The So Silent it is The Mute Service? - Part 1

Submariners are familiar with the term silent service, as well as strong rationales for prevailing national secrecy on related topics.

There are presently 42 countries that own and operate naval submarines. Three years ago, there were 45. Those interested in serious collecting of their submarine insignia may want to read some caveats and finer points by Steve Jones, Commander, United States Navy (Retired), first. (Disclosure: Years ago I used to be an active insignia collector, myself).

Our minds are full of all that we hear about submarines. Even stories about Venezuelan and Iranian submarines, for instance, have been written about in recent weeks and months.
We have even heard recently about Taiwan (Republic of China Navy) submarines.

We do not hear much about Cuban subs, however, because as of a few years back, Cuba's Navy no longer had any. We should add Syria to that category. But, what does it mean when a country, a NATO member no less, operates submarines that we rarely, if ever, hear about?

Something very good. To be continued ...

What If: No radioactive threat after fire at submarine in Severodvinsk

Itar-Tass reported No radioactive threat after fire at submarine in Severodvinsk

A fire that broke out on a submarine that is being scrapped at the Severodvinsk shipyard poses no radiation threat, spokeswoman for the Zvezdochka shipyard Tatyana Shcherbinina told Tass Thursday.

This is very good news! Consider that an organization whose shipyards seem regularly unable to prevent sinking, setting ablaze and polluting its waterways with nuclear submarine hulks still manages to prevent the even more difficult and important task of containing the spread of radioactive contamination. How is it that a radiation leak is prevented by the same organization that permits the other casualties? Are the journalists biased? Thank goodness jounalists must be universally certified in minimal competency requirements for the subjec t matter they report.

The heavy nuclear powered submarine "Akula" (Typhoon) series number 713 has been scrapped. Good work! (Unofficial artist's rendering depicted with apologies to my slavic friends).

Dispelling More and Less than Meets the Eye

A US nuclear submarine arrived in Gibraltar for what is believed to be a "recreational visit" to the Rock. M.E. Comment: Join the silent service for exotic recreation during time of war? - A very doubtful, but familiar cover story. That is not to say submariners do not deserve and partake recreation when actually available.

Details of its origins and name have as yet not been disclosed. The submarine [is] berthed at the Z-berths in the south mole. M.E. Comment: Submarines are stealth platforms. Details of their travels and operations are very rarely revealed. I added this article's suggested hull numbers to the submarine's photo as an aid to identity. Even so, who really knows which sub is there?

From Arrival of United States Nuclear Submarine on Gibraltar upsets local ecologists again:
The USS San Juan is said to have collided with another submarine last March, after which it was considered lost for some 12 hours. M.E. Comment: This deserves no serious comment; instead, I added the submarine version of a car finder to a mast in the photo.

From US nuclear submarine in Gibraltar:

Its presence is also, claim maritime observers, likely to cause some concerns in relation to the plan to extract fuel from the stricken cargo ship New Flame within port waters. Original plans made public last week by Minister Joe Holliday had indicated that the vessel might be pulled into the South Mole once made safe, where the fuel would be extracted. The presence of a nuclear submarine [‘these floating bombs’] in the area would add further security risks which would need to be assessed if such plans were to go ahead. M.E. Comment: The description 'floating bombs' equates dedicated submarine volunteers with feeble-minded, Islamist suicide bombers. Such slanderous drivel deserves no serious comment.

Remember, submarines are always silent and strange.

Submarines: "Loss of Sea Legs"?

Approximately half of the astronauts in the U.S. space program have suffered from space sickness.[5]

The most recognized theory for the cause of motion sickness is that it is an ancient defense mechanism against neurotoxins.[6] The brain's area postrema induces vomiting when poisonous effects are detected, such as feeling but not seeing motion (for example, in a ship with no windows). The inner ear transmits a sense of motion while the eyes transmit a lack of it. As a result of the conflicting signals, the brain concludes that one of the signals is hallucinatory and possibly due to ingestion of poison (astronauts may be most familiar with excess alcohol consumption; for still others the cause may be toxic mushrooms or spoiled foodstuffs). The brain's best defense is to induce vomiting to eliminate the supposed toxin.

Motion sickness or kinetosis is variously referred to as seasickness, carsickness, carsickness, simulation sickness, airsickness, or space sickness. Dizziness, fatigue, and nausea are the most common symptoms of motion sickness.

A legendary submariner had this to say:

...Take, for example, the trip across the English Channel. No other water journey causes an equal amount of suffering. The most hardened traveller becomes seasick there. - John P. Holland (April 22, 1901)

- Holland, John P.,"The Submarine Boat and its Future," North American Review, December 1900.

After WWII, Submarine Medecine Practice proclaimed this:
18.7.4. Ship's motion.
Seasickness is caused by periodic acceleration on undetermined receptors in the inner ear. Certain factors as the type of ship and state of the sea are important, and the fact that most of the submarine crew are crowded below decks while the ship is on the surface might be contributory. The submarine's roll is believed to be gentler in comparison to surface vessels because of its round hull and its low transverse metacentric height. The ship motion is dampened below the surface; below periscope depth there is almost no sensation of motion except in the presence of violent seas. An interesting phenomenon which has been described is the loss of "sea legs" during long submergence periods, and a greater incidence of motion sickness upon surfacing than before the dive. [color highlights added]

I have to take issue with both of Submarine Medecine's observations: ... [a] submarine's roll is believed to be gentler in comparison to surface vessels ... and never did I get seasick after prolonged submergence. Am I wrong? What are your own recollections?

Seasickness was a major problem in heavy seas before reaching the continental shelf. Afterwards, it was no longer a factor surface or submerged. On sea trials, for instance, the mess deck was awash in vomit. The odor alone would cause most of the people who had to come through either hatch to puke involuntarily. One of five in the control room watchstanders had barf bags at the ready.

After sea trials, most got their sea legs. Still, motionsickness in a rolling vessel with its log-shaped hull is the pits. Possible preventative: (this worked, and I can only guess it has something to do with the astronaut status mentioned in the first sentence) a few beers the night before always worked. Of course, this was not always possible.

Understanding the Drivers of Modern Current Events

Well, this happened Friday (August 24th) and warning was heralded here 9 days earlier on Wednesday (August 15th).


What is the connection to global warming, you say? Due to the extreme load (13 people) whose average weight was improperly unquantified prior to the tragic flight (would females have stated their actual weights, even if asked?), and the very warm (unusually so) ambient temperature, propane heaters were overloaded to create necessary balloon "lift".



What happens when heaters are overloaded? Look at the picture.



Something else is afoot. My prediction of it will kill this ruse, however, and that is fine by me, because it is merely the next shameless con by our Hollywood-trial-lawyer establishment to bequeath victory on the undeserving.



Here is what WebMD has to say about Restless Leg Syndrome. Here is what some doctors say about it from Wikipedia Many doctors express the view that the incidence of restless leg syndrome is exaggerated by manufacturers of drugs used to treat it. [2]


Consider the implications for a 2008 presidential candidate, whose inscrutable tolerance of her former spouse's (oval office promiscuity, perjury and subsequent disbarment) behavior will handicap her chances of victory. But wait! They ARE LAWYERS. Their closest friends and most magnanimous supporters are lawyers, too. What is it that lawyers do?


They are paid to provide their clients with the best possible defense. (it does not have to be real, only plausible... definition 1 : intended for display : open to view 2 : being such in appearance : plausible rather than demonstrably true or real ). Suppose Hillary, a close family member afterall, was aware of her husband's malady, RPS? Victims of disease are not entirely responsible for the symptoms induced, are they? What are the symptoms of RPS? Like Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS), RPS is a poorly understood, often misdiagnosed, and believed to be a neurological disorder. Like restless leg, by age 50 RPS symptoms may cause severe nightly sleep disruption that can significantly impair a person's quality of life. Sensations lead to walking discomfort, sleep deprivation, and stress.


While Restless Leg Syndrome effects both males and females, Restless Penis Syndrome obviously only directly effects males.


To the lawyer at Kos: Sorry, you will have to do better than RPS. No, I did not invent RPS. YouTube had a video back in July. WARNING: Republicans will be offended.

What's Next: Submarine Road Rage?

Published in April 3, 2000: (CAUTION read the last paragraph before opening) Should the Navy assign servicewomen to submarine duty? Good submariners require sociability, high emotional development, lower aggression levels, compliant physical features (i.e., height, build, etc.), and acute common sense. [empasis mine]

Were the authors of this statement submariners, naval historians, or arrogant liberal-leaning academics? Where the heck did such garbage originate?

Authors: J. Michael Brower is a Vermont writer. His previous assignment was at the Pentagon with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Financial Management and Comptroller), Army Business Practices Directorate. He is currently at the Department of Justice, Immigration, and Naturalization Service. source (sounds like another lawyer to me)

and Elaine Donnelly is President of the Center for Military Readiness, an independent public policy organization that concentrates on military personnel issues.

Responding to a comment by Nimne to his New Submarine Documentary Tonight , Bubblehead stated: ... Regarding female submariners, I remain convinced that the biggest opponents of allowing females as submarine crewmembers are the current submarine wives...

What can the alert midshipwoman above be thinking? Ex-astronette Nowak was accused of pepper spraying her love-triangle rival in an airport parking lot. That certainly leaves doubt about the height status of her emotional development as well as lower aggression level. Nowak has the best defense money can buy and, of course, must be considered innocent pending her trial. No doubt the presumption of innocence is responsible for her retention of commission at O-6 grade (Navy captain).

Conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman is an offense subject to court martial defined in the punitive code of the United States Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ)

The elements are: That the accused did or omitted to do certain acts; and
That, in the circumstances, these acts or omissions constituted conduct
unbecoming an officer and gentleman.[1]

Here “gentleman” is understood to include commissioned officers, cadets,
and midshipmen, and Officer Candidates, of both sexes. A gentleman is understood to have a duty to avoid dishonest acts, displays of indecency, lawlessness, dealing unfairly, indecorum, injustice, or acts of cruelty.[1]

CAUTION:

Molten Eagle's computer was attacked in connection with accessing the source of the opening quotation (above). And, of course, I have more information regarding the actual attacker. Exercise care.

A Submarine, A Psychic, A Billionaire, and A Filmmaker

In 1866, after days of successful testing, German engineer Karl Flach, his 11-year-old son, and nine crewmen boarded the world's fifth submarine for their next sea trial. For unexplained reasons, it sank in Valparaiso Bay.

The Flach was built in 1866 at the request of the Chilean government to defend Valparaiso against attack by the Spanish navy during the Chincha Islands War. (A second vessel, built by Gustavo Heyermann, sank on its maiden voyage.) Accordingly, the Flach would the first Latin American submarine to complete a successful dive. source

HUNT FOR CHILE’S FIRST SUB TO PROCEED documentary filmmaker Juan Enrique Benítez learned last Friday the “don’t touch” ban had finally been lifted by Chile’s Council of National Monuments in an apparent resolution of what to do with the remains of the eleven bodies thought to be inside source (B).

The psychic corroborated everything,” said Benítez. “She said to me, ‘I don’t look for objects. I don’t have that ability. I don’t look for trucks, or cargo containers. I don’t look for treasure. And I don’t look for source submarines.

Models A and C are early Buck Rogers type rocket ships. Except for the screws on B, I am fairly sure the Flach model was used as a TV spaceship, too. In fact, I have a lead model of it somewhere.

So who is the billionaire funding the Flach project? - Sebastian Pinera, a Chilean billionaire who narrowly lost Chile's 2005 presidential election, is helping finance the project. According to Forbes magazine, Piñera is Chile's third richest businessmen. source His fortune is estimated at US$1.2 billion.

One is instantly reminded of Raising the Hunley (sank in 1864 with 8 crew). However, a pattern of locating lost submarines of all eras has been accelerating this year. This trend means locating things like the Titanic are now fairly routine. That is not the half of it, however. There is a variety of other stuff that has been intentionally hidden beneath the sea, according to Mad Dog. Things will get very exciting for the living, if some of that is ever recovered by the wrong people.

Submarines are always silent and strange.

Actually, Senator, You Are All Wet.

Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., requested that the Navy name the submarine scheduled for delivery in April 2011 for his state. There’s never been a Montana, Tester said. But he is totally wrong!

Actually, Senator, USS Montana (ACR-13) was a 14, 500-ton Armored Cruiser commissioned 21 July 1908. The Montana served her nation during World War I. During that war, Montana conducted training exercises, transported supplies and men, and performed convoy escorts through most of 1917. Montana was a Naval Academy training ship from early 1918. Ordered to France in 1919, Montana made six round trips from Europe, returning 8,800 American troops. Not until 7 June 1920 was Montana renamed USS Missoula and reclassed as CA-13.


The Navy has never ignored the 41st state (1889) in its ship naming. Three (3) cruisers, a gunboat and USS Helena (SSN-725) have all been christened Helena (Montana's capital).

The Navy may certainly be forgiven for not wanting to name a state-of-the-art submarine after a state famed for its mountains. Montana is not a native American name; it is derived from the Latin montaanus, or mountainous.

How many U.S. subs have struck some of over 30,000 known seamounts? We recall one tragic fatality not very long ago. Those still wondering may browse an amateur compilation, however.

More AIP Intrigue: True Story, No Book to Buy

Some History

- -Taiwan reverted to Chinese control after World War II. Following the Communist victory on the mainland in 1949, 2 million Nationalists fled to Taiwan and established a government using the 1946 constitution drawn up for all of China. While the United States recognizes the legitimacy of mainland China's government, the U.S. has also obligated itself to help Taiwan remain independent of the Peoples Republic.


--Sweden, a country of 9 million residents, has not engaged in war since 1814. Yet, it not only deploys state-of-the-art diesel submarines, Kockums builds them for other countries. Certainly, Sweden learned some detection weaknesses of its Gotland class from the joint-US exercises. Will it now sell upgrades?


Submarines as Arms Background [emphasis added]:

In April 2001, President Bush approved Taiwan's request for arms, a weapons deal heralded as a turning point in U.S. relations with Taiwan, which for years had insisted its four, aging submarines -- two are WWII-era boats -- could not deter China's rapidly strengthening navy.

Rep. Rob Simmons, whose Connecticut district included General Dynamics' Electric Boat division until the 2006 election, speaks Mandarin fluently and was stationed in Taiwan as a CIA officer in the 1970s. Simmons, a Republican, had been a member of the United States House of Representatives from 2001 to 2007. Simmons was a member of the House Armed Services Committee.

The (Open-Press) Intrigue Until Now
Molten Eagle believes the Gotland lease was about more than mere anti-AIP submarine exercises, and will be of real significance to arsenals of democracy (the following facts and headlines are suggestive to those who can read between lines fed to the press). The following time-line is true and it tells an interesting story:

In March 21, 2005 the United States Navy and the Swedish Navy signed a memorandum of understanding for the U.S. to lease HMS Gotland with crew for anti-submarine warfare exercises. Exercises with United States 3rd Fleet began by July, 2005, and continued for at least 12 months. In 2006, the lease was extended another 12 months.

In CongressDaily Megan Scully reported Apr 6, 2006, Navy works to stall submarine deal with Taiwan :"Last summer, the U.S. Navy billed the Taiwan government $2.5 million to cover the cost of a little-known operation dedicated to helping Taipei close a ground-breaking arms deal to acquire eight American-made diesel submarines. But after investing about $8 million since 2001, Taiwan refused to pay, despite Navy warnings in two August 2005 memos that it would shut down its submarine "pre-selection" operation without more money, a move sure to trigger long delays and higher costs."

May 25 2007, Swedes To Say Farewell to San Diego The Götland is expected to wrap up its training in early June and could leave San Diego by the end of the month.

From The Taipai Times Aug 20, 2007, Page 3
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Shuai Hua-min (帥化民) said on Saturday US officials have told a delegation of Taiwanese legislators that Washington will go ahead with the sale of diesel-powered submarines to Taiwan even if the Democrats win next year's US presidential election. The delegation was also told that four US companies that intend to participate in the bid have found European manufacturers to cooperate with, Shuai said.

Reading Between the Lines Points to Ponder:
1- Did the U.S. Navy stall the Taiwanese submarine deal until the Gotland lease was completed?
2- Will the sale of diesel subs to Taiwan (and others) involve modern, AIP diesel subs using AIP and other components outsourced to Sweden, Germany the U.K. , or all of the above?
3- Did HMS Gotland arrive and depart San Diego aboard a heavy-lift ship (no chance it would disappear)?
4- Did HMS Gotland stick strictly to anti-submarine exercises with navy ships, or could it have tested something else, too, like a submarine laser? The fire control (system) power requirement for HMS Gotland (without abundant nuclear power) was 75 kW in 1997; related power requirements for the 688I class subs was over 7x more at 550 kW. Minimum power for weapons laser had generally been considered to be 100kw.

Earlier M.E. Speculation
From April 21, 2006 - The DOD sees big advantages to deploying AIP subs in anyone's fleet. Unit cost is closer to $100 million than over $2 billion for the latest Virginia class submarines. Operating costs and deployment cycles are much lower, as well, without nuclear powerplants and nuclear operator training. While U.S. companies will build these subs, Sweden will not sell upgraded stealth technology to foreign countries, because Sweden will provide AIP and perhaps other key hardware to Electric Boat. The U.S. boats will be between 236 and 256 feet in length, around 3,000 tons displacement and still crewed by 30 sailors (with room for 20 or so SEALs or mission hardware).

Only time will tell, but submarines are always silent and strange.

Former Submarine CO Interviewed in Connection with Expanded FBI Investigation of Sen. Stevens

George Newton served 25 years in the U.S. Navy as a nuclear submarine officer. He retired as a Captain after commanding an attack submarine. He has been involved in Arctic Ocean research as an Advisor, Member and Chairman of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission continuously since 1988 under Presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

[all emphasis added] The FBI is investigating the National Science Foundation's award of up to $170 million in contracts to the oil-field-services company that oversaw renovations on U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens' home. The firm, Veco Corp., captured a lucrative five-year NSF contract in 1999 to provide logistics and support for polar research, although it had no previous experience in that field. ... Veco's founder and CEO, Bill Allen, pleaded guilty this spring to making $400,000 in illegal payments to Alaska lawmakers, including Stevens' son, Ben, who until last year was president of the Alaska Senate. Allen is cooperating in a sweeping FBI corruption investigation that also has led to the conviction of a former Alaska state representative and guilty pleas from a second Veco executive and a prison-industry lobbyist.

... "I know that Sen. Stevens was very strongly taken with what we had uncovered in the study," said George Newton, a research engineer and former U.S. Navy submarine captain who served for 12 years as chairman of the panel, the Arctic Research Commission. He said Stevens cited the study as a basis for appropriating more money for Arctic research. Read the full article source

In August 1993, when the USS Pargo, a Sturgeon-class attack submarine, went to sea with five civilian scientists aboard, George Newton smiled.It had been the end of a long journey for him. Newton is Chairman of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission and a 25-year Navy submarine veteran who served under the legendary Admiral Hyman Rickover. Ever since he'd first deployed to the Arctic aboard a Navy sub in 1971, Newton had hoped one day to get Navy submarines to take civilian scientists to the Arctic, a place notoriously difficult to study. The idea remained germinal until the late 1980s, when the Soviet threat dissipated like smoke and the U.S. government began seeking new, "dual" uses of its military assets. That's when Newton swung into action."I got thrown out of a lot of offices, albeit politely," Newton recalls of his seven-year struggle to convince the Navy to give his brainchild a whirl. The idea of highly classified "ships of the line" gallivanting around the Arctic at the whim of men in white lab coats -- one can almost feel the bristles going up on necks of Navy admirals. source

Newton is the brainy (electrical engineering) good guy in this matter, who just happens to be an ex-submariner. Does he look like a submarine CO? Does anyone know which sub he commanded?

Can anyone besides Mad Dog guess why (Mad Dog says because it is warmer than the arctic) headquarters for the U.S. Arctic Research Commission is in Arlington, VA?

Hot Air is Risky Business

Motivating Future, Serving, and Veteran Submariners

Our friend Bubblehead posted (his words) manly scenes of submarining: a Motivational Video from YouTube called Submarine Recruiting Movie. He goes on to say, Some of the clips in there are from my old ship USS Topeka (SSN 754) when they were filming for "Sharks of Steel".

One of the most colorful characters featured in Sharks was the late VADM Robert 'Yogi' Kaufman. The father of the LA Class attack boat appears motivating USNA midshipmen. In another scene he convincingly utters one of the most memorable lines in the video: "I, one, first would not talk about any encounters I have had that are classified, and [two] I would like to shoot anybody who would."
The good admiral was once XO of the second nuclear submarine to which I received orders. Maybe Bothenook had crossed paths with him.

Speaking of motivating, here's a new blog from a gun-toting, news industry insider, who's stated mission is to publish "News that mysteriously disappears down the liberal media rat hole." It is called THE TRUTH FROM IRAQ. Now, you know why he wears a mask and white hat. Enjoy!

If anyone is still not motivated toward confrontation of an enemy who would deny our grandchildren our very way of life and us our own lives, consider NYPD: Mounting Homegrown Terror Threat linked here. The New York Police Department report, to be released Wednesday, describes a process in which young Muslim immigrants, frustrated with their lives in their adopted country, slowly adopt a philosophy that puts them on the path to jihad. The men meet and share ideas in mosques, in bookstores and over the Internet, it says. The full, half-page article is well worth reading. (The fastest growing segment of Islam in the U.S. is among our prison population. - Bill O'Reilly, The O'Reilly Factor, 08/14/07).

Remember, the ACLU is not objecting to Muslim footbaths funded with our tax dollars. Like Catholic Holy water, wouldn't the proper place for Muslim footbaths be in mosques? Or do mosques even offer footbaths? Hmmm!

Soon, there will be little remaining distinction between the American Corrupt Lawyers Union and the nobility of Great Brittain from which American colonies bravely rebelled!

Beyond Submarine Communications Encryption

Here is a smorgasbord of politically incorrect decryptions for the sanity of mankind:

Drawing On Experience The Day Publishing Co.; 8/12/2007 - With no new submarine design project under way or even on the drawing board What!? The DoD has it's pants down? Do not believe that; consider this (2006). Oh, and there is more (2005). And apparently, some (2007) agreement: ... But Polmar, a well-known naval analyst who has served as a consultant to three secretaries of the Navy, thinks the Navy should scrap plans to design another ballistic missile submarine, (SSBN), and instead design an attack submarine to follow the current Virginia class. QUESTION: Did Polmar say nuclear submarine?

Polmar said attack submarines, or SSNs, are much more important in the current conflicts than ballistic missile submarines.

The Navy could make the Ohio-class submarines last longer by using single crews (instead of their current two-crew system) and cutting back on the deployment rate, he said. The Navy would have to do an engineering analysis to determine if this is possible.
“There is no question in my mind that tomorrow, I would start the next SSN design,” Polmar said. “We could always modify an SSN to carry ballistic missiles but it's difficult to use an SSBN in attack submarine roles.”

WWII code breakers told to keep war role secret for 30 years - Wanda Chow NewsLeader
Aug 10 2007As with everyone who worked at Bletchley Park, Cooper was sworn to secrecy until 30 years after the end of the war. Note that the word submarine is used in this historical oddity.

Paper balloon bombers of World War II - Walt SehnertMonday, August 13, 2007- note that the word submarine is used 5 times in this historical oddity. At first, the Japanese used rubberized silk, which was the usual balloon covering, but soon switched to a paper cover, made from mulberry bushes, which they applied in layers, glued together with paste made from potatoes. (One problem with the potato paste was that hungry workers stole the paste and ate it.) ..... one balloon, which was shot down by a Navy plane at the site of the Manhattan project at Hanford, Washington did disrupt the war effort. As the balloon came down it came to rest across power lines going between Booneville and Grand Coulee Dam, causing a power failure that shut down that super secret facility for three days. ;

Lawyers Argue Over Where to Send Noriega former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, 72, when he is released from a U.S. prison next month, with his likely destinations either courtrooms in his home country or France. He is going to seek medical treatment in Cuba, like Hugo Chavez (prostate cancer). How about physicians argue, instead of lawyers.

Lincoln May Have Had Facial Defect Lincoln was a lawyer. All lawyers have a facial defect (know any who do not need reading glasses?). Moreover, the stereotypical, beedy-eyed, who never looks directly in your eyes, have an even more obvious, DNA encrypted defect. NO, it has not been publicized, yet. Care to bet?

Learn from the fall of Rome, US warned - The Financial Times Ltd- August 14 2007 -David Walker, comptroller general of the US, issued the unusually downbeat assessment of his country’s future in a report that lays out what he called “chilling long-term simulations”. What is it that philosophers teach us about history? Still doubting? Read this, lately?

Obama's Wife Decries Blackness Question CHICAGO (AP) - The wife of Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama on Sunday admonished those who question her biracial husband's credentials as a black man, calling the issue "nonsense."
"We're still playing around with the question: Is he black enough?" Translation: Obama is a professional black. He is very articulate and eloquent amidst any educated audience. Thus, he does not identify well with the NAACP's and Democrat party's black condition (ref.: Dr. Benjamin Hooks) currently manifested in either Ebonics or hip hop "music" lyrics. Our main stream media cannot comment with the truth that I just have. Now, you can understand Obama's dilemma. Some rank and file black voters cannot identify with him. There are many caucasian lawyers who cannot claim 50% of Obama's eloquence, so my decryption is far from a racial slur. Bravo, Sen. Obama!

Draw your own conclusions. Submarines are always silent and strange. Sometimes, other stuff is, as well.

Molten Eagle, Submarine Insights Devoid of C.o.C.

As used in the title, C.o.C. denotes chain of command, not Combat Operations Center.

By my copyrighted definition, the silent service, or submarines, is always silent and strange. Were Vigilis in the C.o.C., his keyboard would be utterly silent regarding submarine trends, eventualities and potentials. Believe me, the primary reason Vigilis obtains sleep is the potency of our submarine force, the competence and dedication of its crews, and the historically magnificent character of its leadership.

This past July 28th, in High-Tension Submarine Drama in the Deep? The Real Scoop, Molten Eagle speculated that 1) The titanium capsule was probably drop-anchored surrepetiously months ago; and 2) Suitable continental shelf samples were likewise prepared in the past, the dramatic charade is about something else entirely. ... While nearby foreign submarines will secretly monitor every step of the whole evolution, strict public silence will certainly be maintained.

Since then, on 10 August, 2007 17:19, Fred Fry (International) said...
Whether they made it or not is still a question, however, the video and photos 'from the bottom' turn out to be lifted from the movie Titanic.

Obviously, Fred Fry International was factually "on the ball". Today, 72 hours later, (August 13, 2007), we have this news: Russian polar submarine TV footage faked , which states Video footage shown by Russian state-controlled TV channel Rossiya of the Russian submarines (MIR 1 and 2) planting a flag on the sea bed at the North pole were faked, and included shots from the James Cameron film Titanic, according to a Finnish newspaper. The inclusion of the scam video footage was spotted by a 13-year-old Finnish boy, Waltteri Seretin, who compared Reuters' pictures with his own DVD version of the Titanic film.

What is it that philosophers teach us about history? You are certainly welcomed to draw your own conclusions.

Book Review: Natural Selection

Why I bought this book:

Knew that my roundtrip flights would imprison me for 12 hours in just 2 days. Actually, it was more like 14.5 hours, but the book was entertaining enough to hold my interest and get me through security without stressing out TSA people.

Average Amazon.com review for Natural Selection by new author Dave Freedman. I generally agree with the 4-star rating. Nice job, Dave.

Features:

A submarine with an external diver platform, somewhat similar to the above diagram, is featured in 4 chapters, sometimes at a depth of 2,102 feet (115 milli-leagues beneath the sea); a wealthy ex-Lawyer is the chief antagonist; terrifying sea monsters; sea monster diet is interesting and varied; graphic descriptions of stalking and eating habits.

Pluses:

Very imaginative stuff; suspenseful throughout. Offers important realism; for instance, the lawyer does not get eaten by a sea monster (perhaps that will be changed in a movie script).

Minuses:

Well, who really knows what has evolved down there and how intelligent it may become?

Helicopters get mileage Al Gore could appreciate.

My Trivia:

Jules Verne finished Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea in 1870. Did you know that his father, Pierre, was an attorney?

Islamist Infiltration of USA linked to Al Qaeda

Last September, Molten Eagle predicted Bad News for Either Islamo-fascists or Democrats as far as the pending election of Congressman Keith Ellison, the first Muslim to be elected to the United States Congress. Ellison won the open seat for Minnesota's 5th congressional district (which contains the entire city of Minneapolis).

Predictions were specifically:
If he [Ellison] 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.

Good or bad, we need a Muslim like Ellison to finally clarify exactly where American Muslims stand for/against the peaceful religion's obscene violence. (Not to be construed as an endorsement of lawyers in any political office)

Short Video Update #1:
Newt Gingrich discusses the war on terror at the National Press Club

Update #2:
U.S. and British officials are concerned that an al-Qaeda cell may be loose in the United States as information is gleaned from recent intelligence gathered after the recent bombing attempts in London and the attack at the Glasgow Airport in Scotland.

The New York Sun reveals, “E-mail addresses for American individuals were found on the same password-protected e-mail chains used by the United Kingdom plotters to communicate with Qaeda handlers in Europe, a counterterrorism official told The New York Sun yesterday. The American and German intelligence community now believe the secure e-mail chains used in the United Kingdom plot have provided a window into an operational Qaeda network in several countries.”

According to Gingrich (above video) the official position of leadership is to not discuss the actual dimensions of our war with Islamists (Gingrich succinctly lays it out for everyone). This US Dept. of State type of approach, largely backed by academia suffering from ivory tower syndrome, invites obliteration of a U.S. metropolis before the American public is politically united to combat the actual threat.

Islamist terrorists rightly suspect the world increasingly views them as Muslim's morons. They continually seek to disprove this accurate assumption with attempts to display modest technical prowess in wantonly destructive ways. Sooner or not they may eventually obliterate a U.S. metropolis. Gingrich cogently warns what to expect, if that were to happen. Whether or not Gingrich stands a chance in a presidential campaign, his intellectual integrity is unimpeached.

The jury is still out on Mr. Ellison, and my predictions firmly stand. Your move, Mr. Ellison, your term expires soon.

Higher on the Learning Curve?

---------------------- Then -----------------------
While investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) arrived on scene the following day, much initial speculation centered on a terrorist attack,[2][3] and consequently the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) initiated a parallel investigation into the crash. On November 18, 1997, the FBI announced that no evidence had been found of a criminal act, [4] and the NTSB assumed sole control on the investigation.

Search and recovery operations were conducted by federal, state, and local agencies, as well as their contractors.[13] The first priority of the early search and recovery efforts was the recovery of the victims; wreckage recovery was the second priority.[8] Remote-operated vehicles (ROV), side-scan sonar, and laser line-scanning equipment were used to search for and investigate underwater debris fields.[13] Victims and wreckage were recovered by Scuba divers and ROVs.

The NTSB investigation ended with the adoption of their final report on August 23, 2000. In it they concluded that the probable cause of the accident was "an explosion of the center wing fuel tank (CWT), resulting from ignition of the flammable fuel/air mixture in the tank. The source of ignition energy for the explosion could not be determined with certainty, but, of the sources evaluated by the investigation, the most likely was a short circuit outside of the CWT that allowed excessive voltage to enter it through electrical wiring associated with the fuel quantity indication system."[1]

The NTSB reviewed 736 witness accounts; 258 accounts reported a streak of light in the sky..."

Remaining TWA-800 Doubts-
Alternative theories persist as to the cause of the TWA-800 disaster, most of which indicate evidence pointing to an external missile/laser strike as a terrorist act, or unintentional act. [5][6][7]

The government smeared the reputations of some professionals in disagreement with official findings: former White House Press Secretary Pierre Salinger (vice chairman NTSB quoted as saying "He was an idiot, he didn't know what he was talking about, and he was totally irresponsible."[20]); official TWA investigation participant and chief 747 pilot Robert Terrell Stacey (federal prosecutors issued arrest warrant for his "stealing" items he sought to use in exposing an NTSB coverup); retired Naval officer William Donaldson (died in 2001); the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) The IAMAW strongly criticized the FBI's undocumented removal of wreckage from the hangar where it was stored.[35]


----- Better Government Handling for I-35 W Bridge Collapse ------
While investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) arrived on scene the following day, much initial speculation centered on a terrorist attack, and consequently the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and U.S. Navy initiated a recovery operation. On (tbd; date goes here) the FBI announced that no evidence had been found of a criminal act and the NTSB resumed its structural failure investigation.

Search and recovery operations were conducted by federal, state, and local agencies, as well as their contractors. The first priority of the early search and recovery efforts was the recovery of the victims; wreckage recovery was the second priority. Remote-operated vehicles (ROV), side-scan sonar, and laser line-scanning equipment were used to search for and investigate underwater debris fields. Victims and wreckage were recovered by Scuba divers and ROVs.

The NTSB investigation ended with the adoption of their final report on (tbd; date goes here). In it they concluded that the probable cause of the accident was (metal fatigue caused primarily by a combination of corrosive road salts, weather-related expansions and contractions in welded joints, inadequate bridge inspection criteria, vibrations from jack-hammering and the weight of heavy equipment . The cause could not be determined with certainty, but, of those evaluated by the investigation, incomplete inspection criteria is considered the most likely.

Alternative theories have not been endorsed by any credible authority or expert. A security camera video just happened to record the collapsing bridge event in its 4-second entirety.

Questions to ponder: If the FBI discovers the bodies 2 Islamo-suicide terrorists or evidence of bridge sabotage, would the public be informed? Has a group already claimed credit for the I-35W carnage (which occurred on Minnesota's most heavily traveled bridge at the height of rush hour)? Who stands to gain most from blackmailing the U.S. with periodic acts of terrorism?

Navy SEALS Tougher Than a Rat Sandwich

My 1991 US Army Survival Manual states under the heading Personal Hygiene: Fleas and lice live and feed on warm-blooded animals and are carriers of dangerous diseases. Rodents, for instance, are likely to have fleas or lice. So if you kill a rodent to eat, let it become completely cold before cleaning it so that the lice and fleas will be gone. [emphasis added]

... and under Dangers in the Tropics: In many parts of the tropics, especially Malaya and Indonesia, rats carry other parasites that cause jaundice and other fevers.

Then, in recent news Rat: It's what's for dinner - A rat merchant tells China News Service that business is good because people in Guangzhou people are rich and like to eat exotic things. Chinese media in Guangdong reported rats, imported from Henan province, where they are running rampant, are sold in restaurants in the provincial capital as “heavenly dragon meat”

Remember G. Gordon Liddy? We know he is pretty tough. Why did he eat rat? If you really need to know, you can more read about it. Most times it's intentional, sometimes it's even based on grounds of religion (Staten Island), but there have also been some accidental cases, of course.

Submarines have excellent chow and almost never a stray rodent. I have eaten roof hare aboard a nuclear submarine, however. So why would some SEALS use the expression tougher than a rat sandwich? Sounds like they may have tried it. Besides tough, it is described in one link as stringy.

I know what you are thinking ... does rat taste like chicken (fried roof hare only looks like chicken)? Apparently rat does not taste like chicken. Those in Paris who should know liken the taste to both partridges and pork, and even provided some nice recipes for frying, roasting, grilling and Mice in Cream (Souris à la crème).

Rats may be a gourmet's survival meal for our special forces. Thank goodness we still have fighting men that tough and smart.

Best Submarine Film of the Year: "Run Silent, Run Dumb

Reviews: *** 3.1/10

Nominee: Run Silent, Run Dumb Original Title Run silent, run stupid

Plot

A replica 1776-era submarine is launched in New York Harbor. A moron is taken into custody with two confederates within 200 feet of the 1,132-foot British cruise ship Queen Mary 2. Violations of security zones are punishable by a maximum of a $50,000 fine, five years imprisonment, or both. Suspicion of involvement in terror plots is grounds for surreptitious electronic and physical surveillance, indefinitely.

Director: Duke Riley, sculptor and performance artist

Cast:

Duke Riley - Sculptor, sub builder

Mr. Bushnell - Historical Advisor, Tug Pilot

Mr. Cushing - Key Grip

Alberto Magnan and Dara Metz - Gallery Owners and Art Dealers

Release Date: Friday, August 3rd, approximately 11 a.m.

Genre: Slapstick / Comedy/ Terror Thriller

Tagline: Do not trust heavily tatooed artists

Plot Outline: Heavily tattooed Phillip Duke Riley sipped a 16-ounce alcoholic beverage to prove he was no Islamist radical. Riley wore a life jacket and was equipped with a reserve oxygen supply. His replica, 1776-era submarine set off terror alerts as it drifted in prevailing Buttermilk Channel currents into a security zone around a 1132-foot cruise ship moored at Red Hook. Finally surrounded by harbor police and the Coast Guard, the moron was taken into custody with two confederates within 200 feet of the British cruise ship Queen Mary 2. Philip "Duke" Riley, 35, was arrested with accomplices who towed his cheap, plywood and fiberglass submarine a luxury ocean liner - not the brightest idea in security conscious, post-9/11 New York. Was this shear stupidity, or a test run for a future, nocturnal terrorist attack?

Shall the Shallow Be Punished? Osama bin Mama wishes he had thought of this stunt and used plastique instead of infidels for ballast.

Submersible Frustration Leads to Humor

Our fellow Bubblehead recently asked, "Does anyone know the story behind the DSV-5 (ex-Nemo)? Everything I could find seemed somewhat mysterious."

After accepting the challenge, I doubt that the Navy could have done a better job of assuring a DSV-5 mystery if it had set out to do so (which is probable). While deadend searches can be frustrating, some interesting items surfaced, nevertheless. More to reveal later, when I review my current page-turner (n. Informal. A very interesting, exciting, or suspenseful book).

For now, let's look at a smaller mystery, this one relating to DSV-3 Turtle, an Alvin Class Deep Submergence Vehicle (nominal depth 10,000 swf), retired in 1998. Careful not to confuse it with Bushnell's Turtle from 1775 (first sub ever used as a weapon).

It turns out that the deep-diving DSV-3 Turtle had two ship's crests (or seals) with different mottoes. Translation of the Latin motto suggests which was the Navy's unapproved version. Deponis Tuum Suavem Clunem: "To set down your dainty ass". No doubt the approved version SEARCH, LOCATE & RECOVER gives official diving depth - 10,000 feet.

Hope the winning bidder ($81.00 plus $9.50 shipping & handling) of a plaque on Ebay Jul-26-07 appreciates the actual translation, because either the seller never found out how humorous it was, or he intentionally neglected to inform bidders. DSV crews are very small. Challenge for Bubblehead: do we have any former DSV submariners in UQNM? Priceless. Love it!

Submarines are always silent and strange.

U.K. Submarine Strike Accord Restored

Regular M.E. readers may recall my posting concerning Lord Goldsmith QC (Queen’s Counsel) appointed Her Majesty’s Attorney General in June 2001. In recent history, hot, high-value Islamo-terrorism targets have escaped due only to a wimpy U.S. lawyer’s hypothetical concerns.

For the first time in published history, the then UK Attorney General, a friend of Tony Blair's embarked in an unidentified submarine. The attorney general revealed how he was taken on a submarine to make clear the need for him to give speedy legal advice in times of war. Lord Goldsmith told peers he had to be on call constantly during conflicts to advise on legality of military action. He said that soon after assuming his duties he went into a submarine to see first-hand where decisions were made. Once a periscope was raised there was only a 20-minute window to get advice before launching an attack, he said.

If Britain’s Attorney General understood the need for quick, legal permissions to attack, the US could support the attack (versus lead) based upon proper British legal clearance. Sorry, U.S. Senate (56% lawyers)! Lord Goldsmith, gave insight into his role when testifying to the Lords constitution committee in reference to war powers. He said there were general rules of engagement for troops in conflicts but international humanitarian law also meant legal advice was needed on attacking specific targets

In the past, short-notice submarine involvements in land attacks have been hampered by scarce communications opportunities (submarines are loath to sit on the surface or at periscope depth all day awaiting critical message traffic). As reported by the Washington Post, Sunday, November 18, 2001 - As many as 10 times over the last six weeks, the Air Force believed it had top Taliban and al Qaeda members in its cross hairs in Afghanistan, but was unable to receive clearance to fire in time to hit them, according to senior Air Force officials. Britain and the US have solved this problem with submarine broadband satellite communications on a real-time basis. What a concept!

Now that Blair has resigned, so has Lord Goldsmith. Mr Brown said: "His contribution to the country and this government has been immense.."

Where does this leave the handy, secretive bilateral submarine target and attack accord? Home Officie minister Baroness Scotland is the frontrunner among those tipped to succeed Lord Goldsmith. Okay, just who is Baroness Scotland? Hold on to your dixie cups!

Baroness Scotland is a barrister and the current Attorney General for England and Wales, a ministerial position in British Government. Born in Dominica to Antiguan and Dominican parents, her family migrated to Walthamstow when she was three, where she attended Walthamstow High School for Girls. She earned her law degree in 1976 at the University of London. In 1991 she became the first black woman to be made a Queen's Counsel. Tony Blair thought highly enough of Scotland to consider appointing her Leader of the House of Lords [1].

Her view: "We have to go forward. We have just got to draw a line in the sand."

Does anyone still not understand where the sand is? We can fully expect a necessary strike to swiftly circumvent the American lawyer establishment (lead by our Congress). This global war on terrorism will be won with or without left-leaning, elitists.

Osama bin Mama adherents had better watch out!

Submarine Layers: The Slippery Slope Agenda

In 1995 the Royal Norwegian Navy became the first navy in the world to appoint a female submarine captain.[6] In other venues, the Royal Norwegian Navy came to suspect that environmental factors may have caused several adverse health effects, such as cancer, birth defects of children and cardiovascular diseases. The Royal Norwegian Navy decided in 2001 to start a project of surveillance of the work environment in the whole navy to prevent health hazards.

Are you a current or ex-submariner? Today's submariners' involuntary, sissified stereotype (emphasis added) like it, or not:

Good submariners require sociability, high emotional development, lower aggression levels, compliant physical features (i.e., height, build, etc.), and acute common sense. source

Richard J. Danzig (1944 – ) is an American lawyer from New York City. He received his J.D. degree from Yale Law, and Doctor of Philosophy from Oxford University. After law school, Danzig served as a law clerk to United States Supreme Court Justice Byron White.

Bill Clinton with (Hillary's nodding approval) appointed fellow Rhodes Scholar Danzig the nation's 23rd Secretary of the Navy in November, 1998. Perfect! Not a day's military service among the three of them. (Danzig had been Under Secretary of the Navy during Clinton's first term).

In 1999, Secretary Danzig warned the Naval Submarine League that the service is a "white-male preserve." If submariners don't open diversity, their political support could ebb.

Danzig's predecessor as SecNav was former submariner John H. Dalton. Dalton implemented a Navy policy forbidding negative comments about sailors on maternity leave. (Wonder what gender Dalton had in mind?)

The slippery slope agenda for those pushing female assignments to submarines will be as devasting to defence of our country as rendering the next military draft too expensive (Nancy Pelosi's words) to implement was. Anticipated workplace litigation after decades of precedents assuring women's rights will ensure time-consuming litigation.

In 1981, several male U.S. citizens had filed lawsuit in the case Rostker v. Goldberg, alleging the Military Selective Service Act (MSSA) violated the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment by requiring that men only and not also women register with the Selective Service System. Although the Supreme Court upheld the MSSA, it deferred to our weak-kneed Congress: "the argument for registering women was based on considerations of equity, but Congress was entitled, in the exercise of its constitutional powers, to focus on the question of military need, rather than 'equity.'"[1]

But wait! There's more expensive and destructive agenda for our military, including:

...that the President of the United States give priority to the consideration of the appointment of women as judges of the United States Court of Military Appeals Spring [1980]

...that legislation be established to the effect that a married military woman, regardless of grade, can establish a joint domicile with her husband and shall receive Basic Allowance for Quarters (BAQ) in her own right. In the event the husband is also a member of the Military Services, he shall also receive BAQ in his own right. Fall 1968

...that in so far as permitted by existing statutes, the Secretary of the Navy provide identical standards, including time in grade, for promotions of men and women in the Marine Corps Fall 1979

...that all Services grant 6 weeks post-partum non-chargeable leave Fall 1988

...that plans for future submarine platforms incorporate appropriate berthing and privacy arrangements to accommodate mixed gender crews Fall 1999

The Center for Naval Analysis found that female sailors' "unplanned loss" rate (23 to 25 percent) is more than two-and-a-half times the rate for men (8 to 10 percent). Proportionate loss rates on submarines, combined with surfacings and evacuations made necessary by disciplinary problems, would compromise the stealth mission of the submarine.

Should Hillary Clinton finish the demolition job on our military, if she wins office in 2008?

Of this I am certain. Assignment of women to U.S. military submarines will decimate (not eliminate) recruitment and re-enlistment of red-blooded males to submarines. Our experience will follow the Australian Navy's plight in that respect.