his career homicides. Commutation would have set an awfully bad example for youth, disenfranchised a majority of voters and propelled a convicted criminal to undeserved fame and fortune.

A majority of Graz, Austria's City Council, had threatened the governor (yes, they threatened The Terminator) with renaming the Arnold Schwarzenegger Stadium, if he denied clemency for the unrepenetant mass-murderer. Such are the long noses of some Europeans that they had been willing to borrow a celebrity name for the past 7 years, but unwilling to respect jurisdictional boundaries of a U.S. state 4 times as large as Austria (population 8 million).

Before city officials had taken a formal vote on the petition to remove the sign naming their 15,000-seat arena in actor Arnold Schwarzenegger's name, however, the Governor withdrew Graz's right to use his name in association with the stadium. City officials are keeping Schwarzenegger's honorary citizenship ring, returned during the holidays, in the hope that Schwarzenegger might accept it again later. Ronald Reagan would have been proud of Arnold.

Al -Qaeda vs. Zarqawi

Teflon at Molten Thought observes "somehow I suspect that if al Qaeda wanted him dead, he would be."

Where Is Director Abu Musab (al-Zarqawi)?

"Unfortunately, we did not get him in Mosul (Nov. 19th raid)," Zalmay Khalizad, U.S. ambassador to Baghdad, had said. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said DNA tests were being conducted to see if al-Zarqawi was among the dead after all. US Army spokesman Barry Venable said U.S. forces "employ whatever means required... to identify suspected or known terrorists or insurgents".

Well, it has now been one month and a few days since the raid. Where are the DNA test results?
If "we" got him, he would be martyred. Some al-Qaeda leaders in the raid had blown themselves up. That is suicide. The Amalgamated Low - Quotient And Expendable, Deranged Assasins union, aka Al-Qaeda says Zarqawi lives. Things are not going very well, however:

On a tip from an informant, soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division unearthed more than a thousand rockets and missiles protected in plastic. Some of the stash described as the weapons motherload had been buried during the last two weeks, Army officials said. "In our eyes, every one of these rockets represents one less IED," said 2nd Lt. Patrick Vardaro, 23, of Norwood, Massachusetts, a platoon leader in the division's 187th Infantry Regiment.

"The tide is turning," Vardaro said. "It's better to work with Americans than against us." An Iraqi tip of buried weapons could mean residents of the largely Sunni region north of Baghdad are now warming up to coalition forces.

When will the DNA tests results be announced? Irrelevant.

Prediction update: Zarqawi is not only doomed, he is now a short-timer (about 77 days left) . Allah speed, villain.

UPDATE: Stone Mountain: Terrorist Target?

<<<< UPDATE: Hat tip to Molten Thought Looks like nerve gas may have been deployed by terrorists

This came to my attention informally, so pardon the absence of usual links to mainstream sources: Stone Mountain is a low-key, partially elevated park not too distant from a large, Georgia metropolis. Wind patterns in certain seasons would favor dispersion of pathological agents toward a large population. The elevation is 1683 feet above mean sea level , about double that of the surrounding area. The population of Atlanta is approximately 430,000 (2000). Atlanta elevation is 940 to 1,050 feet above sea level.

<<<<
The USN is becoming the military's lawyer central: The Navy is facing two lawsuits, filed in 1999 and 2000, by 50 Christian chaplains, saying the Navy discriminates against evangelical and Pentecostal clerics.

"I am a Navy chaplain being fired because I pray in Jesus' name," said Navy Lt. Gordon Klingenschmitt, who will be holding 6 p.m. prayer vigils daily in Lafayette Park.

Military chaplains told to shy from Jesus The Rev. Billy Baugham, executive director of the Greenville, S.C.-based International Conference of Evangelical Chaplain Endorsers, says restrictions on other religious expressions have "yet to be tested." "No Islamic chaplain has been refused to pray in the name of Allah, as far as we know. Neither has a rabbi been rebuked for making references to Hanukkah, and no Catholic priest has been rebuked for referring to the Blessed Virgin Mary." The lieutenant is not alone in fighting to pray to Jesus.

This non-defense related litigation is on top of stupidity caused by infiltration of JAG lawyers into the military's combat chain-of-command. The lawyer-heavy Navy has diminished itself in the eyes of the other services to excel in political correctness -such are the tails of the 1991 Tailhook scandal.

News Reports You May Wish You Had Missed

<<<<
The top 10 states, listed in order of the most contaminants in their drinking water, are: California, Wisconsin, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, Texas, New York, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Illinois, according to a survey by the Environmental Working Group released on today. The EWG found 141 unregulated chemicals and an additional 119 for which the Environmental Protection Agency has set health-based limits. Most common among the chemicals found were disinfection byproducts, nitrates, chloroform, barium, arsenic and copper.

<<<<
Jane's Defence Weekly reported that Iran and Syria signed a strategic accord meant to protect either country from international pressure regarding their weapons programs. The magazine, citing diplomatic sources, said Syria agreed to store Iranian materials and weapons should Teheran come under United Nations sanctions. Iran pledged to supply military aid to Syria. Jane's cited technology for weapons of mass destruction as well as conventional arms, ammunition and training of Syrian military.

<<<<
From Lone Ranger SOME Muslims Know What's Going On
"We are a nation that doesn't work. How can we develop if we don't work? When we do work, we don't do it professionally."

<<<<
Mexico Retaliates for Border Wall Plan. Angered by a U.S. proposal to extend a wall along the border to keep out migrants, Mexico has struck back with radio ads urging Mexican workers to denounce rights violations in the United States. Mexico has stepped up its series of radio spots aimed at migrants returning home for the holidays.
"Had a labor accident in the United State? You have rights ... Call," reads the ad, sponsored by Mexico's Foreign Relations Department, which has helped migrants bring compensation suits in the US.

<<<<
H/T The Sub Report: "The divorce rate among submariners is huge - about 80 per cent."
Imagine 42 men in a densely packed space for months, without privacy and no opportunity for escape. Impose rigid chain of command discipline. Then, unexpectedly introduce six women to the equation. Under pressure ....

John Conyers (Lawyer -MI)

Not a Surprise:
Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., called for Congress to censure President Bush and Vice President Cheney for misleading lawmakers on their decision to go to war in Iraq.

The Surprise (the gloves are coming off, finally):
RNC spokeswoman Ann Marie Hauser said if Conyers "spent half the time condemning terrorism that he does condemning the President of the United States, he would be a credible voice in the war on terror."

News You May Have Missed

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Molten Eagle's Honorary Naval Historian contest for 2006, can be found at famous Submarine blog here.

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The brightest star in the nighttime sky is Sirius. Did you know it has a white dwarf companion called Sirius B? It has often been suggested that the Dogon tribe of Mali knew about the unseen companion star(s) before they were discovered in the 19th century. As usual, this myth has also been debunked. Sirius' White Dwarf Companion Weighed by Hubble spacecraft.

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McCain's allies continue their bizarre distractions. Who? Russell Feingold, (lawyer) D-Wis; Arlen Specter, (lawyer) R-Penn; and Lindsey Graham, (lawyer) R-S.C. More than a GOP ticket for 2008?

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New face of terrorism in New Zealand: "Santarchy" Santas Go on Rampage in New Zealand City
Wearing ill-fitting Santa costumes, they threw beer bottles and urinated on cars from an Auckland overpass. "They came in, said 'Merry Christmas' and then helped themselves," store owner Changa Manakynda said.

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Jane Fonda's protege: Sheehan Leads War Protest in Spain

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The latest face of al-Qaeda terrorism is Abdullah Khadr, a Canadian. His immediate family had been directly involved earlier. Now, the DHS has allegedly caught Khadr aiding terrorists, too. Abdullah Khadr told investigators that he provided explosives components, specifically, hydrogen peroxide, to make mines for distribution to al-Qaeda. He allegedly bought explosives, rocket propelled grenades, mortar rounds and other munitions for al-Qaida at the request of his father, Ahmed Said Khadr, an Egyptian-born Canadian who was killed in a 2003 battle with Pakistani forces. A 16-year-old Khadr brother, Karim, lives in Toronto and was paralyzed after being shot in the battle that killed his father. Read about his sister, Zaynab too.

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Our steadfast VP: Cheney Roars Back on Spying, Torture, Iraq Obviously, "when we have a situation where we have communication between someone inside the U.S. and an acknowledged al Qaeda or terrorist source outside the U.S., that that's something we need to know. " Are any left-leaning individuals, who stepped over the line in communicating with al-Qaeda worried?
Well, they should be -Molten Eagle.

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Web Sites Let Users Send E-Mail to Future - The e-mail says, "are you wearing women's clothing?" It was sent through a Web site called FutureMe.org. Forbes.com also adopted the future in its "e-mail time capsule" recently. Messages are slated to arrive in senders' inboxes in up to 20 years. Forbes.com partnered its promotion with Yahoo! and Codefix.

Terror Cell in Indiana or Indian Reservation?

Authorities are unsure and have been anonymous. The text of an unconfirmed communication intercept was ambiguous. There are currently no American Indian reservations in Indiana.

In August, 2004, U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris of Florida made an unlikely statement about a terrorist plot to blow up a power grid in Indiana. Officials in Indiana and Washington were dumbfounded. County officials where the power grid is located were at a loss to explain where the information originated.

Harris had said in a speech that a man of Middle Eastern heritage had been arrested in the plot and that explosives were found in his home in Carmel, a suburb north of Indianapolis. Left-wing bloggers went nuts.

Coincidentally, Indian reservations are, like this al-Qaeda infiltrated region of China, somewhat autonomous, because reservations, as you know, have limited national sovereignty. Think this episode was bizarre? If so, where then would you rank Able Danger?

Find the latest developments on Able Danger from WillyShake here.

Islamic Terrorism is a Virus, and it is Inoculating the World Against Itself

Vigilis says, "Like a weakened virus, muslim thugs worldwide are helping inoculate the world, country by country, against the more potent threat of Islamic terror cells. Public reaction to the thugs has in reality been similar to production of antibodies (appropriate attitudes by freedom-loving societies) aligned against a deadly plague. "

The thugs produce more informants (among fellow Muslims), more infiltrators and more targets than could be hoped for by surveillance techniques alone. America may be among the last countries so innoculated, thanks to our senatorial apologists for Islamic terrorists, their ample supporters in liberaldumb, and the unparalleled openess of our society.

The future of freedom is brighter because of the outbursts and outrages by juvenile muslims like those recently in Paris and Sydney. Let their juvenile stupidity and unwitting helpfulness continue.

Ashamed of U.S. Environmental Efforts? No Need

U.S. ambassador rips Martin over Kyoto

During a climate change summit in Montreal last week, Canada's Prime Minister, Liberal leader, Paul Martin said the United States lacked a global conscience on climate change.

U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins warned Canada on Tuesday it risked damaging one of the world's best relationships by focusing on short-term political gain. “The last time I looked, the United States was not on the ballot for the Jan. 23 election,” Mr. Wilkins said to scattered applause. "Canada never has to tear the United States down to build itself up," Wilkins said.

"I would respectfully submit to you that when it comes to a 'global conscience' the United States is walking the walk," Wilkins said, addressing the Canadian Club of Ottawa. "And when it comes to climate change, we are making significant progress, greater progress than many of those who have been most critical of the U.S."

Molten Eagle:
Anyone doubting the relative purity of air in the United States or the scale and effectiveness of ongoing improvements to its quality need only visit the E.U. and compare their visible air pollution to ours. Even our Los Angeles basin smog has improved radically. Canada's own smokestack emission criteria generally fall, like those of other countries, well behind those of the U.S. Smokestacks in China, on the otherhand are exempt from Kyoto protocols, and continue to foul the world's atmosphere. Clearly, the envied productivity and jobs of U.S. workers are at stake, and other countries will try anything to handicap us.

Al-Qaeda at Home in Autonomous Regions

Recently, ME posted news of al-Qaeda's movement into the autonomous region of extreme western China. China does not suffer dissent lightly, so terrorists wisely selected an entry point with a large muslim population. There they are easily absorbed and least likely to be turned over to scarce, central authority.

What do you suppose are the autonomous regions of the U.S.? Rural areas, such as Lodi, a low- key town in northern California. Lodi is known as a farming town. Throughout America there must be at least three thousand towns like Lodi, where al-Qaeda wannabes blend with their communities.

Thanks to Osama bin laden's poor planning, his effective but premature 9-11 attack drew immediate security and law enforcement attention to elements, methods and patterns that reveal terror suspects almost as quickly as a camel's back reveals "Momo's" hemorrhoids.

Now, was Osama really such a poor planner, or was he tipped of Able Danger's success, too?
Would his awareness of early detection have caused him to accelerate the WTC attack and sacrifice the others? Just a thought. Has Able Danger been permanently covered up?
Where is the clamor from our press?

Why John McCain Should Not Be Trusted - PART 2

The four Democrat senators in The Keating Five Scandal are no longer U.S. senators. John McCain, never absolved of his involvement, still serves as a Republican but, with mysteriously Democrat values. The Keating Five episode ultimately cost taxpayers $2-billion (per the FDIC). Although many voters have forgotten details (linked above) of the scandal, a reminder of the giant debacle surfaced in Monday's news, after 15 years:

WASHINGTON (AP) - Congress must overhaul the system of insuring private pensions to avoid a possible savings-and-loan-style bailout by taxpayers, the head of the federal agency that backs corporate pensions said Monday.

The other four senators:

Dennis Webster DeConcini served as Democratic U.S. Senator from Arizona between 1977 and 1995.

Alan MacGregor Cranston died December 31, 2000 - A Democrat, Cranston was elected in 1968 to the first of four six-year terms United States Senate.

John Herschel Glenn Jr. from Ohio, served as a United States Senator from 1974 – 1999.

Donald Wayne Riegle Jr. Democrat from Michigan, did not seek senate reelection in 1994.

Butting Into California's Affairs & Arnold's Stones

As a firm believer in our Tenth Amendment's state's rights, M.E. makes it his general policy not to comment on matters specific to one state, especially states with a death penalty law. Exceptions arise only when others with no voting rights try to assert their influence (Hurricane Katrina, Kansas "minister" at Idaho military funeral, etc.) in a particular state.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson has now weighed in with his two cents against California's scheduled execution of Crips gang founder, Tookie Williams on Tuesday. Rev. Jackson (and others), I have voted in California's gubernatorial elections, have you?

Brother in arms, OSAPIAN at Patriotic Rants asks, "If Crips founder, mass murderer and Jamie Foxx's new best friend Tookie Williams is a Prince of Peace, as we are told by the usual suspects, why are his ganster followers threatening to kill correctional officers and parole agents in his name if Arnold Schwarzenegger has the stones (granted, a really big IF) to deny his clemency application and execute him on Tuesday?"

OSAPIAN (California) also provides an interesting Tookie Williams, an anthology here.

UPDATE: Writer Gus Van Horn tackles the issue well from a different perspective in his Clemency for a Terrorist? here.

The world needs examples, good and bad for guidance purposes. If you are against the war in Iraq, you probably argue Saddam is not a bad example. Unless you live in Iraq, your vote does not count.

If, however, you think the war in Iraq is an appropriate military reaction to global terrorism, you probably could not come up with a better example to be made (proximity to al-Qaeda, propensity to scoff at UN security resolutions, history as defiler of women and children, etc.) than Saddam. History will soon judge whether Iraqis agree with you. Who cares if all the terrorists and some lawyers disagree?

Aircraft and Rumblings Heard Before UK Oil Blasts

Several explosions at the UK's Buncefield terminal, which holds 4 million gallons of gasoline, diesel, kerosene and aviation fuel, produced an inferno. Officials warn more explosions may come in the days it takes to extinguish the raging oil fires. A 15-mile stretch of the main north-south M1 highway was closed after the blast, causing severe traffic delays before it reopened Sunday night. The blasts were so strong they were felt throughout a large part of southeast England.

This past Wednesday, a videotape by al-Qaida No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri was shown on the Internet. Al- Zawahri proclaimed, "I call on the holy warriors to concentrate their campaigns on the stolen oil of the Muslims, most of the revenues of which go to the enemies of Islam."

now, From DEBKAfile:

Witnesses reported hearing an aircraft in the area at the time of the blasts. Some also reported heavy rumbles before the explosion.

We shall soon see if Al-Jazeera reports a claim of terrorist responsibility. Hertfordshire Chief Constable Frank Whiteley said there was "nothing to suggest anything other than an accident."

That may be true. There is an unfortunate history of British oil-related disasters, including the 1988 explosion and fire on a North Sea oil platform that killed 167 workers. Later, in 1994, a blast, in Wales, injured workers and caused tens of millions of dollars in destruction.

You May Have Missed The Real Marine Barracks Story

(Originally posted at Lawyer Kickers pro bono)

Sunday morning, October 23, 1983, 6:20 AM - The deadliest single-day death toll for the United States Marine Corps since the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II. The attack remains the deadliest post-World War II attack on Americans overseas. The death toll was 220 Marines, 18 Navy personnel, and 3 Army soldiers. Scores of Americans were also injured.

A suicide bomber had detonated his truck, containing 12,000 pounds of TNT at the Beirut barracks, where the United States Marines had their local headquarters. The explosion collapsed the four-story cinder-block barracks to rubble, crushing many inside. The FBI later concluded that the blast was the largest non-nuclear explosion they had ever seen.

From Leatherneck.com (November 01 2005) DOD Lawyers and Politicians Are At It Again!

"When the suicide truck with its massive IED approached the Marine facility, the ROE (ed. Rules of Engagement) prevented the Marine guards from having rounds "locked and loaded" in their weapons. Unlike the Army guard whose quick reaction and superb aim killed the driver of the cement truck IED in Baghdad this week, the Marine sentries at the barracks were unable to respond in time."

"Grunts are being disciplined for exercising their "inherent right of self-defense" because it doesn't fit some E-ring lawyer's view of "reasonable use of lethal force."

"Two Marine officers recently returned from Iraq have lifted the Wizard's curtain, revealing that DOD lawyers and politicians (military and civilian) are a major contributing factor in the increased casualties being experienced by US forces (particularly in the Sunni areas)."

Readers are urged to read the full posting by Ellie, from which above have been excerpted.

Related: What Should We Have Expected from a Lawyer?

Global Warming: The Phoney Distraction from Real Crisis

This post has been removed and re-posted, with additions, at Lawyer Kickers pro bono found here.

Able Danger's Infrastructure: US - 413; Non-US World - 382

The existence of manmade, Earth satellites can be derived from astronomical observations, the United Nation's data base of satellite launches (major events whose registration with the UN is mandated), and public information releases by corporations, institutions, or governments. The Union of Concerned Scientists has made public its derived compilation of satellite data to spur its dialogue on appropriate uses of space.

The Russians (87), place a distant second to the U.S. (413) for satellites in orbit. The Chinese have reached 34 (including joint ventures). As Earth satellites fill the heavens, the Union of Concerned Scientists speculates. "No one owns space, so everyone has a right to know what's up there." said Dr. Laura Grego, Cambridge astrophysicist who was on a team that spent years compiling information on active satellites.

Really? No one owns the open oceans, either, Dr. Grego, but we are enjoying the fruits of liberty because honorable submariners have been lurking there for a century. Most individuals have no right to know their whereabouts.

Facts concerning unclassified satellites were publicly available from the U.S. government before 9-11. For national security purposes, individuals must now register with the Air Force to access such information, and may distribute it only with DOD permission.

The Union of Concerned Scientists opposes space-based weapons as well as weapons that target satellites from the ground. Currently, weapons of mass destruction probably exist on every continent of and in almost every ocean of our planet. Since Earth is part of a galaxy in space, it is too late to promote a weapons ban on either the planet or its surrounding space. Perhaps the real aim of the Union is to cripple U.S. military preparedness. Shame on scientists for prevaricating. Next, they will probably try to hype a global warming crisis.

Taxpayers pay dearly for our military to develope and cloak classified systems. Those who would reveal national secrets without prior, legal authorization deserve the gallows by nightfall. Let's hope these "scientists" show as much concern for taxpayers' property rights as they do for their personal, political agendas.

Meanwhile, how often have shuttle astronauts retrieved, repaired, or modified highly classified space objects ? Ask yourself the same question applied to commercial satellites? Whose joint-ventures were they? Able Danger was only one important project.

Al Qaeda's Cells in China

The begining of Islam in China is found 14 centuries ago in records of the Tang dynasty.

The Caliphate of Uthman ibn Affan, (eighteen years after the death of Muhammad) sent a delegation headed by Sa’ad ibn Waqqas to China. Sa’ad Ibn invited Chinese Emperor Yung-Wei to embrace Islam. To show admiration, the Emperor ordered establishment of China’s first mosque, the grand mosque in Canton, known, after fourteen centuries, as the memorial mosque.


Less than 15% of Muslims are Arab. Most are Asian. China’s Muslim population numbers 29 million. While this is less than 3% of China's total population, it is more than adequate for recruiting discontents for al Qaeda's exploition.

Why is al-Qaeda not a threat to China? It is now:
In November, an al Qaeda team that had been diverted from Iraq was smuggled into the Chinese border town of Kushi in the Xinjiang Uygur province. Once there, the terrorists were quickly absorbed into al Qaeda cells of Uygur muslim extremists.

Good news or bad?
Al-Qaeda terrorism is a plague –it can potentially wipe out civilized society. Although plague contagion appears to lie dormant, vectors suddenly spread it to many victims. Likewise, Al Qaeda terror cells colonize and patiently plot, aided by sympathetic hosts. Will China sponsor terror cells against its competitors? That is a distinct possibility, but not without risks. The largest risk is escape of the virus internally.

The avowed aim of Islamic radical terrorism is their worldwide supremacy.
Its virulence is determined only by the imagination and patience of its leadership network, the effectiveness of constantly updated planning, and the willingness of faceless fanatics, recruited of late over the internet, to sacrifice themselves for paradisiacal martyrdom.
Before Usama bin Laden there was Timur the Lenk (Tamorlane). This ruthless Muslim, calling himself “the Scourge of God,” led an army that exterminated 80,000 souls in Delhi, vanquished Afghanistan, and beheaded thousands of Christians in the process. Tamorlane died in 1405 at age 69. Pacification and appeasement were futile.

The enemy of al-Qaeda, like a plaque's enemy, is widespread innoculation. By spreading into China, al-Qaeda may have unwittingly helped to innoculate a greater part of humanity against itself. To attain radical Islam's primary goal of placing themselves in positions of world power, Islamists must first infiltrate, and then topple, individual governments in infidel and (non extremist) Islamic countries, one-by-one.

China would be a welcomed ally in the global anti-terrorism war. First at stake are China's hotels and lucrative tourist enemy, then its economic health.

According to the DEBKAfile, counter-terror sources affirm issuance of a terror alert in major Chinese cities.

Making Us Stronger (and others look like Idiots)

What does not destroy me, makes me stronger.
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900), German philosopher, classical scholar, critic.

As commander in chief of the Army and Navy I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense. Always will we remember the character of the onslaught against us. . . The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implication to the very life and safety of our nation.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt, December 8, 1941, “A Date Which Will Live in Infamy”: FDR Asks for a Declaration of War - FDR never mentioned Europe or the fact that Germany had by then declared war on the United States, the Pearl Harbor attack allowed him to begin the larger intervention in the European war he had long wanted.
(The Pearl Harbor attack killed 2,471 American servicemen and civilians; the official death count for the 9-11 attacks, for which world-wide al-Qaeda still claims credit, killed 2,967 Americans, not including the hijackers, and it was not the first attack on U.S. soil by radical Islamists.)

If Pearl Harbor had happened today:
Picture by Jay D. Dyson found at Sacred Cow Burgers. H/T Noble Eagle.

Submarine Algebra: Calculating the Unknown

We know one of the military's most advanced tools (submarines) for maintaining control of the seas, projecting power and conducting stealth operations is undergoing reductions deep enough to impact the prime contractor (Electric Boat Company) of the world's most formidable submarine fleet. (Yes, the Cold War is supposedly over now, although it appears China, Venezuela and perhaps a dozen other countries intend to upgrade their submarine fleets significantly, including in China's case, submarine launched, nuclear weapons.) Reductions planned have been disturbing to some of us.

Public Info: U.S. boats no longer need to prowl oceans for elusive Soviet subs. Instead, their job is providing far away protection of carrier battle-forces, cruise missile support, early warning and intelligence gathering, harbor mine clearing, Special Operation Warfare team delivery, etc. The Virginia class was specifically designed for this multiple-mission capability in mind.

Conjecture: For we of the general public, there will always be unknowns (for example), classified aspects of defense capability. Could it be that the U.S. now possesses a satellite detection capability that identifies the locations and tracks of submarines in all of the worlds oceans? If not, what other technological miracle could enable the smaller number of subs the U.S. plans to maintain in 15-20 years to perform their critical missions? (Possession of such satellite capability might tie in very well with robotic submarines whose endurance might eventually be multiples of those for manned subs).

Some will argue Occam's razor, that the simplest explanation is merely necessary defense cost cutting. That is convenient, but it assumes a Pearl Harbor like blindness to existing threats exists again in the top levels of government. Though that may not be a hard sell considering the likes of John Murtha or John Kerry, others have not forgotten the lesson of Pearl Harbor -be prepared. Just a thought.

Submarine Collisions: Strong Evidence Against Remote Viewing?

UFO's, crop circles, alien abductions (by non-islamic radicals) , remote viewing?

President Jimmy Carter, an ex-submarine officer, claimed a UFO experience,
witnessed in 1969. Carter remains the only U.S. President to have formally reported a UFO. During his presidential campaign, he promised to release the truth about any alleged UFO cover-up. on April 20, 1979, when he was attacked by a "killer rabbit" while fishing in a pond from a small boat. Carter also claimed a confrontation with a swimming rabbit, perhaps ill or fleeing from a predator, which attempted to board the president's craft.

Crop circles are a commercial fiction exposed here.

Some liberals have claimed UFO abductions,
to explain pregnancies, rationalize subsequent abortions (who really wants a space alien kid?) and relate to their state constituency and Hollywood elites.

Perhaps average citizens may recall tragic submarine collisions such as USS Greenville's, the USS San Francisco's, and the USS Philadelphia's most recently. Now, if remote viewing were a viable or reliable capability, where would it have an obvious application? U.S. nuclear submarines are equipped with all manner of secretive and yesterday's-science-fiction type equipment and training. If remote viewing actually worked, why do submarines still collide (besides the facts that there is scant visibility at operating depths, ocean charts need frequent (real-time) updating, and sonar would reveal a submarines presence and location? Note: Stanford Research Institute (now called SRI International) in Menlo Park, CA. was involved in both President Carter's UFO investigation and the CIA's sponsorship of remote viewing experiments. President Carter, in a speech to college students in Atlanta in September 1995, is quoted by Reuters as saying that during his administration a plane went down in Zaire, and a meticulous sweep of the African terrain by American spy satellites failed to locate any sign of the wreckage. It was then "without my knowledge" that the head of the CIA (Adm. Stansfield Turner) turned to a woman reputed to have psychic powers.

Why John McCain Should Not Be Trusted

In 1989, the Lincoln Savings and Loan Association of Irvine, Calif., collapsed. Charles H. Keating Jr., an American lawyer and banker was convicted of fraud in the ensuing Savings and Loan scandal.

Lincoln S&L had come under regulatory scrutiny in 1987, but four prominent, Democrat Senators, Dennis DeConcini, Alan Cranston, John Glenn, and Donald Riegle and one R.I.N.O., John McCain, all of whom had received $1.3 million (collective total) in campaign contributions from Keating., questioned the appropriateness of the investigation. These unsavory politicians became known as the "Keating Five."

The subsequent Lincoln failure is estimated to have cost the taxpayers over $2 billion (per FDIC). McCain owes taxpayers about $400 million for his participation (i.e. 1/5th) of the resulting S&L collapse. Details: The S&L Crisis: A Chrono-Bibliography

Sen. John S. McCain III of Arizona, is an opponent of tax cuts and proponent of the flawed McCain-Feingold (D) campaign finance "reform" that bashes the First Amendment. John McCain calls himself a Republican, but deports himself as Democrat. As an Independent, I and many others, consider this behavior deceptive, at best.

Exercise extreme caution in considering his candidacy for any national elected office.

The U.N. Ubiquitous Nonsense?

Is the United Nations, despite its ineptitude, and ineffectiveness also dangerous? A world governance council that is arbitrary and capricious may pose a danger to world prosperity and peace. Judge for yourself:

Saddam's trial will not be fair, says United Nations - The UN said yesterday Saddam Hussein's trial would never satisfy international standards because of ongoing violence and flaws in Iraq's legal system. (terrorists must agree, as they claim responsibility for ongoing violence).

Flaw's in the Iraq legal system, says the U.N.? What said the U.N. about this then:

"The greatest challenge will be framing the indictment: how to try Saddam for three decades of pervasive criminal activity, ...and three decades of torture, summary executions and several hundred thousand "disappearances."

or this:

"The Iraqi government has for decades conducted a brutal campaign of murder, summary execution, and protracted arbitrary arrest against the religious leaders and followers of the majority Shi'a Muslim population."

Where has the U.N. been?

An Iraqi court must sentence Hussein for his crimes before the U.S. can even consider departing Iraq. Otherwise, Saddam wins yet again.

U.S. Military Academy Retention Then and Now

Unfortunately, the traditional Army/Navy football classic, is not the biggest game being played by the service academies these days. While the exciting, Army-Navy football rivalry is usually played midway between the academies, in Philadelphia, a larger game is being played out from Washington, D.C.

Politicians encourage constituents and some of their own kin (who may have doubtful military career ambitions) to attend West Point, Annapolis or the Air Force Academy at full taxpayer expense, while incurring active duty obligations that are only 5 years beyond graduation.

As taxpayers, should we not consider serious commitment to a military career to be the first and the foremost qualification for admission to our prestigious U.S. military academies? Afterall, there is no shortage of bright, physically qualified applicants and many applicants must now be rejected.

From academy mission statements:

USNA ... to provide graduates who are dedicated to a career... (Naval Academy cost is a bargain: about $275,000 per graduate)

West Point ... and prepared for a career of professional excellence and service to the Nation as an officer in the United States Army. (West Point costs $349,327 per graduate)

Cost Guard ... professionally and physically prepared to serve their country ... (Like the other U.S. federal service academies, our students receive a full scholarship and our graduates serve in the military for at least five years after graduation. However, unlike the other service academies, there are no congressional appointments — admission is based solely on nationwide competition.)

Air Force ... to become officers of character motivated to lead the United States Air Force ... (The Air Force Academy costs $322,750 per graduate)

Retrospectives:
Remarks by Admiral Carlisle Trost ’53, U.S. Navy (Retired) - The USNA Class of 1953: ... graduated with 924 (~70%) of classmates remaining. Most served aboard ship in latter stages of the Korean War, and many served in the Vietnam War. Sixty percent of the Class was on still active duty after 10 years of service.

From Proceedings, June 2002 - Dick Behrenhausen, a retired U.S. Army brigadier general: ...the Military Academy is drifting away from the Spartan ideals that produced soldiers such as MacArthur, Eisenhower, Bradley, and Patton and marching steadily toward the ivied walls of academe, an area in which the Military Academy cannot—and should not—compete if it hopes to retain the admiration of the American people...

"Over the past 30 years, Behrenhausen said, West Point has changed its vision: from that of an academy—a place where special skills or subjects are taught—to that of a university—an institution of higher learning providing facilities for teaching and research and authorized to grant degrees. "In making these changes, it is rapidly losing its viability," he said.

"All of this has resulted in lower retention rates, which is hardly an attractive proposition for a Congress well aware that West Point graduates cost five times more than ROTC graduates do at service entry, he said."

..."he said, the (Coast Guard) Academy is pursuing excellence in support missions such as civil engineering, which are increasingly attractive to outsourcing. "

In my view, a simple solution would be to lengthen the active duty commitment 1 or 2 years beyond the paltry and meaningless 5 year obligation that now exists. In the past, applicants to military academies were, by and large, those intent on military careers. Today, for various reasons, too many applicants are intent on obtaining free, quality education under any pretenses. Retention rates are down, not because fewer candidates apply for admissions (more do), but because fewer intended to remain from the start. Not only are taxpayers being gamed, but dangerous precedents for national security are being tolerated. -Vigilis

Here is what an opposing viewpoint maintains: "with reference to the service academies, its not game to the tax payers if a guys serves his commitment and then gets out."

The Continuing Attrition of Zarqawi

Suicide bombings fell in November to their lowest level in seven months due to the success of U.S.-Iraqi military operations against terrorist sanctuaries near the Syrian border. The news is most welcomed considering today's fatal bombing of 10 U.S. Marines in Fallujah.

As attrition has taken its steady toll, Zarqawi is more often forced to use his personal staff as suicide bombers, according to reporters. In a statement put out over the Internet, al-Zarqawi confirmed that he had dispatched most of his men to carry out the Ramadi operation. Of course, there is uncertainty about whether Zaqarwi still lives, and DNA test results do not seem to have been publicized, yet. His insurgency claims he was not killed in a strike in Mosul last month (possibly underscoring their own ability to function as effectively without their leader).

UPDATE to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi Already Foresees His Own Demise: His employment problems and desperation have increased if he has started using his experienced staff for suicide bombings. Alternatively, if Zarqawi is now dead, the desperation of his staff explains their personal suicide missions lately. Zarqawi's insurgent recruiting has suffrered from financing woes, pay inequities, and recruiting what's left of a decidedly dysfunctional and indolent labor pool.

Either way, Zarqawi is not only doomed, he is now a short-timer (about 94 days) . Allah speed, villain. If you ever see paradise, it will be as its ugliest virgin.

Breaking Dutch Tradition Will Command Worldwide Attention

According to many authorities, the first navigable submarine for which reliable evidence actually exists, is the one constructed in 1620 by Dutchman Cornelius Jacobszoon Drebbel. Drebbel's was the first navigable submarine. His final model had 6 oars and carried up to 16 passengers. It was demonstrated for King James I and witnessed by several thousand Londoners, in three hours of submerged travel at depths up to 15 feet. Like modern submariners Drebbel appreciated good ale and operated an ale house in London until his death in 1633.

Today the Netherlands has announced its Royal Navy is prepared to open the Submarine Service to women. Labour representative MP Eijsink spent a week on Dutch submarine HMS Dolfijn in a trial last year and concluded that women on submarines was a bad idea: "It will lead to tensions, and that could endanger safety," she said. Nevertheless, Defence State Secretary Kees van der Knaap is expected to break the long tradition, today.

The Kingdom of the Netherlands has a fertility rate of 1.66 births per woman with a sex ratio of 102 women per 100 men. Moreover, the Netherlands is major European producer of ecstasy, illicit amphetamines, and other synthetic drugs; important gateway for cocaine, heroin, and hashish entering Europe; major source of US-bound ecstasy; large financial sector vulnerable to money laundering, according to the CIA's World Factbook.

The Dutch experience will certainly be the most interesting mixed-sex, submarine experiment to date. It will certainly command the attention of responsible governments worldwide.