The Push for Human Sacrifice in 21st Century America

In ancient times human sacrifice was an archaic habit of shamanistic cultures and mystical knowledge-men.

Today, a less sanguine equivalent is promoted as a modern con. Who must make the sacrifice? Wage earners, pensioners and utility ratepayers will. Who will rob these honest toilers? Lawyers, of course, and shaman like Al Gore. Will a derivative class benefit? Of course, those "scientists" and academics (federal grant addicts) who continually produce supportive studies will be rewarded with perpetual grant monies, while more objective scientists and academics will be cut off from further grants.

How will this burden be redistributed? Unnecessary investments in equipment will be required by utility plants (ratepayers foot those bills), corporations will be forced into bankruptcy by confiscatory legislation and contrived damage litigation, pensions will dry up, but lawyers and their shamen will be wealthier than ever. The U.S. economy will be sacrificed at the expense of payoffs by foreign entities to our politicians (particularly Senate lawyers of either party).

Those who actually make and collect these sacrifices will never live long enough to see that it had not been necessary. The coffers and political fortunes of those wielding the power, however, will be enriched by the honest toilers.

Cyclical warming and cooling has been a feature of our planet's history for at least the last 700,000 years. Warm periods may last 10-20,000 years. The Holocene that humans have been experiencing between major ice ages is now 13,000+ years old.

It is safe for charlatans to claim dire problems and require confiscatory sacrifice, because average people are ignorant of planet history and will die well before the next ice age arrives.

By now, you must have guessed that the name of the con is human-induced global warming.

What a scam. How dishonest, even for politicians!

Strangely Curious News

1. Parasitic Weed Seems to Smell Its Prey Oh, really?
Research lead by Consuelo M. De Moraes found that a germinating dodder, a rootless parasitic weed that cannot produce its own food, placed near a tomato plant headed for the tomato scent 80 percent of the time. When they put scent chemicals from a tomato on rubber, 73 percent of the dodder seedlings headed that way, too.

Questions:

Did taxpayers fund this amateurish dodder study?
A bipartisan bill sponsored by Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Barack Obama (D-IL) received final approval last week. It will help interested taxpayers track $1 trillion in federal grants, contracts, special projects and loans by Jan. 1, 2008. Currently, $1 trillion amounts to three times the federal budget deficit. Soon, taxpayers should be able to smell the green, too.

Can the fascinating study be replicated to prove the "plant smells chemically" hypothesis?

What color was the rubber used in this experiment?
This is accepted currently: Dodder germination can occur without a host, but to survive it must reach a green plant quickly; the young stem grows towards green light transmitted through nearby leaves. Not smell.

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2. Beijing secretly fires lasers to disable US satellites
China has secretly fired powerful laser weapons designed to disable American spy satellites by "blinding" their sensitive surveillance devices, it was reported recently.

Questions:

Have space wars only just begun?
The Bush administration is seeking to develop a powerful ground-based laser weapon that would use beams of concentrated light to destroy enemy satellites in orbit. The largely secret project, parts of which have been made public through Air Force budget documents submitted to Congress in February, is part of a wide-ranging effort to develop space weapons, both defensive and offensive. No treaty or law forbids such work. ...The laser research is far more ambitious than a previous effort by the Clinton administration nearly a decade ago [my emphasis] to test an antisatellite laser.

Has China deployed their high power lasers on nuclear submarines?

If not, who has?

Three Submarine Radiation Stories

I reported to my assigned sub in the relatively early days of nuclear submarining. In fact, because Red China had just tested a large weapon that released radioactive particles in upper atmospheric winds, all U.S. nuclear subs had to take an unusual precaution to prevent tracking radiation inside (which would confound normal radiation safety measurements). Unnecessary hatches are typically closed when use is not anticipated. What precaution was taken then? Contrary to a popular housekeeping myth, we never used screen doors; we simply wiped our shoes on approved doormats, however, for the next month or two.

radiation sickness noun.
Illness induced by exposure to ionizing radiation, ranging in severity from nausea, vomiting, headache, and diarrhea to loss of hair and teeth, reduction in red and white blood cell counts, extensive hemorrhaging, sterility, and death.

Submariners have good teeth. Diseased ones are fixed or pulled. In fact, perfectly good third molars were pulled to prevent impactions and infections on deployments. Submarine missions, you see, are critical. No submariner I knew of had a toothache during deployment.

What about the the other radiation symptoms: nausea, vomiting, headache, diarrhea, loss of hair, reduction in red and white blood cell counts, extensive hemorrhaging, sterility, and death? Not applicable from ionizing radiation, and cooking was generally excellent. Medically, submariners must be healthy human specimens, too, so other than sea sickness (really acute in log-hulled vessels in shallow waters) initial loss of hair was the only mild symptom. Even so, it was expected and short lasting.

Crew radiation exposure is monitored and cumulative, total rem are measured and recorded for the duration of assignments and each individual upon discharge (earlier as required) is provided his cumulative exposure.

When I was being discharged at Treasure Island during the Cold War, one other submariner was in my group. He was from a different sub. Who would expect that our cumulative dosages would have been identical to the last decimal point? We did not care, neither of us was worried about it.

U.S. nuclear submarines were safe thanks to one admiral, who fought the majority, the penny pinchers and sellouts. His name, of course, was Rickover.

Recently, the U.S. Navy reacted quickly to allay fears of a radiation leak from the submarine U.S.S. Honolulu in Japan. "The concentration of radioactivity reported in the water sample is about 5,000 times less than the naturally occurring radioactivity found in sea water throughout the world," Naval Forces Japan spokesman Jon Nylander said.

Radiation fears arise as Yokosuka prepares to permanently port the U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier U.S.S. George Washington in 2008. Local opposition to nuclear-powered American naval vessels remains a sensitive issue in Japan, which is the only country to have been victim to atomic attacks (August 1945).

Freedom from radioactive contamination was not the case for the conventional submarine (SS-305) USS Skate, however. Skate was one of the target submarines used in Operation Crossroads (Able and Baker tests) consisting of two, 21-kiloton detonations. Prior to July 1946, only three atomic bombs had ever been detonated. Bomb number one was the "Trinity Test" on 16 July 1945, in New Mexico.

Although badly damaged in the Able test, the submarine was towed back to an isolated berth in Pearl Harbor before her second test. Note the Keep Clear Danger Very Radioactive sign in the above photo. Skate in Pearl Harbor and the USS Honolulu in Japan. What a difference in contamination! The diesel sub was much more radioactive. Submarines, always silent and strange.

Human Mad Cow Disease from Shrimp (Part IV)

Right now, some of you critical thinkers are no doubt wondering: If people can really get Mad Cow (vCJD) disease from consuming shrimp fed dog food , why don't dogs get it from their own food?

I was saving the unfortunate answer for this final installment. Of relevance, the Mayo Clinic has this to say about that Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and dogs (emphasis mine):

What if my dog or cat eats pet food made with mad-cow-infected beef?

Several species can get diseases related to BSE and vCJD, including goats,sheep, mink, deer, elk and cats. Dogs don't appear to get this type of disease. Still, because cats and dogs often eat food that contains ground-up scraps of animals,including cows, your anxiety over your pet's health is reasonable.

Now, Mad Sea Cow: Mad Cow from Seafood

How seafood enters the human foodchain and may introduce Mad Cow disease.

Predators: Shrimp are eaten by many animals, including many fish, birds, octopi, squid, cuttlefish, and people. [bold emphasis mine]

Want the facts? Read this post Pet Food Prions (Mad Cow) Predicted in the Human Food Chain below.

Notes:
Sea cows are aquatic mammals that are called Manatees. Manatees have no natural predators and eat only water plants with their molars (flat teeth). The term "mad sea cow" is used only figuratively. The underlying human consumption hazard relates to shrimp (not eaten by sea cows, known as manatees).

Scientists employed or contracted by the U.S. Government have suspected a possible seafood connection since the late 1980s. Ironically, people have turned to shrimp to avoid BSE. Worldwide sales of shrimp from Thailand and Malaysia have increased - and so have prices - in part because of fears about Mad Cow disease and foot-and-mouth disease.

Pet Food Prions (Mad Cow) Predicted in the Human Food Chain

No, not from senior citizens skimping on their diets to buy medicine. This hazard comes from able-bodied younsters who legally bait shrimp with dog chow. Don't assume that they net all of the shrimp that ate their bait. Some of the shrimp will be trawled for supermarkets across the USA.

Want the facts? Read this post Mad Cow Disease from Baiting Shrimp (Forecast) below.

Mad Cow Disease from Baiting Shrimp (Forecast)

From Molten Eagle's Prognosticator (ME'sP) ...

ME'sP synthesizes information and forecasts news that few people contemplate and even fewer act upon even a year or two before his forecasted events take place. He has done it both professionally and for one close friend. The business predictions he forecasts typically come to pass from 5 to 10 years out. Eleven years after making a forecast in his personal business, he was able to negotiate a profitable deal with an established, high-tech defense contractor. Had he known (he is not prescient) that he had actually been dealing with a consortium of major international manufacturers (Fuji, Siemens, et al) his deal could have been even more profitable, but he does really not seem interested in personal wealth and still does not aspire to it. He prefers the anonymnity of a small coastal town.

Sometimes the government steps in to make certain his predictions never come to pass. Read this one and you may certainly understand why:

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is a neurodegenerative disease of insidious onset and short duration followed by death. ME'sP forecasts a transmission link to the disease from shrimp baiting with pet food that will be suspected within 5 years and may actually be confirmed inside of ten years, unless the government acts sooner.

Here are understandable portions of ME'sP's sourced synthesis which lead him to make the above forecast:

CJD Primer and source information: mayoclinic.com
When a person eats infected meat, prions absorbed into the bloodstream are carried to the brain, where they begin destroying brain cells. As infected brain cells die, prions are released to infect more brain tissue. In time, large clusters of cells die, leaving the brain riddled with sponge-like holes called Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and commonly known as mad cow disease.

It may take years or even decades for signs and symptoms of vCJD to appear, once they do develop, people succumb to the disease in 12 to 14 months, on average.

Theoretically, if you consumed enough abnormal prions and enough time passed for the disease to develop, it's possible you could get vCJD from eating infected beef just once.

Cooking beef cannot destroy prions. Prions are nearly impossible to kill, even at very high temperatures.

Pets, including cats and dogs often eat food containing ground-up scraps of cows.

Synthesis source: The Beaufort Gazette
The most popular kind of fish bait used is a mixture of clay and dry fish meal... Fishermen also use less traditional bait made from cat and dog food ... (emphasis mine)

Supplement
The popular motion picture Forrest Gump was filmed on location in Beaufort, SC. Beaufort is noted for the cleanliness of its natural estuaries and marshes as well as the pristine beauty of its still undeveloped islands. Beaufort has been a refined, cultural mecca for well-heeled foreign tourists who often sail their pleasure boats to the small city steeped in history.

The healthy marshes surrounding Beaufort contain more living creatures (shrimp and other organisms) per acre than any other area of the continental U.S. For decades the city and county fathers have carefully considered and banned most coastal development. Whenever American and Canadian tourists finally discover the overdevelopment they crave, Beaufort will be reduced to a vulgar, congested, Myrtle Beach-type destination.

In the Academy Award winning movie Tom Hanks starred as Forrest Gump, the character who eventually owned Bubba Gump's Shrimp Corp.

Recapping Incredible, Yet Important History

Best Chuck Norris Moment - 13 May. Bad Guys arrived at the government center in the small town of Kubaysah to kidnap the town mayor, since they have a problem with any form of government that does not include regular beheadings and women wearing burqahs. There were seven of them. As they brought the mayor out to put him in a pick-up truck to take him off to be beheaded (on video, as usual), one of the bad Guys put down his machinegun so that he could tie the mayor's hands. The mayor took the opportunity to pick up the machinegun and drill five of the Bad Guys. The other two ran away. One of the dead Bad Guys was on our top twenty wanted list. Like they say, you can't fight City Hall. hat tip CDR Salamander

Why who's in Congress is important - During the summer of 1941 the US House of Representatives, by a vote of 203 to 202, continued selective service and allowed President Roosevelt to retain mobilized national guardsmen and other military reservists on active duty for more than one year. Had the isolationists prevailed, and one vote gone the other way, over 500,000 men under arms --- half the strength of the Armed Forces of the United States --- would have been discharged a few months before Pearl Harbor.Yesterday's isolationists are today's cut-and-run defeatists. Vote Republican like your life depends on it. hat tip Patriotic Rants

Man-Induced Global Warming Conspiracy Losing Credibility

Colorado professor disputes global warming is human-caused - One of the nation’s top experts on hurricanes Bill Gray, who has studied tropical meteorology for more than 40 years and is a professor at Colorado State University, said human-induced global warming is a fear perpetuated by the media and scientists who are trying to get federal grants. “I think we’re coming out of the little ice age, and warming is due to changes to ocean circulation patterns due to salinity variations,” Gray said. “I’m sure that’s it.”

Gray’s view has been challenged, naturally, by those who have conflicts of interest: scientists with stakes in federal grant monies; Al Gore (who has a stake in a movie, books, and a London based investment firm ready to benefit from Kyoto type nonsense); aging, know-nothing hollywood stars like Streisand (for publicity); and the trial lawyer lobby and their congressional stooges preparing yet another avenue to steal pensions from retirees by burdening American corporations with another avenue for spurious litigation largesse.

See the jagged chart above? Notice the cycles of short warming and longer cooling events (ice ages)? What evidence is there that mankind influenced these irregular cycles? Was the human population ever significant hundreds of thousands or a million years ago?

USA TODAY reported on June 15, 2005: Evidence is underwhelming -Don't give into global alarmists, whose intents are questionable.

James M. Inhofe's report is a short article well worth the reading. Some highlights: Despite the lack of a scientific consensus to warrant such measures, climate change alarmists — in the heat of the summer for the scariest effect — are promoting mandatory caps on carbon dioxide emissions in the USA. It's a classic case of “ready, fire, aim.”Wharton Econometrics Forecasting Associates estimates that the costs of implementing Kyoto would cost an American family of four $2,700 annually. UPDATE Two international leaders once described Kyoto's intent.

Margot Wallstrom, the European Union's commissioner on the environment, said Kyoto is “about leveling the playing field for big businesses worldwide,” and French President Jacques Chirac called it “the first component of an authentic global governance.”

MIT professor Dr. Richard Lindzen sums up the current state of affairs best: “Science, in the public arena, is commonly used as a source of authority with which to bludgeon political opponents and propagandize uninformed citizens. … A fairer view of the science will show that there is still a vast amount of uncertainty — far more than advocates of Kyoto would like to acknowledge.” Based on that uncertainty, our constituents hardly need “global governance,” but they do deserve responsible governance at home.

Trojan Transport for AIP Submarines

Recent Announcement: Ultramodern Diesel Submarine To Be Tested In Russia
"The submarine is notable for its high combat capacities, fair speed and cruising range. Saint Petersburg is able to stay underwater without refueling for 45 days." For export, not under ice.

Cutaway of Amur sub in transport-tender Zephyr al Yemini (a juicy target). The transport vessel features an interior docking well for AIP-sized subs and provides a disguised helipad.

Saint Petersburg's Nominals
Endurance: 45 days
Speed (submerged): 27.6 knot (sprint est.); 6.3 knot stealth
Crew complement: 35
Max depth: 984 feet
Propulsion: AIP oxygen-hydrogen fuel cells
Screws: 1
Submerged displacement: (est.) 3400 tons
Armament: Six tubes; 18 torpedoes / cruise missiles
Length 220 ft
Beam 23 ft
Draft 21+ ft

Pros
Quiet
Reduced Crew

Unannounced and Hypothetical
Manning (no haitability or relief issues)
Transportability yields time on station of up to 39 full days at unlimited range
Repairs, relief crew, stores, fuel and munitions eliminate return to port except for extraordinary maintenance or refitting (multiple transport-tenders required).

This arrangement would be no match for U.S. AIP submarines serviced by nuclear submarine mother ships (former SSBNs). - Hypothetical, of course.

Of Mortality, and One More Islamo-Fascist Tactic Backfire

Mortality: Lab Test 'Tarot' Predicts Death

"We found a variety of combinations that predict mortality, but certain combinations appeared frequently," Gruenewald tells WebMD. "Typically these were markers of immune activation, including CRP. And also stress hormones." [emphasis mine]

The findings appear in the Sept. 19 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Islamo fascism Backfires: U.S. Adopts Tougher Policy in Guantanamo
GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba -- The military is toughening a new jailhouse for suspected al-Qaida and Taliban militants to protect guards after a spate of attacks and evidence that detainees have organized themselves into groups to mount uprisings, officials said.

...traffic cones [had been] placed in hallways during Muslim prayer time, so guards would know not to interrupt praying detainees. The council has been disbanded amid suspicions it was coordinating resistance efforts. ...Leacock said that while the prayer cones are still used, the experiment of allowing a detainee negotiating group is definitely over. "The council of six is no longer in session," he said. full story

Tossed Salad Signals: Is Spinach Safe?

Another example of the web's potentially superior accuracy and timeliness over mainstream reporting (think fast, Popeye, which of these do you trust?):

this one:

Spinach & E. coli: Questions & Answers; (Web MD; Updated 9/22/2006 10:55:05 PM)
Q. Can you trust fresh spinach that's locally grown, such as spinach from farmers markets?
A. Until further notice, the FDA advises people not to eat fresh spinach from any source, including supermarkets, restaurants, and farmers markets.

or this one?

WASHINGTON (AP) - (September 23, 2006 at 1:30:16 PDT)
It's safe to eat spinach grown outside California's Salinas Valley, federal health officials say, and the leafy greens could return to produce shelves in a few days.

buried further down in the same article, however,

"The public can be confident that spinach grown in those non-implicated areas can be consumed and industry is working to get spinach from these areas back on the market," Acheson told reporters.
"I anticipate it will be fast," he later said of that process. "Whether it will be three days, four days - I don't know. That will be an industry determination."

America's Latest Infestation: JAG Lawyers Seek to Dominate "Chain of Command"

From Attorney EagleSpeak. Captain (1115),USNR (ret). Vietnam, Desert Storm & Balkans service, in his Sept. 19, 2006 The development of the "Combat Defense Lawyer" (excerpts):

As each trooper in the 82nd lines up a shot at a terrorist aiming at him, one set of the 666th CDAB attorneys will file a motion with the Combat Field Judge asserting that the trooper is about to violate the rights of the jihadist at whom he is aiming. The trooper's counsel will point out the imminent danger faced by his client and will assert "self defense" - meanwhile, the jihadist is blazing away at the trooper, ignoring the temporary injunction papers being waved at him by the Combat Marshal.

Other members of the terrorist group are gunning down members of the 666th Brigade as they try to present their business cards and establish an attorney-client relationship. Eventually the terrorists run out of ammunition only to discover that their AK-47s have not come close to being able to damage the American military as will the legal system about to invoked on their behalf by American law.

....EagleSpeak commenting on BRENDAN MINITER's Wall Street OpinionJournal September 19th piece, When Miranda Met Osama Will terrorists get lawyers the moment they're captured on the battlefield? Read it all here.

Interesting facts about the numerical proliferation of JAG lawyers in the combat chain of command since daya of the Continental Army are available here Parasitization of the U.S. Military and at sources linked there.

Parasitization of the U.S. Military

Detainees [at Gitmo] use envelopes from their attorneys to pass protected messages. Nearly 1,000 lawyers represent 440 prisoners, allowing 18,500 letters in and out of Gitmo this past year. Guards are not allowed to look inside the envelopes due to "attorney-client privilege" - even if they know the document inside is an Arabic-language note from one prisoner to another prisoner. source A Deadly Kindness, RICHARD MINITER, NYPOSTONLINE.COM.

Senior Judge Advocate Generals want to share intelligence secrets, including identities of undercover agents and highly sensitive electronic eavesdropping information with terrorists. As a group, lawyers deplore any secrets which they cannot control (attorney-client privelege, workpaper doctrine, etc.) or access.

Lawyers have used the war on terrorism to increase their numbers in the Judge Adcocate General (JAG) corps. The proliferation of military lawyers is at an all-time high, with Army JAG strength 10 percent larger [emphasis added] than it was at the end of the Cold War. The three senior JAGs for the Army, Navy and Air Force, (the TJAGs), covet three-star rank. Larger corps of military attorneys might justify a higher, command rank. Legislation to establish three-star rank for TJAGs was proposed this year, but failed without Pentagon support. source Inside the Ring, Bill Gertz and Rowan Scarborough, September 15, 2006, The Washington Times

JAG Background Notes:
Gen. George Washington founded the U.S. Army JAG Corps in 1775, with his appointment of William Tudor to Judge Advocate General. The Continental Army never had more than 30,000 men (attorneys 1: 30,000). The U.S. Army JAG Corps is eldest among the armed services and constitutes the oldest surviving law firm in the United States.

The Judge Advocate General is one of the few positions in the Army explicitly provided for by law (Title 10 of the United States Code) which requires a distinct appointment. The Judge Advocate General, now referred to as TJAG, serves a four-year term. Major General Scott C. Black, appointed in October 2005, is the 37th TJAG.

Currently, the University of Virginia School of Law is authorized by Congress to award a Master of Laws degree. The Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School has ABA accreditation separate from UVA. Judge Advocates from all five armed services of the United States and international students attend the annual Judge Advocate Officer Graduate Course in which the Master's degree is awarded. In addition to educating new Judge Advocates, the Legal Center and School also provides continuing legal education for Judge Advocates and lawyers throughout the U. S. Government.

Some 2,000 full-time, judge advocates and civilian attorneys serve in the Army's Judge Advocate General's Corps alone. In 2004, there were about 485,000 soldiers on active duty. At the (1 :30,000 ratio of the Continental Army, there would be all of 17 attorneys). In addition, approximately 5,000 more attorneys serve in the US Army Reserve and National Guard. source - Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Army

In 1967, Congress established the JAG Corps within the Department of the Navy. The legislation was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson that year. By 2001, there were 740 active duty judge advocates in the Navy.

Curious News

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The Jehova's Witness Relocation Program (protection program) is safer than the federal witness protection program at a fraction of the cost. Unlike the federal program, it requires no name change to assure no one recognizes the obituaries of former witnesses.

Prospective clients must agree to relocate to New Orleans (formerly St. Louis) and wear these T-shirts at all times. Rather than providing a job under false identity, the efficient program is privately funded and costs only a fraction of the income it generates. Tithing and church attendance are required, however. Apparently few take these individuals seriously or want to get to know them. Details are sketchy and no details are really available.

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Gore says tax pollution, not payrolls (The "Breathing Tax")- NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore on Monday suggested taxing carbon dioxide emissions instead of employees' pay in a bid to stem global warming. The Gore tax would replace all payroll taxes, including those for Social Security and unemployment compensation, Gore said. He said the overall level of taxation, would remain the same. Gore also claims in: Global Warming an Immediate Crisis , "... that venture capitalists are eager to put money behind effective technologies to cut greenhouse gases. "

What Gore forgets to admit is how much he personally profits from such venture capitalism. He has a financial conflict of interest. In fact, his interest in the recent movie An Inconvenient Truth, could be offset by production costs claimed as advertising/marketing for his investment company, based in London. Shameful, really shameful, but not illegal. Gore also conveniently forgets his new tax would amount to a tax on breathing, as the human respiratory (our lungs) remove carbon dioxide from our bodies as we exhale.

Al, please get an advisor or a non-metallic thinking cap.

****
Why having 28 times more lawyers than any other country on Earth works for the U.S.: They hold down many jobs for the taxpayers. Moreover, they can apparently handle multiple jobs without even showing up to work (no-show, government jobs). Bryant has been referred to as the "king of double dipping" by a newspaper in southern New Jersey because he collects salaries from four public jobs in New Jersey. Between Byrant, his two brothers, his wife, his son and his sister-in-law, the family holds 10 public jobs in New Jersey and earns almost $700,000.

Lets put more lawyers in Congress (note: requires that they first identify themselves as such). Why elect any?

Muslim Calendar: Main Event of 2006

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, are you watching this? Despite heightened censorship of world news in Iran recently, rest assured your educated populace and liberal movement understand the significance of this world's first. Any anal-retentive imams must be stewing over it. ("Her trip has received limited attention in Iran, although a few days before she was scheduled to blast into space, an Iranian TV channel aired a 70-minute interview with her.) source

A photogenic American Muslim female of Iranian heritage, Anousheh Ansari, is ready to become the world's first female space tourist, first Muslim female, and first Iranian in space tomorrow. Unlike Sharia-confounded Imams, Ansari is guiding other Iranians along the path of progress by example. Her spacesuit, in fact, displays the Iranian and American flags. Her hijab and nikab were long ago shed and she is in the international space station without a Sharia chaperone.

After emigrating to the United States in her teens, she went on to earn a bachelor's degree in electronics and computer engineering from George Mason University. Her master's degree in electrical engineering from George Washington University followed. The ride will cost Ansari about $20 million. A price she can certainly afford.

Mr. Ahmadinejad, Allah willing, womankind and Muslimkind take one of their largest steps in history on George Bush's watch tomorrow. Peace.

Why "Islamo Fascism Insults Islam" is a Totally Hollow Argument

Islam seems almost perpetually insulted. We are now accustomed to it.

Who is making the argument that the term Islamo fascist is perjorative toward Muslims, however, and why is it a hollow argument?

It is hollow because we do not hear Muslim outrage over the insult done their peaceful religion by murdering Al Qaeda terrorists. How then, can we logically believe so-called, peaceful Muslims who seem to find no insult whatever to their religion from its violent, terrorist offshoot?

Who in the perpetually outspoken and protesting Muslim world tells us loudy and clearly that Islam is offended and insulted by Al Qaeda? Where is that protest? Silence. Absent.

Islam's perpetual rants and blatant hypocrisy offend me sorely. But I will forgive them this much: some protests regarding the term Islamo fascism seem political in nature and are being made in this country by non-Muslim lawyers (Democrats) in muslin suits. If this man is elected, things change rapidly. Here may finally come a congressman, Keith Ellison, who will have to speak for Islam.

Three things may come of Ellison's successful election. If he harbors any support for Islamic terrorists, he will lose office and political career in two years. If he attempts to straddle the fence like Ibrahim Hooper has, he will further define the indecisveness of the Democrat party. If he speaks out against Islamic terrorists, of course, he will set a tone for Muslim citizens that has been missing and engender healthy debate.

The Real Submarine Outlook: Abysmal or Mindboggling?

In 1912, when the U.S. had about half the submarines as the fast attacks it has today, the Navy was building 13 new ones.

As we knew, the Navy notified congress that it must reduce crew complement to save dollars for its 30-year, 313-ship (48 submarine) construction plan of 8.9 ships per year (268 through 2035). The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has serious doubts over the adequacy of such savings considering historical overruns, associated construction needs, nuclear refueling and current ship modernization programs.

The CBO countered with 5 options it felt were more viable. These are stark (abstracted from: Incredibly Shrinking Navy, Part III, Bob Rawlins [Capt. USN-ret], Universal Ship Cancellation Society Log -9; September, 2006) simplified below:

1. Reduce submarines and other ship programs by up to 40% (to seven carriers from 11, for instance, and delay CVN-21 over ten years). Only 217 ships by 2035.

2. Reduce by almost 50% the submarine fleet, Burke-class DDGs and ampibious force ships, (and cut carriers to 7) but increase Zumwalt DDGs, CGXs and LCS (82 vs. 55).

3. Keep 55 attack subs. (Cut carriers to 8, cancel Zumwalt DDGs and CGX cruisers, and reduce amphib force by 50%).

4. Keep 30 subs (Maintain 11 carriers and 13 amphibious ships, but cancel Zumwalt DDGs, 11 of 19 CGX cruisers, and cut LCSs to 40 from 50).

5. Keep 30 subs. Deploy two MPF (F) sea-basing squadrons of 12 ships to support large overseas operations. (Cut carriers to 7, cancel Zumwalt DDGs). Build 55 fire-support versions of LPD-17 class.

For more information Resource Implications of the Navy's 313 Ship Plan here (see particularly pages 10 and 11).

The good news? Submarines, always silent and strange - Forget the CBO recommendations! Tango Bravo submarine designs will render Virginias and current SSBNs designs obsolete within 10 years. Crew size reduction satisfied by advanced AIP boats. Transit and loiter time of AIP boats satisfied by submerged replenishment of fuel, stores and necessary crew members by nuclear mother ships (converted SSBNs). Two mother subs for Pacific, one for the Atlantic. The balance of seaworthy SSBNs will be evaluated for conversion to new SSGNs using RATTLRS or sucessor when the new SSBNs currently planned allow phased retirement of today's. The RATTLRS will reduce maximum time to target from the two hours for a cruise missile to tens of minutes.

Now, why would we really need to build more than 2 submarines a year prior to 2012? Electric Boat has even proposed building eight $1-billion subs for Taiwan. These could be leased by the U.S. (not count toward CBO's recommended maximums, but repossessed if necessary). There is much more, for later.

Apparently, WWIII has already started. Again, submarines are being designed to carry a large responsibility for prosecuting it.

Submarines are always silent and strange.

Curious News You May Have Missed 14-Sept-06

1 of 4
Kyoto-Inspired Carbon Trading Hikes Electric Bills for German Consumers
contrasts with CBS's earlier cheerleading for a similar plan in California.
...the average German consumer also loses, with “wholesale electricity rates” going up “25% to 60% in the past few years. [Emphasis added]
...“It’s a nutty thing that they’ve done, and it’s going to have a lot of costs” passed on to the consumer, Ebell concluded of the Kyoto-inspired “greenhouse gas” legislation signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-Calif.).
full story Wall Street Journal Hat tip: Old Gary

2 of 4
The stuffed reindeer had apparently gotten out of hand so 6-year-old Kevon Gorham, who wants to be a police officer, handcuffed one of his favorite toys.
...three firefighters arrived and tried soapy water and a bigger pair of bolt cutters, but again to no avail. story here

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Robert Davis’s book Christian Slaves, Muslim Masters.
...enslavement of untold numbers of European Christians by the Muslims of the North African shoreline currently under the sovereignty of Algeria, Tunisia, and western Libya. The phenomenon had its greatest flourishing in the 16th and 17th centuries, but continued to the early 19th century... even American sailors were captured and enslaved in the early years of the Republic — a contributing cause of the Barbary Wars. Synopsis By John Derbyshire Hat tip: Teflon

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Lawyers Wield Their Extortion (Threat of Lawsuits), Again
Another Taxpayer-reimbursed Money Pot Created
Lawyer Kickers pro bono

Predicting Bad News for Either Islamo-fascists or Democrats

Why would this be bad news for Islamo-fascists: Democrat Could Be 1st Muslim Congressman?

“There are four things which are faasiq (corrupt) and may be killed at all times, whether one is in a state of ihraam [for Hajj and ‘Umrah] or not: kites, crows, mice/rats and mad dogs.” - Narrated by Muslim, 1198. source

In America, Islamo fascism is now faasiq. Its practitoners, supporters and enablers are vermin (fuwaysiqah). But in America we have had no significant Muslim speak out against extremism. Ibraim Hooper, spokesperson for CAIR, is a bureaucrat who has zero religious following in the Muslim community, nor does he have any political influence since he was never elected to office.

Islamic religious leaders of national stature are absent from a key discussion. Can we name even one? Here may finally come a congressman, Keith Ellison, who will have to speak for Islam. He will not be able to avoid doing so. As the the first African-American elected to federal office from Minnesota and the first Muslim to serve in Congress, the press will grant him national notoriety hanging on his every word. He may have more of a chance to reconcile and heal a growing rift within the Muslim community than Senator Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. (D) IL.

Three things may come of his office. If he harbors any support for Islamic terrorists, he will lose office and political career in two years. If he attempts to straddle the fence like Ibrahim Hooper has, he will further define the indecisveness of the Democrat party. If he speaks out against Islamic terrorists, of course, he will set a tone for Muslim citizens that has been missing and engender healthy debate.

Molten Eagle normally makes a policy of no comment upon political activities in other states. This one will have national significance, however. Good or bad, we need a guy like this (not to be construed as an endorsement of lawyers in any political office), in my opinion. You may disagree.

Weinmann Submarine Espionage: Unraveling a Mystery

The Navy has charged Petty Officer 3rd Class Ariel J. Weinmann (USS Albuquerque deserter) with attempting to provide representative(s) of unidentified foreign government(s) classified information relating to national defense, and destroying a laptop computer stolen from his submarine that was loaded with classified information. He will face court-martial Nov. 13 on spying and other charges.

The Navy said Weinmann visited Bahrain in March 2005 in an "attempt to communicate, deliver or transmit" the classified information to "a representative, officer, agent or employee of a foreign government." Months later, the Navy said, Weinmann deserted his submarine for more than eight months to travel to Austria [Vienna] and Mexico [City] to "communicate, deliver or transmit" the information to a foreign government that is NOT Israel.

QUESTIONS (Please, do not expect direct answers from me. I am glad Weinmann has been caught and am anxious for verification of more facts by the free press. You may better appreciate the facts disclosed to date when you line up and they finally kick you like a mule.):

1- Israel is not on this list of foreign embassies and counsular offices in Bahrain. Which countries that are on it currently operate submarines?

2- Which countries would be 'worst case' nightmares for the U.S. in the Weinmann case?

3- Why would Weinmann go all the way to Bahrain to divulge classified information (onboard Albuquerque), his sister lives in Canada, so he had a perfect reason to travel there on leave.

4- Did Weinmann divulge something he did not have prior to his assignment to the USS Albuquerque. Since he could have divulged MK-48 ADCAP information during prior attendance at FT school, what else might it have been?

Possible CLUES:
+ Weinmann's father claims the family IS NOT JEWISH. The press has been silent on this matter, so far, so perhaps they are just lapsed Lutherans or something.

+ The Navy confirms that Israel WAS NOT the country involved in receiving Weinmann's misgotten goods. That confirmation raises bigger questions, of course.

+ There are several good evidentiary and even diplomatic reasons the Navy would probably want to keep the case under wraps (4 months, including confinement to the Norfolk brig). Perhaps there could be a more sensitive, non-diplomatic reason, as well. Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) special agent Kevin Burke, who questioned Weinmann over nine days after his arrival in Norfolk from Dallas, said the sailor was found with dozens of computer files containing biographical information "at the classified level." Crew biographical data possibly. Examples of basic, biographical data are found on ID (dog) tags.

Did you let your imagination run wild? Does your conclusion fit this? If not, do you think it is a fabrication? The article mentions that Weinmann enlisted in July 2003:

More...
Ariel Weinmann is reported to have been featured in an April 2003 Statesman Journal article wherein he expressed interest in foreign languages and said he planned to study Russian to become a translator.

Was Weinmann spying for Russia? Could be, but it's not the likely conclusion I reached, either.

B2's and the Public's Opinion of Submarine Service

B2 aka Badbob, or Badbobusnret, as he sometimes signs himself, is probably one of the good guys. Casual googling indicates B2 is probably a retired naval officer of rank O-6, or above. Prior to December 2005, it was my honor to have him comment on several of my own posts, as well as credit me in his comments at Neptunus Lex.

Recently, Badbob summarized his and probably the public's unflattering opinion of the U.S. submarine service. His gratuitous comment was made here at Chapomatic: "BTW, if it wasn’t for the heads/beds issues, there would be plenty of women aboard subs. What safer place to be in a modern war that requires technical skills? It ain’t CAPT Beach’s WWII force anymore."

Is Badbob right? Is he a former submariner? No matter, there are too many submarine officers and petty officers who may agree with Badbob. This may help their careers, but in the longrun it will harm the submarine service. Let me present an opposing opinion.

First, forget the heads and beds issue, although it would be a problem. Nuclear submarines are heavy metal and radiation exposure environments. In modern industry, OSHA and NIOSH standards limit longterm exposure of working women of childbearing age to either (and that does not even consider "upset" conditions during which exposure may become acutely hazardous). Exemptions for military service? Forget it. How many of you oldtimers remember all the loose hair in your combs the first few weeks after reporting aboard your first nuke? It was common and expected. Does it still occur on newer boats?

Secondly, while today's submarines are fantastical compared with those of Capt. Beach's WWII day, the volunteers should not have changed, unless the Navy has relaxed standards recently.
Surface ships are not enduring the assaults of Capt. Beach's day either, nor are millions of combat troops. The truth is, most males could not qualify for submarine service if they did volunteer. Why? Forget the intelligence requirements, the battery of psychological tests is restrictive for good reason. I have been on a sinking submarine (almost lost). Not one soul panicked. After returning to port, however, our CO suffered a heart attack. Does that tell you anything? Stresses on a submarine are as bad as it gets. We had a nuke go crazy (sedated and reassigned) after a practice MK-45 struck our hull adjacent to the rack where he had been sleeping. As a nuke, he had not been through several of the submarine fitness tests. prior to assignment.

The battle element that Badbob considers missing is missing for the time being only. Are modern submarines safer? Their designs have been upgraded, but so have the array of weapons to be used against them, including the most deadly -espionage. The lives of the crew are at risk of collisions with uncharted seamounts, other submarines and an unforgiving environment. The stresses are there all of the time. Sleep is interrupted by drills that would thoroughly freak out most people the first time. They are repeated endlessly and so intertwined with real dangers that the crew responds the same to either.

There are hundreds of ways for a modern submarine to be sunk, including those that sunk the Hunley three times. None of that has changed. While submarines have some creature comforts, I have to mention the reason many WWII subs were air conditioned was to assure better equipment function and crew performance in the tropics.

Unlike aviation and combat troops who return to base for shower, sleep and phone home, submariners may deploy for months of life in a narrow tube. There is no phoning home, receiving mail or taking a long shower (already discussed the sleep). Want to throw females into an environment like that and expect to maintain the same ultra-high level of performance?

Submariners certainly understand inter-service rivalries. Implying that submarine volunteers are less stalwart than traditional combat troops is simply contradicted by history as recent as the past 36 months. USS San Francisco, USS Philadelphia, USS Albuquerque, etc. exemplify points made above.

Last time I heard, submariners still rated hazardous duty pay, and our potential enemies were upgrading their submarine fleets. I am glad Badbob kicked us in the wake up region. There is a lot at stake here. No one in the military works longer hours in a more stressful environment of daily sacrifices than attack boat submariners.

Al Qaeda's Greatest Performances are Unintended

If infidels wished to expose the primitive mentality of radical Islamists as a primitive virus, they could not have hired a better PR outfit than Al Qaeda itself. Who else has helped the entire world make that connection?

Al Qaeda operatives must practice their dastardly acts. Even suicide bombers must be trained with duds. How does this work with nuclear bombs? Should we expect an accidental detonation with such complex devices? Perhaps, and it would be Iran's second nuclear accident.

Although Al Qaeda must train to perform adequately, rarely do infidel countries allow AQ the opportunity to utilize the same training twice.

It also has to be frustrating for Islamic extremists to have to use an American like Adam Gadahn in their latest video. What image does another Californian kook in a robe cast upon Al Qaeda? Gadahn, the immature, jobless underachiever.

Sentiment has finally turned against lingering pretense that political correctness applies to intolerant muslims myopically challenged by their jihadist worldview: PRIME Minister John Howard recently repeated that he had no need to apologise for telling Muslims they needed to embrace Australian values.

The more successful Al Qaeda believes its progress, the more the world will relegate its members into the margins of civiliztion. Has Al Qaeda earned respect. Only the respect we accord rabid animals. In the end, the only treatment available is to quickly quarantine and unceremoniously dispatch the poor animals.

While not curable, Rabies is preventable, and we must thank Al Qaeda for rapidly spreading its equivalent message of cure and prevention around the world. We are impressed by the depth of AQ's planning. To unwittingly inoculate the world against itself must require the thought process of a virus.

proto- Allah Insults Islam - Two Thumbs Down

Regarding the film United 93 :

"Proto-Allah obviously was not willing."

"Proto-Allah suckbar!"

"Proto-Allah worshipers suckbar! Proto-Allah enablers suckbar!"

Above quotations courtesy of Juan Caruso al Humacao, self-described, modern Islamist.

Proto- \Pro"to-\ [Gr. prw^tos first, a superl. fr. pro` before. See Pro-.] 1. A combining form prefix signifying first, primary, primordial; as, protomartyr, the first martyr; protomorphic, primitive in form; protoplast, a primordial organism; prototype, protozoan. [1913 Webster]

2. (Chem.) (a) Denoting the first or lowest of a series, or the one having the smallest amount of the element to the name of which it is prefixed; as protoxide, protochloride, etc.

Submarine Mystery: K-414's Deadly Fire

Named for Prince Daniil Moskovsky, youngest son of Alexander Nevsky, K-414 Daniil Moskovsky is a Project 671RTM Schuka (NATO: Victor III) submarine of Russia's Northern Fleet. Victor IIIs have 8 or 9 compartments and 25 or 26 have been produced since 1991 with perhaps 4 still in service.

On September 6, 2006, an onboard fire broke killing two sailors.

Bubblehead got an early lead on the story (when does that guy sleep). He says, I'll wait for all the misleading initial reports to get sorted out before I try to figure out if the Russians are lying or not about this.

His statement is prudent and telling. We are talking silent service after all. Does the truth ever get told? According to BH's report, a Northern Fleet spokesman said, Our initial information is that the fire broke out in a power distribution panel in compartment No.6." As stated earlier, reliable sources differ on how many compartments these old subs even have (drawing). These are after all, military stealth vehicles on very, very stealthy missions. There are ample reasons not to publicize unnecessary details about operations or capabilities. Too many specifics can lead experts to excellent guesses about both.

The best reason not to believe initial reports, however, is that simpler explanation are always attempted first (not only by the Russians), and more complex explanations emerge as necessary to better contain the story, which finally becomes words to the effect that's our story and we are sticking to it only when the top of chain of command says so.

Please, do not expect me to update this for all of the eventual iterations of related news and official reports. For reasons stated, this is my one-shot summary of the mystery. Adding to Admiral Masorin's statements I dissect below, I must note his disposition must be very sour.

The timing of the latest tragedy is embarrassing for the Admiral who, only a few days earlier, boasted to the press: Our country is still capable of building combat ships without outside assistance and there is no doubt it will be in the future.

DISSECTION OF STATEMENTS (from the article reported by Submarine News editor esryle):

Wednesday night [submarine fire], was a result of a technical failure, the navy commander said.

Technical failure indicates root causes other than outright equipment failure. Was the fire attributable to flawed design or faulty operation? The commander wants us to believe "technical failure" also includes criminal "violations of navigation rules" (see last quote below). Clearly, it does not.

Two additional clues are found [emphasis added]:

(1)
"Masorin said the submarine, commissioned in 1991, missed its repair deadline, but its service life was extended as it was in good condition."
(missed its repair DEADLINE, but its service life was extended)!!!

(2)
"Military prosecutors launched a criminal investigation into the incident, looking into possible violations of navigation rules. Investigators are working at the Vidyayevo base."
(criminal investigation)???

Submarines are always silent and strange. In this case, the cover up helps explain why.

Nuclear Weapons Outside the Box: One Interesting Submariner

Here is one interesting submariner...

You may have heard of Tom Marzullo, the columnist/physicist/educator who is a former US Army Special Forces combat soldier and US Navy Submariner with special operations experience for both services.

Tom is also author of interesting opinions including Outside The Box: Unconventional Attacks Using Nuclear Weapons. You can read his article (not overly long) right here, and add your own comments.

Hat tip: Submarine News

Curious: Aussie Admiral Pushes Nuclear Sub Fleet

The former head of Australia's submarine team, Rear Admiral Peter Briggs, and one of that nation's top security analysts, Allan Behm, argue that emerging security imperatives will require Australia's defence forces to respond to "short-notice contingencies" over the next 15 to 20 years, with the assistance of nuclear-powered submarine fleets.

Political posturing? Why now? Suppose another country expects to have some servicable nuke subs to lease to allies several years down the road (circa 2012)? Bringing up the issue now forces the loyal opposition to go on record stating that nukes would be nice, but are too costly for Australia. Later, the leases appear to be bargains.

In fact, Opposition Leader Kim Beazley, architect of Australia's Collins-class submarine program as defence minister during the 1980s declared his party's opposition to any move by the Howard Government to develop a nuclear power industry in Australia. Leasing avoids that problem nicely, too.

Australia would still have one major problem. The Sydney Morning Herald said "The navy has such a shortage of engineers and marine and electronic technicians to crew its submarines, it has been forced for the first time to recruit straight off the street." In a more telling story from The Age Company Ltd. "In a bid to ease problems recruiting submarine crews, the navy will introduce in July a system allowing civilians to apply to join the submarine arm directly. Until now submariners have been recruited from volunteer seamen and women in the navy." Underlying psychology (Australia's potential male recruits): Why volunteer for forced celibacy in a job that females now do? Answer: The young males do not volunteer; glamour has been compromised. For married submariners, moreover, the divorce rate among submariners is huge - about 80 per cent, the Aussies report. Not everyone is happy. A male submariner states that the women are only being introduced for public-relations purposes.

Guess who is the Admiral behind females in Australia's submarine crews? Admiral Briggs, of course. No worries for women of child bearing age in a potentially radioactive and heavy metal environment, hmmm!

Couric or Bush? "A submarine could take this place out.'"

The sentence was quoted in this derogatory hatchet job book by Sidney Blumenthal, former senior adviser and aide to President Bill Clinton.

Whoever made the comment obviously posesses both gravitas and military knowledge. Was it Katie Couric or President Bush? Couric has neither. President Bush said it, according to Blumenthal.

Blumenthal recalls a November 2004 visit by Bush and his political guru Karl Rove to the William J. Clinton Library on the banks of the Arkansas River. Making a courtesy stop for the former president, Bush was in a hurry to attend to more pressing White House business and no doubt regretted detouring to the backwaters of Arkansas at that moment.

"Bush appeared distracted and glanced repeatedly at his watch. When he stopped to gaze at the river, where Secret Service agents were stationed in boats, the guide said: 'Usually, you might see some bass fishermen out there.' Bush replied: 'A submarine could take this place out.'" the New York Daily News quotes him, as stating in the book. (ANI)

Hat tip

Al Qaeda's Greatest Performance: What the Gang That Can't Wait Does Well

If infidels had wanted to expose the viral mentality of radical Islamists in particular and the enabling mentality of Muslims in general, they could not have hired a better PR outfit than Al Qaeda itself.

What Al Qaeda lacks in patience it makes up in drama. Can you recall a crew of misfits (since Watergate) that took themselves as seriously as Al Qaeda leaders?

The Muslim world, which has underwhelmingly apologized for Al Qaeda's intolerance or extremist worldview, has been harmed badly by AQ's excesses. The entire non-Muslim world, more resolute than ever, will soon have been inoculated against harboring, tolerating or encouraging the Sharia-lawyer wing of Islam. AQ leaders will die without achieving true martyrdom, AQ's Saudi financiers will die without ever seeing a Caliphate, and its Wahhabi elements will be forced underground for another 2 or 300 years of abject dormancy. More importantly, converts to Islam will be fewer and of lower quality than ever before. The Muslim religion may finally wish to redefine itself to be what it has falsely claimed - a tolerant religion of peace.

Sentiment has finally turned against lingering pretense that political correctness applies to intolerant muslims myopically challenged by their jihadist worldview:

PRIME Minister John Howard today said again he had no need to apologise for telling Muslims they needed to embrace Australian values.

Religious sensitivities by a few European democracies have been raised for Muslima, nevertheless. Muslim women booking into British NHS hospitasl can now respect [my emphasis] their religion by wearing a burka-style gown. In Italy, hotels at Riccione (resort on Italy's Adriatic coast east of Florence) will create an all-female beach for Muslim women. Sound like concessions? Not to everyone. Both instances underscore gender bias: these women are not priveleged by their religion, they are enslaved by its demands that females endure more discomfort than men. This may be the hidden reason dumb brunet jokes are so rare (inadequate irony).

Al Qaeda operatives must practice repeatedly their dastardly acts. Even suicide bombers must be trained with duds. How does this work with nuclear bombs? Should we expect an accidental detonation with such complex devices? Yes, probably Iran's second nuclear accident.

Al Qaeda must train to perform adequately. Yet, rarely do infidel countries allow AQ the opportunity to utilize the same training twice.

It also has to be frustrating for Islamic extremists to have to use an American like Adam Gadahn in their latest video. What image does another Californian kook in a robe cast upon Al Qaeda? Gadahn is an immature, jobless underachiever. AQ would do better to allow the world to hear from or see his muslim wife (maybe not).

When terrorists or even so-called non-terrorists like D.C. Sniper John Muhhamad commit their terrorist acts on American soil, their final resting places will inevitably be found. It will be the likely goal of some visitor to assure such graves receive proper extremist unction. Do not look for subsidy from a Saudi prince for help with this task, however. Your favorite veternarian or abatoir may help for free. For city folk, the cause may be pricey, but its available here.

Worst Imaginable: Baghdad or Backyard?

What separates street crime and terrorism? Before answering, consider the methods and societal impact of organized crime in America. In its hayday, organized crime assured peaceful, clean neighborhoods in its own neighborhoods.

The F.B.I. defines terrorism as the unlawful use of force against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population or any segment thereof, in the furtherance of political or social objectives.

Underlying purpose, then, is supposedly the identifying distinction between organized street crime and terrorism. But, to intimidate or coerce ... the civilian population or any segment thereof erases that distinction more than a bit.

Capital Crime Wave Threatens Tourism (AP)

"If you keep mugging people on the Mall, you're going to mug our economy at some point," said Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, the District of Columbia's nonvoting member of Congress.
Since May, there have been several highly publicized attacks _ including holdups on the mall and the slashing death of a British political activist in Georgetown. Last month, a jewelry store worker was critically wounded in the upscale neighborhood after being shot during a daylight robbery.

The police chief declared a citywide crime emergency in July, giving him more flexibility to shift officers' schedules.

The U.S. has a major problem with the security issue in Iraq: Violence Grows, Killing 52 Iraqis, in Face of Security Plan (New York Times). The security issue in Iraq and crime issue in Washington, D.C. are related issues. Capitol businesses and government officials worry visitors aware of the D.C. crime wave (robberies and slayings at tourism sites) will absent themselves.

If capitol police cannot deter crime in the city of our national government, how is the U.S. to help Iraq deter terrorism? The solution to both problems is the same -no shortcuts. Place convicted felons in an environment like Mexican/Turkish prisons. Word will get back.