Sub History.... (all answers) Silent and Strange

For brotherhood of submariners and their guests:
In 1931 a leased, U.S. submarine "Nautilus" attempted a research expedition under the Arctic ice cap. There were accidents, delays and suspected sabotage. On the return voyage, the crew scuttled the ship off the coast of Bergen, Norway. About 27 years later the nuclear submarine Nautilus completed a submerged, 1830 mile voyage under the Arctic ice cap.

What was SSN-571's direction of travel? Skimmer difficulty level answer: See this map

11 crew members received what at the North Pole? Nuke difficulty level. ans. dolphins.

And now the hard part..
What antique documents were carried onboard during SSN-571's voyage?
Honorary Naval Historian difficulty level. ans. selections from the Hunley papers -surviving 1860's documents relating to the first, successful, attack submarine for whose designer (and interim commander) the lead ship (AS-31) of Hunley class tenders was named in1959 .

First correct answerer(s) will be confirmed with ample praise.

Bothenook was remarkably fast and first with accurate answers to the first two questions. He also mentioned the Nautilus's PUC. Here's the skinny: -- A gold block letter N was authorized for wear on the Navy Presidential Unit Citation awarded to the crew of the USS Nautilus (SSN 571) for service between July 22 and August 5, 1958. Bubblehead clarifies the PUC further: every crewman who served on the boat thereafter got to wear the PUC while they were assigned; even the tour guides serving on her now get to wear the PUC ribbon.
Submandave guesses documents associated with Peary's famed trip to the North Pole in 1909.
That would be logical and it may be true, but I have not been unable to verify it. Bothenook
just verified Peary logs for Submandave. Congratulations, Dave, You Are An Honorary Naval Historian! What antique documents (hint: older than 1909) were also onboard during Nautilus's polar voyage? We'll give that another day.

Terri's Gift and Husband's Book Deal Requires Her Death

Terri Schiavo's gift to humanity will either be a miracle for the world, or a tragic wake up call for American citizens. Her husband's lawyer (= paid liar) noted how peaceful she looked during involuntary starvation. Hopefully, this man will witness eqiuvalent peacefulness of his fellows' starvation in Hell.

Tonight CBS let us follow the money trail. Of her husband's original, $1.5 million malpractice settlement less than $50,000 remains. What a coincidence, just enough for final expenses. Terri's death allows the final chapter of a 15-year, legal battle to be written. Look for a million dollar publisher's advance (probably not directly to the husband --too obvious) to a lawyer, or a journalist who then kickback. Look for a prominent publisher of biographies.

Global Warming: The Fraud You Can Understand

With little more than 100 years of direct temperature data and all of that recorded during only the current, 12,000-year warm period between two ice ages, scare mongers would have us believe they can forecast global conditions for the next hundred years. How arrogant! If your favorite scientist had details of only yesterday’s global temperature record, how accurate would his/her forecasts of the global high temperature be for tomorrow? (Statistically insignificant). When the Global Warming lobby says they forecast record high temperature, ask them how old their record is (<110 years) , and how 110 years compares to the last 100,000. Want more facts? Read my March 24th posting below.

Global Warming: Claptrap

Definition: Global Warming – gradual rise in the average surface temperatures of the oceans, earth and air to higher levels than ever before recorded.

FACTS: Daily temperature records were not maintained regularly before 1895. Reliable measurement and recording were still not available in most of the world until much later.

Based on sporadic, temperature readings and more rare CO² measurements for the past 110 years, some politicians with the help of “selective science” forecast a dire future for mankind. Details of the forecast have now been revealed. A synthesis of current academic studies, it was presented in February 2005 to the international conference on climate change at UK Meteorological Office headquarters in Exeter by its author, Bill Hare, of Potsdam’s Institute for Climate Impact Research, Germany's leading global warming research institute. Here are excerpts of the worst:

World temperatures are already 0.7C above the pre-industrial level. In the next 25 years - as the temperature climbs to the 1C mark, some ecosystems will start to feel stress. Tropical highland forests of Queensland, which contain a large number of Australia's endemic plant species, and the succulent karoo plant region of South Africa, for instance. In some developing countries, food production will start to decline, water shortage problems will worsen and there will be net losses in GDP.

When the temperature moves up to 2C above the pre-industrial level, expected in the middle of this century - within the lifetime of many people alive today - that serious effects start to come thick and fast, studies suggest. Substantial losses of Arctic sea ice will threaten species such as polar bears and walruses, while in tropical regions "bleaching" of coral reefs will become more frequent - when the animals that live in the coral are forced out by high temperatures and the reef may die. Mediterranean regions will be hit by more forest fires and insect pests, while in regions of the US such as the Rockies, rivers may become too warm for trout and salmon.

In South Africa, the Fynbos, the world's most remarkable floral kingdom which has more than 8,000 endemic wild flowers, will start to lose its species, as will alpine areas from Europe to Australia; the broad-leaved forests of China will start to die. The numbers at risk from hunger will increase and another billion and a half people will face water shortages, and GDP losses in some developing countries will become significant.

But when the temperature moves up to the 3C level, expected in the early part of the second half of the century, these effects will become critical. There is likely to be irreversible damage to the Amazon rainforest, leading to its collapse, and the complete destruction of coral reefs is likely to be widespread.

U.S. lawyers, environmentalists and their natural, political allies at home and abroad find it economically more attractive and parasitically mouth-watering to pursue the wealth created by the disciplined labor of others, than it would be to perform and honest day of labor themselves.

There are some severe problems for such politico-lawyers and their environmentalists, however. One should be very obvious to the average citizen:

With little more than 100 years of temperature data and all of that during only the current, 12,000-year warm period between ice ages, scare mongers would have us believe that they can forecast global conditions for the next hundred years. How arrogant! If your favorite scientist had details of only yesterday’s global temperature record, how accurate would his/her forecasts of a record high temperature be for tomorrow? less than 1/100 of 1 % (Statistically irrelevant)

A more severe obstacle, however, is well known to professional climatologists. Ice ages recur with regularity, but at an imperceptibly slow pace during millions of years. We are currently in an “interglacial” warm period called the Holocene between the previous and the next ice age. The Holocene has lasted some 10-12,000 years already (longer than several others). Nothing in climatology is absolute, however. During the Holocene there has even been a “Little Ice Age ” that devastated European crops. It is thought to have been caused by volcanic eruption. Volcanoes may produce more CO2 in a major eruption than mankind normally produces in a decade. More major volcanic eruptions can be expected.

Political Connotations: Human activity, primarily those connected with increased generation of CO2 are claimed to be the root cause of global warming. The most productive nation in the world (U.S.) is largely to blame. Widespread, industrial smog is visibly worse in Europe than in L.A. The U.S. spends more than any other country making air cleaner EVERY year. All this despite U.S. LAWYERS' fees (30 to 60 percent of the Superfund has gone to lawyers' fees and "transactions").

Are we going to listen to a political party dominated by LAWYERS with their “expert witness” scientists or are we going to heed real professionals familiar with a geological record of hundreds of thousands of years? Your call, of course.

What You Did Not Know

The headline reads: Water Everywhere, None To Drink? NASA May Have Answer It is purified urine, of course. Not only is Marshall Space Flight Center now testing a unit to recycle this valuable liquid on the space station, but trailer-mounted units could soon be headed to Iraq and larger ones to southeast Asia. The latter is important because recent tsunamis "polluted" many streams in the watershed with ocean salt. Since this has been discussed and prototyped for several decades now, the only real news may be NASA's intention to deploy the current technology.

What many of you probably did not know, however (and I learned firsthand working for a large pharmaceutical manufacturer) is that urine collected from the Japanese army in the 60s and at least during the 70s was considered the purest, most economical source of pharmaceutical grade urea on the planet. That's right, after processing, it went into lots of pills sold everywhere in U.S. pharmacies. All medically appropriate and with no cause for alarm whatever outside of religious fanaticism perhaps. You may wonder why the Japanese army was so pure? Homogeneous people with its well-disciplined army on a strict diet (at least back then). Kanpai!

Bacon Bits, the UN, Organized Labor and Al Qaeda

Humor is certainly ironic, but not all irony is humorous. Two, deadly serious headlines may
offer unintended pause, but remember, no humor is being claimed (and with apologies to my non-radical Islamic friend):

Annan Drafts Changes For U.N. (March 20, 2005) From The Washington Post Company- Secretary General Kofi Annan has proposed adopting a tough treaty that would punish suicide bombers .... according to a confidential draft of a report on U.N. reform. blog: Let's see how the treaty punishes dead meat........ Bacon Bits perhaps? It gets better.... From the Apr 26, 2000 Issue of Bacon Bits: "International Guidelines for developing Standards have been drafted by the Codex Alimentarius Commission of the FAO (Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations)".

Suicide bombers strike in Tashkent (July 31, 2004) - From The Age.Com (AU)
blog: No doubt members of some Amalgamated Low - Quotient And Expendable, Deranged Assasins union. Is this union's membership going to hell in its members' very own hand baskets. Kind of puts a new spin on the term "organ"-ized labor. Dues may be outrageous, but their leadership has promised them paradise............................. (the contract fine print), Allah willing.

Harvard Promotes Using Volunteer Attorneys as Prosecutors

This WISTV article is a good example of how fast we are regressing in blind acquiesence of our court system to the monopoly "ofthebar." In a well-intentioned move Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and The Council For Excellence In Government have recognized a program in South Carolina allowing volunteer attorneys to prosecute criminal domestic violence cases in local court jurisdictions lacking government prosecutors. Currently, application is limited to cases that would have been prosecuted by the investigating police officer instead of a trained lawyer. Who knows what steps will be taken next to have foxes guarding the henhouse. Trusting trial attorneys to act in pure prosecutorial fashion (no influence peddling or kickbacks) is potentially disasterous for the state. More importantly, it desensitizes the public to the independence and conflict of interest required for the appearance of fairness. Here Harvard has applauded SC's program as "innovative" and is considering awarding SC a grant. Read about South Carolina lawyers (#1) in my March 10, 2005 post under Kingpins Part II: Pablo Escobar or Members Ofthebar. Wow, appears to be a total breakdown of due process!

Japanese Sub Wreck Found Near Hawaii and 1999 Thriller Presage Anthrax Terrorism

Keep your eyes on modern, terror ramifications of this development. Last Thursday, a research team from the University of Hawaii located the I-401, submarine of the I-400 Sensuikan Toku class, the largest built before 1960's FBMs. At 400 feet long and nearly 40 feet high they carried crews of 144. The Toku submarines were designed to carry three "fold-up" bombers that could be assembled for flight in minutes. I-401 was captured a week after the Japanese surrender in 1945. Its mission reportedly was to drop rats and insects infected with bubonic plague, cholera, typhus and other diseases on U.S. cities from its aircraft. Now, Japan is one of our staunchest allies in the terror war.

Speaking of which, THE TIGER CRUISE -1999 by former USS Montpelior sailor Richard Thompson is very ironic (coming 2 years before 911), 205-page thriller. I purchased an autographed printer's proof (on ebay) for my submarine library. The CIA unleashes everything in their power to track a Russian sub, then realize anthrax is actually stored on a stealth mini-sub. Islamic radical sympathizers and apologists will definitely not like this book.

Two-Year Anniversary Hasan Akbar UPDATE

Well, looks like I became a victim of the notorious muslim name-spelling variants. Sgt, Hasan Akbar's recent news was pointed out to me by Bubblehead. Spelled "Hasan Akbar" not Asan Akhbar, however. Although updated news is available, it has strangely not been picked up yet by most of the media, which seems to indicate a coordinated blackout effort. The latest interesting news link is the March 4, 2005 News 14 Carolina article. Hasan Karim Akbar (born Mark Fidel Kools) made another court appearance when his lawyers tried to block evidence the prosecution wants admitted. His attorneys say certain autopsy photographs will prejudice the jury. One picture shows a victim wearing his combat boots with blood all over his body. Prosecutors also want several statements in Akbar's diary read to the jury. But some of those statements were written in the early 1990's, before Akbar enlisted.

Jury selection is scheduled to begin in April. Akbar, 33, could face the death penalty, if he's convicted... "Fry" may not be the politically correct term for his just sentence, Allah willing,
as it implies cooking in one's own bacon fat to most Kentuckians.

Lawyers as Parasites (Infestations Ofthebar and More)

More and more attorneys are joining their parasitic peers as their numbers increase (over 7 million in the U.S. alone according to YourCongress.com or about 6% of our 125 Million workforce are law grads) and competition for jobs in politics, courts, government, industry (executives at all of the fortune 100 and every major insurance company), grant-recipients (not-for-profits), lobbyists, and litigators increases. Like the criminals they protect, such lawyers will do almost anything to reap dollars other than an honest day's work.

These people did not attend law school to serve mankind (although oddly, some state Trial Lawyer's Association ads state they are there "To help you"). They want to live large without
lifting a finger to produce like honest folk. Kevin O'Hanlon did an AP report today "Lawsuits over disabled-access law unfounded, business owners say": http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050318/BUSINESS/503180578/1060

Long story short, one judge is suggesting ..."a large number of ADA lawsuits are frivilous actions by a small number of disabled people and their lawyers." One litigant had filed 200 ADA lawsuits in just a few years, most of them using the same attorney. The suing paraplegic left the impression that he is a "professional pawn in a scheme to bilk attorney's fees" from those being sued. Another wheelchair-bound plaintiff brought 400 lawsuits since 1998, demanding up to $4,000 a day until the business is in "compliance." He then agrees to out of court cash settlements which include attorneys fees and more. When organized crime used such tactics, it was called "extortion," was illegal and prosecuted. Isn't it wonderful that the new capos of organized crime are attorneys, their shakedown schemes although extortive are not illegal and never prosecuted. You may want to read the earlier blog "Kingpins Part II - Pablo Escobar or Members Ofthe bar for examples of errant lawyer sentencing. What happened to the death penalty for drug kingpins?

Have you noticed the increasing number of businesses conducted by convicts not smart enough to stay out of jail? Such businesses are very clever schemes to defraud elderly people (usually of their life savings). To my knowledge, lawyers have yet to be connected with one of their clever prison schemes. When it does (if it has) it will be covered up by a compliant media and condoning judges. Any sentence would be minimal (a "white collar" offense for lawyers) with probation most likely.

Ever noticed lawyers suing phyicians for malpractice if things do not go right? Do you think lawyers are ever sued for malpractice when things do not go just right? Ha ha! These are the nobles of America. They have created their own class of de facto exemptions. If you think we need more lawyers and lawyer-politicians, it is the best career choice for your children. A day of major reckoning is looming, however.

With your help, all this will change. Think twice before voting for a lawyer of either party.
Corruption of the profession is widespread, self-serving and embodied in the U.S. political structure at every level. It got out of control when pensions for congressman became too attractive for the lazy to pass up.

Next time: Harvard Move Will Erode Prosecutorial Independence

Two-Year Anniversary News Blackout?

This Sunday marks 24 months since Sgt. Asan Akbar (born Mark Fidel Kools) of the 101st Airborne Division's 326th Engineer Battalion allegedly fragged Capt. Christopher Scott Seifert, 27 with a deadly grenade that wounded 15 others.

One grenade went off in the tactical ops command center of the 101st Division's 1st Brigade at Camp Pennsylvania 1:30 am, May 23, 2003. Names of wounded were not immediately released, however, a newspaper photo of the 1st Brigade's commander, Col. Frederick Hodges, showed him with blood on his uniform and his arm in a sling. FOX NEWS reported the original AP story March 24, 2003 http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,81898,00.html. Has anyone seen or heard more recent news developments in this homicide? Surely justice is needed. Where is the military's disciplinary example? Will the perpetraitor (intentional spelling) face military court martial, a section 8, or be turned over to the Iraqi/Kuwaiti justice system... ? Anyone?

Answer to Mike Taibi question in prior post: (c) he's a journalist and law school graduate

Kingpins Part II: Pablo Escobar or Members Ofthebar?

The following examples are by no means exhaustive examples. Please do not get me wrong, I know we have many lawyers of impeccable integrity. Some are members of my own family.

We need good, honest lawyers in this country. It looks like we have so many lawyers that the bad ones are creating a terrific PR headache for the others, both professionally and politically.
Suppose judges (politically appointed lawyers) like to think they are highly esteemed pinnacles of their chosen profession. (Not very hard to believe, is it?) Suppose public perception of the legal profession is regularly tarnished, however. Would judges lean toward leniency for rotten lawyers, if that helped control the PR damage?

Here are some actual cases for you to consider:

# 1 No kingpins here?
Ex-prosecutor, others plead guilty in SC drug case (Columbia-AP) Feb. 18, 2005 - South Carolina attorney general's office announced that three lawyers pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine……..they can all complete their probation in two years if terms of their sentencing are met. A non-lawyer was named a fugitive in a related indictment carrying a 25-year sentence… (blog: Would lawyers who had already conspired to distribute cocaine also have conspired to testify against a non-lawyer for reduced sentences…)?

# 2 Definitely no Kingpin here?
Ex-prosecutor's guilty plea caught State Bar unaware (Enric Volante, ARIZONA DAILY STAR)
Arizona’s State Bar was unaware that attorney Lourdes Lopez had pleaded guilty to fraud until it learned about it from news reports Lopez resigned as prosecutor for Pima County Attorney's Office in August 2002. A federal judge dismissed the charges after Lopez got in no further trouble and complied with conditions in her plea agreement.

# 3 No Kingpin Even here?
Ex-prosecutor faces 11 charges (LINDA FRIEDLIEB, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette April 12, 1997) A federal grand jury in Little Rock charged Dan Harmon, 52, of Benton, businessman Roger C. Walls of Sheridan and Sheridan attorney William A. Murphy with violating the Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organizations Act.

According to the indictment "In reality, the defendants operated the Seventh Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney's Office as a conduit to obtain monetary benefits to themselves and others, and to participate in and conceal criminal activities,''. Harmon faced one charge of racketeering, two of possession with the intent to distribute cocaine hydrochloride, four of conspiracy to extort money, two of conspiracy to manufacture drugs, one of witness tampering and one of retaliation against a witness.
In 1999, U.S. District Judge Stephen M. Reasoner sentenced him to eight years in prison, ordered him to pay $16,000 in restitution to victims of two extortion schemes and fined him $25,000.

# 4 No Kingpin Even here?
Indictment Charges Former Justice Official, Others With Racketeering Jun. 5, 1995 - The government charged three criminal defense lawyers, including a former, high-level, Justice Department official (Michael Abbell) and 56 others with being members of a racketeering enterprise and participating in the conspiracy that allegedly imported more than 220 tons of cocaine, a charge that carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison.
The 161-page indictment also alleges that the three lawyers and three other lawyers who have previously pleaded guilty "prepared false affidavits, delivered drug money to pay legal fees and warned clients of pending charges." In addition, they were charged with helping to launder drug proceeds, hindering prosecutions, fabricating evidence, intimidating government witnesses, and revealing the identity of an informant who investigators say was later murdered by cartel hitman. Abbell was sentenced to 87 months' imprisonment.

Do you see any pattern of trial lawyer corruption and sentencing leniency yet?
These lawyers did not see much either: Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick said in a statement that the attorneys' action in the case "goes far beyond zealous representation of a client."
Senator John Kerry (D-MA) said only it was inappropriate for Abbell to be "providing expertise to major cocaine traffickers that he obtained while he was working for the U.S. Justice Department."
Note: Criminal defense attorneys even complained that the last case highlights troubling breeches of attorney-client confidentiality by the government (Saundra Torry, "Defense Counselors Say Probe Attacks Lawyer-Client Relationship," Washington Post, June 6, 1995, p. A16).

Is enough publicity given to cases when lawyers are caught? Could this be due to media bias and links to a certain political party that is lead by the “trial lawyer/criminal defense attorney” profession? Do punishments fit the crime? What would your punishment probably have been in each case?

Does the legal system cut lawyers a “professional break? Are lawyers now to be treated as a special class of citizen? Lawyers in general have a duty to report unethical conduct. Whether they have to report on themselves is another question.

Contemplating "Kingpins"

Tell the truth. If old enough to have first heard the term "drug kingpin" in 1988, when Title 28 C.F.R. 26.3 became the law of our homeland, did you ever imagine that kingpins would be elusive foreignors instead of clandestine domestics? Had you ever heard of Pablo Escobar? Importation of any illegal commodity in heavy demand enriches domestic financiers. Who are they? Try to name even one. Their return on the underlying investment must beat bank rates, yet where does it go?

A former prosecutor has written an interesting book about Jimmy Hoffa's murder (I Heard You Paint Houses, a 2004 best seller by Charles Brandt). You probably missed this book -it was trememdously overshadowed by last year's election cycle. Read it before Hollywood botches the movie. Find out not only who did Hoffa, but who did JFK and why. Heck, even learn why Ramsey Clark was appointed US Attorney General, forcing his Supreme Court Justice dad to step down due to the conflict of interest created. What a son he was! You will also hear confirmation of political links to organized crime and mob links to undercover U.S. operations. What you absolutely will not find out is who was issuing instructions to Russell Bufalino. Hint: not some mafioso in Sicily. Are you starting to form your big picture?

Fast forward to 2005. Lawyers comprise 36% of the U.S. House and 53% of the Senate. (Why is it so difficult to find out who is a lawyer*?) We almost had two more lawyers as head of our Executive branch! Lawyers control a major political party and have stealth operatives in the other one. Don't forget...100% of the Supreme Court and the lower courts are already and ALWAYS lawyers. The U.S. electorate is not yet convinced that lawyers' access to power needs to be minimized due to conflict of interest. More on that, later...

Question of the day: *Mike Taibi is a...
a) journalist
b) lawyer
c) journalist and lawyer
d) neither
e) don't care (I 'm a Yellow-dog Democrat)

Answer will be given later.

Next Time: Pablo Escobar or Members Ofthebar?